Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Lacey suppressed a shiver as her hand went right through the stone causing a soft splash of light to surround her. She stepped out of Ren's embrace and right through the wall, instantly feeling the difference in temperature. Her eyes brightened as she took in all the artifacts scattered around her and wondered if this was what Aladdin felt like when he’d entered the Cave of Wonders. She raised her gaze counting three levels with a huge open space in the middle so you could see all three floors.

She could see everything from weapons of various kinds, to spell books and strange looking charms littering the shelves that were built into the rock walls. Some of the items were encased in glass, while others were trapped in cages like animals. She also spotted many old books, some of them placed almost haphazardly around the room as though they’d been studied recently.

“Welcome to PIT’s treasure chamber,” Storm announced proudly knowing this was the most secret one. There was a smaller one back at the castle but he’d brought the soul orb here along with a couple other things that he didn’t want PIT members playing with.

Ren sighed in relief when he felt the overload of power from the castle residence fall away from him the moment they teleported to the inner sanctum of the island. One of the nearby cages rattled and he smirked when Lacey took a startled step back bringing her up against him again.

Not in the mood to waste an opportunity, he slid an arm around her and pulled her back against him where she belonged. He mentally sighed at his possessive train of thought knowing he couldn’t blame it on the powers of those around him this time. Deciding he didn’t give a damn, he lowered his head and tightened himself around her.

“A lot of these things are dangerous to humans and are alive. They can sense a life force… so don’t get too close to them,” Ren warned.

Lacey shivered when his breath traced across her ear and cheek and wondered if he was doing it on purpose. She slowly turned her head to look up at him. The way the strange colored light within the room hit his glasses allowed her to catch another fleeting glimpse of his silver eyes but with a slight tilt of his head the glasses became dark again.

“Have you ever thought about buying contacts so you can ditch the shades?” she asked without thinking then blushed as she slid out of his arms.

Ren raised a dark eyebrow resisting the urge to drag her back to him and thought about her question. He’d changed his eye color many times in the past but the affect only lasted for as long as the ability stayed within his range, and when using his powers they tended to revert back to their natural mercury color. As for contacts… not an option when you had a tendency to randomly get into fights with demons.

He didn’t bother answering the question since it seemed her attention had returned to the contents of the room. He followed her deciding to stay close to her for her own protection. Ren glanced up noticing Storm winking in and out of existence as he teleported around the large room collecting items he obviously intended on taking back to the castle with them.

A glowing red light that was pulsating in rhythm caught her attention and Lacey stepped toward it curiously. She stopped several feet away seeing that it was an actual heart encased in glass and it was still beating. As she stared at it she could have sworn the thing sped up.

“This place is a little on the flip side,” Ren admitted coming up beside her to make sure she didn’t get any closer to it. He didn’t have a clue whose heart it was and something told him he really didn’t want to know.

“That’s an understatement,” Lacey said feeling like she’d just slipped into her own slice of heaven.

To someone who spent their life researching, hunting down, and then stealing things like these… that’s exactly what this place was… heaven. She turned full circle then looked back up at the ceiling of the third floor. In a way it reminded her of a library except books weren’t the only things within its walls. This massive room was the ideal safe and gave the appearance that it had once been a solid rock that had been hollowed out and then the castle built around it.

“I wonder how many of these things Grandpa tried to find but never could,” she said wishing Grandpa had been allowed to see this place before he’d died. Forcing herself to shake the sad thought away, she stepped over to a long curved sword seeing ancient symbols reflecting from its beautiful blade.

Lacey leaned over the pedestal to get a better look at the markings and her lips parted recognizing some of the symbols from the cube she’d used against the demons in her escape.

Masters had given them a charcoal drawing of the cube so they would know it when they saw it in the museum. Vincent had later told her that he could read most of the symbols. That’s how she’d known it was a weapon against demons. Masters hadn’t shared that secret with them for obvious reasons. Too bad he’d been unaware that Vincent had skills other than being unable to die.

“Vincent could probably translate this for Storm,” she said reaching her hand out to touch the beautiful blade.

Ren quickly stepped forward and gripped her wrist to stop her. Even he wasn't stupid enough to touch the things down here without knowing what it actually was first. Maybe if she would quit thinking about her demented ex-lover then she would pay attention to her surroundings.

“Storm can read it perfectly.” He let go when she slowly retracted her hand and smirked knowing how to get her attention off Vincent. “Do you not realize that Storm is the best thief you will ever know? Even if the item hasn’t been seen in five thousand years… he can go back in time to the last place it was seen and be the reason it disappeared.”

He watched as Lacey peeked over her shoulder at Storm and gritted his teeth not wanting to make her crush on the Time Walker grow any more than it already had. Seeing her attention quickly stray back to the objects in the room, he relaxed silently wondering how many hours she would spend running her hand along that wall in the office trying to find the magical moving spot that would let her back into this place.

Ren jerked his head to the side and frowned when he noticed the red glow of the pulsating heart had intensified. He stepped between her and the enchanted or cursed heart then narrowed his eyes when the ominous glow went dark. Deciding it was probably a bad idea to let her hang out in here much longer he headed toward the reason he’d brought her here.

“Come on,” Ren ordered no longer trusting the items in this place.

Lacey walked forward when Ren approached what appeared to be a pedestal for a Faberge Egg. Sitting on top of it was the soul orb that Lacey remembered her grandfather being so fond of. She’d watched him take it out of the safe many times only to place it right back within the concrete walls.

“All this for a paperweight,” she said softly.

“Don’t take its appearance lightly,” Storm said suddenly appearing right behind them. “Once I figured out what it was, I brought it in here for safety reasons. The soul trapped inside of it is…” he paused rubbing his temple when it started throbbing, “No matter, we have the orb and the leverage needed to cancel your affiliation with the demon network. However, we need to get rid of the mark before attending the party tonight.”

“What mark?” Lacey asked and had to force herself not to cover the area on her shoulder up with her palm just in case he wasn’t referring to the mark Masters had given her.

“The mark that gives them control over your soul,” Storm answered, pointedly looking at her shoulder.

“You make it sound like I sold my soul to the devil,” Lacey said broodingly.

“I’m sure Angelica can remove it,” Ren offered locking his steady gaze with Storm's. He didn’t want Storm to tell her of the true ownership over her soul when they could fix it like it had never happened.

“Wait a minute,” Lacey demanded starting to panic. “No one is removing the mark. If we do, they’ll know and think that I’m not coming tonight. Since I’m not in reaching distance for them to strangle or shoot, there is a good chance they’ll take their anger out on Vincent because he was the one who talked to me about the deal.”

Ren felt another spark of anger realizing she was right back to obsessing over her ex-boyfriend again. It looked like he was going to have to save the other man just so she would stop worrying about him all of the time.

“We have our ways of getting around… nuisances like that,” Storm informed her. “The demon mark can be removed without their knowledge as long as it’s done very carefully.”

“And how can I trust your people to remove it without messing up?” Lacey demanded. “For all you know it could kill me.”

“I would know if that was a possibility,” Storm corrected in a harsh voice still rubbing his temple trying to ease the pain. He had come close to telling them who was inside the soul orb and now he was paying for it. Knowing it was nobody’s fault but his own, Storm softened his tone as he added, “So you can relax… the mark is not going to explode or anything like that.”

The pain in his head was getting worse and it was a signal that it was time to go before he was unable to do so.

Lacey started to ask another question but paused when she saw Storm reach up and rub his ear only to pull his hand away and glare down at his bloody fingers.

“Damn it,” Storm hissed and reached into his pocket for a handkerchief that already had a couple blood spots on it.

“Are you okay?” Lacey asked quietly.

“Storm,” Ren said with concern lacing his voice. The nose bleeds were bad enough but when it started coming from the ear the Time Walker had definitely pushed a couple of his No-No buttons.

“I’m fine,” Storm said avoiding Ren's gaze as he tucked the handkerchief back out of sight.

Wanting to speed things along, Storm took the orb in his hand and held it up so Lacey could look at it. “Before this night is over, this will belong to the demons and you my dear will be a free woman… free enough to join PIT if you find yourself missing the thrill of your previous job. Who knows… maybe you will even wind up using one of the weapons your grandfather spent years searching for.”

Ren saw the way Lacey's eyes lit up with that statement and sent Storm a glare noticing the trickle of blood that was sliding down his friend’s neck. “One more word and I swear I’ll duct tape your fortune telling ass,” He threatened.

Storm couldn’t help but smile through the pain buzzing around in his head. Knowing it was time to go, he took the handkerchief back out of his pocket and pressed it against his still bleeding ear then made a show of reaching out to steady himself by holding on to Ren's shoulder.

“You’re driving,” Storm said cryptically.

Catching the hint, Ren placed his hand on Lacey's back and guided her toward the arched doorway. The instant he felt the overwhelming power of the castle prick his skin, he created the illusion of walking through a wall of soft white light. They stepped out of the wall a couple feet down from the desk in the office to make Lacey think that the invisible opening had once again moved.

“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to that,” Lacey said turning around to look at the wall curiously.

Reaching out, she ran her hand across the flat surface wanting to feel the invisible opening and frowned in disappointment not finding it. She glanced up the high wall and wondered if it was simply out of her reach right now.

Ignoring the pounding headache, Storm watched Lacey concentrate on her humorous new obsession that was destined to fail. He smiled over his shoulder at Ren but his friend wasn’t paying attention… he was busy watching Lacey. He glanced back at the girl and gave her a once over before tilting his head to the side with a satisfied sigh.

“If you two will excuse me,” he said and quietly exited the doors of the office not wanting to risk any more teleportation until the bleeding stopped.

“Why did his ear start bleeding like that,” Lacey asked softly once Storm was gone. She now had her answer as to what color his blood was but... “If he’s really a god… then he shouldn’t get injured at all… right?”

Ren rubbed his chin and looked toward the door Storm had disappeared through. It wasn’t often Storm used doors.

“He wasn’t injured,” Ren said broodingly.

Lacey raised an eyebrow in frustration when Ren dropped the subject and returned to his desk, staring intently down at the computer monitor on the surface of it. She jerked her gaze up when several screens on the surrounding walls flickered on and started scrolling through what looked like demon profiles and matching them up to the clusters of lights he’d connected on the bigger map. She noticed it was only profiling the demons that were in the lines he’d connected to the museum.

Nice distraction, but if he thought she was going to drop the subject that quickly then he had another thought coming.

“If he wasn’t injured then why was he bleeding from his ear? I mean for a human, bleeding from the ear is usually pretty fatal,” she continued.

“Anything else is Storm’s story to tell you,” Ren answered honestly.

“You didn’t mind telling my secrets,” Lacey huffed but dropped the subject.

Not knowing what else to do, she sat down on one of the sofas in the room and watched the big screen as it matched up demon profiles. She tried to read some of the information on the demons but the profiles were flicking in and out way too fast so she stopped trying and looked away.

She was beginning to get annoyed with all the secrecy running rampant. He had forced all of her secrets and memories from her but he certainly wasn’t sharing hardly any of his… it wasn’t fair. She suddenly remembered Storm saying that she could join PIT if she wanted to and a slight smile pulled at the corners of her lips. Now there was a sure fire cure for boredom if she’d ever heard of one.

“I’ll just take Storm up on his offer and join PIT. Maybe I can even help find weapons that would be good to use against certain kinds of demons,” Lacey said out loud and smiled when she noticed that she now had Ren's full attention. She sucked in a quick breath when his palms suddenly hit the cushions on either side of her shoulders and their faces were mere inches from each other. She had barely seen him move.

Ren leaned over her ready to tell her a hundred and one reasons why joining PIT would be too dangerous but the minute he opened his mouth he realized he was right back in Alpha territory and it was affecting him.

“I won’t allow it,” he thundered before he could stop himself.

Lacey broke all speed barriers when she went from slightly frightened to so mad that she didn’t care in less than a second. “Well, it’s a good damn thing that it’s not up to you then,” she growled up at him and shoved at his chest to try and make him back off. She resorted to just glaring up at him when he didn’t budge. “I can take care of myself. What difference does it make to you what the hell I do anyway?”

Ren breathed harshly as random images of ways she could get herself killed flashed through his mind’s eye. “Thanks to your ex-lover’s insanity, you’ve been saved so many times that you don’t even see the danger you’re in. You are not invincible and maybe I don’t want you to die,” he growled right back meaning every word.

Lacey felt her heart clench at the way he’d said he didn’t want to see her die. It was the same verbal weapon Vincent had a habit of using against her but she could always tell that he wasn't just being dramatic. The look in her friend’s eyes gave away the fact that it was a real fear for Vincent and she could see that same fear in Ren's angry gaze.

What was the connection between them… what was it that she was missing? That’s when it dawned on her that she had absolutely no idea how old Ren really was.

If he was human, she’d guess that he was around twenty-seven years old. But he wasn’t human and there was a possibility that he and Vincent were more alike than either of them realized. When a person was that old it showed in their eyes. On impulse, Lacey reached up and gently slid Ren's sunglasses off, surprised that he’d allowed her to do it.

Ren refused to look away from her direct gaze. If she could take it then so could he. He wanted to stand his ground on this because obviously no one had ever informed the girl of how precious she actually was. If she wasn't going to care about her own safety then someone had to. Her next words felt like a knife in his chest.

Searching his beautiful eyes Lacey told him her true feelings. “I’m not scared to die… what frightens me is the thought of not living life to the fullest in the short amount of time that I do have. If the demons manage to kill me tonight, and I have a feeling that they will, then I have no regrets because I’ve always done what I wanted to do no matter how dangerous it was.”

Ren's breath stilled realizing those were the words of someone who didn’t have any attachments to make them want to be careful… someone who didn’t owe anyone anything.

He should have known the signs because PIT was full of them, people who hid their heart away so no one would have the right to worry about them should something bad happen. That was the reason why Storm had made it a rule that everyone belonging to PIT had to have a partner, therefore giving them a reason to be careful even in dangerous situations. It was a good rule.

Lacey felt a million butterflies take off in her stomach and wondered if the most dangerous thing she’d ever done was remove those sunglasses because now she could see the raw passion he’d been hiding behind them.

Unable to take the intensity of his gaze, she lowered her eyes to his perfect lips and whispered, “Ren… how old are you?”

“Old enough to know better,” Ren growled as he slid his hand across the cushion and cupped the back of her head. Hearing her whisper his name so seductively had unleashed something inside him and he descended on her lips with predatory swiftness.

He had wanted to do this even before he’d realized she wasn't a boy. Now that he was among all of the powers the residence of the castle offered, he was able to smell the scent of her rising arousal as she’d lowered her gaze to his lips. She had wanted him to kiss her and at the moment, his willpower was nowhere near strong enough to resist such a sweet temptation when he wanted it more than she did.

Lacey inhaled sharply and closed her eyes. She had always believed in the theory of living for the moment and since there was a very good chance that tonight would be her last… pushing away from something she actually wanted was not on her to do list right now. His lips were so hot and demanding that it took her breath away within seconds and made her crave more.

She felt herself being pressed backward against the soft cushion as he deepened the kiss and moaned loving the dominating feeling. He tasted wonderful and she pressed into the kiss wanting to devour him. She raised her hand and slid it up in under his layered hair threading her fingers through the thick softness. Making love to this sexy man would be a good way to spend her final hours.

Tossing his sunglasses beside her, Lacey grabbed the front of his shirt with her other hand pulling him closer. Yeah, if she died tonight she would have no regrets and be able to take one more memory to the grave with her.

Ren tensed somehow hearing her thought about the grave and fleetingly wondered who within the castle had the power to read a person’s mind even when they had a permanent mark on them to keep others from doing so. He decided it didn’t matter… what did matter however was the whispered thought that he’d overheard.

As hurt and anger collided within him, Ren pulled away and glared down at the beautiful girl under him. “Do you really think that I would make love to you right now then let you die tonight?”

Lacey had started to follow him up when he’d pulled away, but one glance into his glowing eyes gave her pause. Her lips parted in confusion realizing he’d somehow just read her mind. Avoiding the original question, she lowered her gaze and frowned letting her bangs fall down to cover her eyes.

“I thought you said that the tattoo worked?” she asked accusingly.

She wasn't really mad at him… it wasn’t like he could control it and she understood that. Lacey raised her hand under the shadow of her long dark hair and touched her lips where they were still tingling from his heated kiss.

“You don’t have what it takes to be a member of PIT,” Ren growled wanting to piss her off enough to prove him wrong.

“Oh yeah, and just what do YOU think I’m lacking?” she asked in a tone that let him know his opinion wasn't being held in high esteem right now.

“Because all PIT members are assigned a partner that they have to count on to keep them alive. How can anyone count on you to watch their back when you give up on life so easily,” Ren said daring her to argue.

Lacey snapped her gaze up to his, “That’s not fair! You know what’s waiting for me tonight. I’m only human… do you really expect me to survive this?”

“I expect you to trust the members of PIT to do everything in their power to keep you alive… the same way a partner would have to trust in you if you joined PIT,” he pointed out.

“Well, it’s a good thing you won’t have to deal with me as a partner,” Lacey snapped even though inside, his little lecture had saddened her. She didn’t have a death wish but nor was she stupid enough to think she would come out of this unscathed.

“Oh but you will,” Ren said with an almost evil smirk. “If you join PIT, then it is me that you will have to deal with as a partner.”

“You can’t decide who,” she sat back a couple inches when he interrupted her.

“Yes I can. I am second in command of the Paranormal Investigation Teams with Storm the only one that out ranks me and he doesn’t like the fact that I do not have a partner,” Ren informed her with satisfaction. “He will be glad that I have finally chosen one.”

“Why would he be worried about you being alone when you are so powerful,” she asked not believing him for a minute.

“Because he’s almost gotten himself killed twice within the last week,” Storm answered appearing just inside the doorway.

Cursing the timing, Ren stood up to his full height and glared over his shoulder at Storm. He raised an eyebrow when he noticed the man had something black over one arm while the other hand held a pair of stiletto heels. What the hell was the Time Walker up to now? He sighed when the door behind Storm opened.

Lacey glanced back up at the man towering in front of her seeing him in a different light. He wasn't Vincent. If Ren died there would be no coming back from it. The thought made her chest hurt.

Stubbornly forcing herself to steady her breathing, she leaned to the side so she could see Storm heading in their direction. What really caught her attention was the striking young woman behind him and yet another sex god right on her heels. She instantly blamed the dirty thought on Ren since he was the one that had left her all hot and bothered.

“Have a long rest?” Ren asked noticing the way that Storm’s color was back to normal and he seemed ready to go.

“Nothing like a couple days off,” Storm admitted with a sly smile.

The Time Walker raised an inquiring eyebrow seeing that Ren was missing his sunglasses then noticed them lying forgotten on the sofa. He pretended not to see them as he handed Lacey the clothing but silently wondered what he had missed.

“I hope these will fit properly,” Storm said in his most gallant voice. “If you’re going to an event that could very well decide your fate, you should at least show up in style.”

Running his hand through his bangs, Ren gripped a handful of hair in frustration then started back toward the desk in an attempt to get his raging emotions under control. At least now he would be able to watch over her if she did join PIT. He rubbed his fingers against his eyes and blinked realizing that he was missing his sunglasses. He’d been right when he’d summarized that he would spend this day completely annoyed.

He jerked the desk chair out and sat down. Leaning forward he glanced down at the glass surface seeing his own reflection. Stealing Lacey's little trick, Ren let his bangs fall forward to hide the fact that his eyes were glowing a bit more than usual and searched out the powers around him for anything that would help to calm him.

Ren sighed in surrender when his sunglasses were suddenly sitting on the glass surface right in front of him. Sliding them on, he pretended to be busy although what was happening on the other side of the room held his full attention.