Illusions (Night Roamers) Book Four

Copyright © 2014 Kristen Middleton

Cover by
Book Cover By Design

Edited by
C.J. Pinard

The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity
to real persons, living or dead is coincidental and not intended by the author.

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without express written permission of the author.

A huge thank you to:

Those who’ve encouraged, inspired, and supported me on this new journey.



The clanging of metal echoed th
roughout the dark, musty dungeon. The prisoner, his wrists tethered above his shoulders, slowly raised his head.

A woman spoke.
“Is he conscious?”

“Barely,” replied the guard
.

“
Let’s remedy that then, shall we?” she replied, a smile in her voice.

T
he echo of footsteps moved through the corridor toward his cell, and he clenched his jaw when she stopped outside of the metal bars, grinning like the Cheshire cat.

“Oh, hone
y, you don’t look so good,” she mocked as the guard unlocked the door. “I’ll bet you’d love a little snack. How long has it been? Two weeks?”

It had been much longer
. His hunger was now so brutal that he’d started hallucinating. The only thing that kept him sane was the possibility of escape and revenge against the monster standing before him.

“
Nothing entices me more than an arrogant vampire at my mercy,” she stated, smiling in approval as she stepped inside his cell.

He glared at her as she moved around
him like a lioness, circling her prey.

She clucked her tongue.
“Have nothing to say? Still not interested in begging for my forgiveness?”

He didn’t
give her the satisfaction of a response. He just continued to stare at her with loathing.   

“
Dear… dear… you certainly don’t appear happy to see me,” she said, feigning sadness. “I’m somewhat hurt.”

He sighed and looked away, refusing
to let her needle him. He knew it would only end in more savagery from the guard if he opened his mouth and told her what he really felt.

“Don’t you dare dismiss me
,” she growled, poking him in the chest with a long painted nail. “Who in the hell do you think you are?!”

Her touch
undid him. He snapped his head back. “Don’t you fucking touch me!”

A smile tugged at her lips.
“Don’t touch you?”

He grit
ted his teeth. “You heard me.”

“I will do whatever I want to you.”

“Why are you doing this?” he growled. “I’ve done nothing to you!”

“Nothing?
This is your penance,” she said, raising her voice. “You caused this! Hell, you should be happy that I haven’t ended your life, just like you tried ending mine.”

That’s right. He’d almost forgotten.

His lips tilted at that memory.

Her eyes narrowed.
“Oh, that amuses you? You know, I would have given you everything, but you threw it all away. And for what? A little mortal whore?”

His smile f
altered

S
he smirked. “What’s wrong? Do you miss her?”

He
looked away.

She drew her hand up
toward his cheek. “Miss her caresses?”  

He flinched
before her fingertips reached his skin.

S
he lowered her hand. “You’re wasting your time, pining for her. She doesn’t miss you one bit. In fact, she
despises
you.”

“No,” he whispered hoarsely.

“Oh yes,” she replied, her eyes sparkling. “And because you’re in here, there is absolutely nothing that
you
can do about it.” Her smile widened. “Nothing at all.”

G
rief and longing made his chest ache. He’d tried to forget about the girl, to ease the pain of missing her. But his heart allowed him no mercy. Even now, images of her warm smile and flawless, pale skin were his only light in the darkness.

His keeper’s eyes searched his.
“I would have given you everything, you know. Power, money,
me
…” Her eyes welled up and she blinked back the tears. “You’re nothing but a pathetic fool.” She turned to the guard. “He’s a fool. Don’t you agree?”

The guard, a tall
, burly vampire with long, black hair and a tattoo of a cobra that ran across his collarbone, nodded. “Yes. You’re too good for the likes of him. I’d die for you. Any of us would die for you.”

She smiled in gratitude. “Thank you
, Godrick.”

He took a step closer
, his massive girth making her appear almost delicate. “If you’d like, I’ll kill him this instant. I will prove my loyalty to you and make him suffer like he’s never suffered before.”

Her smile was beaming.
“I’m quite sure you would do it in a heartbeat, but that won’t be necessary.”

“Just tell me when…” said the guard.
“Your wish is my command.”

“
You’re so sweet, but when the time comes, I will be the one to end his life. In fact, I want to look into his eyes when it happens.” Her eyes grew brighter. “Watch him
beg
for mercy.”

Godrick
nodded. “Yes. Of course.”

She patted the guard’s
thick bicep. “But I do applaud your commitment to me, Godrick. It’s very refreshing after what I went through with our little prisoner. I have to admit – he never praised me the way that you have. Never.”

“He’s a waste of oxygen
,” replied the guard with a sneer, “and obviously a very stupid fool.”

She chuckled. “You’re probably right.
Speaking of space,” she poked the prisoner in the stomach. “There seems to be a little too much in his ribcage. We mustn’t let him fade away to nothing, as much as that would please me. Why don’t you go and fetch the girl?”

“
Of course. Right away,” said the guard, walking away.

She turned back to the prisoner
. “He’s right. I am too good for you. It’s quite obvious.”

He
ignored her.

“You used to find me irresistible,” she whispered, tracing a finger down his bare chest. She stopped at the fly of his jeans
and he noticed that her pupils were large and dark.

So, she does still desire me…

The wheels in his head began to turn.

“Sometimes
, you even bowed to my every whim…” she said.

He knew that wasn’t true, but in her screwed up mind, she believed it.

She traced a finger along his zipper. “You still want me. I knew it,” she said, staring at him in triumph, as his jeans tightened around his hips. “Don’t you?”

He bit back the truth.
To most, she was a vision of beauty, with her shiny blonde hair, high cheekbones, and full lips. To him, she was nothing more than a leper and his sudden excitement had nothing to do with her. It had everything to do with vengeance.

She grabbed him by the neck
and stared up into his icy blue eyes. “Fortunately for you, I’ve been merciful. I don’t know why, but I still have this soft spot for you.” She sighed. “Anyone else? I would have ripped them apart by now.”

He knew her
feelings for him had nothing to do with love. It was an obsession. A poison.

Just then, t
he guard brought in a young woman. She was in her early twenties, voluptuous, and had large, green eyes that were glazed over.

“Come here,” ordered
his keeper.

The
compliant slave stepped forward.

His captor
turned back to him. “So, just like before – I’m going to let you feed. Then Godrick is going to beat the hell out of you. How does that sound?”

Sighing, he
looked away.

She moved to his ear and whispered. “I will break you eventually. You know that, don’t you?”

It took all of his willpower not to slam his forehead against hers. He knew if he did, he’d never get the chance to scape.

She
licked her lips, leaned forward, and trailed her tongue across his cheek. “Even if I have to bring your little slut here and shove a stake through her heart. Along with her boyfriend. What’s his name?” She snapped her fingers. “Oh, yes – Duncan?”

His nostrils flared.

She laughed wickedly. “Didn’t expect that one, did you? They are together now. In every way. And, I’m quite sure that she would rather die than let you touch her again. But not Duncan. He touches her every night. In places that you will never know again.”

He pulled at his chains, rage burning
a hole inside of him as he pictured them together.

She stepped back
, her eyes hard and cruel. “She loathes you. Believes that you’ve deceived her, Ethan. Believes that it was
you
who offered her to the lycan.”

He
froze and stared at Faye in disbelief.

“She’ll n
ever trust you again. You broke her heart,” she said, smiling bitterly. “Just like you did mine.”

“No,” he rasped. “You’re lying.”

With her eyes gleaming triumphantly, she stepped back and transformed herself into him. She grinned darkly. “Am I?”