Predestined (9 page)

Now, I can’t stand alone. Now, I
am under your influence.

You’ve taken over me and Now, I
can’t ignore what I’ve been shown.

You’ve claimed me and I don’t care
who knows.

You’ve claimed me and I don’t care
if it shows.

I’m weakened and I’m strengthened
in your arms.

You’ve claimed me and I need to
feel you close.”

As the song came to an end the
crowd began screaming out his name. Pride welled up inside me to
think this brilliant... being was mine.

“So you’re Dank’s new fling?” I
looked back over my shoulder to find the source of the snarky
voice. The girl had an annoyed smirk on her very attractive face. A
head full of blond curls hung almost to her tiny waist which seemed
unfair considering the size of her chest. The tight tank top she
was wearing had those double D’s of hers spilling out of the low
cut neckline. If she told me she’d just walked off a photo shoot
for Playboy I wouldn’t have been surprised.

“He
normally goes for um... well a more
noticeable
type. I’m
shocked you’re what’s keeping him so busy.”

Yep, I hadn’t mistaken the
snarkiness in her tone. The girl didn’t like me. But what she was
saying made no sense. I knew for a fact Dank didn’t have “flings”
and that I was the only relationship he’d ever been in. I wasn’t
sure how to respond to her obvious lack of knowledge about him so I
turned my attention back to the stage and watched as he brought
thousands of people into a frenzy of excitement.

“Too good to talk to me, are you?
Well, we’ll see about that. I’ve been around a lot longer than you
and my daddy is the reason Cold Soul even got recognized by a
label. Dank won’t like it that you were rude to me.”

Finally unable to bite my tongue
any longer I turned my head to meet her glare with my own. “When
you say something worth responding to then I’ll gladly reply. But
it’s obvious you don’t know Dank at all. If you did you’d realize
how incredibly idiotic you sound.” Her eyes lit up with fury and I
wanted to laugh at her reaction. The girl could dish it out but she
sure couldn’t take it.

“I hope you enjoyed your ride,
slut, because it’s over. Dank won’t put up with that shit from you.
I’m too important to upset.”

My
blood began to boil and I took a step toward her, “Did you just
call
me
a
slut
?” I
hissed.

She looked entirely too pleased
with my anger at first but then her amused grin vanished and a
terrified expression lit up her face. She began backing away from
me. I wanted to laugh out loud. She reminded me of one of those
bullies from elementary school that was all talk. Once someone
called them out they backed down. I felt a sense of power at being
able to handle this situation myself. Instead of waiting on Dank to
set the bitch straight I was doing it.

“Don’t,” the girl backed up against
the wall and I kept my angry glare fixed on her loving her
horrified expression. This was fun.

“Pagan, stop.”

I froze at the sound of Dank’s
voice as he stepped in between the two of us. The sweat on his
chest had soaked into his shirt and it clung even tighter to his
skin. Then he turned and looked back at the other girl.

“What’s going on?” I heard him ask.
What? Why was he worried about her?

“She attacked me, I was just trying
to talk to her and she just attacked me,” the girl blubbered in
tears. She was crying? Dang, she even sounded
believable.

“I didn’t touch her.
She--”

“Not now, Pagan,” Dank interrupted
me and I stood there gaping at him and the girl he was apparently
consoling. Had I just stepped into some alternate universe? None of
this made sense.

“She... she hissed at me,” the girl
stuttered, pointing one of her long red nails in my direction.
Well, maybe I had done that. But she’d called me a slut.

“She called--” I began and once
again Dank cut me off.

“Wait, Pagan.”

Confusion quickly turned to anger
and I didn’t wait until he finished talking to the girl and
listening to her mouthful of lies. He should be asking ME if I was
okay. Not her. I wasn’t going to stand around and listen to this.
And I sure as hell wasn’t going to stand there and try to defend
myself to him if he wasn’t going to even give me a chance to talk.
I stalked toward the back entrance expecting Dank to get a clue and
follow me but once I opened the back door that we’d entered when we
arrived he still hadn’t come after me.

Hurt, furious, and confused I
stared out into the night. I didn’t have a car. Dank wasn’t coming
after me. And he’d just completely blown me off and left me to hang
in there. Tears blurred my eyes and I started to wipe them away and
decided to leave them alone. No one was here to see me
cry.

“I’ll take you home,” Leif’s voice
startled me. Spinning around I found him leaning up against his
truck watching me.

Not wanting him to see me cry, I
wiped at the tears running down my face. I couldn’t get in a truck
with Leif. He was an evil spirit after my soul. The concerned frown
on his face reminded me of the boy who’d come to the hospital to
see me after my wreck. He’d been so worried he’d slept outside in
the waiting room all night. My entire life Leif had been there when
I needed someone. Nothing about him was ever scary. Never once did
he let me down. I glanced back at the closed door wishing Dank
would walk through it but nothing happened. Anger burned my throat
and my heart ached.

“Sure, thanks Leif. I could use a
ride.”

Dank

Letting Pagan walk off hurt and
upset had almost been impossible. But the more distance she put
between herself and the soulless creature in front of me the
better. The anger and pain rolling off of her had been so
distracting. I needed to figure out what this thing was. I couldn’t
do that with Pagan distressed behind me. I’d wanted to wrap her up
in my arms and reassure her but I couldn’t give this thing a chance
to get away.

“Who are you?” I growled, glaring
down at the blonde.

She smirked and straightened up
from her cowering stance once Pagan rounded the corner.

“No one you know Dankmar,” she
replied and ran a long red fingernail up my shirt, “but we could
change that.”

I slapped her hand away with enough
force that she gasped in pain. Good. I wanted her to hurt. She’d
been too close to Pagan. And my foolishly brave girl had been
glaring her down like she could take on a demon from Hell with her
bare hands.

“You’re beneath me,” I reminded her
in a cold flat voice. “Now tell me why you were near my Pagan.” I
demanded.

She shrugged and crossed her arms
over her chest, “I did what I was told to do. It’s my job, Dankmar.
You understand about doing your job, don’t you?”

“Don’t play games with me. I want
answers now. I need to get to Pagan. I don’t have time for
this.”

She giggled and icy fear gripped
me.

“Too late,” she said in a sing-song
voice before she vanished.

Not wanting to believe the truth
hammering in my head, I broke into a run down the hallway Pagan had
run to only a few minutes ago. There was no sign of her. I threw
open the back door and the parking lot was full of empty cars.
Nothing. Closing my eyes I searched for her soul. And for the first
time since I met her I was unable to hear it.

“NOOOOOOO!”

Chapter Eight

Pagan

My eyes were so heavy. I couldn’t
remember why. I fought to open them but nothing. Where was I? What
had I done? Where was Dank? Why wouldn’t my eyes open?

“Shhhh, it’s okay Pagan. Don’t get
all worked up. I’ve got you.”

Leif’s voice. Why was Leif
here?

“Leif?”

Abnormally warm fingers brushed
hair from my face and I shivered as goosebumps covered my body.
They weren’t from pleasure.

“Yes, I’m here,” he murmured and
continued playing with my hair.

“Where am I? Why can’t I open my
eyes?” the panic in my voice was evident.

“You’re with me for now. Where you
belong. Where you’ve always belonged. You’ve been mine since the
moment I chose you when we were both just children. And as for your
eyes they’ll open soon enough. Your human body had difficulty
dealing with the travel and for that I’m sorry.”

Nothing he said made any
sense.

“I don’t understand.”

“Just rest. You’ll feel better
soon.”

I used every ounce of strength in
my body fighting endlessly to open my eyes. But nothing happened.
Everything remained dark. Until, exhausted, I slipped away into the
darkness.

Blinking slowly, I stared up at
what appeared to be black chiffon. Studying it in confusion I
realized it was draped over the bed I was laying in. Turning my
head to take in my surroundings I noticed the room was illuminated
by a faint orange glow. I pushed up on my elbows and wondered if
this was real or if I was dreaming. Candles covered the room and
flickered causing light to dance across the ceiling. The walls were
made of stone yet the room was elaborately decorated with silver
candelabras and a crystal chandelier. I had to be dreaming. Shaking
my head to clear it, I swung my feet over the side of the bed
noticing for the first time the black silk sheets I’d been sleeping
on. Like the other parts of the room the massive iron bed frame
looked out of place in a room with stone walls. Where was I
supposed to be and how had I conjured this place up?

I sat there studying the small
flames in front of me and focused on what I could remember: I’d
been at Dank’s concert, There had been a girl... a mean girl. A
girl Dank had taken up for. Oh, I’d run and Leif had found
me.

Gasping, I jumped up and spun
around looking for a door. This wasn’t a dream. I needed to get out
of here. Something wasn’t right. Leif had taken me away. Drugged
me. Why did I have to be such a drama queen and run away? Before I
could work myself into a complete tizzy, the stone wall to the left
of the bed began to move and a hidden door swung open.

Leif walked into the room dressed
in his usual jeans and polo shirt. He looked so normal. He looked
like a high school quarterback. His blond hair was perfectly messy
as if it had been styled to look untouched. The blue eyes I’d once
trusted sparkled as they met mine. It was so hard to believe he was
evil.

“You’re awake,” he appeared pleased
by this as he closed the door behind him.

“Where are we?”

Leif held out his hands and
grinned, “My place. You like it?”

I didn’t break eye contact with
him. This wasn’t the answer I was looking for and he knew
it.

“Why am I here Leif?”

He smirked and lifted one eyebrow.
This wasn’t an expression I was familiar with. Leif never appeared
cocky.

“Because you belong to
me.”

Forcing the panic that was trying
so hard to break through further down while I held my calm
expression I took another step toward him.

“I don’t belong to you, Leif. I’m
not a possession. I’m a person. Please take me back
home.”

Leif
let out a hard laugh that held no humor, “So that
Dankmar
can have what I created? I don’t think so Pagan,” he
stopped and ran his hand through the messy locks of hair. It was a
move I’d seen him do hundreds of times. Somehow seeing that small
touch of humanity eased the fear gripping me.

“You see, he was bound to love you.
You’re different. He saw that. But what he failed to explain is
that you’re different because I made you different. Not him. Not
fate. Me. Everything about you has been molded into my creation.
You were chosen for me.” He held out his hand, “it’s okay, trust
me. My touch would never harm you.”

Shaking my head I retreated until
the iron footboard of the bed touched my back.

“Have I ever hurt you, Pagan?
Listen to your soul. It knows where it belongs. The fire flashing
in your eyes right now is your soul reaching for me.” He stopped in
front of me and smiled down at me like he had a wonderful secret to
share. He held out his hand to me, “give me your hand.”

My eyes. He was the reason my eyes
were glowing a freaky orange color and he wanted me to give him my
hand? I don’t think so. This was a problem.

“Please Leif, take me home. I just
want to go home,” I pleaded.

Frowning, Leif dropped his
outstretched hand. “What must I do to make you trust me? You trust
Death without question. Death, Pagan. He is Death. How can you
trust a creation meant to take souls from earth and not trust me?
I’ve never let you get hurt. I’ve never left you alone. But he
shows up and you fall mindlessly under his spell. What did he do to
deserve you? He didn’t save your life. He would’ve taken your soul
when you were a kid. Left your mother grieving the loss of her
child and not thought of it again. It’s what he does.”