Revenant (15 page)

Was
that happening to Wendy? Or was it something more? I couldn’t get the image of
her coming at me out of my mind. Her eyes, the expression behind them…that
wasn’t her. Even when the rage and anger overcame me after the second ritual, I
didn’t forget what I’d done—but Wendy had no memory of attacking me just
now.

No
matter what she says, I know something else controlled her when she attacked me
.

Four days had passed
since the possession ceremony. Four
mind-numbing
days cooped up inside the house with Wendy. She was sullen, often lost in her
own
world. She’d always been quiet and
reserved, but now there was something different about her. The change in her
scared me. I found myself watching her out of the corner of my eye, expecting
her to attack me again. I knew somewhere inside her there was something evil,
something dark, a thing that could take control of her body and mind at any
given moment. The only time I let my guard down was when Dean joined us during
the day.

But, forced to do nothing
but sit around the house
, even Dean’s company was little
comfort. It was afternoon, the summer air made the living room hot and muggy,
and my mind and eyes
were focused
on the
door. At any
second,
it could burst
open
and Gage would request my presence.
Will he give me
the spell
to transfer Luke’s spirit to another body? Will he force
me to raise more zombies? Or demand I go on another road trip so I can watch
him murder more innocent people?
The hours ticked by, and I could only sit,
wait, and worry about what Gage had in store for me next. I needed to get out
of here, to take my friends with me—but escape now was too risky. Gage
had me wrapped up tight, and I couldn’t see any way out. My only hope was that
he would eventually make a mistake and give us that one opening, that one
opportunity to get away.

Today, Dean was standing by the back
door. He’d opened it to let in some fresh air. It was a beautiful day out—the
sun was shining, and a gentle breeze blew in the smell of wildflowers. But
there was an odd silence out there. No sounds of birds singing or bugs buzzing
around filled the air.

It’s
the hellhounds.

They were out there somewhere, watching
us, guarding the perimeter. If we ventured out too far from the house, they
would make their presence known. Dean still scoffed a
t
their
existence
, but I
knew
they were out there. I had
firsthand experience with them from the night Caleb dragged me out and burned
me.

But
I can’t tell Dean about that.
I didn’t want him to
know what Caleb had done to me. I hadn’t fought back. If I had used my magic to
stop him, Gage would have gone after Luke. The rational part of me knew that
I’d had no choice, but I still felt ashamed at being so weak and vulnerable.

Caleb hadn’t touched me since, but I
knew he wanted to. Whenever he was close, his eyes were on me—brown eyes that
were calculating and full of hate. I knew deep inside he was waiting for the
one opportunity when he could
really
hurt
me. He wanted me dead for the crimes I committed
against
his family. I knew how hot the flames of revenge could
burn. They almost consumed me once. There were no words of comfort or regret I
could say that would make him forgive me. He wanted revenge. His mother was
dead, and he would not be happy until I was, too.

Suddenly an explosion of musical sound
filled the room. I jumped out of my seat.

Dean had moved from the door to the
piano bench. He gave me a sheepish look. “Sorry.” His hands were on the piano
keys. “I’m bored out of my mind. It feels like we’re sitting here waiting to
be escorted
to the gallows. We should be doing
something. We should be trying to escape.”

I looked out the window. “We have no
way of getting past the guards or hellhounds. Not yet.”

Dean stormed over to my side. “And that
won’t change unless we come up with a plan of action.”

“I think if we have
more time—”

He cut me off. “I’m tired of sitting
around and waiting to see what that demented guy is going to try next.” Dean
lowered his voice and looked over at Wendy. She was standing over in the corner
of the room, mumbling. She’d been doing that a lot lately—standing alone
and whispering to herself.

Dean turned back to me. “They forced
Wendy to be possessed by a demon.
This is
crazy
. We need to do something.”

“If we’re too rash—”

He cut me off again. “We shouldn’t be
sitting around like a bunch of scared rabbits waiting to see if—no,
when
Gage throws us into the stew pot.
Colina, we need to do something
now
.
While we’re together. While we’re strong and able. While there’s still a chance
to help my family and all the other death dealer guilds.” He looked over at
Wendy again. She was staring off into the distance and seemed unaware of our
conversation. “What they did to Wendy…
it's
changing her.”

He’s
right. Anyone can see it.
Every day she was becoming more and
more agitated. The day after the possession ceremony, she had taken to
muttering to herself when she thought we weren’t listening. Her eyes held a
haunted look and there were deep purple circles under them. Wendy had always
been a bit of a tortured soul in the past, but gone was the timid girl I’d met
in the asylum. In her place was someone filled with
anger.
She’s controlling it…but just barely
.
I saw glimpses of it blazing out of her eyes. I knew she was trying to stop
whatever was happening, but she was having little success.

She’d attacked me outright
once already
and I knew, as a powerful mind
reader, she was capable of worse magical attacks. It honestly frightened
me
. She kept telling us that Gage
banished the creature at the end of the ceremony, but I still doubted it.

“Wendy is all right.” Even as I said
it, I knew I didn’t believe it.
I
could
tell she wasn’t okay. Every day she seemed a bit worse.

“I appreciate that you’re trying to
look on the bright side, but you would have to be blind not to see that she’s
morphing into something—”

“She is not morphing into something.
It’s your imagination.” I wasn’t sure why I was arguing when I was in full
agreement with Dean, but for some reason I started to get angry. “She didn’t
have a choice. Gage forced that thing into her. It’s understandable that she’s
having problems with it. You know what the rituals did to us—h
ow they changed us.”

“I only went through the first one
successfully, but yes, I stood before the abyss. I heard the…things in the
darkness calling out to me.” He pointed at Wendy. “But those unnatural things
have been
inside
her. They took her
over, spoke out of her mouth, moved her limbs… What if they’re still somehow
controlling her?”

I wanted to tell him he was crazy to
think so. I didn’t want to believe it or face the fact that I was responsible. It
was because of me that Wendy was here and held hostage. She wouldn’t have been
on Gage’s radar if he hadn’t come after me to begin with. Dean was saying what
I’d already been thinking, and every minute I spent with Wendy, I was more and
more convinced it was true.

Wendy’s voice startled us from behind. “You
think the demon is still inside me.” She stood facing us, her eyes wide with a
wild look in them.

Dean ran his hand through his hair. “Well,
I…I don’t know what I’m saying. Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it. I’m stir-crazy.
Whatever Gage has planned next, I just wish he would get on with it. This
waiting is driving me nuts.”

“Consider me your fairy godmother, come
to grant you your wish.” Caleb stood in the doorway, a smirk planted on his
face.

Scowling, Dean started forward.

Caleb raised a hand and gave Dean a
cold smile. “No hard feelings about the other night. I landed a few
punches,
you landed a few…
Anyway
, we’ve got hours until nightfall, so I’m
not here for you.” He looked over at me. “I’m here for Colina.”

I sucked in a breath.

“That’s right,
princess,
the big man requested your company.” Caleb motioned with
his hand for me to join him.

I didn’t move.
It’s been
four days. What does he
want now?

He gave me a slow grin. “I’m more than
happy to come over there and force you to come along with me.”

After a moment’s hesitation, I sighed
and started forward.

Dean reached out and grabbed my arm,
effectively stopping me. “Where are you taking her?” he questioned.

“When the big man wants her, I
come get
her. No questions asked.”

Dean’s hand squeezed my arm. He looked
down at me, pleading with his eyes. “Don’t go.”

“You know I haven’t
really
got a choice,” I whispered.

He pulled me closer. Concern filled his
face. “Yes, you do.”

I reached out and squeezed the hand
holding my arm. “It will be all right.” Dean reluctantly let me go and I looked
over at Wendy. “I’ll be back soon.”

Wendy just nodded and looked away.

I walked over to Caleb. He reached out,
but I shied away. Caleb chuckled and started out the door. With a last look
back, I followed him.

We made our way down to the
basement
and through the tunnels. When we
finally stopped, we were in the big cavern—the one where Gage held his
party—but the chairs and tables
were gone
.
In their place were a couple of large black-and-gray-striped rugs,
a few chandeliers filled with black
burning candles
, a half-dozen black
armchairs,
and a few black side tables.

Gage sat in one of the chairs. He rose
when he saw me, and his face lit into a smile. “I hope you’ve been able to keep
yourself entertained. I’m sorry I haven’t come to see you sooner, but I had
some pressing matters to attend to.”

The last time I’d seen Gage, blood
covered his hands. “Busy killing more people?” I asked through clenched teeth.

Gage’s smile widened. “Not yet. But
soon enough, once we get all the kinks worked out of the mummification process.
I’m so glad you could join me.” He pointed to a bottle of wine and a crystal
glass sitting on a nearby table. “Would you like something to drink? Are you
hungry? I can have them bring you something to eat.”

“No, thank you.” My
own
polite response surprised me. I had
answered automatically in response to Gage’s tone—the tone of a party
host. He always acted as though I was a welcome houseguest and not his
prisoner. I think he honestly believed I was helping him of my
own
free will. The man
was truly deranged
.

Gage watched me for a few moments in
thoughtful silence before saying, “I think it’s time to continue your training.”

“My what?” I had no clue what he was
talking about
.

“Your death dealer training,” he
answered.

I stared at him in disbelief.
He wants to talk about death dealer training?

“I know, I know, I’ve restricted your
use of magic. However, as we speak, Jacob is taking off Dean’s collar.” Gage’s
eyes narrowed. “Now, be very careful, my dear. The collar is off, but my
watchdog is still by his side, willing and able to do what must be done if you
decide to do something foolish.”

Caleb moved to Gage’s side, and his
fingers reached down and covered a dagger he wore in a sheath on his belt.

Gage followed my gaze and said in a
reassuring voice, “No harm will come to your boys as long as you do as
you’re told
.” Gage reached down and poured wine
into the glass, then lifted it and swirled the red contents
around
. “I was thinking—since we’re going
to be working together, it only makes sense that we strive to get you to your
absolute best.” Gage brought the glass to his lips and took a sip, then lowered
it, cradling it in both hands. “It’s my understanding that you never had a
chance to finish your training as a death dealer.” He gave me a look that made
it clear he expected me to answer.

“I didn’t,” I finally admitted.

He nodded his head. “That’s why I
thought this would be the perfect time to learn some of the spells. The first
one I think we should tackle is the deflection of objects—bulletproofing,
if you will.”

I rocked back on my heels in surprise.
Gage wants to teach me how to be bulletproof?
It was a spell that every death dealer learned. Mere bullets and other weapons couldn’t
take down dark mages, but I knew
enchanted steel
could kill them
. I looked over at Caleb and my eyes came to rest on his
dagger. I’d seen that dagger up close—glowing symbols marked the metal of
the blade.

Gage put the glass down. He reached out
and patted Caleb on the shoulder. “Caleb has offered to help in your training.”

I almost laughed out loud
.
Was he serious? Caleb, the guy who
wanted to kill me, was going to help me learn defensive magic? Gage must not
know Caleb hated me. I wanted to protest, but knew that if I spoke up about his
maltreatment, Caleb would kill Luke. I pressed my lips together and gave Caleb
a hard stare.