Torn (24 page)

Sebastian walked slowly behind me and whispered in my ear. “What are you fighting for anyway, Samantha?
Redemption?
Forgiveness?
His
favor?
He won’t give it, you know. As far as He is concerned, you’re all as Fallen as I am. I just choose to embrace the freedom afforded me by His distaste.”

Jesse’s voice grew louder. “You won’t win, Sebastian. It’s a losing battle. Let her go.”

“I think not.” As he completed his walk around, Sebastian turned back to face me. He cocked his head slightly to the side and asked, “You will not give me what I ask for?”

“No.”

“Very well.”

With a small gesture, he commanded another Exiled to step forward all the while keeping his eyes fixed on mine. “Kill him.” The smirk on his face dared me to save Jesse. I heard the two fighting behind me but I refused to break eye contact to watch. Swords clashed, words taunted, and torrential rain fell from the sky.

Sebastian continued to watch my eyes. He seemed to be waiting for me to break and no doubt, he was betting on it. I was standing toe to toe with Evil Incarnate. I didn’t want to give in, but I couldn’t sit there and listen to Jesse die. I could tell he was getting tired and it was only a matter of time before he met his fate. I looked to Ethan and saw he was unconscious, held up like a rag doll by his abomination of a brother.

“Wait!
Stop!”

Sebastian, eyes still focused on mine, smiled wickedly. He held up a hand and the fighting ceased. “Yes?”

“I’ll do what you want. Just let everyone else go.”

He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, toying with me. “Let them go. Let them go? And you’ll give me the pendant?”

“I will. Just take me from here and I will give it to you. I want to leave here so I know you won’t hurt them. Leave them be and I will go with you and give you what you want.”

Our faces were inches apart and he was searching me for deception as I searched him for the same. Satisfied he could find none, he snapped his fingers and all the Exiled took to the skies and the swords fell from the hands of the Faithful. Christian, Mara, Branna, Cal, Noah and Jesse focused on me and I felt myself heat up with light.

Lucas lifted off the ground with Ethan in tow.

“Wait! I said leave them be! That means Ethan, too. He stays.”

“Don’t you know the rules of negotiation? He is leverage, my dear. How am I to be sure you will do as I say?” Sebastian’s laugh was filled with amusement.

Contempt tried to force its way out of me but I remained silent as I began to float off the ground.

“Oh. One more thing,” Sebastian whispered in my ear. “If you try to betray me, this is what will happen to Ethan and everyone you have ever met.”

He forced my face downward where I could see Jesse standing, looking up at us. Suddenly, two winged creatures appeared out of nowhere and ambushed Jesse. Within moments his wings were shredded and a sword pierced his heart. It was so fast no one, Jesse or the other Faithful, had time to react. I didn’t even have time to flinch before I was whisked away. Despair, once again, filled me.

CHAPTER 21

I was alone, chained to the floor. I didn’t know where I
was,
only that it was dark and damp and furtive whispers echoed from everywhere. A desperate and futile hope plagued me. Hope that my father would reach out from the dead to help me. I felt guilty for allowing Sebastian to take me but what other choice did I have? I couldn’t let him kill the others.

An image of Jesse fired in my mind. Anger surged through me and the walls of my prison shook and crumbled. “Sebastian! Sebastian! Show yourself!” I screamed his name over and over to no avail. He didn’t come. My voice, hoarse from yelling, burned with hatred. I looked around for something, anything I could use to break free. The room was empty. There were no windows, no furniture, and I was the only occupant.

I thought of Lucas, how his betrayal had filled my heart with vengeance.

I thought of my father, how his passing had left me broken hearted and ill prepared for this fight.

I thought of Ethan, how his heart had been my one and only tether to the Faithful. I needed to get to him, to save him. But I didn’t know how. The tables had been turned, it seemed and I now needed to save the one that guarded me.

I thought of Jesse and Scott, a father and son, who gave their lives for what they believed in.

I thought of the others, the remaining Faithful and hoped I could do what was needed to make up for this.
This colossal mess that centered on me.

I thought of humanity and prayed that there was hope enough left in the world to ease them out of all this evil when everything was said and done.

I closed my eyes and tried to control the hatred inside me. I needed to funnel it in the direction it needed to go. But I couldn’t stop it from consuming me, overwhelming me. In addition to everything I’d learned
,
darkness was the real gift I’d been left with. I needed to own it in order to use it to defeat Sebastian. Light hadn’t worked so it was time I used darkness and beat him at his own game. But it was too strong, too undisciplined and it fought to break free. I knew if I allowed it to escape, my father’s warning would come true.

All would be lost.

I had no idea how long I’d been chained there. Days turned into nights. Nights turned into days and still I was left there, confined to that space, manacled to the floor. I’d had no company other than the mangled thoughts that screamed through my head. I’d had plenty of time to think.
To
really
think, and the darkness was about to swallow me whole.

Apple cores littered the floor; the one thing Sebastian had allowed me. After about the fifth Macintosh I realized the irony of the fruit. It was the apple, after all that signaled the end of ignorance and opened the eyes of man to despair and temptation. A plan set in motion by Sebastian and carried out by Lucifer, the original fallen angel.

Sebastian liked to play his little games.

With nothing to do, no one to talk to, my mind again returned to Ethan. I didn’t know where he was and the hope that I would find him was fading quickly. I was sure they had killed him. So much time had passed that I didn’t think he was alive for me to save.

My hands reached to my throat. I still had the necklace. It was still hanging around my neck, waiting to be snatched and destroyed. Why it hadn’t been done already, was beyond me.

After what seemed like an eternity, I heard muffled footsteps that grew louder with each step. The door creaked open and a sliver of light peaked through the opening, momentarily blinding me. The door clicked closed. When the halos left my sight, I was face to face with Lucas.

The temporary calm that had settled over me since I’d been there evaporated and everything hateful inside me rose to the surface. I screamed and kicked at my shackles. My teeth chipped away as I tried to bite my way through the chains and still he sat there, calm and amused.

“You might want to calm down, Samantha.”

“Screw you,” I spat back.

“Actually, it looks like you’re the one who’s screwed.”

“You son of a bitch!
How could you? You were my best friend! For seventeen years we’ve been joined at the hip. You lived in my house! My father took you in when your dad died and this is how you repay him? By teaming up with the one who killed him? You’re a backstabber!
A liar!”

He spewed venom. “Best friends, huh? Is that what you think?
Maybe once upon a time.
But when we got older, when my father died, while you were following me around like a damned puppy dog, waiting for me to throw any scrap of romantic interest your way, I was doing as I was told. I began looking for the box, looking for the pendant. I couldn’t very well do that if we were enemies, now could I?” His words stung worse than I could’ve ever imagined.

A monster roared inside me, clawing away what was left of my soul, trying to get out. I fought and pulled against the chains, my wrists shredding into a bloody mess.

“What feelings are you talking about? What romantic interest? You were my friend. There was no romantic anything. Sebastian is playing with you.”

“Liar!”

“What is wrong with you? This isn’t the Lucas I know. This isn’t the Lucas I grew up with. Open your eyes, Lucas! Don’t you see? Sebastian is controlling you. He must be because
my
Lucas would never do this.
My
Lucas was kind and compassionate.
My
Lucas would never allow this to continue! Why? Why the charade? Why all the deception? Have you been lying all this time?”

“You are so stupid.
Your
Lucas? I was never
your
Lucas. None of it was real, Samantha. Get that through your thick skull! It. Wasn’t.
Real.
If I wanted to act on the feelings you had, I could have.
Easily.
Unfortunately, the mere thought of it makes me ill. You make me ill, but I had to get close to you in order to get close to your father. When my father died, I knew my calling was to follow Sebastian. Do you think James would divulge anything to just anyone? No. I had to gain his trust. Unfortunately, he wouldn’t tell me what I needed to know.” Lucas kicked an apple core at me and whispered, “He did, however, tell me where he would be the night he was killed. And I may have just happened to let that slip to Sebastian.”

I hated him. I hated him with every fiber of my being. I hated him with purpose. With every utterance that poured out of his mouth, with every roll of his eyes, with every egotistical smirk that I once thought endearing, I hated him more. I wanted him to feel the pain I felt. I wanted him to meet the fate he sealed for my father.

He stood and started walking to the door. Pausing, he turned and looked me square in the eye. “You know, Sam, had you any ounce of conviction or purpose, you wouldn’t be here right now. You had all the power and means to destroy Sebastian but with all your wishy-washy indecision, you missed the perfect opportunity. But you’re stupid. And now he’s going to kill you.”

“What about Ethan?” I yelled. “He’s your brother! Think of him! Have you allowed Sebastian to dispose of him too? How could you just so callously throw us all away? We were family!”

He stiffened with his hand on the doorknob and I thought he was going to turn back and attack. Black tears streamed down my face and pooled on the concrete floor. Everything around me swayed and hummed.

When he spoke, his voice was cold and distant. “I don’t have a brother, Sam. I never did.”

CHAPTER 22

A scaly hand yanked me by my hair and shook me awake. Two creatures unlocked the chains, peeling off the shackles and reopening the wounds underneath. Roughly, they pulled me to my feet and shuffled me out the door. Physically, I was weak. Mentally, I’d never been sharper, despite being isolated in a dark room. It was like the darkness had been fine-tuning my awareness, preparing me for whatever came next.

With swords at my back, I was told to walk. The hallway was dimly lit, but my eyes still had trouble adjusting to the dismal light. Hands clasped tightly in front of me, I walked slowly. My mind raced, waiting for any opportunity to strike out at my guards. Behind me, I could hear their excited whispers of glee. They thought Sebastian had won. They thought he was going to rule the world.

They thought wrong. This wasn’t over yet.

“Where are you taking me?” I asked, feigning desperation.

“Shut up!” One of them knocked me to the ground and my face bounced off the concrete floor. Something wet dripped onto my lips and it tasted metallic. I wiped my arm across my face. Blood was flowing from my nose. Something inside me smiled wickedly. The pain was just the jolt I needed, and my resolve and my physical strength came roaring back.

The other one kicked me. “Get up!
Move!”

Head down, I answered meekly. “I can’t. I need help.”

Each of my captors grabbed one of my arms and pulled me to my feet. I stumbled and they cursed at me as they forced me upright. A wry smile played at my mouth; time to put all that training to work. I picked my head up, squared my shoulders and held my hands together in front of me. Then I swung my arms around and caught the first Exiled off guard. He dropped his sword and I willed it to fly into my hand. I slashed the other one across the chest with a force that threw him backward. Spinning around, I pulled the first to his feet and immediately hacked off his wings. My left hand outstretched, I held the other one at bay and aimed the sword at the first Exiled’s chest. He looked at me with hatred and defiance. In his eyes I saw nothing but the dark reflection of myself. I pushed the sword into him unflinchingly. I turned to the second Exiled and, with a flick of my
palm,
he crashed into the wall and slumped to the ground.

I slowly stepped over to him and lifted him up by his chin. “Where is Ethan?”

He laughed and I deftly sliced off one of his wings. He screamed like a wounded animal.