Chapter 8 THE SET UP

CHAPTER EIGHT

I came alive like a lightning bolt. I pushed away from him, falling to the floor with a bone-jarring thud that woke me up better than the cold bucket of water I'd tossed in my face earlier. I was on my feet and backing away from the two deadly creatures who stood shocked that I'd been able to move at all.

I was pretty sure that it was the shock that kept them from attacking. I pulled the anger that had been hiding inside me, along with Adam's, into my mind and pushed it out of my body in a solid wave, clearing the room of the Demon's oily magic until mine was the only magic inside the room.

I allowed the magic to run through me riotously and seductively. My mouth opened and whispered a binding spell. Hate and fear made for hasty decisions. I needed something that could get me and Adam out of this alive. The Dark Prince wouldn't know what hit him.

In the seconds that it took for them to understand what I was doing, the door behind them was thrown open, and Gerald was suddenly there in front of the Dark Prince. I was beyond hearing. Everything inside the room was silent inside my head. I'd evaporated it with the blood from my lips where I had bitten into them for the blood needed for the spell.

I said the words, sealing us together-I and the Dark Prince. If he killed me, he'd follow my fate. Everything was moving in slow motion. The horrified look on the Warlock's face as he stood in front of the Prince, as if to guard him from what was coming, gave me pause.

I could hear my own heartbeat. It was the only sound inside my head. I inhaled, readying the words that would take us out of here before someone suddenly shoved me to the ground. It wasAdam and he was shouting against my ear, but he sounded far away, distorted. He'd been in chains only moments ago-how the hell had he gotten loose, and why had he stopped me? He had taken me to the floor, and before I could understand it was him, sound came back with a deafening roar of violent voices, all cursing. Gerald was screaming at me to cease, Adam was cursing, now as confused as I was, but he'd connected something I hadn't.

Or he better have, since he'd knocked me flat on my ass-and into the pile of ash that had once been Chandra. I watched as Gerald said something to the Fae and then the Demon only for all three to turn as one and look at me. I fought to get my breathing under control. The feel of his searing kiss was still lingering upon my lips.

I turned and narrowed my eyes back at the three men, wondering what the fuck was going on. Gerald was from the Guild-my Guild. He was the leader of the Eastern Section of Washington State. He'd basically been a father figure to the orphans that came to us-.which had included me up until a few years ago when Adam, Larissa, and I had moved out of the Guild complex into apartments of our own in the same building.

Gerald stood with his gentle blue eyes narrowed on me. His thick brown hair was streaked with gray and instead of it making him look older as it should have, it just made him look distinguished. He wore the Guild leader's crimson robe over black slacks. He didn't look a day over thirty-five, but I knew different.

I still didn't trust my voice not to quiver from the effect the Fae had upon me. My insides still quivered with need for him and only him. It burned me; my anger rose by the second, even though I'd sent it away. It was one of the few ways an immortal could be killed outright. Bind his soul to a weak Human and drag him to hell with you.

Souls were tricky that way. You couldn't live without one-you wouldn't want to anyway.

"Clara, listen to me closely," Gerald said sternly, as if talking to a wayward child. "You need to release him this instant. He's the fucking Dark Prince for fuck's sake girl. What the hell is wrong with you?"

I digested his words-what was wrong with me? "Gerald-" I growled, knowing what he was going to say next without needing the words.

He said them anyway. "This was an interview-he wouldn't have hurt you."

I laughed, but it was cold-more pissed than happy. "A fucking interview?"

"They asked for the best, but they wanted to see you in action and to see your skills without you knowing it was an interview."

Bile rose to the back of my throat as I stood, pushing myself off the ground still only garbed in my unmentionables. "A fucking interview! Chandra's fucking dead. I killed her, Gerald! He tried to turn me. He fucking kissed me!"

"No harm was done, Clara."

I blinked at Gerald-hadn't he heard me? "Chandra. Is. Dead," I replied slowly, enunciating every word. Making sure he couldn't miss the anger I was feeling or what I was telling him.

"Yes, she is. Shame, but she was being tested, as well. Clara, she was new to our Guild. You know that better than anyone; the Guild rules must be kept. You were under the Dark Prince's powers, yet you refused to give up the information-she sang like a bird at the first chance she got to save her own skin. You did as you were taught, child-you did well."

I wanted to scream. I wanted to cry. I knew what I had to do, and it was neither of those things. I had to bury my dead. Chandra deserved to be given the Rites. She deserved to go into the Fade; to be reborn.

I turned and erected an invisible wall with what strength I had left, much to the horror of those around me who had no idea what I intended to do with the life of the Dark Prince still attached to my own soul.

It wasn't until I turned and smiled sadly at Adam that they knew what I was going to do and started to freak out. Gerald rushed to the invisible barrier, while Ryder and his Demon stood still as if afraid to move. I knew better, I was willing to bet there wasn't much Ryder was afraid of-not even dying.

"You can't send her to the Fade. She turned on us!" Gerald screamed, outraged that I would try to send her, even though she had betrayed us.

Try was the key word. I would take her death unto me. If I could manage to keep my mind from thinking it was happening in reality. I'd done it only once before. Not many had the balls to even attempt it, since the mind was a dangerous thing to play around in.