7. Chapter Seven
7
CHAPTER SEVEN
ELODIE
G asping as I sucked in lungfuls of air that didn’t burn and choke me, I was aware of the crash in the near distance that had pulled me from the nightmare. Sweat cooled on my skin and my soft blankets were tangled around my legs. I blinked into the darkness, the familiar smell of my sheets making me certain I was in my own bed, in my own room.
I wasn’t dreaming anymore.
From the gloom enveloping me and hushed silence of the night, I was one hundred percent sure there were no fires here ready to burn me alive. Taking deep, steadying breaths, I worked to calm my mind and body. The need to revisit these old grounding techniques was frustrating—it had been years since my body had reacted like this.
My skin still felt raw, as if the flames had left my dream and truly found me, but the dull throb in my chest was the only physical reminder of my nightmare. Now I was awake I could see it for what it was—a nightmare. A fucking awful one, but that’s all it had been.
The pull in my chest persisted as I stretched my hand out, searching for the warm comfort of Titan but finding nothing but my empty bed. My fingers stilled as I realised he wasn’t there. He never left my bed at night.
Goosebumps prickled my skin as I sat up, eyes searching, straining in the dark while I fought the urge to pull the covers over me. Despite knowing my nerves were still fragile, I waited, willing my eyes to adjust faster.
A soft scuff came from the corner by the window, and I shot backwards into the headboard, groping blindly for the lamp on the bedside table. The clatter of my bracelets was loud in the gloom as I found the switch, the soft glow illuminating two large figures dressed head to toe in black, frozen in place.
“Fuck,” a deep male voice whispered.
“Yep. Fuck,” repeated a second.
The lamp light didn’t reach far, their dark clothing made it hard to see more than their hulking figures. Black masks covered their faces, with only their eyes and lips peeking from the fabric. While one was slightly leaner than the other, they were both well over six foot.
This had to be another dream. There should be no way in hell that anyone could get into my house. Especially two huge men dressed in black who looked like they definitely did not have the best intentions.
Were those weapons strapped to them?
I was into role-play as much as the next girl, but not when they were literally breaking into my house in the middle of the night with gods-damned swords on their fucking backs.
You’ve got to have some limits.
And consent.
Everything stopped. Time froze, I froze, they froze. All parties suspended in place in those precious first seconds. Were they here to rob me? What did they think I had of value?
The familiar flutter of panic started up once again and I had no clue what to do until a simmering anger overpowered it.
My heart tugged, beating painfully hard, but I held in the wince of pain.
“Who the fuck are you two?” The words were out my mouth before I could think better of it, the shock of finding them flooding my system with adrenaline that was filling me with a very false sense of confidence.
How are they in here? Have I messed up my wards somehow?
I wasn’t surprised when neither of them offered up a name.
Frantic to think up a way out of this, I knew my phone was in my bag in the hall. I couldn’t call for help and I was certain I couldn’t outrun them.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
Their masked faces were focused unnervingly on me, though they hadn’t moved a muscle. Body heavy with exhaustion, I was acutely aware I had no chance of fighting them off. That didn’t mean I wouldn’t try.
“There’s a pretty big TV out there, so if you want to head on that way and leave my room completely that would be great.” My voice was surprisingly even as I kept my eyes on them, hand slowly creeping down the side of my unit.
I’m sure I kept a bat here at some point in time.
The larger of the two males straightened sharply to an even greater height, his broad shoulders snapping back, a light grating sound following the movement.
Yeah, he definitely has a sword on his back.
A small smile curled at the corner of what I could see of the slighter man’s mouth, eyes glinting with mischief I needed no part in as my heart lurched again. I resisted the urge to cover myself with the blankets, aware of how little clothing I had slept in but needing both my hands free.
At least I hadn’t gone to sleep naked, though that isn’t going to matter once they’ve murdered me on my own bed.
“We are not here to steal a TV,” Big Man spat out like I was the wrongun’ for suggesting it and he hadn’t just broken into a sleeping girl’s room dressed like a fucking mercenary.
“Right…” I countered, trying not to consider what else they could be here for as I subtly brushed my hand around, hoping to feel the comforting wooden handle against my palm. “So, what kind of burglars are you, then?”
I had a shit tonne of gold and jewels stashed in the house, but I was counting on them not knowing about that. I still hadn’t quite recovered from the trauma of my nightmare as I attempted to come up with a plan.
Where was that fucking bat?
“It wasn’t supposed to be like this!” the big angry one hissed at his friend, hands balling into meaty fists.
“Well aware. Don’t worry, we’ll just go with plan B,” the friend replied, patting his shoulder and making him wince slightly.
“There is no fucking plan B!” he growled, his mate rolling his eyes at him.
“What are you doing?” It was Big Man again, voice demanding in a way that told me he was used to getting his way.
No manners, this one.
Tug.
“Me? Nothing.” I stilled the hand that had been feeling around blindly for a weapon to use on these weirdos as both their gazes focused on me. I’m sure I kept one right here, though with a ridiculously strong ward covering every inch of the property and a six foot monster dog as a guard, I didn’t really need to. The realisation hit me like a punch to the gut; I got rid of the bat once Titan came along.
That puppy is better than any bat.
Titan. My stomach clenched, a slight ringing in my ears—he wasn’t here. I looked closer at them, at how the angry one was holding his arm slightly awkwardly. Hadn’t he winced when his mate touched it a second ago?
“Where’s my dog?” I growled at them jumping off the bed, ignoring I was half naked and pretending not to notice the way their eyes raked over me. With little more than a scrap of lace covering my boobs they were getting a free eyeful, but all I could think about was Titan. There was a pounding in my skull, but I forced my focus on the men in front of me.
I couldn’t fight them, but maybe I could scare them off. Pulling magic into my fingertips, knowing all I had was a party trick, I let what I could build under my skin.
“He’s fine. He’s just not here,” the second man said, taking a step towards me, an entire selection of sharp looking daggers attached to a belt that was slung around his chest.
Nice.
“What the fuck does that mean and what the fuck are you doing in my house?” All intentions of playing nice were gone, they were the reason Titan wasn’t in my room. If he had been, I maybe wouldn’t have become so trapped in my dream.
Tug—an invisible string caught in my chest, its pull attempting to draw me closer to these two lunatics.
No thank you heart, no thank you.
“That’s kind of hard to explain right now if I’m being honest with you.” Closer now, I could see his eyes were a deep grey, swirling like a storm. Taking another step, he stopped abruptly, hand reaching up to touch his chest.
They had made no move to hurt me, but if they weren’t here to take anything then why break in?
“Well, that’s great but I would suggest you both leave. Like, now,” I demanded, standing up to my full height, which compared to them, was pathetic. Pulling on my magik, I willed a few sparks to flit over my fingers in what I hoped was an intimidating display. Glaring at them hard for good measure, a soft sinister laugh sliced through any ounce of badassery I thought I possessed.
Whipping my head to his hulking form, he raised his hand, fingertips to forearm flickering with tongues of orange flame that more than outdid my measly sparkles. Instinctively I took a step back, my legs banging into the bedside table as the world narrowed to those flames.
The memory of my skin on fire flashed through me and my magik dissipated. I could feel the strange touch of his own pulsing from where I stood, pressing against me as I could do nothing but stare. It was more power than I had ever felt, pushing at me, daring me to respond. But I couldn’t, and his eyes—which burned as though made of fire themselves—sparkled with glee.
That’s me fucked then, so much for trying to be scary.
“Now’s not the time for that, Bas. We need to get on with this,” Stormy scolded, his eyes turning serious and shoving Big Man’s hand down. His magik ceased and I sucked in a breath, confusion clogging my mind as I tried to process what was happening. I’d never known anyone apart from Nanna and Briar who had magic.
Was this really happening?
Another sharp tug lurched me forward and both men started towards me in response, hands outstretched as if to steady me, but I straightened myself before that was necessary. I was closer to the door than they were, but I highly doubted I would get far if I ran for it now. I needed another way to remove myself from this situation.
The soft click of Titan’s paws outside the door flooded me with relief, knowing he was both ok and had the ability to eat these two intruders should the need arise was almost euphoric.
The feeling was short-lived as a nauseating wave of dread that felt sickeningly familiar wiped away everything else I could feel. My skin turned clammy once more, and my lungs struggled for breath for what felt like the hundredth time. The sheer horror that crept over both men’s faces amplified my own—they felt it too.
It had only been a dream. Just a dream.
Maybe this is a dream.
I didn’t care if they had come to rob me, it wasn’t safe here anymore and we needed to leave—all of us, right now.
Something was here, something wrong and tainted and evil. Titan howled from the hall, a crash following as he threw his body into it over and over again. Twisting to run to the door an all-consuming fear swallowed me. Unable to move an inch, I could only watch as out of the shadows, the entity that had haunted my nightmare only minutes ago erupted.
Smaller than before, but no less terrifying, it pulsed and twisted before us, a faint hiss sounding from within as it crossed the room. Smoky tendrils darted out like a snake tasting the air, growing more frenzied the closer it came. Movement pulled my attention, and unlike me, Big Man and Stormy were not frozen in place. Both held large white stones about the size of their fists which were emitting a bright light as they held them aloft, and the smoke edged back from its glare slightly.
Ok, that thing definitely hisses.
I, of course, didn’t have a fancy light rock, so it continued its torturous roil towards me, appearing more agitated as it did. Its smoky form jerking at its edges and growing with every second I stood staring at it. Without conscious thought, I found myself reaching out to the men in front of me at the same time they reached for me, crossing the space between us in seconds.
Screeching in anger as their arms closed solidly around me, it practically doubled in size. A final crash sounded at the door and the wood buckled inwards, shards flying out everywhere as Titan raced into the room. A huge black blur that I was sure seemed bigger than normal. Face pulled into a vicious snarl, he flung himself over my head straight into the solidified smoke that lunged towards me.
I screamed his name in horror, but the men tightened their grip on me, and I clung to them as I felt our bodies lift off the floor, the sensation that I had somehow been compressed to fit through a straw overwhelming my senses. My lungs fought for a breath it couldn’t take, and black spots swam in my vision. I was going to pass out and I didn’t fight it, letting myself fall into the quiet hoping that when I woke, it would all just be another nightmare.