Chapter 42
FORTY-TWO
Della
A castle rose up in front of us, the dark granite walls carved with gargoyles and symbols I didn’t recognize. A long staircase flowed down from a double pair of doors, the base widening at the bottom. Jude led me up the length, walking directly behind me. At times, it felt we made no progress, getting no closer to the end, until suddenly, we’d arrived. A wave of dizziness hit me, and I was overcome with a sense of disbelief. There was no way this place was real.
Somehow, I’d accepted that my sweet boyfriend was truly a mythological creature; I’d compartmentalized it and shoved it into a box. It was my secret indulgence, loving his intensity and the illicit appeal of dangerous, bloody sex with a monster. It was a kink, but it was my kink. Had I been thinking he was faking it?
Money could buy anything, including retractable teeth, right?
My mind scrambled, trying to make sense of everything I’d experienced the past several months, the things I’d seen. I’d accepted it as real, hadn’t I? My head began pounding as an ache formed. No, it was real. All of it. Josiah had explained it all to me and why would anybody lie about such a thing?
But this, the whole being whisked-off to wherever I was, this couldn’t be real.
It was intense, the hyper-reality of the scenery. I felt like I’d stepped into a digital painting or lived the moment the old Wizard of Oz movie had memorialized when all of a sudden color had been infused in the film.
Beads of sweat were forming by my hairline and as I frantically looked around it was obvious no help was coming. Even the air felt different, somehow. Trying to calm myself, I stared at my feet. Whatever this place was, it was messing with my head, and I needed to get it together if I was ever going to go back home.
I closed my eyes and then lifted my head, opening them again. The scene remained the same. Jude moved in front of me. “Follow me,” he said.
The castle, or palace, was monstrously huge and threatening in appearance, all jagged points and turrets. Tilting my head back, I still couldn’t see the top.
The doors were opened by a set of guards. The tops of the stone slabs were so incredibly high I had to crane my neck. Sixty feet? Taller? I’d never seen an entry like this before in real life.
My escort stepped inside the building with me right behind him, ogling everything with wonder. The space was an eclectic mixture of modern and medieval design with futuristic technology and what looked like Viking or Middle-Earth weaponry everywhere. I was both scared and fascinated, trying to take everything in.
“Where’s Josiah? Shouldn’t he have been waiting for us?” There was no sign of him anywhere and an odd prickly feeling started crawling over my skin when Jude didn’t answer me.
“He’s not waiting for me, is he?”
Jude glanced at me. “I never said he was.”
“You said he needed my help,” I corrected the man, trailing after him. We stopped at a desk where I was instructed to place my hand on the counter.
Jude followed the motion after me, getting a nod from the man assisting us. Someone else came around to the front and waved a hand over the both of us and then retreated. “He does; that hasn’t changed.”
“Has something else changed?” My voice rose as a sick feeling settled in my belly. Jude reached for my wrist, and I snapped my arm away. “Don’t touch me. Tell me what’s going on.”
He snagged my wrist with a lightning-quick motion, and I yelped. My struggle was fruitless, he had me in his iron grip. “You’re a job and I was sent to acquire you. You’ll see Josiah.”
“You lied to me.”
“You heard what you wanted to hear,” he said simply.
He led me through the hall and down a corridor. The interior was busy, men and women strolling back and forth, some appearing busy, and others chattering away in small groups or admiring artwork and other curiosities. The place had the feeling of both a train station and a museum and seemed like a communal hub of some type.
“Where are you bringing me? What are you going to do to me?” I struggled to keep up with his long strides and his fluttering cloak threatened to trip me.
Jude stopped in front of another set of doors, these guarded by soldiers holding massive poles with sword-like ends, the weapons crossed to form an X over the entrance. “I’m not doing anything to you unless ordered to. You are meeting with the Collective. Surely, you’ve heard of them?”
The doors were opened, and Jude strode inside, dropping to his knees with his head bowed. “Kneel,” he hissed at me, out of the corner of his mouth.
Pressing my lips together, I lowered myself to the floor, my heart pounding in my throat.
“You may rise,” a vaguely accented voice declared from the far end of the room.
Slowly, I lifted my head. The room was an architectural marvel crafted from black and deep red stone, with lacquered walls. The swaths of crimson in the flooring almost looked like rivulets of blood, and the air was heavy with authority, striking fear deep within me.
I pressed my hands down and pushed myself up with some effort. My knees had gone weak and senselessly, I wanted to lean on Jude for support even though he was the one who’d delivered me to the belly of the beast.
The man who’d instructed us to rise stood up behind the table where five men were seated. “Della,” he drawled, “how lovely to meet you.” I assumed he was the leader as he was in the center of the group.
He came around from behind the marble slab and stopped about six feet in front of me. “You may leave,” he said to Jude, who bowed his head and exited the room, leaving me alone with the intimidating figure.
“I am Ezra, a friend of Josiah’s. Thank you so much for coming to us and understanding the urgency of the situation. Things turn unpleasant when we have to force an audience, I’m sure you understand.”
I didn’t; I didn’t understand at all. “Where is he? I was told he needed my help.”
“And he does. I’m certain he is on his way.”
Ezra turned to the rest of the members. “I will get Miss DuBois settled in. That is all for today. Come, child,” he said to me, gesturing with his hand toward the doors behind me.
“What is going on?” My feet remained planted where I stood.
Ezra gave me a look of pity and patted me lightly on my back before rubbing it. “I’m sure you’re exhausted; let’s get you to your room.”
An intense wave of fatigue swept over me. He was right, I was pretty worn out and it was way past my bedtime. “Okay.”
With a yawn, I followed him out of the room. He made small talk, asking me random questions about my life such as where I lived, if I enjoyed my job, and if I’d visited the Second Realm before. I answered as best I could, blinking away the water gathered in my eyes from sleepiness.
We came to a stop outside an ornately carved door and Ezra waved his hand, opening it. “You’ll find a change of clothes in here,” he said, glancing at my dress with distaste. He swept into the room, opening a wardrobe cabinet.
The cabinet was filled with what looked like an assortment of gowns and other outfits. “Thank you.” I yawned again. “When will Josiah get here?”
“He’s soon expected,” Ezra said with a smile.
“What am I supposed to help him with?” I asked as I was overtaken by another yawn.
“Why don’t you get some rest? I’ll send for you at mealtime.” The man crossed the room and turned the blankets down on a sumptuous bed. The mattress overflowed with cushion pillows and fluffy, inviting blankets.
The bed beckoned me, and I climbed on, half under the luxurious fabric and half over. “Thank you,” I mumbled, and turned to my side, shoving a hand under my head. Faintly, I heard the door shut.
Swaddling in between the blankets and pillows, I floated away into a deep sleep. There was no way to gauge how much time had passed but at some point, I heard my name being called. “Della, Della,” the voice whispered in my ear.
I struggled to wake up, not wanting to leave the deep, comforting relaxation I’d entered. The voice repeated my name again, and I opened my eyes, finding myself surrounded by darkness.
“Who’s there?” I twisted and turned, not seeing anyone in the darkness. I could tell I was upright, but I didn’t feel anything under my feet. When I moved my arms, there was no air, no sensation of anything buoying me upright. My heart thudded in my ears, and I began to walk, not having any idea where I would go but not having any idea else what to do. Where was I?