Chapter 4 Izzy
IZZY
I groaned when I woke up.
Rook had worked me too hard last night, all night. The trouble with my body was, when pushed to its limits, it pushed back. I’d had chronic pain since I could remember. Too much strain on my body and it seized up, any movement causing jolts of agony.
Like now.
Damn you, Rook!
Though, to be fair, last night had been hands down the best sex of my life. So, I was only partly upset about the pain. It would fade in a day or two, but the memories of what Rook had done would last a lifetime. I was more upset that Rook may have ruined me for all other men.
Speaking of Rook…?
I gingerly shifted, reaching out, breathing through the pain. He wasn’t in bed. I cracked an eye open and looked around. He’d gone.
Good. I was in no condition for another round. Though I wouldn’t have minded breakfast in bed.
I sighed, which made my chest ache.
Good thing I didn’t have a shift at the bar today. I could stay in bed and recover.
I woke again some time later. Had I heard something? Probably just a dream. I groaned again, body still sore, but not quite as agonizing as earlier. Still, I wouldn’t be getting out of bed any time soon.
I was about to drift off again, when I heard a heavy sigh.
Rook?
Had he come back?
“We’ve waited long enough, wake her,” came a gruff male voice which was distinctly not Rook’s.
What the fuck?
I rolled over, pulling up sheets to cover myself, or I would have if I hadn’t kicked all the sheets to the bottom of the bed. I grabbed my pillow instead and hugged it close. Not that the three people in my apartment hadn’t already seen everything.
Damn you, Rook, for making me feel so damned good I’d fallen asleep naked!
“Who—? Ugh!” My body caught up with the quick actions I’d just taken and seized up in a fit of sizzling pain.
While that misery slowly receded, I took in the three intruders.
I guessed the one in charge was the large-framed man with dark skin, dark hair, and dark eyes lounging in one of my chairs.
He stared at me, unimpressed. I found that mildly offensive.
I had a great body and he’d just gotten a good look, he could at least be somewhat curious, maybe a single raised brow?
No? Whatever.
He sat with hands steepled in front of him. His ensemble was all black, a nice-looking suit and shirt, though the style seemed… old-fashioned. The jacket was long with intricate silver detailing along the hem and the shirt had a high squarish collar.
The woman standing next to him was taller than me, which wasn’t easy. She was also built, her black tank top revealing thick arms. She had short-cropped, thick dark hair and eyes of cold steel blue, but mostly I couldn’t get over the muscles on her. She looked like she could rip me in half.
The last man was taken straight from my teenage fantasies. Tall and pale with a thick mop of dark hair and eyes filled with existential suffering. Pure moody, brooding Goth. I blamed my weakness for such a look on Timothy Chalamet and Adam Driver.
Of the three strangers, he was the only one who seemed to register my undressed state, a slight widening of those soulful eyes, drinking me in.
I liked him the best. As much as I could like anyone who’d mysteriously appeared in my room.
“Izzy Brown?” the sitting man asked. He’d been the one who’s spoken previously, that deep rumbling voice hard to miss.
I found it jarring that these three had barged into my apartment but still wished to verify my name.
“Who’s asking?” I countered.
That made the woman glower and sitting-man quirk a smile, if only for an instant.
“Who we are is of little consequence in the long run. You need to come with us.”
Yeah, because that wasn’t ominous and terrifying.
“Not until you explain who you are and how you got in here and what you want.” I deserved that much.
Sitting-man didn’t smile at my sass this time. He waved a hand at the two others. “They are of little consequence, just here to ensure your… cooperation. My name is Svokol. We arrived here with magic. We want you to come with us.”
As if that explained anything!
Magic? Really?
He didn’t seem to like my silence. “Perhaps I should rephrase. We are here to bring you back with us to our realm. There you will take a test. If you fail, we’ll return you here and bother you no longer.”
If I fail?
“And if I pass?”
“You’ll remain with us.”
Wasn’t passing supposed to be good?
“And if I say no?”
His grin returned, but there was no mirth in it.
“I suggest you don’t. Come willingly and we’ll let you get dressed, perhaps even gather a few things. Fight us and we’ll drag you along just as you are.”
I quickly assessed my options.
I was closer to the window, and the fire escape beyond. Had I not been in pain, I might have been able to make it to the window, open it, and flee before they reached me. But I was in pain and wouldn’t be moving fast. I’d never make it.
Which left…
I was pretty sure the advice Old Lady Moonie had given me when I was eight, not to get into cars with strangers, applied to going with dangerous looking people to take tests in undisclosed locations.
But I had few other options.
Unless…
“I don’t suppose you’d look the other way while I get dressed?” If they did, I might have a chance to get to the window.
The man’s smile turned just a little vicious. “I don’t think so.” Then, as if he’d read my previous thoughts, he motioned for the woman to guard the window.
Well, that was it.
Out of options.
Best I could do now was not piss them off anymore. “Fine,” I huffed and shimmied to the edge of the bed, pillow still clutched close. I kept it in front of me as I stood, whining at the pain, and shuffled to my closet.
“What’s wrong?” the other man asked. I wasn’t looking, but his voice was different, less of an edge to it. He sounded concerned for me. Maybe I could use that?
“Sore,” I responded. They didn’t need details.
The first man chuckled. “Rook did a number on you, did he?”
I froze.
Rook?
Had he sold me out to these goons?
I’d kill him if I ever saw him again.
With my back to them, I dressed… slowly, because that’s all I could manage in my current condition. I pulled on some sweatpants, then slipped on a cami and covered it with a heavy sweatshirt. Underwear was too much work.
“You said I could take some things?” I asked as I slipped into a pair of sneakers.
“Be quick,” was the reply.
My phone was in my purse, but it was by the door. I grabbed my backpack, which had most of my important things, then turned toward the front door.
But…
“Here,” the tall Goth said, handing me my purse. He’d already retrieved it.
When I took it from him, my hand brushed his, and a large spark of static shocked between us.
“Fuck!” he hissed.
Apparently, it had hurt him as much as it had hurt me. I seized up, pain lancing through me.
As I breathed through it and took my purse, I caught the tall man glancing quickly at the other two. He looked… afraid?
Curious.
I checked my purse, phone still there.
Great, now if I could just dial nine-one-one without them noticing.
When I glanced up to check to see if they were looking, I found an odd scene.
The woman had moved closer, her eyes closed, her body shaking as if she was concentrating really hard.
Sitting man had gotten up and had one hand on her shoulder as he reached out to touch the Goth’s shoulder as well.
The Goth then laid a soft, long-fingered hand on my shoulder. They all seemed a bit distracted.
Good.
I slipped my phone out, hit the emergency dial button, and pressed nine and one… before my room vanished. The walls warped, the floor fell away, the ceiling tore open, then nothing surrounded us but shimmering psychedelic colors dancing over darkness, like an oil spill.
I hit the last digit on my phone, but something told me the call wouldn’t connect.