Page 9 of Haunted Nightmares
“What in the hell just happened?” Declan asks as I lean heavily against the railing and slowly make my way toward them.
I shrug as I get to the bottom of the stairs. “Intruders. Gone now.”
“He’s worse than I thought,” Lorna says as she looks at Edith.
And I just roll my eyes. “Why does everyone keep bloody saying that? What did you all expect of me?”
Edith brushes by me toward the kitchen but not without mumbling, “A hell of a lot more than what you’ve given us.”
“Bugger off,” I grunt. “But before you do, follow me.”
Motioning for the nowfiveto join me, I push off from the staircase and head through the foyer toward the only room in the house I use but make a brief detour first. We walk past the boarded up library to the sitting room—still full of the wreckage from months ago, but I’ve added quite a bit more since then and as soon as we enter, everyone gasps then promptly begins to cough.
“What the fuck is that?” Orion chokes out behind me.
“Decor. Old school. You wouldn’t understand.”
The footsteps quiet as they take in myredecoratingbefore he asks, “Did you put them up there… are the spikes…thisis where your fencing went?”
“Indeed,” I sigh, turning to face the group. “It’s not the good kind of impalement. Not that I’m familiar, I’ve never been on the receiving end but I’ve administered enough to know the difference.” My eyes flick from them to the pieces of my outdoor fence now crudely mounted inside my sitting room, the metal rigged along the far wall and in front of the fireplace. And on top of the arrowhead spikes, positioned at every other post is the motionless and naked body of seven of the remaining twelve Descendants who once sat on my father’s counsel. “They weren’t able to relax the way one needs to, and I didn’t use any lube.” I glance at Orion and Aries briefly before turning to admire my work. “I’m sure neither of you would like it. I bloody well wouldn’t, and very little was off the table for me.”
“Help… us…” one of them quietly moans, my head snapping in his direction.
“They’re still alive,” Edith whispers as I step over one of the many bodies littering the floor that no one seems to have noticed yet.
“Barely.” I zig zag through a few more corpses before bending down to look through a pile—of bodies—and settling on a rather large one that’s already significantly decomposed. Grabbing hold at the elbow and wrist, I give its arm a tug and pull, twisting until I hear the satisfying pop of the joints dislocating. “Those ones are dead at this point”—motioning to my right at the first grouping of my new decor—“but these are more recently acquired.”
Without warning, I reach up and grip the jaw of the Descendant above me, yanking his mouth open with one hand before driving the forearm of the corpse through his mouth until I hit the back of his skull. I wiggle once or twice to make sure it isn’t going anywhere, scraping the bone along this bastard's fangs, then wipe my hands on my naked torso and turn to face the group again.
“As I said, I’ve been a busy little bee. Zenlothanai demands I work, demands so much from me, and I’ve taken to using them as a means to an end.”
“So…” Orion swallows hard as he looks around the packed sitting room, dozens upon dozens of nobles all over the floor, the various higher ranking members of the Counsel in heaps below the Descendants I’ve been able to track down. “So, youhavebeen doing what you said you would.”
Not really. “I’ve been trying torefocuswhat little energy I have in more constructive ways, that’s all.”
“For Zephyr.”
Anger flares over the simple mention of her name, over Orion’s persistence in bringing her up. I do not wish to forgetmy mate, I’d never wish for that, but sharing her or my grief, or anything else that has become my entire existence these past six months is something I despise.
But a sudden wave of exhaustion hits me, causing me to sway on my feet before gripping the fence behind me, and I find I have no fight left at this moment.
“Let’s continue in the other room.” The only other room in this house I willfully spend time in because every square foot here reminds me of my gentle breeze, and even for someone like me, it becomes unbearable at times to be haunted by her ghost. Which is why I’ve chosen the space I’m now leading them to.
Walking through the half-arsed graveyard, I reenter the hall, moving unsteadily toward the back of the house and just before reaching our destination, my stomach rolls once again.
“My lord,” Lorna says as she quickly comes up behind me, placing a hand on my forearm to draw my attention. “Wraith, you should?—“
Without warning—forher—more of the black death erupts from my throat, the dark black decay spewing from my lips and splattering all over the healer's face and chest, her many scarves and tunic covered in the tar of my demise. And though it normally brings relief, right now it does not as the purging persists, covering her many skirts while my body doubles at the waist.
It was toying with those teenagers.
The will and force it took to change, my energy depleted from moving around the room then fighting the bloodlust.
It was those actions that have caused me to be ill again, and my interrupted night out didn’t help one bloody bit.
If I’d at least sated Zenlothanai, given them what they wanted, perhaps I wouldn’t be throwing my guts up all over the one person who could potentially help me.
Help me even though I don’t deserve it.
