Authors: RaShelle Workman
As we padded along I got the distinct impression I was being watched. Paranoid much, I berated myself. It was just that I was in a strange place. It was unnerving.
Abruptly the hallway ended, and we had to either turn to the left or the right.
Hiro
led us to the right. Not too far after that, he stopped in front of double paper-looking doors. Sliding it opened, he ushered us in.
The room looked like a dining room. A large onyx table sat majestically in the center. Ten black leather chairs surrounded it. In the middle of the table a rock and bamboo water fountain gurgled contentedly. Directly above it hung an enormous chandelier. I couldn’t see the ceiling though. It just seemed to go up and up and up, without end. That has to be a trick of the light, I thought.
Hiro
patted a chair at the head of the table, and said, “You, girl. Sit here. The rest of you can find a spot. I’ll be right back.” Without another word, he left.
We looked at each other and laughed.
“That kid has more confidence in his little finger than most people have in their whole bodies,” Dorian said.
We all agreed as we went to our seats.
“I wonder why he wanted me to sit here?” I asked, cautiously pulling out the chair, and sitting.
“Probably because you’re cute,” Gabe said, and the others agreed. He winked at me. I blinked, unsure. Gabe shook his head, a half-smile on his lips. “Snowflake,” he uttered, grabbing my hand between his, and massaging it.
Heathcliff looked from me to Gabe. “What’s going on with you two? Are you a couple now?” He seemed irritated, and I sat back, surprised. Gabe would have to answer this one, because I didn’t know either.
Gabe gave Heath a pointed stare. “You’ve known about my feelings for Snow for quite some time. It wasn’t until last night I had a suspicion she might feel the same way about me.”
His feelings, I thought. I was shocked, but worked to keep it hidden behind a blank face.
Gabe continued, turning to Dorian. “You guys don’t have a problem with me asking out Snow, do you?”
Hey, what about me? As much as I was certain my feelings for Gabe were obvious, shouldn’t he have mentioned this to me first?
Dorian shook his head. “It’s cool with me, man.”
Heathcliff turned his attention to me. “How do you feel about all of this? About you and Gabe?”
I blew out a breath. “I’m not sure,” I said, pulling my hand from Gabe’s, and biting a nail. Of course I liked him, but this conversation didn’t sit right. Gabe’s green eyes penetrated mine. “I think we should talk, alone, don’t you?” I asked in a whisper, though it echoed around the room.
His eyes fell, and I wondered if I’d hurt his feelings. “You’re right,” he agreed.
Hiro
walked in with a silver tray that was almost as big as him. On it sat a white teapot, and several cylinder-shaped cups. He set it down to my right. I watched as he poured the tea in four cups, and handed one to each of us. “Drink,” he said. “Grandfather will be with you shortly.”
Then he was gone.
I picked up the cup, and the others followed. I sniffed it, letting the steam hit my face, and it was then that I realized it was quite chilly in here. The tea smelled good, like peppermint. Carefully, I took a sip, and swallowed. The heat hit the back of my throat, and I felt it go all the way down to my stomach. Contentment fanned through my insides, like the sun on a hot day. I took another sip, then set down the cup.
“Is that sugar?” Heathcliff asked. I opened the container, and looked.
“Sure is. You want some?” I picked up the white container and handed it to him.
My eyes suddenly seemed to have lead on their lids. I struggled to keep them opened. I watched Heath put one, then two, then three scoops of sugar in his tea. Dorian did the same. By the time Gabe reached for the sugar, my eyes had shut.
Chapter 8
W
hen I opened my eyes, I immediately realized I wasn’t in the dining room any more, but lying on a satin-soaked bed. Thick, white curtains sealed me in like leftover spicy tofu in a takeout box. Sitting up, the slick red sheets fell into my lap, and saw I wasn’t wearing my clothes anymore. Instead I had on a black silk nightgown with thin straps.
What in the world, I thought, to bewildered to be
nervous.
I remembered I’d been tired. Perhaps the old man had put me to bed.
But where were the guys? I needed to get out of here. Hopefully they were okay. We still had a Musical to attend tonight.
“Gabe,” I called out, trying to find a separation in the curtains.
“Hello, Snow White.” It was a male voice, low and soft. It sounded familiar, but it wasn’t Gabe’s.
“Who’s there?” A little more vigorously, I ran my hands over their velvety softness, searching for an opening.
I heard a click, and the room was blanketed in darkness.
“W-What’s going on?” My voice didn’t sound like my own. It’d raised an octave.
This is what terror feels like, I told myself, standing up on the mattress, trying to pull the curtains from the frame. “Where’s Gabe? Where’s the old man?”
“Relax, beautiful. You’ve been chosen by her Highness, and the Queen always gets her way.”
Even freaked, I noticed a twinge of regret, or remorse in his words. Focusing on that was pointless though. Escaping. Getting out of there in one piece, that was priority number one.
I’d moved from one side of the bed to the other, trying to get out. Without meaning to I stepped off the edge, and between the curtains and the mattress. When my foot hit the floor, a sharp pain zinged my knee, but I barely noticed. Swinging my other leg around, I placed it on the floor, scooted onto all fours, and climbed out of the curtains.
Free! I let out a sob of relief, but quickly covered my mouth. If I couldn’t see, then maybe he couldn’t either. Wiping my eyes, I stuck my hands out in front of me, feeling for the wall, or a chair, or a door, and took a cautious step forward. My knee gave, and I whimpered.
“This isn’t funny,” I said, my teeth chattering.
A moment later, I bumped into something. It was pliable yet solid. Apprehensively, I touched it, trying to figure out what it was. It wasn’t a door, or a chair.
But a person.
The face was unshaved.
His hair soft, and thick.
Shoulders broad, and muscled.
His chest taut.
When my mind realized what my hands were doing, I screamed, and took a step backward. Strong hands grabbed me by the waist.
“Snow,” he whispered. His breath brushed against my cheek, and smelled of peppermint tea. A wave of relief washed over me. It had to be one of the brothers.
“Who is this?” He hadn’t really sounded like Dorian, Heathcliff, or Gabe, but he’d kept his voice low, so the possibility of it being one of them still existed. I reached up, and touched his face with my hands. It wasn’t Gabe. Of that I was certain. Heath was tall, like this guy, but he didn’t have scruff on his face. Dorian was taller than them both, and certainly as brawny.
“If you’re trying to tease me, I’m not laughing. I hurt my knee, and I’m scared.” Another sob grabbed my throat, but I clamped it down. I hoped my honesty would reprimand him, and he’d turn on the lights.
“I’m not teasing. This is deadly serious.” His grasp on my waist shifted as he pulled me firmly against him with one arm. His other hand slid into my hair. With a firm yank, he pulled my head back, exposing my neck.
I sucked in my breath, preparing to scream. My eyes were adjusting to the darkness, and I could see the red tinge in his eyes. They glowed the way the old man’s hallway had.
“Who are you,” I asked again.
He opened his mouth. I saw his white teeth, witnessed his canines grow. Without thinking I kneed him in the groin.
A look of humorous surprise sprang into his eyes before burning anger.
I felt his teeth sink into my neck, felt my skin part like a boat gliding through water. When he started to suck, everything became hazy, like a dream. My body suddenly ached for his touch even as my mind revolted. I heard myself sigh, and pushed my neck deeper into his mouth. He shuddered, and the pull of my blood from my body became stronger.
Then there was darkness.
Chapter 9
I
was being shaken.
“Snow. Snow. Wake up.”
With a jolt I shot back in my chair. My head had been resting on the table. My eyes were blurry. The light from the chandelier blared. All my thoughts were on the man with the glowing red eyes, and the way he’d been drinking my blood. Yearning and revulsion swirled through my organs. A scream gurgled out, and I grabbed at my throat.
“Are you okay?”
It was Gabe. Wiping my eyes, I scanned the room. Kenmei,
Hiro
, Heathcliff, Dorian, and Gabe stared at me with a mixture of apprehension, and worry.
Standing, my chair shot out, and knocked to the floor. “I am not okay. What’s going on?” I don’t know why, but I focused all of my anger on Kenmei.
Probably because this had occurred in his place.
“Some psycho bit me,” I screamed, slamming my hands on the table. It shattered, and broke right down the middle.
The guys stood as the table leaned toward them, and the white cups slid to the floor.
Kenmei bent and whispered something to
Hiro
. The boy nodded, and ran off.
Gabe put his hands out. “Snow, it’s okay.” He studied the table, dragging a hand through his gorgeous hair, as though he were trying to come to grips with what’d just transpired.
I shook my head, unable to reign in the burning anger. Loud pounding noises, like a hundred drummers banging the bass, sounded inside my head. There was a rhythm. And it made my blood boil. I touched my neck in the place where the man had bitten. I could feel the raised scar tissue.
“Aha!” It had really happened… somehow. That knowledge thrilled me in a strange, crazy way.
“Look,” I said, grabbing Gabe’s hand and pressing his fingers to my neck. So close, I smelled his shampoo, and his deodorant. Peppermint tea tinged his breath. I also smelled something else. It was fragrant, musky. Was it fear? Placing a hand on his chest I realized the banging bass in my brain was Gabe’s heart. And the other pounding was the beating of the other’s hearts. “Can you feel the scars?” I asked Gabe, trying to contain my need to shout.
He leaned away slightly, his gorgeous green eyes wide. “No.” He tried to look at my neck, but I pushed him away, frustrated. “No. How can you not feel it? Where’s a mirror?”
Bowing slightly I stopped in front of Kenmei. Tilting my neck toward him, I swallowed my overwhelming panic, brushed away tears, and fought my ferocious anger. “Do you see anything,” I asked through clenched teeth.
He shook his head. “No. I am sorry. But I sense supernatural magic surrounding you.”
I couldn’t push my wayward tears back any longer. Sinking in the chair
Hiro
had occupied, I whispered softly, “What’s happening to me?”
The little boy,
Hiro
, peeked around the corner. “Shiryo! Shiryo! Shiryo!”
The word filled me with panic. “What’s that?”
Heathcliff, Dorian, and Gabe had come to stand behind me. I knew it because the rapid pounding of their hearts grew closer.
Dorian spoke, “Shiryo. What does that mean?”
Kenmei gave
Hiro
a reproachful look. “Did you do as I asked?”
“Yes, Grandfather. Adam Henry is coming.”
Heathcliff sprang into action. “I’d better leave a message with the others that we might be a while.”
Kenmei dragged in a deep breath. “Shiryo is Japanese for ghost, spirit, soul, or revenant.”
As he spoke the last word, he looked directly at me. His explanation sunk deep into my veins. Revenant. I rolled the word over in my mind.