The Mark (Interracial Paranormal Romance) (Toil and Trouble) (21 page)

“Oh my god,” I said hoarsely, stepping backward.

Whoops of delight echoed through the line as the clear water turned a muddy green.

I reached out and touched the goblin woman’s shoulder, my heart aching for her. She’d almost jumped in herself. Clearly they were close. “I’m so sorry.”

“Save it, necro,” she said acidly, wrenching from my grip like it was poison. “You should be more concerned that one of your fellow blasphemies is next.”

I jutted my lip out, falling back in line. That what I get for trying to help a goblin.

“Hey Jay!” A familiar voice called from behind. I whirled to the back, searching the line for the source. When I saw his face, I smiled in spite of myself. Riley.

He was dressed to kill, in a sleek two piece suit that accentuated his muscular physique. His curly hair was coifed and cut close. He maneuvered through the crowd, growling ever so often when people gave him the stank eye.

“Aren’t you the charmer,” Mom said with a raised eyebrow. “Though you’d have to be, I suppose. I didn’t raise my daughter to spread her legs for anything supernatural that moves.”

“Moral support,” he said seriously. “I figured the Great Hall would be filled with people that want you to fail, so someone in your corner who’s rooting for you is a good thing.”

My mouth twitched as his words sunk in. The Riley I knew all those years ago was definitely a sweetheart, with picking a bouquet of dandelions and bringing Chinese when I was homesick, but this was Romeo and Juliet status. How did he know that having someone at my back that wasn’t counting on my demise was exactly what I needed?

She gestured at a similarly clad woman to her right who stepped up as she ushered us inside the city walls. There were stone structures scattered about, stables where cattle and dirty humans stood chained, cowering beside a centaur who barked at them in a foreign tongue.

“Where are we going?” I asked Mom, my throat bone dry.

“To the Tower,” she answered. “The bastards like to wine and dine you before Trial.”

The vampire whirled her raven head toward my mother. “I’d mind my tongue, witch. I’m sure we can fit in a second Trial for treason.”

Mom inclined her head, steam shooting from her ears.

We entered a second wrought iron gate that was lit by an elderly woman holding a torch. The flames burned with blue embers that stroked the ebony night. The woman was dressed in rags, her skin grubby and smudged with what I hoped was dirt. I would have believed she was a statue if her eyes didn’t follow our every move.

The air in the Tower felt different: ancient and full of secrets. There was a harsh stone staircase that weaved up into the darkness.

I obliged, my hand trailing the iron railing as I wound up the stairs, taking it one step at a time. The fabric on my dress seemed to cling to my skin as if it too was terrified of what lie ahead As we continued our ascent, the only other sound was the thundering of my heart.

We reached the landing and Riley walked over to the window. “Wow,” he whistled. “Long way down…but what a view.” He beckoned, but I shook my head.

Before I could make a crack about the whole innocence until proven guilty thing, she pushed open the great doors, revealing a lavish dining room hidden in the weather worn tower.

In this room, we weren’t in an overrun garden in North Carolina, we were transported to 17th century Europe. Erotic silks and furnishings covered the walls, masking the harsh stone beneath. A crystal chandelier draped from the ceiling sending glitter over the extravagant dinner laid out on the table. At the forefront of the table was a whole boar, its tusks white and glistening. Beside it were tomatoes and soup and other vegetables. Behind the vegetables were scrumptious pies and tarts and cakes with icing and a chocolate fondue fountain.

I swiped a butter knife. I knew it would ultimately be as effective as popping rubber bands at her, but something was better than nothing.

“This wolf had you kidnapped?” Mom said, her voice rising. She gave Riley a look that was filled with hate. “I knew there was something I didn’t trust about-”

“Silence,” Ana thundered, her voice rattling the windows. She took us all in her crosshairs then continued. “I am the Watchers counsel. I will be addressed with respect.”

My mouth fell open. My boyfriend’s maker, who clearly was no fan of mine, would be prosecuting my case. I might as well just surrender to the Executioner now.

Words failed even Mom, who balled her fists into tiny stones of anger.

Riley wheeled me to face him. “Jay, I swear I didn’t know-”

The crack of my hand making contact with his cheek cut through his belated explanation. He reared back and when he snapped back up, her eyes were slits of anger, his whole body shaking.

Hitting a werewolf definitely wasn’t the smartest thing I’d done all day.

“Control your dog,” our vampire host said with a snarl of disgust. After a moment, Riley’s face returned to normal.

I turned away from all of them. I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t believe that this could very likely be my last day on earth and I was with a guy who’d been in cahoots with someone like Ana. I couldn’t believe I could die--and besides Mom, I was all alone.

“Humans are such curious creatures,” Ana said, beckoning a human servant to her. The woman was plump, wearing only a modest shift. Her one distinguishing trait was her long, chocolate hair that Ana swept to the side, revealing a neck purpled with puncture wounds.

Ana stroked the woman’s hair. “I mean, the dog came to your aid, clearly showing he has affection for you.” She leaned in, her mouth tracing the woman’s neck. “Yet, you take your anger out on him…while my child Jacques, the one you’re really angry at, is nowhere to be found.”

The woman let out a strangled gasp as Ana’s razor sharp fangs sunk into her neck.

I turned away, not wanting to look at the white hot pain in her muddy eyes. Most of the humans in the Great House were runaways and homeless…people that wouldn’t be missed. They were slaves, treated like little more than cattle and walking blood banks and meat for the supernatural that resided within the walls.

When Ana finally pulled away, the woman staggered, then scrambled back to the corner, holding a hand over the gaping hole in her neck. It was a futile gesture because blood just oozed through her fingers, creating a dark river on her pallid skin.

Our vampire host bared her fangs, extending a hand to the woman. “Come with me child. I’ll make it all better.”

Ana pulled a handkerchief from her sleeve and wiped her blood soaked mouth.

We all just stood in front of the table, trying to ignore the woman’s screams as she pleaded for her life. I closed my eyes and attempted to steel myself, reminding myself that they were doing her a favor. No slave brought to the Great House was granted freedom. Their only escape was death.

In a blur of movement, everything in the room changed. Her companion held Riley in one corner, and a Cyclops held my mother. Ana had wrapped her claws around my neck, lifting me from the ground. I saw nothing but stars—I felt nothing but pain reverberating from the core of me.

“I could just end you now,” Ana snarled. “You’d die with more dignity, instead of in the Great Hall with my brothers and sisters waiting with bated breath for your demise.”

I grimaced, scrambling for oxygen as she tightened her grip. “What on earth does my Jacques see in you, necro?” Her eyes glittered with hunger. “Maybe I should taste you and find out.”

“I wonder what the Watchers would think if they knew their Prosecutor was harassing the Accused.”

The cut off of oxygen to my brain must have made me hallucinate…the voice was so warily familiar. It was a voice I knew well. But he hated me. He wouldn’t come. Not for me.