Twisted (Rogues Shifter Series Book 3) (14 page)

This time, i
t happened quickly as Isaiah hissed with pleasure. “Am I good or what? I knew that the blood of your lover would do the trick.” Before I could send him a sarcastic comment, he surrounded me in his own dissipated state and spoke to me mentally.

“We’re stepping
into your magical ocean, Jacqueline. Although it’s been created by your mind, it still holds all the same properties as the actual ley lines. It’s going to hurt like hell, so just keep thinking about peeling off strips of Kennet’s skin or pouring molten lava down his throat. Do not under any circumstances reform into your normal state. If you do, you will die.”
He wrapped himself around each of my bits so I couldn’t run away. Then I blended with him into the swirling ocean of unlimited energy.

The agony was crushing and I lost myself for several minutes to the horrible pain. I would have screamed if my lungs and my vocal chords weren’t spread out and blended with
all the other nearby energy. I wondered how I could hurt so badly in this thinned out state.

My spirit, soul and mind somehow remained intact, without physical substance, and I was able to communicate with
Isaiah mentally. All the poor guy was hearing from me at the moment were loud groans, screams and whimpers. Still, Isaiah continued to send encouraging words to my mind, protecting me from some of the very worst of the pain with his own dissipated form, giving me confidence in my own strength and ability to master this skill.

Despite the horrific pain, I clung to Isaiah’s thoughts and slowly felt myself tune into the true rhythm of the lines, and with it, the individual specks of matter that made up the magic. I began to feel weightless again as the pain subsided, becoming aware of a flowing pulse that seemed to gently urge me on.
“Go back to the room, Jackie. See it and travel there with the magic. Re-form when you get there.”
I hesitated.
“Do it now, Jackie. I’ll be with you.”

Chapter Twenty-four

Bridgett
: 12:00 AM Thursday

Sasha was standing in the corner of the small balcony smiling at us. We’d heard him coming up the stairs and had moved apart, but I was flushed and it was probably obvious that we’d been kissing. Well,
so what? That kiss had been even better than the first one. I didn’t really give a shit what Sasha thought, so I smiled back at him.

William looked at Sasha as if he expected some joke at his expense. Instead Sasha said, “Sinc is going to bed soon
, so you need to get on the computer.” William nodded, leaned over to kiss me on the cheek and then walked past Sasha to head downstairs. I was happy that he didn’t seem to be embarrassed to be caught with me.

Sasha and I
stared at each other for a few moments.

“You don’t n
eed the sex talk, do you?”

I laughed. “I’m seventeen, not ten
.”

“T
here are a couple of things you should know. The good news is that you can’t get pregnant and you can’t catch diseases from a vampire. The bad news is that he’ll want to take blood and if you give it to him, he'll want sex. You’ve already had his blood so you already have a strong connection. This could be a problem for Will. He’s just recently been given the freedom to take as much human blood as he needs, as long as no one dies, of course. He’s been doing alright, but in the heat of passion, with someone he really cares about, he may have trouble stopping. He wouldn’t be thinking with his head if you know what I’m saying. Don't let him feed from you.”

His blue eyes burned int
o me with genuine concern. Hoping to learn more, I asked, “Would you tell me what happened to him with Eleanor?”

“
He was her whipping boy. It’s amazing that he survived. If you want details, you’ll have to ask him yourself.”

“He said that you and Heinrich saved his life.”

“We were also forced to dish out some of his punishments. He doesn’t seem to blame us, though.” He ran his fingers through his thick blonde hair. “If at any time you feel that you're in danger, make sure that you call to me mentally and I’ll be here in a flash. I don’t want you hurt and I don’t want Garrett ending Will’s life either.”

I was shocked that he'd
consent to me contacting him mentally. “Sure, but my mental abilities aren’t Jackie’s. Maybe we could connect now to see if we can.” I nudged him and then I was in his mind.
Whoa
. This was an old vampire with a lot of history and plenty of emotional pain. I pulled out right away, not wanting to delve into his private life.“Uh, okay, that’ll work.”

“See anything interesting?” His look could have melted steel.

I paused, then answered honestly, “Jackie might be able to help you.”

He turned away to look out at the st
ars. “I doubt it.”

“Whatever
.” I shrugged.

He looked at me with a smidgen of respect
. “Thanks for not whining to Garrett. I was out of line.”

“I don’t ever whine.” He snorted in disbelief. “Anymore.” I
smiled.

“No whining allowed during training tomorrow.”

“Okay, captain. Is there anything else I need to know about vampires?”

“Will is a
special case. Rick and I are kind of protective so don’t fuck with his heart.” His eyes were wary. He wasn’t quite sure what to make of me or my feelings toward Will.

“I’m not one of those vamp groupies that
you’re
so fond of. I really like him.” I couldn’t be angry with Sasha, since he seemed to mean well. He nodded, apparently satisfied,

“
I’m going to bed. Wake me up if anything happens.” I headed to my room and crawled into bed, but my thoughts kept returning to William and I had a lot of trouble falling asleep.

Chapter Twenty-five

Ga
rrett: 3:00 PM Thursday

Because we’d traveled the lines, we’d arrived in Northern California only minutes
after leaving the house in Washington. We’d searched along the coast with Samson leading us north until dawn was threatening to break through the darkness. We backtracked half a mile and rested in an old hunter’s cabin in the woods not far from the coast of southern Oregon. Liam and Aedus had magically blacked out the windows and sealed the door of the small bedroom and then had taken turns returning to faerie for some food. When I woke in the afternoon, I found the three of them stretched out on various chairs and rugs sound asleep. Amazingly there was coffee ready for me on a camp stove. Gotta love the fae. Samson was snoring next to Liam. He opened one eye to look at me. I put my finger over my lips and he closed his eye and went back to his doggy dreams. I grabbed a cup of coffee and then returned to the small bedroom to let them sleep a little longer. I was happy to see that my cell was working. I called the house and Sinc answered.

“How are thi
ngs going?”

“Quiet today.
Kyle said that you, Liam and Aedus are back in California.”

“We’re following a new lead. I’ll keep you posted. Is Sasha up yet?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“How’s he doing?”

“Fine. He and Heinrich are keeping us safe and this evening he’s giving Will and Bridgett a physical training session. No donors have died.” She laughed.

I sighed a
nd relaxed my shoulders, relieved. “And how’s Bridgett doing?”

“So
metimes when Bridgett opens her mouth, she’s her own worst enemy. But she’s up early everyday making breakfast for everyone and she’s manning the phones and the computer without complaining. I guess you’ve heard that Bridgett and Will are getting closer and I think they’re doing more than just holding hands.”

I shoo
k my head and groaned. “Um, maybe you could have a talk with her?”

She l
aughed again. “Garrett, she’s seventeen. Do you want me to tell William to back off?”

“No, it’s f
ine. I think it’s great for him—great for both of them. She just seems so much younger than Jackie.”

“I know
, but she’s matured since she’s been here. You’ll be surprised when you see the change." She whispered, "Garrett, will Ethan be coming home soon?”

“When I find Jackie, I’ll put him and Kyle on a private jet back home.”

“Oh, okay.” I could tell that something was up.

“I
s everything good between you?”

“
Um hmm. I’m just stressed, that’s all. I hope you find Jackie soon. I’m so worried about her.”

Liam was at the bedroom door look
ing disheveled, but rested. “We’ll find her, Sinc. Looks like my troops are up. Have to go. I’ll call again when I can.“

Chapter Twenty-six

Jackie
: Noon Thursday

“You tricked me!” I was shouting at Isaiah. “I could have traveled home through the lines, but you told me to come back here.  You’re a sneaky piece of shit, Isaiah.” I threw myself down on the bed and buried my head under the pillow, too angry to cry.

“Then you would be mine for one hundred years.”

I sat
up slowly, not sure I’d heard him correctly. “What?”

“We have an agreement, and I
plan to adhere to it. I suggest that you re-read it. I know you don’t want to trade being Kennet’s slave for being mine.” He was angry too.

I glanced at the scroll floating in the air next to my bed and sighed. “I could have summoned you from my house.”

“You don’t know my True Name or the ritual, and the minute you’re home, Kennet will banish me back to my realm. The agreement would burn up and you’d find yourself sitting in my living room, or maybe on my bed, and I’d be extremely angry.” His eyes melted from brown to liquid orange and I shuddered. “And just to give you a heads up, this isn’t always what I look like. I don’t look human in warrior form.”

“You’re threatening to hurt me? And you still want me to help you?
You would have been home free.”

“I want you to help both o
f us get away from Kennet and to ensure that he can never summon me again. Plus I want the year with him. You agreed to this contract and I expect you to take it as seriously as I do.” He leaned over me, his eyes flaming orange and full of rage. “I have chosen to behave toward you in a friendly and courteous way, but I could have approached your training differently. We might have accomplished our goals in a more timely manner had I done so. Understand that I will do whatever I have to do to get what I want.” He disappeared.

As soon as he was gone
, I tried to access the lines. I tried it by blending and also the good old fashioned way, but neither way worked. I started to pace, still shivering from fear. This wasn’t good. I’d seriously pissed him off. He’d been pretty decent with me so far and he was right, I had agreed to this.

I didn’t kno
w if he could hear me but I spoke out loud, “Isaiah, please come back. I apologize. You’re not a sneaky piece of shit. I’ll take the agreement seriously.” Nothing. I thought maybe he needed a few minutes so I went inside to take a shower. When I came out he still wasn’t around, so I sat on the bed and pleaded some more.

“Isaiah, please.
I need your help. I’m sorry I screwed up. You’ve been a great teacher. C’mon, don’t be mad.” Still nothing. “Okay, what do you want? I’m an idiot? I’m a jerk? I’m an irresponsible demon cheetah shifter who’s proud of her demon blood.”

I heard laughter coming from the small table and suddenly he appeared sitting cross legged
and wiping away tears, “That was too funny.”

“Tell me you’ve been there the whole time.”

“I’ve been here the whole time.” He laughed again. I rolled my eyes. “I told you I can’t leave you alone. Kennet’s orders.”

“Well I guess I deserved that. Look, I’m sorry, Isaiah. Can we just get on with the rest while I still have some time and some energy?”

“Eight hours to learn the summoning ritual and how to bypass the block.” He looked at me with confidence and determination. “We can do it.”

Chapter Twenty-seven

Bridgett
: 5:00 PM Thursday

Rob had come back from the Island with a few bruises. Apparently, Flynn was causing all kinds of trouble and was now in a holding cell in do
wntown Crescent City, being kept under observation. He was fighting his change tooth and claw, refusing to follow Rob’s advice, having only managed to get Flynn to transition once. Flynn was determined to remain human and was in total denial. I felt bad for the poor guy. He’d never been human, he just didn’t know it.

Farrell and I had made dinner, so Rob, Sinc, Farrell and I sat around the table quietly chewing our food. Our minds were spinning off in many directions: Sinc
was probably worried about Ethan. Farrell might be thinking about Ashlyn and his other fae family members. Rob about Flynn or maybe Maya. I spent a lot of time thinking about William.  Of course we were all worried about Jackie and Garrett and the rest, but worrying about them didn’t do any good. William was right here and was very hard for me to ignore.