Seduced by Pain (11 page)

"No, he
didn't. I don't think he knew."

Ocean gasped. "You
don't think?"

"I do.
Could she have been trapped there since we were children?" Oh, God, did I
send a six-year-old to hell? Is that what my powers did? That was worse than
killing someone. So much worse!

Pain, grief
and guilt gripped my gut and clenched tight. I bent over in agony, fighting the
sobs that threatened to destroy me. I was a monster. A horrible, evil, vile
monster.

Derek held me,
even as I tried to push him away.

"How can
you touch me, knowing what I've done?"

Ocean moved to
my other side, holding my hand and stroking my hair. "It wasn't your
fault, honey. You didn't know. Your mom set you up."

The knife in
my gut stabbed deeper, when that part of the story sunk in. My own mother had
set us all up. The Druids had never attacked, never hurt us. "Oh, God. Oh
my God. The puppies."

I ran to the
bathroom and vomited up everything in my stomach. Then I dry heaved until it
hurt so bad I couldn't move. I lay with my head against the cool porcelain of
the toilet and realized that Derek had joined me and was holding my hair off my
face and rubbing a wet wash cloth on the back of my neck. Ocean stood at the
door crying.

I wiped my
mouth with toilet paper and leaned against Derek's chest. "She killed the
puppies. How could she kill our puppies? And your cabin? Sandy? Was she
responsible for that too? What kind of evil bitch raised me?"

Ocean left the
bathroom, and I heard her rummaging through the closets. "We're getting
out of here. We aren't staying on this property another minute. Agreed?"

I nodded.

Derek added
cold water to the cloth and wiped my face gently. "You can both come live
with us, but first, there's a place I want to take you. My dad knows some
people who might be able to help you control your powers. We can all go there
now, if you're willing."

Hope, once
again, peeked its head through my tragedy. "And if I learn to control it,
I can save Dean and that girl? Are you sure?"

He kissed the
worry line between my eyebrows, his lips tender. "That's what Dean said,
and I believe him."

Ocean came
back in with a glass of water. "Drink this, brush your teeth, and let's
get the hell out of here."

The cold water
soothed my sore throat as I emptied the glass and handed it back to her. "What
do we do about Jasmine? We can't just leave my little sister here, no matter
how bitchy she's been."

"I'll go
find her." Ocean turned to Derek. "You help her pack. I'll follow you
two in my car when we leave. Jasmine can ride with me. Are you sure your family
will let us stay with them?"

"Yes. But
to set your mind at ease, I'll call them right now."

Holding me
with one arm, he used his free hand to pull his phone out. "Dad, hi. Yes,
we're going tonight. Yes, she said yes. Thank you. Yes, I will. Actually, I
wanted to ask you something."

Derek
explained the situation and then hung up. "You're all welcome. My mother
and sister are prepping rooms for you as we speak, and my dad says welcome to
the family."

Family. I was
his family, or I would be. Despite the horror of what I'd just discovered, a
lot of hope lingered there. I could free the souls I'd trapped, and I could
learn to control my powers, and I could even spend the life with the man I loved
and his amazing family.

Even in my
darkest hour, light still found a way in.

Following
darkness like a dream,

Now are frolic.
Not a mouse

Shall disturb
this hallowed house.

—William
Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream

JASMINE AND I
stared each other down in my doorway as
Derek loaded the cars with as much of our belongings as we could pack in such a
hurry.

She folded her
arms over her chest. "I can't believe you'd take the word of some guy you just
met over your family and coven. How could you even think these things of
Mother?"

"Jasmine,
it's not just Derek's word. Ocean and I have found evidence that she's lying."

Derek slammed
the trunks shut and leaned against his car, Ocean beside him. She tapped on an
imaginary watch, and I knew we had to leave before Mother found us, but I
couldn't abandon Jasmine.

Ocean walked
over to me and faced my sister. "Jas, please come. We can sort it all out
later, but don't stay here. It's not safe."

She huffed in
typical teenager fashion. "Now you think Mother would hurt me? You're the
insane one. I'm outa here."

I reached for
her as she stormed off, but Ocean pulled me back. "We'll deal with her
later, but we can't force her to come. She's a minor, Rose. Even if she came
voluntarily we could be charged with kidnapping."

Ocean slid
into the driver's seat of her car, and Derek held the passenger door of his car
open for me. I looked back at my cottage, the place I'd created many memories
with Sandy over the last few years.

It hadn't
fully sunk in that I was leaving everything and everyone I'd always known for a
life I had no idea how to live. The weight of it all didn't quite register, but
I knew it would, and I wondered if I'd feel I'd made a mistake when it fit me.

But looking at
Derek standing there so full of love and protectiveness, and looking at Ocean,
so confident, I knew I belonged with them, regardless of what else happened.

I just had one
more thing to do before I could leave. "I left something in the house. I'll
be right back."

I closed the
door behind me and rummaged through the junk drawer for pen and paper.

When I'd
finished the note, I left it on the kitchen table with the necklace and the
book. Blake didn't deserve to be hurt like this, but I couldn't feign love for
someone just because it was more convenient. I had to follow the truth of my
heart, however challenging the road may have been.

I fingered the
locket one last time, wishing I could keep it, but knowing it would be wrong to
do so, and left that life for good.

Lovers and madmen
have such seething brains

Such shaping
fantasies, that apprehend

More than cool
reason ever comprehends.

—William
Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream

WITH EVERYTHING IN
place, I left to pick up Rose for our
date. Reservations had been made, special touches added—tonight had to be
perfect for my plans to work.

The sun set,
casting dark hues on the land as shadowy fingers wrapped around the trees and
pulled them into night.

I'd spent my
life living in the shadows, never knowing the strength of the light until I'd
met Rose. Now I'd have to embrace the darkest act in order to live in that
light forever. Oh, the irony.

Jasmine sat on
the bench built around the large center tree, her face showing signs of tears.

"Are you
okay?" I was going to be late, but I'd never seen the girl cry.

"No. My
stupid sister and her stupid best friend totally abandoned me and everyone."

Goosebumps
rose on my flesh, and I shivered at her words. "What do you mean,
abandoned?"

She pulled her
knees into her chest and stared into the distance. "They left with her
stupid boyfriend. She tried to talk me into going, but like, yeah right. I'm
not running away like some loser just because she has some crazy ideas about
our mom and black magic."

My gut
dropped. "Where did she go?"

Everything had
finally fallen into place. This couldn't be happening.

"She didn't
say. Just someplace safe. Now I'm stuck here alone, like they even care. Like
anyone cares."

"Jasmine,
I've got to go, but if you think of anything else she said, or anywhere she may
have gone, please call me, okay?"

The wind
tossed the blue streaks of hair falling into her face as she rolled her eyes. "Sure.
Whatever."

I ran the rest
of the way to Rose's house, dread turning my feet to lead with every step. The cottage
felt empty, but still I knocked, waiting with that naive hope only children
clung to.

When no one
answered, I opened the door and saw a note next to the gifts I had given her on
the table.

My cursed
humanity pulled me into a new kind of hell as I read the letter and experienced
the pain of a broken heart for the first time in my long existence.

My world
shattered with two simple words.

Dear Blake.

Here come the
lovers, full of joy and mirth.—

Joy, gentle
friends! joy and fresh days of love

Accompany your
hearts!

—William
Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream

THE WHOLE DRIVE
there I stared at my engagement ring,
enjoying the weight of it on my finger as I considered what it would mean to be
a wife, to actually be with Derek for the rest of my life.

Warmth rushed
into me each time I remembered that this was real, not just a dream I'd wake
from. My heart had healed, as if it had never been broken.

Derek reached
for my hand, his finger sliding over the diamond. "Do you like it? If you
don't, we can get you a new one. I want it to be perfect, just like you."

"I love
it! Don't you dare take it back. And I love you. I can't believe this is
happening."

With soft
lips, he kissed my ring finger, sealing our fate. "I love you too, Rose.
And I promise, we'll figure out the rest of it."