Seduced by Pain (9 page)

Violence reigned supreme in Dean's
prison. He only half existed, non-corporeal but still trapped behind bars, his
soul shut out from his body. The agony was total and constant, like having a
limb ripped off every second of every day forever. The only balm to offer any
kind of solace came from his family as they held him, talked to him and read to
him. The rose elixir they fed Dean had strengthened his connection to his
physical form, allowing him to be more aware, to escape the hell of this place.

He became a less enticing meal for the
demons, who clearly fed on fear and pain. They circled another soul, a girl who
had been here before. She looked beyond broken, and Dean wondered if she still
had the capacity to feel anything.

Trying to communicate with Derek was
like trying to walk through a blaze of fire while covered in gasoline, but he
couldn't give up. Derek had to know the truth.

He had to know what had really happened
that night.

He had to know about Rose before it was
too late.

When Derek touched Dean with his shifting
powers, Dean pushed back, forcing a bit of himself into his body, forcing
memories into Derek's mind.

Dean read the text one more time. "I'm
willing to talk, but come alone and tell no one."

He knew the witches were up to
something and had been secretly investigating them since he overheard his
parents talking about them being back in town. His mom had been upset, not
jealous because Dad had dated the coven leader before they met, but worried
that she would come after them like she had before.

The news had stunned him, so he did his
research. Over twenty years ago, David O'Conner had dated a young, beautiful
witch named Rainbow Wintersong. The relationship had been high profile as he
was just establishing himself at Rose Botanicals and had garnered media
attention for his products. When they broke up, Rainbow stalked him, threatened
him, and broken into his house. He filed a restraining order against her and
had even bought her a large piece of property in Washington so she'd have
somewhere to live.

She'd eventually left Washington, but
had come back a few years ago. Recently, she began publically accusing them of
terrorizing her coven, breaking in and vandalizing them, and worse.

Dean had always been good at making
peace with people. He had a gift for diffusing escalating emotional situations
and thought that if he could talk with her, they could sort this all out before
his family was hurt.

So he'd made contact, and when she said
she'd meet, he'd gone.

He arrived on the property late, as
instructed, and met her at the kennels. She invited him into her private living
area and offered him tea. Believing this to be a peace offering, he accepted
and sipped it as they talked about what she wanted and how they could resolve
the differences between their families.

The tea didn't affect him until he'd
finished it, and by then it was too late. Not only did it force him to shift
and stay in wolf form, but it confused his mind, making everything fuzzy and
larger than life.

Panic had filled him, his fight or flight
instincts taking over, only she wouldn't let him leave. She used a Taser gun on
him to keep him where she wanted him.

Pain and rage and confusion undid him.
He howled, growled, wanted desperately to get away.

She spoke of plans to take their roses,
how he would be a sacrifice, how this would make them stronger, but she needed
her daughter to play her role. She knew Rose wouldn't act without provocation.

"I had to stage this for her
benefit, you see. I do apologize for any inconvenience to you. But don't worry,
someday she'll suffer for her role in your demise," she'd said, her eyes
cold, like dead fish.

When Rose came in, she didn't want to
act. Dean smelled her fear, her uncertainty, her utter revulsion at having to
harm any life.

Rose hesitated, and Dean knew she
wanted to find another way, but Rainbow sent a jolt of power to Dean, and the
pain made him howl again.

Rainbow screamed that she was being
attacked, that Dean would kill her.

Rose acted in fear, in defense of, and
at the pleas of her mother.

Dean was now trapped in the demon
plane, and the coven leader had a sinister force working with her.

But through the whisperings, Dean had
learned something important. Rose could reverse this, if she learned to control
her powers.

Only Rose could save him and save his
family.

And Dean had one other message for
Derek.

"Her heart is pure, Derek. Go to
her."

The visions
faded out, leaving me shaking with a throbbing head and pounding heart. "Mom!
Dad! Tammy!"

My voice
echoed through the house, and they came running.

My mother
arrived first, fear in her eyes. "What happened? Is Dean okay?"

Dad and Tammy
followed her into the room, surrounding me as I continued to hold Dean's hand.

"He
communicated with me."

My mother sank
into the chair, leaning her head against Dad's leg. Tammy sat next to me on the
bed, and I moved so she could be closer to her twin and hold his hand.

I told them
everything, from beginning to end, of what I'd seen, felt and heard.

Everyone,
including me, had tears in their eyes when I finished, joy that there was
indeed hope to rescue Dean, and grief that he was in so much pain.

Dad looked up
at me. "What are you going to do, Son?"

"I need
to go to Rose and figure out how to help her control these powers."

He nodded. "Are
you just seeking her out to save Dean, or do you still love her and want to be
with her?"

My heart
constricted. "Is it bad that I still love her? That I couldn't move on,
even knowing she hurt Dean? That I've never stopped wanting her?"

My mother
stood and embraced me. "We have all known your feelings for her. You are
not betraying Dean or any of us by being with her. She's not our enemy, and we
don't judge a person by their family."

My chest
expanded for the first time in weeks, taking in air denied to it. But I still
needed one more person's blessing.

I turned to
Tammy. "I won't get involved with her if it would hurt you too much to see
me with the woman who caused so much pain to Dean."

She looked up
from her twin. "Derek, Dean gave his blessing. If he's okay with it, then so
am I. Besides, I met her. I know she's not evil. I also know you two are perfect
for each other. Mom's right. You've been the only one standing in your way for
happiness, not us."

I couldn't
believe that I'd let my own fears ruin something so amazing. "It's too
late. I was awful to her last time we talked. She'll never forgive me. Not to
mention I have no idea how to help her control her powers, so I'm not even sure
how to help Dean." The optimism and hope I'd felt vanished as reality
settled in.

Dad cleared
his throat, and we all looked at him. "Remember several months ago, all
that news coverage about paranormal teens coming out of the closet and the
showdown in Hawaii?"

I nodded. It'd
been a media blitz for a day or two, then it died down as more and more 'experts'
came on to debunk it as a hoax. After all, such things couldn't exist in our
modern world.

"I'm
friends with the priest who's been helping them. They have a school right here
in Washington that specializes in training paranormals. I can put in a call. He
might be able to help Rose, and thus help Dean."

The hope I'd
thought was dead blossomed back to life at his words. Maybe Rose would never
forgive me, but I could at least free her from the fear of her powers and save
Dean in the process. That had to count for something.

I just hoped
that after everything I'd put her through, she'd agree to go with me.

We should be woo'd,
and were not made to woo.

I'll follow thee,
and make a heaven of hell

—William Shakespeare,
A Midsummer Night's Dream

Dear Diary,

Love, lust, desire, fear… all of these emotions are tied up inside of
me like knots in a noose, ready to choke the life out of me as soon as I fall.

The choices I face should be easier now. After all, I really only have
one option, one man who loves me and who I can unguardedly be with intimately.
One man who hasn't rejected me because of my past, or my family, or my dark
gift.

And though I feel the heat of a burning fire in my belly when Blake
appears, it dies out when he's gone, but my love for Derek, my ache to be with
him, that never leaves me. I am forever bound to a love I cannot have.

OCEAN'S EYES WIDENED
as I told her about the night before.
She'd gotten home a few hours after I woke up, after crashing at a friend's in
Seattle while the storm wound itself down.