The Celestial Kiss (4 page)

The next time the door opened, I had no way of knowing how much time had passed.  I only knew that I was angry, and I’d ove to sink my teeth into either of them so that they could understand even a fraction of what I felt.  I wanted to bite them, even though the thought of their metallic blood disgusted me. I wanted to throw myself at either of them and kick, scream, anything that would ease this corrosive hatred burning a hole through me.

But this time it was a girl, probably around my age, tall, and beautiful. 

She stepped closer, and when I shrugged away, looked as though she had been slapped.  “You don’t have to be afraid of me,” The girl insisted, flashing a key and a small smile, “I’m going to unlock you.”

My heart faltered.  Was this a trick, or was she taking me somewhere worse?  Either way, I didn’t have much choice, and so I let her support my wrist with her hand as she twisted the key.  I eyed her cautiously, considering her kind face, until the chain dropped free, and she moved to the second one.  When it fell to the ground with a resounding clank, the relief was immediate.  I felt lighter, shaking my wrists to return the feeling to them.

“Oh, I’ve forgotten my manners,” The girl said, stretching her hand out to me.  “I’m Janna.”

With her hand out, she looked like a child trying to earn the trust of a stray dog.  The irony of that imagery wasn’t lost upon me.   I fixed her hand with a reproachful stare until she retracted it.

My eyes flickered to the door that she’d left open.  Was she testing me, or did she think I didn’t stand a chance of escaping?

“I want to help you.”  She said.

“Is this what you consider helping me?”  I sneered.  “Locking me up in your cellar?” 

“I know you won’t believe it, but that’s really for your own good.”

“Of course it is.  And attacking me, was that for my own good too?  Some sort of initiation into this little gang of yours?”

“Gang?”  Janna repeated.  Her mouth turned down a little, and a delicate crease formed at the bridge of her nose as she tried to understand.

“This whole good cop, bad cop routine you’ve got going on with the other guys,” I said, “It’s not going to work on me, so just tell me what you want from me.”

Understanding lit her eyes.  “You mean my brothers?”  She laughed.  “Julius can be callous, yes.  But James…he just doesn’t know how to react right now.  No one does, really.” 

“You can answer some of my questions.”  I suggested.  “Like what you are doing with me?”

“Okay, fair enough.”  Janna nodded at the door, but I remained still as she began to walk toward it.  “Unless you
don’t
want to know what we’ve planned for you.  In that case, you’re welcome to stay here ‘til you’ve changed your mind.”

She was practically out the door by the time I gathered myself up.  The pulsing had taken up residency in my head again, and the moment I stepped from the previously dark room, the afternoon sun that poured in through a nearby window assaulted my eyes.  Yet I followed her, fingers skimming the stone wall in an effort to keep steady, because my other choice was to go back to the darkness and lay there until I was dead.  With each step we took, I grew more confident in my own balance, and the light began to hurt less.  I took the newfound sense of clarity as an opportunity to take in my surroundings, but there was not much to see.

We were walking down a very long hallway, with large wooden doors on either side every couple of feet.  Simple brick walls were about all that there was to the space, except for the window at the end of the hall behind us.  The further we went down the corridor, the darker it got, until we stopped in almost complete blackness.  I’d been focusing on everything but the direction we were headed, looking for any route of escape other than the one I was being led to.  For that reason, I hadn’t noticed we’d come to a dead end. 

I fixed Janna with a suspicious look, but she placed her hand there and found a latch.  Moments later the bricks parted to form a space just large enough for us to pass through.  Janna stepped through immediately, obscuring my view, but as I followed I saw that wherever we had come from, we were now in what appeared to be a house.  Here, the surroundings were far less dull.

Sunlight illuminated everything, so intense that I cringed away from it.  The entire ceiling was a glass dome, supported by concrete beams that came down to form columns in the walls.  The entire room, in fact, was circular, and I took a step back to observe it better without the barrage of the sun. 

Dark wood floors gleamed against the light, and archways nestled in between the columns, all open, offered an unhampered view of other parts of the…what was it, actually?  A mansion? 

The archway directly opposite us was closed off by two heavy oak doors.  I realized it for what it was—my escape.  With no one else around, I might have the perfect chance now, if I just made a break for it.  Janna did not seem to be impressively athletic.  I contemplated the thought a moment too long, because in the next second, two figures emerged from the archway right next to us.  I saw James first, but when my eyes fell on Julius, I took my chance and ran.

I had barely made it halfway across the expansive room when I ran into what felt like a brick wall, and felt hands on my arms, locking me in place.  I tore out of Julius’ grasp so quickly that the force knocked me backwards.  James offered me a helping hand, palm up.  I looked at him with such disdain that I expected him to withdraw it, but he didn’t let his hand fall to his side until I was on my feet and had put a little space between us. 

“What number did you do on her?”  Janna scowled at her brothers. 

“Janna,” The younger brother’s voice sharpened on her name.  James.

“I’m just saying, she’s terrified of you.  Look at her.”  Janna placed a gentle hand on my arm, but her touch burned right through me.  I tore away, angry that she thought she had any right to act like we were friends.  Julius’ lips twitched, but Janna seemed unaffected.  “Anyways, we were just going to get ready.”

“An hour early?” 

“Well, I don’t know, Julius,” Her voice was sprinkled with sarcasm, “but I think if I’d been thrown into a cellar for days, I’d want a long, hot shower before meeting the King’s council.”

“I wouldn’t waste our water on the likes of her.”  His dark eyes seemed to see right through me, as though I were insubstantial.  My life meant nothing to him, but for some reason here I still was.  “Besides, she probably only likes to bathe in the blood of the innocent.”

“Don’t be crass.”  His sister chided.  “She’s a guest.”

“She’s worthless,” Julius rolled his eyes and walked away, then offered a warning over his shoulder, “Don’t be late.”

Janna rolled her own eyes by way of response, and then turned to her other brother.  “We’ll see you in an hour.”  He didn’t answer except for a nod, his thoughtful gaze fixated on me, and went off to follow his brother.  Janna turned to me.  “I promise they’re not always so intolerable.  This way.”

She led me under one of the arches, and I was surprised to see that the room was relatively small.  Janna made her way to a tall staircase that spiraled upwards, and I followed her, knowing I couldn’t go back the other way. At the top there was a landing with several doors, and she showed me to the first of them.  “Just about everything you’ll need is in there, including a change of clothes.  Makeup too, if that’s your thing, though you clearly don’t need it.” 

I really looked at her for the first time, and saw the compassion in her eyes, rich and warm like melted chocolate.  It made me uncomfortable.  I reached hesitantly for the handle, uncertain whether I should believe that I was really headed to take a shower and not to have my head chopped off.  But something about her made me want to trust her, so holding my breath, I opened it and stepped into what was easily the largest bathroom I’d ever seen.

True to her word, Janna had set out clothing for me, neatly folded on the counter.  The shower seemed large enough to accommodate several people.  I pulled back the curtain quickly, wary that there was someone waiting to lunge out from behind it.  But I was alone in the oversized bathroom, and that left me with an opportunity.  Unfortunately, there was not a single window in the entire space.  The only door revealed nothing more than a linen closet and I even tried the door I’d entered through, which had locked behind me.  With nowhere to go, I decided I may as well take advantage of the shower.

The hot water did a number of services for me, from relaxing away the aches in my body to clearing away the cobwebs in my head.  When I emerged from the steam what seemed like hours later, I felt nothing short of refreshed.  I dressed in the clothes that had been set out on the counter, a simple pink dress that was just a bit too bright.  I thought of the lithe girl outside who’d no doubt plucked this from her closet for me, and couldn’t help but feel silly.  I had been attacked and imprisoned without much of an explanation, and still with no answers, I was playing dress up.

I felt too vulnerable, too exposed when I looked in the mirror.  The thin straps didn’t cover much of my marred neck, but I brushed my hair out and laid it across my shoulders.  It was the best I could do, but it wasn’t enough.  

This time when I tried to open the door, it was unlocked, and Janna stood on the other side.  She too, looked refreshed, wearing a fresh dress and a smile.  “You look great.”  She said, as though we were old friends.  “Now just relax.  The king isn’t as bad as his sons.”  Janna smiled to herself, and before I could ask anything, she led me down the stairs and into one of the various entryways.  Behind yet another door, she stopped and led me down a short hall.

It occurred to me then why they hadn’t bothered adding anyone else to my security detail.  This place was a labyrinth, with doors and hallways all intersecting each other to the point where it felt like we were walking in a big circle.  I’d never be able to find my way out from here.  At least, not alone.

We stopped finally in a large chamber that echoed when the door closed behind us.  A platform ran the length of the wall, with a long line of people sitting in tall-backed chairs.  The man who sat in the middle was distinguishable from the rest, not only by a significantly larger, more ornate chair, but because he was easily the oldest.  His head was bent, focused on something that lay on the table before him, but I still noticed the silver that threaded his hair.  To his left a woman sat unflinching, her green eyes shooting daggers my way.  Her vibrant red hair was pulled into a braid that draped over her shoulder, and her skin was so fair that in comparison with the others at the table, she might have passed for a vampire.  Certainly with that pinched look, she seemed far more likely a candidate than I.

Janna nodded for me to continue further into the room and then slipped away, leaving me to walk down the aisle toward the group of people at the end of the room.  As I walked, I was aware that every eye turned toward me, so I straightened, walking with purpose and the remnants of dignity I still clung to, smoothing the skirt of my dress.  It wasn’t until I stopped just before them all that the man in the middle seat looked up at me.

In that moment, I realized what Janna had meant about the king being more tolerable than his sons, for I recognized his sparkling eyes, a feature he’d passed onto Janna.    More astonishing, however, was the consideration there.  It was not a look that burned with hatred, but one that appraised me with simple curiosity—one that seemed almost peaceful.  “Well,” he spoke, and to my surprise his voice was strong, not weak and rickety as his body would suggest.  He smiled, though I couldn’t decide if it was for his benefit or mine.  “You must be our guest.”

“Lilith.”  My voice was terse.  I didn’t like being referred to as a guest, as if it were commonplace to invite friends over for cocktails and then chain them up in the dark.  For all I knew, they did.

“You possess the name of a demon.”  He informed me.  “But surely not the qualities of one?”

I ignored the question, considering his gaunt face and relative pallor.  Of course I knew I was the namesake of a legendary demon.  Lilith the evil one, the demon who refused Adam, tempted Eve with the apple and birthed original sin.  No doubt my father had hoped I would have a legacy as warped as hers.

Janna stood on the opposite side of me, with her hands clasped neatly before her.  I noticed the gold bracelets glittering at her wrists, the understated way the boys stood together in attire that was an odd combination of formal and casual.  They were royalty, though who had bestowed that title upon them, I couldn’t imagine.  It explained why they felt they could treat me as they did.

I danced around the question, uncomfortable with the presence of so many people watching me, their dark eyes passing judgement.  The king nodded, seemingly letting my silence answer his question.  “What brought you here?”

For a moment, the question caught me off guard.  "What brought me here?"  In case he couldn't detect it in my voice, my face must have shown my confusion.  Though there was nothing funny about the question, I laughed.  "A werewolf.  That one, actually."  I jerked my thumb in the direction of his sons, waiting for the cynical look.

Instead, his eyes shifted and he looked at the men, standing together on the side of the room, observant.  Julius’ arms were crossed, the epitome of casual.  James, however, looked uneasy, wringing his hands before him.  "Why
did
you bring her here, James?"