Chapter 16
As soon as my mind processed that I was standing back in Adessa’s living room with my feet planted firmly on the black and white tile floor, and that Nicholas no longer had a hold of me, I took off in a mad sprint for the doorway. But Nicholas grabbed on to the back of my shirt and yanked me backward, crashing me into him.
“Don’t even think about running off.” Nicholas breathed hotly. “You’re not going anywhere until we get something straight.”
I started to scream for help, but he slapped his hand down on my mouth. I raised my arm up as far as it would go and elbowed him in the ribs, but I think I did more damage to my elbow than I did to him.
“Nice try,” Nicholas said. “But it’s going to take a lot more effort than that.”
A lot more effort as in a kick in the shin. It worked once for me, so why not give it a try. I brought my leg up, and kicked him in the shin with my foot, but I swear he’d gotten stronger since the last time I’d done it to him, because it barely fazed him.
“I don’t know about you, but I could do this all day,” he said in a tone that made my skin crawl. “In fact, I think I might take you back with me—keep a hold of you for awhile.”
Take me back? Take me back where? I flipped out as the possibilities of where he was thinking of taking me poured through my head. I did the only thing I could think of to get away. I bit down on Nicholas’s hand, sinking my teeth into his clammy skin. He let out a scream that vibrated at my eardrums, and then I felt his grip loosen, allowing me to squirm free.
“Laylen!” I shouted, sprinting for the doorway again.
Nicholas’s footsteps thumped against the tile floor as he chased after me. I felt his fingers graze my back right as I took a step up the stairs. Then he was pulling me back to him.
“Help!” I screamed, flinging my weight forward.
And then a miracle happened. Laylen was suddenly there, prying Nicholas off of me, and I skittered away from them as Laylen gave Nicholas a hard shove onto the living room floor.
“If you ever touch her again,” Laylen said, standing over Nicholas. “You won’t be able to walk out of here.” At that moment, I could have hugged Laylen, but I’m not sure it would have been very rewarding for him, since I’ve never really hugged any one and it would probably just end up as a very awkward moment.
“Are you okay?” Laylen’s bright blue eyes examined me over.
I nodded, rubbing my soon-to-be-bruised shoulder.
“Yeah, I think so.”
“Did he hurt you?” he asked.
I shook my head and dropped my hand from my shoulder. “No, I’m okay.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah.”
All of a sudden, Nicholas was on his feet. He swiped the Ira off of the apothecary table and ran across the room, to the far corner, putting as much distance as he could between himself and Laylen.
Laylen moved for him, but Nicholas winked at me, and then he was gone. And so was the one thing that could get me into The Underworld.