Why isn’t there any romance in this show? That’s what’s missing. A good ol’ fashioned romance where the girl can only be rejected by one guy she’s fantasized about instead of four.
Why do I know that’s ol’ fashioned romance? Hell if I know. It’s just one of those things that is pointless for me to know, so I know it.
“What the hell happened to you?” Ezekiel asks as they get Harold situated in a chair near me.
Gage darts a suspicious glance at me, but I pretend not to notice as my attention seemingly stays fixed on the screen.
“Manella,” Harold bites out.
I just keep hearing this Manella fellow’s name. I think I’d like to kill him if he’s the one behind this.
“Lamar came to the shop last night, stuck a Decay Dagger in my gut, and took over my identity long enough to pass you along some tainted spirits.”
Jude goes to the kitchen, which is next to us and easy to see. He snatches the open bottle of liquor that left them so vulnerable and sniffs it.
“This is why I slept so hard,” he growls.
“I’ve never slept as hard as I did last night, but it was like I was locked in a nightmare and couldn’t escape. What the fuck is it?” Ezekiel asks him.
“It’s noctem root found only in Purgatory. But’s it’s hard to find,” Harold says, snarling. “I had to watch Lamar put it into my spirit drinks. That dagger left me paralyzed. Then Lamar shifted to look like me, and you dicks didn’t know the difference.”
Kai takes a seat on the end of the couch, far away from me, as he faces Harold. “You’re in neutral territory. You’re supposed to be untouchable by law. We never thought we had to question if it was you,” Kai points out.
“Apparently Manella isn’t concerned with law right now. Whatever is going on, he wants you four out of the trials. Those questions you’ve been asking are definitely getting more interesting. How are you even alive right now? I had to listen to him call in a hit to any being with the balls to come after you. Once I managed to get that dagger out of my chest, I learned of at least seven who took the opportunity.”
Eleven men tried to cash in on that hit, to be exact. But who’s counting?
I feel the weight of four very intense stares swing toward me, but I pretend as though I find my nails to be fascinating.
“What are you looking at?” Harold asks, confusion in his tone.
“Nothing,” Kai grumbles, which digs that little knife of theirs a little deeper into my gut.
I spent my night killing men to save their lives, but I’m nothing.
Awesome guys I’ve somehow been tied to, huh?
Pricks.
“No one managed to kill us,” Gage states vaguely.
“Then I guess you were lucky, since you didn’t drink the root,” Harold says in a relieved breath, even though he knows they were lucky because they’re not dead. “I’ve spent the night trying to get that damn dagger free from my chest. I’m sure Lamar expected it to kill me on this plane.”
Jude lowers himself to a chair right beside me, his eyes raking over me. I continue to pretend as though I’m aloof and uninterested in their attention, my eyes lifting to watch the show again when the commercial break is over.
Ezekiel takes a seat on the couch, his body almost touching mine. But I never lift my gaze from the TV, though I now have no clue what’s going on.
“What do you two keep looking at?” Harold asks.
“If Manella is getting this desperate, then we need to do something about our security. Clearly the protection spell surrounding this place has been drained,” Kai says to his brothers.
Even his gaze flicks to me momentarily, but I don’t give him the satisfaction of looking his way.
“I need something to suck the last of this poison out of me. I’ve fought it all I can,” Harold says on a weary breath.
“Shit. Of course,” Gage says as he leaps to his feet and moves through the house.
I hear cupboards banging for a minute before he returns with something. I can’t see it from my peripheral, and I’m still making a concentrated effort not to look at them.
As he gives Harold whatever it is, I stand, my eyes averting all of them, even as they all watch me.
I pass through the couch, moving toward the stairs. They’ll be leaving for the gauntlet soon, and I’d like to hitch a ride this time, so I’m staying close so as not to get left behind again. I’ll hide in the weapons closet, since they aren’t wearing their weapons yet.
“I need to call Dominic. He needs to hear about this,” Harold says. “Lamar will face consequences for touching an Elder on neutral ground, though I doubt he’ll point a finger at Manella. But you boys need to be careful today. They’ll come for you in there. Very few survive the gauntlet, and no one will think about it.”
“I’ll get you a ride,” I hear Kai telling him.
They continue to talk about conspiracy theories, as I pass into the weapons closet and wait.
No more than ten minutes later, I hear, “Get out here, nameless girl. We need to speak to you.”
Kai doesn’t sound overly pleased to be summoning me, and I don’t particularly like being summoned. So I stay in my place.
“Where the fuck did she go?” Gage asks, sounding as though he’s in the hallway.
“She can pass through walls, so who fucking knows?” Jude growls.
“Come out…We really need a name to call her,” Ezekiel states.
Why give me a name when they simply plan to pretend I don’t exist?
“She looks like a Mary,” Jude deadpans.
The word virgin seems to accompany that name, and it doesn’t sound quite like me, since I don’t plan on being a virgin when I’m whole.
“Something a little edgier would better suit her if she’s killing assassins in our sleep,” Kai tells him, and I tilt my head, a little more interested.
The prospect of having a name does make my heart beat a little faster.
“Keyla,” Ezekiel says suddenly, and my heart all but sputters.
“Why that name?” Kai asks.
“Because of that show she was watching. Keyla is the one who is constantly fending off the worst of the attacks. Maybe our little haunter considers herself our protector. Not a scratch is on us after someone drugged us and left us to die. The protection spell has been drained, leaving us vulnerable in such a condition. We should be dead if Manella dropped a hit.”
It sounds like they’re moving closer to me.
“If she can’t touch things, as she claims, then how did she fend off seven highly trained assassins?” Jude asks skeptically.
Eleven, I silently amend. But again, who’s counting?
“She kept saying she ‘leveled up’ after saving me that first night,” Gage answers. “Maybe the same thing happened last night.”
“It’s doubtful Manella has anything to do with her being here if he just sacrificed Lamar’s life to set up this hit on us. Last time he sent one man, and that man died. This time, he sent a small army and attacked an elder on neutral ground. He wouldn’t have done that and then asked her to save us, knowing what his failure will cost him. Lamar is his lover as well as his most trusted man.”
Well, that’s downright intriguing drama. I lean forward, interested in this conversation.