The Dark Bloom (The Faery Meadow Book 2) Read online

  "How did you know?" I ask curiously.

  "Simple. He can smell his own kind. I'm guessing the demon touched you?" Lorcan says with disgust.

  "Look, the demon told me he was going to tell 'them' he found me." I explain feeling uncomfortable. I'm still feeling unnerved after the close contact with the demon.

  "It was only a matter of time until they found us anyway. I'm sure the witches have already found a portal by now. It is unusual that they found a demon to work for them though that fast. We need to leave here." Colt sighs with agitation. He starts gathering some of his iron weapons on the floor into a pile.

  "Now where are we going? Are we just going to keep running all over Hell? We can't run forever." Lorcan retorts while kicking Colt's pile of weapons.

  Colt becomes rigid with fury and stands up to his full height. I speak up wanting to difuse the tension.

  "Fighting between ourselves will get us nowhere. If we want to stay hidden we need to immerse ourselves into society, but maybe we should keep moving, trying another town. We've drawn enough attention here." I explain.

  "She's right you know. Your demonic attitude is going to be a hinderance if our journey is to be successful." Lorcan chides.

  "Lorcan, please just be quiet." I sigh, while staring at the red moon.

  "The best time to leave is as soon as we can. Which is now." Colt states flatly. He heaves his weapons over his shoulder and opens the door harshly, letting it slam against the wall as he exits the room.

  "He waits for no one, but I'll always wait for you." Lorcan whispers into my ear. Despite my bitter thoughts towards Lorcan I can't help, but feel satisfied at his small remark. Maybe then again it's just some of the remnants of the "fae bond" we use to have kicking in.

  Lorcan follows me out the door.

  _____________________________________

  Since we left the hotel, we made it safely out of the small town. Now we begin trecking our way over the rough terrain of Hell. Which I'm beginning to see a pattern of me tripping over myself for what seems like every five seconds.

  It's not like we're walking through Hell in the middle of the night with only the dim glow of the red moon to guide us.

  My feet are so sore and tired they decide to stop moving as if they have a mind of their own. I breathe heavily, exghausted from all the walking. If I dare shut my eyes for even a couple seconds, I could easily fall asleep standing up.

  "I think we should stop." Lorcan says while supporting me around my waist. I'm too tired to bother swatting his arm away.

  Colt turns around glancing at Lorcan and I.

  "You're probably right. Although camping outside the towns of Hell is not recommended to anyone looking to survive down here I suppose we can." Colt says.

  "Shall I gather wood then?" Lorcan asks with surprising awakeness.

  "No. Unless you want to draw attention to yourself and be eaten alive while you sleep. I will go find us some breakfast for tomorrow. I'll be back." Colt grunts while fading into the darkness.

  "Okay then." Lorcan says with a loud yawn. He rests back propping himself up on an elbow facing me as I lay on my back.

  "I guess demons aren't afraid of the dark." I mutter quietly.

  "Well atleast he isn't. Speaking of him, how exactly did he rid you of our bond if I may ask?" Lorcan says in a serious tone.

  "He drained me of your blood. Then gave me some of his-to help me recover." I explain quickly. I can tell something's bothering Lorcan by his silence. I dare not look over at him, instead I stare up into the blood red moon.

  "He bonded himself to you. Which I'm sure you've probably realised by now, am I wrong?" Lorcan says with heated anger.

  "I don't know, all I know is that he ended my bond with you." I clench through my teeth. I just want to go to sleep, not stay up all night arguing.

  "I suppose you also don't know this. That demon's are attracted to those their bonded with during a red moon." Lorcan adds, while snapping a dead branch between his hands.

  "Is this more of the demon myths you were taught?" I say with a forced laugh.

  "Colt told me, Elaine. Haven't you noticed him avoiding you? He should have just told you himself." He states coldly.

  "Told her what?" Colt asks in a low voice. He steps out of the shadows, then drops a mutated looking rabbit inbetween Lorcan and I. I quickly scoot away from it, watching Colt's satisfied grin.

  "You know what." Lorcan retorts, while shoving the dead rabbit away from his head.

  "As I thought you would, you've already told her all there is to tell. If there is any bond between you and I it will be very strong the time we are in Hell. The moon's always red here." Colt says while watching me carefully.

  I lay back down and rest on my side facing away from the two of them. I trust them both. I've already dealt with stythe Lorcan during our bond, I don't think some red moon mate thing will be much more difficult to put up with.

  "Colt, I am not afraid of you, you haven't done anything to give me reason to be." I add gently.

  "That is because we have only just arrived here. The longer we stay down here if there is any bond between us, it will get stronger. It will bring out my demonic instincts, I won't be able to control myself." Colt replies sharply.

  "You said you've never heard of your kind mating with a fae. I'm sure there is nothing to worry about. Now can we please get some sleep?" I manage to say without yawning.

  I glance over towards Colt to see him settle down to the right of me while Lorcan remains laying down beside me on my left.

  "Goodnight." I whisper falling into a deep sleep.

  _________________________________

  "Elaine..." A husky voice calls faintly.

  "W-who's there?" I call back into the pitch black space around me.

  The air is thick and heavy, unknown.

  I grasp into the empty space around me feeling alone and disorianted in this freezing cold dark abyss.

  "Hello?" I say with a weak voice, giving up on hope of getting any answer.

  Strangely, my hair is still white and my skin is still pale. Where am I?

  I look down at myself to see I'm wearing the same dress I was wearing at the party. The pale yellow and pink colors of my dress sharply contrast against the complete darkness around me.

  Panic grows in the pit of my stomach as my feet seem to be glued in place.

  "I've found you, little one." A familiar voice purrs from behind me. Alarms go off in my head, but I remain faced forward.

  Warm hands land on my shoulder making the coldness of the room seep out of my skin, I sigh embarrassingly loud. My body shivers involentarily under the strange warmth.

  "You're the demon from before." I say remembering his voice. The witches must be still using him to spy on me.

  "Mmm..." His voice grumbles, I feel his hands trace a warm path down my arms. While his stare burns into the back of my head.

  "Tell the witches that they will never get the fae kingdom." I add with a steady voice.

  My skin becomes prickly as silence prolongs.

  A sinister chuckle resounds behind me, coming from the demon man.

  "I am not associated with any such witches." The demon says, walking in front of me. His short spiky pale hair almost matches his pale eyes. He wears black pants, but no shirt, I glimpse at his intimidating muscles.

  "What do you want with me? I'm just a demon." I lie, I know he didn't believe me the first time I told him, I also blew faery glitter in his face. I've already blown my cover.

  "You're no demon." He counters with a knowing grin. He closes the distance between us and I'm forced to crane my neck to look up at him.

  "Tell me what you are or I'll find out myself." He taunts.

  Seeing as I give him no reply, he chuckles darkly.

  "What do you want from me?" I ask with panic.

  "Nothing different than any other demon." He whispers in a low voice while sliding his strangely warm hands down my sides to rest at my waist. My mind
screams for me to run away, but my legs and arms remain immobile, perhaps under some spell or perhaps frozen in fear.

  "What would that be?" I ask with a quiver.

  "To take everything from you." He says shortly. Suddenly, he flickers out of sight and the warmth radiating off of him leaves with him.

  The air is quiet for a moment, then I feel something icy slither down my spine and I shudder. Involuntarily, my fae wings appear. However, even the faint glow of my wings sends no light around me.

  "A faery. Aren't I lucky?" The demon man says from behind me, I would've jumped if my feet were not glued to the floor.

  "No wonder Colt was hiding you from me." He says with a dark smile, circling me.

  "How do you know Colt? Tell me who you are." I command.

  "Let's just say Colt is one of my many friends. As for me...you can call me Viktor." He says with dancing eyes. The way his eyes stare hungrily at me makes me fidget.

  "Seeing as Colt never informed you about the potential mishaps one may find themself in, in Hell, such as the one you are in now...Elaine." Viktor draws out slowly.

  "What are you getting at?" I ask annoyed.

  "Long story short Colt took something of mine. Demons aren't about getting even...no no no no no." Viktor coos creepily.

  "Demons are all about taking as much as they can. And more." Viktor says while staring directly into my eyes.

  "I guess that makes sense." I retort.

  "Did Colt ever tell you about Hell's moon?" Viktor says offhandedly.

  "It's when the pull between mates is strong." I answer him.

  "Oh is that all? He left out a pretty important part." Viktor says with satisfaction.

  "W-what?" I ask nervous of the growing sadistic look on Viktor's face.

  "It is true you are bonded to him." Viktor states.

  "Yes." I reply unsure.

  "You see no demon has ever bonded with a faery, that is until you. In fact, demons have only ever bonded with demons. Do you know what happens in Hell with demons who are bonded?" Viktor asks me.

  "No I do not." I reply honestly.

  "Once a demon bonds with another demon, meaning they somehow exchange blood, the bond on the female is up for grabs. In other words, the bonded female is available for any demon to mate with and seal the mate bond." Viktor says slowly.

  "That's ridiculous. Colt would have told me that if it were true." I huff, refusing to believe I'm some kind of demon mate magnet.

  "Why do you think demons never leave Hell? There's plenty of demons to bond and mate with down here all the time. That's why it is Hell. So to go bring another being, a faery and a female one at that down here only piqued my interest." Viktor says while running a hand through his hair.

  "The longer you stay in Hell the more demons will be drawn to you. There is only one way to end that." Viktor says.

  "Don't worry, little one. I won't take you tonight. We demons don't mate the same way the fae do. It requires much more time." Viktor says while giving me a slow once over. His eyes stare at me longingly, I try not to think about his last statement.

  "You're letting me go?" I ask eagerly.

  "Yes. And another thing. Colt is going to die soon, I hope you have not grown too attached to him." Viktor says pretending to sniffle.

  "How would you even know such a thing?" I pry.

  "Because little one, I'm going to kill him." Viktor says with a sly smirk.

  I give Viktor a glare and struggle in my restraint.

  "Don't look at me like that little one, I think it's time you wake up. Ask Colt about me why don't you? And don't be worrying about those witches, I'll take care of them myself." Viktor says while turning away from me, walking back into the darkness.

  "Why are you doing this?" I cry out.

  Viktor dissapears into the shadows and once again I'm left alone.

  "Because I'm going to make you mine, little one." Viktor's voice whispers into my ear, as if he were right behind me. Feeling my body suddenly able to move I turn around, but he's gone.

  Chapter 6-Distracted

  Gulping for air, I wake up panicked.

  The sound of arguing registers in my mind and I groggily put the lingering disturbing fears from my dream on the back burner.

  "I'll kill you now! Elaine is not your mate, you kill our kind for a living! You've been tricking her this entire time! Weaving her into your lies with your demon tricks." Lorcan vents while pushing Colt away from him.

  "She came to me, as she said herself." Colt retorts while spitting on the ground, awfuly close to Lorcan's shoes.

  "You didn't tell her about the tearen. So I will tell her-" Lorcan begins to say, but Colt slaps his hand over Lorcan's mouth.

  The ground below ripples, with shaky legs I stand up. Shadows are drawn in from our surroundings creeping in Colt's direction. Soon enough his shadow form takes over.

  "You will not breathe a word of that." Colt says in a deadly voice, the same voice he spoke in right before he attacked the demon girl. His laugh almost reminds me of Lorcan's creepy stythe laugh. Maybe the voice Colt has now is really part of his demon side.

  "What are you arguing about? Nevermind that, I need to talk to you both." I say while staring at the rabbit cooking over the fire. Morning and night in Hell are really pretty much the same. The morning sky is only slightly more bright then night time.

  They both seem to have a stare down before silently breaking their death glares from each other. Colt returns to his normal self again.

  "I am no one's "mate" now, at least that we know. That leaves no more room for argument. Anyway, what I wanted to tell you was about my dream. The demon from yesterday was in it. He said his name was Viktor and he is not with the witches, he claims." I say while watching Lorcan kick out the remains of the fire.

  "Most demons do well to avoid him. As should we. I gather he said more. Go on." Colt grunts with agitation.

  "He said...he would take care of the witches. He said something else too." I mumble while fidgeting with the ends of my shirt sleeves.

  I decide to not bring up the whole "mate magnet" thing. That should be the least of my worries if Colt might be endangered by this deranged demon.

  "He said he would kill you." I add while looking Colt in the eyes. His face becomes guarded.

  "Well this Viktor may be doing me a favor. I owe him." Lorcan chides while standing up with new encouragement. I shoot Lorcan a cold stare, he only smiles slyly in return so I look away.

  "Viktor is not one to speak lightly of, fairyboy." Colt scolds.

  "How exactly does he know you then?" Lorcan sneers.

  "He lived in my town when we were children. We were once perhaps considered friends. No more though. All demons down here want more power, I took his chances of that away. Demons don't all have the same power." Colt explains.

  "What is his power?" I say nervously.

  "Viktor is a dream walker. He entered your mind when you fell asleep. If dream walkers touch someone during the day they will only be able to enter that person's mind the same night. Dream walkers can sift through memories and your thoughts when they enter your dream. Did he grab your head?" Colt asks with suspicion.

  "N-no. I couldn't have run away even if he did. I couldn't move in my dream. I wanted to escape, but it was as if my feet were glued to the ground." I tell Colt.

  "It is hard to say if Viktor found out anything. He could of just wandered into your dream and wandered out, as many dream walkers do. Though it is highly unlikely." Colt replies.

  "What would he want with Elaine? Why not just dream walk into your mind, demon?" Lorcan asks with anger.

  "He has said he would rid us of the witches. Let us not question his word. If he comes for me, he comes. He will find a way. If there's one thing you both need to know about Viktor, it is that he follows his word and he will find us. As for why he chose to enter Elaine's dream, be sure it is no act of mere curiosity. We need to get away from Viktor, it is time we leave." Colt grunts while standing
up.

  I can not help, but be disturbed by the fact that Viktor can now just enter my mind if he touches me somehow during the day. The thought of him entering my dreams again makes ny stomach churn.

  "Getting out of Hell it seems won't be enough to get away from Viktor, will it?" I sigh.

  "Dream walkers can only enter your dreams at night if they have touched you during the same day. Judging from the encounter you had with him yesterday, I'd say some sort of physical contact was made?" Colt says with a knowing look.

  It is true, he shoved me against the wall of the hotel hallway. He had touched my arm.

  "He shoved me in the hotel hallway, before I ran away from him." I say.

  "We must all be careful to avoid Viktor. Be careful in your dreams. Viktor has never left Hell, so let us hope it stays that way. If he visits you in your dreams again Elaine, try to keep your mind blank. Do everything you can to distance yourself from him. If you somehow see him during the day, don't let him get near you." Colt warns.

  "But last time I couldn't-" I begin to explain in a rushed voice, but Lorcan speaks over me.

  "The demon is right. If Viktor really wants to leave Hell, we should not stay around. We need to get ahead of him in case he follows us, judging by Viktor's grudge on your demon friend, our best bet is to go back to the fae realm. If he follows us on our way there-we will leave the demons to fight their problems out." Lorcan spits.

  "We will not leave Colt. You wanted to come here Lorcan. We are partly responsible for raising this issue. We will help Colt deal with Viktor when the time comes." I huff.

  "Fine. Sooner or later we will part ways and I will be taking Elaine with me." Lorcan says while glaring at Colt with hate.

  "Would you please give it up? We have to work together." I say. It would be nice if we could go one day without any arguing.

  "You do not yet know what it means to be unmated. It is a disgrace in fae culture to be parted from one's mate so quick. Especially when one was unaware of it even happening to begin with." Lorcan vents.

  Lorcan was the one who called me a mistake.

  "Get over it fairyboy." Colt chuckles darkly.

  Abruptly, Lorcan jumps up from his sitting position. A sadistic growl resounds from his direction.