Chapter 17

Brady kept that same devious smile in place until I was within reach, then snatched my hand and tugged me towards him. I slammed into his blood red chest, and it was smooth, hard, and far too nice considering the circumstances.

"Rocks, Amelia?"

I looked up at him, and he wore a slightly amused, slightly condescending, expression.

"How did you–"

Brady pressed a finger to my lips, then turned his attention to the rest of the terrified group. "You saw nothing," he said in that strange voice of his, and everyone, to my dismay, reformed the circle as if we no longer existed. Brady's head nodded in satisfaction as he took in the dutiful little souls. That is, until his gaze landed on Red.

She hadn't budged, not an inch, and her mouth was still gapingly wide as she stared up at him.

"You saw nothing!" Brady hissed, and I could feel the air fizzle and crack with the command.

"Like hell I didn't!" Red shouted. "I see you. Dammit, I see you!" Her hand came up to her forehead, then slowly ran down her face. "You are... you're... you're fucking glorious!"

Brady's eyebrows furrowed. "You saw nothing." His voice was quiet, testing.

Me, I was the one in awe now, only it wasn't of Brady.

Red's lips curved into a half-crazy, half-seductive smirk. "Oh, yes I do," she sang. Then, like a soldier trained for combat, she hopped to her feet and stood ramrod straight. "I offer myself as tribute!" She shot her arm into the air, and pointed at herself with the other. "I shall be your sacrifice, oh fiery, sex kitten."

Brady stiffened, and his grip on my waist tightened. He looked around the circle of others, then growled, "Everyone else saw nothing. You all think the redhead is crazy!"

Red laughed. "Ha! Joke's one you! They already think that!" She pointed a finger at him.

Brady ignored her. His arms formed a vice hold around me, smashing me against his unyielding chest. The move squished my face, lips puckering out in what I'm sure was a very fish-like and unattractive expression.

Everything happened so fast. My eyes met Red's, and I managed a very muffled, "Help," just before brilliant blue light blinded me.

The ground beneath my feet vanished. My stomach jumped into my throat and every ounce of air whooshed out of my chest. I was flying but not flying, falling but not falling. I was up, down, and sideways all at once. I wrapped my arms around the only thing that remained of my existence, and unfortunately, it just happened to be the most unreal part of it.

Brady's chest heaved beneath my cheek the moment I hugged him, and I felt his chin rest against the top of my head. I would have objected had it not been for the lack of, well, everything.

Just when I'd thought I'd had enough, that I'd pass out or die, my feet finally settled down onto a surface, and the world slowly began to come back into view.

To my surprise, as my eyes readjusted, I found myself in the last place I'd thought he'd take me. My dorm room. I looked up to question him, but the familiar electric blue shimmering through his irises made me pull away.

Brady held firm. "You'll fall," he explained, then ever so gently, he turned and lowered me down onto the edge of my bed. He looked around the room. "This is it?"

I let my own gaze wander around my meager and bare furnishings, and anger made its way past the fog in my brain. "My last place was fucking haunted."

Brady tilted his head and rolled his shoulder in a smooth sort of way. "I suppose you're wondering why I brought you here."

I watched him closely, waiting for a trick. Brady took my silence as a prompt to continue. "This is where you want to be, is it not?"

I nodded once, but I wasn't biting. This was a trick. It was always a trick. Everything was always a fucking trick. My hands gripped the edge of the bare mattress.

Brady took two steps closer, then dropped down onto his heels in front of me. He was so massive, it put him almost eye level, and it was hard to think with those electric blues fixed so intently with mine. "That's why I brought you here. A show of good faith. In return, I need you to not pull anymore stunts like the one you just pulled."

"I want you to go away," I managed, but my voice was too quiet and weak for my liking.

He pushed himself up and turned. I watched as he wandered the small room, taking in Red's side, then my empty half. His gaze landed on the large space between the foot of my bed and the far wall. He didn't look back at me, didn't acknowledge my statement. Instead, his hand came out, and to my shock and amazement, a massive cherry wood desk appeared out of thin air to settle into the spot.

He turned to me, but his eyes focused on the mattress, and as he waved his hand again, I found myself sitting on a thick duvet. The feel of it was unlike any material I'd ever come in contact with, not cotton, not silk. Instinctively, my hands ran over the surface, and the texture could only be described by its creation- magic.

"What are you doing?" I asked, keeping my voice even so as not to show how much I wanted to keep the gifts. You don't accept gifts from the devil. And that's what Brady was, a devil, trying to coerce me, trying to steal my soul.

"I need to explain some things to you," he said evenly, all the while still waving his hand about, a new item appearing each time he did. Pillows, stationary, books, a laptop– I didn't bother pointing out that I still had one. "There are things you don't know, things you couldn't even begin to understand." He stopped and looked at me. "There is a whole part of this world you have no idea about." He stepped forward and took a seat beside me. To my surprise, I didn't move away, even though his leg was flush against mine, even though I could feel slight pulses of electricity from the mere contact.

His eyes were no longer electric, but still, when they met mine, I couldn't look away. It had to be magic, some sort of spell, but regardless, I listened.

"I'll show it to you," he continued. "But first, I need you to understand something more important. As much as you think you hate me, I'm not the one you need to be afraid of. Whatever sent your little," he paused and his lips twitched, "Piggy-backing friend at the hotel room, isn't something you want to be caught alone with."

I swallowed hard and took in his serious expression. There was something worse than that thing? Something worse than Brady? "You mean–"

"I mean," he gripped my hand tight, "You need me, Amelia. I can protect you. I want to protect you. But I can do nothing if you keep fighting against me."

The stones. "How did you get them?" I asked suddenly, pulling my hand away. "How'd you–"

He smirked, that infuriating smirk that helped to break the spell a little. "Think about it, sweetheart. All I had to do was have someone go in and get them. You were all too busy playing with that stupid board to even notice." He made a tutting noise as he shook his head. "See? This is why you need me."

"I don't!"

"You do!" he snapped, silencing me with his tone. He took a deep breath in through his nose and exhaled it slowly. "I will do so without interfering. I won't scare you. I won't mess with you. I'm sorry. You're just so–"

Once again, I sat silent. Did he just apologize? I'm sorry? I'm fucking sorry? A roaring sound filled my ears. "You're sorry! Sorry! Fuck off with your sorry! You ruined my entire–"

Brady held a hand up, and my voice locked into my throat. I tried to speak, to continue to rant, to hit him, but I was frozen in place by whatever magic he'd placed on me.

"Yes. Exactly. I'm sorry. Now," he looked at me levelly, "here's the deal. I am going to protect you, Amelia. Whether or not you stay in this dorm, go to this school, live the normal, boring, bland life you treasure so much, depends on your cooperation."

My muscles relaxed as he stood and slowly paced the room. He gestured towards each wall, the window, the doorframe, and glowing blue swirls of light trailed each motion. All whilst chanting, low and smooth, his voice like smoke, the language too foreign to be human.

"What is that?" I asked. I wanted to scream some more, to argue, but his words echoed through my mind. There was no getting away. This only proved it. Cooperation in exchange for freedom...

"I'm making it so no more of your little friends, or enemies," he glanced in my direction, "can come in."

He must have finished, because he stopped chanting and turned around. "Goodnight, Amelia. You need to rest. I'll be back to explain more tomorrow, but remember what I said. Don't make me regret this decision any more than I already do." With that, he disappeared, and all I could do was stare at the empty spot, wondering how my mind would ever be able to keep up with this rollercoaster of a life I'd been given.