Distorted Affliction

Chapter Four

"I don't know where to find him," I repeated once again, curling my legs against my chest on the bed as Sin paced the room in quick strides, anger evident in his expression.

"That's the thing, August," he said, turning to me suddenly, red flashing in his eyes before he took a deep breath and spoke again. "I know you're lying to me, I saw it in your mind. He asked you to meet him, but for some reason, I can't see where."

I bit my lip and looked away from him. So he had read my mind, but I wasn't sure how, and I didn't dare ask. Lucas had warned me that I was in danger, and while I didn't much trust him, especially after everything, I trusted Sin even less. I couldn't just take him there, not knowing if he was the danger Lucas had been trying to caution me about.

"I don't trust you," I found myself saying boldly, but I couldn't bring myself to look in his eyes again, afraid of what he'd see there. "I can't just take you to him, I don't even know you or what you're looking for, or what you'll do when you find him."

"I'll do whatever I need to do to find the answers I'm looking for," he admitted, and I finally met his gaze. "And I have a feeling he owes you plenty of explanations you won't find anywhere else. So you can take me to him, and we can both get what we're looking for." His voice held a threat he didn't vocalize, but I needed to hear him say it.

"Or what?" I asked, my voice sounding bolder than I felt. "What if I don't help you?"

Sin stepped closer, leaning down to place his hands on either side of me on the bed, the shadows across his face sending panic through me. His breath was warm on my skin when he finally spoke.

"Or I'm going to hunt him down, to the ends of the earth if need be," he whispered, the threat as loud as if he had yelled it. "And when I find him, I'll rip him limb from limb until he tells me what I need to know. You can either help me, or you can find the same fate as the rest of the witches who denied me my truth."

I bit my lip, holding in the flood of questions that erupted. The reasonable part of me knew that I wanted answers too, and I wouldn't get the real truth until I confronted Lucas myself. There was still concern that Sin would hurt him before I got what I needed, but I understood that I wouldn't be getting out of here in one piece if I didn't agree to help him. In turn, I needed to make sure that we were on the same team, or at least on the same page.

"Prove that I can trust you," I demanded, folding my arms across my chest as he gazed into my eyes, still towering over me. "I won't go anywhere with you until you prove to me that when we find Lucas you won't hurt him until I've gotten the answers I need first."

"How would you like me to do that?" I could feel his breath on my skin as he looked at me, and I realized that I had no real answer. I wasn't sure what I was expecting, but I was hoping he would put my mind at ease, at least for the moment.

"I don't know," I admitted, my breathing suddenly ragged as my body responded to the proximity of his. It was unusual, feeling so attracted to a man I didn't know, but it felt as though I had known him in a past life.

"What if I told you," Sin purred, moving his lips closer to mine. "That Silas could still be alive."

My body jerked away from his, the palm of my hand pressing into his chest as I searched his eyes, hoping for honesty in a complete stranger. He could have been lying to me, playing at the only thing I could hold out hope for. I wanted it to be real, but my memories told me a different story. He would have to do more than that, if he wanted me to trust him.

"All things considered," he said, pulling back to stand above me. "You might not remember me, August, but if there was ever a boundary to my deceit, Silas would be it. I've seen your pain, I've been inside your memories. Lying about this would be a new low, even for me. You have my word that no harm will come to you under my watch, and you will have every opportunity to find the answers you need before anything happens to Lucas. Past that, I can make no promises of his fate."

"Why are you looking for him?" I couldn't help but ask. "What does Lucas know that someone...like you wouldn't?"

"Someone like me?" Sin repeated with a grin. "If you're searching for the word, let me help you. The witches call us Mouri, which directly translates to dead. Which, if you haven't deduced by now, I am. To answer your other question, so is Lucas, which is the only way he could have taken your memories away and replaced them with whatever the chaos inside your mind is that I keep feeling when I touch you."

"Wait, no," I said quickly, clambering off the bed to stand as if that would somehow help me swallow the news he had given me. "Lucas can't be... I mean, he--"

"As I've said before, August," Sin sighed. "I have theories, but there's only one way to prove them to be true. Lucas, it seems, holds the answers to a lot of questions for both of us, and it would be in your best interest, as well as mine, if we found him. Are you willing to do that, or am I going to have to compel you to help me?"

"Compel?" I squeaked, as if I hadn't already guessed that he was manipulating my emotions and behaviors from the get go. It seemed that I was hardly my own anymore, my entire life unraveling and everyone but me knew what was happening.

I had spent the past seven months mourning the loss of not only my son, but my partner, who had promised to be there for me through the good, the bad, and the horrid. The pain inside of me, the memories, they were all real, regardless of the story that Lucas had manipulated my mind into believing. I needed answers, because the hope was killing me.

"If there's even a chance that Silas is alive," I said slowly, my voice holding much more power than I had ever remembered owning. "Then I want to know what happened, and why Lucas was the one to decide what I remembered. I'll take you to our meeting spot, but I'm not doing any of this for you, I want you to understand that. I've mourned the death of my son for months, and if there's any possibility that I might get the chance to see him, alive, then I'll do whatever it takes."