The Trinity of Magic (Book 2 of the Trinity series)

Chapter 4

Gerrard grabbed my wrist, pulling me closer to him.

I didn't try to struggle or pull away, because that would only make me look weak. No, instead, I looked him straight in the eye, which up-close, I saw were more blue than they were grey. He smirked down at me, his lips a mere few inches from mine.

"Congratulations," he said, his voice low and almost seductive.

"Let's just get this over with," I huffed, stepping back a bit to create some distance between us.

He smirked again and told me to hold on. I felt the familar sensation of Transporting that I felt when Natalia brought me to her home. After the suctioning feeling of being in a vacuum was over, we landed in a place that was sure to be thousands of miles from Trinity.

Gerrard held onto my arm to keep me falling over. I stood up straight to examine my surroundings.

We were now standing in front of a large, black mansion. There was a long path paved by dead-looking hedges. Along one side, there was a stream of dirty, blackened water. The mansion had an ancient look to it. The architecture suggested that it was build around the time of the Middle Ages, which could only mean that...

"We aren't in the States anymore, are we?" I asked.

Gerrard looked down at me, that same arrogant smirk on his face. I wanted to punch it off his face.

"Come on. It's best not to keep Cain waiting," he said, nudging me from the back so I would start walking. I paused and he looked down at me.

"What?" he asked.

"I--uhhh--" I stammered.

The truth was, I was suddenly paralyzed in fear. I tried so hard to appear like I didn't care what was going on, that my sole purpose was to find out information about my mother and leave. But now that I was here, standing before this large and grotesque, haunted-looking mansion, I wasn't so sure I was doing the right thing.

I mean, for all I knew, I was walking towards my death right now. I had no idea what lay behind those intricately designed doors that were about thirty yards from where I was standing. I had no clue who this Cain person was and what exactly he had in mind for me. I could be walking right into a trap that could lead to my death. And if this Cain person was anything like Gerrard, especially in magical skill, then I was dead-bait for sure.

"Are you scared?" Gerrard asked, his tone mocking. I frowned and wished that I still had my bangs to shake into my eyes. There was no hiding the fear that was so evident in my eyes, which were a dead ringer for the emotions I felt inside of me.

"N-no," I stuttered. Damn it, Caley. Pull yourself together.

Gerrard looked at me, an amused expression on his face.

"Is this the same Caley Lucia I met a few days ago?" he asked. I glared at him, hating him for making me feel weak.

"Just--just, let's go," I said. He smirked again and began walking forward. He placed his hand on my elbow to guide me forward and for some odd reason, it was comforting.

We reached the tall front doors of the mansion and I looked up. Then I looked behind me and then at Gerrard, who was still holding my arm to keep me from fainting or running away. Or both. I wondered for a second how I could possibly get away from him and make a run for it. Suddenly, this all seemed like a really bad idea to me.

But Gerrard was in my mind, already. He looked down at me, his silvery blue eyes narrowed.

"Don't even think about it," he hissed under his breath.