Pulse

Chapter 47

Lucie

I woke up to the sound of persistent clicking, blinking my eyes clear. I saw nothing but darkness at first, until my gaze flickered upwards and landed on a figure leaning over me. I was too woozy to make out who it was, my head spinning and my heart pounding in my ears. All I knew was that they were inches from me, their body heat mixing with mine. The clicking noise echoed in my ears.

I said, "Eden?"

"Wake up, little sister," hissed Dempsey's voice in my ears. It was then that I realized he'd been untying my chains; my arms fell to my sides, burning and sore. He lifted me up against his chest, and for a moment I was reminded of old times, his arms around me, my body swept toward his. The scent of his cologne filled my nostrils, spicy but soft. For a moment, he was my brother again. Then he said, "It's time for change," and he was someone different.

"Dempsey," I murmured as he dragged me from my holding place, down a dim avenue of the cave that I couldn't see through. My legs were gelatin, trembling underneath me, and my stomach was still throbbing from Eden's kick. The sedative continued to weigh down the blood in my veins. "Please. I promise I'll leave you alone, just don't make me into this..."

"Lulu, zip it," Dempsey snapped, his grip on me unyielding. The familiarity of the phrase shook me; it was what he always said when I would make fun of him and he got tired of it. This time, however, he said it as if he meant it, a gruff undertone to his voice. I felt his nails in my skin, and grunted in pain, trying to pick my feet up. "Once it's over, you won't remember ever wanting anything else."

I gritted my teeth. "How long was I asleep?"

Dempsey made a right turn, pulling me with him. As to how he could navigate in a place this dark, I didn't know, but then again, I didn't know anything about my brother anymore. "A few hours."

"A few hours!" I yelped, digging my feet in. The attempt was to no avail, as Dempsey's strength won over mine yet again. "You said I had until tomorrow."

"There was a schedule change."

"Why?" I demanded. Up ahead, a light glared at us, the first shed of any light at all I had seen in at least a day. My eyes throbbed in response. "Dempsey, you can't do this!"

The light was growing nearer. "We had to accommodate a visitor."

The word visitor, the way he said it, held oceans of meaning. Different faces flashed before my eyes: Vinny's meek smile, Cian ruffling my hair, even Caprice's dark eyes and her blunt haircut. My tone held a warning. "Dempsey...who..."

His smile glittered like the stars. "You'll see."

We entered what appeared to be a ceremonial rotunda, so ornate and detailed that it seemed out of place in such a dingy cave. Distantly, I could hear the roar of the ocean, a murmur of voices beyond the walls. There were lanterns hanging from the ceiling, filling the space in warm light. People clung to the shadows around the outer rim of the room, so many of them that I only caught glimpses of eyes and teeth. The walls were covered in chalk markings, phrases in other languages and symbols such as pentagrams circling around me.

In the center of the room was another set of chains, looped around by a circle of salt. I swallowed. It looked as if the fallen angels were performing an ancient ritual, and I was their sacrifice.

I wasn't ready for this. I would never be ready for this.

"Dempsey," I snapped again, and he just shook his head at me, placing a finger to my lips. I tried to get him to stop, but he swept me from the floor, carrying me into the circle and dropping me there, chaining me to the ground. I could feel my pulse in chest like a favorite song, and I was terrified that within a few minutes, I'd no longer have one. Was this what it felt like to know your death was on its way? Tears slipped down my cheeks, and I let out a hoarse scream as the shadows around me moved in, sweat sticking my hair to my forehead. My blood was hot in my veins. I wanted someone to hold me, someone to tell me it was going to be okay. I wanted to die peacefully, surrounded by those I loved, not as anyone's pet.