Bleeding Misery (Threatening Souls Book 2) Read online

  “Yes, tea,” Henri said as he began pouring the tea into the mugs. He knew he wouldn’t be drinking any of it, and all he needed was for Amanda to take one sip.

  Amanda reached for one of the mugs and dumped a generous amount of sugar into it. “You never told me who you are,” she said before taking a sip of her tea.

  Henri sat back and watched as she drank. “You’ve heard of me,” he said. “I know you have.”

  Amanda set her tea down, and Henri was pleased to see it was a quarter of the way empty. “Are you from a movie? No, wait! A singer I know?” She paused. “Someone famous?”

  Henri was losing his patience. The spell had not yet set in, and yet, he no longer found her amusing. “Roseway used to be mine,” he said, and it was almost worth it to see the fear sweep across Amanda’s face.

  “Henri,” she said, the name finally clicking in her mind. “But I’ve never seen you before in my life! My mind wouldn’t…” She nearly choked.

  Henri rose suddenly and closed the gap between them. “I know you lost your visions.”

  Amanda shook her head, and it seemed as though the girl was nearing a panic attack. “Did you block my visions?” she spat. “You tried to kill Holly! And Rebekah—”

  Violently, Henri grabbed a fistful of her hair and wrenched her head back. “A Foreseer,” he said gleefully, biding his time until the spell finally set in. “A rare delicacy. I think I will enjoy this.”

  “What—” Amanda began, and then, the spell finally clicked, and she went dead silent.

  Henri released her. “You are Amanda Palmer. You are a Foreseer.”

  A flicker of recognition crossed Amanda’s eyes, but she remained silent.

  “The mortals stole your visions,” Henri continued. Then, he added in a softer tone, “I can help you get them back.”

  Amanda turned her head to meet his gaze. “How?”

  “I know how to work around their magic,” Henri said. “In return, I need you to spy on them for me.”

  “Spy…yes,” Amanda said. “My friends betrayed me. I will betray them back.”

  “Good,” Henri said as he caressed her scalp. “I will visit you again in December. Until then, keep a close eye on them.”

  And then, he ended the dream.

  ~~~

  Mandy: Marywood, Florida

  When Mandy had returned from school, she was exhausted. The bus ride was loud, with excited kids chattering about the lockdown, and she had a killer migraine accompanied by sporadic bursts of nausea. And when she barged into her house, her parents were there, pestering her with questions about her well-being and what happened. The school had called them forty minutes ago about the lockdown and the school closing early.

  Mandy answered them in one-word answers. Yes, she was okay. No, she didn’t know what happened—even though she did. And no, she didn’t want to talk about it.

  An hour later, she fell asleep with the intent of sleeping off the headache. And an hour after that, she had woken up drenched in her own sweat and her heart pounding. For reasons unbeknownst to her, the mortals had blocked her visions. They were the ones to cause her migraine and nausea.

  As Mandy pondered this, the more something didn’t feel quite right, but whenever she gave into the questions that plagued her, something made her stop, almost like there was a force in her mind that prevented her from questioning further. She remembered Henri’s fatherly touch, his persuasive voice. Henri…he did something, something bad to Holly and Rebekah, but she couldn’t remember what it was, and the more she tried, the—

  There it was again. The same force as before. At once, it slammed into her, and she forgot her train of thought. She recalled her dream, and then, she thought of Henri again and how he opened her eyes to how her friends betrayed her.

  But something still didn’t seem—

  The force came again, and Mandy let out a whimper as it tore away her thoughts once more. She thought of Holly and how her best friend tricked her with promises of false loyalty. She thought of Rebekah, her other best friend, who fed into those lies and broken promises. And she felt angry that they all resisted Henri when all he wanted was a better world, free from the violence that currently plagued it.

  My name is Amanda Palmer. I am a Foreseer. She repeated the thought like a mantra, and a sense of calm overcame her. Henri would help her. He would lift the curse the mortals placed on her brain, and then, her migraine and nausea would disappear.

  She wished she could be with him in person. That way, she would feel safe.

  Instead, she had to settle for normalcy. In order to survive, she had to do what Henri asked and pretend she knew nothing of the mortals’ betrayal.

  Holly: Marywood, Florida

  When Reilly suddenly appeared in Holly’s trailer, carrying Rebekah’s trembling cousin, questions started plaguing Holly’s mind. She knew Reilly and Andre were working together in Marywood, though for what goal, they wouldn’t tell her. But Andre didn’t suddenly appear, and neither did Rebekah, which left Holly even more confused than ever.

  “What happened?” Holly inquired as she took a step towards Reilly. She had never met Rebekah’s cousin before, but the resemblance Paige shared with Rebekah gave their relationship away.

  Reilly didn’t answer right away as he deposited Paige on the couch. “Cameron was here,” he said after a few seconds.

  Holly only knew of Cameron Crum, the immortal warlock who used to be romantically involved with Melissa Young. But surely it can’t be that Cameron…

  …can it?

  As if confirming her silent suspicions, Reilly met her gaze, his eyes full of sorrow. Then, he turned his attention on Paige once again, who looked at him with fearful eyes. “Perhaps I, uh…have some explaining to do.”

  Paige didn’t respond. Her eyes flicked between Reilly and Holly.

  Holly shot Reilly a confused stare, but he was paying no attention to her. Instead, his attention was on Paige when he said, “What did you hear?”

  Paige settled her gaze on Reilly, and she cringed. “What the hell are you?”

  “Paige!” Holly heard herself saying before she could stop herself. The human flicked her gaze back to Holly, and mixed with her confusion and fear was also shock.

  “You know my name,” Paige said.

  Holly nodded. “I’m friends with Rebekah.”

  At the mention of Rebekah, Paige started crying. “Oh god, Rebekah!” she wailed as she trained her gaze on Reilly again. “You…did something to her! To us! You and that redhead!”

  Holly tensed. She knew Paige was referring to Andre. “What did Cameron do?” she demanded, her voice cold.

  Reilly hesitated, which made Holly angrier.

  “What the fuck did he do?” Holly spat, just short of launching herself at Reilly and demanding the answer out of him.

  “He hurt Paige,” Reilly said, “and he was on the verge of doing something worse to Rebekah.”

  Nerves flooded Holly’s veins. “What could be worse than…” And then, she finally made the connection. There was only one thing Cameron would want with Rebekah, and it would be to gain favor with Henri. “Where’s Rebekah? Why isn’t she here?”

  “She’s with Andre. Which reminds me,” Reilly said, turning towards Paige. “This may come as a shock to you, but, uh…magic and witchcraft are real.”

  Paige looked like she had just seen a ghost. Holly, on the other hand, went from being livid to utterly terrified. “Reilly!” she screeched.

  “What?” Reilly shrugged, and Holly scoffed. She didn’t understand how Reilly had the audacity to look completely unaffected after what he just did. “She needs to know after what happened and what she heard…and what she may be.”

  “What she may be?” Holly repeated, confused.

  Reilly sighed. “Her aura, Holly. Andre sensed something in her aura and drew my attention to it.”

  At last, Holly understood, and she reached out to Paige’s aura. At once, the sense of warm, human colors accos
ted her, but beneath those warm colors was…

  “The Foreseer gene?” Holly questioned. “Paige is a Foreseer? But how can that be when Rebekah is—”

  “Paige isn’t a Foreseer. She’s just a carrier,” Reilly said. “But if Paige is a carrier, Rebekah could be one as well.”

  “Which makes both of them targets,” Holly concluded, paling. “But for Rebekah to be both an Innocent and a Foreseer? That makes no sense!”

  “Andre is dropping Rebekah off at her apartment,” Reilly said. “She’ll come here with news. At best, Rebekah has no trace of the gene. But at worst…”

  Holly didn’t need Reilly to finish the sentence to know how it ended. She whirled on Paige. “How much do you know?”

  Paige looked like she was backed into a corner. “I…what’s a Foreseer?” she asked. “What does this have to do with me and Rebekah?”

  And then, Holly told her everything. She told her about Rebekah’s move to Roseway and what awaited her family there. She told her about the immortal magic users in contrast to the mortal ones, ending her explanation with Henri and how Rebekah was one of his main targets. She also told Paige about herself and Reilly and Andre and how they were all some of the good ones, the mortal ones, and that Reilly and Andre in particular had saved her life today along with Rebekah’s.

  Throughout the entire explanation, Paige was silent. When Holly was finished, Paige looked up, and Holly was surprised to see the fear was gone from her eyes. “So, to get this straight, a Foreseer is…someone who dreams of future events?”

  Holly nodded.

  “And I am not a Foreseer…but a carrier of the gene?”

  Holly nodded again. “Which is why I’m assuming you need protection.”

  “And Rebekah,” Paige continued, her voice trembling on Rebekah’s name, “is for sure something called an Innocent, someone who can see and communicate with spirits? And now, she may be a carrier of the gene or a Foreseer too?”

  Holly nodded once again, albeit a little slowly. “The Innocent characteristic isn’t genetic,” she said thoughtfully. “In order to be one, you have to be related to and share a birthday with an immortal magic user. So for Rebekah to be a Foreseer as well…has this ever happened before?”

  “There isn’t a documented case of this happening before,” Reilly said solemnly, “but I suppose there’s a first time for everything.”

  “Does this mean Rebekah is in even more danger?” Paige questioned.

  “Yes. If word got out about this and Henri found out—”

  “He wouldn’t kill her,” Holly finished. “He’d torture and enslave her instead.”

  Paige’s eyes grew big, but before she could utter another word, a set of sparks materialized in the center of the room. Andre had returned.

  Reilly approached Andre as soon as the sparks dissipated, and Holly couldn’t help but notice that Rebekah wasn’t with her. “Well?”

  “Rebekah’s parents allowed her to attend the ICW,” Andre said. “She’s safe in her apartment.”

  “What about the…” Reilly prodded, and Holly expelled a breath she didn’t realize she was holding.

  “Rebekah’s mother is a carrier,” Andre said before her eyes settled on Paige. “As is your mother.”

  Paige seemed to shrink with this news.

  “And?” This time, it was Holly who spoke.

  Andre glanced at each one before saying, “Her father is an undocumented Foreseer. I don’t know about her brothers. They weren’t there.”

  Holly felt like her entire world was collapsing. Rebekah was definitely a carrier, but what if she were a Foreseer as well? Holly shuddered at the thought.

  “What about my dad?” Paige asked suddenly.

  “He showed no trace of the gene,” Andre answered solemnly. “You’re a carrier.”

  Paige sagged, and Holly was surprised to see a hint of disappointment in her eyes.

  Andre whirled on Reilly. “Will you protect Paige while I’m gone?”

  Reilly nodded. “I promise.”

  “Good,” Andre said as she collapsed into one of the armchairs and motioned Holly and Reilly forward. “I need to discuss something else.”

  Holly placed herself beside Reilly.

  “This is classified information, so this stays here,” Andre said, her eyes meeting Holly’s.

  Holly gulped, stealing a look at Reilly, who seemed to already know what Andre was going to say.

  “As both of you know, Eternal Division was not chosen by chance. Jason deliberately chose it because of you,” she glanced at Holly for emphasis, “Rebekah, and Mandy.”

  Holly nodded. “It’s why there are also chaperones this year, right?”

  “Yes,” Andre continued. “Reilly already knows this, but I figured you, Holly, should know too. Jason deliberately chose one other clique, though we don’t know why. The rest were chosen by chance.”

  Holly froze. “Which clique?”

  “The one from Russia.”

  CHAPTER

  FIVE

  Jeffery: Huelva, Spain

  J

  effery Speirs determined he really hated Kat. The immortal witch was reckless, having flaunted the mortal prince about ever since they had arrived in Spain nearly twenty-four hours ago. They should have been in Ivanestible by now, and he could have been in his warm bed while his father ran about, preparing for their trip to Munich.

  Instead, he was laying in front of a campfire with nothing to keep him warm but the fire’s dying flame. Kat sat only a few inches from him, picking at her nails.

  Jeffery rolled onto his side, the earth crunching beneath him, and sighed. He missed home, his true home, not the castle that would soon become an illusion of home. He longed for his small, nameless village, from the dense forests that surrounded it on all sides to the crystal-clear lake that rested just beyond the village’s entrance. He longed for the years when his family was unknown and safe, when William Cavanaugh was still alive and on the throne.

  Now, that safety was gone, and he was in thrall to the most infamous immortal warlock on the planet. Now, as Henri planted the seeds of his devious plan, Jeffery was temporarily forced to obey Kat’s every command until he was reunited with his family.

  And Kat did nothing to hide how annoyed she was at her job. Thus, she flaunted Jeffery all throughout southern Spain. “Perhaps if a Spy captures you, I’ll finally be free of this stupid assignment,” she had said to him mere hours before. However, lucky for Jeffery, no such Spy attempted his capture.

  Kat gave a loud, impatient sigh, forcing Jeffery out of his thoughts. The mortal prince ignored her; after spending hours with her, he came to realize the majority of what she did was to get a ruse out of him.

  Kat sighed again, louder this time.

  And Jeffery, once again, ignored her.

  Kat grunted as she turned to face him. “I’m bored,” she said as she started drawing in the sand. “Dance for me.”

  A click sounded within Jeffery’s mind, and before he knew it, his body jerked him upright until he was on his own two feet. And then, he began to dance.

  Jeffery knew nothing about dance. He never needed to, but in that moment, his lack-of knowledge didn’t matter. The spell Henri imprisoned his mind with did all the work for him, and as he twisted and turned, Jeffery was amazed his body was able to bend as much as it did.

  At last, the invisible number he was dancing to came to an end, and Kat clapped loudly. “Who knew you were such a good dancer?” She smirked.

  Jeffery scoffed as he sat back down. “I learned from the best,” he said sarcastically.

  Kat pursed her lips together as if contemplating something, and her eyes traveled to the fire. The wicked gleam was back. “Burn your hand.”

  Jeffery’s eyes widened as another click solidified in his mind. No matter how hard he tried to fight it, his good hand snaked out and doused itself in the flames. Jeffery screamed as blisters began to boil and fester.

  Kat watched the hand with amu
sement, and when Jeffery was finally able to snatch it back, she laughed. “Maybe I should get my own thrall,” she said as she collapsed next to the fire, her back towards the trees. “I enjoyed this.”

  Jeffery glared at her as he did his best to nurse his blistering hand. “When are we going to Ivanestible?”

  “Relax, princeling. We’ll be there tomorrow,” Kat sneered. “And then, you can introduce me to your wonderful family.”

  Jeffery wanted to protest. He wanted to demand that Kat take him back this instant. After all, immortal beings such as her didn’t need rest, not like mortal beings did. Yet, he feared that Kat would make him hurt himself again if he spoke out against her decision, and it was for that reason why he remained silent.

  He was also really tired, but he didn’t feel comfortable sleeping in Kat’s presence.

  Kat seemed to take note of this, and she laughed. “I’ll let you sleep, princeling. I promise.” Yet, she and Jeffery both knew her promises meant nothing.

  Jeffery sprawled out on his back and settled his eyes on the stars above. If only he could sleep, he would feel a lot better.

  “Sleep,” Kat said. This time, it was a command.

  And Jeffery, forced to obey it, closed his eyes and drifted off.

  In the morning, Kat roused him out of sleep and spirited him away to the Ivanestible castle, where his father and mother were ecstatic about his return. Instantly, they removed the charges against Kat without question and invited her to the ICW as one of the chaperones. Much to Jeffery’s dismay, Henri’s plan was blooming miraculously.

  And Jeffery, because of the stupid enthrallment bond Henri placed on him, couldn’t say or do anything to stop it.

  ~~~

  Rosalie: Seattle, Washington

  When Rosalie first woke to complete darkness, she felt a panic attack brewing within her mind. She didn’t know where she was, nor could she remember how she got there. All she remembered was Kendra. Sweet, innocent Kendra, who held a gun up to her head, and then—