Bound in Darkness (The Legend of Mortem Book 2) Read online

  Jadis had her back to Silas, who had protectively wrapped his arms around her chest. She latched onto his forearms and looked up at him. He bent down, smiling from ear to ear, beaming with pride before he took her mouth to his.

  “I think I’m in big trouble,” she said silently, looking to him for comfort.

  “You’re in trouble,” he whispered.

  She pulled her head back. “What? Are you mad at me?” If Silas is mad, this is it. I’ll completely fall apart.

  He looked at her with a coy grin. “Once I get your ass back to the bedroom, you’re going to be in trouble, big trouble. I think you need to be punished, and I have a few ideas.”

  She could feel his arousal against her butt, and she let out a huge sigh of relief. At least something feels normal right now; Silas is turned on.

  Eden cautiously stepped forward. “Hmhmm! I hate to interrupt the two of you love birds, but what the everlasting hell was that?”

  As Jadis and Silas stood facing the crowd, they also looked at Silas in shock; the transformation in his eyes was undeniable.

  “Holy shit,” exclaimed Skye, to the amusement of Ivory and Aria who laughed so hard, they were crying.

  “Silas, have you lost your goddamn mind? What were you thinking, turning Jadis?” Eden hollered.

  “I didn’t turn her, Eden,” Silas said sternly, but he looked amused. Jadis, however, wasn’t amused at all. She practically crawled inside Silas to hide from Eden’s wrath.

  “Look at her,” Eden snapped, as he stepped forward again. He grasped her jaw in his hand, and slowly turned her head from side to side. He studied her as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing with his own eyes. A rumble of warning rose from Silas, which Eden ignored.

  His eyes snapped up to meet Silas’. “Jadis, of all people. You turned the biggest pain in my ass into a newborn vampire? Shit!” Eden let go of her face and rubbed his forehead. “Not to mention, she has eight, count them, eight canines. This’ll be an unmitigated disaster.”

  “I promise you, Eden, I didn’t turn her, not the way you’re thinking. This is all Jadis. She turned the night I took her as my mate,” Silas insisted, with a proud shrug of his shoulders.

  “And you, Silas, look at your eyes. What the ever-loving hell did she do?”

  “Me? I didn’t do any of this, I swear!” Eden didn’t bother to acknowledge her.

  “Silas, you know goddamn well what it takes to turn someone. Jadis didn’t do this on her own,” Eden barked, not believing it for a minute. He couldn’t fathom the idea that she truly did turn without Silas.

  Dante looked at Bain. “Turning Jadis? Well, this has just taken an unexpected turn of events. Pun intended.” He laughed. “Remember what we said on the yacht that night, about dining on rats?”

  “I do.” Bain nodded. “This is bad, can you imagine? Look at her, she looks like Silas. She just put that girl to her death without hesitation. On top of it, look at her body. She mummified her!”

  Dante was truly at a loss. “I have no idea; however, I have a daunting feeling this will turn out worse than her portal bullshit.”

  “Cheers to that, this is beyond the realm of reason,” Bain uttered as the two of them clinked their glasses. It was soon before they couldn’t help themselves and laughed, along with Lars and the girls. Eden, however, wasn’t laughing at any of it. He was beyond aggravated, outraged.

  Lars looked over to Aiden, who was in total shock. “Aiden, you thought she was a pain in the ass before, what do you think now?”

  Bain laughed at the look on Aiden’s face. “I bet you’re happy she belongs to Silas.”

  “Laugh it up. It’s all fun and games until there’s nothing left to eat,” Dante added.

  “Jadis, of all people, or should we say witches. Not only can she call upon the Gods, but she also now has the powers of Nosferatu,” Aiden snarled to no one in particular.

  Jabari placed a strong hand on Aiden’s shoulder. “Is it always this entertaining? No one will ever go to their grave tired around your family. Had I known it would be this much fun, I would have joined clans with you all those years ago.” Jabari let out a belly laugh, grabbed another drink, and watched as the show continued. He took a seat on the solid mahogany bar stool, looking to Aiden for an answer, or not.

  “Until lately, no. This is all classic Jadis, pulling some fucked-up shit. She was uncontrollable as it was; now I can’t even imagine the shit this will bring on.” Aiden couldn’t help himself either; he laughed at the shitstorm they were all in at the hands of Jadis, once again. However, he was completely enthralled with her looks; he couldn’t take his eyes off her. The same feelings he had pushed down reared their ugly head.

  Dante re-filled his glass and took another drink. “Pandora’s box has been shattered.”

  “Hey, Eden,” Jabari called out.

  Eden turned his head ever so slightly and side-eyed Jabari.

  “This is one hell of a party so far,” Jabari announced as he raised his glass to him and laughed all the more.

  Eden ignored his comment and glanced around the room; not only were the girls laughing,

  Dante and Bain had joined in, and now he had lost Jabari and Aiden.

  “Am I the only one here who hasn’t lost my goddamn mind?” Eden was exasperated with everyone. “She isn’t the newborn vampire you want to be in charge of!”

  “You thought an anklet and chains were needed before, can you imagine now?” Bain said in jest to Silas.

  “You’re seriously out of your mind, cousin,” Aiden announced as he shook his head.

  “Still being an ass, I see,” Jadis snapped at Aiden. However, it was more of a rumble with her new voice. Everyone reacted to the tone of her voice in one way or another.

  Aria turned to Aiden. “Have I lost my mind, or did she actually sound like Silas?”

  “I think we’re all about to lose our minds,” he joked. “And no, she sounded exactly like him.”

  Silas continued, to no one in particular, “I promise you, she turned all on her own. I was as shocked as all of you are now.”

  “Silas didn’t turn me, Eden. It just happened,” Jadis offered, trying to help.

  Dante raised an accusatory eyebrow at her. “The hell if Silas didn’t turn you. Look at yourself; it’s undeniable. You’re clearly Nosferatu now; it didn’t just happen. Not unless you did something to make Silas turn you?”

  Everyone looked in Jadis’ direction with that statement. Wonderful, it’s as if they’re waiting for an admittance of guilt, and now I’m completely under scrutiny with nowhere to run.

  “So, if that’s the case, why haven’t Skye and Ivory changed? Hell, they mated Syth and Agaeus. Unless the two of you have a little secret as well?” Eden snarled towards the four of them.

  “No,” Agaeus replied. “They didn’t turn.”

  “I didn’t make Silas do anything. Seriously, it’s not like I wanted to become one of you. I just woke up a vampire.” She tried her best to defend Silas and herself.

  “Let me get this straight… you want us to believe you just woke up as a vampire. You went to sleep that night and bam, you turned,” Eden said, as he snapped his fingers. “Just like that! Well, there you have it then. Makes perfect sense to me.” Eden threw his hands up in the air. “It’s not like I’m six hundred and seventy-plus years old and have never seen this happen.” Eden looked to everyone else. “Makes sense, doesn’t it? Jadis turned, just like that!” He snapped his fingers in her face this time.

  His anger and sarcasm are pissing me off. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” She growled in Eden’s face and bared her canines—all of them. Oh, God! What the hell just happened?

  Silas latched onto her as soon she stepped towards Eden, since she was unable to control the unfamiliar onset of anger herself. The room went still, and a wave of shock crossed everyone’s face at the same time.

  “Yep, this is where Jadis dies,” Lars offered to the hushed, gaping crowd.

  Silas tenderly stroked her cheek. “Control it, baby. The smallest of threats right now will challenge you, forcing you to turn.”

  Maddie stood to walk to Eden, but he held his hand up, stopping her in her tracks. “Not now, baby. I got this,” he stated, never taking his eyes off Jadis.

  She quickly sat back down, not knowing what Eden was about to do. She truly was a bit concerned for Jadis right now.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me? Did you just challenge me?” Eden growled. His canines dropped from his gums as he stepped towards her.

  Silas let out a cautionary rumble of warning, vibrating from his chest. “Back up, Eden.”

  Eden ignored the warning. He was solely focused on Jadis having just challenged and threatened him. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing, much less hearing.

  Lars took another drink before breaking the awkward silence and the tension once again. “She just called your ass out.” He enjoyed taunting the situation for his own amusement, as usual.

  Aria played bartender now that the few remaining staff were currently comatose, not wanting to stop the party. She thoroughly enjoyed the show as much as everyone else.

  Dante silently addressed Bain and Aiden, “Oh, shit! This is about to turn into another three-way brawl.”

  The three of them decided it best to step forward in case there needed to be an intervention. Aiden placed a hand on Eden’s shoulder. Dante placed his hand on Silas,’ and Bain stood halfway in the middle, staring at Jadis, who was currently still wrapped in Silas’ arms as he held her back.

  Bain shook his head at her in total amusement. “Only you, my dear. Don’t do it, you’ll be on the losing end of this fight.” He tried to bring her down a notch or two, as the shit became all too serious.

  Eden put his
finger in her face. “Take it down. I’m not playing with you right now, baby girl.”

  He made his position in their hierarchy clear. He would put Jadis in her place regardless of how new she was, or where Silas stood on the matter. The only problem he had to contend with, was Silas. He would protect Jadis at all costs; however, at some point, one had to take the young ones down, forcing them to bow to the head. It happened with every newly turned vampire or those coming of age.

  As mad as Eden was, Jadis simply had no control over her innate reaction. She was too new. In response to Eden’s threat, she released a low, guttural snarl, curled her lip, and slapped his finger out of her face.

  “Ohhh… shit,” Skye yelled, from where she sat at the bar. A few more hushed phrases came from the other members of their clan, as well.

  Silas snatched her hands and folded her arms across her chest. He tilted his head and looked at Eden, waiting for him to make his move. Shit, I have no idea how to control the change. Hell, I don’t even know what’s happening to me.

  “Eden, she doesn’t know what she’s doing. It’s instinctual at this point, and we both know that.”

  Eden couldn’t disagree with Silas, and he looked back to Jadis, who raised a defiant eyebrow at him.

  “Oh no, you didn’t,” Eden growled as he leaned forward in her direction. “Do… Not… Provoke me again, Jadis,” he stated, enunciating every word. He suddenly laughed, sending a wave of caution throughout the room.

  Dante side-eyed Bain and Aiden. “I think Eden just lost his mind. Jadis has finally pushed him over the edge.”

  “I think the migraine has returned full force,” Eden barked in her face. “Until we figure this shit out, no one’s leaving this room. Dante, Bain, seal it.”

  Eden proceeded to walk over to the body still lying on the floor and knelt to study it. “Silas, want to explain this?” He waved his hand back and forth over her corpse.

  Maddie cautiously approached and handed Eden a full glass, which he didn’t hesitate to take. She remained at his side, resting a soft hand on his shoulder. She looked at Jadis and winked.

  Jadis flashed a half-turned-up smile that resembled Silas’, and her eyebrows shot up in bewilderment.

  “Unfortunately, I can’t. This is her first kill,” Silas said it as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

  “First kill?” Bain repeated to Dante. “I feel a nanny position opening. Don’t forget we flipped the coin already; again, you lost,” Bain added as the laughter between the two grew once again.

  “What’s that supposed to mean, flipping a coin?” Jadis asked, as she cocked her head; even her movements were different—acute, animalistic.

  “Just an inside joke, darling,” offered Dante.

  “I suppose I’m at the center of your and Bain’s jokes again?”

  “Yes!” they replied without hesitation.

  Jadis looked at Skye, who cautiously brought her a drink. She handed it to her from behind Silas’ back, trying to stay as far away from Eden as she could get.

  Eden looked from the corpse, to Jadis, back to the corpse, and finally to Silas. “So, what you’re telling me, you did nothing that could have changed her. She didn’t make you do something by using her powers while you were a bit distracted by ‘other’ things.” He handed his empty glass to Maddie, who quickly had Aria refill it.

  “I didn’t turn her, and yes, I’ve been a bit distracted.” Silas winked, looking to Jadis. “But neither of us did anything. The night I took her as my mate, nothing out of the ordinary took place other than her having a rough, restless night, more than I had expected.”

  “Tell me every detail.” Eden held up his hand. “Well, almost every detail. I feel like you aren’t speaking the truth in its entirety.”

  Silas ignored the last statement. “There isn’t anything to tell. It wasn’t until we finally woke the next morning that I first noticed the change in her. As soon as she rolled over and looked at me, it was clear she had turned. After studying her for a few minutes, we realized I had also changed.”

  “I have no words right now.” Eden once again rubbed his forehead. “Silas, do you feel any different?”

  “I feel as though we’ve morphed so to speak; otherwise, I’m fine,” he responded.

  “Right now, we don’t know if either of you are truly ‘fine,’ as you so casually put it.”

  “Relax, Eden. I would know if Jadis or I were in danger, or a danger to anyone else. I’ve tolerated your interrogation up to this point as your questions aren’t without merit, but don’t question my intelligence,” he snarled.

  Not wanting to challenge Silas or his abilities, Eden changed the subject. “Why did you wait so long to tell us what happened? What have the two of you been doing for the last three days that was so important, you couldn’t make a call? You’ve never had a problem reaching out to us before where she’s concerned,” Eden reminded him.

  “Exactly what have we been doing?” Silas smirked.

  “You know what I’m talking about.” Eden finally stood back up, looking at Jadis for an answer. “Jadis?”

  She shrugged her shoulders. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for this to happen. It just did.”

  “That’s rich coming from you. None of us has ever known you to not mean everything you do,” Eden replied, sounding somewhere between amused and angry.

  She furrowed her eyebrows at him. “Don’t be snarky.”

  “Snarky? You’re really trying my patience right now.” Eden’s tone was so calmly menacing, it held her still. The words left his mouth like an icy chill.

  Aiden finally stepped in. “Look, the situation is what it is right now. There’s nothing we can do about it. We can’t turn her back to just being a plain ole pain in the ass,” he said, with a wink and a smirk.

  “Well, maybe, just maybe, this has to do with my possession. Silas did say I had turned more than once, although he only shared the basics with me, so who knows?” Jadis offered. All eyes shot in her direction, followed by a hushed pause.

  “Well, I’ll be dammed, Jadis. I never thought you would be the one to come up with the most logical explanation of the evening,” Aiden replied, half-joking.

  She subtly flipped him off to his amusement, while everyone else seemed to contemplate what she had said.

  “It would make sense,” Silas agreed.

  “Surprisingly, it does sound logical. We need to figure out our next steps. We also need to figure out what Jadis is before some real shit happens,” Eden stated.

  Jadis’ only response to Eden’s subtle jab was to squint her eyes at him.

  “We need to keep Jadis to ourselves. This doesn’t leave this room, understand?” Eden demanded of everyone currently sealed in together. Everyone nodded in agreement.

  “If this gets out, Jadis, there’ll be a huge target on your back. Silas, you know who I’m talking about, correct?”

  Once again, it seems as if everyone but me is privy to what Eden means.

  “You’ve said enough, Eden,” Silas grumbled. He was annoyed Eden would say something that would pique her curiosity.

  “Want to fill me in?” Jadis asked, looking between Silas, Aiden, and Eden, who were clearly not going to tell her anything.

  Silas kissed her cheek. “Later, baby.”

  She still intently watched Eden and Aiden, and she could tell they were speaking to each other privately.

  “Dante… Bain… We need to contain the situation,” Eden stated calmly.

  “So, now I’m just a situation?” she asked, addressing them all.

  “When are you ever not a situation to contend with, darling?” offered Bain.

  “I see you’re amused as usual at my expense.”

  “You give us plenty to be amused with,” Bain teased.

  Silas turned Jadis to face him. “Don’t worry about them,” he said with a dismissive wave. “We knew they would be in shock; neither of us expected anything less.” He picked her up in his arms, and she wrapped her legs around his waist.

  Clearly, Silas won’t be any help whatsoever, Eden thought. He has a newly turned mate, and that’s all he’ll focus on. He was even more worried about Jadis’ blood lust and hunger; it was inevitable. He wasn’t sure Silas would do anything to control her. More than likely, he would end up joining her. If that happens, there won’t be a mortal alive who’s safe from the two of them. Jadis was completely unpredictable before. Now that her humanity, what little she had to begin with, is gone, there’s no telling what’s going to happen.