Redefined

  “Oh, I bet he is,” Cashton joked.

  I felt my heart begin to race. I was never one to take orders from anyone - especially Draven. We had a balance to our relationship. At least we did before all of this. The tone in Madison’s whisper was laced with a warning. She wasn’t afraid of defying his request to get him when I woke, but she knew he was going to be infuriated when he discovered where we went.

  I crept by his still body, not daring to breathe or feel a single emotion. Behind the door, I found a massive bathroom, complete with an oversized claw-foot bathtub. It was inviting, no doubt, but I didn’t have time for a bath. There was a shower stall a few feet behind it. A quick shower - that’s what I needed to wake from this haze.

  Cashton had the audacity to follow me into the bath. I took the screen that framed a dressing corner and blocked him from the side of the bath that had the shower in it.

  “You need space,” he said into the echo of the room.

  “No joke,” I muttered as I turned on the water.

  “Not from me. From her.”

  “You’re insane. She’s my best friend. We are like the same person.”

  “Hardly,” he stated so quietly that I barely heard him. “Mum let you run with her.”

  “Run? She let her move in with me.”

  “Here?” he asked as I rinsed off. I swear I had never taken a faster shower in my life.

  “No, in Salem. A different dimension.”

  “How did you get here?”

  “I helped out another girl. This is her home.”

  “So Mum made sure you got here with her?”

  “Yup.”

  “This is a fork in the road, sweetheart. Time to divide.”

  “Not leaving her or anyone,” I said in a harsh whisper as I turned off the water and dried off.

  “Not forever. Trust me, you will have eons to spend with your bestie, but right now the two of you are a moving bull’s-eye.”

  “I led her here. She is fighting right now with a sixth sense and a confused heart. This is the last moment in existence that I would leave her.”

  I’d pulled my clothes on and was drying my hair fiercely with a towel.

  “Fine then. You are just making this harder on yourself. She’s going to get hurt because of you.”

  “Why me?” I bit out, thinking that Drake was the one that had a dagger against her fragile heart.

  “Because more than a few people in the veil had to have figured out who Mum and Dad were, that they left you here - meaning the one you must take down is squarely focused on you. When he finds you, he will find her - and for kicks and giggles, he will take her out just to do his brother a favor.”

  “His brother?”

  “Whatever, fellow king.”

  “King? I fight demons.”

  “Doubt it. Demons are rather easy to kill. No soul. Sounds to me like you are fighting misguided Escorts.”

  “That, too,” I agreed, not caring to mention that my boyfriend, that he had yet to approve of, was in fact an Escort that was fighting that label.

  Once I was as ready as I was going to be, I pushed past Cashton and eased the door open. Draven was sitting in his still position in the oversized chair. Madison had made the bed and was sitting on the edge of it. As I passed Draven, I felt him tense. I kept my eyes on him as I went to Madison’s side.

  “That’s not you. They’re sparring,” she mumbled.

  “Another mark for the ‘win’ box. If he is going to love you, he better damn well know how to protect you,” Cashton said, glancing over Draven with heavy judgment in his eyes.

  I furrowed my eyebrows at him before glancing back at Draven, a glistening sweat spread across his brow as his body tensed.

  “He’s teaching him to fight with his energy, with a thought, how to build it with his thoughts and not pull from anyone - you.”

  “Teaching him? You don’t know how to do that either?” Cashton said just before he pressed his lips together and moved his head from side to side.

  “Ready?” I asked Madison as I sat next to her on the side of the bed.

  “Yeah.”

  “Do you think Britain is in The Realm?”

  I wanted to face Britain first. I knew he would build my anger to a point where it wouldn’t matter how calm Silas was, and I would carry that anger to him as a weapon.

  “No,” Madison uttered with an odd resolve. “He’s at home.”

  “K,” I said, nodding at her, not sure how she knew that. “Take the lead.”

  My skin blushed as I saw what could only be Britain’s bedroom at the home in Salem. I’d never been in there, but clearly Madison had. I felt a pull on my soul, and the next thing I saw was the dim room. It was the middle of the night in this dimension. Madison was beside me at the threshold of the doorway. Cashton was leaning against the wall with crossed arms. I was really starting to buy this whole ‘I’m tethered to you’ thing at this point - but seriously, he was going to have to learn that I needed space, especially when Draven and I were alone.

  A king-size bed centered the room, and candles were lit along the dresser that lined the side wall. Music, a soft symphony, was playing. An empty bottle of wine was beside the romantic display of candles. Two wine glasses holding only a sip of wine were there as well.

  Two? I thought as my eyes moved to the bed.

  There, I saw Britain. He was lying on his back, his eyes closed, hands behind his pillow. His shirt was off, and the cascading candle light shadowed each muscle in his broad chest, but...he wasn’t alone. Next to him, lying on her side, casually draping her arm across him with closed eyes and an exhausted smile was a girl I despised almost as much as Bianca.

  It was Anna, and all she had on was a thin white tank top. I couldn’t see what she or Britain had on under the tangled sheets around them. I was sure I didn’t want to.

  This girl had made no secret that she wanted Draven, having flirted openly with him in front of me since we were in middle school. She had a thing for musicians. She’d even tried to get Aden’s attention at one time. The last time I saw her, she was with Todd, another musician friend of Draven and Aden’s, and all too happily I let her know that he was cheating on her. Madison had called her a ‘frenemy’ more than once, meaning she hated her, too, but tolerated her.

  I doubted that tolerance was going to last beyond this second.

  Chapter Six

  I could feel the rage coming off Madison. It was literally burning my skin. If you ever have a death wish, cheat on a Scorpio. They are ruthlessly territorial.

  I reached for the light switch, illuminating the room.

  “Petal,” Cashton said under his breath, as if Britain were below both Madison and me. I didn’t understand the title he gave him, but his tone was on point. Draven was right: this boy was a lowlife energy addict.

  Instantly, Britain’s eyes opened and met Madison’s. There was no pain in her expression, none at all. Only fury. She raised her hand slightly, and an unseen force ripped the sheets away from them. I held in a gasp then let it out when I saw that he was wearing jeans and that Anna had a skirt on. The flames on the candles roared higher, as if they were under the command of Madison’s fury. Britain slowly sat up, holding her stare, looking like prey to the predator that Madison surely was at this moment.

  I didn’t have a chance to register this power she was displaying. I guess I halfway thought we were in The Realm, a place where such actions would be normal. Mild, but normal.

  “Anna,” Britain said calmly.

  She stirred, letting her smile grow, but she never opened her eyes.

  “Too tired, baby,” she mumbled.

  “Classic,” Cashton said with a sinful smirk as his eyes moved across Anna.

  I casually moved in front of him and slugged my elbow back, slamming it right into his gut.

  I heard him groan, then laugh. “Oh, please. Not my type. Too easy to catch.” He moved so he was beside me. “Why do you know him? This is beneath the bo
th of you. You can’t save the bottom feeders until you conquer the top of the food chain. Seriously, I don’t think you were sent here to save me. I think I was left here to save you.”

  I tilted my head and raised one eyebrow, agreeing with that notion. I needed to be saved, no doubt.

  An unseen force knocked Anna out of the bed, and the tension in the room stifled the flames of the candles. Dazed and confused, Anna rose to her knees, then took inventory of the room. A devious smile came to the corners of her lips as her eyes locked on us. Madison didn’t return her stare. She was still holding Britain’s gaze.

  “How nice of you to stop by,” Anna said with a fake yawn, “but I’m afraid we are not up for company. Kinda exhausted.”

  “Tell your whore to leave,” Madison seethed.

  “Nice,” Cashton said across a laugh.

  Britain’s steel blue eyes glistened with anticipation. “Anna, dear, my girlfriend wants you to leave my room. Obey her.”

  His tone was inciting, as if he were enjoying the jealousy Madison was displaying. But he was a fool. If anything, he should ask her to stay so he would have a witness to the thrashing he was about to receive. Then again, it wouldn't matter if he didn’t survive it.

  Anna crawled seductively onto the bed. “Not a chance, lover. This is my place now.”

  “Now,” Britain growled.

  The anger in his voice caused Anna’s skin to blush to a deep crimson. Hollow-eyed, she stared at him as she tensed, then backed away. She searched the ground for her hoodie, then her boots, before coming our way.

  I crossed my arms as I glared at her. “You’re an insult to the female race,” I scorned.

  “Female race?” Cashton chimed in. “That is a little selective, sweetheart.”

  Anna looked me up and down as if I were child. “Why is that? Because I can seduce them? Take them from you with a few simple gestures?”

  Cashton belted into laughter. “Oh, dear. The delusion. You almost have to feel sorry for her. Poor chap - if he didn’t take advantage of her, she really would have no purpose.”

  That made me smirk. I was starting to like the brother that my apparent psychotic break was producing.

  “No,” I breathed sardonically. “Because you have no sense of self-worth. You think love is physical, and you sacrifice your body for an illusion - a fleeting one. You will always be the other woman, never the one, simply because you’re a disgrace. You must really hate yourself. You would have to in order to become what all women have fought to suppress. A real man loves a woman's soul, not her body, not her empty words that echo only what he wants to hear. A real man wants to be challenged, wants to be seduced with the mind, body, and soul - not just one.”

  “True, true,” Cashton said as he put his arm around me and nodded his head as if he were proud of me.

  Anna’s eyes fell in shame, then she pushed past us, leaving me alone with Britain and Madison’s scorn.

  “This is the part where you and I exit, too,” Cashton said to me as his arm that was around me pulled me awkwardly backward and out of the room. I doubted Madison or Britain noticed.

  I glared up at Cashton as I moved down the hall far enough away so that I wouldn’t eavesdrop, but close enough to rush in there and defend her if I needed to.

  I could not believe the audacity Britain had. One thing was for sure, though: today was Drake’s lucky day. I could see some revenge loving in Madison’s future. She wouldn’t play Drake, but she would speak to him just to spite Britain - and who knows, maybe they might figure out they like each other after all.

  “Seriously, why are we here?” Cashton asked as he leaned against the wall opposite mine. The blue in his eyes was judging me down to my core.

  “He knows the demon that I am chasing, the one that knocked me out and landed me in that dream with you.”

  “I thought prodigy children did that?” he asked as he glanced at the door we’d come through, seeming to rethink his first impression of Britain - which made sense. Britain had that effect on a lot of people. Madison and I had even debated that in the past. The Britain I knew and the one she knew were not the same. It was almost like he knew exactly what he needed to be for whomever he focused on at the time. I claimed it was because he was an Escort. She seemed to think differently. Madison always said there was more to Britain than met the eye, and the way she said it always led me to believe that it wasn’t a compliment - and more than likely, that was why she had kept him at arm’s length.

  “The children put me to sleep, but before that, a girl that was masked as one of my friends fired a bolt of energy at me. Britain and that girl run together, but he kinda has a thing for Madison, so I thought he’d help us out and tell us where Bianca is.”

  “Does he now,” Cashton said under his breath. It was clear that he was not fond of Britain, but it wasn’t because he was a ‘petal’ or whatever he had called him. “Wait a second - you let a bolt of energy hit you?”

  I furrowed my brow at him. What kind of power did he think I had?

  “Well, yeah, but one of Dad’s guitars stopped it right after it blared one of his songs.”

  He moved his head from side to side. “What a mess.”

  “Tell me about it. Britain was the Escort that took my memory. Both he and Bianca have been a headache for awhile.”

  “A low-lying, misguided petal was able to take your memory?” he asked, tilting his head as if he knew that to be impossible.

  “I got it back. My boyfriend brought most of it back with music. Why do you keep calling him a ‘petal’?”

  “Another mark in the ‘win’ box for your beloved,” he said with a sigh. “Petal: an Escort that has lived a few cycles and is now called upon by its master to use for various uses. Your buddy in there is putting off a scent and a vibration that states he is just that, a petal. But what you’re telling me doesn’t add up. Even if you were completely oblivious to any of your heritage or powers, it would have taken someone with a lot of stout to pull that off.”

  I cringed, wondering what he would call Draven, how he would react when he figured out that I was in love with an Escort. Then it hit me: he thought Britain was dangerous – and I’d just left Madison alone with him. I tried to leave to go back to her side, but Cashton blocked my path.

  “The point is,” Cashton said, sighing as he pushed his hands into his jean pockets, “he should not have been able to do that at all. You should know how to move without your vessel, how to use energy as a weapon and as a shield.”

  “I think you are claiming the wrong sister. Sounds more like what Willow and her family can do.”

  “The girl that brought you to Chara?”

  “Right.”

  “Confluence. She brought you to a meeting point so you can go your way and your bestie in there can go hers.”

  “Not leaving Madison behind. She is more than likely falling apart right now.”

  “Doubt it. I have a feeling that Madison has known for a while that she has her own master Escort to conquer. One way or another, she is building toward that battle whilst keeping your rear end in line. Straighten up so she can do her thing and you can do yours.”

  “And who are we supposed to divide and kill again?” I asked sarcastically, pointing out how absurd he sounded.

  “If I told you that, it would take the fun out of it, now wouldn’t it?” he teased, but that just aggravated me to no end.

  “Whatever. I don’t know who he is or what the hell is going on. I came to Chara to help Draven with his transition, and I happened to bring along not only Madison, but also a child that needs my protection. Bianca acted like she knew exactly who was at the core of this issue – so either it’s her I have to stop, or she knows who that person is.”

  “I’m sure she has toyed with you far more than you realize. She and Britain are not even from the same line.”

  “‘Line’?”

  “Seven lines - are you not paying attention? Madison has to conquer obsession. You have
to conquer shock. Britain falls within obsession - not your issue.”

  “How do you know that? And it is my issue because he can help me find Bianca, and he hurt my friend.”

  “Is your nose suffering from amnesia, too?” he mocked dryly.

  “Apparently.”

  “They all have a scent. He has lingered near shock. Not recently, though. He’s not your way to that girl.”

  I threw a glare at him. “If you dare tell me not to go after Bianca, I will find a way to stuff you back into my subconscious.”

  He smirked. “I am as real as you. And you are right: I have a feeling that the girl you hunt is from the line of shock - but do you not see how that proves my point? The two of you are side by side, and two Escorts from two different lines have already found you. You are making it too easy for them. The confluences are over. Divide and conquer.”

  “It’s not over. It’s hours old.”

  “Hours that are pointing an arrow at you,” he said with a nod in my direction.

  “Lucky for me, I have a big brother to protect me. Wait - no, you’re not real.”

  “You’re awake, aren’t you?”

  “Yup, and no one can see you.”

  “On point. And what would be my reason behind that?”

  I raised one eyebrow to emphasize the point that he was an illusion.

  He playfully squinted his eyes. “I’m going to have to stay near you until I: one, find the queen of the veil; and two, you know what the hell you are doing. If I show myself now, your enemies will realize that you are getting on the right track and they will strike you harder. This is a mess. A blooming mess. All the power in you, and you are ignoring it.”

  “I am not. I help the damned.”

  “Yeah, you said that. Bravo. You are slowly starving out the lines, but you are stronger than that. You need to live up to that crest on your back.”

  “A crest that my mother made no effort to explain to me. Hell, she didn’t even bother to tell me she could see,” I said with a glare. I guess I was nonchalantly moving through the stages of grief, past denial and on to anger.