Anchor of Secrets by Tessa Hale

8

My breaths came quickeras Lucien let out a panicked squeak.

“I don’t know where Damien is. I swear I’d tell you if I knew.”

Fear grabbed hold and wouldn’t let go, yet I still continued down the stairs. Some part of me needed to see. To know.

I stopped just as the group came into view. A single fluorescent light illuminated the room, casting it in a bluish light. Lucien was strapped to a chair, his lip bloodied and eye swelling shut. Trace, Colt, Ronan, Dash, and Declan surrounded him. Some of them close, others seeming to be studying the goings-on from further away.

Trace pulled something from his waistband so fast, the only thing I could register was a flash of silver before he was slamming it into Lucien’s hand.

Lucien howled in pain, bucking against the constraints, but it did no good.

Trace stepped back, and it was then that I could see he’d stabbed a knife clean through Lucien’s hand and into the wooden arm of the chair. My stomach roiled, and I had to force down the surge of bile in my throat.

“You know something. Not telling us just means you’re giving my demon a chance to play. Really, I should thank you.”

“H-he’s obsessed with you. The Crescents,” Lucien stammered, sweat beading on his brow.

The guys shared a look of confusion at the name.

“That’s what he calls you,” Lucien explained. “Because of your marks.”

The little crescent moons that resembled a tattoo or a dark birthmark.

Ronan bared his teeth at Lucien. “I don’t give a damn what cute little nickname he’s given us.”

Lucien shook his head back and forth in a rapid, staccato movement. “No, you don’t get it. He’s obsessed.”

Colt pushed off the table he was leaning against, stalking toward Lucien. “Explain.”

Lucien gulped. “He thinks he should be in your bond. Thinks that you’re going to take over and cast the vamps out of Emerald Bay. You’ve already acted against us.”

Colt’s eyes narrowed. “The Assembly punished the vamps because members of your den attacked unprovoked. That carries consequences. It has nothing to do with us.”

“But it showed Damien that the vamps don’t have as much control as he thought,” Lucien explained. “He thinks that when you guys take power, you’ll cut us out completely.”

Declan studied Lucien carefully. “It’s more than that. He thinks the vamps should have complete rule, doesn’t he?”

Lucien paled. “N-no.”

Trace moved in a flash, taking the handle of the knife and twisting it in Lucien’s hand. “Don’t lie to us.”

Lucien screamed.

I sank to the step, covering my ears. It was too much like my own screams from the past weeks.

“He wants us to seize power!” The words tumbled from Lucien’s mouth as if he had no control over them.

“Why did he take Leighton?” Dash asked. His voice carried a tone I’d never heard from him before, empty, cold.

Lucien swallowed hard, eyeing Trace.

Trace pulled another knife from his waistband and used it to begin cleaning his fingernails. “The truth, vermin.”

Lucien’s eyes flared red for a moment, and I knew that if he could’ve killed Trace, he would’ve in a heartbeat.

“He wanted to find out what you were up to, and then he got the idea that he could bond with her. Then you would have no choice but to accept him.”

The room went eerily silent. The only thing I could hear was the beating of my own heart.

“What. Did. You. Say?” Trace snarled.

Lucien paled. “He wanted to force the bond with Leighton, said that you’d have to let him in if he was connected to her.”

Colt’s jaw was hard as granite. “Even if he could find someone to do it, Leighton never manifested as an anchor, bonding with her could kill her.”

Tremors rocked my body as Damien’s determined face filled my memory.

“He found a caster who said he could do it.”

Dash cursed, charging forward. “Who?”

“H-he didn’t say.” Lucien’s gaze jumped around the room. “He won’t stop. He thinks she’s the way to get his power back.”

“Where is he?” Trace said, his voice low with a feral edge.

“I don’t know! I took off when I saw you on the cameras. I have no idea where he went. But he’ll be close. He wants her.”

“I don’t believe you.” Trace moved to the corner of the room and grabbed a rolling tray, guiding it over to Lucien.

I couldn’t make out its contents at first, but when it reached the light, I sucked in a breath. Blades. Pliers. Hammers. It was a torture kit.

“W-what are you doing?” Lucien squeaked.

Trace picked up a pair of pliers, examining them in the light. “I’m going to get the answers I need from you. I think we’ll start by taking some teeth. It’ll make it harder for you to talk, but if you’re motivated properly, you’ll find a way.”

My breaths came quicker, short, little pants instead of full inhales and exhales, as the memory of Damien’s bites filled my mind.

Dash crossed his arms over his chest. “The root of the tooth is one of the most sensitive parts of the human body. It’s a good choice, T.”

Lucien’s head jerked back and forth. “Y-you can’t do that.”

Trace prowled toward him. “Watch me.”

Black dots danced in front of my vision as fear pulsed deep. The softest sound escaped me, but five heads jerked in my direction.

Colt cursed and then was striding toward me. I wanted to get up, to run. But I couldn’t move.

“LeeLee. It’s okay. He can’t hurt you.”

As Colt reached out, I scrambled back. “No!”

Agony ripped across his expression, but he stopped.

Declan hurried around him as I struggled to breathe. “Leighton, look at me. You’re safe.”

“I’m not. He’ll never stop.” The words were barely discernable through my pants, but the guys got the gist.

Declan lifted me into his arms. “We’ll stop him. We’ve got you.”

I couldn’t get any more words out. I was lost to the memories now, the pain, as if I were living it all over again.

“She’s having another fucking panic attack,” Ronan growled.

“We need a sedative,” Colt barked.

“I’ve got one,” Dash said.

Footsteps pounded on the stairs. The sound only sent a fresh wave of memories over me, and I thrashed in Declan’s arms.

“Shit! She’s losing it,” he called.

More hands held me, but I couldn’t stop fighting. I had to get away.

“Dash! Fucking hurry!” Colt yelled.

More footsteps and then a prick in my arm. I cried out, but a second later, the pain eased, and I was drifting away. I welcomed the nothingness again.