Daughter of Night (A Daughter of Nyx novel)

Chapter Thirteen

Elliot sat on one side of her while Nikolas took the other side. Jonathan paced in front of the fire, not saying anything. But she knew him better than she knew herself. He was working up to what was going to upset her.

When did the boyish features leave his face? Was it a gradual thing that she simply never noticed until now because she had never gone days without seeing him? Or was it a result of the change he had gone through? His shaggy brown hair still fell over his eyes, though, and it was killing her that she couldn't brush it back.

"I don't know how to start. What would be the best place?"

"Anywhere," she said softly. His anxiety was playing with hers.

"Okay, how about here. You're parents are part of a cult. A cult that caused your loss of memory when the ritual they were performing failed."

"Are you drunk?" The words popped out and he laughed, a bitter thing.

"No, our nights of getting hammered together are over. At least for me."

"Why did you do this?"

He stopped and faced her, eyes so sad and serious, it took her breath. "From the second grade, I've always been your protector. There was something about you, this somber kid with eyes like the darkest night. Eyes that seemed to look into the heart of me. Eyes that captivated me. You were picked on, because the eyes I loved never seemed to smile. Kids are so mean and they called you so many things. But as much as I wanted to protect you, you never seemed to care what was said about you. What others done to you. Except the time Shelly stuck gum in your hair." He smiled at the memory and she wished she could.

"Things were supposed to be different. The summoning that I did was supposed to make it to where I wouldn't be going through these... growing pains. Colvin messed up, because he wasn't expecting you to be with me and because of it, his heart is what is keeping me alive."

"That would explain why I can't seem to find him." Elliot's tone was dry and Chevonne glanced at him.

"Well, you took mine. The god took Colvin's to make good on his part of the deal. It wasn't Colvin that I sacrificed my soul to. It was Erebus by way of a smaller deity."

"I don't understand."

"I know, and I'm afraid it's only going to get worse. I couldn't help you when you lost yourself and that's a whole different story, but the idea of the ritual was to bind the goddess of night to you."

A flash of smoky darkness and once again, the woman said 'drink'.

It was gone and Jonathan stood in front of her looking confused. "What was that?" he asked.

"I don't know," she said.

Elliot stood and looked around the room. "There's nothing..."

"No, it was her eyes. They..." Jonathan shook his head. "Maybe it's me."

Nikolas touched her chin and turned her face to him. "Still that beautiful black."

Jonathan shook his head. "The cult wants to control Nyx through you."

The darkness came back and within it, there was the hazy figure. The figure of a woman. "Drink." The figure came closer and bands of smoky black swirled around her nude form. "Drink."

"Drink what?" she tried to ask, but her voice seemed lost in the dark.

"Drink, and remember."

She blinked and all three vampires looked at her.

"That was easily the strangest thing I have ever seen. And I've seen some crazy shit," Nikolas said.