Frosted Torment (Marked Mortals Saga #1)

Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

S hadows loomed as she choked and clawed at the bedroom door. Then, a quick pull sent me into a strange dimension. Voices overlapped in a cacophony, and I collapsed to my knees, covering my ears.

I slowed my breathing, and the air became still, producing a slight hum. My heart skipped as I heard my mother’s faint voice, though I couldn’t see her. I stood, scanning every direction.

Then I lurched forward, phasing through the ground and emerging on the other side. A scream tore from my throat at the excruciating pain. There she was, extending a hand to me, her ghostly touch caressing my cheek.

“Come,” my mom whispered.

I trailed after her graceful, floating form, mesmerized by her fluid movements. Then she halted, turning to face me, as breathtaking as I remembered. Luscious brown curls tumbled over her shoulders.

Then, her violet eyes pierced mine as three shadows materialized in the distance. She pointed to the silhouettes of Ivy, Jossy, and Lex conversing with someone in a field; their presence was haunting.

“Secrets lie beneath the surface, waiting for you to find them,” she said.

“What does that mean, Mom?”

I reached for her hand, but she looked toward my friends and pointed.

“There are forces that shape your destiny, Noa. Forces as ancient as time itself. Embrace your power to choose, for it holds the key to unlocking hidden truths within you.”

“This is insane.” My voice trembled with fear. “What do my best friends have to do with any of this?” My breath quickened, and I felt hot, but I didn’t know how to escape the depth of this reading.

“The Baneful are coming for you, Noa. Listen to those closest to you and find the place that keeps the answers, not the secrets. There you will find my killers.”

“I won’t stop until they’re dead,” I promised.

My mother’s words hung in the air, each syllable seeping into the depths of my soul. A sudden wave of realization hit me as I stood alone in a world full of secrets and unknown powers. The Baneful. The name reverberated in my mind, a sinister echo that sent shivers down my spine.

“Who...who are the Baneful?” I stammered, my voice shaking with a potent mix of terror and resolve.

My mother’s features twisted into anxious purpose as she warned, “The Baneful are ancient evil beings, Noa,” she explained.

Her image began to fade .

“Wait!” I ran after her, making every effort to hold on to her.

She offered me one last clue. “They seek to harness the power within you—a power that can shape worlds or bring them to ruin.”

Without warning, I gasped for air. Then, I flew backward in the chair, knocking over one of the pillars holding up the velvet rope. I stood up too fast and fell into the line of people waiting for their turn.

Baneful? Hidden forces? What the fuck happened?

The entire day inched up the back of my throat, and I ran to the bathroom, choking back the contents of my stomach until I found an open stall. My chest ached from getting sick. This morning and now, so I curled myself into a ball and sobbed until nothing remained. I knew it was a bad idea to go out on my birthday.

“Hey,” a man’s voice echoed in the bathroom. “Time to go.”

I swallowed hard. “I’ll be out in a minute.”

“No,” he insisted. “The party ended an hour ago. Now, get your ass up and go.”

“Fine!” I stood and pushed open the stall door, ready to tell him where to go, but he’d left. I stomped my heel on the ground. “Fucking security, assholes!”

I gave myself a once-over in the mirror, then turned on the cold water to rinse my mouth. Monogrammed paper towels sat to my right, so I wet them and wiped my face. At least the waterproof mascara did its job and stayed in place, even though it wrecked my false lashes. Once I peeled them off, I leaned in to fluff my hair and grabbed a mint before heading out to find Ivy and her brothers.

But first, I’d give that jerk a piece of my mind for yelling at me. Except when I walked into the hall, the house was empty, and the music stopped. All the lights were on, and I didn’t see any guests.

I clamored down the stairs and cupped my hands around my mouth when I spotted Jossy in the foyer. “What happened?”

He quirked an eyebrow at me. “The party’s over!”

“What? Why?” I stumbled toward them, dodging strewn party favors.

Ivy snapped her compact closed with a snap, then shoved it into her purse. “We’ve been looking for you everywhere. Where have you been?”

I gaped at her, my tone drenched in skepticism. “Are you joking? It’s only been like twenty minutes.”

I fished out my phone to check the time - 2:00 AM. The room spun as I looked from the bar to the stairs and back.

“More like two hours, Noa. You sat down with that psychic and I turned around for a second, but when I looked back, you were gone,” she remarked.

My chest felt like a thousand elephants were sitting on it, but I shut my eyes hard to think. My mind was hazy from the reading. The echo of my heel coming down on the floor carried throughout the foyer, and Jossy took me into his arms. He rubbed my back in a circular motion.

“Slow breaths, Noa. What happened?” Jossy asked.

I opened my eyes, focusing on his pristine suit that looked as though he’d just put it on. Not a speck of New Year’s clung to him. We breathed in tandem as he massaged my arms.

I shook my head as helplessness washed over me. “I did that reading.”

“What do you mean?” he asked .

“Some woman near the bathroom was doing psychic readings. Ivy thought it would be fun.” My voice quivered, and a sharp pain lanced through my skull.

Jossy’s face turned fiery red, like his hair. He glared at his sister. “Are you insane, Ivy? Do you have any idea of the ramifications of your actions?”

Lex sidled over, placing a hand on Jossy’s shoulder, then guided him toward the exit.

Jossy’s voice echoed with anger through the hall and returned to his sister. “Of course you do!”

“What’s he talking about, Ivy?” I looked at her, bewildered, trying to make sense of Jossy’s cryptic words.

She blinked those sun-gold eyes at me and winked. “You’ll see.”

Lex made his way back over to me and Ivy. His face hardened with a tick of his jaw. “We need to get her home. I’ve got a ride-share outside.”

My body went numb, hands tingling. I clawed at my shirt, feeling it constrict around my throat. “I can’t breathe. My pulse is gone!”

Ivy cradled my face tenderly in her hands. “You’re breathing and talking, Noa. Focus on my voice.”

“It’s going to be all right,” Jossy interjected, steering me outside and down the steps. “But Lex is wrong. You need to go to the hospital.”

Lex removed his leather jacket, swaddling me within its folds. “I don’t think that’s wise, brother. Make the call, and we can handle this.”

Jossy rubbed his lips with one finger and exhaled a breath. He situated himself up front with the driver as a wad of cash appeared in his hands.

“Get us to this address as fast as you can, and this is yours,” Jossy urged.

The best birthday I’d allowed myself in years faded into the background in a pile of ruin. What was looking more like a vivid hallucination plagued me. Now, sandwiched between Ivy and Lex in the back of the car, my skin felt like fire and ice bursting from within. I rubbed my arms as Ivy held me close.

Watching streetlights stream past the window, Crystal Wings disappeared in the distance. Our driver earned his pay as he screeched to a halt in my apartment parking lot. We tumbled out, one after the other, and I lost my balance when a writhing pain clawed through my top lip.

This time, I knew something was wrong. Doubled over, the entire night of drinks splattered onto Lex’s cowboy boots. Then everything went black.