Page 14 of Demon Seed

Calista's lips twist into what might resemble a smile on anyone else, but on her, it takes on a sinister edge, a silent warning that promises something wicked is afoot.

"There are no locks I cannot break or doors I cannot transcend," she declares confidently, her fingertips gliding delicately along the surface of the polished bureau. Her eyes drift over the peculiar collection of stones Vesper must have amassed over the years. "They only keep out those who lack the skill to open them."

Calista lifts a piece of rose quartz, its soft pink hues catching the golden glow of the lamplight. She turns it slowly, the light playing across its surface. "Interesting choice," she muses. "Protection through unconditional love rather than brute force." Her gaze shifts to meet mine, her eyes sharp and penetrating. "Admirable. Foolish, but admirable."

My heart pounds fiercely against my ribs. I know I need to warn Vesper, but I refuse to turn my back on her.

"What do you want?" I ask, trying to channel strength I don't feel.

Calista carefully places the crystal onto the table, the soft thud echoing unnaturally loud in the tense and suffocating silence of the room. The air is thick with anticipation, and the crystal seems to shimmer with a life of its own.

"I'm here to return you to the mountain, Selene," she declares, her voice steady yet laden with unspoken urgency. "No one blames you for succumbing to the powerful mate bond that tugs at your soul, but you must understand that this unioncannot endure." Her gaze is sharp and unwavering, as if it could cut through the air between us. "You have a choice: return on your own accord, or I will be compelled to take you home by force."

Vesper

Ican't shake this feeling that's come over me. It's as if a shadow has settled over my heart. Is something wrong with Selene?

Morrigan continues talking, her lips moving with animation, each word punctuated with a flick of her fingers as she explains the peculiar retreat unfolding outside.

The coven has abruptly ceased their chanting; their voices, once an annoying hum, are now silenced, and they've departed, gathering up their talismans as if fleeing from an unseen force. But as she speaks, her words are quickly drowned out by a relentless dread that creeps up my spine.

"Vesper?" Morrigan's voice cuts through my thoughts, and I notice her gaze fixed on me, her brow furrowing with concern. "Did you hear what I said?"

"Sorry," I mutter as I rub my temples in a futile attempt to dispel this ominous sensation. It feels like a cold hand gripping my chest, squeezing tighter with each passing moment. "I need to find Selene."

"What? Isn’t she sleeping?" Morrigan protests, following me into the hallway.

But I'm already in motion, my feet propelling me with an urgent determination through the cold corridors. Torches lining the walls cast long shadows as I break into a full sprint.

I round the corner to our chamber, lungs burning, and find the door slightly ajar, a sliver of dim light spilling out.

I burst through the doorway, my heart pounding violently against my chest. The bedsheets lie in disarray, twisted and empty, yet still radiating the warmth from where Selene had been sleeping, possibly mere moments ago. Her lingering fragrance fills the room—but she's no longer here.

"Selene?" My voice echoes hollowly in the shadowy room, swallowed by the silence.

No response follows.

The window yawns open, its curtains billowing gently in the night breeze like spectral hands reaching inward. I dash to it, my eyes scanning the grounds below with frantic intensity, but all I see are shadows and moonlight weaving intricate patterns across the garden.

That feeling—that dreadful, gnawing sense of apprehension that gripped me during my conversation with Morrigan—magnifies into an intense, almost tangible pain. I knew I shouldn't have left her alone, not after the arrival of the witches.

Something glistens on the windowsill—a dark, glistening smear that seems to pulse with its own sinister life. My fingers brush against it before my mind fully comprehends the horror of what I’m seeing. It's blood.

"No," I whisper, the word scraping out of my throat like ash, crumbling and dry. "Not my mate.”

I stand amidst the wreckage of what was once my bedroom, my chest heaving with ragged breaths, my knuckles raw and bleeding. Splintered wood and torn fabric are strewn about, like the chaotic aftermath of a violent storm.My storm.The mirror, now a shattered mess, lies in pieces on the floor, each fragmentreflecting my face in a hundred fractured images. It's fitting, I think, as I feel just as broken inside.

Selene is gone.My mate’s been taken from me.

The thought pounds relentlessly in my head, echoing with every heartbeat. They took her. They took her, and I wasn't there to stop them.

I kick aside the shattered remains of my nightstand, and a metallic object skitters across the floor—her amulet. I snatch it up, clutching it tightly until the sharp edges dig painfully into my palm, a reminder of what I've lost.

"I will find you," I whisper, my voice barely audible, as if somehow the wind might carry my words across the vast, invisible chasm that now separates us. "I swear it."

A soft knock echoes through the room, but I remain silent. The door creaks open anyway, revealing Morrigan as she steps inside with deliberate grace. Her eyes sweep over the wreckage with a composed, knowing expression, as if she expected nothing less.

"Are you finished?" she inquires, her voice infuriatingly serene, slicing through the tension like a blade.

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