A Job From Hell (Ancient Legends #1)

was chosen by the vampire,”
Devon said, head bowed.
    “I still can’t see her face,” Deidre said.
I could hear impatience in her voice, so I approached, my boots making an
unnerving clicking sound on the shiny marble floor, until I stood a few inches
away from her.
    “Chosen for what?” I asked, suspiciously,
as I tried to push away the image of the girl in The Exorcist , a movie Dallas made me watch a few times. Eerie
atmosphere. Check. Pale girl dressed in a flowing dress. Check. Weird talking.
Check. I held my breath, waiting for the demonic voice to start cussing.
    “I can’t tell you. Revealing this
particular secret shall be the vampire’s pleasure, or agony, however he might
see it.” Deidre ran her fingers up my arm, barely touching Devon’s leather
jacket. “You’ve come to offer help in this dark hour?” Her authoritative voice
stood in stark sharp contrast to her frilly dress and friendly smile.
    “Yes, Deidre. Amber agreed to a pact: her
skill for the vampire’s life,” Devon said. I shook my head. Was a verbal
agreement even binding? I’d never heard of one to hold up in court. A good
lawyer could surely get me out of this bad deal in a heartbeat.
    Deidre’s gaze never left me. She had the
same coal black eyes as Devon and the other Shadows, as though they were
siblings. Her lips were the color of frozen rose petals, barely moving as she
whispered, “Let her speak for herself, warrior.”
    “Devon’s right, we had an agreement.” I
noticed the sword sheathed along Deidre’s right hip. Honestly, a sword? Could
she be more psycho?
    Deidre placed a hand on my shoulder, and
squeezed. A freezing sensation seeped through the thick material of clothes. I
imagined myself slapping her hand away, but refrained from following my
instinct.
    “I saw you in my dreams hundreds of years
ago,” Deidre whispered. “Yours is so beautiful and yet so tragic a fate. But
first you’ll reunite us with what is ours.” Did she say hundreds of years? Unless my parents lied about my age, I was only
seventeen. Deidre smiled coldly and continued her monologue, “You’re a rarity
among mortals and immortals, pure and striking. I reckon you’ve pledged your
allegiance. Don’t betray our trust or you’ll die, and the vampire with you.”
She paused, glancing past me at Devon. A guttural hiss escaped Deidre’s throat.
“He thinks they share a bond.”
    “Only fools believe in bonds,” Devon
whispered. “The vampire made it up to suit his purpose.”
    I cast Devon an irritated look because I
had enough of all the bad-mouthing. They were Aidan’s enemies and I didn’t
trust them. They might seem more human than a vampire, but between the
bloodsucker and the Exorcist kid and her black-eyed clique, I’d take the
bloodsucker any time.
    “Did you know he has the ability to
influence your mind?” Deidre asked. “He’ll feed on you night after night,
sucking your blood and destroying your will to live.”
    “You’re kidding.” Aidan happened to leave
that tiny detail out. At this particular moment, he didn’t seem so mysterious,
good-looking and eternally alluring. A chill ran down my spine. Did I trade
Cameron’s wisecracking, partying and womanizing for a guy with an
uncontrollable hunger for human blood? My taste in men was despicable. What
came next? A werewolf? A zombie?
    Deidre returned to her throne, chiffon
shuffling as she draped her frock around her. “That you’re here shows me you’re
ready to beg for help, just like our Angel once did.” She paused again, the
sudden silence stirring a storm of different emotions in me. The Exorcist kid
was lying. Aidan could neither mess with my mind, nor would he ever drink from
me. And yet, he wanted something, something they all seemed to want. I couldn’t
trust anyone; not Aidan, not the Shadows, and certainly not bloody Dallas who
brought this disaster upon me in the first place. From now on, I’d only trust
myself.
    “I need answers.” My voice quivered. “Angel
said I could never go home again.”
    The sudden oppressing silence hung heavy in
the air. I could slice the tension with a knife. This was the moment I’d been
waiting for. Maybe Angel and Devon didn’t know what they were talking about.
Deidre might let me go home in a few months. I should’ve been more specific by
offering my skill for two years, three tops, and then demand to be brought
home.
    “You’re part of our world now, Amber,”
Deidre said, eventually.
    My