When Damon took her hand, she could suddenly feel his heartbeat echoed in hers, as well as the way his blood boiled with rage. Something freaky pounded between them, and she didn’t trust it. Even if it excited her enough to remember what he’d done with just a touch of palm-to-skin.
What the hell is he doing to me? Why is he affecting me this way?
“If I were you, I’d stop using magic to power my every move.” Elroy took several calculated strides until he was settled beside Aleena, who’d been silently watching the exchange. There’d been a change in the Priestess’s demeanor. She looked distracted.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Damon spat.
“Please. Elroy, Damon. Stop this nonsense!” Aleena finally stepped between them. “Elroy, I’d appreciate it if you’d keep your useless thoughts to yourself. Alex is a guest in our village. She’s lost and has no way of getting home. I will make it my mission to ensure all her comforts are met…no matter what they may be.” Her gaze turned to Damon. “Please, Damon. You know violence is nottolerated within these walls. If I see such a display of anger from you, again, I will be forced to punish you.”
Both men lowered their heads and nodded.
“Alex, please accept my deepest apologies for having to endure this most uncommon situation. Believe me when I say that we are a peaceful civilization.”
Alex responded with a small nod. She didn’t feel like adding any more to this strange confrontation. She found Elroy’s very open and verbal attack to be peculiar. From her experience, consorts were usually seen but not heard. They kept their mouths shut and only provided opinions or comments behind closed doors, usually after personally pleasuring their leader. She knew her own mother had never paid any attention to a consort, even if they’d induced an orgasm worth remembering.
The thought repulsed her. Her mother repulsed her. She’d always been so inappropriate, sharing details about her sexual relationships when Alex didn’t want to hear about them. I hate that woman. What did she do to Daddy? There was no doubt in her mind, and she suspected Lorraine had something to do with Louis’s disappearance. One day, I’ll finally be ready to confront her about it.
Of course, that’s if she ever got off this crazy planet.
“Damon, is there anything else you can ascertain from this body?”
He faced Aleena and answered, “I can’t get any residual reading from the person’s spirit, but it’s Mony Lin. I was able to connect with his spirit, which probably means he moved on right away.” He stopped for a second. “Whoever did this to Mony had a reason for it. The trace of violence still lingering is so strong, it’s making my skin crawl. I can taste hunger, craving, excitement, jealousy, and even lust.”
“What should we do?” Aleena asked, obviously distraught. “How do we ensure this doesn’t happen, again?”
“For starters,” Damon said, “I don’t think anyone else should find out about this. Who found the body?”
“A young girl,” Aleena answered.
“Did she see anything?”
“I’m not sure. We haven’t been able to get her to talk.”
“What do you mean?” Damon asked, as his brow furrowed.
Aleena shrugged. “Exactly what I said. She hasn’t spoken a word since she alerted Elroy and Levi of the whereabouts of the body.”
“She’s probably in shock. I wouldn’t be surprised if she interrupted the attack. There’s a whole section missing from the corpse, which might mean the attacker consumed some of the flesh.” Damon hesitated, as if he didn’t want to continue in case he pushed any of them over the edge of sickness.
“I suggest you go see her,” Aleena said. “Go to the girl, and see if you can get her to talk. If you can’t, see what you can readfrom her.”
Damon nodded. “Yes, that sounds like a good idea, Priestess.”
“Make sure you keep your outsider with you at all times,” Elroy cautioned with distaste. “If you can’t personally account for her whereabouts, and something else happens, I’ll have no other choice but to bring her in.”
Damon turned a dark look toward Elroy.
Alex sighed. This guy’s attitude was starting to grate on her nerves.
“Elroy, please. You are in charge of security, not of running the place! That’s my job.” Aleena rolled her eyes. “Come on. You and I need to discuss a few things-one of which includes manners.”
Elroy held out an arm, and Aleena hooked hers around it. “Damon, I want some answers. I won’t allow a tendril of violence to penetrate our society. Figure this out, quickly. The new moon is less than a day away, and according to the prophecy, it’s when the space traveler’s power needs to be harnessed for the ritual.” She smiled at Alex before continuing down the path and being swallowed by a long line of trees.
What ritual?No one had mentioned anything about a ritual to harness anything. She turned to ask Damon, but he was too busy handing out instructions.
“Levi, can you clean this up, please?”
“No problem, Damon,” the teenager said with a small nod. He pointed at the only other person who’d remained. “I’ll get Milo to help me.”
Milo nodded. The scrawny man with long, blonde hair didn’t look much older than Levi, and he hadn’t spoken a word during the entire ordeal. He also avoided looking at anyone but Levi.
Damon smiled. “I appreciate it. Please, make sure there’s not a single bit of blood left behind.”
“Sure. We’ve got it under control,” Levi said.
“Great, thanks.” Damon turned away from the corpse and reached for Alex’s hand. He led her away from the bloodied mess and the unfortunate two who’d been charged with cleaning it up.
“Are they going to be okay with the clean up on their own?”
“Yes. Levi’s very thorough, and Milo’s good at following instructions. Once they’re done with it, no one will ever know someone was killed on this spot.” His green eyes darkened, and she couldn’t help but wonder if it was because he was angry or sad.
“What if someone doessee them clean up?”
“They won’t. Come on.” Damon encouraged her to move forward.
“How do you know for sure?”
“There’s a perimeter sectioned off around the gardens. No one will venture this far until they’re advised it’s okay to do so.”
“Aren’t they a little young to be doing this, anyway?”
“No, they’re not. Both of them turned twenty just recently. That’s old enough to take care of things. Besides, age means nothing around here.”
She continued to walk beside Damon but took one last glimpse over her shoulder. Levi and Milo both looked so young…