And in the terrible, excruciating pain of that moment, I no longer wanted to die. There was no point because I was certain just then that I had died—because surely, surely, Hell couldn’t be worse than this.

Chapter 14

I was never entirely sure how much of that dream was true and how much was a lie. That it was a mix, I felt certain. I couldn’t think of any reason the Oneroi would show me Kayla noticing my absence when no one else did. That had to be true. Yet, I also couldn’t imagine Seth and Maddie slandering me so much. I especially couldn’t imagine him breaking a confidence. Surely that was a lie…right? And as for the rest of the dream…well, it didn’t matter.

The Oneroi offered no answers. And as more and more dreams came to me, the fate they’d foretold began to come true: I could no longer tell what was real and what wasn’t. Often, I tried to tell myself that it was all a lie. That was easier than living with the doubt. No matter how hard I tried, though, I couldn’t shake the feel of truth that some had. So, I was always questioning everything, and it grew maddening after a while. It was made worse by the fact that the Oneroi were always feeding off of those dreams, which consequently sucked up my energy. A succubus needed that energy to function. It gave me the ability to move in the world, to think clearly, to shape-shift. Draining me of it wouldn’t kill me—I was still immortal, after all—but it made me useless. Not that it mattered in my prison. I still had the sensation of being crammed inside a box in the dark, and what little awareness of my body I had left was simply showing me pain and weakness. Had I been released, I would have had trouble walking. I would also likely be in my true shape.

Since I was mostly suspended consciousness now, the physical aspects became irrelevant. My mind became the true liability, as both the lack of energy and torture from the dreams began to rip me apart. I was more coherent and analytical during the dreams themselves, but when they ended and the emotions hit me, my rational thought began fracturing. My banter with the Oneroi became primal insults and screams. Most of the time I couldn’t think at all. I was just pain and despair. And rage. It seemed impossible, yet underneath the agony that smothered me, a small spark of anger just barely managed to stay alive, fueled every time I saw the Oneroi. I think holding on to that fury was the only thing that kept my shattered mind from completely giving in to insanity.

I lost all sense of time, but that had more to do with the strange nature of dreams and not so much my brain. I actually think little time passed in the real world because every time the Oneroi showed me a glimpse of it, no progress seemed to have been made in finding me—something I believed the Oneroi hoped would break me further.

“Why do you keep asking us?”

The question came from Cody. I was now watching him, Peter, and Hugh being interrogated by Jerome. Carter sat in a far corner, smoking in spite of Peter’s no-cigarettes-in-the-apartment rule. Roman was there too, invisible in body and aura. That meant I shouldn’t have been able to see him, yet something—maybe because he was my target in this dream—allowed me to know he was there, despite what my senses told me. My friends knew about him. He had no need to hide his physical appearance, unless Jerome feared there might be demonic eyes watching Seattle—which wasn’t that unreasonable. My disappearance had probably made him extra suspicious.

Cody’s question had been directed toward Jerome, and I had never in my life seen such fury on the young vampire’s face. He was the mildest of us all, newest to Seattle’s immortal circle. He still jumped when Jerome said jump and spent more time watching and learning than taking an active role. Seeing him like this was a shock.

“We don’t know anything!” Cody continued. “Our powers are limited. You’re the one who’s supposed to be almighty and powerful. Doesn’t Hell control half the universe?”

“‘There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy,’” quoted Carter solemnly.

“Shut up, both of you,” snapped Jerome. He glared at the angel. “I’ve already heard you use that one before.”

Carter shrugged. “You’ve heard me use all of them before. Many, many times.”

Jerome turned back to my three friends. “Nothing. You’re absolutely certain you noticed nothing about her before this happened?”

“She was down,” said Peter.

“She’s always down,” said Hugh.

“She didn’t tell any of us about this thing she kept feeling,” growled Cody. “She only told Roman. Why aren’t you questioning him?”

“I have,” said Jerome. He took a step near the young vampire and leaned his face in close. “And watch your tone. You’re lucky I’m feeling kindly right now.”

“What’s Mei doing?” asked Peter. His tone was proper and polite as he cast an uneasy glance at Cody. Half of Peter’s question was probably a ploy to save his protégé from being smote then and there.

Jerome sighed and stepped back. “Questioning others. Finding any trace—any at all—of another of our immortals who might have felt something.”

Hugh, who was sitting on the couch and keeping his distance from our angry boss, cleared his throat nervously. “I don’t want to bring this up…but, you’re already kind of on probation after the, um, summoning.”

Jerome’s smoldering gaze fell on the imp, who flinched. “Don’t you think I know that? Why is everyone here giving me useless information?”

“All I’m saying,” said Hugh, “is that if someone wanted to take advantage of the situation, making you lose one of your immortals would be a good way. Someone who, say, maybe wanted a job promotion.”

“Mei couldn’t do this,” said Jerome, catching on. He’d already had one lieutenant demoness turn, so Hugh’s hypothesis wasn’t that bad. “She couldn’t hide Georgina like this…even if she was working with someone who could, she’d find a better way to get to me.” There was almost a proud note in his voice.

“What about Simone?” demanded Cody. “She’s out there impersonating Georgina, you know.”

Both Peter and Hugh stared in astonishment. “She’s what?” exclaimed the imp.

The attention from his friends seemed to fluster Cody more than Jerome’s wrath. “Yeah, I was, um, visiting Gabrielle at the bookstore, and I saw Simone. She had Georgina’s shape, but I could feel it was her.”

“You saw Gabrielle?” asked Carter with interest, like my disappearance from the universe had now lessened in comparison to Cody’s romance.

Cody flushed. “We…had a date. But I canceled it when I heard about Georgina. It’s no big deal.”

No big deal? My kidnapping was now ruining Cody’s chances with the woman of his dreams.

“This is more useless information,” growled Jerome. “And, yes, I know about Simone.”

“Maybe you should be talking to her,” said Cody.

“She didn’t do it,” said Jerome. The way he spoke implied that it was a closed case.

Peter was still treading cautiously around Jerome. “If you say she didn’t…then she didn’t. But why is she impersonating Georgina if she’s innocent in all this?”

“She has her reasons,” said Jerome vaguely.

Cody was outraged. “And you’re just going to let her do it! How can you?”

“Because I don’t care!” roared Jerome. A wave of power flared out from him like a shock wave. Everyone except Carter was blown back by it. The china in Peter’s cabinet rattled. “I don’t care what that other succubus does. I don’t care about Georgina’s human friends or what they think. If anything, you should be grateful. Simone’s act is keeping the others from noticing what happened.”

None of my friends had anything to say to that. With an exasperated snarl, Jerome turned toward the door. “I’ve had enough of this. I need real answers.”