Athena's Jewel (Aya Harris Collection 2)

He tilted his head, a mass of light brown wavy hair falling into his chilling grey eyes. “I think Wesley can spare you from this job. Besides, you’ve got a friend here taking good care of everyone else” – he pointed at Tala – “take a break and come have some fun with me. This demon has endowed me in more ways than one.”

I shuddered and stepped aside, but he would have none of it. Grabbing my wrist, he yanked me back against his chest and pinned me there.

“Come on, fallen angel. No need to run away.”

“I said no.” My wrist grew numb

under the force of his grip. “Leave me alone.”

Despite my protests, he began to drag me from the room, his grip growing even tighter. Tala stared hopelessly as I kicked and shrieked, my fight drawing attention from the surrounding guests.

The demon inside the man laughed with glee. I could tell he liked a fighter. It would give him great pleasure to overpower someone like me. He might even kill me. I had seen that look in a man’s eyes before.

With a last ditch effort, I closed my eyes and willed the power of Athena’s Jewel to come to me. I’d used it in an emergency before. Maybe, if I concentrated hard enough, I could melt the guy like I melted the handcuffs. That wouldn’t be a terrible loss for the world. One less filthy parasitic demon.

The power grew inside of me. With my free hand, I wheeled back and threw my body into a cross punch, catching the demon across the jaw. My psychic powers followed through the punch, throwing him several feet back into a wall, where he left a man-sized dent in the golden plaster.

All was silent as the demon slid to the floor. Every eye in the room was on me.

So much for me avoiding attention.

A bolt of electricity charged through my feet and up to my head. It fried every nerve, freezing me into agonizing stillness. As the thought crossed my mind that I was going to die, the electricity suddenly stopped, and I fell to the floor in a heap of gold paint and glitter. I could barely lift my head to watch the pair of expensive leather boots that tromped my way.

“What is this? Why is Mr. Terrence on the floor?” Wesley Blake’s voice rang out, a deadly tremor in his question. “What happened?”

“That whore assaulted me,” Mr. Terrence shrieked. He jumped to his feet and pointed at me. “She punched me. I told her I required her services and she attacked me.”

Wesley knelt down beside me, taking my chin in his hand. A concerned frown tugged at the corners of his mouth, but from this close distance, there was no mistaking the rage burning quietly in his eyes. He hated me. I would pay for this.

“Go to the dressing room, get yourself cleaned up,” he hissed. “We’ll discuss this later.”

I nodded until my eyes blurred and collected myself from the floor.

“Mr. Terrence, I would like to express my sincerest apologies,” Wesley exclaimed, loud enough for the whole room to hear. “Please, enjoy a night with Anastasia on the house. She is our best. I’m sure you will be very pleased.”

Anastasia slinked past me and looped her arm through Mr. Terrence’s. She pressed a hand to his chest and smiled, drawing his gaze to her lips. I wondered how many times she’d had to pull that same move on a client. They might not have noticed, but I could see in her eyes the way she withdrew into herself.

The woman they got tonight wasn’t Anastasia. It was a façade. The gestures, the smiles, the laughter --- were all an act. They’d claim her body, but they wouldn’t have her.

I watched them walk away, the room growing noisy once again with conversation. It wasn’t until I felt the tickle of a whisper against my ear did I realize Wesley Blake was leaning down to say something to me.

“You mean nothing to me unless you’re earning money,” he said. “Pull that stunt again and I’ll kill you.”

Chapter Fifteen

Wesley Blake’s words reverberated around my skull for the rest of the night. They kept me paralyzed on my bunk mattress, my limbs frozen in fear. There was no doubt that he’d follow through on his threat. He had just enough disregard for life in his dark eyes that confirmed it for me. We were nothing but dollar signs.

By the time the girls began to stir, it was already afternoon. The golden ball had kept them up until the early morning hours. I imagined the sun was already lighting up the tops of the buildings by the time they made it to bed, but I couldn’t know for sure. There were no windows in the Ranch.

From what I’d learned listening to the girls during our preparation for the ball yesterday, Wesley Blake was a mage of untold power. He protected the Ranch from the prying eyes of the SI and enclosed us in with enchantments. There was no way out of this place without a magical crowbar. I prayed that Ruth and the HQ had enough magic in their back pockets to burst through the front doors when I called them.

I was about to swing over the side and check on Tala in the bunk below, when I felt a sinking motion that swept me into a vision more powerful than any I’ve had before. Clutching at my chest, I waited for the overwhelming pain that would soon follow, but got nothing. Instead, I watched three dark figures burst into the back of a building, spreading out as they entered the closed jewelry store.

They snatched up everything they could, and made their way to the giant safe at the back. One of the dark figures was able to reach through the safe door and pull out its contents, depositing gold and jewels in his bag by the handful. Once he was finished, he motioned to his companions and they left, carrying thousands of dollars of merchandize with them.

My eyes cleared up and I was back in my bunk, staring at the ceiling above me. A dull headache pulsed in my right temple, but other than that, I felt perfect. Athena’s jewel laid flat against my skin, reminding me of Ruth’s gift.

If the rest of my visions were that easy, I could live with these abilities. There was no telling how powerful I could become with the help of the jewel.