Alex Wales: Promise

The beast couldn’t wait to consume her soft flesh, as well.

Chapter Thirteen

The girl appeared to be very young, maybe in her mid-teens. Her blonde hair was almost as pale as her skin. She’d pushed several silky strands behind her ears, and the length hung down to her waist. Her light blue eyes were wide, unfocused, her pupils tiny. She clutched her small hands together in her lap, fingers overlapping each other, and shoulders rigid as she faced Damon. She sat in a chair inside a white room with a curved doorway that opened up into the garden path.

On her way over with Damon, Alex had noticed the gardens weren’t just situated in one part of the enclosed ‘village’, but were actually interwoven all around it. The endless garden, along with the surrounding walls and linked paths, made this place look like a labyrinth. If she didn’t have Damon beside her, she probably would have gotten lost several times already.

Although it was still dark out, a feeling of warmth and comfort filled the room. This wasn’t a cold planet. The warm air wrapped itself around her body, and with no one scrutinizing her, Alex was glad she wasn’t wearing her jacket.

She turned back to the girl, who sat motionless. The constant rise and fall of her chest confirmed she was still breathing. Whatever she’d seen must have been gory enough to make her so shell-shocked, she was practically comatose.

Even in the warm surroundings, Alex shivered.

She’d probably been this girl’s age when she last saw her father. The night before her arranged wedding, Louis managed to change the course Lorraine had set Alex on. She’d never had a proper chance to thank him. I was so confused that night.Trying to figure out how she would survive a life of coercion with a guy she didn’t even know and a mother who would oversee every single decision she made, had felt devastating. So, when her father appeared out of nowhere, she’d half-expected it to be a dream.

The key he’d given her confirmed it had all happened.

I wonder if I looked the same way this girl does now.

No, as shocking as losing her father and never knowing what really happened to him was, this girl had seen someone virtually butcher another person.

“Laurie, it’s all right. You can talk to me about what you saw. I won’t hurt you.” Damon knelt down in front of her. The tone of his voice was soft, and every move he made was slow and precise. “Actually, I’m here to help you. I want to make sure that what you witnessed never happens to anyone, again.”

Laurie didn’t seem to register his words or proximity.

Alex leaned back against the wall and crossed her arms, determined to stay out of the way and curious to see how he would handle this. Damon appeared to wear a lot of hats around here, but he seemed to apply unconventional and bizarre methods of investigation.

She was surprised she’d been allowed to tag along. Then again, as long as Damon kept an eye on her, she supposed no one cared where she went. Besides, there didn’t seem to be any clear or organized law enforcement. She hadn’t bumped into a single police-type figure, so far. Well, except for the annoying man, Elroy, who claimed he was the Priestess’s consort and security.

She couldn’t help but wonder…if they all followed a Priestess and used Damon to read weird shit off dead or comatose bodies, did it mean the structure of this strange society was built on the foundations of mumbo-jumbo? Why live their lives without clear direction? Was the notion of magic a way for Priestess Aleena to keep everyone in line, while skirting any sort of real social structure like other planets and even space stations had?

On Anteris, everyone had a role, even those who were just waltzing in and out as often as she did. Many visitors were known to be the biggest scum of the galaxy and surrounding planets, but Ulric had established a sense of law and order. There was an active police force and a court. Everyone knew that if you pushed the envelope too far, the authorities would eventually catch up with you.

Only the worst bar on Anteris got away with a degree of lawlessness. That was why she’d been able to take out a cyborg without being arrested. Though, she was sure Ulric would have gotten her out of trouble, anyway.

That’s the problem.He bailed her out of everything, fed her the most delectable of dishes, satisfied her every whim whenever she craved it, let her dominate most situations, and covered all of her expenses while she was with him. She’d even stopped paying docking fees for Promise.

The carefree, skirt-chasing scoundrel who’d first entered her life had somehow morphed into someone else. Into a man who asked her to give up her job, so she could stay with him and do nothing.

He even said he loves me.

In a way, by caring about her, Ulric made her feel as if he were maneuvering her into a path she wasn’t ready to take just yet. She enjoyed being free to travel around the galaxy in Promise, taking care of business while sightseeing, and checking out what the male population had to offer.

It was no wonder she didn’t even miss him right now. If anything, she was glad to be away from him, because it meant she could do whatever she wanted with Damon-a mighty fine specimen who was attracted to her and never failed to strike the right chords. No matter what Damon claimed, he was from a planet she would eventually leave. She could have her fun, and then be on her way before she had a chance to develop any real feelings for him, or Damon for her.

She let go of her thoughts to concentrate on Damon and the girl.

“Laurie, speak to me. I can help you.” Damon had placed a hand over the girl’s, but she still wasn’t responding.

“What do you do, now?” Alex asked when he stood up and turned to face her.

He looked tired, frustrated. “I don’t think she’s going to talk, if that’s what you mean.”

“So, that’s it? There’s nothing else you can do?”

“There’s definitely something else I can do. Watch me perform a different type of magic,” he said with a wink.

“Is so-called magic your answer to everything?” she retorted.

He shrugged, a smile curving his lips. He seemed to enjoy her discomfort with the subject a bit too much.

“Have you ever thought that maybe what you’re doing isn’t magic at all, but could be caused by some sort of magnetic field around this planet? Maybe it’s just something in the water, and it makes you thinkyou’re performing magic.” She was clutching at straws, because what he did when he touched her was very real. “Or maybe it’s power from whatever divine deity your Priestess serves.”

He looked confused. “What divine deity?”

Alex pushed off the wall. “Uh, the one Aleena serves. Whatever goddess protects your village. Surely, your Priestessspreads the word of some sort of deity, whether ancient or modern?” Even people who used the goddess Aphrodite as an excuse to screw around all the time would worship, make offerings, and take part in rituals in her honor.

Damon shook his head. “There are no goddesses or gods. We don’t worship any deities. Priestess Aleena is our matriarch-the one who ensures we remain in a safe and crimeless society. It’s all her doing. The power of her leadership keeps our vision clear.”

“Right.” She couldn’t help but smell a rat in his explanation. Or rather, in what sounded like a brainwashing statement the population was probably forced to recite. Alex didn’t suspect him of lying, as much as