Taken by Sin

He offered up an encouraging smile. “It won’t be painful, I promise. We’ll just talk.”

“Talk? That’s it?”

“At first. You have to admit we haven’t done a lot of that.”

“True enough. But I don’t see how just talking is going to help.”

“It’s not just the talk, Isabelle. It’s the topics.”

“Oh.”

“I need to find out what you can remember, especially about those dreams you’ve been having. And then we need to delve into the … daydreams, or whatever they are.”

“So you’re going to push me.”

He nodded.

“Is that wise?”

“The more we know, the stronger you’ll be. You can’t fight what you don’t know, what you can’t see. Right now we’re fumbling around in the dark and I don’t like it. I know you don’t like it, either.”

He was right. She felt like she wasn’t in control, that someone or something else was pushing her buttons. She’d do whatever it took to change that, even if it meant opening up the Pandora’s box of her mind, her soul, or whatever held her captive.

“Okay, so when do we start?”

“How about some dinner first?”

Of course. It was getting late. She’d been so used to eating very little that the thought of food never occurred to her unless prompted by Dalton. She hadn’t even thought about the time.

Time, that elusive thing that seemed to slip by her a lot lately.

“Come on. You need some company besides me. We’ll go eat dinner with Georgie and her family.”

He was right. She could use the distraction.

But as they walked up to the house, she tensed. Maybe it was the way Georgie looked at her, as if she knew all her secrets. Which was funny, now that she thought about it, because even Isabelle didn’t know the answers. What made her think Georgie did?

She had to calm down. It was just dinner.

So why did she feel like she was on her way to an inquisition? Georgie had seemed nice enough the first time she met her. Hardly imposing. She was a slight thing, and friendly.

“Would you relax?” Dalton said as he pulled open the screen door and held it for her.

She walked through, inhaling the sweet scent of something cooking. She followed it into the kitchen in the back of the house. Georgie and a few other women were in there, surrounded by several children.

“Evenin’,” Georgie said as they walked in. “Grab something to drink and have a seat. Dinner will be on the table shortly.”

“Can I help?” Isabelle asked.

Georgie shook her head. “Almost finished here, chere, but thank you.”

Isabelle went to the counter and filled her glass with iced tea, then made one for Dalton. The tea was already sweetened; she licked her lips and savored the sugared brew. Okay, so far so good. No one had pounced on her or given her funny looks the minute she walked in the door.

Georgie introduced her to the other two women-Anabelle and Laticia, cousins who also lived on the property. The few children scurrying around belonged to them. Georgie had a daughter named Celine, after her great- grandmother. Three men came through the back door as soon as the women started serving food. Georgie introduced one as her husband, Frank, the other two as Anabelle and Laticia’s husbands, Thomas and Jerome. The men worked the small farm on the property.

Dinner was a raucous event, filled with lively conversation, everyone talking over one another and lots of laughter. Isabelle settled in as an observer, happy to stay silent and watch the interplay between the families. The children were well behaved, but allowed to intermingle in the conversations. The parents weren’t overly indulgent, but not too strict, either. They all engaged Isabelle and Dalton in their conversations, but didn’t pry into anything too personal. The children seemed fascinated by Isabelle’s career as an archaeologist, and of course wanted to know if she’d ever dug up dinosaurs. When she said she had, the kids were excited and filled with questions, which she was delighted to answer.

When the meal was finished, everyone helped clean up, so the chore was done in a hurry. Anabelle and Laticia scooted off with the kids, and the guys headed out the back door, leaving Georgie alone with Isabelle and Dalton.

“Now,” Georgie said, wiping her hands with a towel before sitting down at the table. “You two getting settled over at the cabin?”

Dalton nodded. “We’re fine. Took a nice hike today to get Isabelle familiar with the area.”

“Good.” She looked over to Isabelle. “But that’s not why you’re here, is it?”

Isabelle’s glance shot over to Dalton.

“I’d like Georgie to weigh in on what’s been happening to you, see if she can offer some insight,” he said.

Great. Isabelle shifted uncomfortably. How many people needed to know who and what she was?

“She knows, Isabelle. Georgie is gifted with incredible insights as well as magic. And she knows about the Realm of Light and Sons of Darkness. There are no secrets here.”

Wow. That was a pretty big secret. “Okay,” she said.

“I’ll be happy to help in any way I can,” Georgie said.

“Isabelle’s having some problems.”

Georgie turned dark eyes to her. Isabelle resisted the urge to scoot away from the woman’s mesmerizing gaze.

“What kind of problems?”

Dalton slanted his gaze to her. “Go ahead, Isabelle.”

She supposed saying “I don’t wanna” would be a bit childish. She turned to Georgie. “I have these memory gaps. And during these gaps, I do things.”

Georgie’s expression didn’t change. She simply nodded and said, “Go on.”

“I have nightmares. Every time I sleep, demons come for me.”

“Is it like you’re awake? You can feel their presence, feel them touching you?”

Isabelle nodded. “Yes. It’s exactly like that. It’s almost like as soon as I fall asleep, they get some kind of signal to come for me.”

“Do they take you somewhere, or come to where you are?”

“I don’t remember. That’s the problem. As soon as I wake up, everything is foggy. I know the demons have been with me, because I sense them descending as soon as I fall asleep, but I can’t recall exactly how or where.”

“That’s all right,” Georgie said. “What else?”

Isabelle shifted her gaze to Dalton, who nodded. “It’s okay. You can tell her.”

This part was going to be tough. It was personal. Humiliating. Confusing. She looked at Georgie. “It’s about Dalton. There’s something about him that … draws me.”

Georgie looked at Dalton, then back at Isabelle, her lips lifting in a knowing smile. “Yes, I can see that it would. Is that a problem?”

“It’s a problem when I can’t remember what I’m doing.”

Georgie frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I was taking a bath. I remember glancing out the window and seeing Dalton. I was … uh … admiring him, if you know what I mean.”

“Yes. I understand,” Georgie said, smiling at her as if she knew exactly what Isabelle meant.

“Next thing I knew, I woke up and was in the backyard with him. Naked. Practically draped around him. I must have left the bath and walked right outside.”

“And you don’t remember how you got there?”

She shook her head. “And apparently I offered up some rather provocative invitations.”

Georgie didn’t even blink, just nodded. “Has it happened before that incident?”

“Sort of. Though not as flagrant.”