Infernal

Cam's POV

I'd given up damaging the walls. I'd busted my knuckles more times than I could keep track, broke their knots and bruised my skin. But the stone didn't crack. I had no idea how long it had been, my senses couldn't reach outside thanks to Witch-Bitch.

Helplessness consumed me with each passing second. It was driving me to breaking point—I was sitting against a wall like a defeated loser! Cameron Leale was not a loser. Cameron Leale always got what he wanted. Because there was always a plan brewing in my dark mind. Something great and explosive, something that was going to get everyone in this damn place killed.

If they hurt a hair on her head there was going to be blood. Well, I'd promised a killing spree. I always delivered. My lips quirked at the thought of the snap of that Helena's neck. No. Her I was going to kill extra slow...

The stone door rumbled.

Pulling myself to my feet, I stood my ground, watching through slit eyes who was emerging from...

Some of my guard slipped when her wavy hair shone in the dark and her lovely eyes ogled mine.

I was speechless when she took a simple step inside. Just like that there were no more barriers.

I hadn't a second to catch my breath before Nina came to me, thrusting her chest into mine, hands weaving into my hair, pulling my mouth to hers. My fingers twitched stiffly, recently healed, and roamed down her curves, gripping her hips. I tilted forward when Nina's lips left but she shoved my shoulders, and suddenly, I found myself between the wall and her.

In the darkness, I saw Nina's head tilting. My eyes searched hers asking how she'd gotten here. What I found scared the crap out of me.

Cold metal clasped around my wrist.

I stared down at the piece of gold. It looked like the bangle Nina had seen my brother wearing in her dream.

"Nina, what are you—" I lurched at the initial stab. I ripped my eyes from the Power-blocker and glared down at the space between us, where a knife was digging into my abdomen.

"How does that feel? Does it hurt?" her hand twisted the handle causing me to grunt. "Good. I want you to hurt like I did."

Gritting down a groan I leaned my head on the wall.

"What are you talking about?" I pushed out.

She forwarded the pointy edge and I let out a bloodcurdling scream. I didn't know what she was cutting up besides skin and muscle, but organs were pretty vital for me to stay alive. Not that Nina seemed to care.

"I'm talking about my family. The pain I felt watching everything burn to ground? I'm going to make sure you feel the same." I breathed sharply and smelled her close to me, lips nearly touching mine. "You're going to pay for what you did."

Meeting her frigid gaze, I heaved, face contorting in pain.

"I don't understand..." My eyelids fluttered shut as she wrenched the knife out, leaving me on wobbly knees. I could feel blood pouring down my chest, soaking skin, shirt and jeans.

With a push to the side I fell on all fours. Any other time and place this would be a major turn-on.

Straining against the heat baking my veins, I lifted my chin, catching Nina swallowing hard. Gazing down with pure hate.

"You don't understand?" She screamed bending some. "You killed my family! How can you be so arrogant and glib after all you've done?"

Through hazy eyes I saw how serious she was. How certain and determined. She really believed I'd killed her family.

"Nina," I breathed. "Listen to me, I didn't kill your family. You know that. I would never do anything to hurt you..." Her face was unresponsive. "You have to be under an illusion, believe me. Whatever Helena's showing you—"

"No one is showing me anything." Her hand swooped down, jerking my head by a fistful of hair. "Why would they? They're my friends. You're the only enemy here."

Nina smiled hollowly kicking my side, I rolled over, breathless. The murdery stare hovering my form turned my stomach. The knife wound helped. Whatever they'd done, she had it bad. I wasn't sure what hurt more, the fact she'd seduced me to stab me or the part where I was her enemy.

Blood loss was getting me good by the time she moved, stepping close to me, cocking her head. Nina got down on one knee, running a finger through a patch of blood. My body tensed on impulse. Not for our attraction. For fear. Watching her taste a bloody fingertip wrecked me.

Because I looked into her eyes and below all the icy coats of anger and revenge, I saw her flimsy flame. I felt the tingle down my spine, up my neck. She was Nina. She was mine. But I had no idea what was wrong.

"Tell me what happened," my hand inched closer to her leg. "Tell me what you remember..."

She swatted my palm away. Irritation converging on me.

"Don't."

"Why not?" I challenged, doing my best to sit.

"Because you make me sick." I wasn't the one sipping blood. "Because all I wanna do, is kill you."

"Is that what Helena told you to do? Kill me?" I popped the word, pressing down on my wound. "Because I killed your family?"

I couldn't keep a cheeky grin private. She suckered punched my jaw. Ow. Damn woman was a small power house.

"I hate you." I suppressed a flinch. Our history was filled with 'I hate yous'. It had been a while since one of us meant it. "You'll get what's yours soon enough."

I snorted dropping into the wall, leaning heavily, eying the amber star around her neck.

"If you hate me so much..." I pointed to the necklace. "Why are you wearing that?"

Nina's hand fumbled for the pendant. Looking down, it was like she was seeing it for the first time. Like she'd forgotten all about it. Lips parted, Nina shook her head, frowning.

"I don't know..."

"Who gave it to you?"

"I..." she whispered. "What does it matter? It's just a necklace! Stop trying to mess with my head."

"I'm the one messing with your head? That's rich..." I muttered, wincing.

The next thing I knew, pain broke across my face and head.

***

I woke up with several sore spots. One wasn't just sore. It was a huge, gaping tear.

I cupped my nose cane—Nina! She'd kicked me lights out. I was torn between pride and roaring outrage.

At least it wasn't broken. Dislocated, maybe. Swelling up, definitely.

"Argh..." I winced pulling myself against a greasy wall. It was like someone poked my torso slash with a blazing iron.

I dropped my fingers from it when light hit my eyes. I closed them on impulse.

"You're still alive."

Mustering a winning grin, I parted my lids, "I'm starting to think you don't like me."

Helena's hair was nearly white in the abounding darkness. It stuck out like a sore thumb. She'd changed gowns. The other one had looked ceremonial and this one should be used at a fancy party.

"I don't." Get in line. "I don't like Nephilims. Period. Soon there will only be one left, so."

I snorted, "Do you know how many times I've avoided death this month? About a hundred times." Only this time I had a gut wound and no Power to heal.

"And what do you mean one? I thought there were more Nephilims here."

"There were, years ago. Centuries, even. You don't have immortal souls like Cambions do, you die. But some Psychics continued having children with the humans here."

So me and Phillip were the last living Nephilims. I wasn't sure how to feel about it.

Helena didn't seem very happy with the Psychics and humans hook-ups, though. I had a pretty good guess why.

"You're pissed 'cause the other Nephs stayed. Because of their lousy choice you were born in Hell and had a traumatic childhood—blah, blah, blah." I rolled my eyes, propping my back the best as possible. "You think it's better on Earth? It's not. You'd be treated like a weapon, same as here. The only thing that changes is who pulls the strings."

If Phillip and I had spent every year, after our parents deaths, thinking about how bleak life was, we would've attempted sessions and lectures about Power, Magic and what the fuck-more Raphael dished out hadn't been piece of cake. Or being sent out to hunt things that wanted to kill us.

Angels didn't want to risk their safety. Instead, they risked ours.

Helena held me with a dark glare, tilting her chin.

"You have no idea what you're talking about." Her clipped tone changed afterward, to an innocent—fake—concern. "Oh! I hope you're not too angry with the illusion I gave you? Back in the woods? I just dug into that volt of nightmares and fears—"

Gritting my teeth, I said, "I don't get angry. I go crazy and rip people's hearts out." I shrugged nonchalantly, brushing traces of the illusion away. "I'm a little disappointed. I was promised death next time the door opened? But all I got was tortured by an amnesiac-Psychic." My lips twisted into a sweet, acid line. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about Nina's condition, would you?"

"You should've been called Alec. As in smart-alec."

"Honey, let's not fight." I could see her distaste for me growing with each word I said. I didn't have much time before Gown Whacko left.

My face slacked, pints of humor going down the drain. "What have you done to her?"

"I told her the truth. That I sent Fallens to kill her parents—ah, you shouldn't strain yourself. You don't look very healthy from where I'm standing and I want you to last until Nina has the pleasure of killing you." My eyes flared with rage that got objects flying around. "Then, Lyra put a spell on her. She bottled up all the raw suffering and took all the times you hurt her and combined both. In Nina's head you are the reason her parents are dead. Every time she thinks of you, sees you or hears about you all she associates you with is pain, loss, grief... You're a trigger for her unhappiness."

There were no good memories of me. That's why she didn't remember the necklace—the spell blocked it.

"You made me into the Big Bad? I'm flattered."

She crouched—too far away for me to reach her—but close enough to give me the creeps. Behind the apparent sugar-sweet personality and angelic-heritage of beauty, laid a horrendous monster.

"I knew there was no way she'd do what we wanted. Unfortunately, I couldn't force her to use her ability, not without leverage. Sure I could just keep you and torture the life out of you until she gave in, but that would imply keeping you alive. That would be a mistake." Helena smirked in a wicked way. "My ability doesn't allow me to read minds, however, I can see your deepest fears and desires." Her voice grew quieter, as she edged her head closer to mine.

How I wish I had the strength to snap her neck.

"Do you know what I found atop her desires' list?"

"Hmm. Go home and eat gingerbread man?"

Her smile vanished, leaving her with the face of someone who got off on pain and misery. Nurse Ratched in the flesh.

"You," my blood ran cold as my heart flattered. "You're what she wants most—you were. Now she doesn't want to hear your name." She said in pure delight. "After she kills you, no one will ever take her away from us. She'll live on thinking you killed her family, that you hated each other and she'll forget about you. Not knowing you ever meant something. Maybe she'll find someone—" The sound I made would've sent Demons screaming. Helena flicked her hair with a chuckle.

"She won't do it," I breathed. "Nina won't kill me just because you brainwashed her. She's stronger than you give her credit for."

"She might be. But so is Lyra's spell." She got up. "Besides, Cameron, there's a big difference between attraction and affection. I told you she wanted you—I never said in what way. The confidence you deposit in her, though, is so very... adorable."

As her eyes traveled down my bruised and bloodied body, I looked anywhere else. I knew what she was saying. That Nina's want for me only came from sexual lust. Helena wanted to destroy me, walk all over me, but I wasn't that easily breakable.

Helena could only see fears and wants. She didn't know the past between Nina and me. I'd been with plenty of girls to know what we had wasn't just physical.

She could take her bluff and get lost.

"And Cameron...?" I sighed when she stopped at the edge of my cell. "You and your brother should've just died in the fire eleven years ago. It would've spared us all this trouble."

A muscle in my jaw ticked. Eleven years ago my parents had been murdered. Puzzle pieces clicked together.

The day our house burned down Phillip had seen the same symbol on Nina's window—on our bedroom window. The pattern was the same. Both fires had started in the lower levels.

Screw flesh wounds.

I'd scrambled to my feet—grunting—and wrapped my fingers around her slender neck, noticing there were some scratches from not so long ago.

Before I got to do any damage my knees went under. My brain got hazy and heavy. Freaking paperweight. This wasn't like what Raph did—steal the air from me. My throat muscles were working against me. They were closing up!

I clawed at my neck like that would help. My eyes were tearing up when I saw Helena heave, stepping outside my boundaries. She wasn't the one causing this—Felix was. He was standing in front of the entrance pinning me with a glare and holding a closed fist my way.

Bastard.

But who stood beside him, glowering at my struggle, wasn't a stranger. It was Nina.

The fight left me quickly. The last thing I felt was my body hitting the dirt ground.