guilt was written all over her face. She must make him understand; she hadn’t lied to him or hidden anything on purpose. It simply had not come up yet, and it wasn’t like they had been dating that long.
“Enough!” The Judge cried, throwing James across the room in a burst of power.
“She is an innocent Judge! You cannot touch her, no matter what you think you know.” James picked himself up off the floor and crouched, ready to pounce back on the Judge.
“Calm yourself James. All things truly wicked start from innocence. You know that as well as I do. I am not going to harm her, I am simply suggesting she spill her guts so to speak, before you make it to the bottom and drain the life from her. There are people here who may lay claim to her whole soul before you turn her.”
James stayed in his crouched position, swinging his eyes around to Valerie. She felt the heat blush her cheeks as the tears began to well in her eyes. “James…I…”Her voice cracked as the tears welled over and spilled down her cheeks.
James was at her side in an instant, cradling her in his arms. “Hush now, whatever it is you can tell me. I know who you are, nothing will surprise me.” He whispered as he kissed away her tears.
The Judge let out a harsh bark of laughter. “Oh I think you are going to be quite surprised James, your little pet here has blood on her hands, staining her soul.”
CHAPTER TEN
V alerie tried to calm herself. The Judge was back on his throne and she had forced James to stand away from her. She knew the Judge had no intention of letting them pass until she made a full disclosure. Her stomach knotted at the thought of James leaving her after he found out.
She had spent many years and travelled many miles in an effort to leave her past behind. She never once thought an immortal being punished in Hell would force her to drag it all back up again.
“I was nine the summer it happened. I lived with both my parents and my brother, who was three years older than me. My father had been abusing my mother as far back as my memories will take me. She was a meek woman who lived in constant fear of him. For years I pitied her and always wished that the next time she would stick up for herself, the next time she would let him have it, the next time she would take us kids and walk out the door. I couldn’t fathom being so pitiful that I would ever sit there and let a man treat me like that.” Valerie felt the old strings of anger and hatred tugging at her heart.
“Of course this never happened. Many years of therapy taught me it is a cycle that woman like her live in and often it won’t break on its own. Not without outside intervention. Unfortunately my mother was estranged from her family and my father’s family didn’t give a shit. There is something other than intervention that works though. Death. Death of her from a beating gone too far or death of him.” Valerie paused to wipe a stray tear from her cheek. She saw James move towards her. “No, stay there. Let me finish. Please.”
It was hard for James to control his urge to comfort and protect her, she was destined to be his blood mate, and emotionally they were now connected. He knew he needed to respect her wishes and so with painful difficulty he made himself stay put. The Judge hadn’t moved an inch as she began her story; in fact when Valerie peered at him she noticed a look of boredom upon his face.
Taking a deep breath she plunged ahead, wanting to get show and tell done and over with. “My brother and I had built a tree fort that summer. We used it as an escape; we could hide there when things got too bad at the house. As my brother was nearing manhood my father starting lashing out at him as well. At first it was open hand slaps which eventually turned into punches. It was a sunny Saturday morning when it happened. We were gathering scrap materials out of the shed. My brother had a heavy armful of lumber.
“Enough!” The Judge cried, throwing James across the room in a burst of power.
“She is an innocent Judge! You cannot touch her, no matter what you think you know.” James picked himself up off the floor and crouched, ready to pounce back on the Judge.
“Calm yourself James. All things truly wicked start from innocence. You know that as well as I do. I am not going to harm her, I am simply suggesting she spill her guts so to speak, before you make it to the bottom and drain the life from her. There are people here who may lay claim to her whole soul before you turn her.”
James stayed in his crouched position, swinging his eyes around to Valerie. She felt the heat blush her cheeks as the tears began to well in her eyes. “James…I…”Her voice cracked as the tears welled over and spilled down her cheeks.
James was at her side in an instant, cradling her in his arms. “Hush now, whatever it is you can tell me. I know who you are, nothing will surprise me.” He whispered as he kissed away her tears.
The Judge let out a harsh bark of laughter. “Oh I think you are going to be quite surprised James, your little pet here has blood on her hands, staining her soul.”
CHAPTER TEN
V alerie tried to calm herself. The Judge was back on his throne and she had forced James to stand away from her. She knew the Judge had no intention of letting them pass until she made a full disclosure. Her stomach knotted at the thought of James leaving her after he found out.
She had spent many years and travelled many miles in an effort to leave her past behind. She never once thought an immortal being punished in Hell would force her to drag it all back up again.
“I was nine the summer it happened. I lived with both my parents and my brother, who was three years older than me. My father had been abusing my mother as far back as my memories will take me. She was a meek woman who lived in constant fear of him. For years I pitied her and always wished that the next time she would stick up for herself, the next time she would let him have it, the next time she would take us kids and walk out the door. I couldn’t fathom being so pitiful that I would ever sit there and let a man treat me like that.” Valerie felt the old strings of anger and hatred tugging at her heart.
“Of course this never happened. Many years of therapy taught me it is a cycle that woman like her live in and often it won’t break on its own. Not without outside intervention. Unfortunately my mother was estranged from her family and my father’s family didn’t give a shit. There is something other than intervention that works though. Death. Death of her from a beating gone too far or death of him.” Valerie paused to wipe a stray tear from her cheek. She saw James move towards her. “No, stay there. Let me finish. Please.”
It was hard for James to control his urge to comfort and protect her, she was destined to be his blood mate, and emotionally they were now connected. He knew he needed to respect her wishes and so with painful difficulty he made himself stay put. The Judge hadn’t moved an inch as she began her story; in fact when Valerie peered at him she noticed a look of boredom upon his face.
Taking a deep breath she plunged ahead, wanting to get show and tell done and over with. “My brother and I had built a tree fort that summer. We used it as an escape; we could hide there when things got too bad at the house. As my brother was nearing manhood my father starting lashing out at him as well. At first it was open hand slaps which eventually turned into punches. It was a sunny Saturday morning when it happened. We were gathering scrap materials out of the shed. My brother had a heavy armful of lumber.
Similar Books
