Marked By Lies: A Reverse Harem Series (The Marked Series Book 1) by Paige Orr (the red fox clan TXT) 📗

bring myself to feel all that sorry for her, she’s still old enough to know that being involved with murder on this scale is wrong, yet it doesn’t seem to be bothering her at all.

Lord only knows how long the cult has had their grubby little hands on her. The others took a guess that she might have grown up in the foster system, but what if one of the members gathered her, noticed her for what she is, and were the ones to foster her? This shit is so messed up, but if she’s been with them for years, then by now she’s probably completely brainwashed.

Near the middle of the room, I find the large group of Fae, bound and gagged. Under their feet is that same fucking sigil that I can’t seem to get away from, but the most disturbing part about it this time, is the lifeless body that is lying just outside of it. The sigil has been painted in blood, and it doesn’t take a genius to work out that the poor, hopefully unconscious and not dead girl is the source of said blood.

The sight has anger churning in my stomach, but unfortunately there is nothing that I can do for the girl anymore, and I can’t let my anger get the better of me if the rest of the captives are to have any hope of getting out of here. I can’t stop the bile from rising in my throat though, knowing that could have played a part in at least one death already.

I have no idea how I’m going to be able to stop this shit, but I know that I can’t just stand here and do nothing. I can see the Fae, tears running down their faces, as they huddle against those that they know, the smell of fear permeating the air. I don’t understand how anyone could live with themselves after causing so much heartache, but the vicious looks on the cult members' faces shows just how little they care.

I really fucking wish I had looked around for a better weapon before coming down here, because this poker won’t do shit against Harpies. The first one I encountered was hard enough to kill with bullets, never mind this flimsy thing. How am I supposed to stop this shit, when I won’t be able to even get through the guards?

I can feel my panic rising at the hopelessness of the whole situation, but even if it costs me my life, I’m going to do everything I can to save these people. I rack my brain, trying to think of my next move, when the air beside me begins to shimmer. I look around frantically, checking to see if anyone else is seeing what I am, and let a silent breath of optimism out when I see that no one has noticed anything out of place, all too busy with their sick bullshit.

Grey slowly comes into view, a woman looking nervous behind him, and I give him a relieved smile as I motion for them both to follow me back up the tunnel, far enough for us to be able to talk. I keep walking until I’m around the corner and peek around the corner to make sure we weren’t noticed before turning back to the two ghosts’

“Hey Grey, I need you to try get a message to the others to let them know where we are, there’s not a lot of time left to stop this.”

“You got it, boss lady. But first, I’ve brought a friend who might be able to help you. This is Priscilla, I’ll leave you two to get acquainted while I try to get your message to your men.”

“They’re not my men!”

My words fall on deaf ears though as he fades away and I turn to the shy ghost standing beside me. I try my best to give her a reassuring smile, but I’m still not used to interacting with the ghosts that surround me, so I’m not too sure about how well I did. She glides closer to me, obviously feeling uncomfortable, but I can also see the urgency in her eyes.

“I can help you to stop them, but it would mean trusting me with your body. You have so much power inside you just waiting to be released, you just don’t know how.”

“What do you mean I have power? Sure, I can talk to ghosts, but I’m still just human.”

“Oh Melissa, you are far from human, in fact, you are probably the strongest person here.”

“I don’t understand, both of my parents were human, so how could I have any sort of power inside me.”

Priscilla gives me a sympathetic look as her ghostly fingers reach out for my shoulder. The most surprising thing though, is the fact that I can actually feel her touch. I stumble back from the shock, and I notice a twinkle in Priscilla’s eyes at my reaction.

“You will have to trust me, Melissa. Because if I take the time to explain it to you then we won’t be able to save anyone. If it helps, your mother told me to tell you that she misses her little Mel Bel. I don’t know any other way for me to show you that you can trust me.”

My eyes widen as things begin to click into place. I was so distracted by seeing my mother again in Adelaides that I never really paid any attention to the other ghosts that were there. But now that I’m looking closely, I recognize her from the group that was with my mother. Surely death doesn’t change someone too much, and if my mother has been with her, then I have no reason not to trust Priscilla.

Her eyes widen when she hears something that one of the cult members says, and I know that I don’t have much time to