The Goblets Immortal by Beth Overmyer (read 50 shades of grey .TXT) 📕

papers back, the man did not seem in the least bit pleased. He glowered at Aidan, and when he spoke, his voice was low and full of venom. “What can you tell me of the Goblets Immortal?”

Aidan sighed. “I know even less than you, I am certain.”

Dewhurst thrust up a finger to waylay his excuses. “Nonetheless, Aidan Ingledark, I know your family was part of the Circle. You must be in possession of some knowledge, even if you are unaware of its importance. Think, man. Think!”

“All I know is third- and fourth-hand information. I was young when my parents died.” He gave Dewhurst a pointed look. “And before their death, I displayed none of my abilities.” Was that saying too much? Perhaps it was, but Dewhurst did not seem to catch that Aidan had to be Jolted. Maybe that’s what needed to happen to anyone who sought to wield a Goblet’s powers. He would use that information for leverage…later. Right now he needed to find a way to get himself out of this mess. The problem was, no immediate ideas were coming to him.

Dewhurst regarded him with a thoughtful expression, though the frustration was still there, just held back. Sure enough, when he spoke his tone was even. “All right. I’ll let you know what I know, and then you can fill in with whatever I missed.”

Despite himself, Aidan perked up at this. Perhaps Dewhurst knew more than Aidan did. Perhaps it would be Aidan who learned something to his advantage. Dewhurst did, after all, know about the Circle, and Aidan had only heard that cult mentioned recently.

“There are six Goblets, each with different powers.” He began ticking them off on his fingers. “Warring, Summoning, Drifting, Seeing, Questing, and Enduring. Each Goblet bestows its powers upon he who drinks from it. Am I right so far?”

Aidan nodded, though it was a lie. He had drunk from the Warring Goblet, and he certainly did not possess any new abilities. Slaíne had told him that the Goblet’s powers only lasted until the drinker’s body expelled whatever it had imbibed from the vessel. The only lasting way to have powers, it would seem, was to have absorbed a Goblet’s contents when forming in the womb. Aidan stopped Dewhurst to ask a question of his own. “What was the Circle’s purpose?” Though he was fairly certain, from his vision and from what Larkin had said, that he knew.

Dewhurst frowned at being interrupted, but he answered anyway. “Well, we can be civil, now can’t we?” He paused, as if hesitant to give Aidan anything he wanted. At length he spoke again. “To find the Goblets and unite them…or, so my source tells me.”

Aidan guessed but did not voice that Larkin had been the so-called source.

“There were mostly women in the Circle. Goodness knows why.”

That made Aidan’s stomach churn. So, he was right. The Circle had been a mere cult to breed Blest children. Aidan remembered what his mother had said in one of his visions, for now he was certain it had been of her: Lady Ingledark had spoken to her brother, Aidan’s uncle, of escaping. That answered the question of whether or not she was a willing participant. What of Aidan’s father, then? They’d been married and happy when Aidan was a boy. Had they escaped the Circle together? “What happened to the Circle?” Aidan asked.

When Dewhurst spoke, he growled. “What does it matter? It’s done with. Now, it’s your turn to answer my questions. Enough of your cheek.”

Slaíne still lay motionless on the floor, but her breathing at last began to slow. She let out a tiny moan.

Dewhurst ignored her. “Six Goblets, united called the Immortal. That can only mean one thing – drink from all six, and you’ll have eternal life.” He gave Aidan a thoughtful look before continuing. “But why don’t the powers stick? I drank your blood and I possessed powers for approximately three hours. There must be something I’m missing.” They sat in silence for a moment, Dewhurst staring into nowhere while Aidan looked for his chance to strike.

Would it be possible to kill Dewhurst here and now? The guards didn’t seem alert, and Dewhurst himself was leaning forward, right within strangling distance. The thought made Aidan break out in a cold sweat. He’d taken lives before in self-defense, watched the light leave a person’s eyes and felt their Pull slacken and fade to the point where they no longer anchored him. He was almost certain he could Dismiss a corpse. It wouldn’t do to have witnesses. If the guards left, Aidan could strangle the man, Dismiss his body – evidence that could get him hanged – and hope that Dewhurst had the keys to Aidan’s shackles on his belt. There was a definite repulsion around the man’s midsection. Perhaps that is where the keys sat.

A shudder rippled through Aidan’s body. He had no love for Dewhurst, but the thought of killing a man who hadn’t a fighting chance left Aidan feeling hollow for having considered it. It wasn’t mercy or pity, he reasoned with himself as the silence wore on. It wasn’t sporting.

The thought and the moment passed. Aidan caught Slaíne blinking, her eyes distant and unfocused before closing again. No, it would not do to make an escape now, not until he was certain that Slaíne was in any shape to run and that her curse would rebind itself to him.

“I’ll be frank with you, young man.” Dewhurst’s words startled Aidan and he nearly leaped to his feet. Dewhurst smirked. “My powers are only a shadow of what I’ve observed in you. I need the Summoning Goblet, the sooner the better.” He rose to his feet and took to pacing, treading in Aidan’s pool of sick without realizing it. “Until then, your blood will have to do.”

Aidan told Dewhurst where he could go, earning a whack to his already sore head.

“You will teach me how to….” Dewhurst paused, waving his hand around as if he would be