Broken Compass: Supernatural Prison Story 1 (16 page)

The light on this side was blinding. It took me ten seconds to adjust and take in the scene. We had stepped into a back area with cement floors and a damp scent. It was small, this area, and appeared to be a lower level. Braxton and I moved as fast as we could toward the other end.

“Shit,” I growled.

On the other side of this path was a massive warehouse, which I could tell immediately was a mirror image of the one we’d just left, right down to the elevated stage we were at the back of. The only difference … this side of the area was right in the midst of a supe sale.

And Jessa was standing on the stage.

The MC for this event hadn’t noticed us yet. He was too busy touting all of Jessa’s values.

“…one of the dragon marked – still wears the mark even. Was house to an actual dragon and has contacts in Faerie. Believed to be carrying twins, naturally conceived dragons who will hold dominion over the supe races. This is an extra special lot tonight, and there are very few of you here who can afford the price. As you saw before, she is a phenomenal fighter and would make a great member of your personal security. Her sister set a record just before at eighteen rare fey stones. Let’s see how much better we can do with this one.”

If he said anything more I missed it. There was nothing in my head but white noise and death. Mischa was gone. She had already been sold.

Braxton was moving but I was faster than him. I reached the stage and my hand was around the announcer’s throat before he could even blink. Jessa’s eyes were huge; so much anger simmered through them I could almost see the liquid fire. She didn’t move toward me, her body looked to be frozen in position.

It was then I noticed the hooked staff which the soon-to-be-dead supe was carrying. My fingers flexed around his throat as I reached to wrench it from him. But the moment it touched me I was frozen to the spot.

A voice was suddenly in my head.
Well, what do we have here? You think to come into my house and threaten me … you’re going to make a fine sale item.

Control was gone from my body. I could see, feel, and hear, but movement was beyond me. My vampire lay dormant, under the control of the staff pressed against my chest. The supe, who I was getting a sorcerer vibe from, ripped himself from me and let loose with a chuckle, probably trying to break the tension which had spread across the crowd of dead fuckers down in the audience.

The moment I was freed from here, I was going after every single one of them. This was illegal and completely screwed up. You did not traffic in supes, and since they weren’t on Earth, where the laws of supernaturals stated that all get a trial and end up in prison, I could easily kill them and face no consequences.

In The Great Divide, you do the crime, you get your head ripped off.

The quad bond flared to life then. Jacob and Tyson were on the stage with us now. Braxton, who had been a little slower due to a bunch of guards attacking him, was close by. I could see from the corner of my eye a multitude of body parts scattered around him. Those guards hadn’t stood a chance against the might of a dragon claw.

As Braxton reached my side, our quad bond settled in strongly, and with the swell of my power control returned to my body. The dragon magic, which weaved through all of us, was circumventing the staffs control.

I wasted no time. I smashed the staff-wielder in the jaw – a magic user, and not even a particularly strong one. In the same movement I yanked the staff right out of his hands. The moment I did, the moment I held it, ancient power ripped across me and it was only the strength of my brothers that kept me from losing my mind completely.

Knowledge rushed through me and I understood now what I held.
The staff of Gradiella
. This was an ancient and lost magical object. How had this low-level wizard gained control of it?

Once the power of the staff was in my hands, everything else fell into place. The supes who had followed us from the other storeroom rounded up everyone involved in the trafficking ring, all the old and powerful males and females here to buy and sell slaves or obtain race members to use for potions and curses. Not to mention those who just enjoyed torture and sick perversions.

They were all going to die.

Walking along the row of them, each on their knees, waiting for our verdict, I used the staff’s power. One by one I touched it to them, and the moment I did I could see into their minds. I could see the truth.

A few moments later, I returned to the stage. “They’re all guilty.”

I didn’t look away as the previously caged supes roared and then swiftly delivered justice in its most brutal form. The power of the staff kept those sentenced to death locked down long enough for them to have no chance at fighting back. Their deaths freed all purchased supernaturals, they emerged from the shadows, magically binding cuffs falling from their bodies.

I ached to see Mischa step free from the wings, but there was no sign of her at all.

“Justice is served,” Louis said.

For the most part it was, but this ring went so much deeper … things I’d seen in their minds. I crossed to Louis and in a hurried few sentences filled him in on what I’d found in the minds of the depraved.

“They meet up monthly for these auctions. It has been going on for many years. The ones we just sentenced to death were all regular clientele, although a few are missing today. If we search their properties we’ll find many missing supes.”

I knew where each of them kept their slaves. I’d seen it all in the dark depths of their minds. Louis
wove some magic around my words so that he could listen to them again at any time for reference. There was a lot of information involved.

“I’ll call on the councils,” he said, grimly. “We’ll track each and every single one of them. Now that I have the magic essence of those fairytale portals, I can make sure they’re all destroyed.”

It didn’t seem like enough, but at least we had a place to start unraveling this all. “Where did they get this staff from?” I held it out, before almost dropping it when it started to shrink. Eventually it was nothing more than a stick which I could easily slip in my back pocket. I would keep it for now, until we figured out what to do with it.

Louis shook his head. “I don’t know. The Staff of Gradiella has not been part of our history for a long time. I heard it ended up in the demon realm, but if that’s the case, how did it fall into these hands?”

Great question. Also a scary one. I’d never known a supe to mess with demon energy. It was too easy to lose yourself to the darkness. Once you were demon touched, it was next to impossible to come back.

“It’s probably why the smuggling took place here,” Tyson said as he came up to our side. “The demons are benefitting from this somehow, stealing the energy, or maybe taking a cut of the purchase price.”

Made sense. Demons loved power and energy. Always looking for a way to break out of this dimension and destroy the other realms.

There was movement on the stage as Jessa slammed her fist into the face of the staff wielder. He was the only one still alive; we needed him to tell us where Mischa was, who had purchased her. My fear was barely contained. I couldn’t believe I’d missed her by seconds. Seconds.

Braxton was at Jessa’s side, back in human form. I was pretty sure he hadn’t taken his hands off her for even a moment since finding her here. I could see the pain and desperation bleeding across his features. He’d been in warrior mode before, but now that he had her, he was about to shatter apart.

I knew. I understood. My heart soared to see that Jessa was okay, but Mischa was still missing.

“It was Kristoff,” Jessa said to me when I crossed to her. “He purchased Mischa and then disappeared in a rush. He was completely whacked out, worse than I’ve ever seen him, and according to this little slimeball…” She kicked the magic user on the floor. “He’s one of the organizers of this smuggling circuit.”

Goddamn it. This was bad. I needed to get to Mischa now, because that sorcerer was going to make her suffer. Anything to punish our pack. He hated the fact we had “stolen” his power and position on the council.

In a fit of rage I dropped my head back and a roar ripped from deep in my chest. I couldn’t stand the thought that Mischa was in his hands. We had to get her back. There was no other option.

Mischa Lebron

The cuts littering my arms and legs were already healing, but the pure anger simmering inside of me was not going anywhere. I had to physically hold on to my wolf’s soul. She was trying to force the change on me, but we’d already done that once, and the chains which held me didn’t change too. Half my body had been crushed. I couldn’t let my wolf free again, even though I’d have loved to escape from my human body for a short time. And claws and razor sharp teeth wouldn’t hurt as weapons against the sorcerer standing over me.

Kristoff.

The asshole who had tried to frame and imprison the boys … my boys. Had tried to kill my sister in Vanguard. I had never hated anyone with quite the passion I now hated this … dick. Yep, I said it. He really deserved to die, and I just hoped I lived long enough to see it happen.

No, scratch that. I was definitely going to live through this. I would do what Jessa asked of me earlier. I would hold on to the hope that I’d either fight my way out of here or one of my pack would find me. Then we could punish him together.

As he took a step away to get more supplies or something, my mind drifted back to the last few hours. My heart clenched at the thought of where Jessa might be right now. I really hoped the boys had made it there before she was taken. I’d thought, in the last moment when Kristoff has stolen me away, that I’d felt Maximus’ presence. Probably just wishful thinking.

I breathed deeply, images smashing through my mind. When we’d first been released from the cage back at the supe sale, Jessa and I had stuck to our initial plan. We’d kept our twin bond strong and fought the staff’s hold. For a second it had worked, but then we’d been jumped by guards – who must have been invisible or something, because they literally appeared out of thin air.

We’d fought as hard as we could, and the staff-wielding douchebag had stood to the side, watching closely, clearly enjoying the show. Unfortunately, we were overwhelmed by their sheer numbers. Plus we were a little hindered by our pregnant bellies.

I had managed to smack one in the balls though, and another in the temple. He’d been knocked unconscious, which was a proud moment for me. Jessa took down about ten. My sister was a fighting machine, even carrying twins.

Once we were subdued again, I’d been first on the chopping block. Kristoff had appeared out of nowhere. I knew by the glassy fear in Jessa’s eyes that him being there was a very bad thing for me, but there had been nothing either of us could do. He’d taken me through some sort of black wormhole, apparently the easiest way to get out of the realm, and deposited me in his evil lair.

Then the torture had begun.

We were a few hours into it now and I was starting to wonder how much longer I could hold out.

My head shot up as he crossed the chamber toward me again. I fought against the hold of his magical cuffs, but I was beyond exhausted. I’d been up for God knows how many hours. No food or drink. I was worried about the baby. Kristoff could do anything he wanted to me, but hurting me hurt my child and that was not okay.

“I have to leave you for a short time. I need some more supplies, which I think will work very well in igniting your bond and bringing the Compasses to me. Just in case you manage to finagle your way out of those chains, I’m moving you to the dungeon.”

Shit. I had to fight him now. It was my best chance. I wished I had more strength left, but I’d find it somehow. Kristoff reached down and unhooked a set of keys from his belt. There were at least a dozen clinking there, lots of them looking like ancient, ornate pieces. Selecting a small bronze one with a clover style end, he slipped it into the side of my chains and released me from the chair. I still had cuffs on my hands but I was no longer tied down.

I slumped lower, eyelids half closed, as if all energy had deserted me. I was hoping Kristoff would reach for me. As my body slid further down, the sorcerer leaned across me and gathered up the sleeve of my shirt into his closed fist, and as he moved to lift me up I swung my other arm back and slammed the side of my hand into his face. Instead of using my fist, I hit him with the metal of the cuff, a weapon he had unknowingly provided me with.

He let out a shout, and at the same time pain slammed into my own face and I couldn’t prevent a small shriek from escaping.

My face throbbed as my body was magically yanked out of the chair. “Stupid shifter,” he spat at me, wiping a hand across his face, “your race is all brawn and no brains. Those magical cuffs you wear do more than secure you to the chair. They link your life essence to mine. If I die, you die. If I hurt, you will feel every ounce of it. And lucky for me it only goes one direction, so I can torture you for the rest of my life and never feel a single slice.”