Authors: Charlotte Abel
The monster frowned and stepped back. “I’m not going to hurt you, as long as you cooperate.”
It was a man, not a monster. Channie sat up and squinted, as if narrowing her vision would lessen the impact of the man’s disfigured face. It didn’t. “Who are you?”
“Call me Vince.”
Vince wasn’t a power-name, but the man was obviously a mage. He had his emotions locked down, but power radiated off him. Vince must be a nickname.
Without magic, Channie couldn’t mask her emotions. She tried to steady her breathing and slow her heart. “Do you work for the Veyjivik clan?”
The man’s mouth contorted into what would have been a snarl, if he’d had any lips. “I don’t work for anyone.”
“Then why did you take me?” There was a price on her head, so even if he were free-lancing, he was probably planning on turning her over to Dominance for the reward money.
Channie glanced around, looking for an escape. She was in a loft, much like her own room at home, except this one was very well-built. Even if she managed to sneak out the window, the polished logs fit together too perfectly. There were no chinks or knots in the logs to provide finger and toe holds. And no trees close enough to climb down.
“I didn’t take you. I hired a tracker to find you.”
Channie’s heart stopped, then made up for lost time.
Josh. Hunter. Shep.
“What happened to my guards?”
The man’s face contorted as he laughed. “Your so-called
guards
need to find a different career. All my tracker had to do was make a little noise in the woods behind your cabin then carry you out the front door while the three stooges ran off to investigate.”
“So…they’re safe?”
“The tracker was lazy. Avoiding them was easier than killing them.”
Channie’s head swam with relief. “You still haven’t told me why you took me.”
The man shrugged. “I needed you for bait.”
“Bait?”
“You’re married to my son.”
Channie gasped before she could stop herself. Her hands flew to the base of her neck. “You’re Vengeance Veyjivik?”
He nodded, watching her closely.
“What do you want with Josh?” She was glad Vengeance had hired a tracker instead of taking her himself. He would have recognized his own son.
“I want revenge on my mother.” Spit flew out of his mouth as he snarled the words.
Channie cringed but immediately sat up straighter. She was too dizzy to risk standing, but she didn’t want Vengeance Veyjivik to know just how much he terrified her. “What does that have to do with Josh?”
“He has a certain book that holds the key to destroying her.”
Channie took a shuddering breath. “And?”
“And I want it.”
“What if he refuses?”
“He won’t.” Vengeance’s eyes glowed with a feral gleam. He was obviously every bit as dangerous as his mother. “Not when I have you.”
Channie could barely speak over the lump in her throat. “He doesn’t have the book anymore. Someone stole it.”
“It has his name on it. The book’s magic will lead him to it.” Vengeance pooled a little magic in his hands. He rolled it back and forth as he narrowed his eyes at Channie. “And you will motivate him to find it.”
“No. I won’t.” Channie didn’t want to be tortured, but she’d die before she helped this evil man get his hands on the Book of the Dead…or Josh.
“I don’t need
your
cooperation.” Vengeance tossed the ball of magic at Channie.
She instinctively tried to raise a shield she no longer had, but the ball of magic shattered into a harmless shower of sparks before it touched her.
Vengeance laughed. “Valor will do anything to protect you.”
“He’s been cursed with a remember-not spell. He doesn’t even know me anymore.” The half-truth tugged at the raw edges of Channie’s heart.
“You two are heart-bound. He may not remember you, but he loves you.”
Channie clutched at her dimly glowing chest. “What makes you think we’re heart bound?”
His mouth opened into a grimace. “You just confirmed it.”
Channie’s eyes filled with tears. She had to find a way to get out of here. She couldn’t let Vengeance use her for bait. “I need to use the privy.”
Vengeance laughed. “This place is remote, but we have running water and electricity.”
Blood warmed Channie’s cheeks. She should have figured as much. “That doesn’t change the fact that I need to pee.”
“You have free reign inside the house. You may also utilize the front porch and the back deck so you can get a little fresh air.” He paused and held up a gloved finger. “But, I have containment spells cast around the perimeter strong enough to fry even the most powerful mage. Escape is impossible.”
“I have a death pledge on me binding me to someone else. I can’t stay here.”
“I went to a lot of trouble to capture you. It would be a shame for someone else’s magic to kill you. The curse obviously makes allowances for things out of your control, or you’d already be dead. Try to escape if you must, but be careful. My containment spell will kill you if you venture too far.”
“What if your plan doesn’t work? What if Valor refuses to take your bait?” She pressed a palm over her racing heart. “Will you kill me then?”
“Not
intentionally
.”
Channie shivered at his oblique reference to torture.
Vince started down the stairs, then paused and rested a hand on the banister as he gave her a verbal tour. “The pantry, freezer and refrigerator are fully stocked. There’s a big screen TV in the main room, an assortment of DVDs and a wide selection of books. You’ll find clean clothes in the dresser and closet. I found you in the loft at your previous location, so I thought you’d be more comfortable up here, but if you’d rather move to one of the other rooms downstairs, that’s fine. Help yourself to whatever you’d like.”
Channie crawled back into bed and curled up into a ball. Her heart continued to race, even after the front door closed.
Josh reached out to her through their bond, calming her. She didn’t want him to feel her fear and freak out, but she had no way to block him without magic. Her heartbeat slowed to a normal rhythm as Josh’s peaceful energy comforted her. Curiosity replaced terror. She got up and crept downstairs to investigate her new prison.
A bearskin rug covered the floor in front of the fireplace. The warmth of the crackling blaze invited her closer but her bladder insisted she find a bathroom first. She opened a set of double doors across from the stairs and blinked in amazement. This had to be the master bedroom. The entire south wall was made of glass. A massive, four-poster bed commanded the center of the room. Sunlight poured through several skylights in the vaulted ceiling. Channie was impressed, but uneasy. The room was too open. She knew it was an illusion, but thought she’d feel safer staying in the loft…until she saw the oversized, jetted tub in the bathroom. Maybe she could sleep in the loft, but bathe in the master bathroom? It would mean an extra room to clean, but Vince had said to make herself comfortable.
Channie’d had to make do with bucket baths for most of her life. Soaking in a galvanized tin tub full of water was a rare treat until she’d moved to Colorado. The fluffy white robe folded next to the towels in the linen closet broke through her last reservation. She wanted a bubble bath and after all she’d been through she deserved it.
But once again, her body disagreed. How long had it been since she’d eaten? Days? It would take a considerable amount of time and water to fill a tub this size. She might as well get something to eat and explore the rest of the house while the water ran.
The place was made of logs, but it was too big and too full of modern conveniences to call it a cabin. The first drawer Channie opened in the kitchen was full of Snickers candy bars. She tore into one and moaned with pleasure.
The fancy, stainless steel refrigerator held an assortment of healthy food, but it was the twelve pack of Dr. Pepper on the bottom shelf that caught her eye. She grabbed one and popped the top, sneezing when the bubbles tickled her nose. It was as if Vince knew her favorite treats and stocked the kitchen accordingly. Maybe she’d talked in her sleep while she was under his be-calm spell. But even if she had, why was he being so nice? It didn’t make sense.
The only thing that she didn’t want or need was the bottle of pre-natal vitamins sitting in the middle of the kitchen table. She put the vitamins in a cabinet then finished exploring the rest of the house. There were two more bedrooms on the main floor, an ‘entertainment’ room with all sorts of electronic gadgets…but no phone or computer.
Channie grabbed another Snickers and can of Dr. Pepper and took everything into the master bathroom. She might be a prisoner, but soaking in a jetted tub, binging on her favorite treats, made it hard to believe any of it was real. The only thing missing was Josh.
And with that single thought, her mood plummeted. She had no right to relax in luxury while he was in so much danger.
She climbed out of the tub and trudged back upstairs. She yanked open the top drawer and gasped when she found set after matching set of barely-there lace panties and bras. She covered her mouth with both hands and backed away from the drawer, panic clawing at her throat.
If Vince had wanted to have his way with her, he would have done it already. Maybe he had? She’d been unconscious for days. With a face like his, he’d need to knock a woman out just to kiss her. Channie gulped back a sob as she realized the purpose of the pre-natal vitamins. Vince had gotten her pregnant.
~***~
Zen squatted down and put a hand on Josh’s back. “Are you injured?”
“No.”
“We still have some clean up to do. Can you get yourself back to the rendezvous point?”
“What’s left to clean up?” Josh did not want to engage the enemy again, but he’d tapped into his men’s power wells, weakening them. He wasn’t going anywhere without them.
“One of the hostages told us that these creeps are holding the kids in a separate bunker. It’s how they’ve managed to keep everyone else under control. If they so much as raise their shields, they take it out on the kids.”
“Where is it?” Josh pushed himself to his feet, but had to hang onto Zen to stay upright.
“Josh, you’ve done enough. I don’t know what we’ll find when we get there. It’s probably too late to save them.”
Josh ground his teeth so hard his molars ached. “Let’s go.”
Zen frowned, but nodded and took off across the compound at a trot.
Josh followed him. He heard the cries before the barracks came into view. At least some of the kids were still alive.
What he saw confused him. His men plus a dozen hostages were guarding the barracks but they were under attack…from another, smaller, group of hostages.
Josh dug deep and found a remnant of magic inside his chest. He used every bit of it to reinforce his words. “Stop it! You don’t want to hurt each other. We’re on the same side. Stand down.”
It was like flipping a switch. All the magic fizzled out of everyone. The lethal bolts as well as the glowing shields disappeared.
“That’s better. Now what the hell is going on?”
“There’s a cowardly guard hiding in there and those guys won’t let us in.”
Loyalty, one of the Freedom Ridge Volunteers, pointed at the hostages. “Our young’uns are in there, too. If you rush in, he’s going to start killing kids.”
The guard was using the kids as leverage to save his own neck. Josh already hated the son of a bitch, and wouldn’t mind turning him over to the angry hostages, but he wasn’t going to risk the lives of innocent kids to satisfy their thirst for revenge. “Let me talk to him.”
Loyalty pressed a button on what looked like an old-fashioned intercom box and nodded at Josh.
“My name is Valor Veyjivik. I’d like to negotiate the release of the kids.”
Loyalty released the button. After a few seconds of static, a young, frightened, voice answered. “H…Hello?”
Josh let Loyalty control the intercom. “What’s your name?”
“F…fate, sir.”
The kid’s voice was so soft, Josh couldn’t tell if it was a boy or a girl. “Are you in charge, Fate?”
“Sort of.”
“Can you open the door?”
“Are you going to kill me?”
“No.” Josh looked over his shoulder at the angry hostages. They were still frowning, and still pissed off, but no longer murderous. “No one is going to hurt you. I promise.”
“Okay.”
The sound of metal grinding against metal as the double doors swung open set Josh’s teeth on edge.
Zen held a flashlight over his head and directed the beam inside.
An ocean of dirty, frightened faces squinted against the light. A young girl, about fourteen, stepped out first. “Which one of you is Valor?”
“I am. Are you Fate?”
She nodded.
“Were you holding all these kids against their will?”
She dropped her chin and stared at the ground. “Yes sir.”
“Why?”
She looked up with tears glistening in her eyes. “The guards said if I let any of these little ones sneak out, they’d kill my parents.”
Since no adult stepped forward to defend the girl, Josh had to assume that her parents were already dead.
He leaned in close to Zen and whispered, “Find another way out of here. I don’t want to march these kids through the carnage at the front of this hell hole.”
~***~
The trip back to Freedom Ridge was one of the longest and hardest journeys Josh had ever taken.
He rode in the back of one of the hummers with Shep’s body.
How was he ever going to face Hunter? How could he tell him that he’d let his bother die? At first he blamed Wisdom for talking some of the best fighters out going with them, but ultimately, it was his responsibility. He should have let Tim at least talk to the men that didn’t volunteer. Maybe if just one of them had changed their mind and come with them…