Time Masters Book One; The Call (An Urban Fantasy, Time Travel Romance) (71 page)

Her ankles fared no better, trussed just as tightly, she fought what held her, realizing that someone had removed the silk stockings she’d worn that evening. Whoever tied her up knew what they were doing.

Bound, gagged and helpless she thought. Lovely. And where was she?

It was fairly dark, that was certain. She was lying on her side, her back against something. She looked around more closely, her visio
n clearing as the drug wore off
.

She was in the back seat of Julia’s car, and from the looks of it, the car was parked in Julia’s garage. A dim light from some unseen source was shining in from the front windshield and she was able to see shelves along one side of the garage’s
wall. Julia had diff
erent paintings stacked there among other art related paraphernalia. She remembered seeing it all before when she had been to Julia’s house on occasion.

Shona struggled to raise her head enough to look at her feet.

Ouch. No wonder her wrists and ankles hurt so much. Someone had tied her up with electrical exte
nsion cord. She let her head fl
op back to the seat and waited for a smal
l bout of dizziness to pass. Th
e drug was not
through with her yet.

A sound came from out of nowhere. Wearily she realized it had come from her.
A weak, strangled whimper of hopelessness.

Dallan.
Where was he? What had Philip done with him? She struggled again with her bonds, as an unfamiliar anger began to rise. If Philip had harmed Dallan, she swore to herself she would kill him.

Dallan! Dallan, where are you?
Nothing. Her panic rose anew.
Please
answer me! Where are you?

She struggled further, the panic turning and twisting within her, and she let out a muffled cry of frustration.

“Stop that, you little fool. You want to cut your wrists?”

 
Shona froze, the voice familiar and close. She raised
her head and noticed for the fi
rst time some of the w
indows of the car were down.
Th
e
distinct
clip, clip, clip
of high heels on the gar
age’s cement fl
oor echoed into the car.

Julia opened the driver’s side door, sat sideways behind the wheel, and draped an arm over the seat to get comfortable. She stared down at Shona with a cold look. “Don’t struggle. I don’t want Philip accusing me of damaging his new property.” Her voice was even colder than the look she gave.

Shona fought down a shudder and stared back.

“He’s quite insane, you know, and I strongly suggest you do what he asks. That is, if you want to live.” Julia’s voice had gone suddenly
casual
as had her face, her eyes roaming Shona’s body with interest. “I ought to just keep you myself. I knew I was right about you. Knew it all along. I should go back into the house, make a few phone calls and be done with it.”

Shona only stared
back,
not having any idea what Julia was talking about.

“I’ve had off
ers for you before, though for other reasons. If I’d known what you were, I’d have taken you away long ago. But Philip made promises.” She looked away, her eyes unreadable. “Promises he never intended to keep.” Her face abruptly turned back. “What to do now, I wonder?” Julia began t
o tap the seat back with her fi
ngertips, the sound loud and eerie.

This time, Shona did shudder.

“If I give you to Philip, he’ll be out of here without a trace. I’ll probably never see him again. Or, maybe he still needs me. I can handle you better than he can. Besides as you have no choice in the matter, I would assume you’d much rather deal with me than him.”

She stopped her tapping and readjusted herself in the front seat, placing her chin on the arm resting across its back. “When I saw you change at the symphony—you don’t know how long I’ve waited to see that. You don’t know how many years I’ve been helping Philip. Helping him to make you into the perfect little…” She stopped, her brow furrowed in confusion.

Shona’s own brow was raised in curiosity at this point as comprehension dawned.

“What are you, Shona? Why has Philip had you trained the way he did?
Languages, fencing, weapons?
The archaic speech he insists upon? I don’t
get it.”

Shona looked away, her mind racing over the last ten or so years, the historical studies and other odd areas she’d been tutored in. If she didn’t know any better, she’d say Philip was preparing her for another century entirely. At this point, she’d almost believe he was.

Julia sat up again and continued to assess her. “Or perhaps I should kill you. Then Philip would only
have me. He’d want me then. Th
ere wouldn’t
be anybody else.” She bit her lip in indecision and nodded her head. “I wonder if you can be killed like a human.” She turned and began to look around the garage from her seat, her face lit with evil intent. After a moment, she slowly turned back to Shona. “Let’s
fi
nd out.”

Shona’s eyes widene
d as Julia left the car to rifl
e through an area of the
garage she couldn’t see. Briefl
y she struggled but to no avail.
Dallan, oh
Dallan please help me! She’s going to hurt me, Dallan! Help!

Julia was doing something at the rear of the car now, the sounds unfamiliar and frightening as Shona’s panic began to block her senses.

Julia got back in the car, started it and turned to Shona. “Don’t worry, this won’t hurt.” She raised the two open windows, closing one, but leaving the driver’s side opened a few inches, then got out and went to the back of the car again. After a moment she returned, shut off the engine and sat in the front seat, her eyes intense with anticipation. “Now, if you’re Muiraran, then I estim
ate you’d survive a good fi
fteen minutes or so longer than a human. If not, and you die quickly, then you really weren’t worth keeping to begin with.” She reached outside the car, picked something up and displayed it to Shona.

The end of a vacuum cleaner hose.

“Carbon monoxide poisoning is relatively painless, so I wouldn’t worry. You won’t feel a thing. I’ll try to catch it before you pass out. It’s the timing I’m after.
Now that my real memories are coming back,
I’ve
been so curious to see the diff
erences between your kind and my own.”

Ignoring the odd statement,
Shona shook her head wildly and struggled again as Julia left the car.
Dallan, help! She’s going to kill me! Help me please!

Julia, now outside the car, began to fumble with something out of Shona’s line of vision. She could, however, hear the loud sound of heavy tape being unwound from its roll and ripped. Julia began to run tape across the top of the open window, sealing the opening. Shona watched in complete and utter horror as her tutor of ten years stuck the end of the hose in the middle of the window and neatly taped it in place.

Shona was gong to die.

Dallan! God, please let him hear me! Oh Dallan, help! She’s going to kill
me! Help me please!

But Dallan still did not answer.

Julia reached into the car from the passenger side and gave Shona a calculating look. “I’ll time it on my watch. I give you ten m
inutes, maybe fi
fteen. Hmmm, we’ll see what happens.” She switched on the ignition, smiled wickedly and slowly shut the door to lock Shona inside.

Shona screamed into the gag and fought with everything she had, then suddenly realized what the struggling would do and stopped, not wanting to breathe in the deadly gas any quicker than she had to.
DALLAN!
DALLAN! DALLAAAN!

Several minutes passed, five, ten, fi
fteen… Shona began to feel sick to her stomach.

Dallan, oh Dallan…

Something hit the car with great force. Shona saw Julia’s body roll across the rear window. Suddenly Dallan, his face pressed to the window near her feet, was looking in at her, features locked in rage, his compa
nions Mr. Eaton and Mr. Mosgofi
an right behind him. “Dallan get her out of there!” A voice yelled
but Shona wasn’t sure whose. Th
e car shook a few times as Dallan tried vainly to open the locked doors.

Someone else ripped the hose from the window, stopping death from entering further.

Dallan, please hurry…

Dallan put his fi
st through the window, reached in and grabbed at anything that might open the door. He found nothing,
then
in pure desperation ripped the door not only open, but completely off its hinges. “Shona!” He dove into the car, quickly pulled her out, then carried her to a corner of the garage and gently set her down. “Lass, are ye all right? Did she hurt you? What was she doing?” He glanced at the bonds and cursed in Gaelic as he quickly removed her gag.

Shona retched right in his lap.

Dallan grabbed her to him, not caring about the mess. “Saints, Shona, my lass, I thought I’d lost ye.” He rocked her back and forth to comfort her, then reached for his dirk and began to saw through the cords binding her wrists.

Still stunned from Julia’s actions, all Shona could do was let him hold her in his arms while his hands worked to untie her. After a moment, her hands were free and Dallan repositioned her to free her ankles as well. Now sitting in his lap, she watched him fervently saw away, the look on his face intense and hard.

Done with the task, he captured her w
ith a look so possessive and fi
erce that she actually felt sorry for Julia. “Who did this?”

  
She searched the garage but saw no sign of Julia. She could only shake her head at him.

“Shona, lass. Are ye all right? I have to know, Flower. Did she hurt you?”

  
His expression had become tender so fast Shona could only concentrate on h
is face. She blurted out the fi
rst words to pop into her head. “I threw up on you!”

Dallan looked shocked for a brief moment then smiled in relief. “Aye that ye did,
M’eudain
. But no harm
done.
What of you?”

“I… I…” The whole thing caught up with her. She threw herself into his arms and let the tears fall.

“Is she all right?” John had joined Dallan and was looking at her, his face grave.

Dallan held her even closer and searched her heart.
M’eudain.
I must
know if you are all right.

I think I am. I do not think I was in the car long enough. I feel all
right. But…

But what, lass?

But… oh, Dallan, I was so scared!

He began to caress her back. “
Shhhh
now, she canna harm ye anymore.” He turned to John, his voice suddenly hard. “Where’s the woman?”

“Kwaku took her inside.”

Dallan turned back to Shona. “I’m taking ye out o’ here now, Flower.” He stood without relinquishing his hold on her and carried her across the garage and into the kitchen of the house. “Master Lany!”

Lany came running from another room, his face masked with anger.
“Is she all right?”

“Aye, I think so.
Here.
” He handed Lany the Maiden. “Take care o’ her.”

 
Lany looked confused for a moment before he took Shona from Dallan’s arms. “Uh, sure, no problem.”

“Where’s the woman now?” Dallan asked his voice anything but gentle.

Lany nodded his head to the room he had just entered from, and Dallan stormed out of the kitchen, his dirk drawn.

Lany sighed in resignation and turned to look at Shona who held a frightened look on her face. He smiled at her. “Hi.”

Shona off
ered him a weak smile of her own. “Hi.”

“Mind if I set you down?”

She merely shook her head and let herself slide down his arms to stand.

He continued to hold her, her legs suddenly wobbling. “Easy, easy.
Maybe you ought to sit.” He helped her to a chair and sat with her at the kitchen table a moment before getting her a glass of water.

She drank it slowly then looked up at him. “What will Dallan do to Julia?”

Lany drew in a deep breath. “Whatever he and Kwaku feel is necessary.” He sat again. “Better?”

She nodded her thanks and looked at the doorway Dallan had exited through. “I do not think she meant to kill me.”

“It doesn’t matter now. What does is that you’re safe.” He reached across the small table and put a hand on one of hers. “Julia will get back whatever she’s spooned out. Dallan will make sure she’ll never harm you again.” He
removed his hand, stood and off
ered her a gentle look. “Don’t
go anywhere,” he whispered, and then
went after Dallan.