Time Masters Book One; The Call (An Urban Fantasy, Time Travel Romance) (83 page)

She lowered her head to the fl
oor.
Dallan, Dallan please…

A hand suddenly gripped her arm and cruelly pulled her to her feet. She teetered precariously due to her fastened ankles as Philip held and studied her with eyes full of lust and an evil she’d never known. Blood stained his open shirt, matted the hair on his chest. But where were his wounds? His sleeves had been slashed, blood clung to the fabric, but she saw no lacerations in his arms, not even a scratch. Sh
e briefl
y looked at his legs and found the same. Fear laid a cold hand on her with the realization that Philip was not entirely human, or at least not normal.

He pulled her closer and licked at her face. Shona thought she might throw up and tried to pull away, but was unable to.
DALLAN!

“That’s it, call to him. Try to make him come to you,” Philip whispered into her ear. “Would you like to see him? I have him ready and waiting for you. Do as I say and he will be set free.
”

Shona struggled against him before realizing how futile it was. She stopped as he drew away from her and his eyes locked onto her own. What she saw made her want to die. Sadistic pride, evil intent,
victory
—his eyes told her he had everything now, including her. He smiled again before he threw her over a shoulder and carried her from the room.

DALLAN! Please, can you not hear me? Why do you not answer me? What has he done to you?
The strange power within her sprang to life again, pushed its way to the invisible door holding it back and beat against it. She screamed into the gag and began to kick in frustration at Philip.

“Stop it! Do you want me to have to hurt you? I will, you know! Don’t try my patience!” He carried her to the center of the fencing room and set her on her feet, t
hen let her fall to the hard fl
oor. “If you want to see him alive, I strongly suggest you behave yourself!”

Shona glared as she fought to a sitting position. He surprised her by grabbing her ankles and unlocked the manacles keeping her prisoner, then removed the gag. She choked as the air in the room entered her mouth.

Philip patted her back. “I’m sure you’ll feel better in no time. Would you like some water?”

The sudden silky smoothness of his voice unsettled her. She winced at the sound and stared blankly at him, her throat still too dry for speech.

“Smart girl. Don’t talk until I tell you to.” He turned, went behind the nearby weapons rack and then re-emerged dragging a bound, gagged and wildly struggling Kitty.

Shona drew in a sharp breath and nearly fell over again. “Kitty!”

   
Philip pulled Kitty along by one
arm then dropped her to the fl
oor about twenty feet from Shona. “Don’t move, my dear.” Philip snarled as he caught her eye. “Don’t even think of approaching your little friend.”

“What have yo
u done to her?” Shona demanded, her voice cracking.

Philip glanced to Kitty. “Not half of what I’m going to do to you. Now quiet. I want to begin my little party. But I’ve one more guest to fetch.”

He turned, gun in hand and strode to a loosely bunched-up dust tarp lying several yards away, the same tarp he had used to hide both girls in Maggie’s car. Philip merely stood and eyed the tarp with a smile then returned to Kitty, grabbed her by the hair and yanked her to her knees. “Now,” he purred, turning to Shona. “I’ve a little proposition for you, my dear.”

Shona struggled to stand, her eyes never leaving the sight of Kitty with Philip’s gun to her temple. “What do you want?”

He smiled wickedly. “You, of course.”

She shook her head. “I do not know what you mean. You cannot have me. Dallan does. What have you done with him?”

“He’s nearby. In fact, much closer than you think.” Philip gripped Kitty’s hair tighter, causing her to whimper in pain. “Now back to the business at hand. I want you, but the problem is you have to give yourself to me willingly. As I see it you have two choices: submit yourself to me of your own free will, or…” He pulled Kitty’s head back and pressed the gun into one cheek. “… I kill your friend.”

Shona’s eyes widened and she nearly f
ell to her knees at the terrifi
ed look in Kitty’s eyes. “You are hurting her. Stop it!”

“I’ll do much worse than hurt her if you refuse.”

“What of Dallan?”

“I will set him free, of course.
But only if you submit to
me.
Th
e choice
is yours. I strongly suggest yo
u decide quickly. My trigger fi
nger is…”

He stopped abruptly and looked to a point somewhere behind her. Shona slowly
turned to see what had caught his attention
. A door was the only thing on the wall behind her, a door that someone was trying to open from the outside. She spun back to Philip.

“Stay right where you are, Shona. Not a sound.” He pushed the gun further into Kitty as a warning, eyes intent on the door. “More guests.”

Shona looked back to the
door which
was slowly being opened with a key. She again glanced at Philip. His eyes were narrowed to slits, his mouth twisted into a sadistic grin. “Do come in, gentlemen. I’ve been waiting for you.”

Shona watched Lany Mosgofi
an’s face pale in surprise at the statement. He had one foot in the door, a hand on the knob and an odd looking pen which he held like a weapon.

“Come in, please. All three of you, and yes, I know there are three. I can feel each one. Also, be so kind as to discard your laser, sir. Or I will be forced to eliminate someone. At this point, I don’t care who.”

 
Lany entered carefully, John and Angus close behind. Shona could sense the anger and despair in each, and obviously Philip could as well. His face beamed with wicked satisfaction as the three men ushered themselves into the room. “So we meet again, gentlemen. So good of you to come, I knew you would.”

“Think of everything, do you?” Lany commented dryly. “How like you.”

Philip laughed. “Oh, you’re a clever one. Discard the laser. Now.”

Lany made a face and threw the odd pen across the room.

“Good man,” Philip drawled. “Now up against the wall all three of you. I wouldn’t want you to miss any of this.”

“You won’t get away with it, Brennan. You know who we are.” John told him coldly as he backed himself to the wall with the others.

“I’m quite aware of who you are. You are the Lord Councilor of Sutter’s Province, correct? And your witty friend beside you must be one of your assistants. The old man, I haven’t a clue. But none of it matters anyway. What does is a question I’ve posed to the young lady before me.” He looked to Shona. “Tell
me my dear, have you had suffi
cient time to decide?”

Shona’s resolve to stay calm began to crack at the sight of the men helpless to do anything. Kitty’s life was the only thing keeping the balance. Could Philip really kill? Was he as evil as Julia? He had always taken care of her when she was young. What happene
d to him? Had he lost his mind?
Was he bluffing? She squared her shoulders and looked him right in the eye. “I will not do as you say. I do not think you are serious. You cannot take me. Dallan has already done so.”

Philip burst into hysterical laughter. “You are so utterly naïve!” He grabbed Kitty by the arm and dragged her to the tarp several yards away. Once there he caught Shona’s eyes and laughed sadistically. “Do you want to see how serious I am? Do you want to see my p
ower?” He threw Kitty to the fl
oor, reached down and yanked the tarp up and over his shoulder.

Shona screamed and fl
ew forward.

“Stop!” Philip was already dragging Kitty back to his previous position. “Don’t move. Stay right where you are.”

She
froze several feet from where she’d been and cried out, “Dallan!” She spun on Philip. “What have you done? You have hurt him!” She lost possession of her resolve
to be brave as her tears fell, her emotions now a jumbled mess.  If only she could summon the burning anger she'd displayed when Philip had shot her with the tranquilizer earlier.  Where was it now that she needed it?

“
There
, there girl. After all, he’s still alive. Stop your weeping and give me your decision. I’m tired of waiting.”

“Dallan?” Shona sobbed. “Dallan, please…”

John, Lany and Angus
watched helplessly as she
fought her instinct to run to her h
usband’s side. He lay on the fl
oor in a pool of blood, his clothes soaked in it. His face was a mask of bruises and one temple housed a horrid gash. He looked very dead.

All three knew better and began to silently pray.

Shona continued to plead with the lifeless form. “Please, get up! Can you not hear me? Dallan, please!”

Philip laughed at her. “You’re wasting valuable time, my dear. I haven’t all day and I’m out of patience.”

S
uddenly feeling a bit more in control, s
he slowly tore her eyes from Dallan and looked to Philip. “You are nothing. You are dead. I will kill you for this!”

“Doubtful,” he sighed. “As I recall, I’m the one with the gun, remember? Or have you forgotten that I can kill your little friend here in the wink of an eye?”

Shona straightened herself, the thing within her building again. “No.”

“L… lass?”

She spun
to Dallan, eyes wide. He had pushed himself up and looked at her, eyes f
i
lled with pain. “Dallan?”

“Ah, just in time,” Philip began casually. “I knew you wouldn’t die on me.”

“Brennan…” Lany seethed against the wall, John motioning for him to stay put.

Philip laughed again. “
Oh where is Kawahnee now, my fi
ne gentlemen? Did you know he has betrayed you with his own
honor? He won’t even lift a fi
nger to interfere! I have everything, and he and yourselves are helpless to do a thing about it!”

Dallan struggled to his knees, his breathing strained and wea
k. He looked briefl
y to John and Lany. Angus stood helplessly to one side, his caring e
yes locked with Kitty’s terrified ones. Each man had a diff
erent task in mind. Each was waiting for the Weapons Master to do something.

Dallan’s eyes sought Shona’s. “Are ye all right, lass?”

“Dallan!” she croaked and nodded.

“Let them go Brennan.” Dallan rasped. “‘Tis me ye want.”

“You? Oh, you’re not that important. You know perfectly well what I want. And I fully intend to get it, with you watching.” Philip walked toward Shona. “I want your decision. You’ve had time. Do you submit?”

Shona stared at him in utter
loathing,
turned to Dallan, then back again. “No.”

“Oh for heaven’s sake, d
o you honestly think I’m bluffi
ng?”

Shona stood straight, calmer now that she sensed Dallan’s true physical state. “Yes.”

Philip stared at her blankly a moment and shrugged. “Oh, very well, if I must prove myself…”

He took aim and shot John. Twice.

“Eaton!” Lany grabbed John, whose face was locked in utter shock as his body slow
ly slid down the wall to the fl
oor, hands clutched to his stomach. Blood
escaped through his fi
ngers in tiny red rivulets.

Shona’s scream caught in her throat at the sound of the gun, her eyes following the barrel’s aim. Speech escaped her, words useless now. Philip was serious; John Eaton was mortally wounded, her husband faring no better. Did she have a choice? She looked helplessly to Dallan who was trying his best to stay on his knees. “Dallan ... I…” She turned to Philip. “No more! Please, no more!”

He smiled with satisfaction and began to chuckle. “I knew you would see it my way. After all, it’s so simple. Submit, or I kill your friend. You no longer have a problem?”

Shona, tears streaming down her face, shook her head.

“Good. Do it now.”

She again looked at Dallan, her whole body straining toward him. He merely knelt, his gaze locked on John, who, with Lany’s help was despe
rately trying to staunch the fl
ow of blood pouring from his gut. In a matter of minutes, she knew he would bleed to death, and Dallan knew it too. “If I do this, you will let them all go?”

Philip sighed impatiently. “Yes, yes, now stop stalling.” He took a ragged breath. “I’m hungry.”

She shivered and turned to face him, her whole body acting on its own as if she no longer controlled it but was being controlled by something else. Numbly, she took two steps in Philip’s direction.

“That’s it, come to me, kneel. Submit yourself. Tell me you will serve me the rest of your days.” He began to chuckle and looked to Dallan. “See? I told you she would. I am her master, not you.”