Tribes of Man: The Beginning [Tribes of Man] (Siren Publishing Classic) (26 page)

Gideon was actually grateful that Raina was still unconscious. She would have wanted to come along on the rescue mission, and he would have been terrified that something would happen to her. This way, he knew that she was free from danger.

Gideon!
Raina’s fear echoed in her voice.
They’re moving Bryce. I think they’re taking him to Adder.

Is he still OK?

He seems to be.

We knew this might happen. Remember what to do?

Gideon could actually hear her deep breath as though she was standing beside him.
Yes. I’m going to go convince the guard that he has to go to the bathroom.

Gideon and Eric climbed up onto the loading dock. When they approached the door, it opened automatically. Gideon looked at Eric sharply.

“Hey, I may not be Harry Potter, but I can at least open a door,” Eric joked softly.

“You’re a handy man to have around.” Gideon grinned. If it wasn’t for the danger Bryce was in, Gideon would be enjoying this little adventure.

* * * *

They’re heading down the corridor to Adder’s office. I got through to the guards, but I’m not sure how much time I bought,
Raina said. She could sense Gideon’s exhilaration and thought he was crazy. She was a nervous wreck, and there wasn’t even any way that she could get hurt.

Which way, darlin’?
Eric asked.

Down the hall and to the right
, Kristano answered for her.
Sweetie
, he added, just to be funny.

You’re a riot. You should head the undead comedy tour.

Kristano snorted.
I’m as undead as you are. Go right into the men’s room
.

Raina wanted to scream at them to shut up. Didn’t they know how much danger they were all in?

Raina stood in the men’s room with her back to the urinals. Obviously her push to the agent that he had to go to the bathroom was a little less than gentle. Since they’d entered, both he and Bryce had been peeing constantly.

Raina watched as the men’s room door opened. She saw Gideon and Eric enter. Just as they did she heard Kristano say
sleep.

Raina turned to find the agent sleeping standing up at the urinal like a horse. He still had his willy in his hand.

Bryce saw them walk in and went to give his brother a hug.

“Hey, hey,” Gideon said, slapping him on the back. “Not till you wash your hands.”

Bryce said, “You’re kidding, right.”

“No way. Come on, hurry up. The guards are off us for now, but no use tempting fate.”

Bryce washed his hands quickly, the entire time watching the man who was standing there sleeping.

“What happened to him? And what the hell is going on? I saw something you’ll never believe.” Bryce rushed forward and grabbed Gideon’s arm. “We have to get out of here, there’s something wrong with the guy who runs this place.”

It’s too much to wish that Bryce hadn’t seen anything
, Raina commented.

Leaving him out is what put him in danger
, Gideon said.

I agree,
Kristano added.
My first instinct was to keep this from him, but now I think he
needs to know. I’d hate to have to erase his memory.

But now’s not the time to...
Before Raina could finish the thought, Kristano materialized in the room.

Bryce stumbled back and almost fell. “What the fuck? How did you do that?”

“I can’t explain now,” Kristano said, “but we know that Adder isn’t a regular guy.”

* * * *

When they left the bathroom, Kristano went invisible to once again clear the way. Raina decided it might be a good idea for someone to check in on Adder.

Raina walked right through the door of Adder’s office. She decided that she didn’t mind being incorporeal, she just wished she could go back and forth between being in her own body and being out of it. She believed that she was strong enough to will herself back into her body, but she had a feeling that it would be a one-way trip and wanted to gather all the intel she could before waking up.

Adder was at his computer, working intently. When she walked into the room he looked up, and then looked right back at the screen, as though he felt a displacement of the air in the room.

“Just a little further,” he muttered. “You’re almost out.”

Raina was curious about what he was looking at so she went around the desk. On the screen she saw Eric and Gideon leading Bryce out of the building. They were just about to go out through the exit door.

Gideon!
Raina screamed,
It’s a trap.

The three men kept going like they hadn’t heard her. Even though distance had never been a factor before, Raina was suddenly concerned that she was too far away. She raced for the door.

And crashed right into it. She scrambled up and tried again. She couldn’t even grasp the door handle to get through.

Then she heard the laughing.

* * * *

Kristano materialized right next to Gideon in the hallway, making him jump. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” he said. “It’s been too easy.”

“Too easy?” Bryce said incredulously. “For you, maybe. It’s been hell for me.”

“It could have been worse,” Gideon said. “Trust me, you got away without too much damage. I’ve seen what Adder can do.”

Bryce shuddered. “I can imagine.”

“No, actually, I don’t think you can. If you could, I’d be worried about you.”

Kristano still blocked the way.

“Hey, Kris. We need to go.” Eric was throwing furtive looks behind him. “Now, I think.”

“I’m going out first,” Kristano said. “I’m the only one who can take a bullet and not die.”

“Why?” Bryce asked.

“Explanations later, escape now,” Gideon said.

Gideon and Eric pressed against the wall behind the door with Bryce between them. Gideon had a gun, and they both had magic. Bryce was defenseless.

Kristano stepped through the door and after a moment of silence, there was a slight popping sound. The bullet that struck Kristano’s chest made a splash of blood. Kristano backed through the door, and they slammed it shut again.

“Shit,” Kristano said, blood pouring out of a gaping wound on his chest. “Looks like an ambush.”

Bryce stood agog. “What the hell! We’ve got to get you to a hospital.”

“Nah,” Kristano said. He disappeared for a moment, and when he reappeared, he was back to normal. Even his shirt was fixed. The only problem was that he was very pale.

“You can’t do that again without feeding,” Gideon said. “Do you have time to do it?”

“Feeding?” Bryce backed away from Kristano, edging down the hallway. Eric stopped him with a hand on his arm. “What does that mean?”

“I’m not a vampire, but I require blood to restore the magic I use when I’m injured. I know it’s a lot to take in, but Adder is the bad guy. I’m the good guy.”

They didn’t have time for explanations, yet it seemed necessary to give them, if for no other reason than so that Bryce didn’t freak out and get them into deeper trouble than they were already in.

“We have to find another way out. Let me ask Raina if she sees anything.”

“Raina?” Bryce asked, pushed to the limit of credulity.

“Look.” Gideon grabbed Bryce’s shoulders. “Just do all of us a favor, hold all your questions until after this is done and we’re all safe, okay? I’m your brother, and you can trust me.”

Bryce thought about what happened with Raina. “Yeah?”

“Yes. I’ll explain everything later.”

Bryce was silent so long that Gideon thought he wasn’t going to answer. “OK, bro. I’ll trust you.”

“Thank you.”

Raina. Raina, honey, where are you?

“She’s not answering.”

* * * *

Raina swung around to see Adder picking under his fingernails with a letter opener.

“Did you really think I wouldn’t know about your little rescue attempt? I planned on it. I’ll have to admit, though. You took me by surprise when you came into my office earlier today. I wasn’t expecting that.”

Raina’s heart beat rapidly in her chest.

You didn’t know I was there
.

“Of course I knew,” Adder got out of his seat and walked toward the wall. He ran his finger along it, making blue sparks appear in its wake. “As soon as I saw you I figured out what was happening. You were able to manifest your conscious mind outside of your body. Remarkable.”

Raina wasn’t sure what he was talking about.

“Now, now, don’t be shy. I’m not afraid to give compliments when they’re due. I’m very impressed with you. You’re so new to the power, and the ability to mind walk is not usually found among the Water tribe. Actually, only the Three and then the guardians get that ability. Frankly, I have no idea where you got it from.”

Raina was terrified. She knew she should be paying close attention to what he was saying, but it was hard to focus when all she wanted was to get away.

I don’t know what you’re talking about.

“No? Well, no matter. It may sound melodramatic to say, but I’ve got you now.” Adder laughed again, a surprisingly carefree sound. “Actually, I’ve got us both now, because I can’t get through the barrier any more than you can. The difference is that I have the magic to fashion a more permanent prison.”

Adder walked to the wall and flicked a hand. A panel slid back, revealing a decanter, highball glasses, and a tall, thin perfume bottle.

“When you were little, did you ever pretend you were a genie in a bottle?”

* * * *

“I can’t reach her.”

Gideon was ready to panic. He knew better. After all, strange things happened all the time. Nonetheless, he could feel his breathing becoming choppy.

“I can’t get her either,” said Kristano. “I can’t even feel her presence.”

“Maybe she woke up,” Eric said. He didn’t even try calling out to her. Since she’d been in a coma, he’d had the hardest time of all of them communicating with her.

“I’d better check,” Kristano said, and then disappeared.

“In the meantime, we have to find another way out,” Eric said. He stood in front of the door and weaved a pattern with his hands and muttering under his breath.

“All set. I think that will hold them out.” There was a sudden plinking sound as bullets struck the door. He gave it a sidelong look. “I hope.”

“How do we get out of here?” Bryce asked.

“How about the front door?” Eric suggested.

Kristano reappeared. “We can’t leave yet. Raina’s body was still in the hospital, but I think Adder has her soul.”

* * * *

Adder walked behind his desk again and looked at the screen. The men appeared to be standing around talking. “Well, well. They’re not dead. I’m impressed. Of course, they’re not out yet.”

“See, without Earth, you’re all physically vulnerable. Look at what happened to you,” Adder gestured to her, still holding the pretty, blue perfume bottle. “If the shot had been a little to the right, we wouldn’t be here right now. Of course, you’re not really here right now, are you?”

Raina wasn’t going to be the one to inform him that they had Earth. As soon as she woke up, they would be able to complete the ritual.

Cascaval looked up at the screen. “Looks like they’re on the move.” He picked up a walkie-talkie. “Jensen, they’re moving toward the front door.”

“Got ‘em, boss,” Jensen’s voice came back.

“You’d better.” It was all he said. It was all he needed to say.

* * * *

“What the hell do you mean, he has her soul!” Gideon cried, grabbing Kristano by the shirtfront.

“When I touched her body, I could feel that her soul was trapped. I’m not sure where, but it has to be giving off a lot of magical energy. I can’t sense it. I need to feed, now.” Kristano didn’t shake off Gideon’s hand. He felt as frantic about it as Gideon did. He wasn’t just worried about the prophecy. He’d grown to love Raina. It was impossible for anyone to be around her and not love her. He couldn’t imagine the world without her in it.

“I can find her,” Eric said. Eric held his hand out in front of him. He began walking down a long corridor. “I can feel something…” He trailed off and touched his belly. “It makes my stomach churn.”

“Where is she?” Gideon reached for Eric as if to shake him. Kristano stopped him.

Eric tilted his head back as though scenting the air. “I think they’re this way,” he said, pointing down the hall.

Gideon’s eyes flashed red. “I’m going to get her.”

“Wait,” Kristano said. “If he’s holding her through magic, you’ll need both of us to help you. I’ll be right back.”

“Hurry, or you’ll miss it. I’m not waiting.”

* * * *

Raina was pushing against the barrier, screaming Gideon’s name.

Adder had gone to the refrigerator to pull out different ingredients for the spell that would put her into the bottle. “I’ve got to brew a little potion.” He gave her a little smile. “Unless you’d like to just jump in here for me.”

When she just continued to punch at the shield, he just shrugged. “I didn’t think so, but it was worth the try.”

Raina couldn’t believe it, but she felt his humor. He was enjoying her frantic attempts to get out. As soon as she realized that her terror was feeding him, she stopped.

She stopped so abruptly that he stilled his actions and looked at her. “Oh, ready to give up already, hum.”

Raina knew he was trying to goad her into continuing her panicked frenzy. She stood in front of the door and just looked at it, not once looking over her shoulder.

Adder threw another glance at the computer screen. Just as he said, “Now where have they gone?” the door flew open.

* * * *