Unbound (50 page)

Hunter growled and I whirled around. Three Harvesters, the yellow eyed Pricolici and a pretty blond girl stood behind me.

“Jenny!” I screamed. Oh my God, they got her! She smiled at me. Wait, why is she so at ease next to…uh-oh.

“Anora Paige Benson,” she said, her voice full of want. “How nice for you to come see me.”

“Jen-w-wh-what?” I stammered.

She ran a hand over the Pricolici’s head. “Awh, is the little witch confused?” She took a step closer. Hunter snarled. Someone groaned from behind one of the sheets. “I guess I can see why.” She laughed an evil laugh. “I am trapped in this, this disgusting
vessel.
”

“Asaroth.” My voice shook. Rage burned in Jenny’s eyes. She was in front of me in the blink of an eye.

“How dare you say my name, you filthy, nasty witch!” She slapped me, extending her fingers and dragging her nails across my face, making three tears across my cheek. She stepped back and licked the blood off her fingers. “Mmmm.” She closed her eyes. “I can taste the power.” Her eyes flew open. But they weren’t the pretty blue they had been. Cold, black eyes threatened me. “I want that power.”

“I’ll never give it to you.” I slowly moved my hand to my left side, thinking that if I could throw a Vesta bomb, I could create enough chaos to kill at least one demon. “I’d rather die than let you have my power,” I said, feeling stronger.

Jenny threw her head back in laughter. “That’s what they all say.” Her Pricolici came to her side. “You know,
Annie
, you were rather hard to find. I haven’t had power like this in over a century. When I heard that there was new blood in the Coven, I knew I just had to have it.” She put her arms out and spun around. “And to think, I thought your idiot brother was the key.” She spun faster. “I didn’t think a measly girl could possess such greatness.”

“That’s sexist!” I spat out, temporarily forgetting to be scared for my life and getting offended. She came to a stop. The Harvesters were watching her, waiting for her command. Maybe if I took her out…I thrust my hand forward to send her flying. She didn’t move. Instead her face lit up in a very human way.

“Such power!” she said again and was suddenly right in my face. The pretty purple stone pendent she had on before dangled off her chest. A connection clicked in my brain.

 
Amethyst.

 
Amethyst had many properties: courage for travelers, stress relief…and blocking witchcraft. Since she had Ryan’s powers those properties were magnified. My powers weren’t going to work on her.

Jenny cocked her head, looking intently into my eyes. “Give me your powers Anora.”

“No. You’ll have to kill me first.”

She licked the blood that was dripping down my cheek and shivered in delight. “Well, there’s a problem. Your powers die with you.”

“Then I guess you’re not getting them.”

She spun around three times, laughing manically. “I knew you’d say that, I knew you’d say that, I knew you’d say that.” She jumped excitedly. “So I brought insurance.” She motioned for the sheet behind Hunter’s cage to be torn down. I almost screamed when I saw what I did.

Bound and gagged, Ethan was slumped over in a chair, barley conscience. “Ethan!” I screamed. He looked up and me and tried to smile. His face was cut up and bruised. I made a move to rush towards him but Jenny stopped me with strength that wasn’t humanly possible.

“Can you imagine my luck? I almost thought I missed you. You slipped through my fingers. I was at
your house
. I don’t know what kind of spell you cast to cloak yourself, but it had to be a strong one. I looked and looked and looked but couldn’t find my witch. The stupid Order’s always getting involved. And then to find that one of their own is protecting my witch!”

She danced around again. “I looked all over for you last night. You weren’t home, you weren’t at your lover’s house. I was deeply upset. So I thought that if I made your pet sick, you’d come out from hiding. But that didn’t happen, did it Ethan?” She moved in front of him. “But I got a pretty little Order member instead and, boy, we’ve had fun! We played all night but he wouldn’t tell me where you were.” She turned back to face me. “Now give me your power.”

“Don’t say yes,” Ethan yelled, his voice muffled by the dirty gag. Jenny slapped him hard across the face.

“That’s not all, my little witch.” She waved her hand again and two more sheets were torn down. Harrison and Laney huddled close together, bound and gagged as well, on the dirt floor. Laney was crying and Harrison looked just as terrified. They didn’t look beaten though. “So here’s the deal,” Jenny continued, her voice thick with venom. “You can choose one, just one, for me to let live in exchange for your powers.” She ran her hands seductively over Ethan’s chest. “So who’s it going to be? Your boyfriend, your brother, your best friend or your precious dog?”

Did she say
dog
?
 
Just
 
dog? Did she not know? “My dog?” I must have sounded surprised.

“Humans…” she trailed off. “Humans value their pets.” She almost didn’t sound sure of herself. Oh my God, she didn’t know.

“But Hunter’s just a dog,” I tested.

Her nostrils flared. “Humans love their pets!” She sprang towards me, hands extended. “Choose!”

My mind raced. Ethan would have been the best choice in the who-can-survive-fighting-demons way, but he was in no condition to defend himself, let alone me. Harrison and Laney wouldn’t know what to do. Hunter, on the other hand…Jenny’s hands closed around my throat.

“Hunter!” I croaked. She released my neck. Ethan laughed. Laney made a horrible whimper and Harrison did his best to scream at me though he was gagged. They didn’t know about Guardians. They thought I was choosing my dog over them. Shit…now wasn’t the time for guilt. They’ll find out soon enough.

Hunter raced from the cage to my side. I bent down and wrapped my arms around him, finding the feel of his body comforting. He put his head on my shoulder and was completely still for a second. In that moment, we bonded in a way that I couldn’t describe. I saw into his mind and he saw into mine. Feeling a million times more confident, I stood. Taking his place at my side, Hunter’s fur was on end and his fangs were showing. Jenny’s glee was wiped off her face.

“No!” She looked terrified at Hunter. “Guardian. You don’t have a Guardian. You can’t have a Guardian!” She backed up a step. “He’s
 
just your pet!” she shrieked, completely dumbfounded. The yellow eyed Pricolici growled and jumped. Hunter was ready, and sprang up first, knocking it to the ground. Taking full advantage of the distraction, I lit and threw a Vesta bomb at the Harvesters. They hissed and shrieked and ran around in a crazed manor.

“KILL HER!” Jenny screamed. I threw another one and lunged at Jenny. She was faster, and moved out of the way. She caught me around the shoulders and shoved me into the wall. I fell down and felt a horrible sharp pain in my ribs. She kicked me again but this time I grabbed her foot and pulled her down; it wasn’t as well thought out as it should have been since she landed on top of my and punched me hard in the face.

Blinded by pain, I extended my hand and grabbed at anything I could. I got a handful of her hair but it slipped from my fingers as she hit me again. She screamed in anger. The Vesta smoke was beginning to clear and the Harvesters would soon be in attack mode. I reached out again and by some miracle, my fingers closed around the small, purple stone. I yanked it back and felt the chain break. I opened my eyes and sent Jenny flying, knocking her into one of the Harvesters.

I rolled back onto my feet and whipped a throwing knife at the nearest Harvester. It sunk into its shoulder, which wounded it enough for me to stab the dagger into its chest. It erupted in flames. I dodged its smoldering body to run over to Harrison and Laney. Using the dagger, I freed their arms.

“Are you guys ok?” I helped Laney untie the gag.

“Define ok,” Harrison said. His voice was shaky. That was enough of a yes for me.

“Get Ethan out of here.” I gave him one of the throwing knives to use to cut through the ropes. I sprang back to my feet. Hunter had gotten the Pricolici to the ground and had his jaws clamped around its throat. I closed my eyes as he bit down. With a final yelp, the Pricolici’s body went limp. Hunter galloped back to me. “Good boy,” I said, only loud enough for him to hear. We looked around; Jenny and the remaining two Harvesters where nowhere in sight. This was not good.

Seeing no point in standing and waiting for her, I raced to Ethan’s side. Harrison was working on getting him untied. Tears filled my eyes as I kneeled down in front of Ethan. “Ethan.” I choked back more tears. “I’m so sorry.”

His hands were now freed and he put them on my shoulders. Laying on the ground near the chair was a dirty syringe.
 

“She drugged you,” I stated the obvious.

“How else would she get me like this?” Ethan tried to joke. His smile faltered. “Kill the bitch, Anora.”

Howling echoed through the tunnel. I knew where Jenny went. I looked back at Ethan, Harrison and Laney. I couldn’t risk them. I stood and gently took Ethan’s hand.

“I will.” And then I sprinted away, Hunter close behind. Somehow we both managed to quickly get out of the tunnel and into the basement of the barn. I leaped across the hole onto the basement stairs. Patchy moonlight and a few stars promised the chance of survival.

I had two steps to go when a hand grasped around my ankle and pulled me down. I cried out as I thumped down the old wooden stairs. Hunter stood protectively over me. My body throbbed in horrible pain. I did a quick check: I could still move my legs and my arms. No serious damage had been done. Wincing with every small movement, I tried to sit up. Hunter nudged me, helping push me upright. His loyalty gave me motivation, and I slowly rose to my feet. I couldn’t descry what had pulled me down but the rattling hiss told me that a Harvester was a few feet away.

Hunter, no doubt able to see perfectly in the dark, sprang forward. He growled and snarled and hopefully was ripping the thing to pieces. I took a deep breath. My ribs hurt — bad— and my right wrist that was already sore from before pulsed with pain. I needed to see what was attacking us.

Suddenly, I remembered seeing a pile of scrap wood leaning against the opposite wall. I gathered all the energy I could and directed it toward the wood. Seeing into each other’s minds again, Hunter released the Harvester just as I lunged forward, driving the dagger into its chest. I quickly pulled it out and kicked him backwards into the wood pile. Already hot with energy, the pile burst into flames, lighting up the basement.

Panting, I whirled around the room. Waiting in the shadows were five Pricolici, Jenny and the remaining Harvester. Seven on two; the odds weren’t in my favor. They lurked forward, slowly circling us. Hunter growled and showed his fangs, ready to defend me even if it meant his end. My heart was beating a million miles an hour, I tried to come up with a plan. Should I throw them back? How long could I keep a telekinetic hold on them? Who should I take out first?

Deciding on the Harvester, I pushed him down. The big, black Pricolici that was next to him jumped from a standstill at me. Hunter did too, and knocked him to the ground. Then complete and total chaos broke out. I scrambled to get out of the way of another attack, barely managing to block a Pricolici from taking my head off. There was just no way I could fight them all. Not even with Hunter’s help. I was going to die and it was going to be a painful death. And then they would go for my friends…

The root cellar doors slammed shut. The steel gray Pricolici that had been advancing toward me stopped to look. I seized the moment to sink the dagger into his back. He crumbled into ash and dust but two more were quickly in his place. I took a step back and tripped over my own feet. In a slow, teasing manor, the Pricolici inched closer. The pain in my wrist made it almost impossible for me to grasp the dagger. There was no way I was making it out of this.

“HEY!” a familiar male voice shouted. Every creature in the room turned to look. My heart skipped a beat in joy when I saw the pale figure of Ryan standing at the bottom of the stairs. Behind him stood a very young girl wearing a bright yellow dress and next to her, a middle aged man that looked like he was from another time. They were ghosts, of course, trapped to this earth and this madness by Asaroth’s possession of their powers.

Flickering in movement, Ryan appeared before Jenny. His hands sparked with electricity. Jenny’s face showed her disbelief and Ryan clamped both hands over her ears, jolting the electricity and causing her to shriek in pain. The other two spirits, also sparking with blue energy, took on the Pricolici that were in front of me.

I jumped up and went for the Harvester. The dagger slid easily into his back and soon he was nothing but a pile of smoldering ash. A dog yelped in pain. The big, black Pricolici had Hunter by the scruff. Going now on pure adrenaline, I darted to his side and stabbed the black dog. The last two Pricolici were fighting against the ghosts. Hunter looked into my eyes and I nodded. He bound ahead of me, taking one of the demon dogs around the neck and knocking him to the ground. I took care of the other one, leaving only Jenny alone in the basement with us.