***
She could hear the muffled sounds from the next room. The clink of glasses. Lola’s low, husky voice. An occasional squeal of laughter that seemed somehow discordant in the stuffy atmosphere of the place.
She stood up, feeling restless, and walked to the bookcase. She ran her eyes quickly over the titles, scanning for anything that she might pick up to distract herself. But they were all volumes of political philosophy, dry and boring. She should have known. He was hardly the type for racy novels.
Sienna sighed, staring around the room for the hundredth time. Maybe she should try to sleep before she was summoned. It always drained her so much, leaving her depleted and shaking. A quick cat nap might replenish her before the onslaught.
She had just laid her head on the arm of the sofa and closed her eyes when she heard it. She raised her head slowly, frowning. What was happening in the next room?
Voices were raised. Sienna got up, approaching the adjoining door with trepidation.
She hovered there, still frowning. She pressed her ear against the door, straining to listen. She could hear Lola’s voice, but it was no longer casual and friendly. It was as if it had been stripped of all her usual artifice entirely.
Lola’s voice was pleading. Sienna could hear the scared quality of it. She pressed her ear harder against the door, trying to make out what she was saying, but it was impossible. Lola was talking fast, and her words were running together. Had she done something that he hadn’t liked?
Fear gripped her chest, causing her heart to start thumping violently.
Then she heard him. His voice was raised, too. She could hear that the slightly bored and patronising tone he usually used was gone entirely. He was angry. And she knew from long experience that was a very, very bad thing.
Her hand hovered over the door handle, aching to turn it. But how could she? If she did that, and entered the room, he would not take it well. And if he was already angry—which he was—he would be incandescent with rage at her interruption. It would only make things worse for Lola. She knew that.
The safe thing to do—the wisest thing—would be to walk back to that sofa and pretend that she wasn’t hearing anything. She knew how to do that. She had done it many times before, after all. Back at the house. But also, sometimes since she had left it.
Turn a blind eye. Play dumb. It was something they had all been taught. Don’t involve yourself in what was happening in the next room. It was better to not know.
Sienna’s heart thumped painfully. But this was Lola. How could she just leave her friend to her fate? He might hurt her. She had seen his wrath at play before, and she knew how vindictive he could be. She had borne the brunt of it many times before. If she said something he didn’t like. His face would change imperceptibly, like a cloud covering over the sun.
She stared at the door. It was escalating. She stood up, quickly running to it.
Her heart was thundering in her chest now. She grabbed the door handle and twisted it. She would take it on board. Perhaps she might even divert it to herself, and spare Lola.
But the door handle didn’t turn. He had locked it. She should have known.
The voices rose louder. She could hear what they were saying now. Her eyes widened with horror at what he said. She had no idea that he was doing this; that this had been going on. No idea at all. And now he was dragging Lola into it. Was there anything that he wasn’t capable of? But she could hear that Lola wasn’t having any of it. She was defying him.
There was a loud thump and a muffled cry.
Oh, dear God. Sienna quickly crouched down, peering through the key hole. All that she could see was Lola being dragged out of the room by the man who had brought her in. Her eyes were closed. Sienna swallowed down a sudden urge to be sick. Was she dead or merely unconscious? And where were they taking her?
And then the scent assailed her. His cigar smoke, wafting through the key hole. He was puffing furiously, trying to light it. He had just assaulted her friend, and now he was calmly lighting a cigar, as if Lola had simply walked out of the room.
Rage washed over her. A wall of red rising before her, clouding her vision.
Everything started to slightly shift. As if the walls of the room were closing inwards. A sharpening of her mind. Oh, no. It was happening. Right here, right now. And there was nothing she could do to stop it.
The room faded from her sight. Instead, she saw a dark space. There were people in it. Many people. All crouched down, huddling together. She could smell fear in the room. A soft cry, a muffled sob. And some were not moving at all.
A flash of bars on a window. A circular window.
The vision lurched again, like a telescope changing lens quickly. She was standing there, watching it. But no. She wasn’t standing. She was floating above it. She turned her eyes to the left and saw the tip of a brown and gold wing. She tried to move her arm and saw the wing move instead.
Fear overwhelmed her. Not this again! She had to escape it, now. Before she was overtaken. With difficulty she forced her mind back to the present.
The vision faded, and the room refocused sharply. She stumbled to her knees, retching. What did it mean? And why had it come upon her so suddenly and forcefully?
Sienna trembled, wiping her mouth. She had to get away from here. Now.
She lurched to her feet and ran. Blindly. Reefing open the door, she swayed down the dim corridor, pressing her hands against the thin walls so she didn’t fall. Where was the damn exit to this boat? Now that she had made up her mind to do this, she needed to hurry.
Suddenly, she heard voices in a room. Two men were coming out. If she didn’t find a spot to hide, right now, they would discover her. And they knew that she wasn’t supposed to leave the parlour that she had been placed in. They knew she was the prize jewel that had to be protected at any cost.
She found a thin cupboard and folded herself inside it quickly. Her heart thudding, she heard them walk past it, talking softly. She let out the breath she hadn’t been aware that she had been holding. They were gone. The coast was clear; for now, anyway.
She stepped out, quickly running in the other direction. Yes. There was the stairwell, leading up to the top deck. She hurled herself on it, scrambling up quickly. A salty wind assaulted her as soon as she got to the top, causing her nostrils to flare. She was almost there.
The boat was swaying precariously now. She stumbled as she ran across the deck, freezing as she almost bowled over a guard. But his face was turned in the other direction, and she was able to quickly duck behind some large crates to the side.
She held her breath, willing him to move away.
Suddenly, she could hear footsteps rattling back and forth on the deck. Alarmed voices. With a sinking heart, she knew that her absence had been discovered. They were searching for her, and they weren’t happy. She could hear one man barking orders at the others, telling them to scour the whole boat.
A single tear slid down her face. Why had she even bothered trying to escape? She must have known that he would never let her go. But she had acted instinctively; the darkness of the vision had pressed on her. She had known that whatever happened to Lola was connected to it, somehow.
And she had heard what he had said. She knew his secret now.
Another tear slid down her cheek. It was impossible. She might as well stand up and let them see her. Take her back to the parlour. The fly in the middle of his web, waiting for the spider. How could it ever be any different?
She shivered. She knew she would be punished for this. Once, a long time ago now, she had tried to escape. And she had never tried again. She shuddered, remembering the solitary confinement. He had thrown her into a dark room for over a month. She had barely held onto her sanity.
She knew the price that she had to pay. If only she had been able to intervene between him and Lola. She would gladly pay that price so that her friend was safe. She had long ago ceased to value herself, after all.
So why wa
s she here crouched behind these crates, unable to move? She should just step out and get it over and done with. Let them lead her back to the parlour, with a bowed head. Like a nun doing penitence.
Suddenly, a fury overwhelmed her yet again. No. She would run. They might shoot her in the back, and she might die trying. But better to die free than live her whole life in this gilded cage.
As soon as the thought slid into her brain, she bolted. She could hear cries of alarm all around her and could see people running towards her in her peripheral vision.
But she kept running, her lungs almost bursting. She got to the end of the boat and leapt over it, her arms and legs flailing as she crashed into the water. It hit her with the force of cement, causing her to cry out in pain.
She was falling to the bottom of the ocean. She opened her eyes in the murky, silky darkness. She couldn’t see anything. Not a single thing.
Suddenly, she burst to the surface, taking long, ragged breaths. How far had she swam? Blinking rapidly, she could see the boat in the distance. They had gotten a searchlight and were scouring the water for her. She could see the light playing on the water, scurrying over it like a crab over sand.
She paddled softly to the base of the pier, hiding beneath it. Clinging to a wooden pole, she jumped as her hands touched the slimy wetness of the mould and barnacles spread over it like a scab. She gritted her teeth, placing her hands back on it. This was no time for squeamishness. If she managed to evade them, this was the only way that she could stay afloat.
But her heart started beating harder as she watched two of them climb into a tiny speedboat, carrying a spotlight. She cursed softly. They were not about to give up. They were going to search the whole damn ocean for her.
Sienna stared around into the darkness. What was she going to do?
It suddenly came to her like a bolt of light from the blue. She was going to swim. That was all that she could do, other than drown. Or give herself up. And strangely, she knew that wasn’t an option.
She had come so far. Hope surged through her, quickly suppressed. She couldn’t afford to be hopeful. She still had to evade them.
Sienna took a deep breath and dived underneath the water.
It was like entering one of her visions: the sudden shift in atmosphere, the sharpening of the senses. But this world was dark and soft around her, as if she was floating in a bubble. A huge wet bubble. A sweet yearning overcame her for the time before. The time before she came into this world and experienced all its pain and confusion. Could she just shift through this water endlessly?
But no. Her lungs were about to burst again. She pierced the surface like a sharp blade cutting through a film of skin. And saw that she had travelled a great distance. The docks were all around her, rising on either side. All she had to do was climb up.
It was harder than she thought. She kept slipping back into the water, and she could feel the wood from the deck cutting into her skin. But each time she slipped, she tried again. Her mind was focused, now. Single minded.
She hauled herself up, straining and gasping. Instinctively, she turned around, searching for the speedboat, which was in turn searching for her. It had motored out in a different direction. She could see the floodlight bobbing slowly on the water as they scanned over it.
She collapsed, allowing herself a moment of relief. She had done it. For now.
Hauling herself to her feet, she ran through the darkness. The docks were quiet. She could see warehouses looming on either side of her. Large shipping crates stood alone and untended, silent sentinels in the night. She padded forward, feeling as if she were about to collapse under the weight of her wet clothing.
She had to rest, just for a minute, before she fell. Get her bearings. Decide where she would go from here.
She ran behind a large red shipping container, her breath ragged. It was only as she slid to the ground, panting hard, that she wondered what the hell she was going to do next. And even why she had done it.
She leaned back against the container, thinking. There was literally nowhere that she could go. Her first instinct had been to return to the house, even though Lola wasn’t there anymore. A sharp stab of pain thrust deep into her chest at the thought of Lola and what had happened to her. But she had to push it aside. She would think about it later, when she had the luxury of time. Her survival instinct had kicked in, and she knew that if she wanted to live, she had to think fast.
No. She couldn’t go to the house. The girls all knew her, as did the owner. Everyone. She had lived there for six years, after all. They were as close to a family as she had ever had, but she would be putting them all in jeopardy. And besides, Lola had said that there were new girls, who didn’t know her. Once they had ascertained who she was and how valuable she was, they might betray her. And others there were not her friends, as well.
Where, then? She closed her eyes, thinking rapidly. There was one place. But she would be putting him at risk, too.
She would have to take her chances in the old part of the city, even though the house was there. She knew that she could slip unnoticed along its back alleyways. Perhaps she could trade a room for telling someone their fortune. With a sinking feeling, she realised suddenly she had nothing else to trade. She had no money. She wasn’t even wearing any jewellery of value that she could pawn.
Except for one thing. She glanced down at her hand, staring at the ring, which glinted in the night. No. Even though it was probably worth a small fortune, she couldn’t pawn it. It belonged to him, and word would get back to him that it had turned up in some tinker’s shop, and then he would be able to trace her.
She stood up, thinking quickly. She could pawn it in another part of town, and then seek shelter elsewhere. Lay down a false trail. Yes. There was nothing else for it.
Sienna leaned against the container, taking another deep breath. Then she sprinted off into the night, melting and twisting into the shadows.
As she ran, she didn’t hear the desperate knocking against the inside of the container. The thumps grew fainter as the night wore on, until they slowly petered out, ceasing entirely.
Chapter Two
Zach walked along the street toward the warehouse, automatically checking behind him. The street was empty. No, he wasn’t being followed. It was safe to rap on the door and seek entry.
There was actually no reason to suspect he was being followed. He wasn’t working a case at the moment. But he was always careful, just the same. He lived in a warehouse with four other wolf shapeshifters who had all accrued a few enemies in their time. It was just the price they had to pay for being a part of the Wild Keepers—a pack of shifters hellbent on keeping the city of Covenester safe from the demons. The Vilgath.
Zach inhaled, rapping on the door three times. It was what they always did. There was silence from within. He was already staring up at the roof, ready to spring onto it and gain access that way, when the door slowly opened. It was Thad, staring at him balefully. Well, one of his eyes was staring at him, anyway.
“Zach,” he said slowly, as if he hadn’t seen him in a long time. “I wasn’t expecting you back so soon.”
Zach stared at the alpha leader. “Yeah, I forgot my jacket. Thought it might get cold later.”
Thad kept staring at him. He didn’t open the door any wider. Zach stared back, frowning. What was going on?
“Can I come in?” he asked eventually.
Thad hesitated then sighed. “Yeah, I guess you have to.”
Zach’s frown deepened as he stepped into the warehouse. Thad was acting odd, there was no denying it. Almost as if he had been caught out, somehow. He most definitely hadn’t wanted to let him in. Zach scratched his head. He couldn’t think of another time when that had occurred, and he had been living here for over five years now.
“What’s happening, man?” he asked, staring at Thad. “I’m getting a definite vibe that I am not welcome.”
Thad grinned a bit sheepishly then sighed. “I have a visitor.
”
Zach raised his eyebrows, momentarily stunned. Thad never had visitors to the warehouse. None of them did. It was a sacred, secret space. Because they worked undercover a lot, battling the Vilgath, they couldn’t afford to let anyone know where they lived. It was one of the first rules of being a Wild Keeper: don’t bring anyone to the warehouse. Thad was the one who enforced it the most.
And now, he was calmly telling him he had brought someone here as if it were an everyday occurrence. Zach stared at him, at a loss for words.
“Let me explain,” said Thad, but at that moment, a woman appeared by his side. She smiled, extending her hand to Zach. He took it automatically, staring at her with wonder.
This was no ordinary woman. She was statuesque, almost as tall as him. She wore long, black boots that reached over her thighs, and a sweeping coat of bright blue velvet. Her hair was an intense mahogany, sweeping in curls down her back. She was good looking, there was no doubt of that, but her face was so caked with heavy makeup he could barely see her features beneath it.
If he didn’t know any better, he would have said that she was a hooker. He shook his head, trying to dislodge the thought. Why would Thad break the rule so spectacularly by bringing a hooker here? It made no sense, and it was completely out of character for the alpha leader. No, there had to be another explanation.
Thad sighed, reddening slightly. “Zach, this is Julia Ford, an old friend of mine. Julia, this is Zach Byrnes, one of our…members.”
“Pleased to meet you, Julia,” said Zach, shaking the woman’s hand. Curiouser and curiouser. Now Thad was blushing. What exactly was going on here?
“Likewise,” purred Julia, batting the longest pair of false eyelashes he had ever seen in his life.
“Zach,” said Thad, taking a deep breath. “Why don’t you come and sit down with us. Now that you are here.”
Zach took an involuntary step back. “Oh no, I just came back for my jacket. I don’t want to disturb you guys.”
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