by T. A. Chase
"Stop it," a new voice shouted. "You're going to make him change, and we don't want that."
The non-preters roughly grabbed his arms and forced him to his feet. He couldn't stand up straight and his head rang.
"Toss him in with the wolf we have in cell five."
"Yes, sir."
Bandit couldn't get his vision to clear before they threw him into a cell. The clang of the door slamming shut jarred him enough to bring him out of his fog. He flexed his muscles, and for the first time, he could feel the rope give. He worked his wrists until blood flowed from the tortured flesh the rope cut into.
As he fought to get free, he glanced around the darkened room. There was a faint light coming from somewhere, but it was enough with Bandit's wolf eyes for him to see the figure curled in the corner across from him. Bandit grunted as he shredded the rope with one last hard jerk. He gagged as a foul scent filled his nostrils. Whatever else was in the room with him was probably dying.
The figure in the corner twitched and lifted its head. Bandit gasped as the low light hit the man's face and he recognized the lycan.
"Jess." Bandit stared at Jess. "Holy shit! I'd lost hope of ever seeing you again."
Jess didn't say anything. Bandit moved closer, and Jess flinched away. Frowning, Bandit crouched next to the lycan and reached out.
"Don't touch me!"
Jess's voice sounded ravaged and harsh. It didn't have anywhere near the strong, confident tone that he had before Grime grabbed him.
"I want to help you, Jess."
"They chained me with silver. I couldn't do anything to help him. I haven't seen him in three days." Jess jerked his head up and his crazed, bloodshot eyes met Bandit's. "Do you know where he is?"
"Where who is?" Bandit eased closer.
"Pavel. They did something to him when they grabbed us. He never woke up, then they came and took him." Tears welled in Jess's eyes. "I tried to stop them, but I couldn't."
Jess held out his wrists, and Bandit swallowed back the bile threatening to escape.
The younger lycan's wrists were weeping sores; blood-caked and dirty. The wounds explained the scent of rotting flesh Bandit had smelled when he was shoved into the cell. Even after shifting and healing, Jess would bear those scars for the rest of his life. Of course, from the defeated look of the lycan, Jess had more than physical scars to deal with.
"Let me help you."
He grabbed the chain holding Jess to the wall. Hissing at the slight burn of his flesh, Bandit yanked as hard as he could. The chain gave a little, but didn't break. Before he could try again, an enormous hand came over his shoulder and gripped the links above his hand.
"I'll do this. Silver has no effect on me."
Bandit jumped, but stepped aside to allow Ba'el to do the job. "Where the hell did you come from?"
"Did you really think we wouldn't come looking for you?" Ba'el winked at him and went back to studying the chains.
"Where's Raze?" Bandit asked as he knelt beside Jess.
"He's dealing with some bad guys down the hall." Ba'el grunted and the chain shattered like glass instead of silver. "Rhonda and Malik are freeing the others."
"Pavel? Is one of them Pavel?"
It was clear only Pavel mattered to Jess, since the lycan didn't react to the sight of the demon dispatching the chains, collar, and cuffs with quick twists of his hands.
"Don't know. Wasn't my job to check. I had to find Bandit here and make sure he got out okay, or Allen would skin me alive. Don't know who Pavel is anyway." Ba'el's smile was gentle and less frightening than usual. "If he's here, Malik and Rhonda will get him out."
Ba'el broke Jess free, and Bandit caught him when he fell. Jess was so weak and debilitated, he couldn't move on his own. Bandit swept Jess up in his arms before nodding at Ba'el.
"You lead the way. Have to admit I don't mind being rescued by a demon. You're practically indestructible."
The demon chuckled. "Glad I could be of service."
Bandit winced as he followed the demon into the hallway. His own injuries bothered him, but he could overlook them in light of Jess's suffering. Also, he'd crawl over broken glass drenched in lemon juice to get back to Allen. He wanted to tell Allen how much he loved him and make love to the slender lycan all night long.
Shouting came from down the corridor, and Ba'el stopped, making sure Bandit stayed behind him. A high-pitched screech ended in a wet gurgle. Someone ran closer to them, causing both Ba'el and Bandit to tense.
Raze dashed around the corner and skidded to a halt a few feet away from them. The angel held two swords that gleamed wetly in the low lights. His grin flashed white in his blood-covered face.
"Fancy meeting you all here," Raze quipped.
Bandit shifted Jess's weight in his arms, and Raze looked at him over the demon's shoulder.
"Hey, man, good to see you." His wild eyes widened at the sight of Jess's battered body. "Shit!"
"Yeah, kind of how I reacted when I saw him," Bandit commented.
Raze nodded. "We've got to get out of here. The place is rigged to blow. We'll detonate as soon as we're all clear. Rhonda and Malik have the others out in the vans."
Snarling, Ba'el reached out and yanked Raze to him. They shared a hard, urgent kiss, and Bandit's cock hardened at the sight, though after a minute, he cleared his throat.
"Sorry, guys, but now really isn't the time for this," he pointed out as they broke apart.
Raze wiggled his eyebrows and chuckled. "You're right. Let's go. Hey, do you know the guy you're carrying?"
Ba'el led the way in the direction Raze had come from. Bandit followed, doing his best not to hit Jess against the wall. Raze brought up the rear, making sure no one came up behind them.
"Yeah. This is my friend, Jess. Remember I mentioned a vampire and lycan were taken a couple weeks ago. We knew Grime had them, but we'd lost track of where they were." Bandit sighed. "The bad news is Jess said the humans took Pavel a couple days ago. He doesn't know where they took him."
"Maybe he's with the others."
Bandit snorted at Raze's optimism. Guess you could take the angel out of heaven, but couldn't take the golden outlook out of the angel. Of course, Raze seemed more the avenging angel type, considering how well he used the twin blades he carried. They paused at an intersection of corridors.
"Where's the exit?" Bandit asked softly, resting against the wall. He wanted to put Jess down for a moment, but wasn't sure if he should.
Raze and Ba'el looked at each other for a few second before nodding. Ba'el headed to the right.
"Stay here. Rest, because we don't know how fast we might end up having to move to get out of here. We'll check and see which way is the exit. Be right back."
Bandit set Jess on the floor and slid down the wall to join the injured man.
"Heads up."
He put his hand up in time to catch the handgun Raze tossed him.
"Safety's on the right side. It's got a full clip. You shouldn't have any trouble with bad guys. I pretty much cleared this entire area, but we don't know if they got the call out for re-enforcements or not."
"Thanks." Bandit chambered a round as Raze disappeared down the left hand corridor.
After the angel's footsteps faded into quietness, Bandit found the silence oppressive. He listened to Jess's labored breathing and thought about how happy Nick was going to be when they brought Jess home.
"There's someone who is going to be over the moon when you show up with us," Bandit commented. "If Serpens and Gryphon hadn't hounded him so much, I'm pretty sure Nick would have worried himself to death by now. Once he stopped being able to talk to you, he freaked out, sure you were dead. Gryphon had to talk him off the ledge a couple times, you know what I mean?"
"Yeah, I know what you mean. Nick's always been a little high-strung when it comes to his friends. Probably because he doesn't have a lot of them." Jess didn't open his eyes. "Do you really think Pavel's alive?"
Bandit sighed an
d looked off into the shadows. "I'm not sure what you want me to tell you, Jess."
"Just be honest. I need someone to tell me the truth. I've only been held captive for a week and already I'm questioning everything I've been taught."
"I'm a glass half-empty type of guy, and my gut says no, Pavel isn't alive. Grime isn't known for being merciful. There's a reason he's been taking preternaturals, besides killing them in gruesome ways. We're going to have to figure out what he wants."
"He's experimenting to find out the best way to kill preternaturals. He must not have the book yet."
Bandit jerked his head around so fast he swore he got whiplash. The gun was up and pointed at the speaker before Bandit really got a good look at him. Raze stood there, hands in the air and a shit-eating grin on his face.
"Sorry about that, man. Forgot to walk heavy, so you'd hear me come up."
Bandit lowered the gun and shoved to his feet. Before he could pick Jess up, Raze had the injured lycan in his arms.
"I've got him. Trust me; he won't tire me out, and we need to be moving. Max wants this place in pieces within ten minutes. Ba'el's watching the door for us. Let's head out."
Taking the lead, Bandit kept the safety off, and his eyes peeled. He didn't want to miss anything that might get them killed. He didn't doubt Raze had been thorough in his dispatching of bad guys, but again Raze was right. They didn't know if there were re-enforcements coming.
Coming around a corner, he spied Ba'el standing at a doorway. The demon gestured for them to come forward. They joined him at the entrance.
"The vans are only about ten feet away. Rhonda and Malik have us covered. You two go first. I'll bring up the rear." Ba'el looked at Raze, and Bandit could tell he was biting back telling the angel to be careful. "I'll be right behind you."
It was touching how protective Ba'el seemed to be of Raze, but funny as well, considering as an angel, Raze was about indestructible as Ba'el. The angel nodded and they bumped shoulders as they passed each other.
Bandit glanced both ways before he ducked out of the building and dashed across the open ground. Someone opened the side door and he dove into the van, swinging around to grab Jess as Raze thrust him at him. Bandit scrambled back and settled on the floor, holding Jess tight. There weren't any seats in the back of the van.
The side door slammed shut and he looked up, noticing Ba'el and Raze weren't with them.
"Wait a minute. What about Raze and Ba'el?"
"Don't worry. The angel and demon will be fine. They don't come with us. They'll stay behind and blow the place, then disappear back to wherever corner of hell they came from."
Bandit glanced around to see a man sitting behind the wheel of the van. He was human, and Bandit immediately stiffened, wondering if he'd fallen into another trap.
The human held up a hand. "I'm one of the good guys, man. I'm Max's pick-up guy. We have to get out of here. I don't want to be around when they blow the place."
The van started up with a low rumbling and the driver drove away. He didn't speed or draw any more attention to himself than necessary. It helped that the building was set off the road in a corpse of trees, without neighboring houses or people to see them leave.
Jess mumbled, and Bandit leaned forward trying to make out what the lycan was saying.
"Is Pavel with us?"
"No. There isn't anyone else in this van except us." Bandit wished he could tell Jess that Pavel was fine, but he wasn't going to start lying to his friend. "I don't know if he's with the rest or not."
Jess fell silent, and Bandit did something he'd never done before. He prayed to all the gods, not just to the god of the lycans, but all of them, even the human God. He prayed Jess would survive what was done to him, or at least the physical wounds would heal without trouble. It would take years, if at all, for the memories of his torture to fade enough not to wake him up at night. Bandit prayed for Pavel, sending the vampire strength if he was still alive to hang on until they could free him.
A muffled boom drifted through the walls of the van, and the human chuckled with evil delight.
"One less torture chamber for Grime to run to."
"What did he do to you?" Bandit wasn't sure he really wanted to know, but it passed the time while they headed back to the city.
"Name's Samuel. God, what hasn't he done? I didn't know you all existed until Grime asked me to join his group. I was a runaway and needed a place to stay. He offered a job and a room for help with some jobs. It wasn't until I went on my first one that I figured out what he was doing."
Disgust colored every word Samuel spoke. Bandit was used to that tone when humans talked about preternaturals, not when they talked about each other.
"What did he want you to do?"
Samuel grunted. "He wanted me to seduce this girl. She was eighteen or so, and I was to convince her to come back to my place for some fun. I asked him what he wanted her for, and he laughed, saying she was a dirty wolf and deserved to die. I wasn't sure what that meant and I refused. I might have had to sell myself on the streets, but I wasn't going to do something that would hurt someone else, especially not a girl."
"Little did you know, the girl could probably take care of herself just fine," Bandit commented.
"True, but it wouldn't have mattered when Grime grabbed her with all his men and the silver he has."
"Since you're on our side, I'll let you in on a little secret, which I'm surprised Grime hasn't figured out yet. Not every lycan is affected by silver. For some of us, it's simply just a burning sensation, but it doesn't stop us from shifting, and it definitely doesn't kill us." Bandit looked at Jess, who had moved to lie on the floor with his head in Bandit's lap. "There are some packs who have an allergy to silver, like Jess here. They are the ones who can die from silver, if they're around it too much."
Samuel shook his head. "Grime doesn't know that. He believes all the old legends about how to kill preternaturals, though I think he's slowly starting to realize his ultimate goal might take a little longer to accomplish."
"How'd you get away from him?"
"I refused to help take the girl, and Grime had his men beat the shit out of me. After that, I ran as far away as I could, all the way to the west coast, where I ran into Max. He introduced me to preternaturals and explained what Grime was trying to do. I'm not sure how he knew, since Grime seemed mostly based out of the city and east."
Bandit shrugged. "Something tells me Grime has his hands in a lot of gangs all around the country and world, apparently, considering Jess and Pavel were in England when his men grabbed them."
Samuel turned onto the highway. "Yeah. You'd be surprised how many people out there want to kill preternaturals, even though they don't know anything about them. It's that whole 'if you're different from me, you must be bad' theory."
"Humans have always gone after those who are different. I think that's why preternaturals have chosen to stay hidden for the most part." Bandit studied Jess as the lycan mumbled. He brushed the hair away from Jess's forehead. "I hope Max has someone who can help us with Jess."
"He has a witch doctor on call, and the doc will probably be there when we get back. Rhonda called to give Max a heads up about the condition of the preters we rescued, though your friend looks the worse of all of them."
A witch doctor was good, but Bandit wished Nick would be there waiting. He had a feeling the newest avatar would be able to help Jess far more than any witch doctor around, if only because they were best friends.
"Why don't you catch some sleep, man? It'll be another hour or so before we get back to the safe house." Samuel met Bandit's gaze in the rearview mirror. "I've got it from here. The others are right in front of us. There are some blankets and pillows back there for you to use."
Bandit nodded and arranged everything to make the ride as comfortable as possible for Jess. When Bandit lay down, Jess snuggled close to him, and Bandit wasn't sure if it was for warmth or because in Jess's subconscious, he knew Bandit would kee
p him safe. It didn't matter. All that did matter was they'd gotten one of their friends back and they wouldn't stop until they got Pavel back as well.
Closing his eyes, Bandit let the hum of the tires on the asphalt lull him to sleep.
* * * *
He woke up when the sound of the van's engine ceased. Bandit grabbed the gun lying next to his head, positioned himself between Jess and the door, and waited. When the door slid open, he tensed.
"Thank God, they got you back."
Allen peered in, and Bandit lowered the gun, easing out of the van before he swept Allen into his arms. He ignored his protesting muscles and wounds as he kissed Allen until his head spun from lack of oxygen. He set Allen down and rested his forehead against his lover's. Bandit got lost in Allen's eyes until someone shoved past him to get to Jess.
"Who the hell is this?" Max growled as Bandit turned to watch Ba'el lift Jess from the van.
"His name is Jess. He's a lycan from a pack out east. Not sure exactly how he got here, but considering Grime's group grabbed him in England, I'm saying he's pretty well-traveled."
"Beaten to shit and back. What the hell happened?" Max gestured toward the warehouse. "Take him to the infirmary. Doc will check him out there."
"He's severely allergic to silver, and Grime had him chained, cuffed, and collared with it. They tortured him as well, so he hasn't been able to shift to heal either." Bandit kept his arm wrapped around Allen's waist, but followed Ba'el into the building.
"Fucking humans. Always so interested in making us bleed," Roman muttered as he joined them.
"Wait. I need to know if there was a vampire named Pavel among the other preters you rescued," Bandit asked, hoping with every fiber in him Pavel had been with the others.
"No. There were a couple of vampires, but their names aren't Pavel." Rhonda stalked up to him. "Why are you asking about the vampires?"
