Damn and damn again.
“Zandar, where are you?” he yelled out but received no response.
Falling to his knees, he sobbed. He’d failed his brother. And worse, he’d failed his mate.
“How touching. One brother crying over the other. Tell me, will you beg me to spare him as he did you?” A deep voice called out from the entrance.
Zenon spun, ready to attack, but he wasn’t fast enough. The male sneered even as he pulled the trigger. The loud bang echoed in the cavern, making the man drop his gun and cover his ears, but it was too late. The small bullet tore through him, piercing Zenon’s heart. With nothing more than a gurgle, Zenon dropped to his knees, and all went black.
***
Nickie barely got the truck off the road and thrown it into park when the pain in her chest exploded. Her breath caught in her throat, and darkness swam before her eyes. She wasn’t going to die. Not for good. She repeated the words like a mantra as fear swarmed her and her body gave out.
When she awoke, she was alone. Jasmine wasn’t there to hold her hand and curse her out for dying. She wasn’t around to demand ice cream or Gucci gear in retribution for scaring the shit out of her. And the one person who should have been with her wasn’t. She didn’t want to think about the reasons why. Doing so would let all that pain in again, and she didn’t have time for that. She’d break down later. After she’d saved his stupid ass.
Gasping for air, she looked around her. She’d made it a few more miles up the mountain that time before dying. The first time, she’d been on a busy stretch of highway and had barely avoided causing a pileup. She could still hear the horns blaring as she crossed through traffic to get to the side.
She opened the window, letting some of the stench out. It seemed coming to life again now scorched her immediate surroundings. It wasn’t a blast like she imagined Zenon’s rising would cause, but the heat generated from her own blackened the seat and dashboard on the driver’s side.
She didn’t have a fucking clue where she was going, only that her heart told her to keep moving in that direction. Maybe Zenon’s energy called to her, or maybe she was kidding herself, but heading in the way he’d been flying seemed as good a place as any to start. For all she knew, he was a hundred miles away by now.
When she was able to breathe without seeing dots in her field of vision, she pulled onto the road again. She’d go crazy if she thought about what he was going through, so instead, she took a swig of the now cold coffee and hit the gas. The back end of the truck swung out toward the steep drop-off at the road’s edge.
Don’t get yourself killed, Nickie. At least, if she did, she’d come survive to tell the tale. She snorted at the morbid thought. She eased up on the pedal, bringing the truck into her own lane. She might be immortal, but the other poor suckers on the slippery highway weren’t.
She rounded a curve on the steep road and spotted a sliver of black along a ridge near the highest peak of the mountain. She’d looked there more than once but hadn’t seen it before. That wasn’t just a shadow on the snow, it was an opening. It had to be.
She kept driving, eating up the miles as quickly as she could, ignoring the ache that was starting once more in her chest. Fuck.
A sign up ahead announced a scenic lookout a kilometer away. She had to get there, otherwise she’d block traffic when her heart stopped again. Not that she cared about that with everything else going on, but a good Samaritan might think to call EMS for her, and she couldn’t waste time explaining that she was okay, when it was obvious to anyone with two eyes that she wasn’t.
Her fingers and toes tingled, and her head swam. It was as though she didn’t have enough blood to keep her body going. Her breath came fast and choppy as her heart sped and slowed, trying to find its rhythm, but it was no use. She pulled into the lookout parking lot too fast, skidding on the ice. The front bumper of the truck hit the railing, stopping her from careening down the mountainside but not from cracking her head on the steering wheel. Stars swam in front of her eyes before everything faded into nothing once more.
Shouts from outside the truck greeted her when she gasped her first breath. A man yanked her door open, reaching for her, but then stopped when she screamed.
“Are you okay? You looked like you were having a heart attack,” he yelled, his eyes bulged, and his chest rose and fell with harsh breaths. If he didn’t calm down a little, he’d be the one having issues.
“I’m fine. I just bumped my head,” she said, pointing to her temple. “I was getting too sleepy behind the wheel, so I stopped here so I could rest.” It was as good a lie as any. She was getting better with those.
The man’s brows lowered at the center as he scowled. “You shouldn’t be on the road at all if you’re that tired. You could kill someone.”
She sighed and waved her hand around. “Which is why I stopped.”
The man grumbled something and turned away, heading back to his own vehicle. A few others had come to look, but when they realized there was nothing to see, they turned their attentions back to the scenery. Thank fuck.
Shutting the door to keep the warm air in, she looked behind the seat to where she’d found the bag of clothes and cell. Sure enough, two winter jackets, as well as two pairs of boots, were waiting for her. From where she sat, the mouth of the cave was obvious. She didn’t know how much closer she’d get with the truck before she’d have to go on foot. It would be a hell of a trek up the mountain, but it wasn’t so steep that she couldn’t get there from here.
Yanking off her hiking boots, she put her feet in the thick-soled Sorel’s Clive had left for her. She pulled on an extra sweater, then added the winter coat on top. Layers. That’s what it was all about. Not that she ever went anywhere with any real snow, but it’s what she’d heard.
When she got outside, the cold air nipped at her skin. She threw the hood over her head and tucked her hands up the sleeves. It wasn’t perfect, but it would have to do.
She stepped up to the railing, looking out at the scene before her. Once the last of the vehicles pulled away—carrying with it, the last of the tourists—she hopped the railing and started walking. Each step she took brought her knee-deep in snow. Grunting, she kept moving forward.
You will face many challenges, both physical and mental, but we are confident you will overcome. Magdalena had told her and Jasmine once she’d agreed to the crazy witch’s scheme. “You bet your ass I’ll overcome.”
More than once, her feet slid, and she lost some ground, but she kept plowing forward. With the wind blowing fresh snow about, she shouldn’t have been able to see any tracks on the ground, but sure enough, someone had been around and left their mark. Three sets of footprints led in the direction she was heading. If she’d had any other choice, she might have turned around and gone for reinforcements, but what was she supposed to do? Call the cops?
The only people who knew what she was dealing with were on their way to a different set of coordinates. And leaving Zenon to face the enemy alone wasn’t an option, even if she was pissed at him.
She glanced up. Only another hundred feet or so, and she’d be there. Taking a deep breath, she looked around her. Nothing but snow, everywhere except…
She peered closer at the cave. There, right next to the opening, she caught movement. As if greeting an old friend, the man, covered from head to toe in white gear, lifted his hand and waved.
Fuck. She took a step back, then another. If they caught her, she couldn’t help Zenon. She’d make a run for the truck, then try to get a hold of someone. Maybe Hazel had left a number where she could reach one of the other witches in the contacts on the phone.
Spinning on her heels, she smacked into a hard body. Her momentum sent her sprawling into the snow.
“Now, where do you think you’re going?” the man said.
Even though she couldn’t see his face for the white balaclava he wore, she knew that voice. It was the same asshole that had stopped her and Jasmine on the road
as they’d left Zenon in the field to deal with the nidhogg. She shivered as the image of the beast crystalized in her mind. That was what he’d dealt with. The attacks he’d suffered through.
“I was just hiking up the mountain and thought I’d check out that cave, but I see you guys got here first. I’ll just head down again,” she said. Maybe the idiot wouldn’t recognize her with the hood she was wearing. Right.
He threw his head back and laughed. It wasn’t a happy sound. If anything, it made her want to burrow deeper into the snow to get away from it—and him.
“No, I don’t think so. You’re going to want to see what’s in that cave.”
Nickie swallowed her fear and licked her lips. “Really, I have people waiting for me. I’ll go now.” She tried to get up, but he was quick. With a big boot on her chest, he shoved her down again.
“No, you’re coming with me.” He grabbed her sleeve and yanked her to her feet. He pulled a gun from his pocket and pointed it at her nose. “Now, your boyfriend is waiting for you. Either you walk up there nice and calm, or I carry your bleeding ass. The choice is yours.”
She’d survived death many times. Not once was it pleasant, but at least she’d never been shot. Holding up her hands, she took a step toward the cave. If she’d had any notion that Zenon might be safe, she didn’t now. She’d just have to figure out a way to get them out of the mess they were in before they restrained her, as well.
Chapter 24
The numbness invading his limbs shouldn’t have been such a relief, but after the last attack, he welcomed it. His breaths came in shallow bursts as the pool of his blood expanded around him. Even the weight of his collar at his neck was too great for him to lift his head. At least the bastards had only sliced into his arteries and not hacked at his legs this time. His one consolation was that he hadn’t brought Nickie to this wretched place. She’d not fallen into the hands of the enemy.
The cavern faded until it was almost pitch black. He embraced it, letting himself get lost in the peace he found there, until voices brought him back just as unconsciousness threatened to take him.
“I have a surprise for you,” the man who took the most pleasure in inflicting pain said, his voice full of malice.
Zenon groaned and forced his eyes open. A blurry form approached. If he had the strength, he would rip the man to shreds, but he didn’t. All he could do was wait and see what wicked plot he had devised to harm him further.
Blinking his heavy lids took more energy than he had to spare. The form came closer. A gust of wind from outside the cave brought another blast of cold air, and along with it, a sweet, familiar scent. One that didn’t belong in the horrid place.
“No,” he croaked, his voice barely above a whisper.
“I found her walking around in the wilderness. Seems like she wanted to explore this cave with you,” the man said as he shoved Nickie to the ground a few feet out of his reach.
Zenon tried to get to his knees. He needed to reach her—protect her—but his body would not budge. “Leave her alone,” he said, infusing as much strength into the words as he could.
“Isn’t that sweet. He doesn’t want us to hurt her.”
The other male, who had been left to guard him as he died, laughed from where he leaned against the wall, a cigarette dangling from his lips. “We don’t plan on hurting her, phoenix. Not much, anyway. No, that wouldn’t be nearly as painful for you as watching her die.”
The sadistic bastard closest to him lifted his heavy boot and kicked him, cracking his ribs. Even though agony tore through his entire body, Zenon refused to scream.
“Stop. Why are you doing this?” Nickie screamed.
He opened his eyes once more, focusing on her. With everything he had, he wished he could show her the depth of his regret. He had not meant to hurt her. Yet it was what he had done with his foolish actions.
Her head lolled to the side, and her skin shone with sweat. In the cold cavern, she should not have been overly warm. His heart squeezed as it fought to keep beating, and a grimace flitted across her face, but the men were too busy sneering at him to notice.
“Fuck, Harris, give her the injection so we can get out of here. He’s going to blow, and I’m freezing my balls off,” the man against the wall said, flicking his cigarette onto the ground.
Injection? His heart stuttered as the darkness threatened to take him once more. “Please, I am at your mercy. Do not harm her,” he whispered, but if they’d heard, they didn’t acknowledge him.
“Don’t worry, this won’t hurt much.” The man paused, glancing at him as he withdrew a syringe from the pack at his waist. “That’s a lie. Strychnine poisoning is a horrendous way to die.”
Zenon couldn’t breathe. He would suffer a million deaths and remain as he was, collared and broken for eternity, if he could take away the fear in her eyes and keep that pain from reaching her.
“It won’t last too long, a few hours at most, but she’s going to feel it. You, on the other hand, are going to feel it a hell of a lot longer, aren’t you, phoenix? Every time you rise, you will see her rotting flesh. Smell her decaying body. Her death will plague your thoughts and haunt your memories.”
Fury bubbled inside him as he watched the man stalk toward his mate, helpless to do anything else.
Nickie tried to scramble away from the bastard the other had named Harris, but she was no match for his brute strength. With a hard, downward slash, he jabbed the needle deep into her thigh through her jeans. Nickie screamed, her terror reverberating in the cavern, shredding his soul.
***
“As much as I’d love to watch the show, we have to get out of here. It’s only a matter of time before those other bitches catch up to the truck. If another fucking phoenix gets loose, we’ll be the ones getting the strychnine,” Harris said with a sick smile on his face. If she wasn’t so busy hyperventilating, she would have cursed him out and spit on him.
“We just going to leave her like that?” The other man, who had finally gotten his ass off the wall asked, crossed over to where she lay sprawled on the cave floor.
“One way or the other, she’ll be dead in a couple of hours, but she won’t be able to move in a few minutes, much less get down the mountain.”
They weren’t restraining her. Somehow, the assholes hadn’t figured out she and Zenon had mated. They thought she was going to die—for real. Hope bubbled inside her, but she didn’t dare show it. Not that she could. Already, each one of her muscles ached as though she’d exercised nonstop for days. Her jaw clamped shut, and she was lucky that her tongue hadn’t been in the way—otherwise, she might have chomped right through it.
A groan slipped past her lips as a spasm in her neck sent her head twisting in an unnatural position. Fuck. Heart pounding, she tried to move it, but the muscles tightened until she thought they might snap.
It only lasted a few seconds, but as soon as it released, the tension was building again, like a hot wave rolling in, and there wasn’t anything she could do to stop it.
The man who’d jabbed the needle into her leg laughed as a gurgled sound slipped past her lips. “Let’s go.”
Every cell in her body screeched in pain. She breathed deep, hoping it would subside before it got any worse, but she wasn’t so lucky. The muscles of her face went first, then her neck, then shooting down into her shoulders. Each muscle clenched so hard she couldn’t suck in a breath.
By the time her body relaxed, all she could do was look at where Zenon lay motionless. She had no energy for anything else. His chest didn’t move. His lips, now blue, gaped open. Eyes, cold and vacant, stared ahead as life extinguished inside him.
Her heart stuttered and then thudded hard against her ribs. Pain squeezed every part of her. Fire burned each cell and sizzled along her nerve endings. But worse than any of it was the agony wrenching her heart in two. She held her breath for a second. How long would it take for him to rise? Panic welled inside her. Another moment ticked by. What if they’d found a
way to make it so he wouldn’t? Who knew how potent their magic was? Fear streaked through her. Shouldn’t the phoenix be healing her and getting rid of the poison? Maybe their mating hadn’t been enough, or it was too soon for their phoenix bond to work the way it should.
The burning ache in her head grew, spreading down into her neck and shoulders. “Oh God. Please, help me,” she screamed into nothingness. She was going to die. Alone.
Chapter 25
Sucking in his first lungful of breath had never been so difficult. The frigid air froze all the way down. For a moment, he could not recall why he was so cold as life leeched back into him and his memories aligned themselves with his new body. The picture of his mate lying on the cavern floor burst into his mind. Her form stiffening like a board as his life snuffed out crashed into him. Damn and damn again.
“Nickie,” he yelled.
“I’m here,” she said from a short distance away, her voice small, frightened.
Scrambling to as much of a sitting position as his short chain would allow, he faced her. “Are you well, my Nickie?” he asked, unable to keep the worry from his words. She did not look hurt, but not all injuries were visible. He of all people could attest to that.
She nodded, her bottom lip trembling and tears trickling down her cheeks.
More than anything, he wanted to hold her. To reassure her and erase the fear lingering in her eyes. He needed to obliterate the hurt he had cast upon her heart, but he could not. There was no time. The moment the enemy realized their mistake, they would be back, and they would collar her. They would torture her, if for no other reason than to add to his misery. As much as he wanted her with him always, he would not sentence her to his hell.
Rising Darkness_Phoenix Shifter Fantasy Romance Page 16
