by Sela Croft
I wanted to scream; I wanted to cry for help. But no one was there to help me. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t breathe. All I could do was wait.
Wait for her to take me.
Chapter 43
Logan
The battle was turning. We were not without our losses, but our enemies’ casualties had begun to pile up. We held our resolve and pushed on. Florian was able to move our troops with speed. At first, the Fae had been able to predict our movements, but the more we changed our plans, the more they struggled.
Valter and his dragons formed a key element of our attack, swooping in on the Fae when they scrambled to change positions. He pushed them farther back. Noah worked with the troops. In his mist form, he carried as many men as he could to weakened points in the Fae’s offensive. I lost count of how many different offenses I led, or how many enemy lives I had claimed.
It was a slow process. Many hours passed before any real progress could be seen.
But it finally came.
The Fae beasts, with their enhanced human fighters and clear starting advantage were beginning to pull back from key strategic points in the city. Each inch of ground gained fueled me to push for more.
For the first time since my reign had begun, I was giving orders with confidence. The commands flew from my lips, with the authority and confidence my troops needed their leader to display. I was asking a lot from them. They needed to know that I only asked, because I believed in the result their efforts would produce.
More than that, being on the front lines ignited a renewed purpose in all those who fought at my side. It fed my confidence and fueled my excitement. I was usually the strongest in battle. I was a good fighter, the best in our realm. I was in my element, and my troops sensed that, so used that energy to propel them forward, against all odds.
Each offensive I led brought victory. Each victory was greater than the last. Valter and his dragons hovered overhead, swooping in and forcing the Fae from the city streets, cleansing them of the Fae plague that had befallen them.
The taste of triumph wasn’t as sweet as I’d hoped. With each passing moment, my thoughts filled with concern. My city was safer, but my mind filled with thoughts of Callie.
Although my home was in the center of the city, and in one of the sectors that hadn’t been affected by the Fae attacks, I worried. The sounds of the battle must have frightened her. Surely, she knew something was going on.
And Callie was their target, and had been for some time.
My eyes drifted up to my home, hovering above the smoke-filled streets in the distance. Callie was safe there. But no matter how I tried to console myself, I wouldn’t be able to relax until I knew for sure.
“Florian!” I yelled to draw my brother’s attention. He appeared with a new fleet of fighters to finish what my troops had started. “Take me back to my office.”
“Now?” he said and at my side. “But the war…”
“Has finally turned.”
“Logan, you need…”
“To trust my men,” I said. “And I do. We’ve given them the advantage they need to take us the rest of the way to victory.”
Florian sighed then nodded, and placed his hand on my shoulder. In the blink of an eye, we were back in my office in the city’s central governing building. My ears rang against the sudden silence.
“Noah,” I said, seeing that he was waiting for us. “I expect you’ve brought a report.”
“Yes, but not of the battle. I didn’t know where to find you. I’ve been searching…”
“What is it?”
His face was filled with worry. It wasn’t concern that came with war. It was personal. The way he shifted from one foot to the other, and glanced at the floor, revealed that what I’d most feared had happened.
“Callie’s gone,” Noah said, unable to meet my eyes.
“What do you mean?”
There was no use trying to hide my reaction to the news. I couldn’t. I felt as if the room shook in response, and my vision blurred with rage. My chest tightened. “How can you know that?”
“There was a lull in the fight,” Noah said cautiously. “So, I went to your home. I just wanted to talk to her. After the way we’d left things and all, I just wanted to explain. I know I shouldn’t have gone without telling you, especially after what happened last time... I’m sorry….”
“I’m not worried about that,” I snapped. “Where is Callie?”
“She’s not there. I searched everywhere. The place is empty.”
His words cut as deep as a razor slicing through me. I stumbled back, then leaned on the edge of my desk. My eyes searched the room, as though I might find a different answer.
It couldn’t be true. Callie said that she would wait. She’d promised.
Knowing she would be waiting for me had allowed me to focus on the war, even after Noah’s revelation that Dequan’s betrayal had implications for her safety. Certain that she would remain where she was safe, that she’d sworn to do so, had given me the peace of mind to rein in the chaos that had taken hold of my city.
I had told her, explained how important it was that she remain in my home. I needed to know she was safe. She was aware of that. She wouldn’t have left on her own accord. She wouldn’t have done that to me—to my kingdom.
Something—someone—had gotten to her.
“We have to find her,” I said and turned to Florian.
“The human girl? You want me to focus my energies on finding a human?”
“You know she’s more than just a human girl,” I said. “She plays a role in all that unfolds before us.”
“Is that honestly what concerns you, right now?” Florian said.
“What do my motivations matter?” I said. “She’s gone, Florian. She’s gone, and we have to find her.”
“You aren’t thinking clearly. You’re letting your feelings for her rule.”
“He’s right,” Noah said and stepped forward. “We have to find her.”
“And what gives you the right to sway this decision?” Florian said, shifting his gaze to Noah.
“I know Callie. She wouldn’t have just left. Not after what happened last time. Someone took her—convinced her to leave. It had to be Dequan. I’d thought his interest in Rosamon and Callie was strange, but since hearing of his treason, I’ve been thinking more about it.”
“You believe Dequan has her?” I asked.
“Who else would it be?”
“It makes sense,” I said, then turned back to Florian. “The Fae haven’t had advance information, for a bit. It seems that their informant has been distracted. So, it adds up that Dequan has been involved in Callie’s kidnapping; that’s how he’s been spending his time.”
“Then we should be taking advantage of this moment to finish this,” Florian said. “The war is far from won, my brother.”
“And it will remain that way, for as long as Callie is in danger,” Noah said. “It won’t matter what ground we gain, if the Fae get what they want.”
“And they want this human girl?” Florian said.
“Have you not been listening to anything I’ve been saying?” I said. “I’ve told you from the start that she will play an integral part in the outcome.”
“I just don’t see how.”
“It doesn’t matter if you see her value,” I said. “What matters is that our enemies do. And they will have her soon, if they don’t already.”
“Fine, I will help you find her. I just hope that this isn’t yet another one of the Fae’s well-planned distractions.”
Chapter 44
Logan
The fastest way to find Callie was to locate Dequan. There was no doubt in my mind that he was the one who had taken her. With any luck, he was still inside the city. Florian took us to all of Dequan’s normal hangouts—his tower, the blood bank he frequented, the back-alleys where he’d been spotted, on a regular basis.
In the past, I had been naïve enough to think that his presenc
e in the shadier areas of our city had been part of his thorough investigations. I’d encouraged him to drop in on the seedier sections of town to keep an eye on any vampires there, who might strike up a deal with our enemies. It had never occurred to me that my own cousin would be one of them.
As we flashed from one spot to the next, I questioned my cousin’s motivation for frequenting such locations. Imagining him there, immersed in treasonous activities, fed my rage.
“He’s not here,” Florian said, after examining yet another location. “We’re running out of places to look.”
“We’re not giving up,” I said.
With each failure, my determination grew. We were getting closer to finding him, I was sure of it. There were only so many places he could hide. Although brazen and quick-tempered, my cousin wasn’t one to take unnecessary risks. Even considering the foolhardy act of kidnapping Callie, I knew that Dequan would only put such a plan into action, if he was sure it would succeed. He wouldn’t risk going to an unfamiliar location. He’d want to maintain control.
“It has to be a location, where he’s been before,” I said.
“There is only one place left to look,” Noah said. “An old home on the edge of the city.”
“You’re sure it’s a place he would go?”
“I’m positive. He asked me to meet him there before, but only once. It was the night he gave me my assignment to look after the twins. But I’ve heard talk among his closest friends that they’ve been there, also.”
“Why didn’t we check there first?” I said sharply, then nodded for Florian to take us there.
In a flash, we were standing before an unfamiliar stone building. Noah stepped forward and nodded. Turning back to us, he said, “I didn’t suggest this first, because I didn’t think a structure like this would be high on Dequan’s list of hangouts.”
He had a point. The building was old and decrepit. It looked as if it had been vacant for years. Although, it wasn’t in the center of the city, it wasn’t located anywhere near the border between our land and the Fae’s. If he was working with the enemy and hoping to deliver Callie to them, that location looked ideal.
I contemplated the place, deciding if it was even worth our time to investigate. Time was ticking by, and with each passing minute, Callie was in more danger. Seconds counted, and we didn’t have many of them left.
That’s when I spotted the locking mechanism in the center of the massive doors. Although difficult to notice at first, the closer I examined it, the clearer it became that it had been disengaged.
“It’s unlocked,” I said, then summoned my brother and Noah forward.
“Looters, probably,” Florian said.
“No,” I said, then pushed the door inward. “The lock hasn’t been tampered with. It was opened without force.”
Florian and Noah followed me inside. If this was the place where my cousin had taken Callie, it was certainly an unusual choice. The abandoned house held no appeal, and had no significance, as far as I could surmise.
“There,” Noah said, drawing my attention to a large door at the end of the long hallway. “Someone is there.”
“Someone was there,” I said, noting the lifeless bodies lying on the ground. Approaching, I identified Dequan’s men. “They were standing guard.”
“Guarding what?” Florian said.
“Whatever is on the other side of the door,” I said, noting the patterns of the life-stealing wounds on the men’s necks. I leaned down to get a better view of the teeth marks.
Before I could finish my investigation of the scene, a shout from the other side of the door caused me to straighten up.
“It’s Callie,” Noah said.
I raced forward, and threw my shoulder against the thick wooden doors, sending them flying inward. Shards of wood flew into the air, raining down on us as we burst into the room. The scene that awaited was hard to process. From one end of the room to the next was chaos.
On the ground was another one of Dequan’s guards—dead. My cousin’s last remaining lackey was on the ground next to him, nursing his wounds. Around them, a battle ensued. Dequan was going hand to hand with…
“Raulia?” Noah said.
“What is she doing here?” Florian said then moved closer.
I began to piece together the puzzle that had formed in my mind, upon finding my cousin’s men dead in the hall. I didn’t have time for contemplation. Something much more disturbing had drawn my attention.
Beyond the guards on the floor and the battling vampires, I saw Callie. Panic was written across her face. Her large, violet eyes were wide with fear. Around her waist, a monstrous hand gripped her. Fingers, tightened as she gasped for breath and strained to get free.
Callie. I tried to yell, but fear choked back my words.
She looked at me and our gazes locked. A surge of connection shot across the room, linking us in a moment of understanding. I couldn’t lose her; she wouldn’t leave me. She didn’t want to. There was a bond that drew us to each other.
I cared for her. And she cared for me.
In that instant, there was no denying that. It was in the way we looked at each other, the way my heart broke at seeing her in the grasp of the phantom hand. It was in the way that she pleaded with me to save her, and my overwhelming purpose to do so.
I hadn’t noticed the mirror before. In the background, I spotted the mesmerizingly terrifying Fae woman, on the other side. And gasped at the grip she had on Callie.
Then I understood the situation. The woman in the mirror wanted Callie, and was going to take her from me. The woman’s eyes met mine, and she burst into evil laughter. I barely heard it, though. When the Fae woman laughed, Callie let out another scream of pain. The woman’s evil hand tightened around her, and she writhed in agony.
Between screams, Callie called, “Logan, please!”
As if unaware of my presence until that point, Dequan turned to face me. Raulia leaped forward, and attempted to tackle him to the ground. But my cousin swiftly moved to Callie’s side.
“What are you going to do, my prince?” Dequan said and took hold of Callie’s arm, then dragged her closer to the mirror.
Callie’s feet kicked at the ground and tears streamed down her cheeks. She fought back, but was no match for Dequan and the grotesque hand attempting to pull her through the portal.
Noah and Florian raced forward, trying to get to her. But Raulia stopped them, knocking Noah to the ground. Then she spun with teeth bared, ready to take on my brother.
I couldn’t understand what she was doing, and I didn’t care. All I cared about was Callie.
The hand around her waist tightened again, dragging her back, inching her closer to the mirror and farther away from me. Dequan let out a high-pitched squeal of victory, taunting me with his preemptive celebration.
“No!” I yelled and reached my hand out. Energy poured out of me, and flew across the room at the beastly hand clinging to Callie.
Chapter 45
Logan
My ability had an effect, and the hand gripping Callie was knocked away. But she was thrown some distance by the jolt of energy I’d unleashed. I feared that I might have injured Callie and my breath caught in my throat. Free of the creature’s grasp, she slumped lifelessly.
“Callie!” I exclaimed and started to race toward her.
My path was blocked when Raulia rushed forward. But she wasn’t coming after me. Her sights were set on Dequan, who was also stunned by my telekinetic act. She ran across the room, with a cloud of smoke trailing behind her. By the time she reached Dequan, she was in her wolf form.
With her teeth bared and her weight on her haunches, she prepared to attack. The Fae creature in the mirror wouldn’t have it, though. It seemed that she, also, possessed the ability to move things with her mind.
Before I could sprint to rescue Callie, Raulia’s body flew into the air. She crashed against the stone wall with such impact that the wall cracked. Then she collapsed to the
ground, either unconscious or dead.
I skidded to a stop, waiting for Raulia to leap up and turn her offensive against me. She didn’t move.
When I finally reached Callie’s side, I fell to my knees, fighting back tears. I gently shook her, but she didn’t open her eyes.
My brother appeared at my side and his hand fell to my shoulder. “Get Callie out of here, without delay,” I said.
“We all need to get out of here,” Florian said, looking back at the woman in the mirror.
I felt her eyes on us, but I didn’t turn to face her. “No,” I said again. “I’m finishing this. Get Callie to safety.”
Florian nodded and leaned down, resting his hand on Callie’s. I waited, holding my breath. I could feel the tension rise. The Fae woman laughed, and Dequan chuckled, while they watched my brother’s failed attempt to transport Callie to safety.
“It’s not working,” Florian said, his voice shaky.
“What do you mean it’s not working?” I refused to accept what he’d said. “Florian, get her out of here!”
He nodded and tried again. Then he vanished. But Callie remained. I looked around, expecting him to reappear but he didn’t. Panic overwhelmed me. I stared at the woman in the mirror. Her flowing gowns whipped around her, but she stood still.
Her eyes were on me, her lips turned up with amusement. She leaned forward and spoke to Dequan. Her words were soft, so I was unable to hear. By the look on Dequan’s face, I knew that she was giving him orders to act during my state of confusion, and to get Callie back.
I had to get out of there. I couldn’t let the Fae take Callie.
“Noah!” I shouted, but he was already at my side. “Get her—”
“I can’t,” Noah said. His hands shook, and his brow was covered in sweat. “I can’t change. Logan, I can’t...”
His words fell short, as he collapsed to his knees. When I looked back, I saw the Fae woman’s hands clenched into fists. She’d overpowered him.
The Fae had powers that were known about. But I hadn’t experienced powers such as that. The Fae woman was more powerful than any foe we’d faced. I was left to face her alone, with my cousin, her loyal vampire servant.
