My Link in Time (The Immortal Ones--Book Two)

by S. L. Baum

  “It’s some kind of item locator. You’ll figure it out,” Elizabeth assured him. “Nikola, can you please float the mortal out of here? I’d rather you cast your spell on her in another room. Charity is giving me quite a headache,” Elizabeth glared in my direction.

  “Absolutely. She is unexpectedly loud for a person of her size,” Nikola agreed.

  “What are we doing with her?” Drew asked, having been asleep during the talk of spells and servitude.

  “Later,” Elizabeth shushed him.

  I watched as the three of them exited the room, with Nikola directing Summer as she was floated behind them, still asleep and being taken away from me.

  The static buzz disappeared as soon as I heard the click of the lock within the door. I rushed over to where Marcus still lay, sprawled across the butcher block table. I grabbed onto his hand and felt the sticky wet blood that was beginning to coagulate. I listened for his heartbeat. I breathed a sigh of relief that it was still there, but it was weak and faint. A thin wheezy breath escaped Marcus’s lips as his mind registered my touch. His fingers twitched.

  I crumpled to the floor. My body shook with the sobs that I had been restraining since we were thrown in The Red Room and since I’d realized that Elizabeth was up to no good. A flood of tears streamed from my eyes. My fear and grief engulfed me. I gave in to sorrow.

  *****

  “Charity?” Link gasped.

  “You felt her too,” Lulach answered. “I see that the blood bond you share with her is starting to emerge within you. I was wondering if it would take hold at all. You see, I can feel Charity but she cannot feel me. Your unique qualities make you a bit of a mystery.”

  Link closed his eyes and concentrated on the brief flicker of Charity that had come to him. “She is crying. I feel her misery and I feel her fear. I don’t have a clue where she is. I just feel her.” Link opened his eyes. “If I can’t find her, how can I help her? It’s not enough.”

  “Give it time, son. The bond will develop. It will change, evolve, grow stronger. I am here with you now and I can feel her too. My bond pulls me toward her and as her distress intensifies, so does my connection to her.”

  Cozmo sat beside them, pale and unmoving. His mouth had dropped open and his eyes were unfocused, staring off into empty space. “It’s gone,” he whispered.

  “What’s gone, Oz?” Link asked.

  “My twin connection. I don’t always know where he is, but I can always feel him. I can’t feel him. It’s gone. I think Marcus may be... gone.”

  ****

  chapter twelve

  MOUSE TRAP

  “Marcus, wake up,” I cried. “Please wake up. They’ve gone away, and they took Summer with them. I don’t know what to do. Eve is gonna be so pissed if you don’t wake up,” I sniffled.

  Marcus stirred at the mention of her name. I had been holding onto his hand and he grasped mine weakly. He blew out a breath and a whisper emerged. “Eve,” he said.

  I stood back up and looked into his face. His eyes were still closed. “Yes! Marcus, think about Eve. Think about everything good and wonderful between the two of you, and fight. I need you to fight.”

  “Where am I?” he asked.

  “We are in Elizabeth’s house. Remember. She kidnapped us and is holding us captive.”

  He opened his eyes. “Charity?”

  “Yes. It’s Charity. I’m with you,” I said, and then smoothed the hair back from his forehead.

  There was blood on his face that had oozed from the corner of his mouth and from his forehead during the power transference spell. I stepped out of my underskirt and tore at the fabric, using it to try and clean him up a bit.

  “I’m so tired, Charity,” Marcus murmured, his head rolling to the side.

  “Don’t go back to sleep yet. Just talk to me for a little while.”

  “Yeah okay, I’ll try.”

  His responses were mere raspy whispers. There was no strength to them. That worried me, but I was glad to have him semi-lucid and talking.

  “I’m going to figure out how we can get out of here. They’ve taken Summer away though and we can’t leave without her,” I said. I knew I was kidding myself. We were trapped in this room and I saw no way out.

  “They’ll come for us, Charity. Eve will find me. She won’t rest until she finds me.”

  “You’re right. They’ll come.” I patted his hand. But part of me wanted them to stay far away, to keep themselves at a great distance. I didn’t want Elizabeth to harm them.

  “I think maybe I can sit up,” Marcus rasped.

  “Go slow and let me help you,” I responded with worry.

  With considerable effort, on both our parts, Marcus managed to get himself into a sitting position. He wheezed as his chest labored to take in breaths. He was so weak. Dark circles rimmed his eyes and he was beginning to get that hollow almost gaunt look to his face. His skin seemed paler and almost clammy to the touch. Marcus was fading.

  “I need water,” Marcus breathed.

  I walked over to the red door and began to pound on it. “Elizabeth!” I yelled out. “We need water.” Then I pounded some more.

  A few seconds later I heard footsteps in the hall. “Elizabeth?” I asked.

  “They’ve gone into the guesthouse and locked themselves in. They told me to stay here,” was the high pitched response.

  “Barbie!” I exclaimed. “My friend is hurt very badly and he needs water. Is there any way you could bring some to us?”

  “Oh no! I’m sorry but I don’t have a key to this room. I’ll let Elizabeth know he’s hurt,” she replied and I heard quick footsteps retreating down the hallway.

  “Let Elizabeth know,” I repeated her words aloud. “Could she be that naïve?”

  “Who was that?” Marcus asked.

  “The girl named Barbie. I mentioned her earlier.”

  “I don’t remember,” Marcus looked confused and lightly shook his head. He moaned and closed his eyes.

  “It’s not important. Don’t worry about it,” I said, stroking his back.

  A few minutes later I heard Elizabeth’s voice in my head. There’s a powder room to the side of the fireplace. I’ll uncloak the door.

  I looked over to the fireplace and watched as the outline of a door appeared on the wall to the right of the fireplace. It was flat, two-dimensional at first, but soon morphed into an actual door, with a knob that could be grasped.

  I said a silent “thank you” to Barbie.

  I walked over and turned the knob, opening the door. The room was sparse, much like The Red Room. A toilet, a pedestal sink, and a mirror were all that it contained. There was nothing else. No ornaments or decoration of any kind, and no cup to bring water to Marcus.

  “You are going to have to try to stand,” I told him as I walked back to where he slouched on the table. “I’ll help you. Just lean on me.”

  Marcus looked at me warily and then nodded his head in agreement. I stood next to him so he could brace himself against me as he slid down from the table and his feet hit the floor. I could feel his muscles shaking as they tried to gather strength enough to hold strong and help him stand. But it was not to be. He collapsed to the floor, but managed to keep himself in a sitting position with his back against the table.

  “Sorry, Charity. It’s not gonna happen,” Marcus panted.

  “Rest, Marcus. I’ll bring it to you,” I assured him.

  I walked over to the sink and turned the water on. I cupped my hands and gathered a handful of water, then walked back to Marcus and brought my hand to his lips. He opened his mouth and I tipped the water in. We repeated this process a few more times, until Marcus said that it was enough. Then I wet the strip of cloth that I’d torn from my underskirt and cleaned his face, hands, and feet. I took several trips back to the bathroom sink, rinsing out the bloody cloth, then back to Marcus to clean up some more. I desperately tried to wipe away all the bloody traces of Nikola’s power transference spell.

&
nbsp; I looked at the stained concrete floor with disgust. I now knew why it was a blotchy reddish brown. How many other Witches had they robbed of their powers and left to die? Elizabeth was playing a cat and mouse game, capturing her prey and bringing them here to play with. But the mouse never got away in this game. She just took what she wanted and then moved on to her next victims.

  Marcus wheezed again and then started to cough. I sat down beside him and rubbed his back in small circles, whispering, “It’ll be okay,” over and over until the coughing subsided. I was trying to reassure myself as much as I was hoping to calm him. But when the coughing fit ended with Marcus spitting out a mouthful of blood, we both knew “okay” was a long way away.

  *****

  The two vehicles stopped on the side of the road, near an almost hidden turn off. Lincoln ran out and told the others to leave the SUV and get into the limousine. It would be close quarters with more than six bodies in the back of the limo, so James sat up front with Christopher.

  “We are getting closer to her. She is just a few miles away,” Lulach said, moments after Christopher had turned onto the secluded road.

  “When shall I switch to night vision and turn off all vehicle lights?” Christopher asked.

  “We should do it at once, before we are detected,” Lulach answered.

  Christopher proceeded to slow the limo’s speed to not much more than a crawl. He nudged James and pointed at the glove box. James reached forward, opened it up, extracted the military grade night vision goggles, and handed them over. Christopher expertly attached the strappy harness to his head and then blacked out the entire vehicle, inside lights and out.

  “It’ll take us forever to reach them at this agonizingly slow pace, even with them being just a few miles down the road,” Eve worried.

  “It is our only option, to not draw attention our way. Anything faster and dust will blow up into the air and animals will scurry with alarm. Eve, you need to remain calm and continue to block the sound of our approach. If we charge in, any Witch, worthy of his or her natural gifts and powers, would become aware of us within seconds. This way carries no guarantee, but it does garner us a chance,” Lulach explained.

  “I understand. Really, I do. I’m just so worried about them,” Eve sighed.

  “We will proceed in this fashion, even if it does result in a time delay,” Lulach concluded.

  “I want to get to them as badly as you do,” Link assured Eve. “But the knowledge that Charity is near, it is calming me. I understand that you can’t feel Marcus like I’m beginning to sense Charity, but they’re out there. I just know it. My blood is telling me that we are close.”

  *****

  The next time the door opened, Drew came in with Summer at his side. Her clothes were changed. The black wrap dress and strappy heels were gone, replaced by jeans and a long sleeve tee shirt. On her feet were slipper type shoes. I jumped up from where I had been sitting on the floor next to Marcus and ran to her. I wanted to hug her, but she was carrying a tray of food. So instead, I merely reached out and touched her shoulder. Her glazed over eyes squashed the tiny moment of joy I had received from seeing her awake. Summer stared straight ahead, eyes slightly unfocused, and seemingly unaware. There was no response to my touch.

  “What’s wrong with her?” I asked.

  “Nothing is wrong with her. Nikola turned her into a mindless servant. I thought Elizabeth said they’d made that decision right in front of you. She’s perfectly fine. I’m kinda digging the fact that she can take some of the pressure off of me. Elizabeth is one demanding Witch. Now put the food on the table, Summer, and say goodbye to your friend,” Drew ordered.

  “Goodbye, friend,” Summer uttered, in the same monotone voice I had heard from the housekeeper in the casino hotel after Elizabeth had asked her to open up Dee’s room for us.

  “See, she is perfectly fine,” Drew said.

  “She’s a robot. How is that perfectly fine?”

  “She’s alive, walking, and talking,” he shrugged. “Now eat something. Elizabeth and Nikola said it was important for you to keep up your strength.”

  “What? So I can be strong before they drain me and end my life? You’ve got some nerve, Elizabeth,” I shouted toward the still open door.

  “I doubt she’s listening. They’ve been pouring over that book of Nikola’s ever since we left this room. Well, Nikola’s been pouring over it. He makes Elizabeth stay a few feet away, so she’s mostly been pacing.” Drew smirked as he backed up toward the door. “Come on, Summer, that’s a good girl, let’s go.”

  He raised his voice an octave, as if he were speaking to a family pet. Summer began to turn her head, but there wasn’t even a glint of recognition in her eyes. If she was still in there, she was buried under a thick layer of enchantment. Summer faced Drew and followed him out of the room. Her steps were heavy and purposeful, a complete departure from her normal, carefree, teenage girl way of walking.

  “I wish I could blink my eyes and make this all go away,” I whispered, after the door was locked once again.

  I picked up the tray of food and knelt down next to Marcus. Barbie must have put the plate together. There were cold cuts, two rolls, and some fruit, arranged in a cute little manner, with some fresh cut flowers on the tray. Room service, delivered to my jail cell by my zombified mortal friend - it was morose and depressing.

  “Marcus, try to eat something,” I urged, holding a strawberry up to his mouth.

  “I’m too tired, Charity. Let me go back to sleep.”

  “No. Eve would want you to stay strong,” I said, trying the Eve tactic again since it seemed to work before. “Just eat a few strawberries and maybe a piece of ham.”

  “One strawberry, okay?” Marcus whispered

  I placed the fruit in his mouth. “Okay,” I agreed.

  Marcus rested his head on my shoulder and I grabbed his hand, to hold in my lap. I rubbed his icy fingers, trying to bring him some warmth. He was so cold.

  “I’m moving you over by the fire. Just give me a minute.”

  I got up and maneuvered the chaise so it sat near the blaze. Then I went to Marcus and grabbed him from behind, looping my arms under his and clasping my hands together in front of his chest. I dragged him over to the chaise and helped him up onto it. He let out a heavy breath after we had him settled. I grabbed another log, placed it into the fire, and sat down next to Marcus.

  We were awaiting our fates. To die by the hand of Elizabeth seemed to be in store for both of us. I saw no manner of escape. I could have pushed past Summer and Drew and made a run for it, but Drew had his barriers and shields to stop me. Elizabeth had numerous powers, apparently gathered and stolen from other Witches through the years, so there was no telling what she could do to thwart my flight. Once I added Nikola to the list of hindrances, it all seemed so futile. I wondered if I should even bother to fight.

  As I stroked Marcus’s back, and blankly stared into the flames of the fire, I closed my eyes and let the steady thumping of my heartbeat and Marcus’s lull me to sleep.

  When my eyes flew open, I knew I’d only been out for about fifteen or twenty minutes. I pressed my hand against Marcus’s chest and concentrated on the beat of his heart. It was still there, slower than it should be, but beating in a steady rhythm. My own, was thumping wildly. Something had startled me awake.

  There was a familiar throbbing in my head, muffled and suppressed by the spellbound room I was being held captive in. It wasn’t a throbbing... more of a thumping... like a heartbeat... not from Marcus or from me... it was from Lincoln! I just knew it. He was somewhere out there, and he was getting close.

  “Hold on, Marcus. Stay strong,” I squeezed his hand before I got up to pace the room.

  My Link detector had been suppressed since we’d arrived in Elizabeth’s house. It comforted me to know that even with Nikola’s spell in place our bond was strong, stronger than she had counted on, and it would not be destroyed.

  I spun on my heels and h
eaded back toward the chaise again. I stood behind Marcus and ran my hands through his hair. Should I dare to hope that Link would make it here in time and help us to escape from this awful place? Or would he be captured as well, and subjected to Elizabeth and Nikola’s experiments with the spells in The Book? Marcus felt even colder than before. Something had to happen soon. I didn’t think he’d make it for too much longer.

  A tiny movement grabbed my attention. There was a scurry on the floor near the powder room door, which I had left open for fear that Elizabeth would cloak it once again and I’d lose access to it. The flip of a rodent’s tail caught my eye as it disappeared behind the pedestal sink.

  I walked into the room and crouched down to get a closer look. A quite small, reddish brown mouse peeked from behind the base of the sink. The whiskers on its nose twitched as it stood up on its hind legs and pawed at the air. I got the feeling that it was gesturing toward the door. So I closed it almost all of the way, with just a half-inch gap left open to The Red Room. When I turned back around to find the mouse, Lizabelle was standing there instead.

  Without saying a word, I grabbed onto her and hugged her fiercely. Tears slid down my face, dropping onto her bare shoulders. I wiped them away.

  “Sorry,” I whispered in the way that only a supernatural being can, so quiet that it is barely audible. “I’m so happy to see you. You have no idea. Marcus is near death, Summer is a mindless robot, and Elizabeth wants to drain me.”

  “To drain you?”

  “She thinks she can access my Immortality and claim it for her own. She doesn’t expect me to survive the process,” I explained.

  “Are there others?” she asked.

  I nodded my head.

  “How many?”

  “Three. That I know of. I don’t think there are any more. She has The Caster... and I mean The Caster working with her. There’s another Witch, a male named Drew, who’s in his early twenties, with shields and a barrier. And a teenage girl, who hasn’t come into her powers yet,” I explained.