Shiela Stewart - [Darkness 01]

by Seducing Darkness (epub)

  “We have to hurry. I don’t know how long the drugs will last.”

  Cautiously he opened his eyes and saw her working on the shackles at his feet. “What are you doing?”

  “I told you I was going to get you out of here. I spiked the guard’s and Chaos’ drink but I don’t know how long it’ll last. We have to hurry.”

  His body slumped to the floor the instant his hands were released. Even if he’d wanted to get up, his legs wouldn’t let him. They felt like rubber. Then she lifted him up and shifted him to rest against her back in a piggy back fashion then clasped his arms around her neck. “Just leave me.”

  “Just hold on. You’re heavier than you look,” she grunted as she moved them towards the stairs.

  His feet slid along the floor, scraping as he was dragged along. It was humiliating not being able to move, but no matter how much he tried, he couldn’t get his legs to work. “Where are you taking me?”

  “Out of here.” She shifted him and continued walking.

  “You’re going to hurt yourself. Just let me be.” She headed past the stairs, confusing him, and continued through the dark cellar.

  “I’ve seen too many innocent lives lost. I refuse to watch another one, so just shut up and hang on.” She opened the door and stepped into a tunnel.

  “What is this place?”

  “An old army shelter. This tunnel leads to a fallout shelter and an exit.” She panted, dragging him along on her back.

  “Why can’t I use my legs?”

  “I think you might have hurt your spine in the accident. Just hold on.”

  “Are you telling me I’m paralyzed?” That couldn’t be, he felt the skin on the top of his feet being scraped away. He had feeling he just couldn’t use his legs.

  “No, not paralyzed, but there might be some swelling on your spinal column. I’ll know more when we get to the hospital.” She huffed.

  “Hospital?”

  She punched in the code that released the door, then pushed her way through to the outside. “It’s the only place I know of that they won’t come looking for us. Stay quiet now, just in case someone’s outside.”

  She carried him to a car parked near a field. They were on some sort of farm, by the looks of it, though he had no idea where. She opened the door to a dark sedan, then shifting him, laid him in the back seat and shifted his hips and legs before closing the door. It was then that he was reminded of his nudity.

  “Just relax, it won’t be long,” she stated as she climbed behind the wheel and started the car.

  He wished he had a blanket or something to cover himself. Instead, he put his hands over his genitals. He wasn’t sure why he bothered when she’d seen him already.

  The car lurched forward as she sent them on their way.

  ***

  Basil crumpled the paper in his hand, fury igniting inside of him. “She said nothing before she vanished?”

  “Not a word,” Dante supplied. He didn’t like the look in Basil’s eyes. The normal translucent blue was beginning to glow but it was the coldness Dante felt from them that worried him.

  He tossed the paper aside then turned away and marched from the room.

  “Shit!” Dante knew just where he was going and he wasn’t about to let him do what he had in mind.

  “What?” Gypsy asked as she ran after Dante.

  “He’s going to torture Danny to find out where Jonah is.” He caught up with Basil just as he was taking the stairs down to the dungeon. “You can’t kill him.”

  “I have no intention of killing him.”

  “He won’t tell you anything even if you beat him.”

  “We’ll see.”

  He grabbed Basil’s arm, which had been a vital mistake. Basil spun on him, his fangs bared and eyes glowing. The growl he emitted should have told him to back off, but it didn’t. “I can’t let you do this, Basil.”

  “You don’t have a choice.”

  “The hell I don’t,” he cursed loudly when Basil vanished. In a dead run, he took the stairs down, ignoring the stabbing pain in his knee. And as he rushed to the door to the dungeon, he heard the locks click shut. “Damn it, Basil. Let me in.”

  ***

  She didn’t care what she had to give up just as long as Jonah was brought home where he belonged. Appearing in the Mystical room, Trinity called out to the queen. “Your Majesty. I beg a minute of your time.” The bright white room shimmered and before her eyes, the queen appeared.

  “What has my lady brought as a gift?”

  “Myself. I’ll give you anything you want, take it all. Just, please, help me find Jonah.”

  “Do you know what you are willing to sacrifice?”

  “Yes,” Trinity sighed. She didn’t care if all her powers were taken away, she had to find Jonah. “Please, you have to help me find him. Chaos turned him and I’m afraid the longer he keeps him…the less of him will remain. Please,” she pleaded again.

  “I can not take you at your word that you will give to me what I claim.”

  “I promise I will. My word is gold.”

  “Blood is the tie that binds.”

  Before her a sheet of paper appeared on a white pedestal table. She looked up and was handed a feathered pen. “What do I need to do?”

  “Give me your left hand.”

  Trinity did and she felt the warmth as her hand was taken by the queen. Then her hand was tipped back and the pen placed on her vein. In a flash it was sliced across her wrist and the blood began to spill.

  “Now, sign it.”

  She took the pen from the queen and signed the paper before her in her own blood. The instant it was signed, both pen and paper vanished and the wound on her wrist was sealed.

  “You will find him on Valley Road in a farm house of white and blue.”

  “Thank you, thank you so very much.” She vanished and sent herself to the locations she’d been given. Only to find it engulfed in flames. “No!” She sent herself into the house, into the scorching flames and tore through the house in search of Jonah. Only when she felt her skin sizzling did she take herself out of there and back to the queen.

  Only this time, there was no light, there was no queen. The room was an ordinary cement and brick closet. “Your Majesty. Please, I need to see you. Help me. The location you gave me is in flames. Help me find him.” All she got was the sound of her voice as it echoed in the empty room. “NO!” she screamed and had the walls cracking and the door rattling.

  She fell to the floor and began to weep.

  ***

  Chaos looked around the dingy room he’d been brought to and forced his eyes to stay open. He’d been baffled to wake up in a car speeding down the road, and even more baffled to see the farm house engulfed in flames. At the time, he’d been too groggy to ask what was happening, but now his mind was clearing up.

  “This is the best I can do, I’m afraid.”

  Chaos lifted his heavy head to the man before him, then down at the cup in his hand. He smelled the blood in it and knew it wasn’t human. He took the cup and looking down into it, spoke, “I would like an explanation now.”

  “Raven must have drugged us both. My mind is still a little foggy, but the last thing I remember was taking the cup of coffee she offered me and wishing her a good night. When I came out of it a short time later, she and the new slave were gone. When I went to tell you, I realized she’d drugged you as well.”

  “She’d been so kind, bringing me a nice warm cup of plasma. I never thought to be suspicious of it, or her.” He didn’t like being made a fool and when he caught up with her she was going to pay dearly.

  “I realized then that she’d planned it and I thought it was best to get you out of there before anyone came after us. I couldn’t be sure she wouldn’t tell Trin
ity of our whereabouts.”

  “What about the fire?”

  “I set it.”

  “Why?”

  “Seemed like the right thing to do. No house, no evidence.”

  Chaos nodded then reluctantly took a sip. It was warm and taste of the dog it had come from. “You were right to get me out of there. I have no doubt Raven will have taken Jonah to Trinity and told her where to find me. The fire was a nice touch. Thank you, Fritz.”

  “I am your servant, my lord. Without you, I am nothing.”

  Chaos smiled as he drank the remainder of the blood. “I am in your hands now, Fritz. And since I am short a second in command, I will appoint you as such.”

  “Thank you, my lord.” He bowed, leaving his head down.

  “Now, where have you taken me?”

  Fritz lifted his head and stood perfectly erect as he spoke. “A shack not far from the farm. It’s only temporary until I get my senses back. I think it best to go back underground, at least for the time being.”

  “You’re probably right. We’ll need to gather the men. I think it’s time we took out my enemies. Don’t you agree, Fritz?”

  “Yes, sir.” He bowed again.

  “Good. Now get me someone to drink. This dog blood is crap.”

  ***

  “Open this damn door, Basil.”

  Ignoring the pounding, Basil walked to the cell and through the bars.

  “He doesn’t sound pleased,” Danny commented nonchalantly.

  “And neither will you be when I’m through with you.” He picked the young man up by the shirt front and held him in the air. “You have three seconds to tell me where Jonah is being kept before I get nasty.”

  “Bring it on. I’m not saying a thing.”

  “Have it your way.” Basil set him down on the floor, then spun around when Trinity appeared behind him. “Where the hell have you been? Do I have to emphasize how dangerous it is for you out there right now? What were you thinking?”

  “I was thinking of finding my friend,” she spat back at him with a great deal of heat.

  “Did you find him?”

  She closed her eyes and sighed. “No. The place the queen sent me to was up in flames when I got there. No sign of Jonah or Chaos. Damn it!”

  For the time being torturing answers out of Danny could wait. Basil stepped through the bars and took her in his arms. He stroked her back as she rested her head on his shoulder. She was wearing down, though she fought diligently to hide it from him. He could see it in little things like now, resting her head on his shoulder.

  He kissed her head, then looked into her eyes when she looked up at him. “I’ll go to the queen and see what I can do.”

  “She isn’t there anymore. Oh, Basil, Chaos got him.”

  He caressed her face and saw the fight was slowly slipping away. “I know. We’ll find him before its too late. What do you mean the queen wasn’t there?”

  “She’s not there. The room is there but it’s an ordinary closet. No white light, no serenity. She didn’t even come when I called.”

  “But she was there when you went to her to ask for help with Jonah?”

  She nodded. “Yes. She told me where to find him; I signed the agreement, then went to the location she gave me. The second time I went to see her she was gone. Everything was gone.”

  “Back up. You signed something?”

  “Yes. An agreement to take my powers away if she helped me. I need to find him, Basil, and I don’t care how I do it.”

  “Yet you still have your powers.” He cocked his head to the side. “Did she specifically say it was your powers she would take?”

  “Yes…well, no. I told her I would give her anything I had, to take it all, and she agreed. It’s done, we need to move on. Has he given you anything valuable?”

  “No, but I was just about to get started on him.” The dungeon doors flew open with an angry Dante on the other side.

  “You better not have touched him.”

  “I haven’t harmed him, yet. How did you get in here?”

  “Cooper gave me a key.” Dante glanced at Danny. “I want some time alone with him and don’t tell me no. I want Jonah home just as much as you do, but I’m not going to allow you to beat my brother to a pulp for the answers.”

  “If Chaos isn’t at the farm, then I have no idea where he is. So you all can save your breath,” Danny piped in.

  “Where else would he go?” Trinity demanded of Danny.

  “I have no idea. I’ve been here, in case you’ve forgotten.”

  “I need to find him, Basil. I need to get Jonah back.”

  “We will, my love. I promise you we will.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  “I’m going to pull into the emergency dock and run in and grab a wheelchair. I won’t be long.”

  Jonah nodded…what else could he do? It wasn’t like he could move his legs and take off before she got back. What else was going to happen to him? He’d lost his wife and child, lost the mobility of his legs, and lost his humanity. What the hell did he have to live for?

  “Here we go.” She knocked on the window at his head. “I’m going to open the door. Can you hang on to the front seat?”

  He nodded and grabbed a hold of the front seat and held himself up. The door opened and he felt a cool breeze at his back. Then her hands slid around his chest and he felt the warmth of her body against his back.

  “I’m going to slide you out and put you in the wheelchair now. Okay?”

  “Sure.” He was humiliated not just with the fact that he was stark naked, but that she was practically carrying him. She grunted as she pulled him from the car and then he felt the wheelchair beneath his butt. Once he was seated, she grabbed his legs and he wished with all his heart he had something to cover himself.

  “There we go.”

  As if she’d read his mind, she draped a blanket over his hips and legs, then scurried in behind him and began wheeling him to the doors. “It’s deserted?”

  “Has been for a few days now. The cops and the army have been hustling people out of the city until they can figure out why it’s staying dark. People don’t want to believe in magic. They’d rather think the world is ending and that the apocalypse is upon us. Here we go now.”

  She wheeled him into a room the size of a closet with one hospital bed and a chair. “You’re not a vampire.”

  “No. I’m going to try to lift you onto the bed but I’m going to need you to help me. Can you grab the bed and help pull yourself up?”

  “I think so.” He hoped so. “Um…can you maybe close your eyes while we do this?”

  She smiled and her blue eyes lit with pleasure. “I’ve seen it all before, but I understand you want some dignity so I’ll do my best to keep the blanket around you. Ready?”

  “I guess so.” She wheeled him closer to the bed and he grabbed the side railings, then hoisted himself up. It wasn’t as easy as he’d thought it would be and when she grabbed him around the waist he wished desperately his legs would begin to work again.

  “Here we go. I’ll just settle you in properly.” She shifted him onto the bed, moving his hips, shifting his shoulders and straightening his legs out. Then she pulled the bedding up and covered him with the blankets. “I want to wash those wounds down with some antiseptic before they get worse.”

  “Why are you doing this? You could have just left me there and ran away yourself.”

  She shook her head as she smoothed out the blankets. “I’ve been waiting for a reason to take off. You gave me that. I’m just going to leave you for a bit while I look for the antiseptic. Okay?”

  He nodded. “I don’t even know your name.”

  “Raven. Raven Mooney.”

  She left him in the room
alone and for the first time since he’d woken chained to the wall, he closed his eyes and cried.

  ***

  It had taken some fancy talking to convince Basil and Trinity to leave him alone with his brother, and Dante was glad he’d finally won. Now all he had to do was figure out what he was going to say.

  “You’re wasting your breath if you think talking to me will give you any answers.”

  Dante grabbed the stool in the corner and dragged it to the cell, then took a seat. He looked over at his brother, his dark hair unruly and his stance defiant. He’d seen that look plenty of times in their youth. “I don’t want to talk about Jonah or Chaos right now. I want to talk about us.”

  “You’re still wasting your breath.” Danny sat down on the cot, curling his legs up as he leaned back against the wall.

  “Maybe, but it’s my breath to waste. I never gave up on you, Danny. I need you to know that. I’m sorry I didn’t do anything to stop Chaos from taking you. I’m sorry I didn’t save you.”

  “I don’t need saving, bro.”

  “It’s funny, you keep saying I mean nothing to you, that we’re not family anymore, yet you still call me bro. Lexi’s married now. He’s a good guy, owns a bar and makes decent money. She works for me as my secretary and I don’t know what I would do without her. Mom and Dad live in Florida now, retired and happy.”

  “I know. I checked up on all of you.”

  “Yet you claim you don’t want to be a part of us. We didn’t desert you, even though it may feel that way. I became a cop so I could find you.”

  “Bravo to you.” Danny clapped his hands giving Dante a snide look.

  “Twenty years I wondered where you were, how you were.”

  “I didn’t want to be found,” Danny admitted. “I meant what I said before. I finally feel whole. I finally feel like I belong. This is what I was meant to be. Come on, bro. Why do you think I was always sneaking out of the house late at night? I was searching for someone to tell me who I really was. Chaos did that for me and I’m sorry if you can’t accept that. Now, I’m kinda bushed.” Sliding down, straightening his legs, Danny rolled onto his side and faced the wall.