by Lola Kidd
Cross. She hadn’t heard him moving since the vamp had thrown him. She prayed he was alright. So many people had been hurt today because of her. It was for the best that Violet was taking her somewhere. Regardless of what happened to her from this point, at least the people she cared about would be safe. Her Mom and Jamie may have been hurt, but she knew they had to be alive still. She and Magda had a magical bond. She hoped the same was true with her and Cross since he had claimed her.
If it was, he was hurt, but not dead. She would feel it if he was gone. As the magic enveloped her, she closed her eyes. She didn’t want to have to see her body snapping into pieces if the stupid vampire messed this up.
In a flash it was over. Even with her eyes closed, she could see the light the casting gave off.
When Rory looked around again, they were in a jungle. “What the fuck?”
“I’m not going to make it easy for your little witch friends to follow my trail,” Violet laughed. “Now try to stand up. I want to make sure you're ok.”
Rory obliged the vampire, but only because she wanted to see if she would be able to cast now. She was able to get to her feet fine, but when she tried to think of a spell her thoughts scattered. Damn. She was going to have to wait for the vampire to drop her guard.
Violet nodded. “You seem to be fine. You know this is why your mother always warned you to stay away from boys with motorcycles.”
“Why are you after me?” Rory asked. She was stalling and trying to think of spells.
“The King can explain it to you if he wants to or not. My job is just to get you to him in one piece.”
“Great job you’re doing there,” Rory sneered. “You almost killed me back there.”
“Almost.” Violet smiled, her fangs showing. Rory felt the magic hit her again. They must be moving again. Rory closed her eyes again. When she opened them they were in the middle of a field of corn.
“Last one.” Violet said, before casting again. When they touched down again, Rory hit the ground. The casting had been too quick. Her body couldn’t handle it. She threw up on the sleek marble floor.
“It’s just the teleporting!” Violet said quickly. “She isn’t hurt.”
“She better not be, Violet,” someone said in a very heavy French accent. “We’ll need to clean her up before we take her to Olaf.”
“Can’t have your King thinking you mistreated me, huh?” Rory wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.
“I didn’t mistreat you.” Violet pulled Rory roughly to her feet. “Now, let’s get you looking nice for your audience with the King.”
***
Violet used magic to toss Cross like he was a ragdoll. He hit the ground hard and was dazed for a few seconds. A few hundred feet away the vampire was leaning over Rory and talking to her. He wanted to get up and help, but it was like someone had tossed a cold, wet blanket on his back. His wolf was having trouble even standing up.
He watched in horror as the vampire bit her finger and put it to Rory’s mouth. She couldn’t! He didn’t know what vampire blood did, but it sure didn’t have any place in his mate’s body. The vampire was up to something. He could feel the magic even this far away. It was something big. A bright light started to envelop her and Rory.
Cross summoned every ounce of strength in his body to get to his feet. He had heard of teleportation portals before. If he let Violet escape with Rory, it would take him a full day just to get to the vampire king’s compound. He would have to come up with a plan on the way and hope that his brothers would be willing to help. He didn’t want to have to entertain that scenario. He needed to get to Rory before Violet teleported her way from him.
They were disappearing before his eyes. He ran full tilt and jumped as soon as they were close. It was no use. He hit the ground where Rory’s body had been a second before. He howled in the air. They were gone! He sniffed the spot and circled a few times. The spot was vibrating with the powerful magic Violet had just used. He could still smell Rory. The scent was moving away from the spot she had been in even though she had never gotten up.
Curious he followed the scent trail. After running after the scent for a mile, he saw a shimmer in the air in front of him. It was moving fast in the same direction as Rory’s smell. It had to be the portal Violet used to transport them. It was his only chance. He wouldn’t be able to follow it forever and it would be out of his reach in only a few precious seconds. If he waited, there was no telling what would happen to Rory.
He jumped into the shimmer and was inside a bright tunnel. The magic was so strong he felt sick again. He had expected the portal to act like the ones in a movie. As soon as he went in one side, he thought he would fall out on the other. Maybe that was how it worked when you went through right away, but Cross was inside a bright white tunnel. He could still smell Rory so he forged on.
He left the tunnel without warning. His claws sunk into the soft dirt of a jungle floor. He didn’t know where he was, but it was nowhere a wolf should be. All the new smells disoriented his wolf. Once he had his bearings, he looked around for Rory and the vampire. They should have been right under the portal, but there was no sign of either. He smelled the jungle floor around the area until he picked up on Rory’s scent again and followed it through the jungle. He could feel the magic again and realized Violet must be portal jumping.
He was having a hard time following these portals, but a witch would have been able to pick up on them weeks after the portals had closed. Magda and the coven would have been able to find Rory easily if Violet had gone through only one. She was a very smart girl. He spotted the next portal moving through the jungle and leaped into it. This time he was prepared for the onslaught of magic in the tunnel and ran full-tilt to the other side.
This time he was in a corn field. This was more his style. He couldn’t have been very far behind them this time. The portal was closing only a few hundred feet away from him. He ran through this one and when he got out on the other side he skittered on very expensive-looking, black marble. He fell down before he could get any purchase on the slick stone floor.
He smelled the air and growled. They had reached their destination. He could smell vampires all around him. It had to be the vampire king's home. Who else would have marble floors in a hallway? It was over-the-top, just like Olaf. The Norseman had very expensive tastes. Cross clung to the side of the wall and followed Rory’s scent into a room just down the next corridor. It was a small bathroom. He sniffed around outside the room but couldn’t find anything.
Panic crept up along his spine. They must have washed her. He couldn’t smell her anywhere. He couldn’t even guess where they would have taken her in this huge compound. Maybe they had even put her in a car and left. Maybe they had already handed her over to the Lost Tribe. He paced in a circle. He didn’t know what to do. Fear paralyzed his mind. Where was she?! His wolf was no help in the situation now that the trail was gone. He circled a few more times. There were only two options left.
He could tuck tail and try to escape the compound. He couldn’t go back the way he had come. The only way to get help would be to find a phone somewhere to use. It was much better if he did that outside of the compound. Going full speed, he could be in a human town in a matter of hours. Then he would have to sit tight until his brothers and the witches got to him. Hell for all he knew, they were already on the way to him. Their first guess would be the vampire king's compound too. Though he hoped they weren’t stupid enough to try to storm the compound themselves.
His second option was much riskier. He could find a vampire and let himself get caught. Maybe they would take him to the same place they were holding Rory. Or they could kill him on the spot for trespassing. That was a crazy idea and a long shot. The second option had a lower probability of working and much higher probability of instant death.
To Cross, the choice was clear. Whichever option brought him to Rory fastest.
Eight
Violet and Melody washed Rory and dress
ed her in a nice gown. She fought until they cast a spell to subdue her. The dress was nice. It was a real gown and it probably cost more than the Silver Café earned in a month. It was sleek and fitted, but it wasn’t revealing or too tight. It had a halter neck and was fitted tightly around her bust. The dress gathered at a clasp around her waist and then fell to her feet. Melody did her hair while Violet did her make-up. She felt like a giant Barbie doll and after their attention she was sure she looked liked one too.
Still feeling drugged, they lead her down another marble hallway to a sitting room. Finally, she was walking on carpet. The sound of her high hells clicking on the marble was beginning to annoy her. It was a small thing to focus on considering the day she was having, but dammit it was her small thing! She couldn’t let herself think about her Mom, Cross, or any of her friends. Fretting over the stupid noise of her heels helped keep her from losing her mind completely.
“Ah, finally. I thought you would never get here,” Olaf said as the trio entered his formal sitting room.
“Olaf, dear, 100 years and you still expect me to be on time?” Melody asked, going to kiss the vampire king on both checks. Now that they were together, Rory could hear Melody’s accent better. They had to be from the same European country originally.
“One can always hope,” he turned to Rory. “My now, isn’t she lovely?”
“You wouldn’t say that if you had seen her an hour ago,” Violet said.
Rory felt the magic around her loosen. “Did you hurt my mother, you bitch?”
The three vampires laughed.
“Now this one has a spirit!” Olaf said with glee, and then sighed deeply. “I wish I could keep you for myself.”
“I didn’t hurt the old witches,” Violet said. “I just stunned them. I owed them after all. They were the ones that led me to you.”
Rory breathed a little easier. Everyone who mattered to her was far away and safe. Whatever happened to her now, at least there was still a silver-lining.
“I hope you wouldn’t mind joining me for dinner while we wait for your next hosts to arrive?” Olaf asked.
“You can cut the shit,” Rory said. “I’m not going to play all Southern Belle for you while we wait for bloodthirsty fae to come and kill me.”
Olaf looked shocked. “Young lady! I would never negotiate a trade where someone was going to be killed. You must take me for some kind of monster.”
“Well, if the shoe fits.”
Melody pinched Rory’s inner arm hard. “I’ll be happy to hold your tongue if you don’t know how.”
Olaf held up a hand. “There’ll be no need for threats, Melody. If she wishes to starve as she waits, that’s fine by me. Take her to a room to wait, Violet.”
“Wait!” Rory said. “I’d like to eat.”
Olaf smiled huge, his fangs showing. “Wonderful.”
Olaf offered Melody his hand and they led the way to the dining room. It was just as opulent as the rest of the house. It looked like he had designed and decorated the room during the 1920s and had never changed it. The floors were white marble and the wallpaper was gold and cream designs. The table was very long and was made of a heavy wood. The tablecloth was an incredibly heavy and soft material that Rory didn’t recognize.
She picked up a gold fork. “You have very…expensive tastes.”
“Thank you,” Olaf said. “I picked everything you see here myself.”
He clapped his hands and men holding silver platters appeared around the table. “I made plans to suit a human palette as well tonight.”
The man standing next to Rory pulled the top off his platter. There were Cornish game hens arranged on it.
“This looks delicious,” Rory said with a forced smile. She was playing along with the stupid king. If he liked her, maybe he would give her some clue as to why the Lost Tribe wanted her. Then at least she would have a glimmer of hope of freeing herself.
They were served and Olaf kept up a lively conversation with himself while they ate. Rory didn’t have to say much and the king seemed happy with her meager contributions. She couldn’t add anything because she was worried about Cross. If a werewolf’s mate died, did that negate the whole mate for life thing? If she died, Goddess forbid, she didn’t want to leave him alone for life. The thought was too awful to bear.
The vampires were looking at her. She had missed something in the conversation.
“What?”
“I just said it must have been a real disappointment that your special makeup didn’t allow you any added power,” Olaf said. “That really would have come in handy today, dear, wouldn’t it?”
The vampire was trying to be sympathetic in his own way, but she had no idea what he was talking about.
“I’m sorry, what are you talking about?”
Three men burst in the door.
“I told you not to interrupt when I had guests!” Olaf screamed slamming his fist into the table. Rory’s glass jumped and fell over.
“Look at what you’ve made me do! Idiots!” Olaf waved for a servant to clean up Rory’s wine.
“Sorry, sir,” the one clearly in charge said. “We have an urgent matter that needs your attention now.”
“Well?” Olaf demanded, impatient.
“There’s been a breech. We found a werewolf in the house.”
“A what?!” Violet was on her feet and moving toward the door before Olaf could ask anything else.
“Bring it here,” Olaf said with a dismissive wave of his hand. “I’m sorry about this. I haven’t had a supernatural intruder in years.”
“It’s her boyfriend,” Violet snapped.
Olaf’s eyebrows almost touched his hairline. “Her what? I think I misheard you, dear Violet.”
“You did not. She’s dating one of those wolves from the pack near her home.”
“Is that true?” Olaf asked Rory. He rubbed his hands together. “Oh please say it’s true! That is absolutely delicious. Your mother must be so proud.”
Rory said nothing. Don’t let it be Cross, she thought over and over. It couldn’t be Cross. There was no way for him to get to the king’s compound so fast. She was four states over!
Two more guards entered the dining room holding a snarling wolf attached to a snare pole. As soon as it saw Rory the wolf stopped snarling for a second and stared. Rory put her hand to her mouth. She was in total disbelief. She tried to cast, but the second of shock allowed one of the vampires to put a casting curse on her again.
“It is important to you!” Melody was repulsed. “I’m no fan of witches, but he’s a werewolf, for God’s sake!”
“Just let him go,” Rory said. “I’ll do whatever you want and I won’t even fight back.”
“Well now, you really aren’t in a position to bargain,” Olaf said, examining Cross from a safe distance. “Neither of you can do anything now. There’s really no reason for me to work with you.”
Rory thought quickly. “I could make this very difficult for you. You think I’m weak and your magic can hold me, but I’ve been holding back.”
Olaf looked amused. “Silly witch. You can’t trick old Olaf. I’ve been around the block a few times and you are clearly bluffing. Can I ask why a werewolf? I’ve never dallied on the furry side myself, but I’ve heard wonderful things.”
“I’m not bluffing,” Rory said confidently. In truth, she hadn’t tried to break their curse yet. Now that Violet’s blood had worked its magic, she was feeling a lot better than she had been even an hour before. With Cross so close, she thought she had a real chance of out-casting the vampires.
They weren’t naturally high-power magic users and used their physical abilities to overpower their opponents. It was worth a chance at least. Even if she failed, it would show Olaf that she could make him miserable until the Lost Tribe came to pick her up. She wished Cross was in human form. It was hard to coordinate a plan with him while he was a wolf. She couldn’t even get close enough to whisper something. Things would have been so much eas
ier if he had stayed far away from her and safe.
Violet was still pacing. “How did it get here?”
Melody and Olaf looked at her.
“Who cares?” Melody asked. “We’ll get rid of it and any more that follow.
“I care,” Violet said, showing fang. “I came here using three different portals and two locations before dropping here. There’s no way he could have followed the portal trail. Wolves don’t have magic like that. A witch or fae must have helped him.”
“So what?” Melody shrugged.
Violet’s eye’s flashed. “How can we be sure he was the only one to follow us here?”
That got Olaf and Melody’s attention.
“Search the grounds!” Melody told the leader of the security team. “I want everyone out there. We don’t need any surprises.”
Three of the guards left and only the two holding Cross remained. He was fighting against the noose fiercely.
“What are we supposed to do with this, sir?” one of the guards asked.
“Kill it,” Melody said, returning to the table. Rory’s heart sank. It was now or never. She concentrated on the spell she wanted to use. It was much easier than when she first came to the compound. Even with the curse, she was able to visualize the spell in her head.
“Sorry, dear,” Olaf pouted. “I’m sure this one is a beast in the sack, but I don’t allow pets in the house.”
He pretended to be some kind of upstanding gentleman, but Rory could see past Olaf’s posturing. You don’t become vampire king by being a nice guy. She wished she could have used Beatrice’s spell to wipe the smug look of their faces permanently. She would settle for this spell though. All she needed to do was get their attention.
Olaf returned to the table too and the men started to pull Cross from the room. Before they could get to the door, the one on the right dropped dead on the spot.
Nine
The guard on one side of Cross dropped and then the other. He was free! Free of sorts anyway. The rope around his neck was made of silver so he was still hurting. That wasn’t going to stop him from going after the bitch who took Rory. His human mind knew he should be running at the king, but his wolf only had eyes for the woman who had taken his mate.
