Chapter Thirty-two
Darian
Thane and Ian watched me pace our sitting room with matching neutral expressions. I wanted to spend this time with our mate uninterrupted, until she recovered. But we couldn’t ignore the dangerous drop in the hotel’s protective wards.
I turned to ask them to leave, but a sharp pain sliced through my temples. Lukas caught me as I staggered, and I stepped away the moment I regained my equilibrium. It disoriented me and I couldn’t discern what happened.
First the shields around the hotel failed, and now this?
With a growl, I spun and ran through the door to our bedroom. I didn’t believe in coincidence, and the two events happening this close together weren’t random. The empty bed dropped my heart to my feet. Refusing to see the truth, I rushed to the bathroom, but she wasn’t there. Lukas joined me, shouting in anguish when he reached the same conclusion.
They’d taken her from right under our noses.
“They got to Ryleigh!” I shouted.
I still sensed her, though, and our connection kept me sane as I returned to the sitting room. Jason spoke with Mimi in the corner, trying to determine what caused the collapse of her protective spells. It took a powerful artifact and a staggering amount of energy to destroy the wards.
My lover bit back an anguished cry and turned to face the vacant fireplace to hide his turmoil. He started to fall apart. I hissed at him in warning as he lost control of his emotions.
Prickles of electricity ran through my veins as my personal nightmare rose in response to his rising magic. The others fidgeted and shifted as whatever they feared most manifested around them. So far, each person faced their own terror. If he succumbed, we’d all experience everything at once. I stood next to him to lend my strength as he struggled to rein it in.
If we didn’t focus, we could lose our mate.
He controlled himself, and I stepped back to give him space. Daniel erupted into the suite from his post in the hall, and everyone watched Lukas in silence. I shook my head. He wouldn’t submit to anger or grief. Not while she lived. Ryleigh needed us to stay calm enough to rescue her. He knew it as well as I did.
But as soon as we had her back, there would be hell to pay.
“I still sense her.” I informed them.
“We’ll assume Cedric’s people abducted her.” Thane stated. “They expended considerable resources to disrupt the wards and port her. Can we locate the bastards by tracing the surge?”
Mimi wrung her hands in frustration. “I’ll make some calls and see if we can find her. One of my contacts senses power spikes. Maybe she felt something to help us triangulate her location.”
She left in a furious swirl of skirts as Erick slipped past her. He turned to me, keeping a safe distance from Lukas and the creeping hostility he radiated. I stood next to him again, and the Nightmares seeping through the shadows faded.
“What disrupted the wards?” Erick asked.
“They took her.” Lukas interrupted. He strode from the fireplace, fully in control of his emotions. “First, she sickened after the Bonding ritual, and now she’s gone.”
The more he paced, the calmer he became. Strategy was in his blood, and he slid into the role he performed best. We all sighed in relief as the last remnant of his emotional onslaught dissipated.
“How in the hell did they get through the shields in the first place?” He demanded. “Who knew where she stayed and when we wouldn’t be in the room with her? It’s possible we have a traitor among us.”
Our leader remained silent, but he wasn’t unaffected. The hotel overflowed with guests and our supposed allies. It would’ve been beyond rude, not to mention impossible, to screen all of them.
Ian prepared for battle at Thane’s back. Tensions rose high as we watched him sharpen his daggers. Between Ian and Lukas, Thane had his hands full keeping them from going berserk.
Jay emerged from the corner with his laptop clutched to his chest. “Dammit, I can’t figure out how the wards fell. I’m so sorry.”
Lukas looked up. “They have someone capable of altering ancient Intaran technology. Who knows what artifacts they possess?”
“We’ll worry about the ‘how’ later.” Thane said. “Let’s focus on bringing her home. Have our teams responded?”
Daniel sighed and ran his fingers through his already disheveled hair. “I spoke to the security detail, and no one’s seen or heard anything unusual since Tobias went missing. We’re all ready to mobilize at a moment’s notice, but we’ve got nothing, man.”
We’d need a coordinated effort to get her back. This level of magic proved dangerous for both the intended target and those using the unstable mechanisms. Knowing they would risk this much to take her made extraction and rescue difficult.
I itched to act, but circumstances forced me to wait.
Mimi joined us again with a tight smile. “Two of my contacts felt the surge, and they are tracing the fading residue. They’re driving around town to see if they can’t get a closer coordinate for us. The good news is they didn’t move her too far. She’s somewhere within a hundred miles of the hotel.”
Lukas nodded as he worked on a plan. I sensed him distance himself from the situation so he could focus on the mission. As a master strategist, he excelled at it.
As the minutes passed, our allies trickled into the room. Daniel stood at the door, allowing individuals Thane requested to enter, and sending the others on their way. Many stopped by, curious about the wards. None but those we trusted knew about Ryleigh’s abduction.
Dean arrived and crouched next to Lukas’ chair, startling him from his thoughts.
“I’m at your command. I’ll do whatever it takes to help you get her back.”
His heartfelt offer was much appreciated. Whereas Lukas’ phobias manifested as psychic terrors, Dean literally brought nightmares to life. Humans would call the quiet African American a Necromancer. His mastery over the undead included their spirits and corpses. He hated his abilities, and used them as little as possible.
“How many are nearby?” Thane asked him.
He sensed the presence of the deceased. It didn’t matter how long ago they’d been buried, either. As he queried the dead, the hairs on my arms raised. Between Lukas’ fluctuating emotions and the entities Dean called to him, the room became uncomfortable.
“Six, in the immediate area.” He grimaced. “There’s a graveyard about two miles from the hotel if it comes to it.”
Thane shook his head. “We can’t risk exposure.”
“I know what I’m doing.” Dean scoffed. “Leave the details to me.”
Lukas nodded, too consumed by rage and grief to argue. In the moments between Mimi’s updates he slipped several times, allowing tendrils of his power to spread. By the time her associates provided coordinates, I struggled to stay by his side.
We needed to get Ryleigh back fast, or who knew how far his Nightmares would reach?
Chapter Thirty-three
Ryleigh
I awoke to a cool cloth on my brow and tried to crack my crusty eyelids. Sunlight streaming from the window burned my retinas, and I hissed in pain. The sound startled the woman tending me, and she murmured to someone else in the room.
The swish of fabric preceded the sudden absence of light. I sighed in relief as the tingles along my exposed skin calmed and the agony dulled. I still felt weak and miserable, but I could manage now.
"Thank you." I whispered, unable to speak past the dry lump in my throat.
A paper cup touched my lips, and the water trickled into my mouth. It didn’t relieve my thirst. I pushed it away and struggled to sit up. She stared at me with wide brown eyes as she backed up against one of the barren corners.
For a moment, I surveyed my surroundings. A pair of bunk beds flanked the walls and an open doorway led to a pedestal sink and toilet. I remembered them taking me from my lovers’ bedroom somehow, and Kevin standing over me with an angry scowl.
Three f
emales shared the space with me. By their despondent stares and tear stained cheeks, I knew we weren’t free to leave. I staggered to my feet, desperate to escape, but they’d locked the door. They’d also barred the window from the outside. A modest amount of light filtered through the closed curtains.
"Where am I?" I demanded.
The one tending me appeared older than the others. I couldn’t distinguish individual ages due to the matching blue jumpsuits the three women wore, but a smattering of gray peppered her hair. As she watched me, wariness filled her expression. "We hoped you could tell us. They kept us here for months."
"Why?" I rasped. My throat burned and I swallowed. When I lifted my hand to brush away a stray curl, it shook. By the slant of sunlight filtering through a crack in the curtain, it neared noon on the third day after my Bonding ceremony.
I reached for the chain on my wrist, but found it missing. Tears blurred my vision until I blinked them away. It seemed such an insignificant reason to feel upset, but the loss hurt.
“The bastards captured me sometime around six months ago, and the rest of these girls came in after me.” The eldest explained. “I vacationed in Europe, but I’m sure we returned to the States.”
The woman gestured to the others. “They smuggled her from Germany, and several arrived from various neighborhoods in the Northeast. We’re all that’s left.”
“How many have you seen?” I asked, horrified. We’d only known of a few victims.
She shrugged. “You know about the Intarans? Of course you do, Kevin said you’d Bonded with them. Anyway, these people are involved with the aliens. Their scientist, Stephan, takes one of us at a time and experiments on us like fucking lab rats. Other than that, they leave us alone.”
The way she spoke, it felt like she blamed me for her difficulties. I shook my head, as much to clear it as to avoid looking at her. "How do you know about the Intarans?"
“My boyfriend told me when he proposed.” The German girl admitted. “I would have Bonded with him three weeks after my abduction. I didn’t see the point of keeping it a secret from these girls since they’re not going to let us go anyway.”
The eldest woman’s gaze softened. "I'm sorry I’ve been rude. They’ve talked about you non-stop. Why do they want you so bad?"
I looked at how ragged they appeared. They’d suffered so much at the Elitists’ hands. I summarized my history with the Kindred, leaving out the important bits like the identities of my friends and lovers. I owed them this explanation. When I finished, the women huddled into a corner to converse.
“Are there any male prisoners?” I asked. My hopes lifted as I saw them exchange a glance.
“There is one.” The youngest whispered. “Stephan keeps him in the lab in a separate cell.”
“Do you know his name?” I held back my excitement.
“Tony, or Tory, I think.”
“Toby?” My voice squeaked.
She shrugged. “We aren’t given the opportunity to talk between experiments. You looking for him?”
When she described him for me, I slumped onto the bed in relief. Tobias was here, he was alive, and soon he’d be safe. I had no doubt in my mind my mates would rescue me and this nightmare would be over. I leaned back and closed my eyes, willing the throbbing pain to cease so I could focus on escape.
Rustling at my side woke me, and I cracked open an eye. The German girl bent over me with a frown. “Are you okay?”
I nodded, not daring to speak. My throat burned, and I ached all over. She sighed, wiping the sweat from my forehead. "You should be with your mate right now. The Bond would heal you."
I smiled in response, feeling too weak to reply. When I drifted, she shook my shoulder, jolting me awake. She nibbled her lip when I focused on her again. “Did the ceremony make you ill?”
“No, I became sick after.” I reassured her. “We don’t know why.”
“Someone’s coming,” the youngest whispered.
A commotion echoed in the hall. The women backed away, radiating fear. I wavered as I sat and grabbed the top bunk to pull myself upright. I stood on my own as the door opened and Kevin darkened the entry.
“Ah, Ryleigh Morgan. So nice of you to join us. Bringing you here was surprisingly difficult.”
Two men flanked him as he sauntered inside. He held up a handful of buttons I recognized from my ritual dress. “At least our spy came through for me with the location marker. Betcha the exalted Mimi still doesn’t know why things keep going wrong. We’ve blocked her, too.”
He laughed as he leaned into my space, and I pulled away. “We needed a lot of communal energy to power the teleportation device. How fortunate you provided the means for your own extraction. I’d have had you sooner if it weren’t for all those damned protection wards.”
His expression turned feral. “When you lover arrives, he’ll suffer for murdering my brother.” His smile returned and he gestured toward the door. “Come along. Stephan’s waiting for you.”
My feet remained by the bed. I hadn’t asked what experiments Stephan conducted. I also wasn’t eager to discover what he planned for my mates.
“If you don’t cooperate, I’ll order my men to shoot them.” He taunted. “And it won’t be a mercy killing. They’ll bleed out. Very slowly."
As I stepped forward, I held my head high. He gripped my arm and jerked me from the room. I’d see him dead soon enough, but for now, I’d play along.
“One wrong move, from either you or your mate, and they’ll be shot. Understand me?” The muffled sounds of the frightened women followed us as the gunmen closed the door. I had no choice but to obey.
Chapter Thirty-four
Lukas
Thane moved through the temporary base camp, coordinating our other allies on the outside in case this got messy. His team worked the weather to contain the perimeter. As we waited, a light fog gathered around a ten mile radius, concealing us from the casual observer.
Ian crouched nearby, motionless as he mapped the area’s dimensional space. Aubrey sat in the truck, Scrying the location and identity of the targets inside the facility. Jason tinkered with his computers in the back of the van, establishing com links. He’d connect everyone remaining in humanoid form, but shifters lost the expensive earpieces, and Ian’s manipulations disrupted them.
The sun set thirty minutes ago. We occupied the clearing about a half-mile from the coordinates of the energy spike. They’d taken over a private rehabilitation center as a business front for their research lab.
Jay arranged several sheets of paper on the hood as we crowded around. “Here’s the building layout from county records. I’ve marked the positions of the staff and hostages but they could move around at any time.”
He tapped a section with his pen. “There’s a concealed spot here, in the basement level. Aubrey suspects it’s one of the labs.”
“Thanks.” Thane turned to her. “Who are we dealing with?”
“Thirteen mercenaries with low power, two higher signatures which I believe to be Cedric’s son and Kevin.” She tossed her hair as she considered the blueprint. “This group looks like Ryleigh and three others. It’s all educated guesses, but the best I’ll get at this distance.”
“These guys are smart.” Jason added. “Their cameras and security network are closed- circuit with no internet access, so I can’t hack them. We’re going in blind.”
“Get the Shifters in position.” Our leader nodded at the team waiting. The men morphed into their animal forms and dispersed. Three wolves, two bears and a mountain lion slipped into the shadows. So far, we’d seen four guards on patrol outside, disguised as orderlies.
“Dean. You ready?” Thane asked.
“I am.” His voice crackled in my ear, and I adjusted the volume. Hopefully, we wouldn’t need his skills, but the nearby graveyard would fuel more than adequate backup if everything went to hell.
“Erick and Daniel are on standby, but you get out of there the moment things get rough. Got it?
” He waved us off.
“Arabella?” Darian shifted into what humans called an angel. His white wings snapped open, and he gestured to her. She allowed him to carry her as she masked their ascent, though she hated flying.
Within seconds, he’d deposited her up on the roof, and made the return trip with me. We crouched down near the access door. Ian stood over the limp form of one guard. He’d teleported to the rooftop while we were in flight. With a nod, he dodged inside to clear the way.
Darian shrunk as he morphed into a wolf. With such a large building to cover, the canine’s heightened sense of smell and hearing would increase our chances of success. Plus, the smaller corridors didn’t allow for his preferred combat forms.
My mic crackled, and Thane’s tinny voice hit my ear. “The Shifters reported back. They neutralized the four external guards with no alarms raised. They’re on perimeter patrol.”
“Good.” I answered. “Ian disabled the man up here. We’re already inside.”
As I finished my report, Ian popped up in front of me. “One more mercenary down; top floor secure.”
I relayed the data and Ian disappeared. We made our way to the stairs as Jason disrupted power to the elevators. Arabella trailed me, radiating displeasure. I hated working with the dour woman, but her skills became invaluable in sensitive situations.
As we approached the door on the second level Aubrey spoke, sounding panicked. “There’s a vehicle approaching. I recognize the signature. It’s Cedric, and he isn’t alone.”
“Noted.” Thane replied. “Let us know when they arrive outside. See if you can identify anyone with him.”
“Do we have time to get in and out before he arrives?” I asked.
“It’ll be close.” She whispered.
Ian reappeared in the doorway and gestured us inside. Aubrey chimed in again. “There’s a hostage on the move. A guard stayed with the other three, with one outside in the hall. I believe the individual moving is Ryleigh. Either Kevin or Stephan escorts her, but I can’t tell from this distance.”
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