My gut clenched, and Darian whined. I resisted the urge to pet him in reassurance.
“We’re down to three guards, Kevin, Stephan and whoever remains in the blind zone.” Thane relayed.
Ian led us to the opposite side of the building. “The hostages are up ahead in the fourth room on the right. The mercenary inside is holding a semi-automatic, so I don’t dare pop in there.”
Arabella huffed but she strode forward, weaving her Illusion as she went. Nothing appeared to change, but when she reached the hallway Ian indicated she disappeared. As planned, she masked Ian, the noise, and everything else.
It was simple, yet effective.
When the assassin dispatched the men, her construct faded. As she escorted the three women to safety, she kept their sounds and presence hidden. She gave me a haughty wave as she passed, guiding the victims to safety without further incident.
Ryleigh wasn’t inside, but Darian picked up her trail. Ian and I followed him to another set of stairs, this one descending into the basement. A guard approached the top, and my mate whirled on him. He sank teeth and claws into the man, dispatching him before he fired his weapon.
If he’d possessed other abilities, he hadn’t had a chance to use them.
I sensed our woman nearby, and though she seemed brave, I also felt her terror. My rage increased as we descended the steps. The moment we came into view, all hell broke loose.
Gunfire echoed in the small space and two unexpected guards surged forward. Darian leaped onto the nearest sentry, and his jaws clamped around his gun arm as he unloaded a second shot. My heart stopped as I watched the wolf’s limp body slide down the last step to the concrete floor. I didn’t have the opportunity to check on him as his attacker turned to me.
Ian popped behind the one furthest away and disarmed him. His opponent had to possess precognitive senses because he continued to move right before Ian. They appeared well matched, both wielding knives as long as my forearm. My attention focused on the man changing forms in front of me.
If I wasn’t familiar with bear shifters, the sight of the black beast rising above me would have terrified me. As it was, I dodged tooth and claw as I prepared a trap. I let every fiber of my rage pour into the mental prison. I was inspired by the lover broken at my feet, and the uncertainty I felt for Ryleigh.
From all outward appearances, I looked outmatched.
I couldn’t Shapeshift, and though skilled at hand to hand combat my true talent lie in Nightmare manipulation. As soon as I completed the construct, I allowed the grizzly to close in. My fingers sank into his fur, and no more than a second passed before he slackened and slumped to the floor.
Ian slit his opponent’s throat, flowing with beautiful grace as he stepped aside and the guard collapsed.
The animal receded until the man remained. His limbs twitched as he stared up at the ceiling. His face contorted into a look of horror, despair, and pain. I resisted the urge to kill him for coming between me and my mate. He didn’t have a chance of escaping the Nightmare World before his body expired.
I bent to check on Darian, relieved he’d reverted to human form. The morph healed most of the wound to his chest. A Shapeshifter only risked death if they couldn’t shift to heal their wounds. He would be fine.
“What trap did you use?” Ian nudged the prone sentry with his foot, but the bastard wouldn’t get up any time soon. “Looks nasty.”
“He’s discovering firsthand how the Elders treat their prisoners.”
Ian witnessed Darian’s memories of captivity through Thane’s mind readers, so he knew what I’d done. I’d seen those terrible things too many times in his Dreams over the years. I’d never taken a terror from one person and transposed it onto another before, but it appeared to be effective. It took far less effort than searching for a particular fear or memory.
“Cedric just pulled up.” Thane advised. “There’s a second car. Get her and get out, now! He arrived with fifteen escorts, and they’re canvassing the grounds. Arabella spread her Illusions thin concealing our presence.”
I helped Ian lift Darian and sent them outside. I couldn’t risk losing one mate to save another. Unfortunately, he couldn’t move other living matter through the space between spaces. It also took too much time to stabilize his inter-dimensional tunnels. He returned the instant he’d transported my lover to safety.
“She’s inside, but I can’t figure out the code.” I told him.
We faced a large industrial door with a complicated keypad. Ian glanced at me. “I have an idea. You might want to step back.”
Chapter Thirty-five
Ryleigh
I struggled not to fall as Kevin dragged me down the hall. He danced over the edge of sanity, and I refused to provoke him and risk harming the women. He mumbled about Frank. It was obvious he hadn’t taken his brother’s loss well. My heart soared when I felt my lovers’ presence nearby.
I’d known they would come for me.
As he jerked me down the stairs, my feet tangled, and I slid down the wooden steps. He didn’t stop; he yanked me to the other end of the basement and dropped me outside a large industrial door. He argued with himself as he punched in a long code on the keypad.
I pulled myself back up by the time the panel swung open, and he nudged me through the closing doorway. We waited for another door. As soon as the first sealed, this one opened with a hiss of air. It closed behind us as we walked through.
Sudden curiosity filled me as we passed several glass museum cases. Each held objects from Intaran history. I wanted to explore the displays, examine the artifacts, and learn their histories, but my captor didn’t linger. His grip on my upper arm tightened as he shoved me into a cozy lab.
My eyes fixed on Tobias where he stood with his arms draped through the bars of his tiny prison cell.
“Toby?” I cried.
Kevin restrained me when I attempted to run to him.
“Let me go, you bastard.” I spat at him and struggled to get free.
“Ryleigh.” Stephan smiled as he approached. “You’re one hard woman to find. When he reported he had you, I almost didn’t believe it. You can’t imagine my displeasure when I discovered he’d stolen my prototype. It seems I must work on the device. It isn’t supposed to make the intended target ill. But don’t worry, you’ll recover.”
The scientist gestured for his lackey to release me. The brute pushed me down into an office chair next to a heavy desk. When Stephan noticed my gaze on the satellite images scrolling across the monitor, he hit a button to minimize the program. I refused to acknowledge him, because I knew I’d mouth off and make things worse, so I turned to Tobias.
“Are you okay?”
Toby looked from Kevin and Stephan back to me with an odd pensive look. He wore an outfit similar to the ones donned by the women upstairs, but he appeared well. His smile brightened with his customary humor. If it weren’t for the bars between us, I might have doubted he was a captive at all.
“It ain’t the Ritz Carlton, but I’m still kicking.” He winked at me with a shadow of his usual personality.
“If you’re finished; I have tests to run.” Stephan bent to retrieve something. I squirmed in fearful anticipation, but relaxed when my best friend rolled his eyes. He mouthed, ‘nothing scary’, and sat back on his tiny mattress to watch. There wasn’t anything comforting about this situation, but I didn’t struggle when Stephan grasped my elbow.
He glanced from me to the rock in his hand with a look of childlike wonder.
A sudden commotion startled us, and he cursed as he dropped the object. It bounced under the heavy lab table, and I heard snarling outside the industrial door. Kevin ran to my side, and this time he held a knife to my throat. I couldn’t stand this bastard manhandling me, but there wasn't much I could do about it at the moment.
We remained motionless, waiting as the noise faded.
Tense minutes passed, and several things happened all at once. Both doors exploded and a few of the
glass cases shattered. I watched through the doorway as Lukas and Ian stormed inside the little room. Behind them, Ian maintained one of his magic tunnels, but when he closed it there was no sign of Darian.
The harsh sound of labored breathing fractured the silence. Stephan backed up to the cell with Tobias at his back, watching everyone. Kevin’s hand trembled as he gripped my hair and tilted my neck, taunting Lukas as they stared each other down.
I couldn't tell if the situation excited him or made him nervous, but the tremors caused the blade to bite into my flesh. Stephan looked at him, frowning as he fumbled with the lock at his back. My rescuers reacted to the sight of my blood, tensing for battle.
No one spoke, afraid to set off the unbalanced man at my throat.
Kevin bent down and inhaled near the wound. I fought my instincts to avoid cringing into the weapon. His sides heaved as he laughed, and he lifted it an inch from my skin. I hoped he didn’t slit my jugular by accident.
“I won't let her go.” He taunted. “You murdered Frank. Now you get to watch her die.”
My mate stepped away as the knife reappeared, and he held out his palms in an attempt to placate the madman. "I wasn’t there, Bargas. Besides, if you kill her, you won't leave this room alive. You must know that?"
Kevin moaned deep in his chest, and he pointed at Lukas in a sharp jab before bringing it back to rest against the injury.
"So what? I've lost everything. Everything! All because of her. Gods, poor Frank…"
He gestured again, but this time I was ready. The second the blade left my neck, I grabbed his wrist and twisted his arm as I dropped. His fingers loosened around the hilt. I gripped the knife, and forced him to keep hold of it. As I brought my weight down, I turned and shoved it into his thigh.
He howled in fury as he collapsed, and I rolled away from him. Unfortunately, I’d separated from my rescuers and ran right into Stephan’s legs. He threw open the cell door with one hand, and pulled me in with the other.
The scientist smirked in triumph as he locked us inside. He nudged something on the far wall, and a panel popped loose. Within seconds, he manipulated what seemed like a blank spot and a small square opened near the floor. He pushed us toward the opening at gunpoint.
“Get in.”
Toby sighed as he complied, but I hesitated.
Stephan swung the gun toward Lukas. “Their abilities won’t work here, but the gun will. Move.”
Given no choice, I crawled into the narrow dirt tunnel.
Chapter Thirty-six
Lukas
Somehow, Ian used his dimension warping ability to create a reverse black hole. He blasted through the sealed doors blocking me from my mate. The moment the path cleared, I stepped through, and Ian followed.
“Lukas?” Jason screeched in my ear. “Our cover’s blown. Get out of there. Cedric is on his way inside!”
“You, Arabella and Aubrey get to safety.” Thane responded.
“We’ll have Ryleigh in a minute.” I added.
The radio cut off, but another worry presented itself. Kevin held a knife at Ryleigh’s throat, and his aura radiated insanity. I looked back at Ian with a grimace, and he nodded. We’d need to approach with caution as neither of us could heal a severe wound should things go wrong.
I almost rushed forward when I noticed the thin trail of blood trickling to her chest. When the bastard leaned down toward her neck and laughed, I tensed. If the blade moved any further from her skin, I would act. We didn’t dare move, though Stephan edged to the cell door. To what purpose, I couldn’t discern.
“I won't let her go.” The madman screamed. “You murdered Frank. Now you get to watch her die.”
I stepped back as the edge made its way closer to her, and put up my hands, pleading.
"I wasn’t there, Bargas. Besides, if you kill her, you won't leave this room alive. You must know that?"
He stabbed the point at me as he spoke, but it didn’t stay far enough from her for me to take risks. "So what? I've lost everything. Everything! All because of her. Gods, poor Frank."
When he gestured with the dagger, Ryleigh grabbed his wrist and dropped to the floor, pulling him down with her. Ian and I rushed forward as she rolled away from him, and I placed myself between my mate and the bastard. Looking down, I saw the blade embedded several inches in his thigh.
He moaned and rocked back and forth, trying to keep pressure on the wound. I took a second to push a Nightmare Prison into his subconscious. Now, he believed if he moved, he’d bleed to death, though it didn’t look serious. I wanted to destroy him, but I knew we’d extract a lot of valuable information from someone as high in the hierarchy as him.
By the time I looked up to find my lover, Stephan thrust her into the cage and locked the door behind them. I caught the glint of a gun in his hand as he smirked at us. He manipulated a panel on the wall which had been hidden. A small section popped out, revealing an opening with a dirt lined tunnel beyond.
Ian ran across the room toward the cell, and I joined him.
The scientist swung the weapon at Tobias and Ryleigh. “Get in.”
Toby fell to his knees and crawled into the hole. His shoulders cleared the sides with less than an inch to spare. Tiny crumbles of soil spilled onto the floor as he proceeded. When the darkness swallowed him I shuddered, remembering the sensation of earth peppering me.
When Lord Farkas captured me, he’d buried me several feet underground. I’d never forget the weight of the Earth above me. No, I couldn’t focus on the passage right now, or I’d freeze.
She still stood glaring at Cedric’s son. Having the barrel pointed at her didn’t seem to bother her, but when he shifted toward me, fear clouded her eyes.
“Their abilities won’t work here, but the gun will. Move.”
Her gaze met mine for a second as she crouched and entered the abyss. He followed and they disappeared seconds later. At intervals, I heard him harass her to crawl faster.
“Can you get this open?” I asked Ian.
Within minutes, he disabled the dampening field. He examined the lock and looked at the tunnel a few feet away. “Have to be careful not to collapse the entrance. Who knows how stable it is or where it leads?”
“Gods.” I cringed.
“Relax. I’ve got this.”
Ian cupped his hands, creating a tiny vortex in front of the keypad assembly. He made no other movements, but the gravity reversed and the suction pulled apart the entire mechanism. The door came off its hinges, and clumps of dirt dropped from the opening.
“Oops.” He muttered.
Without letting myself think it through, I slid to the breach. Before I slipped into the space, I turned my head and spotted the object lying unprotected on the concrete. I stopped with my shoulders halfway through the hole.
“Something is under there, Ian. Right there, under the table.”
Ian didn’t question me as he flipped it over, spilling various instruments onto the floor.
“It’s a Portal Stone.” He said with wonder.
“Fuck.” I breathed. “I’ll catch them. You look around and see what else you can find. Oh, and Ian? Take his computer to Jason, too. Let’s figure out what he’s been up to.”
When I plunged through the narrow access, I ignored the soil beneath my hands and falling onto my back. The first ten yards passed without effort since I still saw the light filtering in over my shoulder from the lab. The next twenty feet closed in on me. Over and over, I reminded myself the passage remained open; I wasn’t buried in the ground.
I was able to move. I could breathe. I would not die down here.
Shit, there wasn’t any air. I was suffocating. The tunnel narrowed, and I swear I felt the vibrations as the earth shifted to swallow me whole.
Somehow, I kept moving, but I clawed at the dirt in panic by the time I spied the external floodlights up ahead. Even the fresh breeze lifting my sweat soaked hair didn’t soothe me. The blades of grass under my fingertips weren’t enoug
h to convince me of my freedom, either.
But seeing Ryleigh struggle with Stephan for control of the gun snapped me right out of my mental breakdown. They’d moved into the shadows and I couldn’t see who possessed the advantage. Two of Cedric’s men restrained Tobias as they dragged him to a nearby van. A third sat in the driver’s seat, ready to go. He maneuvered my mate closer and closer to the open doors.
I leapt to my feet and ran toward her before I took my first hysteria-free breath.
The sound of a small explosion rocked the ground under me, but it seemed distant so I ignored it. I heard the sounds of combat all around me, but my eyes stayed on my Setah. Stephan harried her less than ten yards from the van now. The mercenaries pushed Toby inside.
I was still too far away. She almost escaped, but he tackled her and they rolled. One guard exited the vehicle and tried to pull her off of him.
My hands slammed into the lackey’s side as I barreled into him, pushing him from her. Filled with rage, I shoved my recent experience into the man, and he went slack in fear. He succumbed to claustrophobia and the trap restrained him.
Ryleigh crept away from Stephan. She grasped the gun, though she held it by the muzzle. He dragged her down once more.
By the time I knocked the scientist from her again, she pointed the barrel at him. I started a terrible Nightmare construct, permeated with all my terror, anger and hatred. This bastard kidnapped Lia and injured Darian. He needed to suffer, and I wanted him dead. This would accomplish both.
“Lukas?” She shouted. “We need to get Tobias. Lukas?”
As she moved closer, my power surged. Stephan’s eyes widened as he saw how much stronger my magic flared with each step she took. With her energy fueling my creation, I could destroy them all. The range felt incredible. I only required another minute, and I’d unleash my worst prison trap yet. With luck, it would eliminate every one of Cedric’s men in a single shot.
“Lukas!” She pushed me as something hot rolled over us.
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