“Hannah,” Lucius said. His memories were scattered. Looking around the room, it didn’t look like she had ever been there.
“A woman?” the man to the left asked.
He nodded. His heart kicked into his throat. If Vanessa wasn’t with him, then she might be with Hannah, and that was the last thing he wanted.
“They didn’t bring any women in here,” the other man said.
Lucius strained at the chains. No matter what, he needed to get out of there.
“I’m Felix,” the thin man said.
“Rem,” the other man said with a nod.
The door burst open. Familiar terror flooded his mind, the hell swallowing him just from opening a door.
A large lighter-skinned black man was tossed in the room. The other two men looked down at the ground as the guards came in to shackle him.
“Hands against the wall, Justus,” one said.
The large man spit in the guard’s face. Lucius was both surprised and impressed.
“Motherfucker!” The guard slammed his elbow hard into his stomach. Justus made a retching sound.
“Boys!” Vanessa crossed her arms from the door. “You know he just needs a little training.”
Lucius shivered. He knew those words. He couldn’t even count how many times she had said them to him.
The men cleared out of the way as she came over.
“Justus,” she purred. Her hand rested on his bare chest. “You know it’s not nice to spit.”
She pushed her nails as points on his chest, and he winced as droplets of blood dripped down. Her other hand dropped to the front of his pants and openly fondled him. She squeezed both hard. The man’s face twisted in pain.
“Just a little reminder for next time,” she said and walked away.
Again, Lucius saw a flash of red in her eyes. He furrowed his brow. That was not something he remembered from before.
Vanessa stopped in front of Lucius and smiled. “So glad to have you back.”
* * *
Hannah sat in the cold room and shivered. Of all the stupid ideas, she’d chosen to wear something with as little clothing as possible. Not that it was top of her list of things to worry about but being cold was something.
The door opened, and she stood up. Surprise shot through her at the sight of Doctor Fisher.
“Oh, Hannah,” he said, an apologetic look settled over his face. “I’m sorry that you’ve gotten mixed up in this whole thing.”
Hannah stood in shock. What was she supposed to say to the man that had betrayed them all and run away? The initial shock started to fade, and she felt the anger return that she had felt that day. She took a step forward but stopped when the guard in the door made himself known.
She balled her hands into fists and bit back a string of curse words.
“I just need to get a little lab work from your first, dear,” he said. A thin smile followed that made her think she wouldn’t be left alive long after Doctor Fisher completed his tests.
She looked to the side. There had to be some way to escape. Something kept poking at the back of her mind.
Something banged overhead. She jumped.
“No need to worry over that,” Dr. Fisher said. “This place is old, and the water system here makes quite a bit of noise. Takes some getting used to.”
The guard at the door cleared his throat. She frowned. There was something off about him. For some reason, she didn’t like the smell of him. Slightly salty, almost like the beach. Hannah breathed in deeply and glared at the man. He stood there in the door, like nothing. It was only when he looked at her that she knew. The slight hint of light behind his eyes. She nearly gasped when she realized that his eyes had flashed blue. She hadn’t even known that was possible.
The doctor pulled out her arm and swabbed it with a cloth.
“Little poke,” he said, like she was some sort of child.
After that, he placed a bandage on and stood.
“What are you looking for?” she asked.
Doctor Fisher smiled. “Why, to see if you’re with child.”
Her stomach rolled. And what would they do when they realized that she wasn’t or that Rachel had given her a birth control shot? She wasn’t about to offer up any additional information, but they were bound to find out. And fast.
The doctor gave her a quick nod and strolled out of the room, followed by the guard.
The door clanged shut, and she started to pace. She’d never really been one for coming up with an overall plan. Hannah had always been the one to plan the details, but the actual party was usually up to someone else.
Stupid Rachel, what the hell good was the vial if it didn’t do anything? She kicked the wall and stood stock still when some of the plaster fell away. She tried again and again it fell away. Hannah sat on the bed. She could break her way out. It wouldn’t really do much good since she’d likely get caught, and she still needed to find Lucius, but this was something she could work with.
Now she just had to think. What were all their skills? The hybrids had become dependent on them and that was how the Horatius Group was winning. Maybe if she threw in a curve ball, it would even the playing field. All she needed to do was find all the things they had been using on them.
Hannah laughed to herself. Yes, because that was going to be a piece of cake. Right after she pulled some ninja moves and escaped the locked room without them noticing. She threw herself back on the bed and stared up at the ceiling. Another rush of water produced a clamor from the pipes. The longer she lay there, the more the pipes started to play on her nerves. Going off every few minutes or so. It was driving her insane. She didn’t know how these hybrids got anything done when that was all they could hear.
She sat bolt upright. That was the key. Thank god for old rusty pipes.
Hannah jumped off the bed and went to the door. She knocked a few times and wasn’t surprised to find the hybrid from earlier.
“Do you have a restroom?”
Chapter Fifteen
Lucius could hear them talking in the other room. There was always glass and them on the other side. He knew the drill. He knew how this went, and he also knew that if the prisoners didn’t get out of there soon, they were going to see Felix waste away right in front of them.
“Listen,” Lucius said to the other men. “How long do we have before they start?”
Justus glared at Lucius, but remained silent.
The doors opened wide, and Vanessa walked in dressed liked he’d remembered her from before. When they had picked her, she had been chosen for her Vestal qualities, and because of that, they had played up those features by wrapping her in the traditional Roman garb, a stola. The long sleeveless pleated dress was accompanied by a belt around her waist and another just below her breasts.
“Oh, Lucius, we’re already starting,” Vanessa said. She smiled with her blood red lips. “Were you maybe hoping that you’d escape before then?”
She chuckled at her own joke, and his stomach turned.
“Where’s Hannah?” he asked.
She turned to him. The smile fell from her face, and she glared at him. “You left for her? That’s who you bond with? Over me?”
Her face reddened, and she trembled slightly in apparent rage. Vanessa stepped closer to him. Her eyes filled with hate, and he wondered if she could even be considered a Vestal at this point.
“I gave you the chance to bond with me,” she whispered, her eyes wide. “You would have been lucky to make a match like that. Instead, you would betray my generosity?”
She pushed away, her nails digging into his skin.
“What a waste,” she said and walked over to Felix. “But that’s fine. I’ve bonded with Felix.”
Felix looked up and smiled.
His stomach lurched. The man’s weakened state made sense now. If Lucius had formed a bond with a woman like that, he would have been in an even worse state. Felix watched her with equal parts revulsion and love.
R
em shifted uncomfortably next to him as she leaned down to kiss Felix. Justus watched, his hatred for Vanessa obvious on his face.
Vanessa broke free when the door opened.
“May I have a word with you?” Doctor Fisher stood at the door.
Lucius growled at the sight of the traitor.
“He didn’t bond with her,” Rem said quietly.
Lucius glanced over to him and then looked to where Rem was nodding. Felix sat on the floor, watching Vanessa in a sort of trance-like state.
“What’s wrong with him?” Lucius asked.
Rem shook his head. “She started giving him some shots a few months ago. Next thing we know, they are going at it like rabbits. On top of everything, he stopped eating and will just step out. Like no one is home.”
Lucius stared hard at Felix. He wondered if it was the same drug they used on Kate. It certainly seemed to have the same sexual results, but she was able to be with her bonded partner.
“You told me this would work!” Vanessa screamed.
“Yes, well we couldn’t have guessed this,” Doctor Fisher said. He placed his notepad in front of him like it would protect him.
“You!” Vanessa stomped over to Lucius. “Did you two think you could get one over on us? You think you’re so clever, you ingrate.”
Lucius blinked a few times before looking over to Doctor Fisher.
“What the hell is she talking about?”
The crack of her hand on his face echoed in the room.
“Don’t you dare talk about me that way,” she said. Her eyes were wild and for just a second, he was sure he saw a flash of red.
“What have you done to yourself?” he whispered.
Vanessa froze.
“I don’t think you should worry about me,” she ground out. “You and your little bitch think you’re really cute going on birth control. Well maybe I should make her wish she was pregnant.”
Lucius shot forward and strained against the chains. They creaked with the pressure, and bits of the wall crumbled.
Vanessa stepped back, her eyes full of excitement. She always did like that about him.
“You lay one hand on her and I swear, I’ll fucking kill you, you crazy bitch,” he said.
“Oh, Lucius,” she whispered. “Haven’t you learned by now?”
“Yes,” he ground out. “I’ve learned that there’s only one thing that matters to me, and there’s nothing I won’t do for her.”
No question now. Her eyes blazed red as she raked her nails across his face. He winced as she drew blood.
“Bring me the woman,” she screamed.
The doctor jumped at her words and scurried out the door.
* * *
Hannah took a deep breath as she walked through the hall to the bathroom. It looked to be some sort of converted school. She tried to keep her eyes peeled for where all the goods were at. It really was her best choice.
The odd hybrid stopped outside a door and held it open for her. Inside was what would have been the teachers’ bathroom. She noticed a small window above the sink.
“Don’t bother,” he said. “They will send the Glycon after you.”
“Glycon?” She turned to him.
“The other hybrids. The animals. They’ll come after you, and you’ll be ripped to shreds.” Hannah shivered. “Five minutes.”
She nodded and closed the door behind him. It was going to be a little more difficult than she thought trying to get into the duct system. It all seemed to make sense in her room.
She set the seat down and stepped as easily as she could up on it. The tricky part came with standing on the back of the toilet. Luckily, she had the stall walls to brace herself against.
She stilled as conversation outside the door hit her ears.
“Vanessa wants her right now,” Doctor Fisher said, his voice loud and panicked.
“Well, she had to go,” the hybrid said lazily. “She’s got two more minutes to finish up before I’m going in.”
Her heart kicked into high gear. With no time to waste, she flushed the toilet. Just like every other time, the pipes kicked on. She lifted herself up on top of the stall walls and pushed the ceiling panel aside. It was dark, but she’d be able to make her way.
“See,” the hybrid said. “She’s nearly finished.”
Hannah lifted herself up into the cramped musty crawl space on top of the wall and covered her mouth. Last thing she needed was to start coughing or sneezing. She slipped the panel back into place just as the door opened.
“Hannah dear,” Doctor Fisher called to her. She could see him from a hole and nearly gasped. Behind his back, he held a syringe. “I’ve just got to take you somewhere, and it will be much easier if you let me give you a little shot.”
He turned the corner to the empty stall and frowned. He raced around the small room.
“Where the fuck is she?” he screamed. “Where the fuck did you put her, Magnus?”
Magnus sighed and looked out the window. “I told her not to run.”
“What the hell do you mean you told her not to run? Of course she ran!” Dr. Fisher shrieked. “Now what the hell am I supposed to do?”
“Well,” Magnus said. He turned and looked up at the ceiling right at her, almost like he could see her there. “I’d suggest that you send out the Glycon to hunt her down. That should make Vanessa happy.”
“Yes,” Doctor Fisher mumbled. “Yes that would work.”
The doctor walked slowly out of the bathroom mumbling to himself, but Magnus stayed for a moment, staring out the window.
“Far northern part of the building,” he said, so quietly, she wasn’t even sure he had spoken. “Travel east in the woods.”
When he turned around, she could see he was torn. Something was holding him there and she just couldn’t save him.
Tears burned her eyes as she nodded. She didn’t care what it took. One day, she would repay him.
Without another word, Magnus walked over to the toilet and flushed.
She dried her tears and turned around. It was going to be a long crawl through this place, and each second those pipes were groaning was time she needed to be moving.
* * *
It seemed like hours to Lucius as they waited for Doctor Fisher to bring in Hannah. Angry, Vanessa did what she did best, rant.
“And when you just left me like that, what was I supposed to do, Lucius?” She paced in front of him. Her eyes flashed in and out of the red zone. “How could you do that to someone who loves you as much as I do?”
Lucius snorted. Left her? The Horatius Group had left them to die. He wondered if she honestly thought he had left or if this was just another twisted mind game.
The door finally opened, and Lucius turned, surprised to not see Hannah behind Doctor Fisher.
Vanessa stopped and waited.
“Well?” she snapped.
“She’s escaped,” Doctor Fisher said and backed away.
“She what?” Vanessa moved forward slowly. She blinked several times, and her face reddened.
Lucius watched her with fascination. This was the first time he had seen someone who had made the change that still looked mostly normal, but her mannerisms were totally different from their own. Not only that, but he wondered how it had affected her Vestal abilities.
“But don’t worry, I’ve sent the Glycon after her.” Doctor Fisher smiled.
Her eyes narrowed even more, and Lucius knew that it was the wrong thing to do.
“And how am I supposed to have a baby now?” she hissed.
The doctor’s face fell.
“I’ll call them back,” he said quickly.
She was on him before he could make it to the door. “It doesn’t fucking work like that. You know that.”
“I-I-I,” he stammered and backed against the wall.
“Enough!” she screamed. The room rang with her voice.
Vanessa stepped back, and Lucius thought it might be over.
She gave a h
arsh smile before he saw the glint.
“No!” The doctor gave a choked shout before she swiped a sharp blade across his neck.
He fell to the floor with a hollow thud, blood spurting from his neck.
“Now I have to change my clothes,” she complained, sighing down at the crimson staining her stola. “Felix!”
The shriveled man next to Lucius pulled himself up into a standing position. His chains rattled as he stood.
Vanessa pushed a button by the door.
“Send in two Glycon to clean up this mess and unlock Felix,” she said.
The door opened, and two pale mutated hybrids entered.
Vanessa passed the dead man on her way to Felix. She stopped in front of Lucius.
“Open up Felix’s chains.” She gave a malicious grin. “He can help me take a bath.”
Lucius turned away as she huffed past. His chest ached at the sound of the chains coming off. Felix wasn’t going to make it through the night. They would be lucky if he made it through the bath. His labored breathing was getting worse, and the poor man seemed to know it was coming. After the hell he had been through, death would be a relief.
“Vanessa, don’t do this,” Lucius said softly.
She stopped at the door and shot him a bitter look.
“You had your chance, you ungrateful man,” she said. “Now back off before I take another piece off you for my collection.”
Her bright red nails were the last part to disappear behind the door.
* * *
Sweat rolled down Hannah’s forehead and the back of her neck as she crawled. Only a little longer. It had been stop and go for hours now, but she was getting to the newer side of the school and knew she had to be headed in the right direction.
She still hadn’t come across the equipment room, but she had to assume that it would be near wherever Lucius was.
“Hmmm,” someone below said. “That’s perfect.”
Hannah peeked through the hole in the floor. Below she found Vanessa in the bathroom with a man beside her. It was the worst spot to stop at, but there wasn’t much a choice. The pipes had stopped, and she was frozen until they started back up again.
Lucius (Luna Lodge #3) Page 13
