I smiled. “Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.”
The next day, I stopped at a deli to grab a sandwich, then took off for the gambling den. As I rode my bike up the long, hilly road, I thought about simply investigating on my own to find out where the missing shifters were being held. If I could find Mika and the others before the next Royale was scheduled, maybe I could find a way to smuggle the captives out. After all, I was resourceful, and I had a decent amount of magic at my disposal, not to mention my weapons. Surely it was worth a shot?
The hot summer sun beat down from above as I rode into Turain, bathing my skin in a light sweat beneath my leather jacket. I parked my bike around the block from the Dirty Habit in an alley behind a row of shops, then reached for my magic so I could put on my illusion. I’d have to pick something different than the blonde bimbo, since she wouldn’t show up here without Annia. If I thought I could fake Annia’s confidence with gambling, I’d even pretend to be her.
But just as I was taking off my helmet, I heard a tiny zip, the sound of something flying through the air at top speed, and then a sharp pain burst into the side of my neck.
“Oww!” I grabbed at the dart that had lodged itself into my flesh. “What the fuck?”
A human dropped down from the rooftop, dressed in black with a scarf wrapped around his face despite the warm weather. My vision started to blur as the drug in the dart began to take effect, spreading icy-hot fire through my veins, but I heard the sneer in his voice as he approached.
“Sorry Miss Enforcer, but Mr. Danrian told us to watch out in case you ever came around here. Looks like you’re not making it to your destination today.”
“Fuck you.” I grabbed one of the chakrams from my pouch and threw it at him, but my arms were growing shaky, and my throw flew wide. My assailant laughed as the chakram embedded itself in the brick wall ten feet from him, and I cursed as I dropped to my knees, my legs too rubbery to hold me any longer.
“HELP!” I cried out mentally, hoping, praying there was a shifter nearby who might hear my call. But there was no one, and I kicked myself for my foolish decision to come here without backup. Of course Danrian would have known I was looking for him. What was I thinking?
“Sweet dreams,” my assailant said, toeing me with his booted foot, and I fell right over, through the ground and into the darkness.
18
The sensation of something pounding at my temples woke me, and it took me a second to realize that it was pain. Deep, throbbing pain, banging mercilessly at my skull. My mouth was dry as dust, my nerves were raw, and when I tried to move the pounding on my temples increased.
“Hello? Are you awake already?”
My eyes popped open at the sound of the voice, and as my vision focused, I saw a pair of orange eyes staring at me through a set of bars. No, two sets of bars, I realized as sharp panic bit into me. One set was from her cage, and the other one was from mine.
“I am.” I rolled onto my side and looked around. We were in a dark chamber, the only source of light coming from a single bulb hanging from the ceiling. It gave enough light for me to see the rows and rows of cages, nearly all of them filled with shifters, and my heart grew cold as I realized there were probably seventy others in the room with us. “Where am I?”
“I don’t know. None of us do. This is just where they keep us between fights.”
“Great.” I tried to struggle up into a sitting position, and that’s when I noticed the manacles around my wrists. Concentrating my attention on them, I tried to use fire to soften up the metal enough to break the restraints, but though I could feel the magic flowing just beneath my skin, it refused to manifest.
“No.” The panic in my chest tripled, and I jerked the chain binding my wrists together in a futile attempt to break them. “No, no, no!”
“They bind us all that way.” The tiger shifter lifted her own manacled wrists. Anger burned deep in her orange eyes as she stared at me. “We’re a lot easier to control in human form.”
“No shit,” I muttered, staring down at my shackled wrists. The runes on these were exactly the same as the ones on the shackles the mages had used to bind my magic when I’d been arrested. There was absolutely zero chance that I would be able to use my magic to get out of here. But something brushed against my chest, and as I caught sight of a white jewel winking in the darkness, I remembered that I still wore the serapha pendant the Chief Mage had given me. Relief sang through me – he would be able to find out where I was.
But only if he thinks to look for you.
My heart sank at the realization. Iannis was leaving for the capital tomorrow – he likely wouldn’t even notice I was missing. Someone else might, like Annia or Captain Galling, and they might try to alert the Chief Mage, but how long would that take? He’d be on the other side of the continent by then.
“Any idea how long I’ve been here?”
“Since this morning. I watched them bring you in.” The tigress cocked her head. “I’m surprised you’re awake so soon. It usually takes a full twenty-four hours to recover from a full-strength injection of the serum.”
Huh. Well that was something. Maybe being a hybrid made me more resistant to some shifter-specific drugs. I could only hope that was the case, because I had a feeling they were going to dose me up again so they could toss me in the fighting ring. Otherwise they would have just killed me.
I patted down the length of my body as best I could with my shackled wrists, trying to determine whether or not my captors had left me with anything useful. But aside from the serapha charm, they’d stripped me of all my weapons and pouches. I wasn’t too concerned about my chakrams or my crescent knives – when the Chief Mage had recovered them for me, he’d spelled them so that they would return to me if lost or stolen. But this was the first time I’d been separated from my weapons since then, so I had no idea how long it would take for them to make their way back.
Rather than worry about something I had no control over, I turned my attention towards something I did. “Do you know if a young jaguar female was brought in here?” I asked the tigress. “Sometime in the last couple of days?”
“I think I remember seeing someone like her being dragged in. She hasn’t been taken out for any fights yet.”
Relief swept through me, and I sat up, mentally calling out for her. “Mika, can you hear me?” I shouted, projecting my voice to everyone in the room. “Mika, are you here?”
There were a lot of grunts and grumbles from the other shifters, who were evidently not happy with me shouting in their heads. But a female voice spoke in my head, small and hesitant, but clear.
“Yes, I’m Mika. Who’s calling for me?”
I nearly collapsed with relief. “It’s Sunaya. Sunaya Baine. I’m your mother’s cousin.”
“Oh!” I felt her joy for just a moment, and then she recoiled. “Wait. You’re the illegitimate one that the Chieftain kicked out, aren’t you? The one who turned out to be half-mage?”
“Are we really going to focus on that right now?”
“My mother’s said bad things about you, and that if I should ever cross paths with you to stay as far away as possible.”
“Yeah, well your mother also sent me here to rescue you,” I told her dryly. “So I think you can put the other mandate aside, for now.”
“I guess you’re right, Mika replied dubiously. “Although, how are you supposed to get us out of here if you’re stuck in a cage yourself?”
“I’m still working on that one.”
I mindspoke to Mika and the other shifters for a little while, trying to glean anything useful out of them, but I didn’t learn much. Because the shifters here were drugged so often, their memories were fuzzy and they couldn’t answer most of my questions. Even Mika, who hadn’t been in any fights yet, had been given regular doses to keep her drowsy and relatively compliant.
With nothing constructive to do, I lay back down in my cell and catnapped, determined to conserve my strength. I would take t
he first opportunity I had to escape and hopefully free the others, but until then, with no food in my belly and no access to my magic, the only thing I could do was wait.
I wasn’t certain how long I lay in the dark, but when the sound of a garage door opening woke me, I realized that I’d fallen asleep at some point. Sitting up, I watched about twenty men stride into the room through the open doorway. Beyond them, I could see a huge truck parked just outside, the back doors opened, and I knew they were here to take some of us to the Royale. My entire body stiffened as I caught sight of Warin Danrian, who was bringing up the rear.
“You bastard,” I hissed as he sauntered up to me, looking awfully smug. “You won’t get away with this.”
“Oh, but I already have.” Sneering, Danrian crouched down in front of my cage so he could meet me at eye level. Behind him, the other men were moving the cages out of the room, “You may have shut down the bank, but our operation extends far beyond Sandin Federal. I may not be able to continue the Shifter Royale in Canalo thanks to your antics, but believe you me, our plan is well underway. You may as well forget about being rescued by those mages you hang out with – soon they’ll be too buried under their own troubles to spare you a thought.”
“‘Our’ plan?” I spat. “So I was right – you’re in league with the Benefactor, aren’t you?”
Danrian’s eyes narrowed. “So Petros Yantz did tell you about the Benefactor,” he said. “I always knew his lips flapped a little too much.”
“Is there a fucking roster somewhere listing out all the members of Club Benefactor, and do you all get together once a month for tea or something?” I demanded. “Because that would be really helpful.”
Danrian laughed. “Even if there was, it wouldn’t be much use to you after you’re dead. Surely you must know you’re going to fight tonight.”
“How do you know I won’t survive?” I sneered, refusing to show the fear that was pumping through my veins.
“Because you’re going up against your beloved cousin, and I have no doubt that someone of your principles would rather die than kill a family member.”
Cold horror spilled through my veins, and I turned my head just in time to see Mika’s cage being hefted onto a forklift.
“NO!” I railed at the bars of the cage, slashing at Danrian’s throat, but I couldn’t reach far enough with the shackles binding my wrists. “You bastard, leave Mika out of this! Let her go!”
“I’m afraid not.” Danrian stood up, and regarded me with his cold, dark eyes. “I warned you not to get involved and you didn’t listen, so now you’re about to pay the price. Boys, put her under.”
One of the men beside him stepped forward, that tube-like instrument in his hand again, and I ducked my head to avoid the first dart. But the second one struck me in the shoulder, and my vision went hazy in a matter of seconds. The last thing I saw was the forklift approaching my cage, and then I was out.
I came awake with battle fever pounding through my veins, the urge to kill so strong that I lunged forward without even knowing whether or not there was an enemy in front of me to kill. My forehead smashed into the iron bars, and I snarled, falling back against the hard floor and clutching my head.
Fuck, that hurt!
The pain cleared my head a little, and I sat up into a crouch. The battle fever continued to sing through my veins, and I trembled with the effort of holding myself together long enough to take stock of my surroundings. Not that I really needed to – the bright lights jabbing at my brain and the fighting cage looming just thirty feet from me told me that I was at the Royale.
Gritting my teeth, I turned my head and scanned the other cages in search of Mika. She was only two cages down from me, gripping the bars and snarling like a madwoman, her eyes bloodshot and her fangs dripping saliva. The sight stirred my own bloodlust, and I growled, my beast wanting her blood.
Stop it. Mika is family.
“Ladies and Gentlemen!’ the announcer cried, and I turned my head to watch him. “Thank you all for coming out tonight! For our first match, we have a very special treat – black panther vs. jaguar! In case you don’t know, these two cats are actually the same species, so it’s a matter of light versus dark rather than a battle between species. I hope you placed your bets accordingly!”
The crowd burst into excited whoops and yells, and I braced myself as I watched several of the humans stride purposefully toward my cage. I tried to attack them as they dragged me from my cell, but they were fast and well trained, and I was still weak from the drugs as well as lack of food – I hadn’t eaten since that measly sandwich in the early morning, and it had to be past nightfall by now.
The humans shoved me up a set of stairs leading to the platform, and then through the doors. I waited for them to unbind my wrists, but they simply slammed the doors shut on me, and I watched in horror as they walked off.
How the fuck am I supposed to fight if I can’t even get my hands free?
By Magorah, no wonder Danrian wasn’t concerned about my odds. He’d set me up so that I couldn’t defend myself even if I wanted to.
They tossed Mika into the ring next. I watched as she staggered in, my anxiety growing as I noticed her bloodshot eyes glowing with malevolence. Just what shit had they drugged us with? She snarled as soon as she caught sight of me, and a white glow enveloped her body as she began to change.
“No!” I cried. “Mika, it’s Sunaya! You don’t want to kill me!” My own battle fever was tempered by the icy fear flooding through my veins – if I rushed to attack Mika like this, there was no way I’d win, shackled in human form with my magic cut off from me. My sense of self-preservation was much stronger than the drug they’d pumped into my system.
But it was too late. She’d shifted, and her eyes blazed with battle fever as she crouched, tail whipping back and forth right before she pounced. I darted out of the way as she sailed through the air, and she went crashing into the silver-coated bars of the cage. She let out a pained yowl, and I winced as I caught the stench of burning hair and flesh. Hopefully the injury would slow her down a little.
Mika landed on her side, but she quickly rolled back onto her feet, then flexed her powerful leg muscles before pouncing at me again. This time, I took a gamble and rushed forward, my arms outstretched to meet her halfway. Her jaws closed around the chain binding my manacles, and I forced them all the way down to her mandibles, pushing her back. She lost her footing for a moment, and when she finally yanked away, two of the links ripped free.
Yay. At least I could use my hands now.
Mika reared up on her hind legs and swiped at me with a paw, and I hissed as her claws raked across my upper arm, leaving deep gashes. I twisted away, darting to the other side of the ring, but I knew it was only a matter of time before she caught me with a fatal blow.
Just as Mika spun around to face me again, I felt something thump onto the ground next to my boot. I glanced down, and elation burst through me at the sight of my chakram pouch and crescent knives. Finally, they’d arrived! Thinking quickly, I snatched up the knives first, then rushed forward to meet Mika as she lunged for me again. This time I twisted to the right, letting her pass me, and I raked the blade along the side of her rib cage, making sure the cut was deep enough to cause significant damage without being fatal.
Mika let out an ear-splitting roar as she fell to the ground, and I winced sympathetically – I knew from experience how painful cuts from crescent knife blades could be. But I didn’t have time to stand around – I only had a few moments before Mika’s wound healed itself and she was back on her feet again. Whirling around, I snatched up the chakram pouch, then grabbed one and twirled it briefly around my index finger before flinging one toward the tops of the bars. It cut through the silver-coated bamboo with ease, and I tossed another one toward the bottom of the cage, slicing the bar off at both ends. It toppled outward, landing with a loud clatter on the concrete ground, and the crowd screamed as I jumped through the opening.
; Several of the staff rushed toward me, but I used my chakrams to cut them off at the knees – literally. They screamed in pain as the circular blade bit into the flesh of their legs, severing clear through, but I didn’t even give them a second glance – I was already sprinting for Danrian, who was racing for the hidden doorway I knew was located in the wall behind the shifter cages.
“Stop!” I shouted, twirling another chakram around my index finger. “Stop, or I’ll cut your head off, I swear!”
Danrian froze, his eyes wide with fear and loathing as he eyed the spinning metal disk – I knew he had no doubt that I would follow through on my threat.
“How did you get those weapons in here!” he shouted as I advanced on him. “Those shackles are supposed to prevent you from using magic!” He pointed toward the restraints on my wrists, his finger trembling.
“Guess I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeve,” I sneered, grabbing him. Cries and screams echoed off the walls along with the sounds of dozens of stampeding feet, and I knew the humans were all rushing for the exit behind us again. Regardless of what happened to Danrian tonight, the Shifter Royale was finished – nobody was coming back after two incidents like this.
I didn’t have any cuffs of my own on me, so I turned Danrian around and slammed him face first against the wall, twisting one arm behind his back and pushing upward so that he was forced onto his toes. He cried out in pain, but I only pushed harder, the battle fever still surging within me redirected to a new purpose.
“Tell me who the Benefactor is. Now!”
“I can’t do that!” He choked out. “The Benefactor will kill me for sure if I do!”
“If you don’t tell me right now, I’m going to kill you!”
A set of fangs sank into the back of my calf, and I cried out as burning pain ripped through the muscle. Shocked, I twisted away, letting go of Danrian so I could confront my attacker. My blood dripped from Mika’s fangs as she snarled and charged at me again, still crazed from the drugs. My leg was too weak for me to dodge, so I dropped to the ground and rolled to the side, then slashed at her again with my knives. I got her in the side again, and she roared as the wound from last time, which was not fully healed, split open again.
Bound by Magic: a New Adult Fantasy Novel (The Baine Chronicles Book 2) Page 18
