“She must be somewhere around here,” the blond man said.
Laura realized he was the warlock she had once followed to the lake.
“It’s too dangerous for a kid that age, and a girl, to be all alone out here,” the dark haired one with the long ponytail added.
Laura’s heart stopped beating when she recognized the impossibly tall man as the Controller. He was here to take her to the Renegade Youth Shelter. She would be separated from Black. She started shaking and Black whined as the two men spotted the entrance to her place.
The blond was about to enter, while the demon paused in mid-step, and tilted his head toward Laura’s hiding spot. The Controller’s nostrils flared.
“I think I found something,” the demon said.
Black emitted a low growl.
“What the—?” The Controller stepped aside as Black charged him.
Black barked, then bit into the demon’s thighs.
“Calm down, pup.” The man tried to push the dog away, but Black didn’t relent. “Caelum? Some help?”
Fear of being discovered paralyzed Laura and she stood frozen, flat against the rocky wall, her eyes wide open, unable to do anything.
“Calm down, Peter. It’s just a dog.” The warlock laughed and approached Black with one hand already circling the air to cast a spell.
Run, Black! Run! Laura wanted to scream her warning, but her mouth opened and closed without a sound coming out of it.
To her relief, Black reared back, growled louder baring his teeth, gave the spot where she was a glance, then broke into a run. The two men pursued him immediately, and Laura was left alone and shaking.
“Oh gods. Oh gods. Oh gods—” She fell to her knees and rocked her body while repeating the same words over and over.
Black had saved her. In her mind, there was no doubt the Newfoundland had sacrificed himself to give her a chance to escape those men. She felt lost. Pain, unbearable in its quality started from her heart and radiated through her limbs and organs until it encompassed her like a net. And finally, she screamed, letting the hurt out, but it didn’t lessen its intensity.
Riddled with guilt and desperation, without a plan, Laura started running after them, taking one tunnel after the other, but soon realized they were gone. She could cover the whole maze of the Promenade, walk through the fifteen hectares of catacombs, even risk her freedom and enter magik territory, and never reach them. Black was gone. Beside herself with grief, she kept running until she reached the lake where she had spent the most beautiful afternoon with him. Only then she let herself break into pieces, her legs hitting the pebbled ground with a soft thump. She didn’t bother to cushion her head and felt the small pointy rocks embedding in her cheek.
Looking out over the placid water, she grieved until she had no more tears and her lungs couldn’t pump air anymore. Drained and hopeless, she knew her fever had spiked and embraced it, hoping it would make her mind numb. At some point, the light from the big eye in the ceiling faded and the cave was surrounded by mist rising from the water. Exhausted, she closed her eyes, her thoughts all about what she should have done to spare Black from the terrible fate he must be facing in the hands of the demon. She fell asleep, hoping the warlock—the Controller had called him Caelum—would intercede for her friend.
A wet tongue licking her face woke Laura.
A warm breath smelling very much like dog fanned over her, and her heart stopped beating for a spell. “Black?” She didn’t dare open her eyes for fear she was dreaming, but his familiar scent was too thick to be nothing but real. His furred body weighed heavily against her side, as if he was trying to roll her over. “Black. You’re really here.” The joy she felt was such she didn’t think she could be any happier ever again.
She caressed him and hugged him, then whispered how much she had missed him. “We can’t go home anymore.” She didn’t care. She had him and that was everything to her. “Maybe we can relocate in one of the small caves just outside this one. If we’re careful, no one will find us.” Lowering her head to his neck, she sank into his fur and let his presence fill her senses.
After a while, Black moved and she had to shift position.
She looked at him. His fur was dirty, and he looked thinner, but she knew that had happened in a matter of days and not overnight—she probably looked as thin as him. But he was unharmed and they were together again and nothing else mattered, except their next meal. She raised one hand before her and confirmed she had lost too much weight. “Let’s go have dinner at one of the posh cafés by the river.” She swayed, but managed to keep upright.
Black gave her a sympathetic look with his liquid eyes.
She patted him. “I won’t fail you again. Tonight, we eat.” With great effort, she took a few uncertain steps. When her sight cleared from the flashing stars that kept dancing before her eyes, she was able to speed up her pace to a slow stroll. “You came back to me and I won’t let you starve.”
Black attached his body to hers, and followed her lead. In her weakened condition, it took them two hours to reach the edge of the uncharted territory leading to the Promenade’s main artery. Laura kept to the hidden tunnels, the ones nature had made in thousands of years of geological erosion and water infiltrations. The tunnels only a small girl who didn’t suffer from claustrophobia and her big dog could navigate. They emerged into the festively illuminated Promenade, and a chaos of colors and smells hit Laura’s senses. Black stepped back and whined.
People wearing costumes ran all over the large street. Every flat surface was covered with carved pumpkins. Even the Styx was overflowing with floating lanterns shaped like skulls. The smell of cotton candy and roasted chestnuts filled Laura’s nostrils, making her stomach protest as she salivated. She had forgotten it was Samhain already.
Fireworks exploded on the rocky ceiling of the Promenade, cascading over the barges populating the arbor far ahead. Black barked and jumped behind her, almost knocking her down in his hasty retreat.
“It’s okay. Don’t worry. I’m here with you.” She soothed him with a few slow strokes. “We must move now, when everyone is busy looking up.”
Black whined, but obeyed her silent command when she pressed her hand over his flank.
As she strolled in the middle of the street, never releasing her hold on him, she kept her chin low. “This is the first bit of good luck we’ve encountered.”
All the paranormal world celebrated Samhain, and the Promenade—safely secluded from the mortal world above—went a bit crazy for the occasion. Laura counted on the general tipsiness to do her business without being detected. A brief glance at her outfit and she let out a chuckle. “I can be a convincing zombie.” She also drudged along like one. “I really need to eat something. I feel light as a feather.” She eyed one of the small cafés they had already hit. Only when they were before its entrance, she remembered it was a vegetarian restaurant. “I’m sorry, Black. No meat tonight, but we can’t be picky.”
The fireworks were still exploding over their heads and she sent Black forth with a pat on his rump. “You know the drill.” She waited for him to be inside the café, then tried to listen over the chaotic din for his signal, a joyous bark that arrived a moment later. As stealthily as her body let her, she ambled toward the rear of the building.
The narrow alley was illuminated by a streetlamp and the light spilling from the restaurant’s kitchen. She went to the Dutch door with its window portion open and lowered the handle from the inside. Black was giving his best show. She could hear people talking to him, complimenting him for his beauty, asking out loud where his owners were, but all the same giving him morsels and soft pats. Laura was about to faint, but strengthened her resolve and powered through her mission. In less than a minute, she was in and out of the kitchen, her crossed arms full of bakery products, the hood of her sweater bursting with savory pastries, and every pocket filled with fruit. One soft sweetbread found its way into her mouth and she swallowed it in two bites a
nd almost choked on it.
Back in the alley, she sat by the shadowy corner and stuffed herself with food. She couldn’t have walked one more step. Fatigue had finally caught up with her. “This is heaven.” Her eyes closed, she kept chewing whatever her hand blindly fed her.
The three vampires surrounded her before she even heard them approaching. When she opened her eyes to check what had caused the slight shift in temperature, she had to arch her neck, but once her eyes focused on the backlit shadows she saw the three men smiling cruelly at her.
“What do we have here?”
“A smelly shifter I reckon.”
“A renegade shifter.”
“One nobody will care to look for.”
“We can have some fun with her.”
“Brilliant idea.”
“Capital.”
“Who knows, maybe under all that grime she’s pretty.”
“Only one way to find out.”
Nails sharp as scissors cut the front of her sweater. She knew what was coming, and summoned, pleaded for her panther to come forth and gift her with enough strength to stave them off until someone would notice the ruckus. Her panther was as weak as she was and barely responded to her call. “Please.”
“How many layers are there, shifter?”
Cold laughs. Crude comments.
“Here, let me help you.”
The rest of her clothes were shredded as if they were pieces of paper. Hard hands probed her naked skin. She screamed and kicked and punched. A slap whistled through the air and hit her with such violence her head hit the brick wall behind her. A hand shackled her wrists together up high.
“Well, that’s disappointing, isn’t it?”
“I thought she was older.”
“And definitely curvier.”
“She will do anyway.”
“Yeah, you’re right.”
She tried to kick the one holding her in place, but another slap turned her head to the side.
“I’ll go first.”
She was pushed down. Her legs were pulled apart.
“She isn’t fighting anymore. It’s no fun like this.” Cold fingers poked and probed her.
Lost in her desperation and fear, she almost didn’t hear the terrifying bark tearing the air apart. Black attacked the vampire leaning over her and sent him sprawling to the right. Laura screamed as loud as she could and pushed herself up. People came running from the restaurant. The alley was soon populated with witnesses and the three vampires decided it was time to depart. Some of the paranormals ran after them and disappeared into the ever-changing crowd.
“Are you okay?” An immortal lady approached Laura.
Black growled at her, showing his teeth, white saliva foaming all around his muzzle.
“Are you okay?” the lady asked again.
Black stood before Laura, shielding her. She touched him reassuringly. “I’m fine,” she answered both the lady and her friend, who relaxed at her words.
“Do you need anything?” A second immortal, maybe the lady’s male companion, stepped closer.
When he averted his eyes, Laura remembered her clothes were in tatters. The man removed his sweater and offered it to her.
As she reached for it, Black barked at the immortal.
“It’s okay, Black.” She caressed him, then looked up at the couple. “Thank you.” She made to move, but the lady raised one hand.
“Maybe you should wait for an enforcer. We’ve called—”
“No, there’s no need. I’ll go straight home. Thanks. I’ll bring the sweater back here for you.” She lowered it down her head and wore it like a poncho, without bothering with the sleeves.
The man raised his hands and shook his head. “It’s okay. You can keep it.”
Flanked by Black, whose barking and growling was menacing, she walked around the couple, thanked them one more time, and merged into the colorful crowd before they could stop her.
In a daze, she reached the other side of the street and slid into the shadows as she had done so many times in the past. The last of the fireworks illuminated the Promenade and she entered her secret passage. Once in the tunnel, she pressed a hand to the wall and threw up everything she had just eaten. Spasms rocked her stomach for several minutes before she could breathe again. She sat with her head between her knees and only when she realized that Black’s body wasn’t touching hers, she looked up.
“Black? Are you okay?” She tilted her chin sideways and frowned.
Black was lying down, his big body still.
“Black?” She scooted toward him. “What—” The sight and the smell of the blood hit her at once.
A viscous, maroon pool grew under Black.
“Black, no!” She cradled him to her, and her friend looked at her, then lowered his head to her lap.
He sighed, then collapsed lower.
“No, no, no—” Pain, shock, anger, terror, helplessness, every emotion in that spectrum ran through her twice. “I won’t let you die. You hear me?” She kissed his fur. “I won’t.” She stood and ran straight toward the one direction she usually skirted around. Fear gave her wings and her memory helped her find her way through the confusing maze leading to Magik Nation.
“Caelum! I’m looking for Caelum!” she yelled while running closer to the places guarded by incantations. Although pain pierced through her side and she felt like throwing up again, she didn’t pause, but screamed the warlock’s name, hoping someone was close by on the other side of those walls to hear her plea. Her forces dwindled, but she didn’t stop running. “Caelum! I’m the girl you were looking for. I need your help!” She finally saw black and lost her footing. Even from the ground, she kept calling out. “I won’t resist. I’ll go to the shelter, but you have to help my friend first.” At the end, she could only whisper, but that didn’t stop her from repeating her SOS.
The air around her changed in quality, and she felt the molecules of reality rearranging themselves as a section of the tuff rock before her opened and revealed a portal. The blond warlock stepped out of it, a surprised expression on his face that soon morphed into worry. He called for help and other people rushed to his side. Laura was surrounded by warlocks and witches, all of them tending to her, but she locked eyes with Caelum. “My friend, Black, the big Newfoundland you chased through the tunnels yesterday is wounded. Please help him.”
Caelum nodded, then reached for her hand and squeezed it lightly. “Where is he?”
With the last remnants of her strength, Laura told him where she had left Black. Then she saw one of the witches lean over her and move her elegant hands in a circular pattern before her face. She heard the woman whispering, but she couldn’t understand what she was saying. Her head felt light, and she thought she saw white feathers raining down from the ceiling. The woman’s voice became hypnotic and Laura swayed in time with the witch’s incantation. “Don’t make me sleep. I need to know my friend’s fine first.”
“Don’t worry, cub. Caelum will take care of him. Now, rest.” The witch smiled.
Laura had only seen her mom smile as sweetly as that. She closed her eyes, too tired to fight the spell.
She came to herself gradually, as if emerging from a long slumber and found she was lying on a firm mattress. “I can’t remember the last time I slept on a bed.” Still with her eyes closed, she kept mumbling, patting all around her. “No, I do remember. It was four years ago.”
“That’s because you’ve been running away ever since.”
The man’s voice startled her and she jolted up into a sitting position as she frantically looked around. When she saw the huge demon lazily sitting on a chair by the corner, she screamed.
The Controller sighed. “Calm down.” He waited for her to stop her wailing, then stretched his legs out and crossed his ankles.
“My dog.” She couldn’t say more than that.
The Controller tilted his head. “He’s fine. Caelum healed him.”
Laura’s heart beat again and
her lungs let so much air in all at once, she gasped. One hand over her chest, she closed her eyes for a moment, willing away her tears of joy. “Let me see him before you take me away.” She looked back at him. “Please.”
The demon smiled. His whole face lit when his eyes changed color. From a dark brown, they became almost green. “You know he’s a shifter, right?”
She lowered her eyes to the coverlet.
He laughed, then looked up at the ceiling and shook his head. “You do.”
She felt her cheeks warm. “I would’ve never betrayed him.”
“I mean no harm to him or you.”
Laura snorted. “Yeah, right. That’s why you’ve tried to track me down like an animal.”
He folded his arms over his chest. “To the contrary, I’ve been trying to track you down only to help you.”
“Sending me to the Renegade Youth Shelter.” Laura rolled her eyes to the ceiling. “Don’t think so.”
His smile faded. “I can’t leave you all alone. It’s dangerous. I’m sorry it’s not what you want.”
Laura couldn’t help but notice the demon’s voice had a soft quality and that, despite what she thought of him, he did seem like a nice person. “It doesn’t matter what I want, does it?”
“No, I’m afraid it doesn’t.” He pressed his hands over the chair arms and hoisted himself up.
He was so tall Laura had to raise her chin to look at his face. “Our transportation is waiting. You’ll feel much better at the shelter. You’ll like it.” He walked to the door—an actual door, and lowered the handle.
“Please, let me see Black before we leave.”
“There’s no need—”
Laura jumped to the floor, her naked feet stomping on the cold tiles. “I beg you, give me just a moment with him.”
“He’s coming with you.” The demon gave her one last smile, then left.
Badass and the Beast: 10 Page 19
