by K H Lemoyne
Let it only be cold and exhaustion.
If not for the damn manacles, he could take her somewhere safe. Fold her to someone who could help her. Instead, she remained trapped here with him, destined to suffer for his choices.
The water only trickled, lacking the volume and spread for good coverage. He reached above them to feel for the fissure where the water exited, a crack too small even for a finger hold. He glanced around for something to wedge in the hole. The stalactite above his ear dripped a blot of water onto his shoulder.
One quick snap and he wedged the cone’s tip into the fissure. A sharp blow from his palm and the crack in the wall exploded. Large bits of rock fell to their feet as the water from the new hole gushed at first and then settled into a slow stream. Brushing out fragments, he worked for a larger section. It took several minutes, but he finally removed enough to provide a strong, steady flow from the hole. The small torrent pooled along the ground to form a puddle at their feet.
He kicked the debris and sediment in to a pile over the drainage point. The artificial dam expanded his puddle to a shallow tub. Roughly a foot or two of standing water filled the makeshift basin before the excess over-spilled through a new crack. He crouched with Mia. When she whimpered, he turned her to allow her to sit in the hot water puddle. The water, deep enough to cover her legs, lacked the heat to burn her skin and allowed him generous handfuls to ward off hyperthermia.
Turen ignored the sulfur’s assault to his senses. He cupped water and poured as he whispered endearments long forgotten. Childhood memories and shadows of previous lives traced their way through his mind as he held her.
“Turen?”
Her lashes brushed against his skin, and he closed his eyes in relief. “I’m here, little warrior.”
“Stay with me.”
“I’ve got you, love.” He pressed his lips to the softness of her cheek. “I thought we agreed you weren’t here to save me.”
“Couldn’t let you go…your souls,” she murmured against his chest.
Turen froze, though his hands involuntarily tightened around her body. “What?”
Her breathing had evened out, her muscles no longer stiff but pliant as she started to relax, but now he couldn’t allow her peace. He needed answers. “Mia. What did you say?”
She burrowed closer and he held her away despite her sound of discomfort. “Too much—too many lost.”
A chill traveled up his spine, worked its way to his throat, and choked his next words. “Where—”
“Rheanna’s words.” She let out a sigh and burrowed again.
What had she done? In his shock, he pulled her close, only to realize his fingers were digging into her arms. He gentled his hold, but fear didn’t release its grip as he searched through explanations. Even with her new and dangerous knowledge, his instinct to safeguard her reared faster than he could control. Perhaps through sheer force of will he could shield her against what she might know.
Turen closed his eyes, buried his face in her hair, and whispered a fervent prayer as he inhaled deeply. Her scent emanated no sign of subterfuge or guilt. No surprise. Whatever she’d found out, her sole impetus was always to help him, her determined efforts driven by her compassion. His human warrior, a combination of Joan of Arc and Amazon princess all rolled into one amazing, terrifying package. Commendable qualities, but they would get her killed.
He rubbed his face against the crown of her head, soaked in the fragrance of her hair, and held her tighter. Her injury and their confinement in Xavier’s compound were his fault. His oath to protect the inner secrets of his race lived well outside the lines of their immediate problems.
She wasn’t a threat to his people. He would stake his life on it and commit to keeping what she knew a secret. She deserved no less for all her sacrifices. It wasn’t a decision he made lightly. Yet for brutal minutes, his decision hammered at odds with his loyalties, banging without remorse through every dictate for secrecy and caution instilled in all of the children of the Sanctum. The overlay of Salvatore’s voice recounting an endless list of rules and cautions cemented his final decision.
Doubts dealt with, he pushed concern for Mia to the forefront, aware that whatever knowledge she’d uncovered would leave her vulnerable forever.
He knew her. Whatever she’d found was only the beginning of her search, because like the tide, she was relentless in her defense of him. If he didn’t get her out of the compound, he would become her undoing. The clock was ticking. The unsettling thought that Mia would be the detonation at the end of this dismal countdown burned in his blood.
Loyalties be damned. First, they would get out of here. Then he would struggle with how to keep her inquiring mind a secret from the other Guardians. Freedom from prison should release her from her folds. They would part and go their separate ways.
And then he’d be deader inside than Xavier.
“Mia.”
She murmured against his chest, nuzzling deeper.
“You need to move. Wake up.” He tapped at her cheek with his fingers. When she shrank away, he grabbed her upper arms and pulled her up with him. Her legs crumpled instead of supporting her weight, but she became more cognizant and reached for him. He held her farther away and gave her a little shake. “I need your help. It’s important.”
He received a blink at that. So predictable. “Wake up, beautiful.”
“I’m tired.”
After her garbled words her blinking ceased and she sought the comfort of his chest.
“You’ll feel better once you shake off the lethargy of the cold. We have to get moving. Now.”
She raised a hand to his jaw, her frown still wrinkling her forehead.
“Please focus.”
With a shake of her head, she tried. He let her lean back against him with a sigh. “I need to get you dressed.”
One faint nod bobbed against his shoulder. Slowly he walked her back to her backpack and knelt with her. Digging through the pack for anything to dry her with, he finally found a kitchen towel. How had she packed so much in this small bag?
He wiped her slowly while her fingers traced the wounds on his chest.
“I was afraid you’d leave me for good.” Her breath stroked his skin. His arousal stirred even as half of his body parts screamed in protest. The image of her cold body, listless in his arms, taking too long to regenerate, snapped the lid closed on his lust.
“We need a solid agreement about the healing.”
She tilted her head, her eyes surprisingly alert given her obvious fatigue. The tense set to her mouth promised no give.
“Okay. You don’t get the crap beaten out of you and I won’t heal you.”
He squeezed his eyes tight with a wince. “That wasn’t where I was going.”
“I figured.” He could hear the smile in her voice, which irritated him as much as it amused him.
“If you keep this up, you could die here. Is that what you want?” His fingers held her jaw and forced her to look at him. “I need you to be alive. I need you to safeguard items I’ve found, to take them with you, and guard them on the outside.”
He wanted to be able to look deep into her eyes. The darkness held back his wish. The day she was almost caught in the hallway, he’d received a swipe to the head from a guard because he couldn’t look away from the incredible dark blue of her eyes. The lack of lighting now only made the memory stronger. However, the lack of light didn’t hide the stubborn set of her jaw and her commitment to him. God could damn him to hell, but he would use her determination against her.
“I have more blood vials. Ones I’m certain are Xavier’s. It’s critical you take and freeze them until I come for them. We will find our way out of here. I need you to promise me you’ll take them to safety. Get those vials and secure them. Don’t let anyone take them from your possession. Promise me.” His hand clenched on her arm with her slow response and her skeptical expression, but she offered him a brief nod.
Uncertain how long th
ey had been in this cavern, he couldn’t anticipate when she might be due to disappear. Her time with him rarely lasted more than six or seven hours at the most, the exception being the unprecedented day of their lovemaking. He would need to move fast to get to those vials before Mia disappeared. One last time.
He pressed his lips to hers before he could stop. Not even the stiffness in his jaw could mar the sweet taste of her kiss. In this dank cave, her mouth and lips held all the warmth and joy of happier days, joy he felt with every fiber of his being. Moving away from her lips, he leaned his forehead against hers.
“Once you take those vials, they will be more important than saving me.” He stopped her shake of denial with his fingers to her lips. “There is information in the blood. I’m certain. My people will need to know the truth to survive. It may save many, and I’m depending on you.” He leaned away, but his hand remained on her cheek.
“Some things are more important than what we want. If you are to help me, then I must hold you to the same commitments I keep. If you get those vials out, you need to find a way to block the fold to me. Don’t leave the evidence, for any reason.”
It wasn’t fair, and he didn’t want to ask this of her. But they both knew life wasn’t fair, more importantly he would lie, cheat, and steal to keep her away from this place.
She started to purse her lips. He moved farther back and gave her a shake. “This is my life, my covenant. This is who I am. You can’t save me just to let me fail. If you truly believe you are here to help me, then you have to trust in what I ask. You’re strong enough to do this.”
“It’ll be for nothing if you don’t survive.”
He bit back a smile at her terse comment and brushed her cheek with his thumb. “I’ve survived this long. I don’t believe my destiny is to expire here. You’ve gotten me this far, my beautiful warrior.” The softness of her skin almost undid him. “The only way we’re going to move this forward is to stop our cycle. You get the vials safe and block your fold to me. I promise I’ll survive to get out of here.”
“I’ll get the vials out.” Her voice was unsteady as she stroked his jaw. “And I’ll protect them. I refused to stand back and let you die. I can’t do it. I won’t lie to you just to placate you.”
With luck, his kiss to her fingertips hid his emotions, for in truth he was asking her to do something he would never promise to do. “We’ll cross that bridge. For now let’s find a way out of here.”
***
Turen clenched Mia’s hand in his as they made their way past Xavier’s quarters. The brief tremor of her fingers hinted at her fear. If not for the deep nagging in his gut, he would leave Xavier’s samples and wait for her to return to safety. Something primal screamed to him that those samples were worth the risk. Especially if she would stay away to protect them.
They hadn’t been this exposed together since she’d first appeared outside his cell. He’d worked with her, trained her, tested her, and given her guidance. No amount of instruction would save her if she ran into Rasheer or Xavier.
Speed and luck were their only allies here. “We get the vials, get back to the cave, and wait until you disappear. That’s it.”
She squeezed his hand in response.
The exit to the cave had taken awhile to find. A rock slab in the corridor where Mia had folded hid a man-size tunnel that led to the compound’s interior not far from Xavier’s living level.
He had tried to convince her to stay in the cave until he returned. She’d refused, arguing the sooner she had the vials in her pouch the better, in case she suddenly disappeared. He finally relented under her logic, given it supported his own ploy.
If they encountered anyone, he’d lead them away and leave Mia to hide until she was safe.
At the crevice in the wall, Turen extracted the pouch and sealed it into a plastic food container in her backpack. The vials would withstand a few knocks in the container if something didn’t actually crush it.
The easy part out of the way, they turned back.
Boot heels rang out from the stone floor behind them. He glanced at her, but her hand locked on his as she shook her head, refusing to let go and take separate avenues. With a quick snort of frustration, he turned her around. “We find a corridor to hide in. Then head back to the cave.”
Turen pushed her before him to cover any sudden confrontation from behind until a new sound echoed from up ahead. Before he could consider options, Rasheer’s voice with the team in front made up his mind.
Shit. They had to turn back and confront the threat behind them.
As they swung around, Turen patted along Mia’s leg until his fingers met with the blade sheathed there. Good preparation. He pushed her hand over the hilt and pulled her to his side as they breached the entrance of the corridor.
Surprise was their only advantage and anything was better than Rasheer. Turen lunged around the corner. His strike to the guard’s throat left the man only enough time to gasp in surprise before his eyes rolled back and he dropped.
He pushed Mia into the adjoining corridor and grabbed the next guard’s wrist, stalling the gun in his hand at hip level. This guard didn’t suffer from the element of surprise. He had several inches and a good fifty pounds to his advantage, boasting more strength and less dexterity. The assessment registered with Turen in a split second.
Unfortunately, the guard also shouted a warning before he clipped Turen with his free fist.
The blow glanced off Turen’s cheek. He pulled the guard lower and smashed his elbow into the man’s face. Blood sprayed from the guard’s nose, but he refused to back down and instead jockeyed for position.
Turen wrestled to spin him and bent back the man’s wrist to push him down. He lost precious seconds before his fingers finally dug over the critical artery in the man’s neck to force unconsciousness. The maneuver worked, but the time lapse had allowed Rasheer to arrive with six men.
Spinning on the balls of his feet, Turen threw an arm around Mia’s neck. He dragged her back to his chest and grappled the knife from her hands. Stunned, she grabbed at his forearm, struggling in front of him as he dragged her down a new corridor, using her as his shield against the guards.
Confusion flickered over several of the guards’ faces.
Suddenly understanding his action, she started to ease into his hold. Turen tightened his grip to cause her pain, her gasp a sign of success. He needed her to be a victim. A connection with him in front of these enemies wasn’t an option.
It would be Rasheer’s pleasure to kill her, though Turen didn’t doubt Rasheer would find ways to keep Mia alive and suffering for a very long time, much longer if he suspected her link to Turen.
“Be still,” he snarled, loud enough for all to hear. He pressed the knife to her side, a tiny nick, enough to elicit a cry of surprise, before he slipped the knife toward her back and hid the tip in the fold of her backpack.
She didn’t relinquish her struggle. They inched their way backward onto a series of catwalks, a construction of metal and wires, suspended over the main distribution area of Xavier’s compound.
Turen growled in frustration. Could this get any worse?
Heads below turned to follow the disturbance. Turen kept his focus on Rasheer. The man smirked, signaling with two fingers for one squad of men to separate and cut off Turen’s escape. “I want them both alive. Damaged is fine.”
Two minutes—all the time he had to figure out a new option before the foursome at his back met up with them. Turen glanced over the railing at the crowd below. He had no ability to assess who might be useful as a pawn or an ally—no help there. A second series of catwalks ran in a diagonal pattern beneath theirs.
He squeezed Mia and whispered into her ear, “Fight me and go over the side.”
She shook her head.
Turen shook her and glanced over his shoulder. Rasheer hadn’t moved, but his men were almost on top of them.
“Fight me, damn it,” he snarled and angled the knife tip fro
m the backpack. He gouged Mia’s side again, harder this time. She wouldn’t have lasting marks, but there would be blood.
Her instinct and training kicked in. One hand released his arm. Her head turned, her foot lifted and fists clenched as she drove her elbow back into him, stomped on his instep and then pivoted. Her fingernails clawed for his neck, as she twisted the knife from his hold.
He made a play at grabbing for her only to knock her with his elbow over the side. In a last-minute grab, he caught her wrist, his hold firm.
Mia dangled below him, her pupils dilated in fear. Yet the trust reflected in her eyes choked the breath from him even as he released his fingers and confirmed her feet safely touched the second catwalk.
How had he done this to her? Nothing was worth what he’d subjected her to.
He turned and sank a fist into one of the men converging on him.
With a quick canvass of the crew before him, he realized Rasheer was no longer on his catwalk. Turen roared in rage, the adrenaline, and terror for Mia kicking in. His speed and skill brought low three of those tackling him, but two more soldiers had arrived.
The twist of their battle spun him to look down, down to where Rasheer prepared to cut off Mia from the exits below.
***
Mia’s body shook uncontrollably, even with her feet flat on the catwalk. Desperate, she held on to Turen’s words.
Assess your options. Find one. Then a backup. Then a third. No matter how bad they seem. The memory of Turen’s voice echoed through her mind. They’d spent hours running through scenarios, ways to buy her time if she ever had to face Xavier’s men by herself.
She kept a firm grip around the knife in her hand, holding it like a stake.
To the left was an exit that led back into the stonework mazes of the compound. She could see several guards from the higher catwalk climbing down metal stairs bracketed into the rock wall to cut off that option.
