Zaureth Awakened: 11.5 (Enigma)

by Ditter Kellen

  Horrified by the evidence of an erection pressing against her stomach, Amy tried to shrink away from him. The nausea rolling through her gut won over, and she heaved with the force of it.

  “What the hell?”

  She was suddenly thrown back hard enough she landed against the wall before crumpling into a ball on the floor.

  A knock sounded on the door. “Mr. Kerik?”

  Amy’s terror intensified. Her captor was none other than Matt Kerik.

  “What is it?” Kerik growled from a few feet away.”

  “Have you seen the news, sir? The military has ordered an airstrike at the entrance to Aukrabah. Seems there’s a war going on there.”

  Amy’s heart stopped. Aukrabah was at war, which meant that if Zaureth wasn’t injured like she’d originally suspected, he would be in the center of it all. If he somehow found out that Kerik had his mate, he would lower his defenses to reach out to her.

  She’d done the right thing by shutting him out of her thoughts. If he lost his life…

  The door slammed shut, pulling Amy out of her tormented thoughts.

  She strained to listen for any sound of movement.

  Satisfied she’d been left alone, she struggled to her feet.

  Amy felt along the wall in search of a window only to come up empty. Which told her one of two things: either she was being kept in the interior room of a house, or they’d taken her to an outbuilding somewhere. Of course, she could be wrong on both counts.

  With her hands out in front of her, she carefully made her way around the room until her leg bumped into something unforgiving.

  She ran her fingers along its surface only to realize she’d stumbled onto the footboard of a bed.

  Moving around to the side, Amy eased her weight down to the edge of the mattress. She couldn’t stop the tears that entered her eyes any more than she could stop the war going on in Aukrabah.

  Her hand moved to cover her abdomen, the place where her unborn child rested. No matter what happened to her while in Kerik’s hands, she would protect her baby. Zaureth’s baby…

  Another burst of light flashed behind Amy’s eyes, catching her off guard. She braced herself for the pain that had been accompanying it, but thankfully, it didn’t come.

  Breathing a sigh of relief, she concentrated on the light, her eyes attempting to follow it. No matter how hard she tried, it continued to elude her.

  The sound of the door opening sent Amy surging back to her feet. The last thing she wanted was for Kerik to trap her on that bed.

  But it wasn’t Kerik who entered the room this time.

  “I brought you some food,” a feminine voice announced, dripping with disdain. “I’ll leave it on the table next to the bed.”

  “Wait,” Amy rushed out, hoping against hope that she could reach the woman’s sympathetic side. “Please don’t go.”

  An annoyed sigh resounded. “What do you want?”

  Choosing her words carefully, Amy ventured, “Do you live here?”

  “No. Now if that’s all, I’ll be back shortly to get your tray.”

  Amy needed to think fast before the woman left the room. “What’s on the tray? Would you mind helping me with the utensils and such?”

  Another sigh reached Amy’s ears. The distinct sound of a chair being dragged across the floor came shortly after.

  She took hold of Amy’s arm, roughly yanking her to the side until her thigh touched the chair’s seat. “Sit. I’ll be right back.”

  Amy did as she was told, holding completely still until the sound of the door opening once more could be heard.

  “Move your hands,” the woman demanded. “I’m going to open this TV tray for you to eat on.”

  Holding her arms out, Amy waited until the woman grabbed hold of one of her hands and placed a fork against her palm. “It’s meatloaf, green beans, mashed potatoes, and a roll. Don’t knock your drink over. It’s on the left side of your plate.”

  “Thank you,” Amy softly replied. Though she had no appetite, she needed to eat to keep up her strength and give nourishment to her unborn baby.

  The woman didn’t respond right away. And then, “Don’t thank me. It was Matt’s decision to feed you. You mean more to him alive than dead. At least, until he gets what he wants.”

  Amy’s blood ran cold. Matt Kerik intended on using her as bait to draw out Zaureth and then kill her once he had what he wanted. He had no idea that she and Zaureth could speak telepathically, or he would torture her until she called out to her mate.

  A shudder passed through Amy. No matter what Kerik said or did to her, she would never let him know of her bond with Zaureth. Never.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Zaureth wasn’t sure how long he’d run when the safe house on the outskirts of Destin came into view.

  He vaulted over a nearby car, calling to a guard patrolling the fence line, “Open the gate!”

  The guard’s eyes grew huge. He jerked his weapon free of its holster and aimed it at Zaureth’s running form.

  Vickers appear out of nowhere, slamming into the guard, effectively preventing him from shooting Zaureth.

  The gate was halfway open by the time Zaureth flew past the downed guard. He flew across the manicured lawn on his way to the house when Vickers’s voice penetrated his panic-filled mind.

  “She’s not here!”

  Zaureth stopped so fast the trees surrounding the house began to spin in his vision.

  He staggered around to face Vickers, who’d followed him up from the gate. “My mate is not here?”

  Vickers shook his head, holding his hands up in front of him as a sign of peace. “She got sick a couple times. She’s been taken over to Doctor Lynnville’s office to get checked out.”

  Zaureth’s eyes narrowed. “You allowed her to leave the safe house?”

  Vickers opened his mouth to respond, then slowly brought his hand up to a device in his ear, a device Zaureth had seen Thrasher use before.

  “What?” Vickers bit out, his face growing pale. “When? I’m on my way.”

  Lowering his hand, Vickers met Zaureth’s gaze. “Our man that took Miss Brighton to see the doctor has been shot and killed. Your wife is missing.”

  The vibrations inside Zaureth’s body intensified. He threw out his arms, releasing all the rage and power building within.

  Vickers’s feet came off the ground, his body flying through the air to land somewhere beyond the shrubs.

  The windows of the safe house began to shatter, and car alarms were going off three streets over.

  Voices penetrated Zaureth’s agony, reminding him that Amy’s sister and the others were dwelling inside.

  He forced his arms to lower, but the power building within couldn’t be stopped.

  “Get back,” Zaureth snarled at the men pouring outside.

  He turned his gaze upward, allowing the burst of power to release toward the sky.

  The wind began to whip through the yard, blowing Zaureth hair into his face. Still, he couldn’t move.

  Trees fell around the house, and vehicles parked along the curb were forced into the road.

  Amy had been taken.

  Zaureth opened his mouth, crying toward the heavens. He would destroy all of mankind if something happened to his mate. “Amyyyyy!”

  And then he felt it, the barest of emotions coming from his love. She lived, of that he was certain.

  Why was she shutting him out? She’d closed herself off from him, was purposely not communicating with him.

  Unable to control the power circulating within him, Zaureth lowered to his knees and reached out to the elders who had gone on before. “Help me…”

  Shapes began to form inside the wind circling above, shadows Zaureth would recognize anywhere.

  They swarmed him like bees, passing through and above him.

  He homed in on their essence, drawing from them what they offered until the whipping wind slowed to a stop, and his body went completely limp.

&
nbsp; “Amy,” he whispered as darkness overtook him.

  * * * *

  Zaureth came awake, blinking up at the ceiling above. Where was he? He definitely wasn’t in Aukrabah.

  “Hey,” Mallory soothed, her face appearing in his vision. “Is it safe to touch you?”

  Why wouldn’t it be safe to touch him? And then, memory came flooding back.

  Zaureth sat up so fast his head spun.

  Mallory jumped back a foot, uncertainty in her blue eyes. “Zaureth?”

  He met Mallory’s gaze. “How long have I been out?”

  Vaulcron answered his question as he stepped into the room. “Twenty-four hours.”

  Zaureth’s heart stuttered. He threw his legs off the side of the bed and moved to stand.

  “Whoa.” Vaulcron hurried forward, gripping Zaureth by the shoulders. “You need to heal, my friend.”

  The wound in Zaureth’s side burned like fire, but he didn’t care. He needed to find his Amy. “Move, Vaulcron.”

  Hauke, Zyen, and Pyre entered the room. Hauke spoke first. “You cannot find your mate in your condition. You need to heal. I’ve brought you something to help speed up your recovery.”

  Zyen stepped forward, holding two large buckets in either hand. Placing them on the floor next to the bed, he reached into one of the buckets and presented Zaureth with a large, live grouper.

  Zaureth didn’t need to be told that he needed blood. But most importantly, to heal, he needed the enzymes the grouper would provide.

  Accepting the large fish, Zaureth brought it to his mouth and sank his fangs deep.

  He drained the fish dry before repeating the process with the other one. His mind spun with the implications of everything that had happened. If he was to find Amy, he needed to calm down and think clearly.

  With a nod of thanks to Zyen, Zaureth pushed to his feet and staggered over to a shattered window. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew he’d been responsible for the damage.

  Zaureth spoke without turning away from the window. “Tell me everything you know.”

  Pyre cleared his throat. “From the information I took from Vickers, it would seem that Matt Kerik has your Amy.”

  Zaureth’s eyes slid shut. His precious Amy was at the mercy of an insane monster.

  He turned to face Pyre. Zaureth knew without question that Pyre took information the old-fashioned way. By crawling through the land walker’s mind. Probably while he slept. “You are certain Kerik is responsible?”

  “Not one hundred percent. But a partial fingerprint was gathered by the police, and from the description given by the surviving nurse, one of the men who took Amy has a history with Kerik.”

  Zaureth’s barbs grew erect, tingling with venom. “I want to speak with this nurse.”

  “That’s going to be impossible,” Vickers announced from the open doorway. “She’s recovering from a stab wound to the neck, therefore unable to speak. And how is that you came by this information? I only just learned it a few hours ago myself”

  Zaureth knew he had to tread carefully with Vickers. The man had an intelligence that surpassed most land walkers Zaureth had dealt with. It wouldn’t take much for the human to catch on to the Bracadyte’s telepathic abilities. “It matters not how I came about it. I wish to see this nurse.”

  Vickers narrowed his eyes. “After what happened yesterday, are you sure you can handle it? I mean, there are sick and injured people in the hospital. If you lost control—”

  “I will not lose control,” Zaureth softly growled, cutting off the rest of Vickers’s words. “Take me to this nurse.”

  Running a hand through his dark hair, Vickers blew out a breath. “I’ll need to run it by President Pratt. If—”

  Zaureth was in his face before he finished his sentence. “You can take me, or I go alone. Either way, I am going to the hospital.”

  Vickers nodded but didn’t back down from Zaureth. More respect blossomed to life for the man.

  “I’ll take you. If I had a wife, I’d like to think I’d do everything imaginable to get her back as well. Let’s go.”

  Hauke handed Zaureth his boots, which he promptly pulled on. Next, he accepted the blade Hauke offered, slipping it into the sheath still strapped to his thigh. “I am ready.”

  “As are we,” Pyre murmured, stepping up next to Zaureth. “We are coming with you.”

  Zaureth nodded, slipping into Hauke’s mind. “How fares our king and queen?”

  “Father is healing nicely, though, he does not appreciate Mother fussing over him.”

  Relieved that Laurel and Klause were okay, Zaureth sent back, “And Naura?”

  “Naura will be fine in a few days, as will Gryke.”

  More relief poured through Zaureth. “How many did we lose?”

  “We lost approximately thirty warriors, perhaps more. Some are still unaccounted for.”

  Thirty warriors, Zaureth thought, his heart heavy with pain. “And the Arkadians?”

  “The human military annihilated what was left.”

  “What of Kryten?”

  Hauke met Zaureth’s gaze. “He is still at large.”

  Zaureth thought about that for a moment as he followed Vickers down the stairs. “How did the military get involved in a Bracadyte dispute?”

  “Fiona brought them.”

  Reminding himself to thank the warrior Fiona, Zaureth marched out the front door and made his way to the black SUV parked in the drive.

  The others climbed into the backseat as Vickers got behind the wheel. He glanced over at Zaureth. “We good? Because this is a replacement for the one you destroyed yesterday.”

  “You are safe,” Zaureth assured him, turning to look out the window. Though he couldn’t promise for how long. If he didn’t find his Amy and soon, he didn’t know what would become of any of them, let alone the human that had been assigned to guard her.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Amy had been pacing her small prison for what seemed like days when the door opened and Kerik entered the room.

  His shoes could be heard coming across the floor in her direction. He stopped close enough where she could feel his breath on her face. “I have some news that might interest you. The war at the entrance to your alien’s cave is over.”

  Amy held her breath as he continued to speak.

  “It would seem that your lover survived the fight. He is alive and well.”

  Unable to control her reaction, Amy shuddered in relief.

  Kerik laughed, an insane sound that Amy would no doubt hear in her dreams for years to come. “Your reaction to the news of your lover’s escape from death is palpable. Not that I blame you for those feelings. I’m extremely happy about the outcome myself.”

  “He’s not my lover,” Amy whispered, knowing full well her initial reaction had given her away. She’d never been able to hide her emotions very well. Unable to see her own reflection had left her a bit handicapped in that area.

  But then, the reality of the situation began to sink in. Zaureth was alive. The war was over.

  Yet if she reached out to him, he would be walking into a trap; a trap laid by Kerik, himself.

  “He’s not my lover,” Kerik mocked in a high-pitched voice, his arm shooting out to wrap around her waist.

  He jerked her hard against his body, his free hand sinking into her hair. “Since I doubt you have television down in that cave of yours, I’ll let you in on a little secret. The entire world knows you’re fucking him, Miss Brighton. You’re on the news so much, it’s nauseating.”

  Amy opened her mouth to tell him where he could go, when the bright light returned behind her eyes.

  She gasped with the suddenness of it, squeezing her lids tightly closed. But the light only intensified, growing stronger by the second.

  Overwhelmed by the invasion, Amy’s breathing kicked up. She moaned with the next explosion of light, her brain unable to process it all.

  Kerik squeezed the hand that fisted her hair, wringi
ng a cry from her and forcing her eyes open.

  That’s when she saw him. Though she couldn’t make out the details of his features, she could only stare in shock at the unbelievable mass of color that was his face.

  How was it possible? She’d been blind her entire life. Born without sight, Amy had never known what it was like to see…until Zaureth had made it possible through his powers.

  But Zaureth wasn’t there.

  An inconceivable thought trickled through her stunned mind. Could her unborn child—Zaureth’s child—have something to do with the recent bursts of light? The color she saw even now?

  Amy quickly closed her eyes for fear that Kerik would catch on to the miracle taking place inside her.

  He suddenly shoved her away from him, sending her crashing against the footboard of the bed.

  Her head smacked against the heavy wooden frame, forcing a cry from her.

  She huddled on the floor, breathing through the pain.

  Kerik, creep that he was, spat on her, then spun toward the door and jerked it open. “Sandy? Get in here!”

  Amy held onto the footboard, afraid to open her eyes. She feared what she’d seen before had been a figment of her imagination. If she chanced a peek now, would her world once more be in total darkness?

  She slowly cracked open her eyelids, stunned beyond belief that colors still existed in her vision.

  Her gaze swung around the room, taking in everything within her line of sight. Her body shook with excitement and awe. She could see… She really could see!

  A form suddenly stepped into the room, wearing a purple blouse and white shorts. The color of the person’s attire told Amy it was a female, and that female had a name… Sandy.

  “Now look what you’ve done,” Sandy muttered, striding forward to take Amy by the arm. “You’ve angered him again.”

  Sandy pulled Amy to a standing position and guided her toward the bed. “Sit.”

  Amy did as she was told, keeping her gaze on the wall across the room. Some kind of picture hung there, but she couldn’t make out the details.

  It didn’t matter to Amy if she never saw the details. She had sight, enough sight to take care of the baby growing inside her.