Zaureth Awakened: 11.5 (Enigma)

by Ditter Kellen

  “All right then.” Sandy stepped into the hall and softly eased the door closed.

  The second she found herself alone, Amy emptied her bladder and then pulled back the shower curtain as quietly as possible.

  Excitement burst to life inside her. There, on the opposite wall inside the shower, was a small, curtain-covered window.

  She quickly stepped onto the tub’s edge to get a better look.

  Amy couldn’t believe her eyes. A short distance away stood a large, red building. Amy squinted against the light in an attempt to get a better look. Was it a barn?

  “Zaureth? Do you see that?”

  “I do. I also see a dark, green vehicle of sorts. I am not certain what kind.”

  “I’m sorry, Zaureth. I wish I could be of more help.”

  “Do not apologize, my love. It is a miracle that you are able to see at all. Besides, you have helped more than you know. Vickers is now attempting to find an address for this Sandy Gardner while I ready myself for the television.”

  “The television?”

  “Your sister will be interviewing me, live, in hopes of it reaching Kerik. I will be offering myself in trade for you.”

  Amy’s heart lodged in her throat. “Zaureth, no! If he gets his hands on you, he’ll kill you! Find a different way. There HAS to be another way.”

  “This is the only way, my love. And if I die in the process, at least I will know that you and our child will be safe.”

  Tears sprang to Amy’s eyes. “Don’t talk like that. I can’t survive without you.”

  “You will not have to, my heart. I do not plan on leaving you. You are my entire world.”

  “Amy?” Sandy called softly through the door. “Are you about finished?”

  Scrambling from the tub, Amy flushed the toilet. “Just a moment.”

  “Hurry it up.”

  “Keep me posted on what you find out about Sandy Gardner,” Amy mentally whispered to Zaureth. “I love you.”

  “And I love you.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Zaureth hated hearing the fear and desolation in Amy’s voice. He wanted to reach through their connection and hold her close to his heart.

  She had endured countless hours of sorrow because of him. She should be basking in the happiness of her pregnancy right now instead of hovering in a bathroom, lost and terrified at the hands of his enemy.

  “How much longer?” he growled, staring at Vickers’s profile. “We need to get this done and out there before Kerik runs. If he leaves before we do this interview, he might not ever see it.”

  Mallory came bursting through the door, barking orders to the crew of people following on her heels.

  She swung her gaze in Zaureth’s direction. “Are you ready?”

  “I have been ready,” he bit out, moving to stand where she insisted.

  People began setting up equipment around the room while Mallory checked on her sleeping son.

  She ran back into the room, cleared her throat, and make some strange hand gestures at the human’s around her. “All right, Zaureth. This is it. In five, four, three, two…”

  “This is Mallory Cahill, live at an undisclosed location. I’m here with Zaureth, a Bracadyte and medicine man residing in the place you have come to know as Aukrabah. As most of you already know, the Bracadytes have suffered greatly at the hands of, not only the human race, but now it would seem at the hands of some of their own.”

  She paused before continuing. “It’s been no secret that Zaureth has wed Amy Brighton. Not only is she my sister, but she is also blind. With that being said, it is vital that the world know of Amy’s abduction. She has been taken by a man named Matt Kerik. Matt’s father, Gerald Kerik the ex-Secretary of Defense, was killed recently by the Bracadytes, after he tortured and attempted to kill a CIA agent named Melvin Escabar. Gerald was also involved with ex-President Rueben Howell in the betrayal of the United States.”

  With a deadly calm demeanor, Mallory gazed into the camera. “Matt Kerik was last seen with this individual.”

  Zaureth watched the screen Mallory stared into, seeing a photo of the man responsible for taking Amy.

  His fangs descended, and the barbs at his wrists and ankles tingled with venom.

  Mallory pressed on as if she were in complete control of the situation. Zaureth now understood why they referred to her as the Great White Shark.

  “If you’ve seen this man, do not approach him, as he is considered armed and extremely dangerous.”

  A number flashed on the screen. “Do not alert him. Simply dial the number on the screen or call your local 911.”

  She then turned and nodded to Zaureth, telling him without words it was his turn to speak.

  He looked directly into the camera. “Kerik, if you are watching, then you understand the entire world now knows your face. There is nowhere you can hide where I will not find you. If you harm Amy in the slightest, I will peel the flesh from your bones, inch by agonizing inch.”

  Zaureth swallowed hard, attempting to tamp down the rage boiling in his blood enough to finish his words. “It is me that you want. Trade, her for me. Since you knew of Amy’s location and where to find her, you will have no problem locating me as well. I will be waiting to hear from you.”

  Mallory sent a nod to the camera crew, signaling the interview was over. She began barking out orders like a seasoned warrior in a Bracadyte army.

  She then turned to Zaureth. “Do you think it’ll work?”

  “I do,” Zaureth rumbled, moving across the room to stare out the window.

  Mallory followed close behind. “How can you be so sure?”

  “Because Kerik has no use for my mate. Only me.”

  “But you didn’t kill his father. Kaspyn did.”

  Zaureth stopped and turned to face her. “As much as I am certain he would love to avenge his father, it is no longer revenge that Kerik seeks.”

  “If not revenge, then what?”

  “Power.”

  Realization dawned in Mallory’s eyes. “And you happen to be the most powerful Bracadyte in Aukrabah.”

  Zaureth didn’t comment on that statement. Instead, he turned back to his window gazing. “I cannot survive without her, Mallory. And I will not be responsible for my actions if he harms her.”

  Mallory’s small hand touched him on the arm. “I love her too, Zaureth.”

  “Love?” Zaureth barked out a humorless laugh. “What I feel for Amy defies the boundaries of love. It borders on the spiritual, as if my soul knew hers thousands of years before we existed.”

  “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to her,” Mallory whispered, the sound of tears heavy in her voice.

  Zaureth didn’t dare look at her, with his own emotions riding so high. Instead, he tightened his jaw and stared at the cars in the distance. “You are wrong about that, mate of Vaulcron. Your sister is the best thing that has ever happened to me.”

  The door burst open to admit a tense-faced Vickers holding a phone in his hand.

  He jogged over to Zaureth, holding his palm against the receiver. “It’s him. It’s Kerik. Keep him on the line for as long as possible. It’s a cordless phone and can be traced.”

  Zaureth snatched the phone from the man’s fingers and pressed it to his ear. “I am here.”

  Kerik’s voice bled through the line, dark and full of evil. “That TV broadcast wasn’t the smartest idea, Zaureth. In fact, it was probably the stupidest thing you’ve done yet. Did you really think I’d be dumb enough to fall for that bullshit? Well, I hope it was worth it. You just killed Amy!” The line went dead.

  The room began to spin in Zaureth’s vision. He couldn’t have heard correctly. Kerik had just hung up the phone. He hadn’t called to make a trade. He’d called to let Zaureth know he planned to kill Amy.

  Zaureth roared in agony. The sound seemed to come from his very soul.

  He burst through the already shattered window, his long legs eating up the ground without st
opping.

  “Amyyyyyyy!” he called in a panic through their connection.

  Silence.

  “Nooooooooooooooo!” Street lights shattered above him as he ran. His heart hurt badly enough he temporarily blacked out. Yet, his body continued to run.

  Lightning popped around him, as if in synchronization with his every step.

  “Amyyyyyy, you answer me! Do not do this to me. Please, please, please, please,” he chanted, having no clue where he was headed or what he’d do once he got there.

  All Zaureth knew in that moment was that he’d been wrong. He’d made the wrong decision, and it had gotten his Amy killed.

  He ran toward the water, continuously calling out to his mate, to no avail. The silence that greeted him was akin to death, devoid of light, of emotion.

  Tears blurred his vision. This wasn’t real; it couldn’t be.

  High winds whipped around him, encircling him in a cocoon of power that only Mother Nature could lend. It propelled him forward until the two of them became one.

  Zaureth’s feet left the ground. He spun amidst the cyclone, lightning popping around him with enough force to uproot the surrounding trees.

  The electrical current he’d felt previously was nothing compared to the power now coursing through his veins. He was alight with it.

  Sheer agony pushed him onward as he continued calling his mate’s name. She couldn’t be gone… She just couldn’t.

  “Zaureth?” Hauke’s voice penetrated the edges of his grief-stricken mind. “They have located Sandy Gardner’s home.”

  Sandy Gardner, Zaureth silently repeated in a daze. Where had he heard that name before?

  Then it hit him. Sandy Gardner was Matt Kerik’s lover.

  Zaureth attempted to focus on Hauke’s words while still calling out to Amy.

  Hauke’s voice came again, only clearer this time. “Can you hear me?”

  “I can hear you,” Zaureth mentally choked out. “How do I find this Sandy Gardner?”

  “Come back to the safe house. Vickers is preparing the vehicles for us to travel in. You will arrive much faster by car than you will on foot. We will find your mate, my friend.”

  How could Zaureth tell Hauke he’d made a mistake, a mistake that had caused Kerik to follow through with his threat to harm Amy? “I am on my way,” was all Zaureth could manage.

  The wind continued to whip around him, but his feet had been lowered back to the ground.

  Zaureth had no idea what had happened, other than the fact that his mate, his precious Amy was…gone.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Amy awoke to darkness. She blinked several times, trying to regain her bearings.

  And then disappointment fell over her like a damp, dirty blanket. It had all been a dream. She was still blind.

  She rolled to her side, nearly gasping aloud when a trickle of light could be seen from under the closed door.

  She quickly sat up, regretting it instantly. Not only was the nausea back, but her head felt like it weighed a hundred pounds. Make that two hundred.

  Then it hit her. Sandy had drugged her food.

  My baby! Amy silently cried, her hand moving to her abdomen. She prayed to God her baby wasn’t harmed.

  The sound of a door slamming somewhere in the house, followed by raised voices, caught her off guard.

  With a groan of dismay and a few muttered curses, she eased her legs off the side of the bed and stood.

  “She’s a human being, Matt. You can’t just kill her,” Sandy pleaded, her dismay obvious.

  Amy slapped a hand over her mouth to keep from gasping aloud. She had to get out of there and fast.

  “That blind girl means absolutely shit to me,” Kerik snapped. “Especially now that that freak has aired everything about me on national television. She’s a liability I can’t afford, Sandy. And so are you.”

  “Matt?” The low, yet horrified tone of Sandy’s voice scared Amy more than Kerik’s words.

  An explosion rocked the house, terrifying and deafening.

  Amy covered ears in an effort to stop the ringing now ripping through her skull.

  Kerik had shot Sandy.

  Panicked, Amy bent and pulled the fork from her sock. Her hand shook so badly she could barely hold on to it.

  There was no way of escape other than through the bedroom door, and that door was all that stood between her and Kerik.

  His footsteps grew ever closer, sending Amy scrambling backward.

  The knob twisting seemed to move in slow motion before the door was abruptly thrown open, and Kerik stepped into the room.

  He flipped a switch on the wall, adding light to the otherwise dark room.

  It took everything Amy had not to blink against the brightness that flooded her eyes. If she had any hope of escape, she’d have to use her blindness as a weapon. Along with the fork she gripped tightly behind her back.

  “S-Sandy?” Amy whispered, attempting to appear confused.

  Kerik stepped deeper into the room, a gun dangling from his fingers. He placed it on the TV tray and began unbuttoning his shirt. “Get on the bed.”

  Amy’s entire body trembled at this point. She shook her head, backing up another step. “Sandyyyy!”

  “Sandy’s not coming, sweetheart. It’s just you and me.” He tossed his shirt to the floor, unzipped his jeans, and pushed them down his thighs.

  He planned on raping her, Amy realized, the back of her legs bumping into the bed.

  Kerik advanced on her, reaching up and gripping the top of her T-shirt. He ripped it down the center.

  Amy cried out a moment too late as she found herself shoved back onto the mattress.

  “Stop it,” she pleaded, kicking out with her legs.

  Her foot connected with his stomach, wringing a growl of pain from him.

  “That’s right, Amy. Fight me.” He lunged forward and slammed his fist against her chin.

  Stars exploded behind her eyes. She couldn’t think, couldn’t move.

  The feel of him yanking her jeans down her legs brought her back to her senses.

  A hoarse scream echoed through the room. It took a second for Amy to realize the sound came from her.

  Kerik came down hard on top of her, knocking the breath from her lungs. Without pausing, he reached between their bodies in an attempt to grip his erection.

  “Noooooo!” Amy screamed, her heart racing with fear and adrenaline.

  She gripped the fork she held hard enough it bit into her skin and then swung, burying it in his neck.

  Kerik roared, jerking back to stare down at her in shock.

  Amy went wild, swinging that fork again and again.

  She wasn’t sure how many times she’d stabbed him before he fell off her, and she flew from that bed.

  She stumbled around the room, attempting to pull her jeans back up her legs, as Kerik’s moans reached her ears.

  He pushed up with his arms and slid from the bed. “You bitch!”

  Amy ran. She ran so fast she tripped over Sandy’s bloodied body in the other room.

  “Oh God,” she cried, gaining her feet.

  Colors melded together in her vision, so great was her panic.

  She staggered around the room until she found the door that would lead her to freedom.

  It was locked.

  Still holding that fork, Amy fumbled with the locks until the door finally gave way.

  She made it outside…into the darkness. Night had fallen, which would hamper what little sight Amy had.

  Her blurry gaze swung in all directions, unable focus on the darkness beyond.

  “Amy?” Kerik growled, his voice full of pain and rage. He was injured and definitely coming for her.

  With her arms out in front of her, Amy made her way off the porch. She felt along the side of the house until she managed to reach the back.

  And then she ran.

  “Amyyyy!” he screamed, firing a shot.

  She’d left the pistol in the room, she
realized, speeding up her steps. Why hadn’t she taken the pistol?

  She slammed into a tree, nearly losing her footing. But that didn’t slow her. Kerik was coming, and he had the gun.

  Another shot echoed through the night, spurring her forward. She ran deeper into the woods, tripping over bushes and scraping her hands. “Zaureth!”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Zaureth sat in the front seat of Vickers’s SUV, staring silently out the window as they drove to Sandy Gardner’s place.

  Though his mind screamed his Amy was gone, his heart refused to believe it.

  Something deep inside him held onto the hope his mate still lived, even though he knew Kerik had killed her.

  “Zaureth!”

  Amy’s voice penetrated his grief-stricken mind, sending his heart into his throat. Was his mind playing tricks on him? Had he wanted to hear her voice so badly, he’d conjured it up?

  “Zaureth.”

  There it was again.

  “Amy?”

  “Help me, Zaureth!”

  The relief Zaureth felt at knowing his Amy still lived was so great, he groaned aloud with it. But it took a back seat to the helpless rage that now rose up inside him.

  Kerik still had her. “I am coming, my love. Where are you?”

  “I don’t know. I’m somewhere in the woods behind the house I was being kept in.”

  Zaureth’s body began to vibrate. “What house, Amy? Talk to me.”

  “It belongs to a woman named Sandy Gardner. That’s all I know. Zaureth, please hurry. He’s after me!”

  Heat soon joined in the powerful vibrations building inside him. “We are almost to Sandy Gardner’s house, Amy. Keep running, my mate. I will find you!”

  Her thoughts began to trickle through him, unreadable, so great was her panic.

  Zaureth attempted to follow them, sifting through them in an effort to make some sense of it all.

  And then her memories crashed through—memories of Kerik on top of her. Her terror and helpless rage at being overpowered by him.

  Zaureth’s head flew back against the seat. He opened his mouth and released all the pent-up rage swirling inside him.

  Kerik had hurt his Amy, had attempted to force himself on her. The pain of his fist slamming against Amy’s chin bled into Zaureth, ripping another moan from him.