I didn't bother responding to him. As soon as he moved into a dismissive, unguarded posture, I lunged for him. His eyes widened before I made impact, grabbing him by the hair and pulling him to the ground. I wrestled with him, human vs. semi-human. He tried to pin me face down but I was too quick. Instead, he grabbed my hair and yanked me backward. I sent my elbow flying into his face, his head snapped back when he fell.
"You stupid little shit, stay still!" He grabbed my ankle when I raced toward the door. I tripped and flopped to my hands and knees. Blood dripped from his nose as he dragged me backward, pinning me to the ground in the same way Dugan pinned Vanessa. Images of Mal's training raced through my mind. I punched my arms up between his and used my heels to pull his legs downward. He collapsed with a shout and I wedged my foot against his thigh, shoving as hard as I could. Alder didn't fly across the room like the Changers did, but I thrust him away far enough to roll to my feet. I made it to the door before he could catch me. The knob turned but no matter how hard I pulled, the door wouldn't budge. When I turned around, Alder held up the key.
"Locks both ways."
"Let me out of here you leech-loving bastard!"
"Nope. Now move away from the door."
"No!" I shouted and rushed at him again. This time he stepped out of the way.
"Better save your energy. Ileana will be ready for you in just a few short hours." Alder slid the key into the door and left before I finished my tantrum.
I dropped down on the bed and tried desperately to focus on the bonds inside me. Mal and Vanessa sent me waves of terror but not much information. The pack bonds thinned. Although I could sense the stability, not much information filtered my way either. You're on your own. Vanessa had sent me images and sounds, maybe I could send them back. I'd forced my visions on Mal in the past, maybe he will be the most receptive. Stop reacting and start thinking.
What had I learned so far? Ileana was an ancient. She had human servants bound to her by sharing her blood without being turned, and she valued her children more than most. Izzy was an out of control bloodthirsty risk and yet Ileana still cared about losing her. Think. C'mon, what else have you learned? I dropped my head in my hands and took a few deep breaths. That's it. Ileana breathes, this wasn't an act. I felt her breath on my face. How can she breathe? Why does she? She obviously planned my departure from the hospital. They rigged the ambulance with some sort of explosive device. Right. Keep going. We traveled west because I saw the road sign, south because I heard Ileana say so. In Utah, winter coated the foliage, snow and ice on the roads and in the woods. I shot up from the bed and pulled the curtains aside again. Sun and a pool. I pressed my palm against the window. Warmth met my skin. We're somewhere warmer. Somewhere south and west. How long had I been unconscious? Did she give me any blood? Maybe this is Arizona. What did Alder say? This was the first time that Ileana wasn't in front of me. It's daylight. Maybe she, like other leeches, reacts to the sun. It's about… I looked outside to gauge the position of the sun. Maybe early afternoon. That gives me about five hours until sunset depending on where I am. If I'm right, Ileana will show up around then. I'll just have to wait.
And I waited, and paced. Then paced some more. Vanessa's habit seemed to spill over into mine. It's funny how easy it is to pick up on the habits of others. Xany's huffing and puffing, Mal's anger, Vanessa's pacing, my mother's patience, and Caden's... What did I get from Caden? My poker face, the one outside of work. The one that Ileana found unmovable and annoying.
The sun slipped lower into the sky while the bonds inside me remained unchanged. What were they doing? Why hadn't they sent me any more images or sounds? Were they searching for me? I wondered if the Pride would help them. What about the police? Ileana's methods hadn't been the quietest. This time it involved humans, many humans. Would they report about me on the news? "Local Doctor Taken from Hospital. Whereabouts Unknown." I could only imagine the headlines, and the work that Hank and his detective brother had to do to keep a cap on it.
Alder hadn't returned. I imagined my continued attacks worried him. I got the better of him a few times. If that damn dagger would've shown up, I might've been out of here already.
Stop moving. Be still.
The echo caught me off guard. I glanced around to make sure Ileana wasn't playing some sort of trick on me. It didn't sound like telepathing the way Mal does it and it wasn't my own voice. Or my father's.
Be still.
It came again. I tried to speak back but there wasn't a response. My sanity slipped like this in the past. Usually it took a few beers to satisfy my mind enough to calm down. I wasn't going there, and I had nothing to satiate it anyway. With no other options, I listened. I perched myself on the center of the bed, cross-legged, and tried to still myself. My heart fought me, pounding in my ears and slamming inside my chest. I took a few deep breaths, in and out. Slowly, deliberately.
Be still. Be open.
This time the echo didn't scare me as much. My pulse began to fall to a steady thrum and as it did, my ability to look inward improved. Colors swirled behind my eyes and the red and emerald of my mate bonds appeared. They seemed to swell with my sudden awareness. Beside them, the cool blues of the pack appeared. Slender, thread-like appendages attaching my soul to the others. They were all there inside me, aware of my presence. My heart began racing again but I focused on my breathing, remembering the command of the echoes. I stilled myself and an image slammed my mind's eye like a forced projection screen at a drive-in.
"He's beyond reach. Let him run." Caden's voice seemed to sigh. His image appeared on the screen, clad only in boxer shorts. His hair down long in a way I couldn't remember ever seeing it. He looked at me and lifted his hands to my face. I choked the moment I realized it was Xany who sent the image.
"Vanessa's no better. Ana's worse. What are we supposed to do, TB? She's alone with a leech without me this time," Xany's voice sounded more serious than it ever had. "I can feel her."
"Me too. Mal got the picture of Route 80 from her. He's headed that way with Vanessa." Caden took a great breath. "And we know they traveled by car."
"You can't smell her?"
"The scent is faint, nearly destroyed by the fire. The woods had some trace. Ana said she ran." Caden paced in front of me. Maybe I hadn't been copying Vanessa after all.
"She's fast. Maybe she's lost."
"No. She's in one place. A distant place…" Caden's voice seemed to fade for a moment. He cleared his throat. "With a pool."
"Well then, having a bit of a nap, are we?" Ileana's voice interrupted my connection. The screen faded but I didn't open my eyes, fearing her nearness. It must be dark. I turned my head in the direction of the window to peek and, sure enough, light no longer seeped through.
"Just planning how I'll stake your ass."
"It'll be rather difficult without any carving tools." I could hear the smirk in her voice. "You think I've stayed around this long if a silly stake could end me?" She scoffed. "Get up. We're going on a field trip."
"What time is it?" I got off the bed and remembered to keep myself as open and still as possible while focusing on anything but her face.
"You've got forty-nine hours left." She waved for me to follow, the thick wooden door remained open all this time. The house must be reinforced like the window.
Ileana led me through the mansion. The walls in most of the house were a mix of stone and wood though the stone seemed reddish and sandy at times. Rooms filled with lush furniture, thick carpets, and shiny wood floors belonged in a luxurious Hollywood villa, like I'd been dropped into the home of a movie star.
"I've some friends I'd like you to meet." Ileana led me to a wing of the house sealed with a set of tall oak doors. She pulled them open effortlessly and, immediately, moans and shouts met my ears. I cringed and tried to keep the distaste from my expression.
"Is this where you go all vampire on me and show me your torture chamber?"
"Something like that." Ileana swung her a
rms merrily as if we were going for a sweet walk in the park.
"It's not going to motivate me. I've seen pretty much everything there is to see."
"Uh huh." She turned down a dark hall and the cries grew louder. "Watch your footing there." She nodded toward the staircase as we descended.
"Why are you keeping me?"
"I've told you that already."
"And I've named someone."
"Name someone alive."
"How'd you know?"
"Someone like you wouldn't so readily sign the death warrant of a living person." She nodded down the hall to an archway ahead. "Come."
Music, similar to that of the club I wandered into at the end of the summer, filled the room with screaming guitars and a female voice I recognized as Izzy's. The space ahead appeared less like a welcoming domicile and more like a fancy barn with open stalls. Red walls matched the carpet below and black drapery hung in places curtains shouldn't be. Some stalls were hidden from view while others were open wide. It reminded me of the containment cells in the basement of Mercy General except these were much smaller and cozier. Tasseled pillows lined the floors of some. Others were empty save for a bed or wooden box.
As we moved further down the hall, the cries melted into moans. To my right, a woman clad in bits of leather stood over a man tied to something that looked like a sideways cross. Her fangs poked into her lips as she grinned and poured candle wax down his torso. He cried out but not from pain. He enjoyed this treatment.
"And now you're quiet." Ileana's voice pulled me from my stare and I looked away before the other leech could catch me. "Keep walking."
I continued following her between the rows. To my left, a woman knelt on the ground as a man whipped her. She wore nothing but a spiked collar with a leash that wrapped around his wrist. The woman cried out when the whip hit her rear but I knew it wasn't because she hated it.
"What's the meaning of this?"
"Oh, nothing really. The accommodations are better down this wing."
At the end of the stalls, the lights and seating matched that of the club back home. Dark colors, dim light, and bottles of alcohol added to the ambiance. Several leeches, or what I assumed to be, sat together talking and mingling as if they'd just joined up for a night out on the town. Ileana ignored them but they certainly didn't ignore her. Women and men in skimpy uniforms refilled goblets and glasses of the outstretched hands.
Ileana opened a door between the bar and music booth. I followed her to another door and she nodded for me to enter.
"This will suit you better. I heard you gave Alder quite a run for his money. This way, if you get out, there are plenty of dark ones to stop you. And they will." She slammed the door behind me, leaving me in complete darkness. "Forty-eight hours remain."
Chapter Thirteen
This wasn't the first time I've been alone in the darkness. However, it was the first I've been alone in the darkness surrounded by vampires. I had to admit, Ileana's plan to disempower me had its flaws at first, now, it moved into genius territory.
I dropped to the floor and began feeling my way around in hope of meeting a wall to follow. Cold radiated from the stone floor and up my arms. Dampness caressed my shoulders as my fingertips touched down on a corner point. I searched around, feeling for anything along the wall. Nothing met my outstretched hands. It didn't matter if I kept my eyes open or closed, the darkness remained the same.
Nothing. There's nothing in here except you. Not a window or a rat. Nothing.
After walking a grid through the room and assuming a spiked ceiling wasn't about to fall on my head, I accepted the fact that Ileana locked me in this room to deprive my senses. I found the door again and walked backward until I hit the wall exactly opposite and sat.
Be still.
The echo returned. This time I heeded the command and closed my eyes.
"Which way?" Mal demanded. "Which way?!"
"I… I can't tell," Vanessa voice sounded husky, angry.
"We're not any closer. We need to keep going."
"We're too far west."
"Caden said pool… south."
My mates offered little except to confirm their search. I couldn't be sure who sent me the voices but it didn't matter. Remaining motionless grew more difficult as time passed. Fatigue threatened to grab hold of me and I had no time for another bout of unconsciousness. What good were pack bonds and mate bonds if they can't tell you exactly where your missing family members are? Unexpected bitterness bubbled to the surface and I pursed my lips. You're on your own, Shawnee.
Just like you always were. Figure your own way out.
Daylight was my only chance. I had to find a way out of this room so that when the sun rises, I can go where they can't follow. I stood up and walked the few paces to the door, feeling around the frame for the hinges. Cold iron cylinders met my fingertips. I jiggled them but they were solid in their placement. I sighed. Without something sturdy like a screwdriver, there was no way I could blindly pound out the stopper. Another hefty breath left me the warmth of it tickled my nose as if I stood way too close to the wall. I swatted the air in front of me and a light breeze brushed my ankles. My skin crawled as I imagined some sort of rodent scampering through the room unseen and unheard.
I shook it off, pressing my ear to the door and listening to see if the vampires remained talking and dining on the other side. Slight murmurs met my ear but I couldn't make out a single word. Daylight was hours away and my patience thinned. I jiggled the door handle and growled out my frustration. Even if I had an enemy to turn over to Ileana, I knew she wouldn't let me go. She'd gone back on her word once before without defining stipulations.
The door flung open and I stumbled back as the glow of the red lights flooded the room. I shielded my eyes but took the brief opportunity to peer around behind me. As I suspected, the room was empty.
"This one is next," said the leech in front of me. I couldn't tell she was a leech of course but it was safe to assume.
"Isn't that one Ileana's?"
"Does it look like I care?" She grabbed my arm, fingers digging in firmly enough to leave a bruise.
"Fine. Do what you want. Just don't kill her."
"Get off me." I jerked myself out of her grip and the leather-clad leech gawked at me like I'd insulted her integrity.
"Feisty." This time she grabbed my hair and walked me down the hall between the stalls. Now, in the pit of the night, nearly every one of them had people in it, each equally engaged in some sort of barbaric sex act. The leech tossed me into one of the stalls where a younger vampire stood by, he seemed to jump to an attentive stance at her arrival. "We'll use this one for training. No one's marked her."
I landed on my ass and pushed myself up to stand, glaring between them though continuing to avoid their gaze. The male vamp stared at the side of my throat and the woman cracked him upside the head with the handle of a whip.
"No biting. You're here to learn control, Graham." She shoved the heel of the whip into his chest. "Now hold this." The female leech turned her attention to me. "Kneel down, now."
"I will not." I shoved past them and stormed into the passageway. She actually let me walk off, but my sudden presence grabbed the attention of some of the other vampires. One set down his crop and stepped out in front of me.
"Want a ride in here?" He licked his lips.
"She's mine," the female leech grabbed me by the hair again and dragged me back to the former stall. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?"
"Looks like I'm headed for that route anyway."
"Don't be snippy, can you believe this human?" she said and tossed me to the floor. "Stay down and let this firstling learn a spill." This time I remained on the floor, surveying the area for something of use.
"She's not tamed, Penny. C'mon," the young leech whined.
"Do it! And don't call me Penny. It's Raven."
Graham mumbled something as he drew his arm back, the whip, which had several leather straps
attached to the handle, hummed through the air as it came down on my back. I tensed waiting for the pain but none came. It was more like a half-hearted caress.
"Idiot. She didn't even flinch. Harder this time."
Again, the male raised the whip and brought it down hard enough for it to sting my skin through my shirt. My fingers dug into the carpet and I clenched my teeth. This must have pleased the female leech as she didn't instruct him further. Anger boiled in my blood though I forced myself to focus on the objects around me. The whip slashed across my back with more intensity, which I'm sure left welts. With each lash of leather, the burning soon morphed into pain. I held my breath and kept my mouth shut. I'd had worse pain. Did people really get excited being hit like this? How does it get to the point where pain becomes pleasure? I flinched as Graham struck me again. I knew by the time they were done I would have red X's from my shoulders to my lower back. As I readied myself for another strike, a shriek came from behind me. I glanced over my shoulder to see the one called Penny held up a foot off the ground by her neck.
"Who gave you permission to touch the mistress's property?" Alder held the woman as she snarled and hissed at him. "You, take her back to the room." Alder pointed to the younger vamp. Graham immediately dropped the whip and helped me stand. I pushed him away as I stood on my own. I'll be damned if I need their help. When I turned around, I gasped at the sight of the vamp hanging up on the wall with a metal rod protruding from her stomach. Penny shouted and fought the hanging.
"You ruined my corset, you fucktard!"
"It's hard to find good help these days." Alder took a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his hands.
Graham stared bug-eyed at Penny then quickly grabbed my arm and dragged me back to the room. The vamps by the bar disappeared after Alder's display of Penny. I broke away from the firstling and shoved him as hard as I could. He tumbled backward into a set of barstools, hitting the floor in a crash that echoed through the chamber. His eyes fixated on the specks of blood on the side of my scrubs. I looked down at myself then back at him. Alder continued to lecture Penny.
Bound (Legacy Series Book 4) Page 12
