Dark Gathering

by Karlene Cameron

  “Where am I?” she demanded.

  “Let’s just say I’ve brought you here…as my guest, ma chérie.”

  “What did you do to my guards?”

  “You mean the murderers and traitors you call friends?” He made a tsking sound as he shook his head. “You are a long way from them, my pet. So you’d better start cooperating or your time here is going to be most unenjoyable.” He gripped her face in his hands and kissed her, roughly forcing her lips apart so he could taste the fear on her tongue. When she tried to bite him, he withdrew and smacked her hard across her face, watching as her head lolled backward. He’d have to be more careful. He didn’t want her unconscious again.

  She spat at him, but he simply reached into his back pocket and withdrew a handkerchief that he swiped across the spittle. He folded it slowly, deliberately taking his time to tuck it back into his pocket. “Tell me about your time in the Mexican caves.” His voice was even and controlled.

  “And why would I ever do that?” she spat.

  “You know I will eventually get whatever information I want from you, ma chérie, so why not make this easier on yourself. Perhaps we could even grow…fond…of one another.”

  She screamed and lunged at him, the chains hindering her efforts to reach him. He moved behind her and put his hand over her mouth to stifle the screams. He pinched her hard, enjoying the feel of her flesh as it bruised beneath his hand.

  “You, of all people, Caitriona, know what I am capable of,” he purred against her ear. “Why do you wish to push my temper?” He released his hand from her mouth, curious to see what she would do.

  “You fucking son-of-a-bitch,” she growled.

  “I know you have powers, you fucking witch,” he yelled. “You don’t think word of your visionary prowess has spread? You are a stupid, silly child.”

  “Perhaps,” she sneered at him. “But I will never tell you anything. You can torture me to death. You will get nothing from me.”

  “We shall see about that, my sweet witch.” He removed his jacket and pulled his handkerchief from his pocket. Spitting into the dirty cloth, he swiped the handkerchief across her mouth, effectively clearing the blood that had begun to dry on her lips and cheeks.

  Caitriona twisted away from him. “You are a weak man, Hawkins, and you will never win this war.”

  Hawkins continued wiping, deliberately holding her head still while he roughly dug at her cheeks and brow. “My dear, why should we be enemies? Why waste the energy and conflict when we could achieve so much more by cooperating?”

  “You’re contemptible, Hawkins. I won’t be any part of your plans.”

  “You’re already part of them.” He tucked the handkerchief back in his pocket and stepped back to survey his handiwork. It wouldn’t do to have his soldiers see her half naked and in disarray. He picked up his jacket and placed it awkwardly around her shoulders, the shackles making it nearly impossible to keep the jacket in place.

  “You will serve my will, Caitriona. Make no mistake. It would be much wiser of you to join me and take advantage of all that I can offer. You may even find you enjoy having the kind of power I can bestow upon you.”

  “I can assure you I care nothing for the power you so foolishly chase. Go fuck yourself,” she spat at him. He stepped aside and watched as the spittle darkened the concrete floor.

  “You are a foolish girl to insist on making this a battle.”

  “It’s a battle I intend to win, Hawkins.”

  “Brave words, nothing more.”

  “They’re more than brave words and you know it. Duncan’s men have been fighting you for years and they are wearing you down. Your armies are becoming more unstable every day; your men are losing confidence in you and this war you fight. You can’t stand that I represent hope and as more people hear about the Templars’ victories, more of your soldiers will defect and the ones who don’t will be slaughtered.” She glared at him, the venom dripping from her words. “You will be left with nothing.”

  “The pain will be more than you can bear, Caitriona.”

  She hitched her breath but didn’t back down. “I’ve suffered pain all my life. It will take more than this to take me down.” Her emerald eyes threw green daggers at him as he stared into their bottomless depths. She really was a beautiful woman. It was almost a shame that she would leave him no choice but to continue torturing her if she didn’t cooperate soon. And he really hated seeing her beautiful skin marred with imperfections.

  “You’re a monster, Hawkins. I have no compassion for you.”

  “And I don’t need any, my sweet, sweet pet.” He ran the back of his knuckles against her cheek, marveling at the smoothness of her skin. Placing his hand under her chin, he raised her face so that she was looking at him. “What I need from you, my dear, I will soon have.”

  “You may have my body, Hawkins, but you will never have my magic or my soul. I won’t surrender either. I will go to the grave before I do.”

  “Why resist and try to fight me, my dear, when I will eventually have what I want?”

  “Duncan will never stop trying to defeat you and there’s nowhere you can go to escape my magic. I will be relentless.” The last statement was deliberate and he knew it. She looked him in his eyes and he saw the cold depths of what he knew she could deliver.

  Retrieving the cat o’nine tails from the wall once again, he pulled the jacket from her shoulders and placed it over the chair. “We shall see, my pet. We shall see.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Danika Sinclair tossed her long chestnut brown hair over her shoulder, giving the handsome man in front of her a sideways glance. She hoisted the bow and arrow she carried over her right shoulder and bent to retrieve the arrow she’d released. The arrow had missed its mark and landed on the ground near where the practice target had been constructed.

  “Never turn your back on the enemy,” Nicolas said. Dani could hear the exasperation in his voice. She wiped the arrow clean of any remaining debris and placed it back in the pack she had slung over her soldier. I am better than this, she thought with disdain. She was off her game and she wasn’t sure if it was the blue-eyed god before her or the fact that it had been three days since her sister’s abduction and they still had no idea where Hawkins had imprisoned her. She was tired of their inaction. She wanted to find her sister and kill Hawkins for what he’d done.

  “You trained like a child today—all aggression, no thought, no defense, always leaving yourself exposed, revealing your next move before each strike,” Nicolas interrupted her thoughts. “This is real, Danika. I cannot take you into battle if you aren’t ready.”

  “I know,” she quipped. “Believe it or not, the Grand Maester has trained me well. I know what I’m doing and I’m tired of waiting around trying to prove that to you. I don’t even know what you’re doing here,” Danika said, irritation and frustration giving her voice a tinny sound she didn’t recognize.

  “I am trying to ensure you live to see another day,” Nicolas quipped. He stared at her and she felt awkward at the silence that stretched before them. “You’re all I care about, Dani—all that matters to me.”

  “That’s not entirely true and we both know it,” she challenged him. There were two more things that Nicolas prized above her: winning against the New World Order and Caitriona. She sighed and turned away from him. She regretted the words as soon as they left her mouth, and it certainly wasn’t the first time. Nicolas LaFelle had an uncanny way of getting under her skin.

  She felt his hand on her shoulder and turned to face him. Her breath hitched in her throat as she met his intensely deep blue eyes. Holy fuck he’s handsome, she thought and quickly dropped her eyes as a warm flush crept across her cheeks.

  “I am bound to her, Dani,” he murmured, cupping her chin and raising her eyes so that she was forced to look at him. “There is a part of me that loves her, I won’t deny that. But I also feel connected to you in a very different way than I do with Katerine, and I wan
t to explore this with you.”

  “I don’t even know what that means, Nicolas.” She was challenging him, but she didn’t care. She wanted to know where she stood with this man.

  “Love can come even during the darkest times.”

  “What are you saying, Nicolas?”

  Nicolas sighed and took her hand. She looked at her hand tucked into his. She suddenly felt small and insignificant next to this man.

  “You aren’t making this easy, chérie,” he chuckled. Squeezing her hand softly, he palmed her cheek with his other hand and locked eyes with hers. Her heart was racing. She had a good idea where this was headed, but she wanted him to say it.

  “I am mesmerized by you, ma chérie. I have never had such intense feelings for a woman, Danika.”

  Dani lowered her eyes as a warm flush spread across her cheeks. “You don’t even know me,” she whispered, her heart beating out a fast staccato. She wanted what he said to be true. She wanted to feel his lips on hers and know what it would be like to lie with him. More than anything, she wanted his bond with her sister severed. She sighed and turned away from him. She couldn’t look at him; not with the knowledge she had of where this would likely lead. She couldn’t do that to her sister, and she couldn’t put herself through the pain and disappointment. Not again.

  “We should get back to training,” she said, picking up the bow and slinging the strap over her head and shoulder. She adjusted the pack until it sat just above her hip. Turning to leave, she flinched when she felt Nicolas’ hand on her shoulder. He withdrew his hand, but not before she saw the pained expression that crossed his face at her apparent rejection. She had to talk to him, but she didn’t know how to begin. Instead, she pushed past him hoping for a hasty retreat.

  “Don’t leave with this between us, Dani,” Nicolas said.

  She stopped, shifting the weight of the bag once again. “Nicolas, I can’t think about this—about us—right now. Not with my sister missing.” She turned and faced him, her breath getting caught in her throat when she saw the longing in his eyes. “Let’s just focus on getting Cat back. I promise we will come back to this once she’s safely with us again. Deal?”

  He nodded and gave her a wane smile that was more perfunctory than sincere. Her heart was beating erratically and she was convinced he could hear the rhythmic pounding in the silence that grew between them. She felt flushed, her entire body struggling with a flight or fight reaction. She decided distance was in short order.

  “Cool.” She bent to retrieve another arrow and shoved it in her bag. She holstered the gun at her hip, checking to ensure the safety was on. Nicolas looked like he wanted to say something else but she averted her eyes, hoping he would just let this drop, whatever this was.

  The intruding chirp from the communicator Nicolas kept ever-present at his side gave her the disruption she was seeking. Nicolas activated the little unit and she watched as his facial features told her he was receiving the transmission via the tiny receiver he wore in his ear canal. She walked away so he could have some privacy, her own thoughts drifting again to her sister. Why hadn’t she paid more attention to her sister’s emotions? Caitriona had tried to talk to her, but Dani had easily dismissed her ideas and concerns, brushing them aside like she did anything that didn’t fit neatly into her plans.

  She turned around when she heard Nicolas end the communication. He looked like someone had just dealt him a blow to the gut. “What is it, Nicolas?” she asked, concern clearly etched in her voice. “Have they found Cat?”

  He shook his head and Dani slowly released her breath, relieved they hadn’t found Caitriona’s body. She drew a deep breath in and pushed the air out between her teeth. “Tell me,” she whispered.

  “Gabe’s lost contact with MacKinnon.”

  “Shit, shit, shit!” Dani began pacing, her mind in overdrive. Duncan’s mission had seemed simple enough. Lead a small team of men to penetrate Hawkins’ command while a handful of his other troops would provide diversions so Duncan’s team could go in under relative cover and extract the Seer. Duncan had received intel that led them all to believe the Seer was being held in the mountains surrounding Naica. The area was largely unpopulated, dense with growth and cold this time of year due to the higher elevation.

  “We need to get back to the hacienda,” Nicolas said.

  Dani nodded, her mind already thinking of next steps.

  “Dani,” Nicolas tugged at her arm, bringing her sharply around so that he was mere inches from her. “I meant what I said.”

  She didn’t know how to react so she just mouthed a silent, “I know.”

  “I don’t want you going anywhere near Hawkins or the fighting, understood?”

  “You know I can’t promise that, Nicolas. I may not have full use of my powers yet but I know I can help.”

  “This isn’t open for debate.”

  “And you aren’t my father or my commander,” she replied haughtily.

  He started to reply but instead furrowed his brow and closed his eyes. She started to say something snarky but recognized his inattention for what it was…he had found Caitriona.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Duncan woke to the sound of dripping water methodically striking a metal pipe before dispersing in an annoying splash that slowly soaked his face and hair. A huge ache in his head and across his body reminded him that he was still alive; for that, he was thankful. He closed his eyes as another drop hit his forehead and slid down his cheek. He shook his head to clear the water and immediately regretted the action. He rolled to his side, as much to escape the annoying drip of water as to assess his injuries.

  Duncan squeezed his eyes shut as he tried to remember the events leading up to his capture. He had assembled a small squad for a stealth mission into the compound where his intelligence had told him Hawkins was holding Caitriona. He had purposely sent troops in a 20-mile radius to destroy Hawkins’ main supply lines. The smash-and-burn raids were nothing more than a decoy. As Hawkins’ men scrambled to hold their supply lines, Duncan’s small team penetrated the areas close to the enemy compound searching for signs of Caitriona. The plan was almost too perfect.

  But after two days of unsuccessful raiding and searching, Duncan gave the order for his men to return to Casa Naica. As he and his men were making their way back to Hawkins’ main compound where they would have one last look, Duncan received a communication from LaFelle that nearly stopped his heart. LaFelle had felt Caitriona’s presence. Duncan’s elation at knowing she was alive was short-lived. Goddess only knew what Hawkins was doing to her. Duncan felt the rage boil inside him.

  LaFelle had been unable to provide any further details. The connection with Caitriona had been short, enough to confirm she was alive. They still didn’t know where she was. Duncan ordered his men to resume their search.

  Lost in his thoughts, Duncan missed the signs of an enemy scouting party. All too quickly, he and his stealth team ran into Hawkins’ marauders. Duncan wasn’t worried. After all, it wasn’t the first time he and his men had surprised Hawkins’ troops.

  Duncan winced as he shifted his weight, the pain bringing him abruptly out of his ruminations and back to the present. He groaned as sharp daggers of pain clawed deeply within his head. This wasn’t unfamiliar territory for him. He’d felt deep bone-wrenching pain before and knew he’d feel it again. He was bred to be a warrior; genetically engineered to be the very best. His bones and his skull were thicker than most, his muscles stronger and faster. His lungs were designed to quickly move oxygen into his blood and to his body. And his hearing and vision were far superior to most other humans. Luckily, the genetic attributes he relied on in battle also allowed him to heal faster than most. Right now, though, the pain was like lightening, stabbing microscopically into every brain cell and nerve.

  Don’t open your eyes, he repeated the mantra over and over in his head until the chant became an earworm burying deep within his skull.

  He knew as soon as he opened his eyes
the pain would intensify, blurring his vision and bringing bile to his throat. He closed them even tighter, as if the soft light of the room was already amplified through his eyes. He could almost anticipate the focused pokers of fire that wouldn’t be far behind. Sometimes the pain was blinding. Sometimes he’d merely be sick. He’d hoped it was the latter. He had to find Caitriona.

  So he let himself lie there, as he tried to remember what had happened.

  His team had done well. Teams, Duncan reminded himself, stressing the plural in his thoughts. Eight supply raids in two days. His raiding squads had bought him the time he and his elite team needed to scour the compound for Caitriona. They had relentlessly burned the supplies, ensuring Hawkins’ men were busy putting out fires and securing their additional stores.

  Duncan chuckled thinking about the attacks, and then grimaced as the pain reminded him of his injuries. Fast in and fast out. His elite team watched for retaliation as the fires began. Nothing. Hawkins’ men were too engrossed in battling the fires and trying to salvage equipment and food from the fires to do anything else. He let them work hard and think they were successful. Then, his snipers began shooting. As the enemy took cover, the charges placed under the fires exploded. A chilling smile spread across Duncan’s face as he thought of the destruction his men instilled on Hawkins’ supplies and troops.

  But they still hadn’t found Caitriona.

  He had divided his small team, leading his elite soldiers ahead of the main force. They had decided to head back to the main compound. Three of his men would enter from the front; he and Lee would enter from the rear.

  The team didn’t even stop to think. They were born warriors, each genetically engineered to provide advanced military accuracy in fighting. Weapons raised, the fight began. With the initial surprise on his side, his four men had easily taken out five enemies in the first crucial minutes. Duncan had pulled his claymore and raced into a group of men standing near the entrance of the overly large adobe-type compound nestled in the side of Naica Mountain. The bizarre lust rage that he assumed during battle took over. Another five of Hawkins’ men succumbed to his team’s blades and weapons. He glanced at Lee, covertly taking out another man who ventured into the compound’s lobby at the wrong time. Casting a glance at the stairs, Duncan motioned Lee to approach the grand staircase while he’d provide cover.