by Julia Crane
Rourk had figured as much. If Keegan could have disappeared she would have found a way out. Take away magick, and the playing field was uneven. Rourk had tried to reach her through their bond, but it wasn’t possible. It reminded him of when their bond had been severed by the black magick. He had barely survived that.
“He’s going to pay with his life, and he’ll wish he’d never laid eyes on my wife.”
“In here.” Thaddeus pushed the door open, and it slammed behind them
There were a couple of men at the urinals, and one washing his feet in the sink. They needed to be alone, but Rourk didn’t have the time to wait. He strode forward and pushed open one of the bathroom stalls. He left the door ajar and Thaddeus slipped in.
He doubted anyone was paying attention, and if they were, they would have unclean thoughts.
Thaddeus held out his hand, and Rourk clasped it, closing his eyes. He’d only used teleportation a handful of times, but each time it still took him by surprise. He didn’t like the loss of control, but today he saw it as a gift. Without Thaddeus, it would have taken him nearly twenty-four hours to get home.
He shuddered to think what could happen in that time span.
Next thing he knew, he was opening his eyes and they were in the woods near his home. Rourk stood still till the wave of dizziness passed.
“Do we know where she is located? Anything at all?”
“I had a vision of her being taken. They drove for a while; she was drugged up when I went to her with my mind’s eye. It was all black, but I could feel the movement of a vehicle. The bastard was so calm and confident, he didn’t even speed. I left Anna working on a locator spell when I went to get you.”
“Anna is powerful. If she can be found, she will find her,” Thaddeus said. Rourk didn’t know who he was trying to convince, himself or Rourk.
Rourk took a step forward, and Thaddeus grabbed his arm. “Rourk, there is something you need to know.”
He could feel his pulse quicken. “What?”
“Keegan is going to lose the baby. I’m sorry, but it can’t be stopped.”
“No.” His palms were suddenly cold with sweat.
Thaddeus drew a shaky breath. “It’s been determined. The baby will not make it.”
“Damn it, Thaddeus, this is your niece or nephew you are talking about. There must be a way.”
“Niece. The baby is a girl.”
“No. No. No. Don’t do this to me, Thaddeus.” Tears pricked his eyes.
“Rourk, push the pain aside.” Thaddeus cleared his throat to force back his own emotion. “Right now we need to find Keegan. If she makes it through this, she is going to need you more than ever when this is over.”
Rourk yanked his arm away and strode towards his home. The home he shared with Keegan. They had talked about moving. They would need a bigger place once the baby came. Rourk forced his feet to move. Find Keegan. Save the baby. He could do this. He would do this. And he was going to tear that d’jinn limb from limb if it was the last thing he did.
Keep busy, he told himself as he unlocked his front door. Embrace the rage. He felt his head clear, his gray eyes focus as he entered the home, the place the d’jinn had truly sealed is fate.
CHAPTER 17
The door creaked open, and she could feel the cold breeze that entered the room with him. Keegan’s body tensed, wishing she could run, but she was still tied to the damn chair. The door slammed behind him, nearly causing Keegan to jump out of her skin. She thought the door might come off the hinges, but it didn’t. Every sound echoed through the open stone building. Her breath caught in her throat.
“Please, let me go. I beg of you. Just let me go.” Her voice cracked, partly from fear, but also from thirst. She was so thirsty. Her stomach constricted. She had no idea how long she had been held captive. She had dozed off, but would jerk awake when she leaned forward or to the side, because of being bound to the chair. During the night, she had tried in vain to loosen the ropes.
“Can I at least have something to eat and drink? I’ll be no good to you if I’m not alive. I really need to go to the bathroom too.”
The d’jinn grunted, and left the room, returning with a canteen and a hunk of bread. Her mouth salivated at the sight.
He lifted the canteen to her mouth. A drop of water fell, and she greedily licked at it. More drops came. Her head fell back, slightly parting her chapped lips. He poured too much, and she started to cough.
Once her coughing fit was over, he shoved a piece of bread in her mouth, which she devoured.
“Thank you,” she managed to get out. If she ever wanted to see Rourk again, she had to escape. She had to be strong. Even if it meant she had to try to befriend this beast. Just the thought made her want to vomit. Swallowing hard, she pushed back the fear. She could do this.
“Bathroom? I’m about to soil my pants.”
“Later.” He trailed his finger down the side of her face and caressed her lower lip with his thumb. “You are very beautiful. I can understand why your mate would not want to lose you.” Keegan fought back tears. She would not let him see her cry. She would not!
“Your mate must die, but first he will have to witness me breaking you.”
Keegan closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “I will not allow you to break me. There is nothing you could do to me that would break me. My body is nothing more than an outer shell. My soul resides deep inside and you cannot touch it.”
“Oh, you will break, little one. You will break. You have to pay for your husband’s sins. Because of your Rourk, I had to leave my brother and comrades when they needed me most.”
“Leave them?”
The d’jinn‘s face twisted in pain. “My brother cried out for me and begged me, but there was nothing I could do besides live another day to seek revenge for his death. I turned into a raven and flew away.”
“So that’s what this is about? You were too much of a coward to face your death and now the guilt has become too much? You are pathetic. You are the one with no honor,” Keegan spat.
“I will show you pathetic,” he roared and back handed her. Her head jerked from the blow, and her eyes blurred from the tears she tried desperately to blink back.
Keegan cried out in pain. Blood trailed down her lip, and she could feel her mouth already begin to swell.
“I think it’s time we had a little fun.” The d’jinn reached around her and cut the rope. Her hands fell free. She flexed her fingers. They tingled, but not from magick— it was from being kept in one position for too long. They were almost useless as she waited for the blood to flow back into her hands. Still, she frantically tried to think of a way out.
“Take off your shirt.”
“Wh-What?” Keegan cried. Her heart pounded loudly in her ears. This could not be happening to her. She desperately wished this was a crazy nightmare, but the evil glow in his eyes and the pain in her face told her otherwise.
She wasn’t even wearing a bra, because he had come in when she was asleep. The thought of this creature seeing her naked caused bile to rise in her throat.
“Rourk is going to kill you,” she spat through clenched teeth.
“Take off your shirt.” His cold eyes bored into hers.
“No! If you want it off, you must take it off yourself. I will not help you humiliate me.”
“We’ll see about that.” The d’jinn gave her a humorless smile before taking his knife and slowly cutting from the collar of her pajama top. Her face flushed with humiliation.
He paused the knife and gave her an evil grin as he nicked her skin with the blade. Blood tricked down between her breasts. Swiftly, he ripped the shirt the rest of the way off her.
She trembled with fear. Her instincts told her to head-butt him, but he had a knife, and her feet were still tied. She didn’t stand a chance without the use of her magick. Could there be a worse feeling in the universe than being all alone with a creature that wanted to bring you pain, and there was nothing you could
do to stop it? Keegan could think of none.
The creature grabbed her hands and forced them on her lap; his large hand was so strong she couldn’t even move her hands an inch. She tried desperately to pull them away to cover herself.
His other cold meaty hand ran down her throat, and between her breasts. His vicious eyes were full of lust. Her chest heaved up and down from fear.
She wanted to cry out, but she glared back at him with contempt, trying to control the terror that had taken over her body.
Rourk. Save me, she thought frantically.
Her father’s words came back to her. “Keegan, don’t ever give up. Fight with everything you have. Even down to your last breath.” Fight or die. Those were her choices. She was not ready to die. There was too much to live for.
“Untie my legs,” Keegan said coldly. “I’m no good to you with my legs together.”
The d’jinn stared at her for a moment, trying to decide if she was messing with him. She could see his arousal clearly in his pants.
“What? It’s just sex. Get it over with.” She was disgusted by the words, but it was the only thing she could think of. Maybe once she got her feet free, she could escape.
“You’ll be damaged goods. Your husband won’t want to touch you ever again.”
“I thought you were going to kill me anyway? So what difference does it make? And Rourk loves me— he would never see me that way, no matter what you did to me.” Gods, she hoped that was true.
“Oh, it makes a world of difference. Men like your Rourk do not like the idea of anyone else touching what is rightfully theirs.”
The d’jinn reached down and cut her legs free. Keegan slammed her knee into his face. Blood splattered across the stones. He was momentarily stunned, but then an evil grin passed over his face. It was as if he enjoyed the pain.
“You will pay for that,” he snarled.
Keegan struggled to get to her feet, and he grabbed a fistful of her hair and savagely yanked her upright. He tossed her to the ground as if she weighed nothing. Her bare back scrapped on the concrete floor. Her head slammed against the cement. The shear pain made her scream in agony. Her head spun, and her vision blurred.
In a flash, he was on top of her. His huge body practically swallowed hers. Roughly, he pushed her legs apart and settled between them. Keegan whimpered. His large hands raked her body. Maybe enraging him hadn’t been the best idea.
He undid his belt. Evil. Pure evil.
This can’t be happening.
“Please don’t. My baby. I’m pregnant.” Keegan managed to choke out through her sobs.
The d’jinn recoiled as if she had told him she had some horrible disease.
“You are with child?” he whispered dangerously.
She nodded her head, hot tears covering her face.
The d’jinn pulled her forward. The next thing she knew, she was flying through the air and slamming against the wall—again. The impact knocked the wind from her lungs. Sliding down the wall, she landed with a thump. Keegan blinked her eyes, trying to clear her vision.
In an instant the d’jinn stood over her. Rage flared in his eyes.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw he had dropped the knife to the floor. If only she could reach it. Dear spirits, give her the strength she so desperately needed.
He leaned down, his cold eyes glaring. Using all of her energy, Keegan rammed the heel of her palm square into his nose. With a sickening crunch, she heard the bones snap beneath her hands. It should have killed him, or at least disabled him, but he just smiled at her through the blood. What the hell?
She skittered away towards the corner. Her freedom didn’t last long; he was on her before she had time to think.
The d’jinn slammed her against the wall, holding her by her throat. Her feet hung several inches above the ground. She couldn’t breathe, and thrashed sideways, kicking, but it just made it worse. She clawed at his hand, trying to escape. He was going to kill her. She was going to die and would never know her baby.
The wild, savage look in his eyes shook her to the core. She didn’t even see the fist coming. A heavy fist slammed into her stomach. Keegan looked down at her belly, she couldn’t get her breath. The d’jinn slammed his fist into her face. Blood filled her mouth. Hatred filled her body.
Something inside her snapped. A rage filled her like none she had known before. The familiar coldness washed over, and she knew she had accessed the dark magick within her. The d’jinn froze in place. His hand still wrapped tightly around her throat.
Somehow she managed to pry herself free— his fingers actually broke off and fell to the floor with a clatter.
Every part of her body screamed with pain. She scrambled on her hands to grab the knife. She didn’t know how long he would be frozen and she wasn’t going to stick around to find out. Using the chair, she pulled herself up to her knees. Her legs trembled, and she stumbled twice before she was able to stand. Every bone in her body felt bruised.
She didn’t have time to worry about pain. She stumbled to the door, getting used to being on her feet again. She couldn’t seem to make her legs move fast enough. It felt as if she was walking in slow motion through marshmallows, but with each step, her feet regained more feeling until she was finally able to run.
CHAPTER 18
Keegan ran down the dark, narrow, twisting stone corridor. She had no idea where she was going. Her bare feet thumped against the stone floor. Torches hung on the wall making the shadows dance eerily.
She rounded a corner to the left, and a large wooden door loomed ahead. Not wasting the chance, she crashed into it and nearly squealed when the heavy door opened. Bursting into the afternoon light, Keegan was disoriented for a moment. The sun had actually broken free from the clouds, causing her to squint. Hopefully, that was a good omen.
She had no idea which way to go, so she ran forward. In the distance, she could see trees. Trees meant shelter.
She ran. She had never run so fast in her life. Her hair streamed behind her. She covered her bare chest for a while, but it slowed her down. She let her hands drop, still grasping the knife, and dug in. Now was not the time for modesty.
Rocks and branches crunched under her bare feet. Cold air stung her face.
Lungs bursting, she sprinted for the trees. She ran harder, leaving behind the evil that had plagued her. Her muscles ached but she pushed harder. Ignore the pain. Several times, she stumbled on rocks, but she got back to her feet and pushed on.
Once she reached the tree line, Keegan stole a quick glance back over her shoulder. She could see the stone cottage off in the distance. She hadn’t been followed. Hope filled her chest. She’d done it. She’d escaped from the monster. But she couldn’t slow down. She knew the d’jinn would not give up, and if he caught her again, he would kill her. That much she was sure of. She still couldn’t believe he had hit her in the stomach. She couldn’t think about that now. She had to find her way out and get to her mother. If any damage had been done, her mom could fix it.
At the edge of the woods, Keegan stopped to catch her breath, gulping for air. She had to keep moving. Keegan heard animals skittering through the woods, and that spurred her on. She ran hard through the thick underbrush. Branches tore at her pants, cut her feet, slashed her arms, and smacked her face.
She had no idea where she was.
Why couldn’t she use her gift? If she could just disappear… Why had she been able to access the dark magick, but not use her power from the light? It made no sense. Somehow the d’jinn must have been able to block her gift. The dark magick in her had always seemed to have a mind of its own. She had never been more grateful for the ability to tap into the dark magick with her anger.
She was dizzy, cold, and faint with hunger. The muscles in her legs quivered with fatigue. Tears streamed down her face. Her hair was plastered against her face from sweat, and was a knotted mess from the twigs.
Focus. If she wanted to live through this, she had to get her bear
ings. She needed to survive for Rourk and their baby. Keegan swayed and slumped against a tree. She rubbed her belly. “It’s going to be okay.”
Determined to save her baby, she pressed forward, even though every fiber of her body wanted to stop and curl up in a ball and cry.
Of course, the only way to go was up. Keegan climbed as fast as she could, grabbing ahold of rocks and branches to pull herself up. Her breathing came in gasps as she continued up the slope, which was starting to feel like a mountain. She fought for every step through the thick underbrush.
Thorns and branches tore at her flesh. Blood covered her arms and chest. The tall trees cast long shadows in the impending darkness.
She had no idea how much time had passed. It seemed like an eternity, but was probably more like a few hours. The sun had fully set, and she was alone in the woods. Well, her and anyone or anything else that was roaming the woods. A chill ran down her spine.
The adrenaline from the escape had worn off. She ached everywhere. She didn’t know if she should try to sleep or continue on. She had stopped a while back to use the bathroom, but she should probably keep moving. Continue where? Where the hell was she? If she fell asleep, she might get attacked by a wild animal. Hell, she might get attacked if she didn’t sleep.
If only she could see a light. Anything. But this was Washington State and there were no shortage of forests. Who knew how long it would take for her to break from the trees. Panic started to set in. Her stomach cramped.
“It’s okay little one.” Keegan talked to her belly. “Momma’s going to get us out of this nightmare.”
Taking one step at a time, she continued to climb. Her hands were raw, and she was glad she couldn’t see her feet. They had to be a mess.
A fat drop of rain splattered on her face, soon followed by a steady downfall. “Are you kidding me!” Keegan screamed.
Before long, rain water was running down her neck and back, and she was freezing.
Don’t think. Just keep moving. It was just rain, she wasn’t going to melt.
