Thea wondered the same thing. While she’d never condone slavery in any way, she’d never heard of any group of Aeveren enslaving their own.
“I don’t know, Suzanne. But the man who brought me here is a bounty hunter after my destined one.”
“Why did he kidnap you?”
“I don’t know that either,” Thea said sadly.
Suzanne lifted her hand to comfort her, causing her shackles and chain to make a hollow, metallic sound. As she gently touched Thea’s cheek, the restraints knocked against her shoulder.
“It’ll be okay. I’m sure your husband will come soon.”
Thea smiled at the mention of Amon as her husband. She thought for a moment about how much she’d grown to love him in the short time she’d known him.
“He’s not my husband yet. But he is my destined one.”
“Tell me about destined ones. It sounds so romantic.”
“I admit I don’t know much about it, Suzanne. Amon is my first. See, I’m a healer for my people, and they rarely are blessed with the gift of a destined one to love.”
“Why? I can’t imagine anyone deserving love more than someone who helps people.”
“Because we need to be devoted to those we care for, I guess.”
“Are you your destined one’s first?”
Blushing, Thea shook her head. “No. He’s had others before me.”
From a few feet away, one of the other women laughed. “You have no idea, sweetie.”
“Cherie, stop it! Thea doesn’t need to hear your awful comments.”
Thea knew Cherie had seen or heard about something Amon had done, and she hated the idea of what it might have been. She quickly reminded herself that he’d warned her that he’d done some terrible things in his forty-seven lifetimes.
“It’s okay, Suzanne. I know Amon may have been a different kind of man before meeting me. Part of who we are as Aeveren is our pasts.”
“That’s the way to think. Your knight in shining armor will be here any time now.”
Thea found it difficult to understand how anyone who’d been as mistreated as Suzanne had been at Kiril’s hands could be so optimistic. Even she, as a healer, seemed to feel more despondent than Suzanne.
“How can you remain so kind and good after what’s happened?” she asked.
Suzanne smiled and Thea saw the sweetness in her eyes grow. “I’m not the person Kiril Gault keeps here as a slave. That person has to satisfy him in all of his sexual appetites, but she’s no one. A machine.”
Touching her fingertips to the area above her heart, she continued. “Who I really am is in here, somewhere Kiril has no interest in. In here, I’m still the girl who worked in a London office, the daughter of John and Sharon, the sister of Carrie and Chrissy, the person I was before he took me one night on my way home and turned me into this.”
Thea’s heart wrenched as she listened to the details of who Suzanne truly was. “Oh, Suzanne. I’m so sorry. How could this happen?”
Shrugging her shoulders, she answered, “The same way it’s happened to you. There are bad people in this world, Thea.”
*
Amon appeared in the Soren meeting hall but found few members there. Those who were seemed the same as they always had, but Amon knew that it was probable something important had changed in the group if its leader had any connections with the Council at Nil, so he was alert and ready to deal with Kiril’s goons.
He walked slowly through the headquarters’ halls looking for Kiril and searching for any evidence Thea was there. It didn’t take him long to find the Soren leader. In his private conference room, he sat playing with a whip as his other hand rifled through papers.
“Kiril,” he said announcing his presence as he entered the room.
“Amon Kalins. To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit? You weren’t announced,” Kiril said nervously.
As he approached the table Kiril sat at, Amon watched him stand and understood instantly that something had altered the relationship between them. Kiril’s stance was defensive, and his demeanor telegraphed his guilt.
“I’m here to find out what you know about my destined one’s kidnapping.”
“Your destined one has disappeared?”
“No. She was kidnapped by a Council of Nil bounty hunter. You know anything about that?”
Kiril shifted his position anxiously and shook his head. “How the fuck would I know anything concerning one of their fucking employees?”
“That’s what I wondered when I heard that the same bounty hunter had been seen here at the Soren headquarters.”
As Amon spoke, he listened carefully for any of Kiril’s men. He also attempted to probe the Soren leader’s mind for answers, but Soren magick made it impossible to penetrate his thoughts.
Then he sensed Thea and in one swift move grabbed Kiril and slammed him into the wall. “Where is she, Kiril?”
“Sorry, pal. Someone had to be sacrificed. This is bigger than you and your current piece of ass.”
“What do you mean sacrificed? Tell me where she is now or I swear I’ll kill you.”
Amon knew she was still alive as he sensed her nearby. But what did he mean someone had to be sacrificed?
Before he could carry out his threat, Kiril’s bodyguards were in the room and on top of him. Pushing each of them off him, he knew he had to get out of there. As he prepared to teleport, he heard Kiril boast, “I hope she likes it rough.”
*
Thea sensed Amon nearby and ran to the door. Pounding loudly, she screamed his name to let him know where she was.
“Amon! I’m in here!”
Over and over she screamed his name but to no avail. He never came, and although she continued to sense his presence, within a few minutes she knew he was no longer close by.
Amon, where are you? Why did you leave me here?
Dejected and confused, she slid down the door to the cold floor. Had he been captured or killed by Kiril and his men? Thea couldn’t believe he would simply leave her to be tortured.
Minutes later, she felt someone push against the door and her heart leapt for joy. He’d come for her! He’d rescue her and the women trapped with her, just as she’d promised he would. When the door opened, she saw Kiril and the bodyguards instead.
“Get the girls. I’ll take this one myself,” Kiril said as he bent down to pull Thea to her feet.
“Time to go, pet.”
“Where? Where are you taking us?”
Panicked, Thea wondered if he was moving her to a different location Amon wouldn’t be able to find.
Kiril gave a sinister laugh. “Don’t worry. You’ll only have to watch.”
Thea turned to look at her three fellow captives, but all of them kept their eyes toward the floor. Terrified, she pleaded with him, “Please don’t do this. I beg of you.”
Kiril ran his finger over her lips. “Sweetheart, you’re only exciting me by begging and I promised I wouldn’t harm you, but if you keep this up, I may have to renege on that promise.”
Thea’s mind raced to figure out who he’d promised not to hurt her more than kidnapping and holding her hostage. It made no sense to consider that Amon had done this to her, but Markku or Gethen? Could either of them have done this?
As Kiril led her by the arm to his room, she considered the possibility of their involvement and decided Gethen loved Amon too much to hurt him like this. Markku, however, she couldn’t rule out. She’d already experienced his nasty streak. Before she could think about it more, she saw Kiril’s room. Obviously designed as his own private sex chamber, it looked like a nightmare with shackles and chains, in addition to whips and metal implements Thea couldn’t place but was sure were painful.
Frightened, she tried to back out of the room, but Kiril held her tightly, squeezing her arm. “Don’t worry, pet. I told you you’d only have to watch.”
Kiril excused the men and began to undress. Moments later, he stood in front of them, naked with a silver c
ock ring on. Thea’s surprise at the sight of it quickly turned to disgust. Sickened to think of what was to come next, she buried her face in her hands as she sat down in the furthest spot away from him.
She heard the hollow clang of the chains and looked up to see Suzanne being freed. As she was lead to the bed, the other two women moved away to sit on a bench against the wall. Behind her, Kiril knelt on the bed and ran his hands over her shoulders. It looked almost loving, but Thea knew it was anything but.
“Thea, look at Suzanne. No one is hurting her.” Kiril grasped her chin and pulled her head back toward him. “Tell her.”
Suzanne’s brown eyes grew wide and then closed. When she reopened them, she spoke more quietly than when they’d talked before, but her voice was the same sweet tone Thea had been comforted by.
“I am not hurt, Thea. Please don’t worry about me.”
As she heard her words and watched Kiril enter her from behind, Thea knew she’d lied. Shielding her eyes, she hid her face in her hands again and tried in vain to block out the terrible sounds of what was happening in front of her.
*
Amon returned to the house in Ireland to figure out how he’d save Thea. He knew she was at the Soren headquarters somewhere in the building and hoped she’d heard his promise to come back for her. Gethen was waiting for him and expressed no surprise that Kiril was involved in Thea’s kidnapping. Always the helpful servant, even if Amon had freed him, he offered his assistance in any way Amon required.
“Thank you, but none of our combined powers other than my teleporting will work. And that’s going to be dicey since they’ll be waiting for me next time.”
“Amon, do you think you should approach this from another angle? If the Soren and the Council are working together, maybe you need to work the Council.”
“I’ve thought of that. I need to find out who the member is that Markku said is against the head of the Council at Nil.”
“Markku should be back any moment. Hopefully, he can tell us.”
Amon stood and walked toward the window. Looking out, he said, “I don’t have time to wait for him. Every second Thea’s with Kiril is killing me. I’ll have to find someone else who’d know the answers.”
“Who?”
“An old friend who probably hates me, but I have to try. If Markku comes back with news, try to contact me but I’ll be far away.”
Gethen shot him a confused look, but Amon didn’t bother to explain before he disappeared from his house seconds later.
He reappeared on the front steps of a white, suburban home like many found throughout the United States. The leaves that had fallen from the maple tree in the front yard made a crunching noise under his feet as he shifted his weight anxiously. He rang the doorbell and second-guessed his choice to come at all, but his alternatives were decidedly worse.
The face of the woman who opened the door registered first shock and then anger. “You’ve got a lot of nerve coming here.”
Before she could slam the door shut, Amon wedged his boot in between it and the door frame and leaned in to begin the pleading he knew he’d need to do to get her help.
“Please don’t shut the door. I need your help. I know I have no right to ask, but I am. Please Jean, I need your help to save someone.”
The elderly woman looking back at him grimaced and sighed before slowly opening the door. She said nothing but extended her arm to welcome him in, and he cautiously walked past her into a room full of white lace doilies and flower patterned furniture. He turned back to face her and felt the sting of her hand as she slapped him across the face.
Wincing, he said, “I guess I deserved that.”
Walking past him into the kitchen, she said angrily, “You deserve that and more. You stole Callia from her destined one and manipulated time to make sure she fell in love with you. You’re a real bastard and now you want my help? You haven’t changed, Deimos.”
Amon smiled, knowing that her use of the name she’d known him by all those lifetimes ago meant she’d help him. Or at least he hoped that’s what it meant.
“I haven’t heard that name in so long, I’d almost forgotten it, Elan.”
“I didn’t use your Greek name so you’d use mine. We’re not having a past life walk down memory lane here. Sit down and don’t think just because I still think fondly of you because you were the brother of my destined one once that I’ll help you.”
Amon sat as ordered as she thumbed through items on the kitchen counter. When she’d found what she was searching for, she turned toward him and handed him something. In his hand he saw a picture of Callia with Varek, a small girl, and a baby. He stared at it and then handed it back to her saying nothing. He knew why she’d shown him it.
“Isn’t that a beautiful family? The little girl is his daughter Tia he’d thought he’d lost after what happened with his first destined one, and the baby is named Tanner.”
Amon sat silently knowing he deserved Jean’s punishment. Nothing he could say could change what he’d done.
Jean sat down at the table across from him, her arms folded. “Well, I’m sure you didn’t come here to see pictures of my grandniece and her lovely family, so why are you here?”
“I need your help concerning an issue with the Council.”
“That seems strange since if I remember correctly you were sentenced to spend the remainder of your lifetimes in Nil. If I’d known you were so bad, I wouldn’t have sent Callia and Varek to you for help, Amon.”
His gaze meeting hers, he said quietly, “Elan, I never meant to hurt her. I loved her.”
Jean was silent for a few moments and then sighed. “I think you did in your own way. Okay, I’ve tortured you enough. I’ll let fate do the rest. So, what’s your problem with the Council, other than its desire to return you to their hell for the rest of your existence?”
“My destined one has been taken, and I think the Council and the Soren are involved. The bounty hunter sent for me took her, but he’s been seen at the Soren headquarters. I confronted Kiril Gault about it. I know he’s holding her. All the signs point to something going on between someone on the Council at Nil and Kiril.”
Her eyes closed, Jean listened and then after a long silence asked, “Why would anyone on the Council get together with the biggest enemy of the Council?”
“I don’t know, but I know the actions of the head of the Council at Nil have moved into the illegal realm and at least one member had filed a formal protest.”
“Dissention among the ranks of the most powerful council? What did he do?”
“He’s authorized the use of my destined one’s past to capture me.”
Jean whistled and stood up from the table. “That’s a big no-no. Obviously, he wants you returned pretty badly. So the question I’m sure you’ve asked yourself must be, ‘What did I do to him to deserve such an overzealous prosecution?’”
Amon nodded. “Jean, I need to know the council member who filed the protest. And I need to know fast. Thea’s in danger every minute she’s near Kiril.”
Nodding, Jean moved into action. “Wait here. This could take a bit, but I think I can find what you need.”
While he waited for her to return, Amon picked up the picture of Callia and her family. As he studied their faces, he had to admit that they were happy. He’d hoped for that kind of happiness for lifetimes, and now it was within his reach if he could save Thea and expose the Council’s corruption.
Amon knew fate had always favored him. Born with powers in his first lifetime that other Aeveren could only dream of possessing, he’d had the world on a string for most of his existence. He’d had three destined ones who’d loved him probably long after he’d deserved it, another blessing many of his fellow Aeveren would trade almost anything for. He’d been fortunate, no doubt.
But he’d squandered much of his time abusing his powers at the expense of others and his destined ones, finding out all too late how mistaken he’d been with them.
It wasn’t in his nature to wallow in regret, though. If his time on Earth had taught him anything, it was that there was no time like the present. No, he wouldn’t make the same mistakes of his past. Destiny had given him another chance in Thea, and he’d take it like he’d done with every chance in his forty-seven lifetimes.
By the time Jean returned, Amon had found the focus he’d lost when Ryu took Thea. He knew what he had to do.
“All right, the council member’s name is Naomi Cooper. And it seems she’s got a cabal around her that has definite reservations about the head councilman’s actions.”
Amon rose to leave and Jean caught him by the arm. “Be careful with this group. You’ve made an enemy in the head of that council. Even if this woman wants to help, you’re going up against the two biggest power centers of our world.”
“Is that concern I hear in your voice?” he asked in a teasing tone.
“I promised Dmitri lifetimes ago when he was ready to move on that I’d keep an eye on you. He knew what you were and worried about you. I’d like to be able to tell him when I move on and see him again that you were happy and had finally grown into what you were meant to be.”
“Are you saying you broke the rule about finding people from past lifetimes, Elan?”
Jean smiled. “I’m an ancient one like you, Amon. All of us have broken a rule or two in the number of lifetimes we’ve lived.”
Amon laughed and hugged her. “Some of us more than others.”
“Take care of yourself, Amon.”
“You too. And when you see Dmitri again, tell him I finally have what he always wished for me.”
Outside Jean’s home, Amon stood on her front porch while the early November chill bit at his skin. Armed with Naomi Cooper’s name, Amon once again sent out his silent promise to Thea that he’d come for her and prayed to God he wouldn’t be too late.
Chapter Eighteen
After finishing with the other two slaves, Kiril seemed to be sated, and Thea prayed he would remember his pledge not to hurt her. Despite Suzanne’s words, she knew she’d suffered, and it took every ounce of willpower not to take her in her arms and soothe the pain of what he’d done right out of her. But Thea suspected any kindness offered would only serve to incense him.
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