“Rhys?” Micah called out as I approached.
I removed the invisibility spell from him instantly.
“What happened to you? I’ve been waiting here all night.”
All night.
I loosened his chain from the ground and pulled him up. “Do you have any idea how many hours?” I asked.
“I don’t know. Going by the sun, maybe eight hours. Ten… Where the hell were you?”
I was about to answer when Micah’s eyes lowered to my waist. He stared, frowning. I followed his gaze and found myself looking at a long strand of light blonde hair, entangled in my belt. I pulled it away and examined it.
And then it dawned on me all at once. Of course. I should have realized sooner that this would eventually happen. Everything made sense now. Why she’d stopped me. Why she’d dropped me so near. Why she hadn’t killed me—couldn’t kill me.
Micah looked up at me, confused. “What?”
My eyes narrowed. “It seems we’re not the only hunters in this chase…”
Chapter 15: Rose
The vision of Brody imprinted on my mind, I shook as the woman led me down a narrow corridor, lit by glaring fluorescent lights.
“Where are we going?” I stammered.
“You just come,” she said.
We reached the end of the hallway and she began pulling me up a flight of narrow steps. She pushed open another door at the top and we arrived in a dim entrance hall, surrounded by tall boarded-up windows. There was a silk rug in the center of the room, covering dusty wooden floorboards. Shotguns adorned the walls like ornaments. She pulled me across the room and we began ascending a wider flight of stairs, with a shiny polished banister and carpet stapled to the wooden steps.
“Are you taking me to the circus boat?”
“No. I take you to Sir.”
“Who’s Sir?”
“Aurelio. He decide what you do.”
My knees felt weak, my hands trembling even more as she ushered me forward. I barely took in my surroundings as we ascended several more flights of stairs. My mind was too alight with panic.
Phillipe already intended me for the circus. Maybe Aurelio decided against it. More than anything, the one thought plaguing my mind was: I need to find Caleb.
I now paid more attention to where the woman was leading me. Although I had no idea where I’d go, I knew I had to make a run for it before we reached our destination. Because something told me once I entered Aurelio’s room, I might not get the chance again.
I waited until the woman was four steps away from the top, and then, mustering all the strength I could, jolted downward in one sudden motion. She yelped and struggled to hold on, but it was too late. With gravity on my side, I broke free from her and raced back down the stairs. I looked around wildly as I reached the bottom. I caught sight of three guns splayed out on the wall. I reached for one and tugged on it until it came loose. I had no idea if it was loaded, and even if it was, I wasn’t practiced at shooting. But it was all I had.
I whirled around to find myself face to face with the woman again. I stumbled back as she eyed the gun, her mouth agape. I pointed it at her and pulled my meanest face.
“Where’s the exit?”
“I-I…”
I gripped her collar and pushed her up against the wall, digging the barrel of the gun against her throat.
“You know,” I growled. “Tell me.”
“I can’t…” Her voice trailed away as her eyes found a spot over my shoulder. Horror filled her face. “Sir!” she gasped.
A muscled hand closed around my throat and squeezed, crushing my larynx. I choked, dropping the gun. The hand twisted me round slowly and I found myself looking up at Sir. He must have been at least six foot four. He had tan skin, thick jet-black hair and an impeccably sculpted goatee. He appeared to be in his late forties.
His dark brown eyes drilled into mine. “Marisa,” he said, his voice deep and rasping, his breath smelling of mint. “You can go. I’ll deal with the American flower.”
As Marisa scurried away, Aurelio kicked the gun and sent it skidding down the hallway. His eyes still on me, he loosened his grip around my neck. Reaching behind his pants, he unhooked a pair of handcuffs and fastened one bracelet over my wrist. He began walking forward, tugging me behind him. As we reached the end of the corridor, he pulled me into a room. Other than a small table and two chairs in the center of the room, it was empty. He sat me down in one of the chairs and fastened me to it. He picked up a corded phone from the table and, still eyeing me, began to dial a number.
“Keep him out,” he said in Spanish, then put the phone down. Then he walked through a door at the back of the room and disappeared.
I stood up and, picking up the chair so it wouldn’t make a noise, walked over to the door. I clutched the handle. It was locked. Even if it hadn’t been, I wouldn’t have gotten far chained to this furniture.
I looked around the room. There were no guns in sight. The walls were painted a deep red, and there was a bearskin rug in one corner—the bear’s head still attached.
I jumped as a banging sounded outside the door. I hurried to sit back down where Aurelio had left me. He re-entered the room, a gun in his hand. He ran its barrel along my neck on his way to the door. He looked through the peephole, then walked back over to the phone and redialed a number. His voice was tense this time as he spoke. “I thought I told you to keep him out while I decide.”
He cast a glance at me. “Yes,” he said, rubbing his jaw impatiently. “But it’s not every day that we come across her type. Young. Innocent-looking.”
I guessed he thought that I didn’t speak Spanish. Or, more likely, he didn’t care whether I understood him or not.
The door shuddered again as another bout of knocking broke out, more forceful this time. A man shouted in Spanish. “It’s Camilo. Open up.”
“I don’t care what he was promised,” Aurelio said, his voice quieting. “Just take him away.”
He slammed the phone down. I avoided his gaze as he took a seat opposite me. I heard footsteps outside. Then low mutterings in Spanish. It sounded like there was a scuffle, but then footsteps drew further away and the banging stopped. I wished that it had continued. Now that I was alone here with this man, my hairs stood on end.
“Stand up.” Aurelio spoke in English now, his harsh voice slicing through the silence.
I stood up as best I could, being chained to the chair. He stood up himself and walked over to me, his arms folded over his chest as his eyes roamed me.
Brody’s words echoed in my ears. “Do all you can to get on that boat.” He’d advised me for my personal safety. But I knew that if there was any chance I would see Caleb again, it would be on that boat and that was what spurred me forward more than anything.
“I want to join Camilo’s circus,” I said, fighting to keep my voice steady.
He scoffed.
There was a loud banging outside the door.
“Aurelio, enough of this. Open up or I’ll break in,” a voice shouted in Spanish. Camilo again. He must have managed to break free from the other men.
Aurelio scowled. Wetting his lower lip, he walked to the door and opened it. A tall, dark-haired man entered the room. He looked almost identical to Aurelio. They're twins.
Camilo’s brown eyes settled on me as he strode into the room, a cap in his hand, shades in the other.
“So this is her?” he said, still in Spanish. Once he’d finished eyeing me over, he turned on his brother. “I want her to join me. She will help to tame that freak you gave us.”
A rush of relief spread through me. So Caleb is still alive.
“Find another way to tame him,” Aurelio said. “She stays here.”
Camilo shook his head. “Then your gift will have been worthless. It’s going to be too much of a time investment without her. What is it you want her for so much anyway?”
Aurelio frowned at his brother. “It should be obvious what she can bring me.
A teenage North American. Unassuming. Pleasant to look at. You know we’ve been running low on recruiters for months. If enough time is put into her training, I predict she’ll double the Colombians’ results within a week.”
Camilo reached into his pocket and pulled out a cigarette. Lighting up, he drew in deeply and blew out, still eyeing me unashamedly. He looked me over as if I was an object.
“Then if you keep her, how am I to use the man? He’s wilder than any animal we’ve brought in and doesn’t respond to punishment. You may as well have him back, or just get rid of him altogether.”
“You haven’t given it long enough. Starve him for a few days, if you have to. But we keep the girl here.”
Although Camilo looked frustrated, he didn’t argue with his brother. I got the feeling that Aurelio always won in arguments, even though they were twins. It seemed that Camilo had a certain sense of how far to push his brother. He stared at me as he finished his cigarette.
“Well, we’re leaving at dawn,” he said stiffly to his brother and turned to leave the room.
My heart palpitating, I lurched forward and gripped Camilo’s arm. “Please,” I said. “Please, take me with you. I want to join the circus. I’ll do anything.”
Camilo looked down at me, then back at his brother. His lips parted, but then closed again beneath his brother’s steely gaze. He cleared his throat, shook me off him and left the room, shutting the door sharply behind him. I stood frozen in my spot, horror filling me as his footsteps disappeared down the corridor.
Aurelio walked back over to his desk and picked up the phone. “Send up Jorge and Marisa.”
Marisa and Jorge—a short, thickset man—entered the room three minutes later. Marisa’s face set into a deep scowl as soon as she laid eyes on me. As for Jorge, he walked up to me and gripped my arms while Aurelio removed the handcuffs. I tried to knee Jorge in the groin, but he twisted me round fast so that my back was facing his chest, his arm round my neck choking me.
“Careful not to bruise her any more,” Aurelio said sternly as we left his office. “She needs to look clean. Like a tourist.”
As soon as we were outside, Marisa tugged on Jorge’s arm, pulling him to a stop, and with her wide palm slapped me across my face. My eyes watered from the pain.
Jorge scowled. “Didn’t you hear what Aurelio just said? You’re going to get both of us into trouble.”
Marisa’s eyes bored into mine. “I know how to punish without causing bruises.”
They stopped with me before we reached the first staircase. My stomach clenched as the man’s cracked lips brushed against mine while he tied a rag around my eyes. His hands took a detour around my body as he wrestled me to the ground and fastened my hands and legs with ropes.
“I still think she would have been good as one of Eleni’s girls,” he muttered as he lifted me off the ground. “But this suits me.”
Jorge hurled me over his shoulder. He began hurrying down the staircase, each bump bringing me closer to throwing up. A part of me hoped that I did, because it was the only way I could retaliate now that I was bound.
We’d been walking for what felt like ten minutes when keys clinked against metal, then a heavy door swung open. Jorge lowered me off his shoulder and placed me on the ground. A car door clicked open and he picked me up again. Laying me down horizontally on a row of seats, he slammed the door shut again. Jorge and Marisa took seats in front of me and the engine started. I almost rolled off the seat as the vehicle lurched forward.
I lost count of how much time passed by. I was barely paying attention to the conversation any more as my mind fixed on Caleb. He was somewhere aboard Camilo’s ship. Likely still in that armored truck, where he would spend his final breath, alone in the dark. Tears welled in my eyes.
The vehicle slowed to a stop and the front doors opened again as Marisa and Jorge stepped out. Jorge reached for me and pulled me out. A cool breeze touched my skin as the car doors slammed shut. I heard the sound of ocean waves and the distant humming of a generator.
Gravel crunched beneath Jorge and Marisa’s feet. I heard keys, then the drawing of a heavy bolt. It was suddenly hot and stuffy. Gone was the cool night breeze. The stench of perfumes clashing in the air invaded my nostrils.
Jorge carried me up yet more stairs, and finally I felt a hard bed beneath me. The sheets smelled of strong detergent. Jorge loosened my blindfold as Marisa closed the door.
I looked around. The room was hardly bigger than the basement room I’d first been trapped in with Brody. There was a small dressing table in the corner, a stool, a sink, and a cracked mirror. There was only one door—the door we had entered through. Which meant there was no bathroom. Marisa and Jorge began untying my wrists and ankles. As I shook the ropes away from me, Marisa pulled out a gun from her belt, holding it on me.
“You listen,” she said in her thick accent. “There won’t be more misbehaving from you, understand? You do as we say.”
I huddled against the wall, as far away from the two of them as possible. “You can’t force me to work for you,” I croaked.
“We can, actually,” Jorge said, a thin smile spreading across his face as he inched closer to me on the mattress. “Our methods are quite foolproof… But we’ll leave you alone for now. Tomorrow will be your first day, and you’ll need to be alert.”
Jorge reached out and tucked my hair behind my ear before standing up and walking out of the room, followed closely by Marisa. I rushed to the door after them, but they’d locked it already by the time I slammed up against it.
“Wait,” I called. “I need to use the bathroom.”
“There’s a bucket beneath the bed, and you have a sink,” Jorge said. “Using the bathroom is a privilege you will earn.”
Chapter 16: Rhys
Micah and I had much time to make up for. It could be as much as twelve hours. There was also the possibility that the witch might have gotten hold of my prey already. But I doubted it. If my guess about her identity was correct, her contact with me would have drained her. She’d need more time to recover before going back after a speeding truck.
Micah and I needed to make sure that we got to Rose and Caleb—if indeed the vampire was still alive—before she recovered, because we couldn’t afford more delays. I wondered if she would actually be foolish enough to come after us again. She should know better than that. I wouldn’t hesitate to kill her this time, now that I was wiser. I supposed it depended just how desperate she was to keep Rose away from me.
We took longer sweeps across the highway. I was too impatient to keep traveling at such a slow speed, stopping every mile to check for the scent. Since very few roads led off it, there weren’t many other ways the truck could have gone other than straight ahead.
The witch’s attempt had been successful at least in delaying me. But I wouldn’t allow it to do more than that.
It worried me that it was taking Micah longer and longer to detect the scent each time we stopped to check it. But, finally, he pointed to a side road. We were near the coast now. I breathed in deeply as we moved away from the pollution of the highway, the fresh sea air filling my lungs.
“It’s getting stronger again,” Micah said. “And I…” His eyes grew wide, his nose quivering. “I think I sense the vampire too.”
For the first time in weeks, I smiled.
Chapter 17: Rose
I looked around the room again in horror as their footsteps disappeared. Now that I was standing, I noticed something in a shadowy corner. A boarded-up window. I rushed to it and placed my fingers around the edges of the board, trying to see if there was any give. It had rotted away so much from the humidity that it only took three hard pulls to dislodge it completely, revealing a window guarded by bars. Cockroaches and centipedes came scurrying out from beneath the wood as it fell to the floor, plaster and dust falling everywhere.
I grabbed the stool and placed it beneath the window. I climbed up on it and looked out at the sky. There was no clock in my r
oom, but from the brightening horizon, early morning was approaching fast. Dawn. I craned my neck to look further up the shoreline. A ship was moored about a mile up.
Could that be Camilo’s ship?
I gripped the bars harder and pulled myself upward. It was still too dark to read the words painted onto the side of the ship. I eyed the containers on deck. They were large enough to contain circus equipment, scaffolding, animals… And then I spotted something that left me with no further doubt. There was a stack of German wheels propped up against one of the masts.
People milled about around the vessel, walking up and down the ramp, pushing carts. I wondered if Caleb and his cage had already been placed aboard the ship. I guessed the only way they’d managed to keep him caged all this time was by not opening those back doors. They’d have to open them sometime if he was going to be of any value, but I was sure that by the time they did, he’d already be long dead.
Despair overcame me as I pulled against the bars until my palms started to peel away. I climbed down from the stool and scrambled about the room. There was nothing that would be even remotely helpful.
I sank down on the floor and buried my head against my knees. I felt too drained to even cry. I just sat there, my eyes shut tight, imagining that ship sailing away before my very eyes in a few hours.
I lost myself to grief for God knew how long. Light began to trickle through the glass. I raised my head.
A shadowy figure crouched down on the floor on the other side of the room.
Black eyes gleamed at me in the light of the early dawn.
Chapter 18: Rose
The warlock had finally caught up with me. As if that wasn’t heart-stopping enough, another figure stirred in the shadows beside him. A werewolf. A chain was fastened around its neck, held by Rhys.
Rhys stepped forward, snaking an arm around my waist, and the room vanished.
A Shade of Vampire 11: A Chase of Prey Page 8
