Taken (Many Lives Book 2)

by Laxmi Hariharan

  With a groan of effort, muscles bulging under the strain, Jai pulls out the blade, holding it aloft. And with it the blood fountains out, drenching Gilbert, spraying Jai’s clothes scarlet.

  The shifter topples to the side.

  Before its body has even hit the floor, Jai is sinking to to his knees next to the fallen Gilbert, blood-stained sword still in hand. But Ariana is already there.

  "Hold your palm on it, apply pressure," she tells Jai, her voice calm, authoritative.

  Jai stares in surprise as she tears out a strip from her sundress.

  Her movements are quick as if she’s done this before. She has done this before, on the road, on the journey from London, that he’s sure of.

  "Do it," she snaps.

  Her voice cuts through the noise in his head. Dropping his sword by his side –big mistake– he presses his palms over the bleeding wound.

  "You OK, man?" he asks the now pale Gilbert, who nods shakily. Only to groan when she roughly shoves aside Jai’s palm and presses the cloth to Gilbert’s wound and tells Jai to hold it down.

  The moment he does that, she jumps to her feet and runs out of the cave taking his sword.

  "Ariana!" Jai yells after her but already she’s gone.

  Jai swears aloud, his throat closing with fear.

  He takes Gilbert’s right palm, pressing it over his injured side and tells him to apply pressure. Before the other man can finish nodding, Jai has run out of the cave.

  Jumping over the fallen wolf he runs into the bright sunshine where she’s facing off another shifter. This time in human form.

  She holds up his sword and with that same war yell, the one that’s still echoing in my ears from the first time he met her she leaps.

  Except this time, the shifter steps aside and she goes crashing to the ground, losing the sword.

  Jai’s never run so fast in his life. Reaching her, he hesitates. For one split second. Then making up his mind, he picks up his sword first. And that costs him. By the time he’s reaching for the fallen Aria, the shifter has already swung the girl over his shoulder. Turning around, the shifter runs. With her.

  Swearing aloud, Jai gives chase, but the shifter is fast. Inhumanly fast. For the first time Jai realizes the true extent of their strength. They are powerful. Far more than humans realize. And the only thing still keeping the city safe are their relatively small numbers. Which is also why they are targeting females in the refugee camps. To mate with them, to increase their numbers.

  Which is why they have taken Aria.

  The thought sends a jolt of fear running through him, spurring him to run even faster. But by the time he reaches the pier, it’s only to find a boat pulling away. Hair swirling in the breeze, she turns towards Jai, her hands now twisted behind her back by the same shifter who has taken her. She’s trying to say something but he can’t hear the words. Then the shifter cuffs her on the side of the neck and she goes down.

  With a yell of anger, Jai dives into the water.

  His pulse pounding in his ears he kicks, reaches forward and pushes the water back. He kicks again, propels forwards and pushes back. And he wants to keep swimming but already they are pulling away, the boat fading into the distance, heading back to the mainland.

  Weakness grips his legs, which go stiff with fear.

  Terror claws through him, till it's a shrill scream in his ears.

  Breathe. Breathe.

  They’re going to kill her.

  No! If they so much as touch her he will…will…a shudder runs through him.

  He must find her.

  Turning, he swims back to the pier to find Gilbert already in the boat; he also has Jai’s sword.

  Jai clambers on, and before he’s completely on board, Gilbert guns the little vessel forward.

  The boat leaps over the choppy waves and they make it back to the mainland in half the time it took them to get here.

  Sword held out in readiness, Jai jumps off and onto the rocky beach before they come to a complete stop. Where are they? He looks around but there’s no sign of them. Not even the boat.

  Where could they have gone?

  He runs up the beach, wet sand flying up behind him, the bitter taste of fear in his mouth.

  "Here! Jai!"

  Gilbert points to drops of scarlet in the sand. Dropping to one knee he touches the drops of blood.

  Her blood.

  Terror pounds through his veins. The acrid taste of fear fills his mouth and he bites down on it. And, below it all, he's berating himself. For choosing the sword over the girl.

  But he didn’t have a choice, did he?

  And that twists his gut, sending a surge of loathing through him so strong it makes him wants to puke.

  He pushes that thought away. Pushes all emotions away. Locking them in a corner of his head, the way he’s done so many times before. Letting that calm steal over him. Searching and locking onto that icy center inside which makes him the lethal fighter he is.

  "Let’s go," he bites out.

  Jumping to his feet, Jai follows the blood trail, Gilbert right behind.

  13

  I look past General Vishal, who sits ramrod straight in the chair opposite. Look over his shoulder, to the window behind. To the city spread out there. A glorious mix of past and present.

  From here, I can see into the guts of New Bombay, this so-called "Shining hope of the East" and I want to laugh.

  Tall towers, unfinished skeletons of iron and steel with concrete being poured into the black space between them, to join them up, to anchor them to the new world.

  And in between low bungalows with slanting red roofs, the only structures to have survived the tsunami.

  "So, we meet again," the General smirks.

  His voice cuts through my thoughts, and I react before I can stop myself.

  "How dare you do this? And without even warning me?" I burst out.

  In reply the General slaps me so hard my head snaps back.

  Anger bubbles up but I bite the inside of my mouth. I stay where I am, fingernails digging into my closed palms. Trying not to react. Not to let the panic bubble over.

  He’ll find me. Jai will. He’s looking for me just now. He must be, right?

  Why should Jai search for you? He wanted you gone since you snuck into his house. And now you are here facing down the General. A man who only sees the future he wants. A future that’s been denied to him again and again. And he’s going to use you to make it happen.

  "What do you want?" I ask.

  I don’t look at the General. Keep my eyes trained on the bent necks of the cranes at work in the distance.

  "You, Ariana," he says, voice hard with intent.

  And I jerk back to look at his face. He stares, unblinking. Tanned skin scarred like a crusty loaf of bread.

  He smiles, a baring of white teeth, enjoying the terror that leaps into my eyes. I want to reach across and plunge my sword into him, but I can’t.

  I hang my head and wait.

  Wait.

  Wait for him to continue and he finally speaks, "You’re falling behind on your promise and I thought a reminder was in order."

  At that, the shifter standing next to him steps forward. The one who’d snatched me up and run with me like I didn’t weigh anything. He’s tall, almost twice my height, massive shoulders, and forearms thicker than my thighs. Gripping my collar, he hauls me up to eye level.

  I dangle there, hands tied behind my back, my legs waving uselessly mid-air, and when he leans closer, his breath rakes over my skin. I want to puke, from fear, disgust and something worse. A feeling of cold uncertainty that this is the end. That I am helpless and at their mercy, and they can do anything; anything and I can’t stop them. I squeeze my eyes shut, blocking the terror inside.

  I will not let him see how afraid I am.

  My palms grip each other so tight the bones scream in protest and yet I don’t say a word. The half-beast sniffs me, and then something wet and rough slides over
me as he licks my throat. My legs jerk in response. Kick him. Kick him now. My toes curl, and instead I go still, limp, and hang there as if I’m not alive. I’ve had enough practice at that. Sometimes to survive you need to play dead.

  "Let her go," the General barks.

  But the male doesn’t move, he only leans closer and sniffs, again.

  And this time I open my eyes and bare my teeth in a growl so fierce and unexpected that his grip loosens. I slam down into the chair with a bang.

  Vishal bursts out laughing. "See Gabriel, you’re no match for her."

  The shifter growls, his throat rippling with anger, and I know he can shred me to pieces right now with those powerful teeth.

  Then Vishal is waving him away and to my relief he retreats. I swallow down the bile pooling in my throat.

  "I can save you, Ariana. Or I can hand you to him," Vishal says. His voice is quiet, without menace and that makes it worse.

  I know he’d do it too.

  Give me to the shifter who's more beast than man. Who's stripping me with his eyes. Eyes that drop to my breasts and lower down to the space between my thighs, and terror twists my gut so bad I think I’m going to be sick. He’s warning me. Letting me know that he can hurt me in ways I cannot even imagine. The twisted anticipation in his eyes slams into my gut and I know that he’s going to get back at me. That he’s not going to forget my insult.

  Gabriel flexes his massive hands at his side, and I swallow and try not to show how shaken I am. I see the greed in his eyes. Avarice, pure and naked, the desire to see me at his mercy stares back.

  "How much longer before you get his trust and steal the sword?" Vishal asks.

  I tear my eyes away and back to the General.

  "Why haven’t you bedded him yet? It’s one way of getting him to lower his guard. Surely that’s not a big deal for you?"

  I don’t reply, just look at him, and I know my eyes are burning with rage.

  "Spare me your anger," he snaps, springing to his feet.

  He is shorter than Jai but with wider shoulders. He has a sculpted chest, slim waist and an exaggerated build that points to someone who has spent all his life carefully, shaping his body.

  Standing over me, Vishal snaps, "Two days. In two days you go back to the Jungle and if you want to find your sister alive you’ll get me the sword."

  Lily’s life in return for a sword?

  It feels unreal.

  Without giving myself time to think, I blurt out, "Why do you want Jai’s sword?"

  His head snaps back as if I’ve hit him. Before I can blink he’s closed the gap and is gripping my chin so hard that I cry out in pain.

  "It’s not his sword. It’s Ruby’s sword," he grinds out. "And both belong to me."

  "Both?" I ask, trying to understand what he means.

  "Both," he insists, his voice hoarse. "Ruby belonged to me. And so does her sword which must now pass to her daughter."

  Daughter?

  Ruby has a daughter?

  Jai has a sister?

  I try to keep pace as the words spill out of him. It’s as if he’s gone over these thoughts too many times and now that he’s started talking, he's not able to stop.

  "Why?" I ask again. "Why do you want to give it to her daughter?"

  I know I’m pushing my luck. But I want to know what I’m risking my life, my sister’s life, for.

  "Power," he says. "Through her daughter, the sword will give me the power to control nature. Enough power to bend the Council of this city, of all the major cities around the world, to my will."

  "Power?" I burst out in disbelief.

  My family had power once and look how much that helped them.

  Power. Control.

  Words men like him use to manipulate the weak. To bend the rest to their will. To get their own way and for what? Just to feed their ego, make them feel important. And it’s all an illusion. For all power does is corrupt, it feeds the beast in them till it takes over and destroys everything, everyone that comes in their path. Like how my parents had been killed.

  Like how he’d destroy me if he had a chance.

  Before I can draw another breath, the General cups my chin hard, pulling my face up.

  I cry out in pain. I am so close I can see the swirling darkness in his eyes. Churning clouds of black with floating glittering gray specks.

  He is mad, obsessed. All he can see is his dream of ruling over this city. Of getting to the sword and using it to control nature, to have his way with the world. And I am but a pawn in his plan.

  His other arm grips my throat. He squeezes it, cutting off the air till the black knocks against the back of my eyelids, till it feels like my lungs are about to burst.

  The world begins to slip away from the edges of my vision, and I know I will not make it out of here.

  Then, just as suddenly, he lets go.

  The air rushes through my hurt throat, like water over cut-glass, and into my lungs. I cough, going light-headed again

  "Get me the sword, else you won’t see your sister alive. Or dead. There’ll be nothing left of her. You know what these shifters are capable of."

  His words float over me and I struggle to stay conscious.

  "Do. You. Understand?" he asks, his voice low, threatening.

  Tears of pain, of rage, squeeze out of my eyes and I nod. A quick jerk.

  "Don’t hurt her," I say, my voice raspy. "She’s just a child."

  "That’s entirely in your hands isn’t it?" he says.

  I see Lily’s frightened face in my head. And she’s there, hidden in the Jungle, imprisoned. Unless. Unless, I get him the sword.

  "OK," I say softly.

  "What’s that? I didn’t hear you?" He grins and I want to wipe that sneer of his face.

  "OK. OK!" I yell at him.

  The General raises his fist, and I have just enough time to shut my eyes before he slams it against my temple.

  14

  Just when you think you know a city, you stumble across a part of it that takes you by surprise. Like an old girlfriend who shows you a side you never suspected she had.

  Following the blood smears on the trees, Jai and Gilbert pound through the sparse forest which lines the beach, breaking through to a large clearing. In front of them more than a dozen excavators dig into the earth like caterpillars worming into moist soil.

  "Where exactly are we?" Gilbert exclaims aloud, echoing Jai’s thoughts. He’s never been this far north.

  Behind them machines busily shovel away the piled debris, and at the far end, half-completed buildings soar into the sky. One of the tall construction cranes swoops down to pick up a heavy load of bricks and steel. Heaving it up into the air, it deposits the load on the opposite side.

  The Council has been developing different areas of the city in a planned fashion; very different to the haphazard growth of the old metropolis which had stood here prior to the tsunami. But even so, Jai’s never come across such a massive building site before. He swears aloud, wondering where to even start looking for her.

  Sweat drips down his forehead and he pants hard, his heartbeat thundering in his ears. And it’s not just from the headlong rush to get here. With every passing minute he’s losing hope of finding her alive and unhurt.

  Then Gilbert yells to get his attention. There. A large wolf – a shifter by the size of it – stands staring at them, frozen, caught by surprise.

  An eerie quiet clings to it like a shroud. It looks at them, unblinking.

  When Jai steps forward, it turns and darts into the entrance of the half-finished tower behind. Jai breaks into a run, followed closely by Gilbert, but by the time they enter the building there’s no trace of the animal. Then the sound of nails clattering on stone comes from above. There, it must have gone up the staircase.

  Jai dashes up the steps…first floor, third, fifth…by the time they hit the tenth he’s panting. Chest heaving, he looks around the half-constructed floor. Behind him Gilbert leans against the wall
, bent over from exertion.

  Gilbert opens his mouth to speak, and Jai holds up a finger to his lips.

  "Shh! Did you hear that?" he asks.

  Gilbert shakes his head but there it is again.

  Holding out his sword, Jai walks forward. Gilbert covers him from behind. That sound again…like someone groaning. Then, a scraping sound like something being dragged along the floor echoes through the hollow walls.

  Jai runs in the direction of the sound through the half-finished rooms. Another groan, closer, then a chair topples over and he hears loud swearing. A steady stream of cuss words which would have done any one from his team proud, and a few other words which make him wonder where she had picked them up.

  He speeds up past the unfinished walls and on to a sprawling room at the end.

  There, in the middle of the space is Aria sprawled on the floor, her hands bound behind her. She tries to get to her feet, only to topple over because of the steel chair next to her.

  Jai helps her up while Gilbert cuts the ropes binding her hand.

  Rubbing her wrists together, she snarls, "What took you so long?"

  "What took me so long?" The tightly coiled worry inside explodes. Then he’s shaking her by her shoulders so hard her hair falls over her face.

  "What were you thinking running out of the cave like THAT?" Jai yells.

  He knows he’s losing control and he isn’t sure why, not when he’s found her and she’s safe.

  "I thought they'd killed you, that I’d never see you again," he says.

  Even as the words are out he knows there’s no going back. He can’t hide his feelings any more. Hauling her to him, he fixes his mouth on her. Grinds his lips against hers, thrusting his tongue into her mouth. His fingers grip her shoulders, the other hand tight around her waist, not realizing he’s lifted her clear off the ground. He’s hurting her, but he can’t stop himself.

  Jai doesn’t hear Gilbert warn that they have to get out of there before the shifters return. It’s not till Gilbert physically pulls them apart does he let go. And then, only to swing her up in his arms, carrying her out of there.