by Amber Flora
“No, I’ll kill him,” Damon said, not blinking an eyelash.
Mac strained to lift his head. When his eyes locked with mine they went wild.
I picked up my fork, thrusting it toward Damon's neck.
“Let him go, you bastard.”
Grison was quick to grab my wrist, twisting it until I dropped the utensil. One of the guys holding Mac punched him in the gut.
“The more you contest the worse it gets for your friend.”
I tore my hand away from Grison, returning my eyes to Mac.
“I’ll crucify you,” Mac managed to get out in a raspy voice, which landed him another punch to the gut.
“Stop!” I felt bile rising in my throat.
I hastily sat back down, picking up my fork and cramming as many peas as possible into my mouth.
“Good girl, now was that so difficult?”
Damon waved his hand again, sending the men and Mac out of the room. My heart felt like it was on fire. I wanted to tear this man's eyes out. I silently prayed Cody was alive and vowed to rescue Mac even if I had to kill everyone in this hell to do it. I would get my friends back and Damon would find out just how dangerous I could really be.
Any feelings of hunger I had instantly diminished at the sight of Mac’s battered body, but I had to keep eating. If pleasing Damon kept Mac alive I was just going to have to push through.
“After you have finished eating, Grison will take you so you can shower and change your clothes.”
I looked down at my dirty gray tank top and pajama shorts.
“You don’t like my outfit?”
I crossed my arms over my stomach, trying to shield myself from his once over of my body.
“Whimsical animals lose their appeal after being worn for three days straight.”
I had been here for three days? My heart sunk. Had Mac been here the entire time? If so, how much had he endured?
“Let’s cut to the chase. I don’t know where your leader is. Even if I did, I wouldn’t tell you.”
The slender malicious-looking man removed the napkin from his lap, placing it on the table. He looked in complete control of the situation. Not a hint of anger or fear, pure evil was all that stared back at me. He had thick brows and what appeared to be a birthmark about the size of a dime on right side of his neck.
“You think I care where my uncle is? Look around you, I run the Credo now; they answer to me. Why would I give all of this up to a man who has already failed?”
His Uncle? This whole time I thought the Credo were fighting to rescue Ser'ie. It never occurred to me they had a new commander with a whole different agenda.
“Then what do you want with me?”
Damon had the whole evil-guy persona down pat. The hairs on my arms stood straight up when he narrowed his eyes at me.
“You and I have something in common, Miss. Lane.”
I smirked.
“Our fondness of quirky pajamas?”
He raised a brow. Clearly we did not share a sense of humor.
“Our unique bloodline.”
I watched Damon raise his hand to the air, spinning his finger around swiftly in circles. The air turned cold while a sharp wind blew passed me causing my hair to whip in front of my face and my body to shiver.
“You’re a wizard?”
How did he know I came from magic? I just found out myself a little more than a month ago.
“Half wizard like yourself. I’m part of the reason my uncle wanted to eradicate the other races. He saw how powerful I was. A dreamwalker that excels at magic. We are a race all our own. We far surpass anything they had ever dreamt of.”
If he knew that about me how much else did he know? Was he aware of who my father was?
“What makes you think I’m like you?”
I had to play dumb. I knew he was right, but maybe he just stumbled upon a lucky guess. Perhaps he wasn’t so sure. Granted I did kill one of his men with a lightning bolt, but had Grison told him about that? Damon snapped his fingers and Grison stepped forward, handing him a piece of torn paper. It looked old like it belonged to a historical document.
“After the attack on Avonya I went there to see for myself. As you can guess my uncle and I were not on good terms, on the account he wanted to kill me and all. I was hoping the Credo had lost and that I could seek refuge with your people. I walked through the rubble deciding where I would go and how I could hide. This paper was just lying there. Despite the carnage and destruction, this small fragile thing survived.”
He gently slid the paper over for me to read.
This child, your child, my dearest daughter. Born of this unique bloodline will be the savior.
With a love that will last through eternity, Deandra
I read it multiple times trying to comprehend its meaning. I’m not the Phoenix? I wasn’t the one that would bring an end to the war and save my people? Tears stung my eyes as I looked at my mother’s handwriting. Was this part of the scroll she had given to Gloria? If so had the rest of it been lost that day?
“That doesn’t really tell me how you knew I was like you. This piece of paper isn’t very specific.”
He rubbed the crease between his brows in irritation.
“One can learn anything for a price. Let’s just say not all dreamwalkers are as loyal as your friend I have imprisoned below.”
There was a traitor? My mind wandered, trying to comprehend who could do such a thing. It had to be someone higher up, the council made sure to conceal my identity and background from others. Fear washed over me and I speculated the notion that it could very well be a council member.
“What does this have to do with you? If you want to kill me to prevent the prophecy why feed me first?” Damon looked agitated at my ignorance to his plans.
“The exact opposite, my dear. I want you to have my child. I believe my uncle had cause to be so afraid of me. You and I are the future. Our child will be the one your mother spoke of. He will be unstoppable, a force of nature that will rule over all of the realms.”
This guy was mad. He kidnapped, starved and tortured me, and he thought this was the best approach to procreating with me?
“How did you get the Credo to follow you? After all, you go against everything they were fighting for.”
He grinned conspicuously.
“That was the easy part. They were adrift after Ser'ie was captured like lost dogs looking for their owner. My uncle had never divulged his dark little family secret. I simply told them I was his nephew and I wanted revenge against those who had a hand in taking him. Aside from Grison no one knows my true purpose. Those naive buffoons still believe I’m hell bent on rescuing my poor uncle.”
“I don’t understand. You were hunted by the Credo. You even went to Avonya seeking refuge. Why would you now want to destroy everyone?”
He rose from his seat, walking across the table to my side. His breath was close enough that I could feel its warmth.
“Aren’t you tired of being the freak? Never feeling like you fit in no matter where you are? We can be the superpower; we would never have to feel out of place again. Our child will be unstoppable. No longer would the word impure be written to define us.”
I saw the appetite for endowment in his eyes. He truly believed all that he was saying.
“I don’t feel that way at all. Before you stole me I had friends, family and acceptance. They knew who I was and loved me without judgement,” I said.
Damon stood, slapping me hard across my cheek. My head spun for a moment.
“You are a fool! They feared you; why do you think they kept you so close to them? Out of love? Ever heard the phrase keep your enemies closer? They didn’t know whose side you would fall on. It was all about keeping control over you. If they believed you to be a threat they would have ended your life without a second thought. You were nothing but a pawn in their twisted game.”
I knew he was goading me. I saw the look in Mac’s eyes when I touched him. The way Cod
y fought for me against his own mother. They cared for me and I would never betray them. I ran my hand across my mouth, seeing a bit of blood on my fingertips.
“You are the fool. I would slit my own wrists before I have a child with a monster like you. You think they are the enemy? You are the one with a twisted agenda. Do you honestly believe me to be that naive to build an alliance with a barbarian like you?”
Damon straightened his sports coat, tilting his head from side to side and popping his neck. When he bent down to whisper in my ear his voice was calm, as if he were speaking to child.
“Harm yourself in any way and I will kill your friend. Ignore my requests and I will kill your friend. So much as think about escaping or using magic against me and I will kill your friend. You obviously don’t value your own life, Miss Lane. Let’s see how loyal you are to those you care for.”
He snapped his fingers again and Grison yanked me up, removing me from the room.
Mac sat in his cell, bound at his wrists and ankles. He could barely breathe. Those arses had broken a few ribs and gave him a swollen eye, and he wasn’t positive, but he was pretty sure if he looked in the mirror he would find his nose had been broken. But none of that mattered; his only thoughts were of Ashtyn. His fears hadn’t been verified until he saw her in Damon’s dining hall. He had held out hope that she hadn’t been captured. It was plausible; maybe they were wearing him down so he would give away her whereabouts. Unfortunately that theory went right out the window when he locked eyes with the curly-haired brunette. He wished he could go back in time, which he hadn’t been taken off-guard while watching her in her dream. They came out of nowhere. Nine of them attacking him from all angles. He didn’t even have a chance to warn her. He thought about flashing out of there and warning Cody, but he couldn’t risk them getting to Ashtyn in the time it took to get help. He managed to take three of those dicks out before one managed to slice him across his back. All it took was one knee to hit the ground and Mac to try and regain his bearing before they grabbed him, flashing to their hideout. He tried to flash a dozen times, but it never worked. Maybe he was too weak to draw enough energy or maybe something or someone was preventing him from leaving. Well now that he knew she was here he wasn’t going anywhere. She looked so pale and fragile. If he thought he had the slightest chance of accomplishing it he would have broken free of his binds and torn everyone in that room into shreds, but at this point he was too weak. All he would have done at this point is get himself killed, and a dead Mac is a useless Mac. No, he would heal, regain his energy and when the time was right he would destroy them all. He just prayed she could hang on until then. If Damon touched one hair on her perfect head no amount of pleading could prevent him from bleeding Damon dry.
I had to say it felt good to take a hot shower. My bones ached and I was covered in green and yellow bruises that were slowly healing. I let the warm water cascade down my body, trying not to let the sorrow consume me. Somewhere in this hell was Mac. Had they been keeping him in the same dungeon they were holding me? I shivered with the thought of what they were doing to him. I had to come up with a plan and fast; there was no way I was going give myself up to that deranged fool. I stepped out of the shower, drying myself and putting on the way-too-revealing dress Damon had left out for me. I had minimal training when it came to magic and even if I knew a spell powerful enough to stage a breakout I had a feeling whatever was keeping me from flashing was preventing the use of my magic as well. No, this would require mental power. Mac said to know my enemy and I knew exactly what Damon wanted, which meant he had a vulnerable spot and I was going to use that to my advantage.
Chapter 17
Cody paced back and forth outside the council hall, waiting for his mother to call him in. It had taken him days to regain just enough strength to be able to stand, but he was now healed thanks to Kat. He had never felt so repentant than he did now, knowing he was safely at home while Ashtyn and Mac were God knows where enduring what kind of torture. When the intruders had knocked on the door of the apartment he stupidly thought it was Brian and opened the door, allowing the bastards’ access. Before he could react they had tazed and subdued him to a chair. How could he have been so careless? The penetrating terror that had taken hold of him when he saw Ashtyn standing on the stairwell nearly drove him to madness. Why hadn’t she flashed? If she had just done what he asked she would be by his side now. Damn her stubbornness. He wondered how Mac was faring as well. It must have been some struggle to take him down and manage to keep him from returning home. God, how he missed them. He couldn’t help but believe this was all his fault. If he hadn’t opened the door, if he had been upstairs watching over her instead of reading in his study. He had lost his friends; he did not uphold his duty and regardless of the council's decision he was going to get them back.
He hadn’t fully understood the power of a wizard until Victoria had saved his ass. She had a dream about the attack in his home and sprang into action; if she hadn’t called upon Brian and Ben to come to his aid he would be six feet under right now. He owed her his life and the best way to start repaying her was to save her granddaughter. Ashtyn’s father, Algon, had come out of hiding after her capture and the man was as pissed if not more than Cody. They managed to take one of his assailants alive and Algon was charged with getting information out of the man. That was the quickest interrogation in history; after a matter of minutes they knew who took her, where they were and how many they were up against. Now Cody just needed his own army to storm that asshole’s castle and take back his friends. Algon had also revealed his own secrets. He was the leader of a rebel group that was going against the Wizard Committee and planning their own attack on the Credo. Victoria’s years on the committee had allowed her to accrue valuable information, including the intriguing fact that the Wizard Committee had no intentions of aiding the dreamwalkers. They believed if the Credo took out dream realm, well that was just one less thing they had worry about. Not until it affected their own realm would they feel the need to get involved. Once Victoria had learned the harsh truth, Algon had set a plan into action and she resigned from her seat on the committee. They were years away from being battle-ready, but Algon would never allow the committee to carry out its devious plans. The war had to stop, titles needed to shift and the people wanted peace.
The door opened, revealing his mother.
“Come in, Dakota.”
He walked into the hall to see all of the council members gathered at the table. Gloria looked as though she had been crying and Ben appeared ready to charge the first person who agitated him. Roger spoke.
“Dakota Mass, we have reviewed your request for soldiers to lead a strike against the Credo. After much deliberation your request is denied.”
Cody punched the wall he was leaning against in fury.
“How could you do this, Roger? You watched over her since she was a child. You were the one who sent me to protect her! What about Mac? He is a member of the guards. You’re just going to abandon one of your own?”
Roger slammed his fist down in retaliation.
“Don’t pretend to know how I feel, boy. I am the High Priest; their lives are not the only ones I have to think about.”
He was infuriated, he always trusted Roger, thought he was decent guy who truly cared for Ashtyn.
“We have the opportunity to strike. They won’t be expecting it. Do you honestly think they will stop with Ashtyn? This is our chance to take them out once and for all.”
Bonnie tried to place her hand on Cody’s back to comfort him, but he pulled away.
“We do not have the numbers to stage an attack and I’m not going to sacrifice more of our people when it could be an ambush. I want them back too, but not at the cost of all we have tried to rebuild.”
He didn’t understand how Roger and the council could be so stupid. Had Gloria and Ben voted against him? It didn't matter. His plan remained the same; he was going after his friends even if he had to go alone.
“You are making a grave mistake,” he said before turning and walking away.
Cody heard footsteps behind him and turned to see who was following.
“Was it you, mother? Did you vote against me?” Bonnie stopped in front of him, her arms wrapped around herself as she held back tears.
“I cannot lose another child to the Credo, Dakota. I am a mother before anything else and as bad as you are hurting I would do it again.”
He wanted to hate her, to tell her to get out of his life but he knew the pain she was feeling, the heartache she still held from losing Sarah.
“You cannot shelter me, mother! If you could go back in time and had the slightest chance to save father and Sarah wouldn’t you take it?”
Bonnie embraced her son in a hug, weeping on his shoulder.
“I am trying to do that with you, son. If you are taken from me I could not go on.”
He held his mother, wanting her to understand. To know that Mac was like his brother and Ashtyn held a piece of his heart. He could no sooner give up on them then he would have his own blood.
“I love you, mother, but my mind will not change. The only thing you managed to do was make the task more difficult.”
Bonnie pushed away from him, slapping his face.
“If you die you have killed me as well.”
Those were harsh words coming from a mother, but he was not deterred. He would fight and if he died he would go knowing he hadn’t abandoned those he loved.
Chapter 18
Days had gone by since my first encounter with Damon. I was no longer being held in the dungeon and as much as it pained me I had been on my best behavior. I had been moved to a small room across the hall from Grison. It held little adornments and the bed felt about as comfortable as the concert floor I previously slept on. I still could not dream and that seemingly small detail made me feel as though a piece of me was missing. If I was affected so greatly by this how was Mac enduring it? He did not sleep; Mac was all dreamwalker and he couldn’t go home. Was he feeling the pull of home and unable to respond? Could a dreamwalker go mad or die from being kept away long enough from their realm? I shuddered at the thought. Damon was truly psychotic. In his twisted little mind we were going to have a child that would lead him to his dream of realm domination.
