“They must have serious connections to be able to smuggle so many paranormals into Terrene without anyone catching on,” I said.
“The money keeps rolling in, from what I understand,” Bradley said.
I looked at Bryn. “Do you remember The Liberty Project?”
Bryn’s brow furrowed. “The big law firm where Peter shifted into Clementine? Yeah, why?”
“I think they’re linked to this organization,” I said. I told her about the lawyers representing the Samodivas that kidnapped her.
“That would explain the deep pockets,” Bryn said. “But what’s their angle, just more money? They get a nice cut of the profits?”
“That sounds like lawyers to me,” I said. I remembered the way they’d descended on our estate to sort out the sale of our belongings to settle various claims against my grandmother. There was no love lost between lawyers and me.
An outbreak of yelling and chanting garnered our attention. I realized that a fight had started over by one of the towers. I craned my neck to see two prisoners pummeling each other.
“Dear gods,” Bradley moaned. “Pedro again? If he’s not careful, they’re going to kill him just for being a nuisance.”
I watched the huge muscles as they attacked his opponent. “No. Pedro knows he’s safe. He’ll be a prize for the highest bidder.” I hated to think of any of us that way. The thought disgusted me.
“I have no doubt they’ll be developing a marketing campaign for me,” Bryn said. “She’s not much to look at, but she’s got a way with blood and water, people!”
I laughed, despite our dire situation. “Robin told me about Magic Robbie.”
Bryn’s mouth dropped open. “Are you serious? I thought we’d both take that one to the grave.”
I softened. “He really cares about you, Bryn. He risked his new analyst job to sneak information to us. He told me about the Samodivas’ connection to the Liberty Project.”
“He’s a good egg,” Bryn said.
Bradley chuckled. “I do miss those Terrene idioms.”
“You’ll be hearing them again real soon if we don’t get out of here,” I said.
“I’m open to suggestions,” Bradley said.
We watched as the guards came down to handle the Pedro situation. They pulled him off his opponent and zapped him with a staff that made him go limp. Then two guards dragged him away under the watchful eye of Sheila.
Bells chimed.
“Time to go,” Bradley said. “It was good to meet another friend.”
Everyone shuffled to different gates, depending on the location of their rooms.
“Which building are you in?” I asked Bryn.
She gestured to the wall behind her, opposite mine. “It’s an old dungeon, I think,” she said.
“Same,” I said. “It must run underneath the entire Fortress.”
“This was previously some kind of stronghold,” Bradley said.
I offered a wry smile. “I think it still is.”
Guards ushered us to our respective gates. When I returned, Sheila was there, but the Samodivas were gone. The gates cracked open. Surprisingly, I seemed to be the only one entering this way.
“No one else, huh?” I asked.
“You were an unplanned addition,” the vampire replied.
“My parents said that to me on more than one occasion,” I quipped. “Are you sure you feel safe enough to escort me to my room by yourself?”
Sheila laughed. “I’m a very old vampire, Number Five. Your limited powers don’t intimidate me.”
We walked down the steps to the corridor. “You can unlimit me and see whether I intimidate you then.”
Sheila took a torch from the wall and we continued down the length of the narrow corridor back to my room. “Based on what I’ve witnessed so far, your chances of survival are high.”
“Positive reinforcement,” I said. “I like it.” I tilted my head toward the torch. “Don’t you have vampire vision? Why do you need to light our way?”
“It’s for your benefit, not mine. If you injure yourself in the dark, I run the risk of reducing your value before the market.”
The remark made me sick to my stomach. We really were nothing more than property to her. I knew it was probably futile to get her to view me as a living, feeling being, but I had to keep trying.
“You must have learned a lot about magic at some point,” I said. “Even though you don’t have the ability to create the enchantments here, you have to understand an awful lot about how they work in order to keep them all functioning properly. They’re highly advanced.”
“Like you, I was trained in certain subjects from a young age.”
Personal details? Now this was progress. “Why?” I asked. I knew why I’d been trained. What was Sheila’s reason?
“Because a vampire’s powers are limited in a world of paranormals. In Terrene, we could rule the roost as the superior beings, but we’ve been prevented from taking over many times by the ruling authorities.” She sniffed, indignant. “The Fortress is one avenue of getting back on top of the pyramid.”
So her personal motivation seemed to be racism and she was using power and wealth to achieve her goals of superiority. As sickening as I found her ideology, it was good to understand the psychology of my enemy. My professors had taught me that.
“You believe there’s a hierarchy?” I asked.
“There’s always a hierarchy,” Sheila sniffed. “The key is to always be at the top.” We stopped in front of the wall to my room. “Didn’t you pay attention in the Yard? If not, you missed a valuable lesson, Number Five.”
I paid attention. More importantly, I paid attention to everything Sheila said. One of these days, I was going to use her own words against her.
A doorway shimmered in the wall and Sheila gestured for me to enter. “Enjoy the rest of your stay, Number Five. Tomorrow morning it comes to an end.”
I stepped into the sealed room, inwardly seething as the wall began to reform behind me. Before it completely closed, I looked Sheila dead in the eye and said, “You’ll regret the day you decided to bring me here.”
And then the doorway was gone.
Chapter Thirteen
The next morning, they assembled us in the Yard and organized us into groups for transport. Two of the Samodivas prodded me into an individual enchanted cage using their pointed staffs. I watched as the guards moved each prisoner’s cage to the back of an oversized truck. They wouldn’t be able to drive vehicles of this size into Terrene through a back door. There had to be some other method of moving us along the way. I caught a glimpse of Bryn’s dark hair as they loaded her into the back. She leaned against the shimmering bars, looking defeated. I hated to see her like this. Bryn was one of the strongest witches I knew. I had to find a way to boost morale.
“Bryn!” I yelled across the Yard.
Her head snapped to attention. “I’m here.”
“Good, because we’ll be breaking free soon,” I called. “I need you to be ready.” Several of the guards laughed, including my two Samodivan escorts.
“You have quite a fertile imagination,” the one blonde said. “No one escapes.”
“Maybe they haven’t tried hard enough,” I said. “Or maybe they thought you were too pretty to leave behind.” I flashed an exaggerated smile. “I don’t happen to feel that way.”
“Be quiet or you’ll become acquainted with my staff,” the other blonde said.
I examined her closely. “I’m picturing you without your hair. I think I can make it work, as long as we trim those eyebrows. Pro tip: a little contouring goes a long way.”
The blonde nymph glared at me. “You’re as obnoxious as your friend.”
“Thank you.” I cocked my head. “Should the manticore be able to stick his arm through the bars like that? It seems to me that’s a potential security breach.”
The Samodivas flew in tandem to the manticore’s cage and began shouting at the guard for some percei
ved transgression. The guard seemed baffled, which, of course, made sense because I’d lied. I took the moment of quiet to scan the Yard and figure out whether I had any hope of making a break for it before the trucks left the Fortress. My gut told me that we’d better off making an escape attempt away from the Fortress because there’d be nowhere to keep captives once we were en route. On the other hand, the closer we got to the market, the more concerned I was that there’d be no way out of this.
I counted five trucks with four cages each. A quick glance at my surroundings revealed that I’d be riding with a werejaguar, a baku, and an echidna. The baku and echidna were almost as rare as the Samodivas. How one type of rare creature ended up outside the bars when the other two ended up within was anyone’s guess. With the head of an elephant, the legs of a tiger, and the body of a bear, the baku would make a formidable opponent in the fighting pit. He also sported the tail of an ox and the eyes of a rhino, but those features weren’t the ones to be wary of. The echidna was also a concern. Although her top half was female, with her serpentine bottom half and poisonous bite, she was also a strong contender. My goal was to encourage them to fight for their freedom, rather than for their new owners.
Luckily for me, the fake manticore incident had sparked an argument between the guards and the Samodivas. Even better, the manticore seemed to be encouraging violence between them and enjoying every second of it.
“Listen up,” I said to the other prisoners within earshot. “My name’s Dani. I think if we work together, we can get out of here before we get to the market.”
The echidna offered a defeated laugh. “And what dream world are you living in, sweetie? We’re in enchanted cages with enough guards to form a small army.”
“Yes, but they make mistakes,” I said. “I’ve seen them make a few in the short time I’ve been here. With a little help from us, they can make more.”
The baku leaned forward in his cage. “I’m listening.”
The werejaguar rose to his feet. “Me, too.”
I had to speak quickly, before the Samodivas returned. “These trucks and cages are too big to cross into Terrene without being checked, which means they’ll take an alternate route. The alternate routes into Terrene that I’m aware of aren’t big enough to support this type of entourage.”
The baku smiled. “Which means at some point we’ll be released from the trucks, and possibly even the cages.”
“They won’t know that we expect this,” I said. “If we’re ready, we can spring into action and take advantage of the moment.”
The werejaguar wagged a finger at me. “Smart, powerful, and pretty. Nobu likey.”
The echidna hissed. “Some girls have all the luck.”
“If I had all the luck,” I began, “I wouldn’t be stuck in a cage on my way to a slave market.”
“Fair enough,” the echidna said. “So what’s the plan?”
I glanced over at the Samodivas. Everyone seemed relatively calm now, which meant they’d be back to our cages soon. “We’re going to be blessed with the two feather dusters over there. Anyone know enough about the Samodivas to bring them down?”
“Clip their wings, for starters,” Nobu said.
“Okay, good,” I said. “What else? We won’t have much time to overpower them.”
“They have freaky eyes,” the baku said.
I found it ironic that the creature made of five animal parts was calling them ‘freaky,’ but I bit my tongue. There were more pressing matters to consider.
“Their hair is some kind of power source,” I said. “If you can find a way to damage their hair, you can relieve them of their magic.”
“How do you know that?” Nobu asked.
“I have ridiculously smart friends,” I replied. “The Samodivas also have an affinity for fire, like me. I may be able to feed off their power and gain access to my magic.”
The werejaguar appeared shocked. “Even with the enchanted bars?”
“We’ll be out of the cages for a brief time,” I said. “I’m not sure how they plan to transport us the rest of the way, but I guarantee we’ll have a couple of minutes to act.”
The Samodivas flew back over to us as the engines roared to life.
“Quiet, Number Five,” the one Samodiva said. “You’re always talking. Why do you think what you have to say is so important?”
I smirked. “If you’re lucky, maybe you’ll get to find out.”
“Why would that make me lucky?” she sneered.
“Because it’ll mean you’re not dead yet.”
Her fiery eyes threatened to burn a hole through my brain. She flew into the back of the truck and ordered the cages to be brought on board.
The guards easily lifted each cage and slid them one by one onto the cargo bed.
“Where’s Sheila?” I asked. “She doesn’t even bother to say goodbye after all we’ve been through together?”
“Sheila will meet us at the market,” one of the Samodivas replied. “She takes meetings before the bidding process to ascertain the most promising buyers.”
The door closed and, for a moment, we were bathed in darkness. There were no windows, and that meant no natural light. Both of the Samodivas opened their palms and produced two small flames. My body began to itch at the sight of fire and I knew it was the result of my suppressed magic.
“I can do that, too,” I said.
“Not in that cage, you can’t,” the blonde closest to me replied. Then she laughed.
“What’s your stake in this whole thing?” I asked. “You’re obviously not a vampire with a superiority complex. Why do you think it makes sense for a fire witch like me to be carted off to the fighting pits, but you should be spared such a fate?”
The Samodiva glowered. “We are too rare to sacrifice.”
“What about Brittany?” I asked. “She was one of you. Why was she not rare enough?”
“Brittany was a traitor to our kind,” the other Samodiva said. “She deserved her fate.”
The echidna moved to the end of her cage closest to her captors. “What about me?” she asked. “Am I not rare?”
“And me,” the baku added. “I am rarer still.”
The Samodivas exchanged looks. “No more of this conversation,” the other blonde said.
“Because you have no answer?” I asked. “You know that this is wrong. Fire connects us. If it weren’t for this cage, I’d be soaking up your energy and bending it to my will.”
The blonde nearer to me made a childish gesture with her hand. “Blah, blah, blah. Enough from you or I’ll dish out the sedatives now instead of later.”
Sedatives? Stars and stones. That put a damper in my plan. I met the echidna’s gaze and knew she was thinking the same thing. We’d have to find a way around it. If we allowed ourselves to be sedated, we’d lose our chance to break free. We had to escape before we made it to the market.
The truck trundled along the road and, about an hour into the journey, I noticed when consistently smooth became consistently bumpy. The Samodivas were entertaining themselves with fire tricks and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t jealous. I missed my magic desperately, and I was fairly certain my magic missed me.
A panel to the front part of the truck slid to the side. “Time for food,” a gruff voice said.
The Samodivas gave a weary sigh and pulled prepackaged meals from a drawer under their respective seats. They each passed two bags through to us and returned to their seats.
“You need to eat now,” the one blonde said. “If you wait, you’ll miss your chance. Sometimes you have to fight in the pre-bidding demonstrations to show your value to the prospective buyers, so you’re going to want your strength.”
A lump formed in my throat. I didn’t want to make it to the bidding stage. I didn’t want to prove my value—not for the purpose of being treated like property. I opened the bag and peered inside. Which item contained the sedative? Out of the corner of my eye, I observed the other prisoners playing th
e same guessing game. We couldn’t afford to choose the wrong item.
I remembered the gravy from my cell. Whatever sedative they used, it was most likely in potion form, which was why they’d chosen the gravy. Odds were good that they’d chosen the liquid item in here as well. I pulled a bottle from the bag and read the label.
“Yum,” I said. “Equalizer is my favorite.” I made a show of unscrewing the top and putting it to my lips. The others seemed to get the hint.
The Samodivas cast a quick glance in my direction. “You’ll want to drink all of it. It helps warm your muscles. A scrawny witch like you will need it the most.”
“Perfect,” I replied. After a few minutes, I pretended to be drowsy and huddled on the floor in a corner of the cage. When I dared to peek at them, they were more interested in their private conversation than us. They assumed we didn’t know we’d be sedated.
The truck began to slow and I braced myself for the next phase. If I was wrong, my plan was going to get us all killed. I didn’t want anyone’s blood on my hands—not anyone in a cage, at least.
I heard the back door click open and the guards climbed on board, presumably to unlock the cages. What was their plan—to carry us off the truck to a smaller mode of transport? I remained as still as possible. The best-case scenario was that all four of us escaped so that we could get to Bryn and the others. No way was I leaving Bryn behind.
“Those sedatives work like a charm,” a guard said. “I should pilfer some to use on my wife.”
“She has trouble sleeping?” another guard asked.
“No, so I can visit my girlfriend without her knowing,” the first guard replied.
Spell’s bells. Taking these guys down would be fun. “I can take this one by myself,” one of them said, shuffling toward me. “She’ll be light.”
“The gurneys are still getting set up, so wait a second,” the other guard said.
Gurneys? They were going to wheel us into Terrene on gurneys? That suggested a tunnel or someplace too narrow for a vehicle.
The guard lifted me as though I weighed next to nothing. I heard the grunts of exertion as a group of guards tried to lift the others.
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