by Tina Folsom
A second demon snatched one of her arms and nearly jerked it out of its socket when he twisted it back.
Enya cried out in pain. “I’m gonna kill you fucking bastards!”
The third demon jumped onto the bed and snatched her braid. He pulled it back so rapidly that she would have gotten whiplash were she not an immortal.
“Not if we kill you first,” one of her attackers grunted.
She tried to punch him with her free arm, but the other two did a good job holding her down, one of them now shoving his knee into her lower back so she couldn’t take a swing. Before she could yell another curse at them, one demon shoved a piece of cloth into her mouth.
“Shut up, Stealth Guardian!”
Enya struggled and fought so hard that it took all three demons to lift her off the bed. Finally, her feet on the floor again, she tried to dig her heels in, but the demons just dragged her with them, out the door and around the corner of the end unit.
Right there, next to a big tree, one of them made a movement with his arm and cast a vortex.
Fuck! They were taking her down to the Underworld! She tried to scream, but the rag in her mouth prevented her from doing so.
Zoltan, you’re gonna pay for this betrayal! I’ll kill you even if that’s the last thing I do.
She was certain it was Zoltan who’d told the demons where to find her. Nobody else knew, and he was the one who’d so conveniently left the motel like a thief in the night. Christ, just by leaving her a note that he’d bring breakfast, he’d made sure that she’d wait for him. What a fucking idiot she’d been. How could she have trusted him?
~ ~ ~
Zoltan turned the corner of the building, a cardboard tray with two cups of coffee in one hand, a bag of various pastries in the other, when he looked at the motel across the street. His heart stopped at what he saw just a few yards away from the door to the motel room he’d shared with Enya the night before. A vortex was open, and three demons yanked a struggling, gagged Enya into it.
He dropped the breakfast and raced across the street, neither caring that cars were swerving to avoid him, nor paying any attention to their angry honking. All he was concerned about was reaching the vortex in time to pull Enya back. Despite his speed, he knew he would be too late. The last demon was already disappearing in the vortex, and the swirling mass of dark fog and air shrank.
“No!”
Nobody heard his scream. By the time he reached the spot where the vortex had been, the dust on the ground had already settled, and not even footprints from the demons’ boots were visible.
His heart pounded like a jackhammer, and fury charged through his veins. How dare those bastards touch what was his? How dare they put their dirty paws on his woman? Nobody had the right to touch Enya! Nobody but Zoltan! She was his, and his alone! Whoever had ordered Enya’s abduction—and he was sure the three demons were only henchmen—would pay for it.
He ran a shaky hand through his hair. Fuck! Everything seemed to spin around him as if his life had just been upended. A ragged breath tore from his chest, and with it, a realization manifested out of nowhere. He didn’t want to acknowledge it at first, but even he couldn’t deny what stared him in the face now: he did indeed have feelings for Enya. The reason he knew it was because the thought of somebody harming her sliced through his heart with more ferocity than an assassin’s blade ever could. However, this news wasn’t entirely welcome. If he accepted it as true, and acted upon it, his entire life would change. Everything he’d worked for, all his plans, his goals, his aspirations, would turn to cinder like the bodies of the many demons he’d tossed in the lava pits. And there was no guarantee that following his heart would yield success. Nevertheless, he knew he had to try.
Although he wanted to descend into the Underworld right away, he stopped himself and headed for the motel room instead. The door was left open, and Zoltan quickly entered and shut it behind him. He had to devise a plan to free Enya, and he couldn’t do that if he charged after her without thinking things through.
How the fuck had his subjects found Enya? He and Enya had been invisible from the moment they’d left the alley where they’d killed five demons. Zoltan’s phone was switched off, eliminating the possibility that he’d been traced electronically. Besides, nobody in the demon world knew of this phone. He only used it when transacting with humans. Knowing Enya, she was equally cautious when it came to having electronics on her that could be traced. Had Enya gone outside and been spotted by accident, even though he’d ordered no demon activity in Baltimore?
He looked around the room. There wasn’t much evidence of a struggle, though a chair lay on its side. However, Enya’s shoes were near the bed with a damp towel. She’d showered, gotten dressed, but hadn’t put her shoes on yet. She hadn’t gone outside, not voluntarily anyway. He glanced back at the door. The lock was intact, as was the doorframe. She’d let the demons in, which confirmed that the demons had known she was here. They’d targeted her, which suggested that his adversary knew that he’d been with Enya. But just how much did the traitor know about his relationship with her?
The kidnappers had left in such a hurry that they hadn’t even bothered collecting the daggers that Enya had taken off the dead demons the night before. They still lay on the table near the window. Zoltan walked toward it and accidentally kicked one of Enya’s shoes, turning it sole up. There, on the back of its heel, was a large green blotch. He reached for the shoe and touched the spot. It was dry. Blood from the night before. Blood that Enya couldn’t make invisible. Had another demon lain in wait, watching the five attack, then followed Zoltan and Enya after they’d disposed of the dead demons? The green bloodstain on Enya’s shoe would have made it possible for somebody to follow them at a safe distance without them noticing. If this was true, it meant the demon following them had reported back to his master with every detail he’d observed.
Enya and the demons who’d snatched her hadn’t seen Zoltan approach, which was a good thing. It meant he could prepare, work out a story that his demons could believe, and in the process free Enya. Most of them were gullible enough to believe anything if the Great One said it with authority. But the traitor who wanted his throne wouldn’t be as easily fooled. Zoltan needed a plan to deal with him. But he couldn’t lose time, because sooner or later, his underlings would start torturing their prisoner. And the thought of somebody hurting—or worse, abusing—his woman boiled his blood. He had to get to her before that happened.
17
Less than an hour after witnessing Enya’s abduction, Zoltan arrived at the vortex circle closest to his quarters in the Underworld. He’d gotten himself a new jacket to wear over his shirt, so he could hide the daggers he’d brought back. He wore no contact lenses, but for emergencies, he’d stuffed a pair of sunglasses into a pocket, together with a few other items, which might come in handy should things blow up in his face.
Zoltan closed the vortex and looked at the man who was on duty. He was surprised to see Yannick and not one of his subordinates monitoring the vortex circle himself. Just as well. Yannick was one of the men Zoltan wanted to talk to anyway.
“Oh Great One, you’ve returned.” Yannick gave him a quick bow.
“Yannick,” Zoltan said. He didn’t want to sound too eager with his next question, so he lent his voice a casual tone. “Any unusual comings and goings while I was gone?”
“Not until an hour ago.”
Zoltan raised an eyebrow. “Which means what? Talk straight; I’ve got lots of work to do.”
“A patrol brought back a prisoner. A Stealth Guardian.”
Zoltan managed to fake surprise. “A Stealth Guardian? Where is he?”
“In the lead cell, but he’s not a—”
“Who captured him?” he interrupted, emphasizing that he assumed it was a Stealth Guardian male, when he knew all too well that it was Enya. “I want to reward the man.”
“Uh, well, it’s not a man—it’s a female Stealth Guardian they captured
.”
“A female?”
Yannick nodded. “But I’m not sure who exactly brought her back. I was told just a short while ago that it was a routine patrol of three men arriving back with a prisoner. I can find out the details, oh Great One.”
“Very well. Later. I’d like to see the prisoner for myself.” Zoltan rubbed his hands together. “Finally, some progress! Take me to her.”
“Right away, oh Great One.” Yannick called down one of the corridors, where Zoltan could make out the faint outline of a guard, “One vortex guard for relief immediately.”
A moment later, Zoltan heard the heavy footfalls of a man running toward them. When he reached them, he stopped and bowed. Zoltan recognized him. It was Richard.
“Oh Great One.” Then he nodded to Yannick. “Richard reporting for duty.”
Yannick nodded, then motioned to the corridor that led to the cells. Torches at various intervals illuminated the path. The Underworld had a whole host of cells for all kinds of prisoners, but only one was adequate to hold a Stealth Guardian. Its inside was lined with lead so Stealth Guardians couldn’t use their powers. They could neither walk through walls nor turn themselves invisible. Rumor had it that a lengthy incarceration in a lead cell could erase a Stealth Guardian’s powers permanently. Unfortunately, Zoltan had no idea how long such an exposure had to be, or even to what extent the rumor was true. In any case, he had to get Enya out of there as quickly as possible.
When Zoltan turned the last corner before reaching the doors that led to the various cells, he recognized Silvana standing guard in front of it—together with a huge Doberman. Zoltan wasn’t surprised to see a dog guarding a Stealth Guardian prisoner. After all, no demon had ever been able to reliably verify that the guardians could indeed not make themselves invisible when blocked by lead. The dog was a fail-safe. Plan B, so to speak. Should Enya escape invisibly, the dog would immediately follow her scent. However, he hadn’t expected that Silvana, the master of dogs herself, would be present. That would have to change for his plan to work.
“Oh Great One!” Silvana said.
Zoltan didn’t get a chance to reply, because at that moment, somebody came toward them from the other end of the tunnel. He immediately recognized Vintoq.
“Oh Great One, you’re back.” Vintoq motioned to the lead cell. “I trust you’ve been informed that our men have captured a Stealth Guardian?”
Zoltan nodded. Of course Vintoq would show up just as Zoltan was about to look at the prisoner. Most likely Vintoq wanted to see his leader’s reaction to seeing Enya. Zoltan denying that he knew her would be fruitless. If Vintoq was the traitor, he would have already been informed by the demons who kidnapped Enya that Zoltan had been with her, though clearly the three had been too chicken to confront him as well, and had waited until he left the motel before grabbing Enya. Yeah, that was brave of them: three large men against one petite woman.
“Vintoq, good timing. I was just about to take a look at our prisoner.” Zoltan motioned to Silvana. “Unlock the door.”
He watched carefully as she pulled a large key from her breast pocket and slid it into the old-fashioned lock. The creaking sound that followed when she turned the key echoed eerily against the tunnel walls. Silvana pulled on the heavy ring that served as a door handle and opened the door. Inside there was no light source, but a little light from the corridor streamed into the cell. Zoltan motioned to Silvana to stand aside and took a few steps until he stood under the doorframe, which he almost completely filled. He had no intention of stepping inside the cell. He wasn’t that stupid. If Vintoq was the traitor, it was entirely possible that Silvana was on his team. Together they could easily lock the door behind Zoltan and kill Yannick should he protest.
Zoltan’s eyes finally adjusted to the darkness, and he recognized Enya. Not that he needed confirmation that she was indeed the prisoner, but he had to get a message to her that he would get her out.
“You!” She suddenly pounced, eyes full of fury and jaw clenched. “You fucking asshole!”
He looked into her eyes and lifted his hand, waving a finger to make the sign for no, while he formed soundless words with his lips. Trust me. I’ll get you out.
But either Enya couldn’t read his lips or she didn’t believe him, because she continued glaring at him. “I’m gonna kill you!”
Before she could say anything more that might put him in a situation where he’d have to explain more than he wanted to, he pivoted and took a few steps into the corridor, then slammed the door shut.
“Lock it!” he ordered Silvana, who immediately executed his order.
Once the key turned in the lock, he motioned to Yannick and Vintoq to join him a few yards farther down the corridor. Out of earshot of the cell, Zoltan turned and faced his lieutenants. “Who the fuck did this?”
“Oh Great One?” Vintoq asked, a clueless expression on his face. Oh yeah, he was quite an actor.
“Is there a problem? She’s a Stealth Guardian for certain,” Yannick added, apparently just as surprised.
“Yes, there’s a problem!” For emphasis, Zoltan pointed back to the cell. “That Stealth Guardian female is the one I’ve been working on! She has no idea that I’m the Great One; she thinks I’m a run-of-the-mill demon who wants to change for the better. She believed me, because I played my role well. And now, some idiots kidnap her and destroy my plan. I was this close”—he held up his thumb and forefinger—“from getting her to trust me enough to invite me to her compound! And some fucking overeager grunts grab her. What the fuck were they doing in Baltimore? Didn’t I issue an order that there was to be no demon activity in Baltimore?” He narrowed his eyes at both of them, not wanting to give away that he was suspecting Vintoq of going behind his back.
“Yes, oh Great One, you did,” Vintoq said. “I pulled all patrols off Baltimore weeks ago, just as you demanded.”
“Then who the fuck sent them up?” Zoltan looked at Yannick. “Get me the fucking vortex records.”
“Of course, oh Great One.” Yannick bowed.
Zoltan grunted. “I swear, when I find out who did this, heads will roll.”
Yannick cleared his throat.
“What else?” Zoltan snapped.
“You might want to speak to Ulric. My understanding is that the three men who brought back the prisoner were on an intelligence mission. That’s Ulric’s domain.”
Zoltan nodded. “Send him to my study. Now!”
He spun on his heel and marched off. Within minutes he was in his study, where he took a few breaths to relax. He’d played the angry leader well, because it hadn’t been too hard to fake anger. After all, his demons had snatched Enya, and now he had to come up with a plan to free her. His heart thundered at the thought that he might fail. But he couldn’t allow himself to go down that path.
He had to remain calm, not let his emotions get the better of him. At the same time, it was important that he found out who was behind the assassination attempt on him, and Enya’s subsequent kidnapping. It was evident that these two events were related. The same traitor was responsible for them. It was time to find out who he was.
A knock at the door announced his visitor.
“Enter!”
The door opened, and Yannick came in. “Ulric is here, oh Great One.”
“Then what are you waiting for? Send him in!”
“Uh, there’s just one thing, oh Great One.” Yannick nervously cleared his throat.
“What?”
“The news that we’ve captured a Stealth Guardian is spreading fast among your subjects. They are already asking what you’re planning to do with her.”
“I’ve not decided yet.”
“It’s just… they want a public spectacle. They want her tortured to pay for the many demon lives she and her people have taken.”
“We all want her punished, but for now, she’s staying in the cell. Nobody touches her. Do you understand that?” Zoltan jabbed his finger into Yannick’s chest. “I make
you personally responsible if anything happens to her. I need her alive, and I need her compliant. And that’s not gonna happen if she’s being made a spectacle of. Is that clear?”
Yannick nodded. “Yes, oh Great One.”
“And bring me the records from a few months ago that I had you compile.”
Yannick gestured past Zoltan. “They are on your desk.”
Zoltan grunted. “Send Ulric in.”
Yannick pivoted and walked out in the corridor. A moment later, Ulric entered and bowed.
“You wanted to see me, oh Great One.”
“Shut the door!”
Ulric flinched, then closed the door quickly.
“I was informed that the three demons who captured the Stealth Guardian female were on an intelligence mission in Baltimore. Is that right?”
Ulric blinked. “I’m afraid I don’t know.”
“What’s that supposed to mean? It’s an easy question. Did you send them on an intelligence mission to Baltimore or not?”
He cleared his throat. “Yes and no. I mean, they were on an intelligence mission, but not in Baltimore. At least, that’s not where they were supposed to be.”
“So, how did they end up in Baltimore?”
“I don’t know.”
“Well, then fucking ask them.”
“I can’t.”
Zoltan glared at him. “You will obey my command!”
“They’ve disappeared.”
“What?” Zoltan snapped.
“After the Stealth Guardian was locked in the cell, they left, presumably to go to their quarters, but they weren’t seen again.”
“They went back up into the human world?”
Ulric shook his head. “I checked all three vortex circles and was told that they didn’t go up top. They must be hiding somewhere.”
Zoltan let the news sink in. “Well, isn’t that convenient?” The men who could have told him how they’d ended up following him and Enya to kidnap her were missing in action.
“Oh Great One?” Ulric asked, clearly not tuning into Zoltan’s sarcasm.