by Raven Steele
“With Korin. He scares me. There’s something different about him.”
Mateo’s worry filtered through our bond to me. I tried not to let it affect me but my pulse quickened.
“Follow me.” Teddy walked through the kitchen and darted into a hallway that seemed contrary to the direction we wanted to go, but I trusted him. He led us up a set of stairs at the side of the house and stopped, holding us back.
A vampire stepped out of the shadows, eyeing us nervously.
“Don’t worry,” Teddy said to him, “it’s them. Has anyone come up here we should be worried about?”
The vampire, who looked vaguely familiar with his red hair and freckles, shook his head. “It’s clear for now.”
Teddy patted him on the back and moved down the long and wide hallway. Between the many closed doors on each side of us were drawings of naked women, all hand sketched in pencil. Beyond the doors, I sensed vampires. Some of them felt close as if they were pressing their ears to the doors, listening to us. I hoped Teddy was right about who was on our side and who wasn’t.
After a couple of turns, Teddy stopped at double doors. “Just beyond here. Go through Korin’s private quarters. At the back corner, you’ll find a locked door, but it should be unlocked if Callista did her job. Beyond that, you’ll find where he keeps his personal prisoners.”
“What about magic?” I asked, thinking about the spell Lynx had cast, attempting to break Korin’s magic obtained from the Phoenix.
“As of this morning, the magic was gone.”
Mateo looked at me. “The spell must’ve worked.”
“Let’s hope so.” I rested my hand on the doorknob but didn’t feel any magic. I opened it and slipped inside with Mateo.
“I’ll wait out here for you.” Teddy peered down the hall. “Hurry.”
Mateo and I didn’t waste any time. I hurried through Korin’s private rooms, rooms I’d been in many times before in the past. Not since this mansion had been rebuilt, but in his other homes across the world. They looked exactly like this one. Same bookshelves. Same dark, plush chairs and sofas. Same richly colored floors and extravagant molding.
Mateo reached the door in the corner of the room first. He rested his hands on it.
“Do you feel anything?”
He shook his head. “Teddy was right. The magic is gone.”
He opened the door, revealing the beginning of a circular staircase heading down. “Let’s go.”
We trotted soundlessly down the stairs. The temperature dropped, and the smell of stale water and metal stung my nostrils. A light at the bottom drew us closer.
At the end, a hallway stretched long with glass on each side instead of walls. Mateo and I walked quickly down it, lights flickering above. I peered into the glass as I walked. They were small rooms, maybe ten by fifteen feet, each containing a single bed. The first few were empty, but the others weren’t. My pulse raced, and I sucked in a quick breath. Each glass-enclosed cage held a human. Most of them were asleep, but at the end, a woman with long blond hair sat against the wall, her knees drawn to her chest. The light from the hallway caught her eyes in its grasp, illuminating their dull green color.
She didn’t react to our presence, only watched us with mild curiosity. To her, we were vampires who wouldn’t help.
“Can we—” I began, but Mateo cut me off.
“I wish we could, but we only have time for Oz. We’ll come back though, I promise. Especially now that we know Korin’s cut off from magic. We’ll hit this place so hard, he won’t know what hit him.” His intense gaze made me shiver.
We reached the end of the hall, but still hadn’t seen Oz. I motioned to a closed, heavy door we hadn’t checked yet. By the looks of it, it was sound-proof. Mateo touched the surface feeling for magic again. After a few seconds, he turned the knob and peered in slowly.
It was another room like the others, but much bigger and smelled like plastic and burnt metal. The only bed in the room was empty.
I scanned it, finally spotting a hunched over frame in the corner. Familiar dark curly hair made me blurt, “Oz?”
“I’m not done,” he whimpered, his voice full of panic.
I looked around, noting all the parts scattered across an island countertop. Several completed blasters lay on the end.
“Get up,” Mateo said to him. “We’re getting you out of here.”
This made Oz sit up straight and look at us. “Out where?”
I approached him slowly “It’s me, Oz. Samira. I know I look different, but Mateo and I came to save you. We need to hurry while Aris distracts Korin.”
“Aris is here?” He pulled himself to his feet, eyeing Mateo skeptically.
I nodded. “We wanted to get you sooner, but we weren’t sure where Korin was keeping you until recently.”
He took a tentative step toward me. “Is it really you, Samira?”
“Yes.”
“Prove it.”
“You loved Rebecca. So did I.”
He nodded slowly, but still didn’t look convinced.
“You put in an impressive security system in Ironwood.”
At the mention of Ironwood, the secret underground place where Aris had been raised, Oz rushed forward and wrapped his arms around me. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”
Mateo tugged on us. “Let’s go.”
“We’ll talk later,” I said and let him go. “We don’t have much time.”
“Right.” Oz glanced around the room. “Before we go, I have to do something.”
“Oz—”
He walked over to the assembled weapons and began to smash them. Mateo caught on and helped him with the rest.
Oz looked up. “Done. Let’s go.”
We quickly made our way back up to Korin’s private quarters. For being held captive for weeks, Oz looked fairly healthy, which meant they had still fed him. Korin must’ve realized Oz’s value.
“Through here,” Mateo said, motioning Oz through the door at the top of the stairs.
Oz glanced at him, grinning. “You look so dope with that hair.”
“I don’t know what that means.”
Teddy heard us approaching. “Hurry! They’re yelling downstairs. I don’t think it’s going well.”
We sprinted the way we came, keeping our footsteps as quiet as possible. Oz, on the other hand, kept stumbling. Maybe they hadn’t fed him as much as I thought. Mateo scooped him up and threw him over his shoulder.
As we moved toward the kitchen, something crashed in the living room. It made my heart hammer against my rib cage. Whatever was happening in there, I hoped Aris and Angel were okay.
We reached the kitchen. Mateo set Oz down and motioned toward the back door, looking at me. “Get him out of here. I’ll catch up to you in a moment.”
My eyes widened. “No! Come with us.”
“I just need to make sure they are okay. Take Oz now.”
He didn’t wait for me to respond before disappearing around the corner. Growling, I opened the back door and ushered Oz outside. I held onto his arm as we jogged across the lawn. I hoped Mateo remembered Adelade’s warning and didn’t get into a fight. It would be terrible if Korin found out Mateo was alive.
At the edge of the forest, I slowed up to give Oz a chance to catch his breath. I glanced back at the mansion. I should go back.
I looked at Oz. “Do you think you can make it to the car? It’s straight through the trees.”
“I don’t know… maybe … ” he panted.
“If you get lost, I can hunt you down.”
His mouth parted. “Please don’t use that word.”
“I need to go back and see if they need help.”
He followed my gaze. “Of course. I’ll find it. Go.”
I watched Oz’s back until I could no longer see him, then returned to the mansion. I circled to the front where I could peer into a window, but before I got there, I heard the front doors open, followed by the sounds of grunting and struggling.<
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Dodging behind a landscaped wall, I risked a glance to the front. Mateo, Aris, and Angel’s bodies were all rigid and held by invisible restraints. A powerful force carried them several inches above the ground and down the stairs with Korin leading the way. Zane followed behind them, his eyes focused on the three men. Was the magic coming from Zane or Korin? I had a hard time telling. Most likely Zane, but either way, I wasn’t strong enough to fight them on my own.
A van pulled up and the rear doors opened. Two vampires jumped out of the back. The three floating men were maneuvered inside, Zane jumping in with them.
Korin cursed the entire time. Before the doors closed, he said, “I’m going to make a public example out of you three. The Ministry will see what happens when they come after me. They just started a war with the wrong person.”
The doors slammed shut. The two vampires who had opened the back doors moved to the front seat, one of them behind the wheel. As soon as it began to move, I turned and, lightning quick, darted back into the forest. I tried my best to keep my breathing even and pulse regulated. I may still need the illusion Adelade had created.
I exploded from the forest just after the black van holding Mateo and the other two passed. Oz opened the passenger door. “I found it! I’m surprised.”
Rounding the car, I slid behind the driver’s seat and had the car started and pulling away from the shoulder before my door was shut.
Oz whirled around to peer out the back window. “Are we being followed?”
I tightened my grip on the steering wheel. “No. We’re doing the following.”
He faced forward. “Why?”
“They took Mateo, Angel, and Aris. In the van that just passed.”
Oz clutched at his head. “Oh man, oh man, oh man. What are we going to do?”
I turned on my cell phone and called Briar. When she didn’t answer, I called her again. It took three times before she finally answered.
“Sort of in the middle of something, Sammie.”
“So am I. Mateo, Aris, and Angel were taken by Korin and Zane. I’m following the van right now.”
Silence on the other end.
“Briar? Do you hear me? They’ve been taken, being held against their will by magic. Zane’s in the car with them. I can’t fight them on my own.”
The van in front of me turned left. I did the same, making sure to keep my distance. It looked like they were heading out of the city. If I continued to follow them for long, they’d know I was tailing them.
“I’m here with Luke and family,” Briar said. “We’ll come to help. Where are you?”
In the background, I heard Luke say, “I can’t go with you, Briar. We have to leave tonight.”
“One sec, Samira,” Briar said. She attempted to the cover the phone with her hand, but I could still hear her. “Luke, these are your friends who are in trouble. They need you.”
“My pack needs me, too. If I don’t go tonight, I’ll lose my position as alpha, which means I can’t get our members to help you fight in Rouen.” His voice sounded strained. “I’m sorry, but I can’t help.”
It was a long moment before Briar returned to our conversation. “Keep following them. I’ll get a group together and we’ll come to you as soon as possible. Stay in touch.”
The line went dead.
“Are they coming?” Oz asked.
“When I know where we’re going, they’ll come.” I adjusted my grip on the steering wheel. My insides trembled. I couldn’t bear the thought of losing Mateo after everything we’d been through.
Up ahead, the van turned again. We were on a long stretch of road, with just me and them. If I continued to follow, I’d surely be discovered then have no chance of saving them.
I ground my teeth together and groaned as I turned at the next street I came upon.
“What are you doing?” Oz cried. “We’re going to lose them.”
“We can’t get caught following them.” I pulled over on to the shoulder and texted Briar our location. She responded right away, promising to come with help.
Oz flopped back into his seat. “How are we going to find them? They could be going anywhere.”
“They won’t go too far from the city. Korin has plans for them. Besides, I have a way of finding them.” I inhaled a painful breath, my thoughts on Mateo and our blood bond.
“How?” Oz asked.
“Stop asking questions and let me concentrate.” I closed my eyes and imagined Mateo in my mind. I focused on the way he sometimes touched his face when he was nervous, and how those same fingers lit up my flesh when he touched me.
When nothing happened, I concentrated harder. It had been centuries since I had had a blood bond with someone, and I was a little rusty.
Trying again, I thought of the past we shared. Memory after memory flooded my mind. All the nights we shared. All the stolen kisses. A warm sensation began to spread in my chest.
“Your phone has buzzed several times,” Oz interrupted. “Want me to check it?”
“Please.” I didn’t want to break my focus on this new feeling.
“It’s Briar. She said she’s close.”
Had so much time already passed? Panic gripped me and I opened my eyes. Almost fifteen minutes had disappeared from me while I was lost in my memories of Mateo. The warmth in my chest pulled at me, and I grinned as I started the car.
“Where are we going?” Oz asked. “They’re almost here.”
“Give them directions to follow us. I know where they’ve been taken.”
Chapter 22
I jerked the wheel around and turned back onto the main road. I followed it for several miles, the warmth inside me beginning to spread. I was getting close.
I passed another side road, a dirt one this time. When my chest began to cool, I slammed on my brakes, nearly throwing Oz into the dashboard, but his seatbelt saved him. “This isn’t right.”
Turning back around, I slowed when I reached the dirt path. Warmth once again flooded my veins. I turned down it. “Look on a map and see where this ends.”
Oz typed into my phone. “It looks like it goes another few miles, then nothing.”
“Tell Briar.” I drove a little further until I reached a small pull off. I steered the car off-road and drove into the forest until my car was concealed. “Tell Briar where we are. I’m going to investigate.”
“Wait for Briar!”
But I had already opened the door and left him behind.
I traveled fast, the wind and darkness whipping by me. My body warmed further, a pleasant feeling and not at all how I felt when I’d turned invisible. I followed the sensation and soon it began to feel as if a rope was dragging me along, urging me forward. He was close.
When the smell of chimney smoke reached my nose, I jerked to a stop and proceeded forward slowly. Through the cracks in the trees, I spotted a large structure with several windows filled with light.
As I drew closer, I could make out the shape better. A massive cabin. I made a wide circle around the perimeter checking for security, but found none. I approached the cabin gingerly, but quickly dove behind a log pile when the front door opened. Zane appeared and jogged down the steps, a phone to his ear. “Everything’s ready. Korin can come any time.”
He paused as if whoever was on the other line was speaking. I couldn’t hear from this far away.
“Yes, Aris, Angel, and I’m not sure who the third vampire is. I’ve never seen him before.”
Another pause.
“Of course. I’ll see that it’s done.” He hung up the phone and hopped into a van. He circled around the driveway, the light from the headlights passing over the top of me, then returned down the long lane. I realized in that moment that I didn’t have my phone on me to warn Briar.
I cursed and was about to return to Oz, when someone appeared behind me and pressed a dagger to my throat. “Move an inch, and I’ll slit your throat. I have some questions for you.”
Briar’s voice. She di
dn’t recognize me. I sucked in a breath as I felt the blade press into my flesh.
Before I could speak, she asked, “First, where did you get that shirt because I have the same kick ass one, including the old blood stain on the shoulder.”
“Stain?” I lowered my gaze to look at it, but she pressed the knife harder against my throat.
“You trying to be me, bitch? Because there’s only one me, and I plan on keeping it that way.”
I groaned and rolled my eyes. We didn’t have time for this.
Faster than she could react, I gripped her hand holding the knife and jerked downward. Briar’s body followed the motion, and I rotated until I was straddling her. With her pinned beneath me, I said, “It’s me, Briar. Sammie.”
I hoped she believed me and quickly, because I could hear other shifters rushing through the forest. Probably to save Briar, whom they assumed was in trouble.
She narrowed her eyes, sniffing me and her gaze dropping to the stain on the shirt. She laughed. “That makes more sense. What’s with the new face? You got tired of looking at your old one?”
I rolled off her. Briar sat up and held out her hand at the approaching shifters, many of them on Fire Ridge’s security team. Samantha was one of them. “She’s on our side.”
They screeched to a halt. Lynx came jogging up behind them. Her gaze darted between me and Briar several times in rapid succession. “Samira?”
Briar’s mouth dropped open. “How did you know?”
Lynx shrugged. “Her aura’s the same. Plus she’s got that same look she’s always giving you.”
“What look?” Briar asked.
Lynx shrugged. “Kind of a mixture of exasperation and annoyance.”
“What you mean is,” Briar clarified for her while grinning big, “she’s looking at me with the respect and awe the queen bitch of this place deserves.”
Exasperated, I motioned my hand in a backward gesture. “Can everyone please hide? This is supposed to be a surprise attack.”
Lynx pointed at my face. “See?”
“Be quiet you two,” I snapped in a quiet voice. Samantha and the other shifters melted back into the shadows of the trees. Lynx squatted down next to us, touching my lighter hair with curiosity.