Kristy kicked up her chin and looked the warlock straight in the eye.
“I’m surrendering myself to you in exchange for Max’s memories,” she said in a clear, strong voice.
“Oh?” The sly warlock feigned a look of surprise.
“Yes, I’m here now,” Kristy answered. “Release Max’s memories to him. They belong to him. You have no right to them.”
Roland gave a mocking laugh. “Haven’t you heard of ‘finders keepers, losers weepers’?”
“I’ve returned to you,” Kristy said, fighting to keep her voice impassive. “I am willing to be your slave for the rest of my life. I...I’ll even fight in The Pit for you. And you can keep all my prize money. Just...”
“Give Max his memories?” Roland sneered. His eyes flashed. “You are willing to sacrifice yourself for that savage beast?”
Kristy clenched her teeth and fists. “He’s not a beast.” You are!
She stared into the warlock’s cold, calculating eyes and realized that he had no intention of honoring any deal he made with her.
This was a mistake. She was making a deal with the devil.
“Forget it,” Kristy said, stepping away. “Love, honor and integrity mean nothing to you.”
She turned to leave, but Roland snarled, “Where do you think you’re going, Kristy?”
“Home,” she said. “I’m going home.”
Roland snapped his fingers and the gates slammed shut. Something huge, black and terrifying stepped out of the shadows and crouched in front of the gates.
Kristy made a strangled sound in her throat as she stared at the hideous, nightmarish creature that was guarding the gates. Matted black fur covered the creature’s powerful, heaving body and its muscular legs ended in sharp, deadly claws.
Hellish flames glowed and leaped in the monster’s frightful, blood red eyes.
Kristy stifled a scream and backed away.
“W-what is that?” she wheezed.
“I would advise you not to make any sudden movements, Kristy,” Roland drawled. “Being devoured alive isn’t a pleasant experience.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Max’s car shot down the highway like a bullet as he floored the gas pedal. He knew just where to go. His bear could track his mate to the ends of the earth, and he simply let his animal instincts lead him to Kristy.
As the buildings disappeared and only tall, whispering trees flanked the lonely road, Max cursed as he recalled what Kristy had said to him that morning.
I love you, Max. I want you to be happy.
Why didn’t he read between the lines?
Kristy was doing this for him.
She must have overheard his conversation with Draven, and she thought that if she surrendered herself to Roland, she would be able to get Max’s memories back for him.
He would never forgive himself if anything happened to Kristy.
Max glanced up when he saw a dark shadow overhead. The red dragon flew in circles above his car and spat a thin stream of fire in his path.
“What the fuck, Draven!”
Swearing, Max stomped on the brakes and brought his car to a screeching halt.
The huge dragon swooped down and landed right in front of his car.
Max slammed out of his car and strode towards Draven. He stopped when he saw two tall, blond men jump off the dragon’s back.
The two men straightened up and faced him.
Max scowled. What the hell were Dean and Zack doing here?
“Get out of here,” Max snarled. “Get out of my way!”
“No,” Dean and Zack answered together.
“I need to get to my mate,” Max said. “Draven, get them out of here.”
Draven shifted to human form and shook his head stubbornly. “I flew them all the way out here. I’m not flying them back,” Draven said and folded his arms across his chest.
“Just leave. All of you,” Max snapped angrily. “Get out of here.”
“We’re not leaving,” Zack said.
“We’re here for you,” Dean added quietly.
“I don’t need you,” Max said. “Leave. Now.”
Draven huffed loudly. “Listen, Max. Roland is a volatile, unpredictable, underhanded warlock. Don’t walk into this alone. You want to get yourself and Kristy out safely. You need all the help you can get.”
Max turned to face Dean and Zack. His tone softened. “Go. There is no need for you to endanger yourselves. You have families. Go back to them. Layla...”
“Layla’s the one who called me and told me to get to you,” Dean said.
Max shot Draven a murderous glare. “I thought I told you to calm Layla down and tell her that everything will be fine.”
“I did! I kept telling her that everything’s under control, but Layla’s really smart. She refused to let up. She kept asking and probing and in the end, she got everything out of me. I don’t know how she did that.” Draven rubbed the back of his neck and looked both sheepish and bewildered.
“You...” Max began but Draven cut him off with a huff.
“Besides, I think she deserves to know the truth,” Draven argued. “She cares for Kristy like a sister, and...she’s your family, Max.”
Max scowled at his friend.
But Draven was determined to get his point across. “Open your eyes, Max. And look.”
He gestured at Dean and Zack.
Max saw that Dean was wearing his white chef’s uniform and Zack was in his business shirt with his tie slightly loosened. There was a pen behind his ear.
“What do you see?” Draven challenged.
When Max remained silent, Draven said furiously, “I’ll tell you what I see. I see two people who just stopped what they were doing and dropped everything the instant they heard that you were going to fight a powerful warlock. Dean hurtled out of his restaurant kitchen and Zack abandoned an important business meeting just to rush to your side. I told Layla that I was coming after you, and these people sped out to meet me. Even Layla wanted to come, but Dean stopped her. They knew you were walking into a dangerous situation, and they refused to let you face the danger alone.”
Draven paused before continuing, “They came after you. No hesitation, no questions asked. Who would do that?”
Max dragged in a deep breath.
“That’s right. You finally got that into your thick skull,” Draven said. “This is your family, Max.”
Max stared at the three men standing in front of him. Two bear shifters and a dragon shifter.
They knew they were risking their lives but that didn’t stop them.
He kept pushing them away, but still, they were here for him.
Dean, Zack and Draven.
They were his brothers. It didn’t matter if they were related by blood or not. Even if he never remembered his past, these men truly were his brothers.
Draven’s words echoed in his mind.
This is your family, Max.
Max looked at his best friend and blew out a breath. “You’re right,” he said. “For once.”
Draven aimed a sharp, hard kick at his rear.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
Kristy bit down a cry of horror as she stared at the hellish creature that was prowling towards her.
The creature’s glowing red eyes locked on her and when it opened its mouth, Kristy saw rows of dagger-like teeth. Smoke seemed to writhe and twist around the monster as it moved.
“W-what is that?” she stuttered. “Get it away from me!”
Roland’s eyes were gleaming with sadistic pleasure. “Don’t you recognize her?” he asked.
Kristy shook her head in confusion and terror.
“This is the witch that Mad Max has been searching for,” Roland answered, waving at the monster.
“The witch? Samora?” Kristy rasped.
“Yes! I turned her into a hellhound!” Roland said triumphantly.
Kristy shook her head slowly as she backed away from that hideous, horrible monster.
<
br /> “I managed to find Samora with an ancient spell,” Roland went on. “Samora covered her tracks well and she kept reinventing herself, which was pretty clever, I’d admit. Well, I found her and I told her that I would help her.”
Kristy choked out a bitter laugh.
Roland would never help anyone unless it benefited him.
“Being isolated and friendless, Samora accepted my help. She came to me and I sheltered her in my castle. It took a while for me to persuade her to hand over the vial she had around her neck.”
Kristy gasped. “Max’s memories.”
“Yes. She kept his memories in that vial. She finally handed it over to me for safekeeping in my vault.”
Roland chuckled. “That was when I turned her into a hellhound. So, win-win for me, lose-lose for her.”
Smiling indulgently, Roland said, “Isn’t she so much more useful to me now? I have the vial. And I have a hellhound to guard my castle and attack my enemies. It’s a permanent spell. Samora will never turn back into a witch. I have no use for a witch, but a hellhound is the best attack dog.”
Kristy stared at the hellhound. There was nothing human about those flaming red eyes.
“Samora will keep you in line,” Roland said to Kristy. He produced a silver collar and smiled. “Let’s get this slave collar around your neck. It suits you.”
“I will never wear that collar,” Kristy hissed.
She stared at the wicked warlock in utter disgust and contempt. Roland had no scruples, no principles and no honor. He was deceitful and exploitative, and he would lie through his teeth to get what he wanted.
He had tricked Samora. He took what he wanted from her and used her. Kristy felt no pity for the witch. But there was a lesson to be learned from Samora’s fate.
Everything that Roland said was a lie, and everything he did was a trick.
Kristy refused to be trapped. She would fight him to the death before she allowed him to snap that fucking slave collar around her neck.
“Go to hell, Roland,” Kristy spat.
Anger flashed in the warlock’s eyes. “That’s where you will be going, Kristy,” he said.
He shouted a command to the hellhound, and the monster stood still for a moment.
The matted black fur rose on that humongous body and stood on end to form deadly spikes. There was the horrible sound of bones cracking and as Kristy watched with bulging eyes, the neck of the creature split open.
A second head grew from the wound at the side of its neck and the two-headed hellhound growled menacingly at Kristy.
“Good girl,” Roland said.
He smiled. “Enjoy your meal, Samora.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
Kristy scrambled back as the hellhound crouched and fixed its sinister eyes on her. The monster raised its two heads and sniffed her scent.
Kristy didn’t wait. She spun round and ran.
It was full dark now, and Kristy stumbled as she ran through the castle grounds. She doubted that the trees and shrubs would afford her adequate cover but she had to put as much distance as possible between herself and the hellhound.
The low growls were coming nearer, and Kristy smelled the putrid smoke that wafted from the monster.
Four glowing eyes emerged from the darkness and Kristy braced herself.
She couldn’t run anymore. But she could fight.
She had faced various paranormals in The Pit, and her opponents were usually much bigger and stronger than her. But she used her wits and timed her moves well.
It was all about strategy and timing.
The hellhound pounced suddenly and Kristy rolled away just in time. She scrambled up and grabbed a rock at her feet.
She waited for the monster to come nearer before drawing her arm back and hurling the rock with all her might. The rock hit the hellhound in one eye and Kristy smirked when she saw that eye darken.
Enraged, the hellhound bellowed and charged at Kristy. She ducked and let the monster crash into a tree.
As the hellhound was getting to its feet, Kristy heard powerful wings beating overhead. She looked up and saw a red dragon swooping down from the sky.
As the dragon came closer, three men jumped down from the dragon’s back. The three of them landed soundlessly and straightened up.
She gasped. “Max!”
For a moment, Kristy stared at Max and the two tall, blond men behind him. The three of them looked so much alike. She recognized Dean, and he gave her a quick nod. She flicked her eyes over to the youngest brother, Zack. He gave her a two-finger salute and smirked.
“Look out!” Max yelled and shoved Kristy away.
The three brothers attacked the hellhound together. “Leave this monster to us,” Dean shouted to Max. “Go!”
Max nodded and ran to join Draven. The dragon shifter was battling the warlock, and Kristy saw Roland hurling balls of destructive energy at Draven. The dragon crumpled to the ground and shifted back to human form.
With a roar, Max threw himself at Roland and slashed at the warlock with his claws.
Kristy looked around wildly and saw that Zack and Dean were holding their own against the hellhound.
Draven had gotten to his feet and was helping Max fight the warlock.
With her heart pounding, Kristy ran into the castle.
Roland mentioned that he had taken the vial from Samora and kept it in his vault.
She knew where the vault was.
She had to retrieve the vial before Roland pulled another trick from his sleeve.
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
Running hard, Kristy raced down the stairs and made her way to the underground vault.
She skidded to a stop in front of the heavy steel door and saw the green light blinking on the panel beside the door.
The door was unlocked.
Panting, she pushed the door open and stepped into the vault.
The stench hit her at once.
Kristy retched and pressed her hand to her mouth. She stepped on something sticky and fumbled blindly for the light switch.
She flicked the light on and her mouth opened in a silent scream.
The vault was filled with bodies. Contorted, decomposing, dismembered bodies.
Limbs, torsos, heads, and various body parts were strewn all over the floor. There were blood spatters on the walls and the floor was dark with dried blood.
Kristy backed away and screamed when her foot hit something on the floor.
She looked down and saw that it was a body with the legs chopped off.
“No, no!” she heaved.
She looked at the face of the corpse and shook her head rapidly. This was one of the male servants in the castle. He was still wearing the slave collar around his neck.
She turned to stare at the pile of body parts in the vault. There were decapitated heads carelessly strewn around and even though the faces were discolored and distorted in death, she recognized the faces.
These were all the servants in the castle.
Roland had killed them all.
The horrific cuts, injuries and bruises on the bodies told her that they had all been tortured before they were killed.
Kristy had heard about the darker aspects of spell casting. Dark magic required blood sacrifices. Pain, suffering and blood powered dark magic and spells.
As Kristy took in the grisly scene, she understood what Roland had done.
This was a gruesome, evil blood sacrifice.
Roland had done this horrific blood ritual to boost his magical powers. He needed the power to work that ancient spell to find Samora. And to turn her into a hellhound.
The evil warlock sacrificed his servants and used their pain and blood to swell and magnify his powers. This was the darkest, most powerful form of magic.
Kristy squeezed her eyes shut, trying not to imagine the barbaric torture that those servants had been subjected to.
Roland was the epitome of evil.
With a gulp, Kristy forced herself to g
o deeper into the nightmarish vault. She searched through the boxes on the shelves, trying to ignore the ghastly surroundings.
“Where is it?” she whispered, her eyes watering. “Please, where is it?”
She went through all the boxes until she reached the last one. With trembling hands, she opened the box.
Desperately, she pulled the stack of tattered papers out of the box and let out a small cry of relief. At the bottom of the box was a small green vial.
She’d found it.
Kristy grabbed the vial and stumbled out of the vault.
At the door, she stopped and closed her eyes.
Those servants were innocent. Roland had sacrificed so many innocent lives just to get what he wanted.
To him, those slaves weren’t worth much. He could easily buy more slaves to replace them.
Kristy let her anger burn away the deep pain in her heart. She gripped the vial tightly in her fist and ran up the cold stone steps.
CHAPTER FORTY
Max attacked Roland relentlessly but the warlock was cunning and ruthless. Draven was injured and his dragon was unable to rise. Undaunted, Draven continued fighting bravely at his side.
Max heard furious roars and snarls as Dean and Zack fought the two-headed hellhound.
“Don’t you want to go and help your old mistress?” Roland taunted Max. “That’s Samora. I turned her into a hellhound!”
Stunned, Max turned to stare at the beastly creature. Was that really Samora?
“She had this little green vial around her neck,” Roland said. “I took the vial before turning her into my pet.”
Max jerked.
Samora always wore a small green vial around her neck. He never knew what it was.
His claws dug painfully into his palms.
That vial contained his memories.
Draven let out a shout and flung himself at Roland. The ball of black fire shot out from Roland’s hand and smashed into a tree behind Max. It would have hit Max if Draven hadn’t pushed the warlock away.
As Max ran towards Draven, he saw Kristy emerging from the castle. She held up a glinting green vial and stared at him.
Billionaire Beast Bear (Beast Bears Book 3) Page 8