by Cathy Peper
“I did as instructed.”
The man lowered his hood. He had pale skin, high cheekbones, and a pointed chin. “I think not.”
Bryce squinted into the gloom. Damn, had Sebastien been discovered? He saw no sign of his brother-in-law.
“Give me the necklace.” The man carried a staff but didn’t appear to have any other weapons, although he could have guns and/or knives hidden in the folds of the voluminous robe. Or he could have other defenses, invisible ones, at his disposal.
“Show me the girl,” Bryce replied.
The man turned his head and said something in a low tone. Another tunnel branched out behind him. A black woman, wearing a colorful turban, stepped from it, holding Hannah by the hand.
“Hannah, are you all right?” She appeared to be unharmed but looked scared.
“I’m okay, Daddy.”
Bryce relaxed slightly. “I left the necklace outside.”
The man banged his staff against the stone floor. “You were to bring it to me.”
One of the torches appeared to flare at the ringing of the man’s voice, but surely that was his imagination. “I’m not stupid enough to walk into a trap.”
The man laughed and the hair rose on Bryce’s arms. “I can kill you at any time.”
“We had a deal. The necklace for the girl. No need for anyone to die. Come with me and I will show you where I hid it.”
“So you think I am stupid enough to walk into a trap?”
“I just want my daughter,” Bryce, said, realizing he meant it. If he and Hannah could walk away from this, he would let the necklace go.
“Take Taekwonda. Bring back the necklace and I will let the girl go.”
So the man was willing to risk the life of his slave, but not his own. Fair enough, but things would still get dicey once they had what they wanted. “Not here. We make the exchange at the mouth of the cave.”
“As you wish.” He grabbed a torch and gave Bryce a slight bow. “Lead the way.”
Bryce retraced his steps through the tunnel, checking to be sure Taekwonda and Hannah were coming, too. His shoulders twitched and at any moment he expected to feel a knife in his back. He reminded himself that they wouldn’t kill him until they had the necklace, but his hands shook and his breath came shallow. The flickering torch threw strange shadows against the walls. Their figures appeared menacing and more numerous than they actually were.
At last, they reached the outer chamber. Taekwonda passed Hannah to the hooded man and went to stand by Bryce. She didn’t appear to be frightened or angry at her master for placing her in danger. He would have thought her expression serene if not for the faint line of strain across her brow. “We won’t be long,” Bryce said to the man. “Hurt the girl and you’re never getting the necklace.”
The man bowed again, the gesture one of mockery rather than respect.
Bryce’s throat grew dry. This man could have a legion of snipers in wait just as Bryce had Sebastien hiding in the tree. “Come,” he said to the slave and ducked out into the moonlight.
They walked back the way Bryce had come earlier. “What does your master expect to do with the necklace?” he asked the woman. “You told Victoria the power was drained.”
“You know the power can be resurrected. You have used it.” Her accent was French with a hint of something else.
The hair on his neck rose. “What makes you think so?”
“Miss Foster told me the necklace was unobtainable. I guessed the rest.”
Bryce switched on his flashlight. No need to stumble around in the dark if she already knew he’d been to the future. “So you know how to activate it?”
“Me? No. Lucas will perform the ceremony and make the sacrifice.”
Sacrifice? Surely every hair on his body now stood at attention. “There is no need for any sacrifice.” Was that their plan? To get the necklace and then sacrifice him or Hannah to activate it? Should he tell them about the electricity? He didn’t really want this pair, especially Lucas, running freely through time, but his chief priority was to bring Hannah safely home.
“You traveled without the use of black magic?”
Bryce could feel her dark eyes studying him. “Yes.”
She cocked her head to one side. “There is blood on your hands.”
“I protect those I love.”
Her concentration never wavered. “Lucas should know this.”
“I will not allow him to hurt my daughter. If he does, he will pay with his life.”
Now she looked amused. “You think you can kill Lucas? Many have tried.”
“I don’t believe in this voodoo nonsense.” Liar! While he might not believe in magic, Lucas radiated power of some sort. “Here.” He stopped at the vee shaped tree, stepped onto where the tree split and reached up into the knothole. There was nothing there.
He fell against the tree, his legs shaking so hard he could barely stand. Where had it gone? Had Sebastien taken it? That wasn’t part of their plan and he didn’t think Sebastien would have been able to see where he had hidden it.
“What’s wrong?” Taekwonda asked.
“It’s gone. Someone has taken it. You had me followed. Lucas has the necklace and plans to sacrifice Hannah to activate it.” He sprinted back towards the cave, paying scant attention to Taekwonda’s denials.
“No, it is you who betrayed us, or someone else who betrayed you,” she called.
Bryce didn’t slow, but a shiver slid down his spine. Who else might have done this? He could still hear his father telling him a girl child was expendable. Could Gordon have taken the necklace, not knowing what it did, but knowing it was valuable? Or was Taekwonda unaware of the whole of her master’s plans? He tripped over a branch and slammed into the ground, the force knocking the flashlight from his hand. As he struggled for breath, he watched it roll down an incline and swivel around to face him, blinding him with its light. His world was spinning out of control, but he had to get to Hannah. He pushed himself to his knees and dove for the flashlight.
Chapter 26
Bryce’s fingers closed around the cold metal of the flashlight, but the fall had knocked his breath out of him and he struggled to regain his footing, slipping in the thick layers of leaves. Grabbing the branch of a nearby tree, he pulled himself upright and took off, racing through the woods. Taekwonda followed him, but he soon outran the noise of her pursuit.
The circle of illumination thrown by the flashlight bounced in front of him as he pushed himself harder, legs churning and lungs burning. He burst into the clearing ready to tear into the cave, but a crack, louder than a gunshot, and a burst of bright light brought him to a sudden halt, almost as if he had run into a wall.
In the few seconds after the explosion, he was blind, but as his vision adjusted, terror suffused him. Lucas stood at the opening of the cave, a knife held to Hannah’s throat. A few feet away, Sebastien lay unmoving, tied at hands and feet.
“Let her go. You’ve got what you want.”
“Set the stone on the ground and back away slowly.”
“You bastard, you know I don’t have it. Your lackeys must have grabbed it just as you snatched my brother-in-law.”
“What are you saying?” The knife pressed harder against Hannah’s throat and she whimpered.
“It’s gone. Someone took it from the tree where I hid it. If it wasn’t you…” My father. His chest still burned from his panicked run, but an icy coldness began to spread from the center of his body. His father cared more about power than Hannah. “I’ll kill him.”
Taekwonda stumbled from the woods. “He’s telling the truth. I was with him the whole way. He’s had no chance to move the necklace. Unless he’s lying about where he stashed it, someone else took it.” She stood, hands on her knees, drawing in heaving breaths.
“You know who did this,” Lucas said. “You conspired to cheat me.”
“No! You can have the damn necklace. Just give me my daughter.”
“You have n
othing to trade for her now.” He bent Hannah’s head back, exposing more of her throat.
“Stop! I think I know who took it. I can help you get it.”
Lucas laughed. “I don’t need your help.”
“Don’t you? You won’t find him if he doesn’t want to be found.” Bryce was stretching the truth, but he would do anything to buy time. He inched closer to his daughter, freezing as a trickle of blood dripped down her neck.
“I have powers beyond your puny understanding.”
“You mustn’t kill the girl,” Taekwonda said.
“I’m through listening to you, woman.”
“Kill the man instead.”
Bryce’s heart lurched. Although he would trade Sebastien’s life for Hannah’s, if necessary, Ari would be devastated if either her brother or daughter died. “Release Hannah and let Sebastien be. I will go with you willingly and help you retrieve the necklace. Don’t see why anyone has to die, but if I fail, there will be nothing to stop you from killing me.” And if he succeeded? There would still be nothing to keep this lunatic from killing him.
“You would give your life for the child’s?” Lucas asked.
Bryce’s shoulders slumped. “Of course. That’s what fathers do.”
“Not in my world,” Lucas said, but he lowered the knife a fraction of an inch.
“Do we have a deal?” Though Bryce didn’t believe for a moment that his father would die for him, he had come in search of his missing heir. But unless Lucas and Taekwonda were playing a deeper game with him, Gordon was behind the missing necklace, endangering the granddaughter he considered expendable.
Lucas hesitated. “I will lay a curse upon this man who dared to cross me and he will regret it one thousandfold.”
“Maybe, but that won’t get you the stone.”
“I will track him as I tracked the woman with the golden hair.”
“He has the money to hire people to do his dirty work and to protect him. By the time you find him, if you find him, he will have hidden the stone somewhere safe.”
“Listen to him, Lucas. The girl is innocent. If you harm her, it will blacken your soul.”
“Some things are worth a little soul tarnishing. The stone can unlock the doors between the realms.”
Is that what the stone had done? Unlocked a door separating the past from the future? Did it unlock other doors in addition to those of time? The hair rose on his arms. Hannah whimpered as Lucas bent her head backward.
Bryce raised his gun. “Do it and you’re dead. You and the woman.”
“You only have one shot and you can’t risk firing at me while I hold the knife to your little girl’s throat.”
“You’re right. I won’t shoot you while you hold Hannah’s life in your hands. But if you hurt her, I’ll fire a bullet into your head and kill Taekwonda, too. I won’t miss. I brought this gun back from the other world and it’s far more accurate than anything you’ve ever seen. It holds six bullets.” He paused and watched the wonder bloom on the other man’s face.
“You’ve been to the other world?”
Bryce nodded, the gun rock steady in his hands. Should he risk the shot?
Lucas pulled the knife from Hannah’s throat. “Give me the name and I’ll let you have the girl. Don’t bother lying.”
Bryce lowered the gun in an equal show of faith. “My father, Gordon Poole.”
“You’re certain?”
“Certain as can be, but he may not have taken it himself. He has people for those sorts of tasks.”
Lucas studied Bryce through narrowed eyes. “And the names of these hirelings?”
“I don’t know.” Lucas’ gaze held a palpable weight and Bryce could feel the hair on his body standing to attention. He wasn’t sure if he believed in the magic of voodoo, but power seemed to radiate from the other man. “Truly, I don’t know. I hadn’t seen my father for several years until recently. But I will help you find him.”
“Drop the gun and I will release your daughter.”
“Drop the knife and I will drop the gun.” Out of the corner of his eye, Bryce saw Sebastien stir. Not dead, then, but of no help, since he was tied up.
“Lucas, please do as he asks.”
Bryce had almost forgotten about Taekwonda, a mistake although he didn’t think the woman posed much threat.
With a flourish, Lucas sent the knife spinning towards the woods, but he didn’t ease his grip on Hannah’s hair. “Your turn.”
Bryce hesitated. He didn’t doubt Lucas could break Hannah’s neck, but maybe not before he got off a shot.
Lucas’ eyes mocked him as if he knew what he was thinking. They glowed in the firelight—dark, fathomless, with no hint of softness, but also none of fear.
“The gun, Mr. Poole. You gave your word,” Taekwonda whispered.
“So I did.” Bryce raised his arm and held the gun out to his side. “Release my daughter.”
Lucas lifted his hands.
“Dad,” Hannah choked and took a step forward.
Bryce unclenched his fingers and allowed the gun to fall to the ground. He heard the soft thud of the weapon hitting the packed leaves of the forest floor as he reached for his daughter. Hannah scrambled towards him and his arms closed around her shaking body.
“You came.”
A flash, not three feet from him, nearly blinded him as a blast assaulted his ears. Instinctively he threw himself over Hannah, bracing himself for the pain of shrapnel tearing through his body, but there was nothing. He lifted his head, ears ringing, night vision gone. Smoke filled the clearing, further compromising his vision. Hannah cried softly beneath him and several feet away Sebastien struggled against his bonds. “What the hell happened?” his soon-to-be brother-in-law yelled.
“Not sure,” Bryce called back, but even as the vague shapes around him began to take form once more, he guessed Lucas would be gone. Fled into the cave or the woods. Cave, most likely; even with the confusion and the force of the blast, Bryce would have heard the man running past. He glimpsed a movement to the right. Taekwonda. He heaved himself to his feet and stumbled towards the woman, grabbing her by her arm.
“Where has he gone?”
“To find the stone.”
“Armed with nothing but a name? I offered my help.”
Taekwonda shrugged. “He doesn’t need your help.”
Bryce chuckled without humor. “Doesn’t trust me, more likely.”
“Should he?”
“Bryce, let me loose!”
“Coming.” Bryce released Taekwonda. “He abandoned you.”
She shrugged once more. “I expected nothing less. The stone is more important to him than I am.”
“Don’t go anywhere.” Bryce retrieved Ari’s gun, then took Hannah’s hand and led her over to Sebastien. He pulled his pocket knife out of his pocket and sawed at Sebastien’s bonds.
“This might work better.”
Bryce started. How had the woman come up to him so quietly? And how had she found Lucas’ knife so quickly? He was lucky she hadn’t gutted him with it. He met her gaze as he took the knife. Her deep brown eyes betrayed little but lacked the fanaticism of Lucas’ compelling stare.
The ropes parted easily against the razor sharp edge of Lucas’ knife and Bryce swallowed as he remembered how close it had come to Hannah’s throat.
“I’m sorry. They spotted me,” Sebastien said, flexing his hands. “Hit me from behind. I never even saw them coming.”
“Hannah’s safe. That’s the most important thing.”
“You gave them the necklace?”
Bryce shook his head. “It disappeared. That’s when things grew even more dangerous.” He explained his theory about his father.
“You really think your old man would have taken it? With his granddaughter’s life on the line? He doesn’t even know what the necklace can do.”
Bryce shot a glance at Hannah, wondering how much she understood. “He’s not a monster, but he loves power. With this much intere
st in the necklace, he definitely would have wanted a piece of it.”
Sebastien rubbed feeling back into his feet, muttering something in French, then switching to English. “So Lucas set off an explosion to mask his getaway?”
“He probably went into the cave, though I guess he could have gotten by me. Hannah was my main concern.” Taekwonda had surprised him with the knife. Voodoo or not, the couple could move without a sound.
“Are you going after him? I can take Hannah back to the Fury.”
Bryce considered. He still wanted to return to the future and would love to get the necklace back, but Lucas didn’t have it. “No need. Gordon has it.”
“Then what are we going to do with her?” Sebastien tilted his head towards Taekwonda.
Bryce sighed. “She helped us. I’m not going to do her any harm.”
“We can’t just leave her here.”
“I suppose not. We’ll bring her back to the Fury, drop her off at the nearest port.”
“I would appreciate the ride, but I can find my own way back to civilization.”
Bryce didn’t doubt it. Still, the woman had pleaded with her co-conspirator for Hannah’s life. But was Lucas her partner or her owner? Even if she wasn’t officially his slave, the man might have power over her. “Did he force you into this?”
“It’s not wise to cross Lucas.”
Not exactly an answer. “You risked his wrath to try and save my daughter’s life.”
“Shedding the blood of an innocent invites great evil.”
“But you were fine with him killing Sebastien.”
She looked puzzled for a moment, then a slow smile spread across her face. “There is another man in the cave—the one who betrayed you. He was the one we intended to sacrifice.”
“Dalton.” Bryce took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I warned him never to cross me again. Come on, let’s go back to the boat.”
Sebastien clambered to his feet. “After we find Dalton.”
“Why? He nearly got my daughter killed.”
“He’ll starve to death if we leave him tied up in the cave.”