It took only minutes for the broken cries to turn to full-blown screams. The more hysterical his wails became, the more Echo retreated into himself. It made him feel like a complete heel, but he had to maintain his sanity somehow.
Syx gently eased Echo into a sitting position and turned to face Mac. “Mac, I’m really sorry about this, but maybe you’ll thank me later.” The cries cut off instantly, and Echo saw Mac’s outline slump against Syx’s chest. Syx stood and picked Mac up, carrying him over to the blocked entrance, and gently placed him on the ground.
“He’ll be more comfortable if he wakes up and can see even a little light,” Syx explained as he eased back down beside Echo. “How you holding up, baby?”
“I don’t like it here, but I guess I’m doing better than Mac.”
“Does talking help?”
“A little,” Echo admitted. It was a distraction at least.
“Then what would you like to talk about?”
Echo thought it over for a minute then took a deep breath to steady his courage. “Can you tell me about Craze now?”
Syx didn’t answer for a minute, and Echo thought he’d refuse. Instead, Syx gathered Echo into his lap and wrapped his arms around him, holding him securely against his chest. His long fingers combed through Echo’s hair, and he peppered little kisses over the top of his head.
Echo snuggled closer, nuzzling his face into the warmth of Syx’s neck. “Will you please tell me?”
“We’d finally set up residence in a little village just outside of Cairo,” Syx began.
“As in Egypt?” Echo asked softly.
“The same one. Now, do you want to hear this story or not?”
Echo nodded. “Sorry. No more interruptions.”
“I guess we’d been out of Tartarus for five or six years, still looking over our shoulders and waiting for Hades or one of his minions to show up and drag us back. We stayed to ourselves mostly, and people were afraid of us. Men weren’t big in general back then, so you can imagine how we must have looked to the people of the village.”
Nodding again, Echo bit his lip to keep from commenting.
“We met Craze in the market one day. Well, we saved his ass to be more to the point. At least we thought we had at the time. He’d been caught stealing, and two of the guards were beating him into the ground. We didn’t know what he was then, so of course we jumped in to help.”
“If he’s as powerful as you say, why didn’t he fight back?”
“I’ve wondered about that a lot. I thought at first that he didn’t want to show himself for what he was. Over the years, I’ve begun to think that he planned the entire thing. He’s a conniving little asshole, and I wouldn’t put it past him. He confessed a few years later that he’d been watching us from a distance.”
“So, you think he staged the whole thing so that you’d rescue him and take him home with you?”
“Yes, I think so.” Syx sighed and rubbed his cheek against the top of Echo’s head. “We didn’t become lovers right away, but the longer he stayed, well, one thing led to another, and there you have it.”
“When did you realize he was just using you?”
“Craze didn’t start bringing other men and women home until probably around a century later. The only excuse he gave was that it was only sex. I can’t speak for everyone, but I knew I loved my men. I couldn’t tell them how I felt, but it was there. We were in a committed, monogamous relationship as far as I was concerned.”
“Then why did you let it go on for so long?”
“By that time, we’d stopped inviting him to our beds. He was nothing more than a houseguest and whom he chose to bring home didn’t concern us. Craze left a few times, even. Sometimes for no more than a week, sometimes for as long as a decade, but he’d always come back.”
“Why did you keep letting him come back?”
“It was easier than arguing with him. Besides, we were all different, outcasts. It seemed wrong to shun him when everyone else already did.”
Echo could understand that. Plus, his men had such big hearts, whether they wanted to admit it or not. “What happened to make you finally kick him out for good?”
“The last time he returned, he’d been back for maybe a week when it started all over again. Strange men and women were parading naked through the house, eating our food, and basically overrunning the place.” Syx sighed, his chest moving beneath Echo’s body. “Craze and two of the men that he’d brought home one night tried to force Myst into a foursome.”
Echo gasped and his eyes actually filled with tears. “What happened?” he asked thickly.
“Apparently, they didn’t know who they were dealing with.” Syx chuckled, and it eased some of the tightness in Echo’s chest. “Myst froze all three of their asses, and we escorted them from the premises.”
“That sounds like a nice way of saying you kicked them out on their ears.”
“Yes, well, it was less than they deserved.” Syx paused for a moment before he continued with the story. “Craze came back once more after that, but Hex wouldn’t even let him in the door. Craze threw a fit of epic proportions, and it ended with Fiero lighting his ass on fire. He left pretty quickly after that, and as far as I know, we haven’t heard from him since.”
“Until he started calling Hex,” Echo said quietly.
“Don’t read too much into it.” Syx cradled the back of Echo’s head and began rocking them from side to side. “I have a feeling that Craze might have been prodded into making that first phone call.”
“The Oracle?”
“If she believes we need him, then yes. Little suggestions can grow into powerful ideas.”
They sat in silence for a long time, Syx continuing to rock them, and eventually Echo’s eyes drifted closed, and he fell into a surprisingly peaceful sleep.
* * * *
Syx didn’t sleep that night. He stayed awake, rocking his mate until the thin strips of light spilling into the cave began to brighten marginally. He had a bad feeling about what the day would bring.
“Syx?” Jet called from the outside.
“I’m here,” he called, wincing when Echo bolted upright in his arms. “Sorry, baby. It’s Jet.”
“Did he find Gage?”
In answer, Jet began speaking again. “We trailed Gage about three miles north of here before we lost his scent. I’m sorry, man, but we can’t find him.”
“I’m sure he’ll return now that’s it morning,” Syx called back.
“Uh, Syx,” Pax said. “Man, it’s almost two o’clock in the afternoon.”
Syx closed his eyes and groaned. He’d known it was going to be a bad day. He didn’t relish trying to explain to Mac that his lover was missing. The little guy expected his mate to return, though. There was no way he wouldn’t notice Gage’s continued absence.
Trying to decide the best course of action, Syx slid Echo out of his lap, stood, and began pacing. “Okay, guys, are you listening?”
“Yeah,” Jet answered. “Tell us what you want us to do, and we’re all over it like white on rice.”
Syx smiled a little at the shifter’s eagerness to help. “My cell phone is in my pack. Do you have it?”
“Yep, it survived,” Pax said. There was a short pause before he confirmed that he’d found Syx’s cell phone. “Man, your battery’s dead, though.”
Of course it was. There was no way that things could be easy. “Do either of you know how to drive?”
“We’ll figure it out,” Jet answered.
Syx debated for a moment, but really, what other choice did he have? “Okay, just be careful. Get the truck and take the main road west. There’s a service station on the left about ten miles down the road. Call Eyce and tell him what happened. He’ll know what to do.”
“We’re on it,” Jet promised. “We’ll be back as soon as we can.”
“Where are they going?” Mac asked in a quiet voice as he pushed up from the dirt into a sitting position. “Why isn’t Gage
back?”
Echo jumped up and hurried over to kneel beside his friend. “Gage probably had a rough night, Mac. You know how tired it makes him to shift, and it was worse because he didn’t have you or Sony. Plus, I bet he was going out of his mind with worry about you two.”
Mac nodded slowly. “I guess that’s true.”
“He probably passed out when the sun came up. He’ll be awake any time now, and I’m sure he’ll be here just as soon as he can.”
Syx beamed with pride for his mate. Echo had handled the situation much better than he would have. Mac was calm for the moment, and hopefully would remain so until Jet returned with news from Eyce.
Now they just had to find something to occupy their time for the next few hours. Syx could think of a few things he’d like to do with his mate to distract him for a little while. Unfortunately, his ideas were not only unfair to Mac, but Syx highly doubted Echo would be agreeable to sucking him off in front of an audience.
“Instead of sitting here and playing the damsels in distress, how about we search the cave and try to find another way out,” Echo suggested.
Syx almost opened his mouth to say that he’d done just that the first night while Echo and Mac were sleeping, but if it would give them something to do to take their mind of their problems, then he’d go along quietly.
“I think that’s a great idea,” he said. “It’s pretty dark further into the cave, but that’s actually to our advantage. We’ll be able to see any kind of sunlight coming in, and maybe that will lead us to a way out.”
“Come on, Mac,” Echo said firmly. He rose to his feet, pulling Mac up with him, and turned to face Syx. “Lead the way, but don’t get too far ahead.”
Syx knew Echo was only doing this for Mac. His thoughts were screaming that he didn’t want to venture away from their limited light source. His courage and conviction to help his friend only made Syx love him more.
“Hold my hand, and Mac, you hold Echo’s. We’ll all stick together so we don’t get lost or separated.”
“I hope Eyce gets here soon,” Echo pushed into his head.
“Everything will be fine,” Syx answered with more calm than he felt. Now, he just had to figure out a way to keep that promise.
The temperature dropped the further into the cave they trekked, but it felt different. Syx had experienced it the first night, but he’d shrugged it off as nerves. Now, however, he didn’t think it had been his imagination.
“Something isn’t right,” Echo whispered. “It’s cold, but it’s almost like it’s alive. Does that make sense?”
It did. The coldness came in patches, as though something was hovering over them, moving away and then returning. Syx kept one hand against the curving wall of the cave, feeling his way along as he pulled Echo and Mac behind him.
“This was a bad idea,” Mac said in a hushed tone. “There’s no way out. We need to turn around.”
Syx was about to agree when his hand encountered something he hadn’t noticed in his previous venture into the depths of the cavern. The walls seemed to narrow, arching up above them like a doorway. Syx followed the path with his hand, smoothing his palm over the stone as it evened out, became less bumpy.
“There’s something here,” he mumbled.
Mac screamed, barreling into them with such force that Syx toppled to the ground, ending up with both men piled on top of him. “Mac!” he chastised. “Calm down!”
“We have to go! We have to go right fucking now!”
But it was too late. Before he’d even finished yelling the words, there was the sound of rocks scraping together, and a huge boulder slid in front of the makeshift doorway.
Echo trembled, and he began to hyperventilate. “We’re trapped.”
* * * *
“Can we tie him up now?” Myst demanded. “Man, something is really wrong with Echo. I don’t know how I’m feeling it, but it’s like I want to crawl out of my damn skin. I don’t know what happened, and Eyce said he hasn’t heard a word from any of them since he dropped off the truck. I don’t like this.”
Hex could feel it too, and it worried him a lot more than he let on. They’d never felt Echo’s emotions before, so he could only assume it meant big trouble for their little mate. He knew Syx would keep Echo safe, but if something had happened to Syx as well…
“Get on the phone and call Eyce. Tell him and Onyx to get their asses out there. Syn and Jinx are just going to have to look after themselves for now.”
“On it,” Vapre replied and immediately dug in his pocket for his cell phone.
“Fiero, you get the rope,” Hex ordered next. He was tired of bending over backward to try to get Craze to come with them. It was time for a more forceful hand.
Myst rubbed his hands together eagerly as Fiero jogged across the living room and out the front door. “Now we’re talking. Though, I still don’t know how we’re going to shove him in the trunk when we don’t have one.”
Hex rolled his eyes and smacked Myst in the back of the head. “Would you focus? I need you to go subdue the jerkwad.”
“Aye, aye, Captain.” Myst gave him a sarcastic salute and sauntered toward the kitchen where Craze was busy preparing dinner.
“Hey, Myst, how’s it going?” Craze asked in a friendly tone. “I hope you’re hungry. I’m making—hey! What the hell are you do—” Then the only sound was Myst’s laughter.
“Hey, boss man, I’m getting pretty good at this!” he yelled. “I actually got his mouth closed when I froze him.”
Myst’s excitement was contagious, and Hex found himself laughing along. “Well, let’s hope you froze his bones. Drag his ass in here. We gotta get on the road.”
There was a loud thud, and Myst backed into the room, pulling Craze along by his feet.
Hex rolled his eyes and snorted. “I didn’t mean to literally drag him.”
“Yeah, well, he weighs a freakin’ ton. How else was I supposed to get him in here?”
Fiero stepped in through the front door, holding up the long cord of rope. “This is fun. We should definitely do this more often.”
He and Myst set to work binding Craze while Vapre came back into the room, stuffing his phone back into his pocket. “Eyce and Onyx are on their way, along with Sony. They should be there in a couple of hours.”
“Okay, load up and let’s move. If we all take shifts and drive straight through, plus the time difference, we can be there by late tomorrow night.”
Myst and Fiero hoisted Craze into the air and carried him through the front door, accidently on purpose banging his head into the doorframe a few times. “Oops,” Fiero said around his snicker. “Sorry about that, dude.”
“I still say it would be better if we had a trunk. I mean isn’t that what real kidnappers do? Maybe we should find another car so we’re authentic.”
Hex growled. “Myst, would you knock it off? Just let it go, man.”
“I’m just saying,” Myst mumbled as he popped open the hatchback, and he and Fiero tossed Craze inside none too gently. “The backity-back is great and all, but a trunk would be perfect.”
Vapre and Fiero reached out at the same time to cuff him in the back of the head. “Stop being a dipshit and get in the fucking car.” Fiero gave Myst a shove in the shoulder to get him going. “I’ll take the first driving shift.”
Hex slid into the passenger seat and slapped the dashboard with his palm. “Drive like hell, man.”
Fiero smirked as he started up the engine. “You came to the right place.” Throwing the SUV into reverse, he zoomed out of the driveway and threw the transmission into drive, peeling out as he floored the accelerator. “Hold on to your asses, ladies.”
Chapter Eleven
“It was a trap,” Syx said in disgust with himself. The entire thing had been perfectly designed and executed to trap him inside the depths of the cave. “A fucking trap, and I walked right into it.”
“You couldn’t have known,” Echo whispered. “How long will Mac be out?�
�
“For a while.” Three minutes after the boulder had slid into place, Mac had completely wigged, and Syx had been forced to put him to sleep.
“Ares did this, didn’t he?”
Syx sighed and pulled Echo closer to him. “I don’t know for sure, but I think so. If he could trap me inside this cave so that I can’t complete my test, then he’s free to take you per your agreement.”
“Then why did the Oracle send us here?” Echo’s small frame trembled as he rested his head over Syx’s heart. “Why would she allow this to happen?”
“The Oracle never specifically said that we needed to find this cave. I think we misinterpreted her meaning…again. I don’t know why she wouldn’t have warned us once we got here, though.”
“She said something to me about free will and a test of endurance. Maybe this is preparing us for the task.”
Syx kissed the top of his mate’s head and snuggled him closer. “You’re being very rational right now. I’m so proud of you, baby.”
“Don’t be,” Echo whispered. “I’m about three seconds away from needing a padded room. I hate the dark, and it’s so quiet in here. It reminds me of the sensory deprivation capsule at the lab.”
“I should have never let you follow me into the cave in the first place.” Syx felt like the world’s biggest jackass. A fine job he’d done protecting his mate. They were stuck inside a cold, damp cave with no light, no food or water, and no way out.
There had been hope after the rockslide, but now, Syx didn’t know if even Onyx or Myst could move a stone of that size. He had no doubt that the warriors would come for them, but would they find them this far into the cavern? Would they be able to hear them through the massive rock blocking their escape?
“I’m sorry I got us into this,” he mumbled into Echo’s hair. “I’m so damn sorry, sweetheart.”
“Stop,” Echo begged. “I need you to be strong right now. I’m losing my mind, and I just don’t have it in me to be brave anymore.”
Evans, Gabrielle - Shades of Black [Fatefully Yours 5] (Siren Publishing LoveXtreme Forever ManLove) Page 9