by Grey, T. A.
Willow laughed bitterly. “Tell me about it. Is this normal or something?”
Rachel looked contrite as she shook her head. “Not really. I mean I’ve heard of some Alphas who went off the deep end when their mates’ lives were in danger. But this is different. Danny went missing today, Sara’s boy.”
Willow nodded, unsure what to say to ease Rachel’s worry.
“I’d just seen him too, you know? I saw him at the festival with his friends. Now he’s gone and we all know it’s because of that demon. God I’m so scared for him.”
Not knowing what else to do, Willow hugged her.
“Do you smell that?” said Willow, pulling away with a frown.
Rachel’s brows shot up. “What?”
The bitter, almost sulfuric smell dissipated and Willow shrugged. “Guess it was nothing. So how’s the baby?”
Willow knew she had the perfect opportunity to escape now with Rachel and she wasn’t going to let it go to waste. But first, she’d woo her into the craziness with pleasantries. After all, it wasn’t polite to ask someone to assist you in escaping and betraying their Alpha without asking about the kids first.
They chatted for a while. Ever since she met Rachel, the woman had the ability to make her feel like she was back with her sisters again. She was happy for her visit. If Rachel hadn’t come then she might not have had the chance to escape, ever. Lyonis had placed even more guards at all hours of the day along the cabin and the perimeter of the pack.
According to Rachel, the pack was even more tense than normal. It could be cut with a chainsaw. What with Danny gone and the Atal Warriors everywhere, and to Willow’s surprise, her being locked up here were all signs of bad times. Willow snorted at that. True dat.
“Oh damn, I didn’t even think about it. Can I get you something to drink? Sorry I don’t eat anymore, I didn’t even think about it.”
Rachel nodded. “Got any tea?”
Willow laughed because honestly she had no idea what was in the kitchen. “I’ll go check, one sec.”
Willow rifled through the cabinets and cupboards before finding a small box of black tea.
“Got some!”
She was bending down and making a ruckus of noise to find a pot to boil water in, so she never heard the floor creek behind her. If she had, she might have whirled around in surprise. Instead, she cursed as she grabbed hold of a small pot and came to a stand, the blood rushing out of her head made her rock on her feet as she straightened.
She’d just set the pot on the stove when a hard pressure burst inside her skin. The sharp stabbing sensation felt as though someone was trying to tear her skin from the inside out. She opened her mouth in agony to scream but no sound came. Suddenly she was immobilized. Tears rolled down her unblinking face as the hot pressure along her skin reached an excruciating point, then it burst inside her like a balloon popping.
Fiery knives stabbed inside her. She would have fallen to the floor, screaming, tearing at her own stomach to get it out, to get it to stop, but she could only stand there, frozen in place.
The pain grew like her limbs were being filled with hot air and needed a place to burst. Once it was inside her it was unstoppable. It spread to her brain and all the way down to her toes. Her baby jerked at the intrusion and more tears fell down her face.
Lyonis, where are you!?
Her thundering heart slammed against her ribs as if working hard to keep up with the pain, and then everything went black in an instant. Consciousness vanished in a single heartbeat, and she was no more.
Chapter 38
The air was thick with a nasty, pungent odor that left Willow gagging.
Rolling onto her stomach in the cramped space, she crawled along the ground. The ground looked soft like dirt but was actually hard like sharp rocks. Biting her lip to keep from crying out, she kept crawling as the shards stabbed her knees and hands, piercing the skin. She didn’t even think to stand. Something had happened to her leg; whether it was broken or badly sprained, she didn’t know. All she knew was that she couldn’t put pressure on it.
Darkness surrounded her. She couldn’t find any source of light yet something casted the room in a dim, gray glow. Shaking, more scared than she’d been in her whole life, she pushed aside the worries of her baby, of where she was. None of that could help her now. She had to find a way out. Had to get away. Besides she had a feeling she knew where she was.
A particularly sharp rock on the ground stabbed her palm and Willow cried out. She inspected her hand and found a small rock sticking like a large splinter from her hand. Biting her lip, she pulled it out and immediately blood pooled. There was no time for this.
She crawled and crawled. Eventually her body grew tired, limbs heavy with exhaustion and still she had not even touched a wall. How long had she been moving, hours...minutes? Panic kept her going, fear kept her eyes darting about her. She tried to use her senses but what she was seeing and hearing and smelling were so foreign to her that her senses were useless.
The air was so thick, it reminded her of fog yet there was no smokiness around her. Suffocating darkness. She could only see a foot in front of her at a time and with each inch she crawled, she waited for something to jump out at her. The air smelled lightly sulfurous as if a candle had been snuffed several minutes before. Yet the scent never changed, never grew worse or lessened. Everything was constant.
The most unusual thing was the sound. A constant, deep baritone like a motor but not mechanical. As if she was deep in the earth and it spoke down here, one long, unending note.
With that thought, she knew with certainty where she was. Deep inside the rift. Below where the shahoulin reigned, below the violent idummi demons, deep where even the lowliest of creatures dared not tread—where the jaheera terrorized.
The light around her grew brighter, lighting her way. Instead of making her feel better, her stomach tightened with unease. The air, dense and suffocating, lessened with the light. Willow came to sitting position and finally looked around.
She was in a massive, unending room with stone walls that looked so far away. They were the color of sand and clay. Before she could take in anymore the ground shook. Willow held onto the sharp ground as her teeth chattered with the quake. A sharp cry left her as the shaking jarred her wounded leg.
Suddenly her worst nightmare came into the room with her. Dura, the jaheera demon stepped through the stonewall as if it was invisible.
The massive demon, which had towered over those tall trees in the German forest now stood imposing and deadly. Willow looked up and up, craning her neck and that was when she realized there was no ceiling. A dark void rested where a roof or wall or something should be. It looked like an unending, starless, night sky. A black void. Willow had a feeling this was what hell was like.
The demon was the size of a mythical giant with skin, though she was hesitant to call it that, black as tar, thick like scales. It came towards her, each massive, slow step shaking the ground like an earthquake. Willow crab walked backwards, not even noticing she was making the scratches on her palms open more and bleed. The pain in her leg seemed to understand that her escape was more important than hurting, because now she hardly felt it.
It moved slowly yet she couldn’t get away from it fast enough. Stark terror made sweat run down her temples and neck, heart pound, breathing race.
“WIIILLLLOOOOOW!”
The sound pierced her ears, shaking her eardrums. Shaking in utter fear, Willow came to a wobbly stand and screamed.
Suddenly arms banded around her. Faces, human, grabbed her and pulled her towards the demon. She recognized them in an instant. Stephanie, Rachel, and the boy Danny.
“Don’t do this!” she screamed.
She dug her good leg hard into the rocks but they were so strong, stronger than they should be and they wrenched her arms fiercely until she tripped. Her stomach hit the ground hard and she cried again, this time in fear of something else.
Frantically, her hands scraped at the grou
nd as she tried to get away, but they latched onto her arms with tight hands and started dragging her across the rocky surface.
“No!” she screamed repeatedly as her distended stomach scraped along the sharp surfaces. Screaming, Willow threw herself on her side as they continued to ruthlessly drag her. She watched her belly in horror and saw little beads of red appear through her shirt.
They dropped her before the demon. Willow had never felt more helpless than she did right now. The demon’s massive hand raised, the size of a car door, and black, wispy energy came out. The dark energy swept around her body, covering her from head to foot with vile, dark magic. Willow could only watch as the black substance seeped into her body.
Willow was immobilized, paralyzed from her eyelids to her feet. She felt tears leaking out of her eyes but didn’t know if she was crying or her dry eyes were desperately trying to lubricate.
Think, think!
Her mind worked hard to figure out what she could do yet it felt like her mind was made up of cogs in a broken down clock slowly shutting down forever. All she wanted to do was shut everything out, curl into a ball and await whatever her fate was. But then she felt something...
She gasped, her heart soaring. The life inside her, her baby, moved.
My baby’s still alive!
She laughed, tears streaming down her face. Willow called upon all her strength and calmed herself. Somehow hope filled her chest and she knew, somehow, someway she could do this.
As if sensing her calm, the demon screeched. Garbled, demonic words came out of its fanged mouth. The young girl Stephanie, eyes dead and vacant, stepped forward.
“How dare you not fear me?” she said in a cold, monotone voice.
Willow blinked at her in confusion. Then she realized...the demon was speaking through her.
Danny, with the same vacant eyes, stiffened then turned and started walking. He disappeared through that same stone wall and reappeared a minute later carrying heavy metal manacles and a wicked looking dagger. The blade curved at the end like a miniature scimitar. It looked freshly sharpened and glinted in the grey light.
Willow started struggling then. Immobilized, she could do nothing mentally but physically try to move against the demon’s dark magic.
The demon’s dark, fathomless eyes looked down at her. Is it working? Willow wished she had her potion and dagger with her. But I have the spell! Hysterical laughter bubbled inside her.
Willow started to open her mouth—but nothing happened. She couldn’t move her lips to speak the spell. Hands grabbed her, putting the heavy manacles around her wrists and ankles. She was useless to do anything.
Then suddenly the paralysis was gone. The demon started speaking. From the rhythm of the tones it almost sounded like a song...or a chant. Willow sat there, unsure if the demon had released her from its magic or if she’d somehow freed herself from the spell. If that were the case then she’d use the element of surprise to her advantage.
Rachel stepped forward carrying a glass jar. Something squirmed inside of it that looked like green ooze. Willow didn’t know what it was but she didn’t want it anywhere near her. She started to mentally chant Lily’s spell faster in her mind, putting all of her energy and power into it.
Danny handed the silver dagger to Rachel. She raised the jar above Willow, held the dagger with the blade facing it.
The demon spoke faster. The room shook or maybe it was just the floor. Willow couldn’t tell. The demon stopped chanting then turned to Rachel; she repeated its words in that same monotone voice.
“Pour Karr’s blood on her.”
Willow realized now was the time to move. As Rachel swung the dagger at the jar with the intent on shattering it and letting all that green blood fall on her, Willow launched herself forward.
She didn’t make it far, the shackled ankles and hands didn’t give her enough movement, her injured leg throbbed, but she pushed off her feet with everything she had and slammed her shoulder into Rachel’s stomach. The glass jar went flying in the air.
The demon screeched madly with ear-piercing, garbled words that sounded a lot like orders. The glass landed against the rocks with a wonderful shattering sound. Willow smiled at her little victory as the green goop slowly slid into the rocky ground. That shit wouldn’t be touching her.
A shiny glint caught the corner of her eye. Stephanie and Danny ran to the goop, trying desperately to pick it up with their fingers; Rachel lay on the floor, dazed. Willow saw it then, the dagger sitting innocently on the floor in front of her.
With her hands bound in front of her, Willow dove forward.
Her fingers had just slid around the cold metal when she was hit with such force she heard her ribs crack a second before the searing, wrenching pain registered in her mind.
Then she was sailing through the air.
Chapter 39
Lyonis flung open the office door so hard it slammed the wall and shattered the glass window in it. His top lieutenants tore away from each other, breathing hard from a fresh batch of kissing.
“Now is hardly the time,” he said darkly.
Thane and Jackie squared instantly, jaws firming, eyes straight ahead. Lyonis nodded at them.
“Any news on Danny?”
“No, Sir. But all of the Atal Warriors have been set along the perimeter and streets. A total of 100 warriors,” Thane said.
“Alpha Lyonis, I still don’t think this is necessary. We don’t need vampires securing our defenses,” Jackie said.
Lyonis sat down only to stand again. He couldn’t stop moving in agitated jerks. Willow was driving him crazy. Why the hell was he feeling guilty? He was doing the right thing! It was his job to protect his mate and child dammit and that’s what he was going to do. But damn the sight of her hurting tore him up inside better than a chain saw could ever do.
In a distracted voice he said, “Sometimes we have to push aside our pride in order to be stronger. To take care of the ones we love.”
He didn’t see the intense look shared between Thane and Jackie at his words. Too focused was he on Willow. Willow, Willow, Willow. Why couldn’t she understand that this was necessary, that he was doing it to protect her?
“I hurt her.”
He didn’t realize he said the words aloud until Thane stepped forward and said, “These are difficult times. As long as you love her and tell her often she'll realize it’s the right thing.”
Lyonis stared at Thane in surprise. Had he ever told her he loved her? He thought he might have mentioned it in passing, but had he ever said the words to her? Hell, how could she not know it when his feelings radiated from his very pores?
“Of course she knows I love her,” he said softly, unsure.
Thane raised a dark eyebrow. “You don’t sound certain, Alpha. Maybe it’s time you tell her...as many times as it takes. Sometimes women need to hear it, a lot, before they’ll soften up.” The shapeshifter’s lips twitched like he wanted to laugh. Jackie’s hand shot out and slapped his arm almost too fast to see. Thane straightened again but a grin played at his lips.
Lyonis’ gaze slid over to Jackie’s exposed neck and there he saw the fresh, pink bite. The tension in his shoulders lessened.
“You two finally mated, huh? Congratulations.” Still the happy news didn’t fix his mood any.
“Yes, Alpha,” Jackie said, pink coloring her cheeks.
A guard ran into the room, panting from a sprint. “Sir, we have a problem!”
Lyonis stiffened, his heart pounding frantically. “What is it?” In his gut, he already knew.
“The Queen, Sir, she’s missing.”
Lyonis was out the door the next second. The cabin door was standing wide open as he entered it a minute later. He ran through the house, searching every door and closet. Under the bed he found her backpack, which previously had been empty in the corner of the room. His fist clenched over the packed bag. She was going to leave him but then why didn’t she take her bag?
Jackie and
Thane came into the room after him.
“How did she leave?”
“Sir, the guard said none of the other guards let her through the perimeter. That it would be impossible for her to get through.”
Lyonis ran back downstairs and finished searching the rooms. Last, he stopped in the kitchen. A frown came over him as he looked at the open cabinets and a pot lying on the floor.
“What happened in here?”
The guard who had run to tell him the news stepped forward. “Sir, Rachel Harbrow stopped by. The ladies chatted for at least an hour. When another hour passed and I didn’t hear anything, I knocked on the door but no one answered. So I came in and searched the place but found it empty.”
“There was a struggle,” Thane said, inspecting the kitchen.
Lyonis nodded and the words were out of his mouth before he could think about it. “Call Tyrian en Kulev and get the sisters out here.”
“But, Alpha, I’m sure we can figure this out without any help from more Atal Warriors,” Jackie said.
Lyonis saw black. He stood; hands fisted tightly at his sides and in a cold, controlled voice said, “Don’t question me again. The demon took her and Rachel, too. Unless you know how to get her back then shut up and do what I say.”
Jackie bowed her head respectfully. “Of course, Alpha. You’re right. My pride bested me again.” She turned from the room.
* * *
“Where are they!” he screamed. Everyone around him recoiled.
“I called them right away, Alpha. They said they’d be here right away. I don’t know what’s taking so long,” Jackie said.
Lyonis paced back and forth in his living room. Guards stood all around him but wisely didn’t ask him to calm down or sit. They knew he’d tear off their heads with such nonsense.
It had been almost a whole hour and they still hadn’t showed up. Each second that ticked by made him feel like he was slowly feeling Willow slip through his fingers.
A guard rushed into the house. “Sir, they’re here!”