She gave Gabe a smile before placing a kiss on Victor’s cheek and watching them walk out holding Gabe up.
*~*~*~*
“You taste delicious,” Zuhun said.
“Get off of me you alien freak,” Taya screamed at him.
She was on a black table, hands and ankles tied down with another strap over her mid-section. The table was slanted up so Zuhun could reach her upper body. He opened his mouth, a large tongue that moved like a snake came out to lick her forehead.
“Such a delicacy.”
“I’m going to rip that thing out of your mouth when I’m free.”
“You are such an amusing creature and you bring with you such power.”
Zuhun hiked her shirt up and laid his fingers against her stomach. She watched as they elongated until they became narrow and sharp. Slowly, he sank each one into her. Her mouth opened on a cry that never came as she was immobilized, unable to say a word as her body was being drained.
“You should be dead, but somehow you are connected to the twin. He is feeding you, keeping you alive even as I drain you. I love the power flowing through you.”
She stared up at him wanting to snarl her anger. Pain snaked through her mid-section running through her body in little rivers. She would die. You couldn’t hurt like this and live through it. Her stomach was on fire as if someone had charged it with live coils.
Gabe had warned her. He told her there were worse things than death. Had she listened? No, instead she went for a walk like she wasn’t being hunted. Stupid Taya, she would die for her inability to trust others.
“I won’t let you die.”
She wanted to move her head, toss it or beat it against the table. Now she was imaging voices in her head.
“Just my voice, no other and I won’t let you die.”
“Gabe?”
“I’m here.”
“How can you be in my head?”
“Our kissed linked us. As I move closer to you it’s easier to communicate with you. Hold on, I’m coming.”
“I’m sorry, I should have listened to you.”
“That’s easier said than done. It sounds like an evil fairy tale the first time you hear it. Believe me, I understand why you ran, sometimes I wish I could run.”
“You’re being much too nice about this.”
“I’m just waiting until I get you to safety before I yell at you.”
She gave a small mental laugh. “I feel much better now that I know you’re not going to take it easy on me. Gabe, if I can’t get out of here I want you to find a way to kill me. He can’t have both of us.”
“I’ll get you out of there but after that we need to talk.”
“I know.”
She looked into Zuhun’s eyes. He looked so happy as he fed from her, draining her of energy. There was a spark to him as his mouthed curved into a grotesque smile. He would continue to drain her until there was nothing left. Her body was simply a conduit for his sick pleasure. Now that he knew he could reach Gabe through her, she was sure death was the only way out.
He stood tall and started pulling his finger out of her. It felt like a hot poker being pulled out to leave nothing but chilling coldness in its wake. Her body shook now that it was no longer being immobilized.
“You are a feast. I will eat at your buffet over and over again. How do you like your new home?”
Zuhun stretched his body as power flowed through his veins.
“You are so strong. I thought you were weak at first, running instead of meeting me head on. It turns out you have a strong will and a reserve of power that is incredible.”
“I will escape.”
“Tell yourself whatever makes you feel better, but know this. I will never let you go.”
She turned her head and looked at the side of the wall. They were in an attic, a surprisingly clean space, like maybe he cleaned it for spring. Did aliens spring clean? Maybe he was hiding something by cleaning. Why was she sure it wasn’t always like this? The walls were too bright. Reminding her of how her walls looked right after she washed them down every year for spring.
Taking advantage of the fact that she could move, her eyes fluttered shut. She had no desire to stare at him or the impossibly clean walls. Tiredness felt like a drug going through her veins. All she wanted to do was sleep, maybe when she woke up this would be a dream.
“Taya, don’t fall asleep. I’m going to need you to focus in order to get you out of there.”
She opened her eyes and looked around. She could hear Gabe but was too weak to respond. Hopefully the opening of her eyes was somehow communicated to him.
Zuhun stiffened alerting her that something had changed. His lips turned into a vicious smile.
“I will not be sharing you,” he said, moving towards the door.
“You don’t have a choice,” she whispered.
She heard a loud noise like the door being kicked in and gave a silent cheer. The cavalry was here.
Zuhun was covering the room in a black spider web. Layers of it spread out a trap they would run straight into. She could hear booted feet coming up the stairwell quickly.
“Gabe, stop! It’s a trap don’t come in.” She tried to reach him with the little strength she had left.
The steps stopped and her pounding heart slowed a little. She was trapped but at least they were safe.
“Taya, I need to see through your eyes. You have to let me in.”
“I don’t know how.”
“Picture yourself opening a door and inviting me into your mind.”
She nodded her head and started picturing herself in her mind. She gave a mental snort; what a time to suddenly picture herself in underwear. She clothed herself quickly and pictured a door in her mind, opening it to let Gabe in.
He was right there waiting as the door opened. He walked into the room she was in taking up all the space with his broad shoulders and his trim hips.
“Welcome to my mind.”
He grinned at her before reaching over and drawing her into his arms.
“It will be okay. Open your eyes and let me see what you see.”
The black web gleamed with power, something she could see clearly with Gabe in her mind.
“Can we get out of this?”
“Maybe if we combine our power and take out the web.”
“Oh goody, do we get to squash Zuhun if we’re good?”
His laughter made her feel better as she slowly turned her head so she could see everything.
Chapter Six
“Taya, we have to use your natural power. It’s strong; I can feel it warming me.”
“I wish it would warm me, I feel so cold.”
“It’s a side effect of what Zuhun did to you. He’s counting on it to keep you from trying to escape.”
“Okay,” she mouthed and waited for something concrete to do.
“Follow me; I am going to show you your power or talent. Call it whatever makes you comfortable.”
She placed her hand on his shoulder and followed him deeper into her mind. To say it felt weird was an understatement. She always knew she was deeper than she let on to most people, but now a stranger was introducing her to the latent power she seemed to possess. Maybe it wasn’t that freaky after all. Wasn’t that what teachers were for? However, if she was honest, she didn’t think of Gabe as a teacher. She was attracted to him and that’s the part that was messing with her head.
She wasn’t sure she wanted the guy who turned her thoughts into dreams of a night in his arms to see too deeply into her.
“What’s that?” She pointed to several boxes to one side that were sealed up.
“I don’t know. Maybe one day you should come back and open them. I won’t invade your privacy, Taya or force you to face things you don’t want to unless it’s life or death.”
“This is life or death.”
“Your right, but those boxes aren’t part of this.”
He was right. A tension she didn’t know was in her began to ease.
She could trust him. That’s what she thought but his simple actions and words proved it.
Her hand slid from his shoulder down to his hand and she linked her fingers with his. She still didn’t know him, not really, but she wanted to get to know him.
He squeezed her hand and stopped moving. In front of them was a brightly lit camp fire. She’d never gone camping but this was what it looked like in all the movies she had seen. Dropping his hand, she moved closer to the fire. Placing her hands in front of her, she allowed the fire to warm her. This was a place she could stay, hide away and never face the world.
All it took was a turn of her head for her to look back at him and realized she was at a crossroads. A decision must be made and she didn’t have time to marinate in it.
Would she stay here in relative safety until her life finally ended? How easy it would be to leave the rest of the word to go on without her. On the other hand, she could fight. Stir the fire up until it was no longer a placid little camp fire but a blaze big enough to win her freedom.
She imagined herself retreating, hiding from life. Sadness clung to the thought; misery shrouded her like a cloud. Her life would be over except for the breathing she was doing.
Taking her hand, she placed it on her stomach and breathed deeply. She could feel alive which meant she could feel both sadness and misery, but the feelings wouldn’t stop there. There was a chance for happiness and joy. Pleasure as well as yearning. There was a life that could be lived in the emotions and the possibility of Gabe’s hands on her.
She hid when she ran away from home. She hid when she did her job hoping no one would see her. All she wanted to do was get through each day. That wasn’t her goal anymore. She wanted to live, to win, to crush Zuhun, to feel Gabe in her arms. Her goal was life.
“What do I have to do?”
“Place your hands in the flame.”
Nodding she turned to fully see the flames. Interlocking her fingers she placed her hands in it, biting her bottom lip and wondering about the pain she might feel.
The flames engulfed her hands. She sucked in a breath as it worked its way up her arms before covering her body. She waited for the pain and the desperate screams to tear out of her mouth that came from being on fire, but there was nothing. Finally, the flames consumed her, remaking her as she stood there before they disappeared into her body.
It didn’t make sense because she was still Taya, but now she was a stronger Taya. It was like she felt her back bone stiffen. Maybe it was simply with the knowledge that she wouldn’t go down without a fight. No matter what she was different, she could feel it and she liked it.
“Taya,” he whispered her name in a voice that was so soft she had to turn her head in order to hear it.
“Gabe?” She gave him a smile that was full of power and slid into being slightly scared of the power she was feeling.
“Everything your feeling is normal. This is your power. It belongs to you. With it you can do whatever you want. You can try to take over the world if you want. I’ve known a few people who tried, they’re all dead now. World domination is not what it’s cracked up to be.”
“I’d rather squash a certain Sudir like a bug.”
“You’ll fit right in with the rest of us.”
She gave him a smile. They were still in the middle of a bad situation, but she believed together they would find a way out.
“Open your eyes, Taya. We need to see what he is doing.”
Zuhun was standing in front of the door. He looked like he was waiting for them to kick it in.
“Victor and Cal are pretending to take the door down to keep Zuhun occupied. Rylan is feeding me power. That leaves you and me to actually take Zuhun down. Ready?”
“Tell me what to do.”
“Open your hands, then focus on them. Imagine a small fire in your palms. No larger than what you would see on a lighter.”
She concentrated on her hands but nothing worked.
“I’m trying but nothing is happening.”
“Imagine a spark. A pack of matches.”
She shook her head. She needed something combustible. Her gaze slid over to Gabe. Thoughts of his head lowering hovering over her lips until his tongue traced them before sliding inside her mouth did what the matches couldn’t do. It started a fire inside of her.
“You did it,” his excited voice reached her ears.
“I did,” her voice was a little shaky but she was proud of herself.
“Move your hand until the fire touch’s the black bands holding your wrist in place.”
She did as told and soon there was a cry of pain as the bands unfolded from her allowing her wrist to be free. She did the same to the band around her waist before forcing herself to rise up and bend towards her ankles.
“I’m free.”
“We still have to get past Zuhun.”
“Can’t we just crush him?”
“No, neither of us is strong enough for that. Killing a Sudir isn’t easy. Killing Zuhun may take all of us working together.”
She nodded. He knew more about this than she did and she was going to start listening
“Can you stand?”
“I think so.” She swung her feet off the table and her body followed them to the floor. Looking up, she realized how high she had been. “Maybe I can’t stand.”
He chuckled. “It’s okay, a session with Zuhun promises to take all the get up and go out of you. In fact, he counts on it.”
He took her in his hand and began to feed her energy. Slowly she made it to her hands and knees before sucking in a deep breath of air and pushing to her feet. She rocked back and forth as black spots spun around her head before she was able to steady herself.
“I’m up. Not sure how steady I am, but I’m ready to go.”
“I’m going to let my power mingle with yours. That will make your power stronger. It will be like you’ve done this all your life but when this is over you’re going to drop. You will need rest.”
“All right, Gabe it’s you and me against the Sudir.”
“You and me,” he repeated. “I like the sound of that. Hold your palms up.”
She did and power poured out of her. She aimed it at the webs surrounding her and watched as they retreated like they were a living being.
“I see you got some help. There is no way you discovered your power and how to use it all on your own.” Zuhun turned and barricaded the door with a thick shield.
“You will get tired before I do. I am not losing you.”
“Sometimes you don’t have a choice.” She threw a flame at him that bounced off but made him roar in pain.
“I can hurt you, Zuhun, even if I can’t kill you.”
“You have someone feeding you power.”
“Why come to the fight alone when you can bring a friend?”
He threw a black flame at her and it surrounded her, extinguishing the fire in her hands. Gabe built a shield around her that doused the fire clinging to her clothes.
This time when she raised her hands, the flames were blue and they were hot. They didn’t burn her but she could feel the heat from them.
“No!” Zuhun snarled like a wild beast as his eyes watched the twin flames.
She threw one at him. It knocked him down eating through the shield around him and lighting up his body. The other she threw at the door, watching as the flame collided with the shield lighting it up like a Christmas tree.
When the flame went out, there was no shield against the door.
“Come on, Taya we have to move now.”
She nodded, unable to answer. Weakness was cascading through her body like a waterfall pouring over her. One foot in front of the other, she thought, as she spread her arms wide for balance. Ten more steps, she whispered to herself as she crossed the floor finally crashing into the door. Blindly, she reached out to find the handle.
The door swung inwards and Victor or Cal, she wasn’t sure who, reached out and pulled her into their arms. Soo
n they were running down the steps while her head was throbbing in pain.
A rush of cool air brushed against her hot cheeks before she was placed in the vehicle. Her head lulled backwards as she looked for Gabe. Finally, she saw him. They were safe.
Her eyes closed and blackness swallowed her whole.
Chapter Seven
Taya opened her eyes to see the walls surrounding her were blue with hints of silver around. She was back in her room at the bed and breakfast. Turning her head, she found Gabe sitting at her bedside in a chair.
“Hi.” Her throat was dry and scratchy like she hadn’t had anything to drink in a while.
“Hi yourself.” He stood up and went to the dresser where a bottle of water sat surrounded by ice. Unfortunately, he picked up the bottle not in the ice.
“I have some nice warm water for you. If you can keep it down, we will progress to a bottle of cold water.”
“Okay,” she croaked. It sounded good to her.
He poured it into a cup and used a super hero straw that went around in loops.
“Seems the only straws we have are for the youngsters.”
She gave him a small smile before she tried to sip on the cup and straw he brought over. After a few attempts, she finally got the water to come up and slide down her parched throat. Taking a bigger sip, she choked and he pulled the cup back.
“Take it slow; you’ve been out cold for a while.”
“How long?”
“Two days.” He brought the cup back and she slowly sipped at the water.
She had been out for two days? How could she have slept that long?
“What happened?”
“We got out of Zuhun’s attic and into the SUV before you collapsed. Rylan carried you in and laid you on the bed. I followed barely able to walk. I slept beside you and woke up yesterday, but you were still out so I took over caring for you.”
“Thank you. Did we defeat Zuhun?”
“For the moment. He’s down but not out.”
She sat up in the bed trying to put her thoughts and questions in order of importance.
“If we kill Zuhun will I be free?”
“No, he’s one of many. The best way to be free is to learn to defend yourself against them. I want to kill him too, if just for the chance to take a deep breath before I have to go back to fighting.”
Gabe's Destiny (Alien Mates Book Three) Page 4