by Mia McKimmy
The guilt etched on the boy’s face took Cy by surprise. “Iggy, you have failed no one. Because of your actions, we will save them both. For that, I am eternally grateful.
They rose and left the church. “My men are on the outskirts of town. When we reach Lily, one of them will take her to safety. Then you can show me where Riana is. Don’t worry, we’ll find a way to get her out of there unharmed.”
Iggy led Cy and the guards to a nearby hilltop village he called, Elcito. Except for a couple of people peeking out windows as they passed, it appeared abandoned. They went inside one of the vacant houses and entered a pantry inside the kitchen.
Iggy removed a small dusty rug on the floor, revealing a hatch. He pulled the latch on the door and began singing. “No blooms are sweeter than Lily Magnolia. Li, Li, Lily Magnolia are the sweetest of blooms. One, two, three, Lily come to me.” Iggy looked up at Cy and smiled, flashing deep dimples. “She’s not supposed to come out until she hears my song.”
Lily flew up the steps leading from the cellar and jumped into Cy’s arms. Her small arms circled his neck. “Cy, I knew you’d come!”
Tears threatened Cy’s eyes. “Of course I would, sweetie. We’ve been so worried about you. Are you all right?”
“Yes, but we have to go back to get Riana. Vind is going to hurt her if we don’t.”
“We will, honey. But first, we need to get you home.” Lily let go of Cy and looked around. “Where’s Kyra?”
“She was out looking for you when Iggy called. I left them a message about where I went. I’m going to have a guard take you to the queen’s palace. You’ll be safe there until this is over.”
“But…I need to go with you. I promised Riana I’d save her.”
“You have saved her, Lily. You’ve saved her by being brave enough to escape and find help.”
Lily’s lip quivered, tugging at Cy’s heart. “Can Iggy come with me to see the queen?”
“He has to show me where Riana’s at first. After that, I’ll go back to get the other Protectors, and have Kyra bring him to where you are.”
Her long lashes cast down. “Okay.”
Cy handed Lily over to the guard. As she looked back at him with sad tearful eyes, a knot tightened his throat. But the instant she and the guard dematerialized, he breathed a sigh of relief. Lily was safe. Now he had to find Riana.
Iggy led Cy and the guards deep into the mountains. After they reached the edge of Vind’s property, they lay prone on the ground, just outside of the cameras’ range, while Iggy pointed out each one. The boy gave them a vast amount of information about what went on around the castle.
Cy studied the property closely as Iggy explained how he came by all of his info. About what happened to his brother, and his plans for avenging his death. The boy had led a hard life, and seemed wise beyond his years.
He pulled his cell from his pocket and tried calling Oz again. This time, voice mail didn’t even pick up. Now that he’d found Riana, he didn’t want to waste any more time. He needed the Protectors here, now. Where were they? Uneasiness settled in his gut. He tried Miles’ number again, but dropped the call and froze as vapor trails shot through the forest.
Suddenly, eight of Vind’s men materialized to his left. Gunshots erupted. Cy rolled several feet, stopping behind a fallen log for cover. He pulled his gun, took aim and shot two feeders. With a third in his sights he pulled the trigger. At the same time he fired, the log splintered and the burn of a bullet seared through his left thigh.
He swore softly and continued firing his weapon, taking out three more before stopping. He glanced around and spotted three piles of dust where his own men had been. Where was Iggy? Hopefully, he ran for cover when bullets started flying.
A flash of movement jerked Cy’s head to the left, the same direction the bullet in his leg came from. Before he had a visual, Cy blindly fired his weapon. He smiled when the thud of a body hit the ground.
Cy looked around for his other two guards. If they were still alive he needed to find them and get out of there. He glanced up and attempted to transport into the trees for a better vantage point. When nothing happened he cursed. The bullet in his leg must have contained some type of anti-transport material. His injury wasn’t bad enough to interfere with transport. But it was draining his strength faster than normal.
Vind must be making specialized bullets.
Somewhere behind him a twig broke. As he turned to fire, a gun barrel jabbed hard against his back—directly behind his heart.
“Move a muscle and you’re dead,” a deep voice warned. “Toss your weapon, remain on your stomach, and put your hands behind your back.” A heavy boot landed in the small of his back.
Cy did as he was told. The guy secured his hands behind him, then jerked him to his feet and removed all his weapons. When he finished, he looked at Cy’s face and his eyes widened. “I know you. You’re the commander’s brother. Never understood why he made us memorize your picture. You’re just like him.”
Cy narrowed his eyes on his captor. “I am nothing like him. My brother is a murdering psychopath, who turned his back on his family and his people.”
The guy’s lip curled. “From what I hear, you’re a human in Sivadian clothes.”
“Where are the rest of my men?” Cy demanded.
“The same place as mine. Dead.”
Cy cursed. He knew better than to engage Vind’s forces with compound guards at his back. They didn’t have enough training for this type of situation. If it had been Protectors with him, this would never have happened. He’d only wanted to see what they were up against while he waited on Oz. It seemed like all of his training had leaked out of his head the moment Riana went missing.
If I die because of my stupidity, I deserve it. Those guards didn’t deserve to die.
Cy’s captor placed a gun in his back, pushing him forward with the barrel. As they reached the gate, the guard on duty did a double take. “Is that who I think it is,” he asked.
“Yes it is,” his captor boasted.
“Damn, you should get a promotion out of this.”
“To hell with a promotion, I’m going to retire. Have you forgotten about the reward for his capture?”
Moments later, Soren came around the castle. Oz had fought him before, but Soren transported, jumping from one location to another and managed to get away.
A cruel smile crossed Soren’s face. “Cygan, how nice of you to come. Your brother will be pleased,” he taunted.
“That’s what I live for— pleasing my deranged, asshole brother.”
Soren closed the distance, grabbed Cy’s throat and squeezed, cutting off his air. “Now, now, Prince,” he growled, inches from Cy’s face. “You really don’t want to piss me off so soon.”
Cy clamped his jaws tight and head-butted Soren’s face.
Soren released him to catch the blood pouring from his nose. “You will regret that,” he hissed. “Take him to the cells before I kill him.”
His captor shoved him toward the castle. Cy looked up at one of the windows. Relief shot through him. Riana was inside that room. He sensed her essence calling out to his soul, wanting, needing to join once again. He felt her emotions—fear, sadness, and intense loneliness. Only one thing comforted him at the moment, he couldn’t feel her physical pain. She was alive and unharmed.
Two more guards joined them as they reached the castle doors. Once inside the foyer, one of them entered a sequence of codes into a security panel on the wall. The entire wall slid down as if it dropped through the floor, revealing a stairway leading down. When they reached the bottom, it opened up into a barren room with heavily secured doors leading off in three directions. The guard pulled a lever and one of the doors opened, revealing a long, dimly lit hallway.
With two guards in front and two behind, they led Cy down the hall with cells on each side. The scent of old blood and death hung heavy in the air. “If it takes four of you to put me in a cell, I must be dangerous. Or maybe, it�
��s because you’re all weak,” Cy said in a mocking tone.
The feeder walking directly behind him punched him in the kidney. Cy’s injured leg buckled, causing him to hit the floor. The guard’s laugher echoed off the cavernous walls. “You got something else to say, smart-ass?”
Cy spun on his back and planted his boot squarely in the guard’s stomach. He flew backwards, taking the one behind him along for the ride. As the two feeders in front rushed him, Cy flipped around and repeated the same move on them. He sprang to his feet and jumped over the first two guards still sprawled on the floor. Their arms and legs flailed as they climbed over each other attempting to grab him.
Cy hit the stairs taking two at a time, ignoring the weakness and stabbing pain in his thigh. As he reached the door leading to the foyer a herd of heavy feet closed in fast. Cy backed up to the panel box, blindly attempting the code he’d seen the guard use. His pursuers were already halfway up the stairs. The door finally slid open at the same moment they reached him, knocking him to the floor.
Their faces were red with fury. The fact that all four of them had been knocked on their asses by someone in handcuffs and a bullet in his leg had royally pissed them off. As the guards circled him, the largest jerked him to his feet and held him firmly in place from behind. The air left his body in a gush as each guard took their vengeance, sinking their fists deep into his stomach. They beat him to the floor, and then took turns kicking him until everything went black.
Chapter 33
Cy opened his eyes and the room tilted. He was lying on the cold, stone floor of a cell, barely able to breathe from pain radiating through his body. As he pushed into a sitting position, his body trembled and broke into a cold sweat. His head spun, threatening to take him under again.
After a moment, Cy ripped open the hole in his blood-soaked jeans to inspect the bullet wound. He needed to stop the continuous trickle of blood. He jerked the T-shirt over his head and tied it around his thigh. Exhausted, he leaned against the wall and tried to clear his head. I have to find a way out of this cell and get to Riana.
Cy’s eyes drifted closed. Visions of the past ran through his mind—visions of Vind destroying his toys when they were kids—visions of their parents forcing him to give them back, and Vind returning late at night to finish them off. Those were just material things that didn’t matter. Now, he’d taken the one thing that meant the most—his very soul.
If Vind destroys Riana, he may as well come back and finish me off. I’ll never survive anyway.
As a door slammed, Cy’s eyes shot open, and heavy footsteps echoed through the cavernous basement. Vind, Soren, and two guards stopped in front of his cell.
“Cygan, we really must stop meeting like this. It’s rather ironic, don’t you think? How quickly the tables turn?”
Cy’s lip curled at his brother’s condescending tone. “What have you done with Riana?”
“She’s fine. However, she is the least of your worries at the moment.”
“You’re wrong, Vind. She is all that matters. Now that you have me, I want you to let her go.”
Vind erupted into sarcastic laughter. “Oh you do, do you? And what you want matters so much.” Vind glanced at Soren. “Remind me to get right on that.”
The idiot was almost giddy with power. “My death and the throne are all you’ve ever wanted. You knew where I was before we captured you. Why not just kill me, and leave Riana out of it?”
“Now, where is the fun in that?” Vind taunted. “Besides, I’m quite taken with her. It seems we have the same taste in females. Once I break that strong will of hers, we might actually get along. Our girl can be quite the hell-cat when she wants. I’ve waited too long for a female with her warrior bloodline. Everything fell into place perfectly. I’ll have my heir, you will be dead, and I’ll take my rightful place as king.”
Bile rose in Cy’s throat from the picture Vind painted of Riana’s future. He learned long ago to never let Vind know he’d gotten to you. “You may strong arm the council, but the Protectors will kill you before your coronation.”
A cruel smile crossed Vind’s lips. “I think not. You see, in the last few hours my army has taken out more than half of your Protectors. I set up fake sightings all over the globe, knowing you and Oz would be desperate to find Riana. Drawing in your Protectors was easy as drawing bugs to a zapper. It’s all worked out quite well. Although I never expected you to walk right into my hands. When the Protectors who survived figure out you’re missing, it won’t take long to finish them off.”
Cy snorted. “You’re delusional if you think any of this will work.”
Vind’s head cocked to one side. “Maybe so, but, there’s one thing for sure, dear brother. You’ll not be alive to witness the outcome.”
“What are you planning to do about mother? Are you going to kill her also?”
“Not necessarily. After all, she did give me life. What kind of person would I be if I took hers? Of course, she will step down. Then my people will take this planet the way we should have in the beginning. We could have been gods here, Cygan. If only you and mother hadn’t been such human sympathizers.”
“You don’t have to do this. We came here to co-exist with humans, not destroy them. That was Father’s plan all along.”
“Father is dead!” Vind shouted. “Even if he had lived, he would’ve never bowed down to human cattle the way you and mother have. At least father put our people first. He would have eventually come around to my way of seeing things. We are the stronger species. My followers hold allegiance to me, and together we will rule this planet.”
As Cy forced himself to stand, a burning pain shot down his leg. “Your followers only give you allegiance because they’re hooked on adrenaline. They’re nothing more than addicts. Our clinics have successfully converted some of them. They no longer kill humans, and are productive members of this world. There’s always hope for addiction, Vind. There’s just no cure for being an evil, narcissistic bastard.”
Vind snorted. “At least I’m not a weakling who turned his back on his kingship. Unlike you, I will lead from a throne, not from the shadows.” Soren unlocked the cell, allowing Vind to enter. “Every Sivadian and human will kneel before me. Even the life-mate you love will kneel at my feet.”
Vind’s remark about Riana enraged Cy, giving him an unexpected burst of strength. He rushed forward, crushing his forearm against Vind’s throat and pinned him against the bars. “If you harm her, I will rip out your black heart and send you to hell where you belong,” Cy growled.
Soren grabbed Cy and threw him against the rock wall.
Vind coughed and wheezed through a large gasp of air. He straightened, stomped toward Cy with rage in his eyes and a dagger in his hand. “You really shouldn’t have done that,” Vind said in a raspy voice. He buried the knife deep into Cy’s gut, and twisted the blade for maximum damage.
Cy dropped to his knees in agony.
“You are weak and pathetic, Cygan. You should’ve learned long ago you can’t defeat me.”
Vind turned to leave the cell, then stopped and looked at Soren. A cruel smile crossed his lips. “Do whatever you want to him. Just leave him alive, for now. I have further plans in store for him, and his lovely Riana.”
***
Riana paced inside her room. Thirty minutes earlier, she’d heard gunfire outside. Lily and Iggy had left hours ago. It couldn’t have been them. Not knowing who was being shot at had caused strange things to happen to her body.
Her heart raced the way it always had when Cy was near. Then she experienced a terrible cramp in her left thigh. After the symptoms finally improved, she convinced herself it was nerves from worrying about Lily.
She picked up her book and lay across the bed to read. Maybe it would take her mind off Lily and Iggy.
“Riana! Riana!”
She stopped reading and sat up. Something tapped at the window. She rushed over and jerked back the curtains. A large, black crow sat on the window
sill.
“Riana, it’s me, Iggy.”
“Where’s Lily? Please tell me she’s safe.”
“She’s safe. One of the guards took her to the queen.”
Riana breathed a short sigh of relief, until the next words Iggy spoke.
“But I don’t know where Cy went.”
“What do you mean you don’t know where he went?”
“He made me bring them here so he could see where you were. We stopped at the property line, but they must have spotted us. When they started shooting, I shifted and ran to the closest gopher hole. When I came out everyone was gone. I flew all the way back to town searching, but couldn’t even pick up a scent. It’s like they just vanished. I found some dust that smelled like the guards. But none of it smelled like Cy.”
“Are you positive, Iggy? Because the dust is where someone died.”
“Yes, I’m positive.” Iggy hesitated. “Riana, I think Cy may have been wounded. Cause he was lying behind a fallen tree shooting when I left, now there’s blood on the ground in that spot.”
Riana’s chest tightened to the point of pain. He was in some kind of trouble. The fact that she’d sensed him earlier, and then it stopped, caused a sense of dread unlike anything she’d ever known. With their connection, surly she would know if he was dead.
“How much blood was there?”
Iggy hesitated before answering. “Not much. I think it came from where his leg would have been.”
A sharp pain lacerated through Riana’s stomach. She screamed and doubled over. Tears came into her eyes.
“What’s wrong?” Iggy yelled.
“I don’t know. It’s my stomach.” She tried to breathe through the pain. It wasn’t helping.
“Maybe you should lie on the bed. You don’t look so good.”
“I’m okay, Iggy. How many Protectors were with him?”
“Six, but one of them took Lily to the Queen. I don’t think they were Protectors, though. It said ‘Guard’ on their uniforms.”
“Why would he come with guards and not Protectors?”