by Kit Fawkes
Carol remained nearby, but now it was more of a burden than a crutch to have her so near and paying such close attention. It nixed several ideas for escape that rolled through her mind. Finally, she decided she would have to shop for a while to ensure Carol’s guard was down, and she really could use some clothes.
They seemed to be wandering aimlessly down the long corridor, and so many sights caught North’s eyes. She wanted to go explore each one, but forced herself to keep walking no matter how tempting each new item, because she didn’t have time to dawdle.
They entered a shop after turning a corner of the corridor, and it seemed to carry nothing but fancy lingerie. She frowned doubtfully at the stuff she saw, wondering why she would need any of it.
It was a relief when Carol bypassed the skimpier selections at the front of the store to focus her attention on the back. There, North found plainer briefs and simple bras, along with actual pajamas. She picked up a few sets, limiting her purchases to everything she could carry in one bag and still run if and when it became necessary.
Carol eyed the small pile doubtfully as North laid it on the counter. “You’re going to want more than that. You don’t want to have to do laundry too often.”
If North hadn’t had an inkling that the Allises were planning to hand her over to Douglas somewhere she wouldn’t be accessible, she would’ve thought the comment was strange, but she didn’t challenge it. She simply shrugged and said, “This’ll do me for now. I don’t want to take advantage of your generosity.”
It didn’t feel right to allow Carol Allis to purchase her clothes, but North had no other options. She understood the economy was based on an exchange of currency, and she had no currency available to her. Perhaps Sam had kept a stash at the cabin, and maybe he’d carried some kind of credit card that he’d never shown her, but those things were inaccessible to her at the moment. She didn’t even know where her father’s body had ended up.
The thought eviscerated her and brought tears to her eyes. She barely choked back a sob and sternly reminded herself now wasn’t the time to fall apart. She could grieve Sam when she was safe and free of the Allises, while trying to figure out what had happened in the past. She was certain now that for whatever reason Sam had taken her, it had been to spare her from a worse fate.
“Are you all right?” Carol frowned at her, reaching out a hand to pat her arm. “Do you need to sit down?”
North shook her head, swallowing several times before she managed to speak. “I think I’m okay now. I was just overwhelmed for a moment.”
“Of course you were. You’re a bit like an agoraphobic reentering the world, aren’t you?”
She didn’t remember learning that term, so she just shrugged. “Maybe so.”
After purchasing undergarments, they left that store and moved on to a far larger one that seemed to have multiple departments. She looked around with wide-eyed curiosity, impressed by the myriad choices, coupled with the festive fall decorations. For a moment, she was tempted to forget all about what she’d heard last night and just enjoy the shopping experience, but she couldn’t allow herself to yield. Losing her focus could end up costing her freedom, and no matter how amazing or intriguing the shop was, it certainly wasn’t worth that.
They spent the next hour moving through the store, and North kept her purchases practical and small in quantity, so she was only holding a single large shopping bag.
There was a bit of a line at the checkout, and she stood with Carol as her gaze moved over the area. There wasn’t an easy exit, so she bided her time and followed Carol to the next shop. There, they both acquired a pair of shoes, and as they left, North was growing quietly desperate. She was afraid the opportunity to slip away wouldn’t come. She might have to make a break anyway without the opportunity to be discreet.
Either way, she wasn’t going back to the Allises’ home, but she’d hoped to slip away and buy herself some time before they realized she was aware of their plan—though she only knew a small iota of their plan, of course. It was just enough to make her cautious and afraid, but not enough to actually enlighten her as to what their intentions were. That was a dangerous combination, and she wasn’t entrusting herself to their hands.
Her opening to escape came unexpectedly as Carol suggested they stop for ice cream. North stood in line behind her when someone brushed against North. “Stop him! He took my purse.” Carol shouted the words, and everyone around them froze for a moment.
Instinct kicked into gear, and North turned in the direction the thief had run. “I’ll get it back.”
“No, North, don’t do that. It isn’t safe.” Carol reached out for her, but she was already out of range.
Ignoring her words, North burst into a run, following the same direction as the thief. It was only when they reached the corner and disappeared from Carol’s sight that she ran the opposite direction of the person who’d stolen the purse. She caught a brief glance of a tall, lithe figure with long black hair disappearing with Carol’s purse, but that was it.
Her purpose was to escape, not retrieve the possession, and she kept running through the mall at full tilt until she reached the escalators on the other side. She took those down, taking advantage of the moment to catch her breath, and still move rapidly, but not a breakneck run, when she stepped out on the main floor. The exit was close, and she slipped out along with another rush of people, still clutching her shopping bag.
She breathed in a lungful of fresh air, appreciating the view of the sky for just a moment, but knowing she couldn’t linger. Just because she was away from Carol didn’t make her safe yet.
She moved across the parking lot, breaking into a jog when she saw there was a line of cars waiting parked parallel to a nearby curb. They seemed to be available for hire, and random people approached them. North didn’t have any way to pay for the ride, but she’d worry about that after she was away from the mall.
She reached the line of people waiting, shifting restlessly on her feet. She wanted to just shove right through them and rush to the next available car, but she tried to be patient. Carol would still be looking for her chasing the purse thief, and she wouldn’t have yet realized North had use the moment to slip away. Maybe. She couldn’t count on having much longer, and she might have to be rude enough to shove her way past the others.
A group stepped into line behind her, and she glanced over her shoulder. North forgot to breathe for a moment at the sight of handsome faces belonging to equally handsome bodies. It would’ve been rude to stare, but it was difficult to turn her gaze away from the pale man with the sandy-brown hair, the redhead with brown eyes that seemed to have a flame burning in them, and the slightly shorter one with curly brown hair and sparkling green eyes with a dusting of freckles across his nose.
That she had caught all those details in a brief glance amazed her, but she didn’t have time to dwell on the three handsome men standing behind her. She drew in a deep breath, preparing to push past the people in front of her, but froze when a hand touched her shoulder. She shuddered, half-expecting to find Carol, Jim, or even Dr. Douglas standing behind her. Instead, it was a black man with long black hair in tiny braids and dark eyes. He smiled at her, and her heart skipped a beat. “Yes?”
“I thought you’d follow me all the way out, instead of ditching me. We had our escape plan calculated for the other side of the mall.”
She frowned, and then it clicked that she’d seen him before, but he’d been running with Carol’s purse. She gasped and took a step back, wanting to distance herself from the thief.
The three handsome men she’d noticed before took a step closer, and at first, she thought maybe they were going to help her. It was only when they formed a ring around her, looking menacing, that she realized they were with the purse-snatcher. “What do you want?”
“You need to come with us,” said the one with ice-blue eyes and silvery white hair. He hadn’t been present when she had last looked behind her. The one with curly br
own hair seemed to have disappeared in the process.
She shook her head. “I don’t know who you are, but I’m not going anywhere with you.”
“That’s wrong, princess. Just relax.”
She opened her mouth to scream, but didn’t have a chance. The one with the long, dark braids lifted his hand, and there was a glowing green orb on his left palm. A moment later, light radiated from it and engulfed her head. North was immediately lightheaded and swooned, unable to fight the effects of whatever the purse snatcher had done to her. The ground seemed to be racing toward her, but she lost consciousness before crashing into it.
Chapter Nine
She woke just a few minutes later, certain it couldn’t have been longer than that, because the day didn’t appear any later, and the sun was where it had been, though obscured behind the clouds that had shadowed it all day. She was sitting in a van, and her arms were tied to the seat. She started struggling against them, trying to break the bonds, and a cool hand brushed across her brow. For some reason, she immediately felt less fearful.
It was the pale blond with the sandy-brown hair, and he was smiling kindly at her. He didn’t seem to be frightening, but she was certain she should be terrified. The ropes binding her to the seat were evidence of that.
“Just relax, North. We aren’t going to hurt you.”
She didn’t speak, but glared at him and made no attempt to hide her skepticism.
“I’m Ryland DiFarness, and I’m honored to be one of your guards.”
“Enough with the details, Ryland. Let Caius explain before you delve too much into it,” barked the one with flaming-red hair cropped close to his face.
“I was just introducing myself, Kriss. Chill out.”
“If you’re aren’t going to hurt me, why am I tied to the seat?”
Ryland’s gaze turned back to her. “We weren’t certain how you would react when you woke. You’re much calmer than they expected.”
“Please untie me.” It was her best chance of escaping, though she wasn’t certain how she was going to slip away from these four men. No, make that five, because the slighter guy with the freckles drove the van.
“Don’t do it,” said the Nordic-looking one, sounding bored.
Ryland looked undecided for a moment, and then he nodded and leaned forward. “Hold still.”
She watched, eyes widening as his fingernails elongated, and he easily sawed through the rope holding her to the chair. She spent a moment sitting there when it fell away, still staring at his long fingernails until they gradually returned to normal. “Neat trick,” she said in a dry voice as she rubbed her wrists. They weren’t uncomfortable by any means, but she needed something to distract herself, and hopefully them as well.
“It comes in handy.”
“How do you do it?” She was genuinely curious, but also hoping to take him off guard with her next move. It was a foolhardy plan, but it was all she could come up with.
“I’ll tell you about it sometime, after you’ve spoken with Caius and understand everything.”
“Who’s Caius, and why should I care?”
“You’ll find out soon enough, princess,” said the ice-blond again.
“You don’t have to be so dramatic about it, Marek,” said the purse-snatcher from earlier, lounging in the seat across the way. “You’re probably scaring her.”
“Fuck off, Orin,” said the one now identified as Marek.
“You’re all scaring me,” said North in a level tone. As she did so, she lunged out of her seat and reached for the handle on the door beside her, almost shocked when it slid open without resistance. They hadn’t thought to lock her in. She hovered on the edge of jumping for a moment as the pavement raced by, wondering if this was such a good idea after all. It was better to try to escape than to surrender without a peep of protest, wasn’t it?
Knowing she couldn’t delay any longer, North closed her eyes and jumped, bracing herself to hit the roadway. Instead, she hung in midair, and a firm hand grasped the back of her shirt. She struggled as it reeled her in, groaning when she found herself held firmly by the redhead. “Just let me go. I don’t know what you want with me, but if it’s money, I don’t have any.”
“We’re trying to keep you safe from them, and apparently from yourself.” He said the words with a hint of disgust as he shook his head and put her down in the seat a little harder than necessary. “Plant your ass and stay there.”
She glared up at him as she resisted the urge to rub her butt where it had collided with the firm seat. She didn’t want to give him the satisfaction. “I don’t know what you’re planning, but I’ll fight you every step of the way.”
“Yeah, you do that.” He wandered back to his original seat and leaned his head against it, eyes closed as if he had no cares in the world.
She glared at him, struggling to remember what Ryland had called him earlier. Kriss. It came to her after a long moment of contemplation. So she had names for four of the five, which left the driver unidentified. “And who are you?” she asked as she raised her voice and tried to direct it toward the one driving.
The steering wheel jerked in his hand, and the van jostled slightly before he straightened it out. He looked over his shoulder, frowning at her. “Me?” His cheeks bloomed with color.
“I know who the other four are, so I might as well know your name too, so I can tell it to the police.” Not that she thought the police would believe any of this, and she wasn’t certain she would go to them when she escaped anyway.
What if they wanted to return her to the Allises? She was certain she didn’t have to go back to them, since she was past the age of majority, but it might allow them to find her again, and she knew on an instinctive level that was a very bad thing.
“Eamon,” he said as the blush descended down his neck. He returned his attention to the road, not looking at her again.
“Eamon’s shy,” said Ryland as he leaned closer, apparently deciding not to address her escape attempt. “Try not to tease him about it.”
She was hardly likely to do that. Teasing implied a level of intimacy that she was certain they would never achieve, and being shy herself—or perhaps simply overwhelmed by interacting with all the people around her—she wasn’t going to tease him about it. “What do you want with me? Seriously?”
He smiled, and he appeared perfectly sane and not at all frightening when he did so. “You’re about to find out, North.”
The van stopped a moment later, and she struggled when Marek came to stand behind her, a black cloth in his hands. Other hands confined her, though Ryland’s voice was soothing when he said, “Just relax. We can’t let you see the location until we’re certain you can shield your thoughts from intruders.”
The words made no sense at all, but as he stroked his finger up and down her arm, the tension faded from her, though she couldn’t explain why. She sat docilely while Marek tied the blindfold around her eyes, and then stood up beside Ryland, certain it was him by the slight coolness of his skin as his hand took hers.
Like a ninny, she allowed Ryland to lift her from the van, embarrassed to enjoy the brief moment of contact with her body against his as he lowered her to his feet before taking her hand again. She waltzed right beside her kidnapper, barely even remembering the idea of escaping until she heard a door shut behind her.
There was a difference in the quality of light that suggested they were inside, and wherever they were was dim. She had nightmares of being held in a dank and filthy cage, so it was somewhat of a relief to find herself in a sterile white room when Marek’s fingers gently eased off the blindfold. She blinked, allowing her eyes to grow accustomed to the light again as she looked around. “What is this place? Where are we, and why am I here?”
“This is the Great Hall of the Council, and you’re here so we can help you.”
She stiffened at the voice, turning around with her mouth agape as she saw Dr. Elias Scott walking toward her. He wore a friendly grin, but
she refused to be placated by the appearance of friendliness. People who wanted to help wouldn’t have kidnapped her.
Chapter Ten
North backed toward the door through which they had just entered, and they moved with her, allowing a few steps before they stopped near the door and around it. The message was clear that they weren’t going to let her leave, but in spite of that, she didn’t find their body language threatening. “What do you people want with me?” It seemed like everyone wanted something from her since the moment her father had died.
“Like Eli said, we just want to help,” said Marek.
North turned slightly to give him a scalding glare. “If you wanted to help me, why did you kidnap me?”
“We got you out of there before Carol Allis had a chance to call for backup,” said Ryland.
“And you couldn’t just explain that then?” She crossed her arms over her chest as she glared at the five of them in turn before turning her attention back to Eli. “I want to know what’s going on, and I want to know right now.”
“Fair enough. Have you ever heard of the mythics, North?”
As she shook her head, Kriss took a step forward. “You should wait for Caius to explain.”
Eli shrugged. “I had a brief talk with Caius, and he agreed I should be the one to break the news to North since we have a rapport.”
She couldn’t hold back a snort. “We don’t have anything, let alone a rapport. I barely know you, Dr. Scott.”
He gave a melodramatic wince. “Ouch. You don’t have to hurt my feelings, precious.”
She rolled her eyes. “Just tell me what you have to say so I can get out of here.” Where she was going, she didn’t entirely know, but she was certain it wasn’t going to be back to the Allises, and she wasn’t staying around here with these six weirdos—no matter how handsome they were.