by Maggie Mundy
Soren wanted to tell weasel man Cameron was the same as him and to take some samples from them too. He tried to open his mouth to speak but he couldn’t get any words out as a sharp pain hit his temples. All three Demonic Midworlders were preventing him from speaking and he couldn’t fight it.
Sayell tut-tutted. “We’ll be back soon. I think our business arrangements will work out well for all of us,” Sayell said.
The straps were undone and Soren was dressed and lifted into a wheelchair. He couldn’t even hold himself upright and fell forward, so Charles placed a strap around his chest attaching him to the chair.
Outside, Cameron lifted him into the back seat of an SUV. He assumed the others would take him away from prying eyes. Cameron wouldn’t want to reveal what he and the other Midworlders were when they flew into the sky. An hour later and they were back in the city at Sayell’s home. The butler even answered the door and sneered at Soren.
Cameron carried him through the house and up onto the roof. Wings sprouted from each guy’s back and they flew into the night sky above San Francisco. With the last bit of energy before he blacked out, Soren sent a message out to tell Anne he loved her. He would never see her again, but she would know how much she meant to him.
When he came around, he recognized the surroundings. Fucking Pergor again. Cameron and his friends had brought him to the room where Liliath performed her torture before. He could only hope the end was not far away. Maybe Genia and the others could break the bond so Anne would be free to love again. A woman like her with such a strong heart and so much love to share should be free. She had always deserved better than him.
Soren’s back ached on the unforgiving, hard surface of the examination table. He took a deep breath, but his lungs fought against him. If Liliath wanted this body, she was a fool. He wouldn’t survive long.
The table started to shake beneath him. Soren thought he might be hallucinating, except Cameron and the others were bracing themselves against whatever they could find. What the hell was going on in Pergor? The tremors stopped and the door at the end of the room opened. Liliath walked in.
Soren still hated her with every cell in his body, even if they were all fucked-up cells. She stood beside him and for a second he thought he saw a twisted smile on her face.
“At long last I get to see you again. I missed you, Soren. I don’t think you appreciate what I have gone through to get to this point.”
“Get fucked,” Soren said.
Sayell and Charles, like the good little puppy dogs they were, moved forward with fists clenched ready to strike. Liliath put up her hand to stop them.
“I don’t want the body damaged.”
She must be fucking joking if she didn’t think he wasn’t damaged already.
Liliath placed her hands on his chest, and like before, her palms felt as if they were burning through his skin. She moved her hands away and turned to the Demonic Guardian beside her.
“He’s fading fast. I need to act now. Do the final transfusion and then I’ll transfer?”
Tubes were inserted into the veins in both of his arms and the liquid was being pumped like acid through his body. He closed his eyes and could see Anne curled up on a bed, holding her abdomen as if she felt the pain as well. All he ever wanted was to keep this from her. Soren passed out. When he came around, the tubes were being removed. Liliath turned to Cameron.
“When the transfer is complete, Cameron you may return to Homeworld with this Guardian. He will make sure you avoid the security and get to your target. I dislike Controller Cranmer, as well, so I wish you every success. Of course, you’ll be killed, but I think you rather want to die anyway. Don’t you?”
Cameron didn’t respond. Liliath turned back and placed her hands above Soren’s chest again. This time she emitted a bright beam of light straight into his thorax. His heart pumped hard and he could hardly catch his breath. If he thought the pain from before was bad, this reached out to every cell in his body and set it on fire.
Soren turned his head, which took every last bit of energy he had. Liliath’s body turned as white as the beam she emitted from her hands. It looked as if she was discharging her essence into the beam streaming into his body. She became so translucent he could almost see the wall behind her.
His mind started to get glimpses of Homeworld and the other Elevated. He saw Liliath’s frustration with the other Demonic Elevated for doing nothing. He saw how she had given her cells to have a baby created and implanted within a servant. The servant died, but the baby survived. This was too much. This fucking monster called Liliath was his mother.
He saw the years when he grew up in a happy household thinking he was like the other servants. Until the day Liliath came and took him to Pergor to give to him Cameron. The years of pain and torture that followed he remembered clearly.
In the final moments, Liliath’s form disappeared completely to be absorbed into him. He considered that no child had ever hated a parent as much as he did right now. He could feel the tendrils of her power filtering through his body. She repaired him. If she got to his brain, she would remove all traces of the person he was.
He couldn’t fight her, but realized Liliath and Cameron forgot one thing. He wasn’t alone. He was bonded to Anne and that part of him would never accept Liliath completely. Before he lost the power, he sent out a message to Anne.
He let her know Liliath was within him and was his mother. He then resaid the words of bonding he had said to her in the Flinders Ranges and hoped the renewed bond would guide her here so she could save him.
Chapter 18
Lost Love
Someone shook her and Anne instantly put her hands up to protect herself. She opened her eyes to see Heath and Evie bending over her. Then it all came back. Someone had attacked them. Anne stared at the empty seat in the car beside her and knew it was Soren the kidnappers had been after. Just when she thought things were getting better and the two of them might have a chance, it had fallen apart.
“It’s okay, Anne,” Heath said. It’s just us. Are you hurt? Everyone got knocked out from the gas.”
“I’m fine. Do we know where Soren is?” She wasn’t fine, though. Her heart felt as if it was ripping in two in her chest.
Heath shook his head. “Not yet, but we’re going to get to the ranch and then coordinate everyone to find him.”
Evie and Genia sat in the back of the car with her and Heath got in the front with Ridge. Ridge turned back to her before he drove off.
“We’ll find him and I promise to kick the ass of whoever took him.”
“Thanks. He’d like that. You’re more alike than you think. Were the kidnappers Midworlders?”
Genia took her hand as they drove off.
“No, I sent my thoughts out before the gas hit and they were definitely human. How these people knew about him being different is odd. If they just wanted a Midworlder then they could have taken any of us.”
Ridge drove on for another half an hour and then turned down a long driveway. The ranch was built on the top of a hill so you could survey the land all around. She had been looking forward to meeting Nicole, but not now she was alone. Then she remembered her father was still there. These were her people too and they would do all they could to help.
She followed the others up into the house from the large garage that stored an assortment of vehicles. Edric came and stood beside her. She tried to take some strength from him when he smiled at her, but inside her heart ached. When the thought of not seeing Soren entered her mind, she tried to shoo it away because it made her want to die.
“I’ll get your man back for you. I’ve seen how much you care for him,” her father said and hugged her.
“We all will,” Suzie said as she stood next to him. Anne made her way through the house and noticed there were lots of Midwo
rlders. She reckoned at least thirty. She followed all of them into the large dining room. A long wide window opened onto the vista beyond. Anne noticed a woman by the counter holding a toddler. Ridge went over and embraced her. Then they walked over.
“Anne, this is my wife, Nicole, and this is our daughter Ellen.”
Ellen reached out for Ridge and he took her while Nicole came and embraced Anne. When Nicole moved away, Anne felt the ache in her heart ease a little.
“I’m so glad we at least kept you safe. Now we need to get to work to find Soren.”
“Did you just do something to me?” Anne asked.
“I hope you don’t mind but I can heal in my own way, a bit like Genia,” Nicole said. “I know what it’s like to be separated from your bonded partner, and so does Evie. You’re not alone. We’ll get you through this. I see a power in you as well. You made me feel calm the instant I touched you. I’ve been worried all afternoon and now I can think more clearly.”
It was nice to have another Aussie around, though Nicole’s accent seemed entwined with an American one. “Soren used to say I calmed him, but I don’t think it’s a special power and has more to do with me meditating a lot.”
“You may have been helping and not known it. So what news do we have?” Nicole asked of Ridge.
“We’ve people lookin’ everywhere and I’ve called in the Los Angeles Enclave. They were a bit reticent as Soren’s not full Angelic. Some were a bit full of the attitude of the Angelic Guardian we met,” Ridge said.
A young man with black and purple hair walked in with iPad in his hand. He strolled over and stood next to Ridge. Ellen reached out for him.
Ridge handed Ellen over and took the iPad. “This is my brother-in-law, Peter. You met him earlier at the airport. He’s been tracking the number of the van. It may just be a rental, but we can only hope.”
“It belongs to a subsidiary company of Burtrom Holdings. Burtrom has a large estate on the outskirts of the city. I suggest you start there,” Peter said.
Anne’s knees buckled beneath her. Her father picked her up and took her to the couch. The pain in her abdomen made her want to vomit. Genia and Nicole were beside her.
“What happened?” Nicole asked.
Anne got her breath back. “Someone has him strapped to a table and they’re testing him. I can feel the needles being pushed into his skin. He’s trying to shield me from feeling it.”
“Someone’s gonna die for this and I don’t care what happens to me afterwards,” Ridge offered.
Evie stood. “Nicole, do you remember when I got sick in Jamaica and we didn’t know where Heath was? You helped me send out my thoughts to him so we could find him.”
“It’s worth a try,” Nicole said.
“So what do I have to do?” Anne didn’t care if it hurt as long as she helped in some way. Right now, she felt useless.
Evie sat down next to her and took her hand.
“You don’t have to do anything other than try to think of Soren,” Evie said. “We all enhance your thoughts. For me, I saw a long shiny thread searching for him. Once I found Heath, the others spread the word and saved him, and I didn’t hurt anymore.”
“He’ll fight me. He’s not like Heath and Ridge. He believes he’s soiled and we should all let him die.”
Tears flowed down Nicole’s cheeks. Anne didn’t mean to make her cry.
“I thought Ridge and I had it tough,” Nicole said. “Anne, we have to do this. He’ll be with us soon. I need to meet my brother in-law and he needs to meet his niece. There is no more discussion. We’re getting him back.”
Anne closed her eyes as Nicole, Evie, and Genia sat around her. She tried not to think about her gut which felt it had a knife stuck in it that was twisting and hitting her ribs. Nicole’s thoughts intruded.
Let me take some of the pain away. You’ll be able to think more clearly and reach him.
Anne was such a private person with her deep feelings, but she needed to share what she felt for Soren. She let her love out to search for him. To begin with, there was pain in her body and the darkness behind her eyes.
Then it appeared. It was like the first time she saw him in her dreams. A speck of light in the darkness and she would head toward it like she did before. The light flickered, she didn’t have much time. Her heart would break if it went out.
Anne suddenly found herself staring down at the people below. Her ethereal body floating above her human one. Genia turned and smiled so Anne assumed the healer could see her. All those years of meditation and it only took being involved with a bunch of aliens to astral travel. Then Anne remembered she was half-alien herself.
Anne thought of Soren’s face and reached out. She found her mind flying above the house and heading back toward the city of San Francisco. She turned down a road and through gates to a large facility. Soren was in there somewhere. The walls didn’t stop her and she entered a room with machines and an operating table. Soren was strapped to it.
Cameron stood beside Soren and undid the straps. Sayell and Charles were there as well. She also saw an old man she knew from his publicity to be Burtrom. He was the one Peter had mentioned earlier. A billionaire with so much money and yet still seemed unhappy unless he could make everyone else as miserable as him. Her aunt always used to say, ‘misery loves company.’
Cameron lifted Soren off the table and put him in a wheelchair. He took him to a car and drove away. The group eventually drew up at a mansion. Cameron would take him to Pergor and she wouldn’t be able to follow.
Then Soren was with her. His feelings of love wafted over her like a sunrise. She didn’t know for sure, but reckoned her real self smiled back at him. Cameron and the others spread their wings and within seconds were in the sky. She watched the silver cord stretch thin until he disappeared from the sky and went to Pergor.
Anne was lost. She had been tethered to Soren and now didn’t know where she was. For a moment she was alone in the darkness and the thoughts of not seeing Soren again were starting to seep in. Then the light appeared again. Anne peered toward it. She needed to trust the others, like Soren trusted her. Then Evie and Nicole were in her mind and guiding her back. It seemed to take forever as she lugged herself along the silver cord stretched from her body. If Anne didn’t know better, she would think someone was trying to stop her. It was like an elastic band pinging. Then with a huge force, she came back into her body. She opened her eyes to see the room a hive of activity as Ridge and Edric talked to people.
“Did you see it all?” Anne asked.
Nicole nodded. “Everything and the others are about to head for Pergor now.”
“But I lost him.” The thought of Soren being up there with those Midworlders, friendless and alone, made her angry and sad at the same time.
“What can I do? I can’t see him anymore,” Anne said as her voice cracked.
“Pergor is enormous,” Nicole said. “So many tunnels and rooms. Cameron could keep Soren shielded there for days before we find him. Before, when we made contact, you were floating above like Evie did. I want to try something different. When Ridge got attacked in Pergor I could see through his eyes. Try to get into Soren’s mind. If he blocks you, then send something sensual he can’t resist.”
Anne wasn’t convinced it would work. Nicole was asking her to send her mind into space. Would she get it back again? Soren might be returning to a blubbering mess.
She closed her eyes again and saw stars in the sky. Then the stars blinked out until there was only black. For a moment she thought Soren dead, but then she could feel his heartbeat. Then darkness again. She remembered what Nicole said. She imagined herself straddling Soren, moving slowly up and down on his rock-hard erection. A light flashed in the darkness.
Anne followed the light. She felt like a child playing hide and go seek. When
people would say you were getting warmer as you got closer. The beat became stronger and then she was with him. Seeing though his eyes. Holy hell, it had worked.
He was angry and could hear his thoughts loud and clear.
If they know you’re here in my mind they’ll find you and kill you. You should go.
He was trying to protect her and she loved him for it, but it wasn’t the time for such nobility.
For once, shut up and let me help you without question. The others are following my thoughts and will find you.
She hoped they could. He might be angry, but she could sense how weak he was.
You’re sexy when you’re bossy. You can also be on top anytime you want.
She sensed Soren smiling, despite his pain. He was being carried by Cameron, who peered down at him and shook his head.
“Find something to smile about in this situation, do you?” Cameron asked.
Cameron placed Soren on another table. This time they didn’t tie him down. The others realized he didn’t have the strength to fight anymore.
Then Liliath came in. For the first time, Anne could see the person everyone mentioned. She was hairless and her eyes were like a snake’s. The shimmering dress she wore made her body look voluptuous and sinister at the same time. As if she hid something. Liliath had another man with her who attached tubes to Soren. Then the pain started again. It was like acid was being injected and the shock of the pain sent her back to Earth. She opened her eyes to see Nicole next to her.
“I’m scared, but I have to go back.” Anne wanted to cry, knowing Soren had suffered this pain time and again. How he remained sane she didn’t understand.
“Ridge and the others have already crossed to Pergor,” Nicole said. “We’ll pour our energy into you so you can connect. Evie coped with pain when she was controlled by a Demonic. She will help you.”