No one deserved to have their life altered the way Anya had. Kassadi didn’t know what he planned to do with Anya after she shifts for the first time, but it couldn’t be anything good.
What Kassadi regretted the most however, was giving him the means to do the same thing to other people as well. If she could just get her hands on the scroll with the spell on it, she could prevent him from doing it again.
It was only in hindsight that she realized she made a very bad mistake giving him the power to play with people’s lives like that. But she had been stupid, naive even, in thinking he was doing it for a good reason. Even more naive to think he would hand over payment without a problem.
But then, he made a mistake as well. He dismissed her and her magic as something he could easily control. Well, no more. Kassadi wasn’t going to be a doormat for him to walk all over any more. And she could start to make amends for what she was doing to Anya while she’s at it.
With her mind made up, Kassadi collected everything she was going to need, then she opened another portal.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Anya slowly woke up. She noticed straight away that there were the chains around her wrists and ankles, limiting her movements.
The last thing she remembered, was stepping out of the cave, and then the woman helping her blew something into her face. Anya could have kicked herself for not listening to her intuition, she knew something was off about the woman. But because she wanted to get away from a dragon…a dragon that shouldn’t even exist…she ignored her gut feeling and accepted the help.
Now, it looked like she’s managed to get herself in a worse situation than she was trying to get away from. Well, apart from the fact there were no dragons here that she could see. That was a bonus in her eyes.
The bed she was laying on was in really bad shape. The springs dug into every part of her that it was in contact with, there were no soft pillows, and it smelt of urine and vomit.
Taking in her new surroundings, she noted a small window above the bed with metal bars on it, even if it didn’t have the bars it would be too small for her to fit through. A metal door with no handle and a smaller window so the room could be viewed from the other side without having to enter first, also with bars. The brick walls were left bare, and apart from the bed, there was nothing else in the room.
Scurrying sounds caught her attention as rodents raced around the outskirts of the room. A constant drip was coming from somewhere, but Anya couldn’t see any sign of water anywhere in the room.
Yes, it was right around now that she regretted her decision to leave Connor’s house. In fact, she regretted leaving home and going on holiday with Sasha. Never before has so much bad shit happened to her at once.
What was supposed to be a nice relaxing holiday, was turning into her worst nightmare. The only good thing that had happened in the last two weeks, was her one night with Connor, even if he did regret it the next day.
She took comfort in the memory of their time together, short as it may have been, and she used that to keep her going now.
Anya didn’t know how long she laid there thinking about Connor, but she was starting to go numb from where the chains were holding her in place for so long.
“So, you’re awake at last.” Came a male voice from the doorway.
Anya lifted her head enough to look at the man. Tall and muscular, with black hair and cold blue eyes, she would have considered him handsome if it wasn’t for the evil that emanated from him. Smartly dressed in a dark grey trouser suit with a white shirt and red tie, he looked completely out of place in this dank cell. At the same time, he seemed right at home in this environment.
“Who the fuck are you?” she asked.
“You can call me Mr. Smith.”
“Nope, that doesn’t sound right. You don’t look like a Mr. Smith. Are you sure that’s your name?”
“Very intuitive. You are correct, it isn’t my name, but it’s the only name I’m giving you, my dear.”
“Where the hell am I? And why am I chained up?”
“It doesn’t matter where you are, and the chains are there to prevent you from escaping.”
“How the fuck do you expect me to escape?” she asked, genuinely wanting to know the answer. “Even without the chains, I wouldn’t be able to get out of this room. I heard you unlock the door, so there’s no escape that way. There’s bars on the window,” she pointed out, “and even if there wasn’t, it’s not big enough for me to fit through, I can’t magically make myself smaller-as much as I wish I could…So, please tell me, how the fuck am I supposed to escape?”
“It doesn’t matter, the chains are staying, at least for the time being anyway.”
“Why am I here? What do you want with me?”
“Do you think I’m going to tell you all my plans? Is that it? You think that, because I have you chained up, I’m going to tell you everything?” he asked her.
Anya nodded.
“You’ve been watching too many movies, Anya. That’s not what is going to happen. In fact, I’m not going to tell you anything at all.”
“Why?” she really was curious to know why. She thought it was what all bad guys did. Gloat about what they were going to do right before they did it.
“Because, where is the fun in that?”
“I don’t understand.”
“Of course, you don’t. Because you’ve always been told through television that bad guys act a certain way, when in reality it is completely different. Not every bad guy wants let on what they’re going to do. It ruins the suspense.”
Anya knew he was right, but still, it was worth a shot.
“And another thing, there isn’t always a good guy that saves the day either.”
She didn’t expect anyone to save her anyway, so that was no surprise to her really, but she would like to know what he plans to do to her.
“So, I just have to wait and see then?”
“That is correct.”
“How long do I have to wait? It’s just, my arms are starting to go numb.” Anya knew she should be scared, or at least acting scared, but she could prevent her mouth from saying whatever it wanted, even when she knew she should.
“Don’t worry, you won’t be staying in that position for too much longer.”
The position he spoke of, was her arms were chained above her head, while another chain held her legs straight towards the foot of the bed.
“What position are you going to put me in next?” Anya couldn’t stop the question from flying out of her mouth and her eyes from widening.
“You will see.” He told her. “As much as I’m enjoying our conversation, I have other thing that demand my attention.”
“You’re going already?”
“Would you rather I stayed?”
“Nope, I would rather you just let me go.” She said, honestly.
Twat features - her new name for him, because she just couldn’t call him Mr Smith - laughed at her comment.
“That’s not going to happen, no matter how amusing you are.”
Anya wasn’t trying to be amusing, far from it in fact, but if it worked in her favor, she would give it a shot. But before she could say anything else, he walked out the room, shutting the door behind him.
Anya listened as the bolts slid into place and keys jingled as he locked the door.
Fuck!
How the hell did she manage to get herself into this situation? And how the hell was she going to get herself back out of it?
Anya wasn’t lying when she told him her arms were going numb. She didn't know how long she had been chained for, but she lost feeling in her hands and wrists while they were speaking, and now it was slowly creeping up her arms..
Her feet were the same. She tried to wiggle her toes, but when she looked down at them, they didn’t even twitch when she tried to move them.
Just great!
Anya pulled against the chains, trying to get into a better position, but no matter what she t
ried, she was unable to move an inch.
How the fuck am I gonna get out of this one?
From what she could see, there was no way for her to get out of this situation without help, and she didn’t know if there was anyone even looking for her. Sasha was more than likely back in London, and she didn’t know where Connor was, but she couldn’t see him searching for her.
He was probably happy she was finally out of his house, and she couldn’t blame him either. It’s not as if he had a choice in her staying with him, he made that clear in the way he acted.
Every time she thought of Connor, she was reminded of their time together. Anya knew it meant nothing, just a bit of fun to pass the time, but it didn’t stop her heart from wanting more… needing more.
Like a drug, she was addicted to him after one taste and now wanted another fix. But that was never going to happen. She was chained up here, and he’s probably already forgotten about her and moved on.
The thought of him with another woman, hurt more than she cared to admit. So she refused to let it enter her mind. If this was going to be the end for her, then she didn’t want to spend her last, however long she had, with negative thoughts running through her mind. If she couldn’t get out of here, then the lest she could do was fill her mind with the few good memories she had.
As much as she hated to admit it, this was one situation Anya wasn’t going to be able to get out of on her own, and since there wasn’t anyone around to help her, it looked like she was up shit creek without a paddle.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Connor paced from the kitchen doorway to the window in Rush’s living room. He couldn’t sit still even if he wanted to, he was too agitated. He needed to be doing something other than hanging around waiting.
Most of the hunters cleared out of Rush’s house hours ago, leaving just a handful behind. It was down to a dozen of them to rescue Anya, plus Sasha, but they didn’t know if she was going to be a help or hindrance.
Connor would have preferred to have double the amount going, but Rush wanted to make sure there were plenty of hunters left in the shifter realm, just in case it was a ruse to get them to leave the pack unprotected.
At the moment though, Connor didn’t give a shit about anyone except Anya. He knew he would feel differently once she was safe and sound. He would regret not thinking about all the people here, but at the moment, she was his main priority.
“I need to do something.” Connor raged. “I can’t just sit here doing nothing.”
“And what is it you’re going to do?” Sasha asked him.
“Anything has got to be better than doing nothing.”
“Not really. You could end up looking in the completely wrong place. At least if we’re here, we can get prepared while Sasha tries to locate Anya.” Myra said.
“What if she can’t? We’ll just be wasting valuable time that could have been spent searching the human realm.”
“There’s no point in randomly searching different places in hopes of find her.” Rush said.
“That would be a complete waste of time. Not to mention there isn’t enough of us to search that wide an area.”
Connor understood that, but in the meantime, anything could be happening to Anya while they were there doing sod all. Connor would never forgive himself if something happened to Anya and he wasn’t there to save her when he could have been.
“Why don’t you take a walk?” Rush suggested.
“No, I want to be here ready for when we get the information we need.”
“I can let you know telepathically when there’s something to go on.”
“I know, but I would still rather be here.”
“Fine, but sit the fuck down. You’re doing my headin with all the bloody pacing.” Rush said sternly. “Have a drink if you need one, but chill the fuck out. There’s nothing we can do for the time being.”
“Okay, okay.” Connor said as he sat his ass down on the sofa next to Myra. “What’s got under his skin?” he asked her.
“I don’t know. But he’s right, your pacing was getting on my nerves as well.”
“Do you think it’s got any think to do with Sasha?” Aidan asked.
“Could be.” Myra said.
“What do you think she is?” Aidan Asked.
“I don’t know, but she’s definitely not human.” Myra told him.
“I wonder how she met Anya.”
Connor was curious about the same thing. He bet Anya didn’t have a clue her friend wasn’t human.
“I don’t have an exact location, but I know which realm she’s in and a rough idea of which area to search.” Sasha finally announced after what seemed a lifetime later.
“About fucking time.” Connor said. “What are we waiting for? Let’s go.”
They had already planned out what they were going to do when they got to their destination, so there was no need to hang around here any longer.
“Hold on a second.” Rush said, halting everyone. “How large is the area we’re going to need to search?”
“Roughly within a ten mile radius.”
“What’s that got to do with anything?” Connor asked angrily. He was getting fed up with all this stalling.
“It matters because we don’t want to spread out too thinly.” He said. “If it’s too large an area and likely to take our small group hours to search, then we need to bring more people with us.”
“We should be taking more people with us anyway.” He ground out.
Rush ignored Connor’s comment, and instead said., “We should have enough people to search that area quickly enough.”
“It’s a rural location as well, so you should be able to cover most of the distance in your wolf forms.” Sasha told them.
“How are you going to keep up with our wolves?” Myra asked her.
Connor didn’t give a shit how she was going to keep up, he just wanted to stop all the questions and get going already. Was that too much to ask for? He didn’t think so.
“Don’t worry, I can keep up just fine.” She said confidently.
“It might be best if you stay in one location, then as soon as we come across something, I’ll send someone back for you.”
“Good try, little wolf, but no tomato. I’m not stupid enough to believe you will hold off on rescuing Anya while someone comes back to fetch me.” She said, shaking her head.
“Understand, if you slow us down, we will leave you behind.” Rush said bluntly.
“Understand, it will be you who slows me down, not the other way around.”
Rush growled at Sasha, she just stuck her tongue out at him in reply.
“Yep, it’s definitely something to do with Sasha.” Connor said to Myra.
“I thought as much.” She said.
“Can we please just get going already?” Connor asked.
“I’m ready when you lot are.” Sasha said.
“You sure you can transport so many at once?” Rush asked Sasha for what seemed like the thousandth time.
“Yes, piece of piss.” She said confidently.
“Okay. Take Connor, Kellen, Aidan, Dominic, Autumn, and Myra first, then come back for the rest of us.” Rush told her.
“No problem.”
Turning to Connor, Rush added, “Don’t fucking run off on your own. Wait until everyone is there, then we can pair off and search. We won’t be far behind you.”
“Okay.” Was all Connor said.
He wasn’t going to make a promise for something he knew he couldn’t keep. He didn’t care how quickly they arrived after him, he wasn’t hanging around any longer. Anya needed him, and he was damn well going to be there for her, not matter what it took. Even if it meant going against Rush’s order.
***
As soon as she stepped back through the portal, Kassadi dropped the bubble of magic that kept Anya from being found. The bubble didn’t make Anya invisible from sight, but it did stop anyone from finding her by using magic, or any other supernatural means.
Kassadi crept around the building until she came to the room where Anya was being held. She couldn’t be seen to be aiding Anya in an escape, so staying out of sight, she used her magic to unlock the chains from outside the room.
The heavy chains clanged against the floor as they fell away from Anya’s wrists and ankles. Kassadi held her breath, hoping no one heard the noise. When there was no sound of rushing boots heading in her direction, she sighed in relief.
That was only part of the battle, getting Anya out of the building without her being seen was another thing. All the while, Kassadi needed to avoid being noticed herself, by Anya or anyone else.
Now that Anya knew the sound of Kassadi’s voice, it was going to be that much harder. After bringing her to this hellhole in the first place, Kassadi didn’t think Anya would believe her that she was truly helping her this time. Kassadi couldn’t blame Anya for not trusting her. She would trust her either, if she was in the same situation as Anya.
Nonetheless, Kassadi was Anya’s only hope in getting out of here at the moment. Once she was out, Anya was going to be on her own, because no doubt he would want Kassadi to aid him in getting her back again. So, for now, they needed to make every second count.
Moving further away from the door, she unlocked it and slid the bolts open. It was now down to Anya to find her way. Kassadi just hoped Anya made it out okay on her own, and didn’t end up going in the wrong direction when she left the room.
To cover her tracks, Kassadi entered a room occupied by demons as soon as she was finished unlocking the door, so no one would think she had anything to do with Anya getting free.
As long as Anya didn’t come down this end, or any of the doors on either side of the corridor, she should be fine.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Anya didn’t know how it was possible, and she didn’t really care, but somehow the chains just fell away from her wrists and ankles without anyone unlocking them, or even touching them. Anya didn’t normally believe in ghosts, but after seeing a real-life dragon, she was kind of more open minded about such things now.
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