Dark Gathering

by Karlene Cameron

  “Kill me,” she sobbed.

  “Oh my dear, I have no intention of killing you,” he replied. “You’re clearly an asset to the disobedient commander. And that, my pet, makes you an asset to me.” He stepped back from her, stroking his cock, watching as it grew even larger in his experienced hand. He held the knife in front of her face.

  “We can get down to business in one of two ways,” he told her. “You can be a willing participant—which, quite honestly, my dear, would be much more pleasurable for you. Or, you can continue to fight me, which I will enjoy greatly…but, I fear, you may find the outcome less than pleasurable.”

  She sobbed, scrambling to get away from him.

  He stopped stroking his cock and gripped her cheeks hard. “I want to feel those beautiful lush, red lips wrapped around my cock.”

  She shook her head and squeezed her eyes shut.

  He pushed her to her knees and rubbed his cock across her lips, watching as the glistening drop on the tip smeared across her lips. “I think I shall enjoy seeing my seed dripping from your eyes and lips,” he purred next to her.

  She opened her eyes and spat at him. He only laughed.

  “Fine, my pet. We shall do it your way.” In one swift move, he took the knife and sliced her wounded shoulder. The movement was fast, sure, and deliberate. He knew exactly where to cut.

  She screamed when the cold air hit the open wound, the scream turning to sobs as the pain became unbearable.

  “Did you know, my pet, there is an area just above the shoulder that if you slice the nerve just so,” he made a swiping move in front of her with the knife that was now dripping with her blood, “the pain will be so great, it literally renders your arm useless. Give it a try.” He placed the knife in her hand and curled her fingers around the blade. “Come on, Caitriona. I’m right here. Show me how much you hate me.”

  When she didn’t move, he kicked her. Hard. Her breath left her in a rush and she almost dropped the knife. Looking up at him through hair that was limp with sweat and clinging to her face, she gave him a feral look and lunged. She tried to swipe the knife across his chest. But her arm hung limp and useless. Hawkins clapped his hands together in delight as she dropped the knife and rocked back on her heels, tears coursing down her cheeks. He should have done this the first time he had her.

  He grabbed her hair in his fist and once again hauled her roughly to her feet. She slid on the bloody floor but he yanked hard, ensuring she remained upright. Pinning her back to his front he pushed her shredded gown out of the way and rubbed her mound, sinking his fingers deep into her tender flesh. With his free hand, he pinned her uninjured arm against him, ensuring she couldn’t break free. He pinched her nipples, delighting in the screams that tore from her throat. Removing his hand from inside her, he placed the slick digits in his mouth and sucked greedily, inhaling deeply of her woman’s musk. He could feel her shaking as rage and pain consumed her.

  Laughing, he put the head of his cock between her legs and started to thrust but stopped short when he felt a sharp stab of pain just below his shoulder blade. He pushed himself away from her and stumbled backward, reaching behind him and feeling the blade he had just used on Caitriona wedged between his shoulder blades. Blood trickled from the entry point coating his shirt and hand. He looked around expecting to see MacKinnon or another Templar soldier, but no one was there.

  Whether it was the shock of what had just happened or the location of where the knife landed, Hawkins felt his legs surrender as he fell to the ground in a heap. He pitched forward, his hands barely keeping his body off the cold floor.

  “Bitch,” he rasped.

  He was vaguely aware that Caitriona was inching her way to the door. As she passed near him, she kicked him in the face. He curled into a fetal position, his hands instinctively covering his face. He could feel the blood flow from his wound, the same place he’d told Caitriona would render a man useless. He didn’t have time to ponder this last piece of information. Caitriona ground her foot on the protruding knife, grinning at him as he watched the room sway. She spat in his face and pushed the blade in even farther. He screamed, a wretched noise that got caught in his throat. As darkness threatened to take him, he had only one final thought: Who had plunged the knife into his shoulder?

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Nicolas inhaled as a wave of fear and pain washed over him. He bent over, trying to pull air into his lungs as he tried to sort through the barrage of emotions that flooded him. Caitriona’s energy was raw, organic, and largely untrained. The pain he felt was debilitating, his bond with her tenuous at best. He knew he didn’t have much time before the link was severed. He had to push past the pain and find her.

  Danika touched him on his shoulder, bringing him out of his near-trance. “What is it, Nicolas?” she asked. “Is it Cat?”

  He nodded, trying hard to maintain the link with Caitriona. He was losing the battle. He cursed and squeezed Danika’s hand. “Find Gawain and get word to MacKinnon,” he whispered, afraid the tenuous hold he had on his charge would disappear. “They need to know she’s made contact. I will keep trying to find her location.”

  He closed his eyes and focused on finding her energy, relieved when he felt the raw intensity that was so uniquely her. She was in pain and she was afraid. He focused his energy and reached out to her again, this time touching her mind with single images he hoped she understood. They had only recently begun practicing this new skill and he wasn’t at all certain that in her current state she’d be able to do more than receive his touch.

  Dani squeezed his hand again and set out at a sprint to do what he asked. Neither he nor Dani had brought a communicator with them during training. With MacKinnon on a mission to find Caitriona, Nicolas had left the strategy and maneuvering to Gawain and Maester Gabe. He was frustrated with himself now for having left the intrusive devise behind. MacKinnon would be furious.

  Nicolas felt his charge’s pain again, but this time the connection was stronger. He probed deeper, connecting to her on a level he’d never been before. Her feelings and emotions washed over him and he was struggling to maintain the connection. While Caitriona’s power was unfocused and untrained, she seemed to know what he needed. Good girl, he whispered. Nicolas guided her, helping her to control the barrage of images flooding him. He needed her to give him some idea of where she was.

  “Ma chérie, I need to know where you are.” He spoke the words out loud, knowing she couldn’t hear him. He tried to project his words into a single feeling. He could sense her emotions changing and the frigid cold that washed over him. Caitriona was in a very cold place. That would explain the thinning of their bond. She was likely far from him and far from the warm sands of Mexico.

  Using their bond, he reached out to her again. She responded in that untrained, raw way of hers. He knew the bond between them was psychic and strong, but the distance between them was making it difficult to maintain the connection. He could feel her project the extreme cold again as their bond flickered and waned. Crying out, he knew that if he lost their connection, he had little chance of finding her. She was isolated, hurt, and scared, and she needed help.

  “Katerine, I need you to help me find you,” he muttered. He was dimly aware that Dani had returned with MacKinnon. The warrior was badly injured. Danika had most likely intercepted him before he’d had a chance to report to Gawain.

  “Where is she?” Duncan growled. Blood coated his face and his hair hung in limp strands across his shoulders.

  “I don’t know,” Nicolas replied. “I’m losing my connection with her. She’s too far away.” He could feel the rage, frustration, and helplessness boil within the warrior.

  “She wasn’t at the hacienda in Chihuahua. Our intel was wrong,” Duncan ground out. “Find her.”

  Nicolas shook his head. “I’m losing her.”

  “You can’t be. I felt her. Just minutes before Dani ran into me, I felt her reach out to me. I don’t know how she did it, but I know I
felt her.”

  Nicolas stared at him in disbelief, yet remembering their encounter at the caves, he knew anything was possible. Without thinking he grabbed Duncan’s hand. The energy doubled, flowing through him in stronger currents. But will Katerine feel this? he thought helplessly. Duncan remained fixed at his side, unmoving. “Do you feel her, MacKinnon?”

  “Nay,” he ground out.

  The energy was stronger when they were connected. But to what end? he thought, fear for his ward driving his actions. Dani. She was the missing key. Reaching for Danika’s hand, he connected their energy, completing a triangle. The power of three, he thought, reflecting on Caitriona’s earlier vision.

  The response was immediate. Dani’s energy flowed through him and completed them. The bond with his charge strengthened and he blinked several times as he connected to the images she was projecting. He saw her bloodied and bruised, the ground beneath her hard and frozen. In front of her, the capitol building loomed, the Order’s colors hanging from the deserted balconies. He saw gunfire erupt around his charge and felt her surge of fear as she tried to find cover. Nicolas felt helpless.

  “She’s going to fight her way out of there,” he said in disbelief as the images continued to come at him. “She’s hurt. Her arm is injured.”

  “Where is she?” Duncan growled again. Nicolas realized that he and Dani couldn’t see what was playing out in his mind.

  “New Washington,” he replied tersely. He could feel Duncan begin to pull away and he squeezed his hand tightly, ensuring the warrior stayed connected to the triangle.

  “I need more information, MacKinnon. If you sever the bond now, I will lose her.”

  Duncan bellowed but held tight to Nicolas’ hand. Nicolas cast a glance at Dani and noticed the ghostly pale hue of her skin and the sheen of sweat that covered her brow and upper lip. She was in distress. He needed to get the information from Caitriona and sever the connection.

  He sent Caitriona a mental image of what he wanted her to do. There was an abandoned tunnel system not far from where she was. If she could gain access, there were Dwellers who’d protect her—with their lives, if necessary. A sharp flare of pain erupted behind his eyes, instantly severing the link.

  Danika collapsed to the ground at the same time Duncan let out a bellow of rage.

  “Get her back,” Duncan ordered, reaching for Nicolas’ hand.

  “It doesn’t work like that, MacKinnon,” Nicolas barked. “The link was severed from her side. We could spend several minutes trying to link with her again or we can assemble a team and leave now for New Washington.” Nicolas glared at Duncan, challenging him with his eyes.

  “Where exactly?” Duncan ground between clenched teeth.

  “She was outside the Order’s headquarters—the capitol building in New Washington. It’s possible she escaped, but Hawkins’ men are hunting her.” He deliberately didn’t mention the gunfire or the pain he felt when he was connected to her.

  Danika groaned, ending his argument with the Templar leader. Kneeling next to her, he pushed the hair away from her face where it matted to her forehead.

  “Dani,” he whispered. She groaned again and curled into a ball.

  “Every part of me feels like I was just electrocuted,” she said, drawing her legs in even closer to her chest.

  Nicolas took her hand in his and rubbed softly, watching as the color began to return to her face. “Can you walk?” he asked.

  “I think so,” she replied, uncurling first one leg and then the other as if she was testing their ability to still work. “What the hell was that?” she questioned.

  “Somehow, we were connected to Katerine,” he answered.

  “Did you know she could do that?”

  “No. I’m not sure she even knew she could do that,” Nicolas observed. Helping Dani to her feet, he glanced over his shoulder at Duncan, who was staring at the clouds.

  “What is it?” Nicolas asked.

  “Power of three,” the warrior replied, almost as if he were speaking to himself.

  “What?”

  “The power of three,” he repeated. “Caitriona’s last vision at Castle Dunrobin spoke about the power of three. We assumed it was myself, Danika, and Caitriona based on what happened in the Crystal Caves. But what if the power comes from three—any three who possess a genetic link to magic?”

  Nicolas was quiet as he contemplated this latest development.

  “With Caitriona being the key or the anchor,” Duncan continued.

  “But there were four of us then if we count Cat,” Dani said, still rubbing her arms. “I’m not following.”

  “Maybe it’s nothing,” Duncan mumbled, but the look in his eyes told Nicolas this was more than “nothing.”

  Duncan took out a small communicator tucked into the top portion of the scabbard he wore at his side. “Gawain,” he barked after opening communications. “We’re going to need transport,” he said, once he heard his father’s rich baritone on the other end.

  “Of course, son. I can send a shuttle to meet you at the earlier coordinates?”

  “Aye.”

  “Have you found her?”

  “Nay.” He closed communications before Gawain could ask any more questions. Turning to the others, he nodded in the direction of the hacienda. “We dinna have much time,” he said.

  “Duncan, you need to see a doctor,” Dani said, tearing a piece of fabric from the bottom of her full skirt and tying it tightly around his wound to stop the flow of blood.

  He pushed her hand away. “We dinna have time,” he said again. At her protest, he stopped and faced them both. Nicolas could see the worry etched in Duncan’s brow and the fatigue that darkened his eyes.

  “Damnu!” Duncan bellowed. “Caitriona is out there, hunted by Hawkins. I dinna have the luxury of seeing to my injuries. And if either of ye canna move any faster, I will leave ye behind.”

  The fact that Duncan hadn’t demanded they both stay behind meant he knew there was strength in their numbers…if only from a magical perspective. It’s a start, Nicolas thought.

  Wrapping his arm around Dani’s slender waist, they set off to meet the shuttle, the future as dark as it ever was.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Caitriona felt Duncan’s presence almost as if he was standing next to her. Every fiber of her body was attuned to him, the energy around her crackling and moving the air as her energy reached for him. Her body ached for his, the physical need overshadowing the physical injuries she had sustained.

  She shook her head and rolled her neck, trying to assuage the pain that coursed from her head in sharp stabs. She brought her hand up to her head and felt the gash that was now wet from her blood. She held her fingers up in front of her face, trembling when she saw how much blood coated her fingers. She closed her eyes and tried to remember what had happened. Think, she chided herself, trying to shake the fear that threatened to consume her.

  She shifted uncomfortably and became aware of the hard snow that was stained red with her blood. Slowly pulling herself to her feet, she looked at the twisted, decayed, burnt landscape that stretched as far as she could see. Fifty meters in front of her, she could see smoke from an earlier battle. She knew the destruction that had occurred here was likely not even hours old. Corpses were strewn across the snow packed land, some with their faces turned toward the cold ground, while others stared lifeless at a cloudless sky they no longer saw.

  She wrapped her arms around herself to ward off the impregnable cold. The wind whistled in her ears and tore through the remnants of the gown she wore. She was missing one slipper and already her foot was growing numb from the cold. She had to find shelter soon.

  In the distance, she saw a tall spire and soon realized she was looking at the Washington Monument—or rather, what remained of the monument. The building was nearly shorn in half and the flags that once circled the base were no longer there. Turning, she saw the White House at the end of the Mall, the Order’s flags waving in
the wind. Soldiers were circling the building, their weapons drawn. She crouched low, unsure where to go. In the open, snow-packed area, she heard the groans of wounded soldiers, some climbing clumsily to their feet. What soldiers remained after the explosions were now either dead or wounded. While the soldiers were currently preoccupied assisting other soldiers or removing the dead from the battlefield, she knew she didn’t have much time until someone spotted her. What happened here? she thought. Were Duncan’s men responsible for the carnage? If so, where was he?

  Her left arm hung limp and useless at her side, a large cut above the shoulder sending rivulets of blood down her exposed arm. Taking the hem of her dress in her teeth, she used her good arm to tear a large swath of fabric and did her best to wrap the makeshift bandage around her head. Tearing another long piece, she clumsily wrapped her foot knowing it would be little protection from the harsh snow and ice that were already turning her foot blue.

  Panting over her minor exertions, she closed her eyes, searching for her connection with Nicolas, her mind drifting to the earlier events. Just before Hawkins had tried to force himself on her, she had felt Nicolas’ bond with her, strong and fierce. Energy had coursed through her, raw and unbridled. She remembered seeing the knife on the ground next to her and wishing it was in her hands. Before she realized what was happening, the knife flew and struck hard between Hawkins’ shoulders, bringing the man to his knees. She stared at her hands, confused as to what had happened. She shook her head. She’d think about it later. Right now, she needed to escape.

  “Nicolas, help me,” she pleaded, knowing he couldn’t hear her words. Within seconds, images of the Ford Theater flashed across her mind. The abandoned building was crumbling and in need of restoration, but it was still recognizable. Was she supposed to go there? Did Nicolas know where she was? She opened her mind again, but a sharp stab of pain forced her to sever the connection.