Centaur Rivalry (Touched Series Book 3)

by Straight, Nancy

  My foot stepped onto solid ground as a wave of relief settled over me. My second foot felt the uneven earth below, and my hands immediately started groping at the vast expanse, trying to feel the wall. I couldn’t estimate how far down we were, but it felt like we’d climbed down a three story building. The tunnel was cool, not the bone-chilling cold of the outside temperatures, but cool and damp. It smelled of stale water and sulfur.

  My hands found the wall of jagged rock. I’d never feared the dark, but every Scooby Doo cartoon I’d watched as a kid started flashing through my mind as my head ducked down in fear of imaginary bats. I couldn’t imagine how we would find our way out of this place. There was no illumination, no shadows, nothing but damp air.

  I felt Daniel’s hands on my shoulder. I couldn’t be sure how I knew they belonged to him, but I did. In the silence of the tunnel, his touch was a comfort, momentarily easing my fear of the bats, rats and snakes I was sure were waiting to attack us. I turned toward Daniel in the dark and grabbed onto him for comfort. His embrace was strong, making me believe we’d be okay.

  When Katherine reached the bottom of the ladder, her footsteps sounded off to the right. Her hands scrambled in search of something along the walls. An audible “click” sounded, and a string of light bulbs stretched out through the cavernous passageway, several were burned out. We were standing in an old mine shaft. Railroad tracks stretched out as far as my eye could see in both directions. Huge wooden support beams lined the walls and held the ceiling in place.

  Handwritten signs hung on the wall with arrows pointing to the left or right: Hotel 2 miles, Stable 2.5 miles, Doctor 3 miles, and Train Station 2.5 miles. One arrow pointed up the ladder we had just climbed down with the word “Tavern,” indicating the bar was just overhead.

  I turned to Katherine, “Your hotel is only two miles from here?”

  “Uh, no. Those signs are over a hundred years old. The old hotel was torn down before I was born and a Wal-Mart sets on the old site. That opening was sealed a long time ago.”

  “So, how do we get back to the motel?”

  “We go ta the old stables. The barn’s gone, but the access door is still there. Yer friends can pick us up there.”

  We were out of other options. Katherine knew way more about our society and about us specifically than she had let on. We began walking as hundreds of questions were swimming in my mind. Who was she? How did she know about Centaurs? Why wasn’t she in any danger for helping us? How did she know about this tunnel? Had Jessica told her about us? If Centaurs were really looking for us, what would they do to her if they found us?

  Despite all the questions in my head, I only asked one. “I’ll get a hold of Bianca. Where do I tell her to meet us?”

  “Just off of mile marker 78 on the highway that leads inta town, there’s a turnoff. Under a billboard fer Bio-Diesel is the access panel. Have ‘em meet us by the billboard.”

  I called out to Bianca, “I think we’re safe. Can you and Gage come pick us up?”

  “You think you’re safe? Where are you?”

  “We’re on our way to the old horse stables outside of town. It’ll take us about 25 minutes to get there. We’re underground – in a mine shaft.” I gave Bianca the pick-up location that Katherine had described, then added, “Tell Drake what’s going on, but tell him to stay at the motel. I’ll contact him if it looks like there’s trouble.”

  “I’ll tell him, but don’t count on him letting you out of his sight after this.”

  I kept one foot in front of the other and walked in the direction Katherine led us. I couldn’t think of any good reason that she would stick her neck out for us, but I didn’t want to question her gesture in front of Brent and Daniel until we were safely out of the tunnel.

  The mine shaft showed no evidence of recent use. The lights gave off just enough illumination to keep from tripping over the old railroad ties. It was cool and damp, but not cold. With every step I became more desensitized to the sulfur smell I’d first noticed. Every few steps my fingers brushed against the wall. Jagged rock and hard packed clay lined the shaft.

  Brent must have been wondering some of the same things because while I stayed silent, he quietly asked Katherine, “So, you said you weren’t in any danger from Centaurs. How are you so sure?”

  Even without seeing her face, I knew she’d rolled her eyes at him. “Any Centaur who so much as looked at me cross-eyed would be punished severely. Yer lucky I le’ you win tonight.”

  Punished severely? Was she some sort of deity? I had a clear view of Brent: he looked confused. “Let me win? Oh, no, you were the big talker. I beat you.”

  Katherine’s playful tone shot back, “Ya did no such thing. I was lulling ya inta a false sense a security. The next hand was mine and so were all the winnings.”

  Brent shrugged his shoulders good-naturedly, “I guess we’ll never know.”

  “You’re right, Centaur.” The way Katherine said it, “Centaur” was not some mystical race she revered. It was as if we were beneath her or something. Jessica’s words, “Hide before he sees you. Katherine can’t protect us both,” echoed in my mind.

  What had Jessica meant by “Katherine can’t protect us”? All my senses told me she was human. How could a human protect a Centauride? Especially from a Centaur who was following orders from Zeus? I hated trying to put puzzles together while I was missing pieces.

  Daniel, whose mouth was always moving at full-speed, remained suspiciously quiet. I didn’t want to listen to Katherine and Brent argue over who was the poker master. I hadn’t had a chance to catch up with him, and we had some time on our hands. “So, why didn’t you go back to California? Why stay here?”

  Daniel wrapped his arm around me as we walked. His familiar touch felt like home. Given everything that had happened so quickly, I should have been a nervous wreck – I wasn’t. It felt good to be with Daniel again – like a huge piece of me had been missing and I’d just found it again.

  “Pops was pretty pissed when Beau and I took his plane. He’s never been your biggest fan,” Daniel wrinkled his nose and gave me a smirk, “and he didn’t want me mixed up in any of it.”

  His relationship with his dad had always been stiff, but I hated that I was the reason he didn’t go home. “I’m sorry, Daniel.”

  “Don’t be. I like it here. More solitude, things are slower. The only traffic jams are caused by tractors on the highway, not ten thousand cars all going to the same place.”

  “So that’s it? You’ve defected?”

  Daniel laughed one of his hearty laughs that I hadn’t heard in months. He stopped walking and wrapped both his arms around me. I hugged him back, ignoring the angry stare from Brent. When I let go, we were walking quite a ways behind Katherine and Brent. Daniel asked in a low voice, “I’m not staying for long. So, I take it you found lover boy?”

  I tried to keep the frustration out of my voice, “Drake, his name is Drake. Yes, I found him a couple weeks ago.”

  Daniel’s arm was still draped over my shoulder. He squeezed my shoulder and asked, “So why is Brent your escort tonight?”

  What could I say? Could I tell him the truth? If there were anyone on the planet who knew me, really knew me, it was Daniel. I’d never kept any secrets from him my whole life. “Drake. . . wasn’t feeling up to it.”

  Daniel’s arm still stretched across my back, his hand glided to my waist, “You know he’s not good enough for you, right?”

  “He’s good enough. There’s a lot you don’t know about Drake.”

  “And I’ll probably never know. That crap he tried to pull after you’d been kidnapped – I’m still pissed.”

  “There were circumstances he didn’t share with you.”

  “Really? Circumstances, like what?” Daniel’s gaze was accusatory, but it wasn’t my place to tell him about Drake’s transformation. He’d chosen to become half a horse to protect me. After the attack at Cameron’s house, his choice was the only reason we were still toge
ther and alive.

  If I told Daniel, he’d try to find an angle on why Drake would do it, never accepting that he did it out of love for me. Daniel had been my best friend for as long as I had known what a best friend was, but this was too much, even for him.

  “It’s not up to me to tell. You’ll have to ask him yourself, but it was the most selfless action I’ve ever known.”

  We were still walking about twenty paces behind Katherine and Brent. Daniel leaned over and awkwardly kissed my temple, “You’re blind, Cami.”

  My voice came out stiff, “You don’t have all the facts, Daniel.”

  “Look. I don’t wanna argue. I get that you’ve claimed him – it doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

  “No. But it’d be nice if you could be happy for me.”

  “Yeah? That’s not going to happen. Not unless you dump him. If you do, I’ll throw you a party – then I’ll be happy for you.”

  I was readying my sharp response to Daniel when Katherine raised her voice to Brent. “Be mindful of yer laws. There are only seven; it shouldn’t be that hard ta remember ‘em!” They were far enough in front of us that I couldn’t see what had just happened.

  Brent’s voice went low, but we heard him clearly, “Do not touch me. You are but a woman, and I am a Centaur.” Damn, Brent! Who talks like that? That human was our only shot at making it out safely, and he had to start antagonizing her.

  I jogged up between the two of them with Daniel on my heels. “Katherine, don’t mind Brent. None of the tenants require Centaurs to have manners – so he left his in South Carolina.”

  Brent’s eyes were fierce when he snapped at me, “Stay out of this.”

  Equal contempt shot back at him when I answered, “Stop being a jerk. Katherine has been extremely accommodating. You forget, Bianca and Gage are coming to pick us up and Katherine’s helping us to safety. Don’t be rude.”

  “Rude? She tried to accost me.”

  Daniel snickered behind me, and I did everything in my power to hold a straight face. Katherine’s shoulder-length fire red hair swung around clipping me in the eye, “I did no such thing!”

  Brent shouted, “You did! You touched my arm and asked why I’d not yet been chosen. Just because you are aware of our ways, does not give you the right to mock them.”

  “I wasn’t mocking anything. Some Centaurs may have considered my words a compliment.”

  “On what planet? And what makes you think I haven’t been chosen?”

  All three of us stood, mouths agape. Had Brent been chosen? Why wouldn’t Brent have told us the minute he arrived? Having been chosen by a Centauride would explain his reaction to Katherine. It might even explain his reaction to Daniel around Jessica.

  I was the first to recover, “Brent, wow. Congratulations. Why didn’t you tell us?”

  His words were nearly inaudible, “I’m not sure. . . I mean. . . never mind. You wouldn’t understand.”

  “You were chosen, but she changed her mind?” I questioned.

  “No!” Brent’s angry stare cooled as his eyes darted to the floor, “Maybe.”

  “You don’t know if you’re betrothed?”

  Brent pursed his lips together tightly and shook his head.

  Confused, I could only manage, “I don’t understand.” I eased over toward Brent, but he put his back to me.

  I was surprised when it was Daniel who took two steps forward, laid his hand on Brent’s shoulder, and said, “Because of the Lost Herd?”

  Brent’s eyes went glossy, as he nodded. Daniel reached his arm around Brent’s neck, and brought their heads together in a hard head-butt, “It’ll work out.”

  Brent shoved his hands in his pockets. His gaze went to the floor as the words started flowing out of him. “Cassie’s father called and talked to Mom. Dad wasn’t home. It wasn’t like Bruce and Hannah, I mean, Cassie chose me, no money was exchanged. She’s beautiful, and smart, and she chose me.” Brent’s voice cracked and he stopped.

  Brent had been chosen by a Centauride, but after word spread about my family being part of the Lost Herd, he had to go into hiding. Maybe she hadn’t backed out. Maybe she just didn’t know how to reach him. Why hadn’t he just called her?

  Daniel had a way of always saying exactly the right thing when it was most important, and now was no exception. “Humans are seriously underrated. If your Centauride backs out, I’ve got a list of girls you can start weeding through.”

  Katherine walked away. I wasn’t sure if she was offended by Daniel trivializing women or if she was just anxious to get out of the tunnel. Daniel let go of Brent as the three of us trailed her. Within ten minutes we found ourselves directly under another ladder. An arrow pointed up that read, “Stable.” Katherine turned around, looking only at me, “Tell yer friends we’re in position and can come up as soon as they’re ready for us.”

  “Bianca, we’re right under the access panel from the tunnel. Are you ready for us to come up?”

  Her response was immediate, “No. Don’t come up. We’re dealing with a situation. Stay put.”

  I opened my eyes as three sets of eyes looked back at me. Bewildered, I shook my head, “She said not now.”

  Daniel’s voice was loud, “Why not?”

  All three of us shushed him, “She didn’t say. All she said is they’re dealing with a situation and to stay put.”

  I glanced at my watch: it was approaching two-thirty a.m. What situation could be going on this time of night? Katherine had said the stables were remote. Were there some high school students having a kegger in the middle of nowhere? No, it was too cold for something like that.

  Katherine showed concern for the first time, “Ask if we shud meet ‘em at a different access point.”

  I nodded and quickly asked Bianca, “Do you want us to meet you somewhere else?” Nothing. Not a single thought or image came in response. “Bianca? Bianca, can you hear me?” Concern began to ebb into my consciousness. Why wouldn’t she respond? Had something happened to her? I counted to ten, slowly, and tried again. “Bianca, it’s me. What’s going on?”

  When she didn’t respond again, I snapped my eyes open wide, “Something’s wrong. I don’t know what happened, but she’s not answering now.”

  Brent reached for the ladder and started climbing. Katherine reached up and caught his pant leg, then cursed under her breath. Brent got the hint and stopped climbing. She turned to me, “Ask Jessica if she knows what’s going on.” My eyes closed again. I’d spent less time with Jessica, but it should have been enough time to zero in on her thoughts. I visualized the tall Centauride, her platinum-colored hair, her easy smile and her rough demeanor. “Jessica, can you hear me?”

  “Now isn’t the best time, Cami. Are you still with Katherine?”

  “Yes. She’s right here.”

  “Wherever you are, they can’t find you. Stay there.”

  “Who can’t find us?”

  I got the same response I’d gotten from Bianca. It was as if they both severed their connection with me. My palms began to sweat. My eyes fell on Katherine. How could she help us? Why did Jessica want us to stay with her? What was going on?

  Chapter 7

  (Camille, Abandoned Mining Tunnel in South Dakota)

  Before I allowed full-blown panic to overtake me, I tried one more conversation. “Drake, can you hear me?”

  His response was immediate, “What’s taking you guys so long?”

  I breathed a sigh of relief and wiped my palms on my jeans. “I’m not sure. Daniel, Brent, Katherine and I are fine, but Jessica and Bianca both severed their connection with me without much explanation.”

  Worry clouded his voice, “Severed it? Bianca tuned you out? Who’s Jessica?”

  “She’s a Centauride who owns the bar Katherine took us to tonight. Neither one will answer me.”

  “It’s probably just a precaution.” His words were meant to calm me, but I felt his tension. “Where are you? I can come to you.”

  I waffle
d about whether to tell him Roscoe had been at the bar before Katherine shoved us down the tunnel. If I did, Drake would come running no matter what I said after. Bianca had told me to stay put. If she thought I needed Drake charging in here, she would have told me. “No, we’re fine.”

  “Say the word and I’ll be there.”

  I felt the corners of my mouth curl up. I could count on Drake. “I know. We’re safe here. I’ll let you know if anything changes.”

  “I’ll be here. I’m ready to run now.” Drake could run faster than any car drove; he could be here in minutes if I needed him. Brent was almost as fast, and despite his foul mood, there’s nothing he wouldn’t do to protect me, either. Daniel wasn’t like Drake or Brent, but I’d pity anyone who tried to get past him – whether they had mythological powers or not.

  “Okay. If anything changes, I promise I’ll let you know.” My nervousness was back under control. I marveled at the soothing effect of Drake’s voice. We were going to be fine.

  I opened my eyes; Daniel, Brent and Katherine were staring at me, concern set deep in their eyes. “Jessica couldn’t communicate with me either. I’m not sure why they would both just cut their connection with me.” I purposely left out that I had contacted Drake. There was no sense getting Daniel worked up by mentioning him.

  Katherine blew out a sigh of frustration. “Yer related to Zandra Chiron, aren’t cha?”

  I answered through gritted teeth. “Only by blood.” Zandra was my grandmother. After everything I’d gone through, I still didn’t know what to think of her. There were times when the only emotion I had for the woman was hate.

  She’d kidnapped me, put a horrible device around my neck that passed itself off as jewelry to the naked eye – but was the equivalent of a shock collar for a dog. She’d lied to me and told me she’d murdered Bianca and Drake, in an effort to trick me into marrying Gage.