by Bryce Evans
“Enough.” Jamal got up and proceeded to walk around her. He smiled once he stood in front of her. “Carina, such a pretty little girl. Do you know what I did to my prisoners when they didn’t give me what I wanted? I can make my tail small and narrow like a whip, and flick it with just a twist. You have such pretty skin, too pretty to feel the damage of it. Tell us what we want, and I will personally take you home.” Carina just smiled. “They say you’re a very smart witch. I was hoping you would refuse. So hoping.”
Sage watched as a tail formed behind him. It wasn’t a large tail, but just like he said, it was shaped like a whip.
Jamal was just as cruel as Claudia; he was going to beat Carina and love doing it. It happened so fast—Jamal flicked his tail hitting the side of her face, making a red gash. Blood poured out as Carina screamed out in pain. Jamal laughed as the little girl broke down crying.
Sage’s body shook in rage as Jamal and Claudia enjoyed the little girl’s pain. Sage had to get her out of here, or they would continue to punish her until she gave in and opened the book. Now that she knew that Claudia had the Book of Thoth, she’d need to remove Carina so nobody would ever get her again. She knew enough about that book to know that if it were opened, the world would be doomed. It wasn’t meant for their kind. It was meant for Thoth and no other.
Claudia reached around and untied Carina’s arms, then placed the book in her lap. “Open the book now, or feel his pain!” Claudia shouted. Sage could tell that Claudia was getting frustrated with Carina. They both wanted to hurt her. Claudia walked around to the side and whispered something to Jamal.
Sage watched as Carina’s fingers reached into her pocket. She couldn’t see what she had, but her hands rubbed all over the book.
Claudia and Jamal walked back around in front of her. “Once I beat you until you can’t stand it, I’m going to start to burn you. Do you want me to do that?” Jamal said smiling.
Claudia screamed again, “Open it!”
Carina just smiled in defiance and shook her head.
Jamal didn’t like her answer and flicked his tail again, slashing the other side of her face. Again, Carina cried out in pain. If it was possible, Sage was going to kill them both. She watched as Jamal attacked again and again, slashing across her arms, then legs, until finally Carina passed out.
Before he could do it again, Claudia yelled out, “Stop!” She walked over to Carina. Her head was slumped over. Claudia pulled her head back and found that she was unconscious. “Well she’s no use to us now. Guards!”
Sage waited until the door opened and walked through it. She slipped into her bedroom and woke her mother up. “Mother, come to the bathroom.” Jessica Wingate jumped up and went to the bathroom.
“Where have you been?” Jessica asked, worried.
“Mother, they have her. They have Carina, the little girl that Me-Len told us about. They are torturing her to open the book.”
Jessica looked at her daughter. “What book?”
“Oh God, Mother, she has the Book of Thoth.” Sage turned the water on higher not wanting anyone to hear them.
Jessica shook her head. “No, that’s not possible. That book was destroyed by the vampires. It’s written in their laws.”
“No Mother, they didn’t destroy it. They must have hidden it and made it look like they destroyed it, but I saw it. I saw the book, and now they’re torturing Carina until she opens it. We have to get her out of here. We have to help her, Mother. She’s passed out. I’ve got to get her out with the cloak, or they will keep torturing her until she opens that book or dies. Either way, she won’t survive.”
Jessica leaned over the sink and closed her eyes. “If you do this, they will know you’re a traitor.”
“I can’t leave her here. What if it was me?” Sage countered. “What if Jamal was whipping me?”
Jessica turned around and faced her. “Then go and get her out. I’ll get up in the morning to go and look for you and act like I can’t find you. She will think only you had something to do with it.”
“No Mother, you have to come with me. I can get her out, then you. I’ll put her in the car, then come back in with the cloak and get you. They’ll kill you if you stay.”
“Okay. Let me put some clothes on and I’ll wait here for you,” Jessica answered.
Sage looked in the mirror as she draped the cloak around her. She watched as her reflection disappeared. Whatever happened tonight, she had to get Carina out of here. It was time for them to leave this place of evil and death. That’s what Claudia did to her coven and planned to do to the world. She was dead inside and she wanted everyone to feel like she did.
She listened, and when she didn’t hear anyone in the hallway, Sage kissed her mother, quietly opened the door, and went to the place she called the dungeon room. This place was just like a castle on the inside. Claudia had it made so. There was a throne room where a king or queen would sit on an awful gold chair. Everything inside was made to look like the inside of a real-life castle. The woman was not only evil; she had some strange fetishes. Even the clothes they were made to wear looked like the clothes of the medieval days.
She could hear someone snoring as she got to the bottom of the stairs. Sage walked slowly, in case Claudia or her minions were lurking around. She hated her coven, too. They were just as crazy as their leader was.
She peeked around the corner and saw that the guard on duty was sleeping at his desk. “Sleep well, old fart.” Sage recited a sleeping spell and went in search of Carina. She needed to hurry, in case they started torturing her again.
Looking in the glass window, Sage’s heart broke as she saw Carina laying on the floor, balled up. Blood from her wounds had leaked out onto the floor, but thankfully they had stopped bleeding. Sage had to hurry. She used the key beside the door and unlocked it. The heavy wooden door creaked open. She rushed in and picked Carina up. The little girl never moved. Opening the cloak, she slipped Carina inside.
Sage closed the door and dashed up the stairs. That’s when she heard Claudia’s guards coming. She rushed into the kitchen and listened. Guards were standing everywhere. She remembered there was a back door in the kitchen and hurried out. She knew if she used her car, they would know. Instead, she was going to hotwire Claudia’s vehicle. She took great pride in knowing she was going to use Claudia’s car to escape. It was the evil bitch’s pride and joy.
She needed to hurry; her arms were growing tired. Carina was a small girl, but Sage wasn’t used to carrying her around. Then she had to get back into the house and get her mother out.
Bingo—she found Claudia’s car. She chanted a spell to unlock the car, then waited as the lock popped open. What she didn’t count on was that after putting Carina in the backseat she heard someone running toward her. She pulled the wires down and pulled out her knife, slicing them open.
As she went to put the wires together, a hand slapped against the window.
“What are you doing?” The guard went to reach for the door, but thankfully she had locked it. She was trying to hurry, but the guard pulled out his phone. Dammit, she was out of time. Sage put the two wires together and the car cranked up. She slammed her foot down on the gas pedal and drove down the long dirt road. Looking back in the rearview mirror, Sage could see guards running to their cars. She was in trouble and needed help. Tears fell from her eyes, knowing she wouldn’t be able to get her mother out with them. She’d go back another time, but first she needed to get Carina to safety.
Shit! The fence was locked. Sage whispered a spell, but it didn’t work. If she didn’t get that fence open, she wasn’t getting out, and that would be the end for her and Carina.
Glancing up, she saw it and screamed, “Yes.” She punched the button and the fence started opening. Bullets crashed into the back window. Shit, shit, they were shooting at her now.
She was going to need some help, or she and Carina wouldn’t make it out. Digging into her pocket, she called Me-Len. She screamed into the phone,
telling them what road she was on and what car she was in.
Me-Len told her they were on the way. She didn’t have time to talk and drive. She had to get Carina to safety. As she came around the curve, her vehicle was rammed from behind. She fishtailed on the roadway, but thankfully got control of it. Still, they were on both sides of her now and both cars had men hanging out the window with guns. She couldn’t speed up, so she slammed on her brakes, and the bullets slammed into each other’s cars. Then she sped up again. She couldn’t let them get ahead of her and block her. When one of Claudia’s guards got too close, she rammed into the side of his vehicle.
She couldn’t take much more of this. The vehicle couldn’t take much more, either, before the ramming broke off something important. With a worrying crunch of metal, they hit the side of her again. “Please Me-Len, hurry.”
It happened so quickly she almost missed it. Something flew over the vehicle. It sounded like a plane, but not as loud. She sped up again, getting ahead of them. When she looked in her rearview mirror one of the vehicles just blew up. She gasped as the other one exploded too. Her phone started ringing.
“Hello, Me-Len.”
“We’re coming, but the bears sent you some help. Have you seen them yet?”
“Yes. Well, I guess so. The two vehicles following me just…just blew up.”
“Good, now keep driving and I will meet you at the limits of Alpha City. How are Carina and Jessica?”
“Me-Len.” Sage caught herself before she broke down and cried. “I didn’t have enough time to get Mother out, Me-Len. I will have to go back and get her.”
“Just get here, Sage. We will get your mother.” Sage hung up the phone and continued on toward the city limits.
She kept glancing back at Carina. Glass had shattered all over her, but it still appeared that she hadn’t moved. She was still rolled up in a ball. Her cell phone rang again, and thinking it was Me-Len, she answered. “Me-Len, I think I’m close.”
“You’ll regret this, Sage Wingate. That girl belongs to me and you’ll turn around and bring her back.” Sage’s heart dropped as she listened to Claudia Blackwood’s voice.
“Your mother says hello, by the way.”
“If you hurt my mother, I’m going to ki—”
Claudia laughed. “You’re not in any place to give me orders, little witch. I will exchange your mother for the girl. Turn around now and we make the swap. Deal?”
Sage wiped the tears from her eyes. It didn’t matter if she turned Carina over to Claudia; she’d kill her mother and then her.
“Do we have a deal?” Claudia yelled.
“No.”
She heard her mother screaming as the phone hung up. She could see the city limits sign. A convoy of vehicles were waiting as if a parade was coming through. Slowly she pulled up. She wasn’t going to stop until she saw her grandmother.
Me-Len jumped out of a vehicle and waved toward her. She stopped the car and jumped out. At first she hesitated; predatory eyes were gazing on her. Shifters were standing all around and Sage didn’t know any of them. She had seen pictures of the Alphas, but had never been introduced. They all looked angry. Then she spotted her grandmother and ran over to her. Her legs gave out as she fell into Me-Len’s arms. “She’s killing her,” Sage sobbed into her shoulder.
“Who?” Me-Len pulled her back.
“Mother. Claudia called and said if I made a trade she’d exchange Carina for mother. I refused. I knew she would kill us both. I just left her.” Me-Len held her as Kayden pulled Carina out of the backseat.
“You did the right thing, Sage. Your mother knew the danger when she agreed to this, and she would have been very angry if you had turned back now.”
“What did they do to you, little one?” Kayden whispered. The growls and howling could be heard from all around as Carina’s tortured body came into the light.
“I couldn’t leave her there. They would have killed her. She didn’t open the book, Me-Len. She didn’t open the book for her,” Sage cried out.
Getting up, Sage turned around and watched as a woman leaned over Carina. She cut into her wrist, pouring her blood onto Carina’s wounds, and placed her hands on top. “That is Maggie, she’s a Healer.”
“I’ve never seen anyone do that,” Sage said. Me-Len put her arm around her and walked her over to Carina.
“Maggie’s healing is different, but very powerful. When she’s done, Carina won’t have a mark on her.”
“She’s a tough little girl. Never said a word to them except when she had a vision.”
Me-Len pulled back to look her in the eyes. “What did she say, Sage?”
“She said that the Elves were coming, and that Thoth was coming.” It became quiet as everyone listened to what Sage had to say.
Me-Len rubbed the back of her neck. “She was right when she said the Elves were coming; I feel Bast’s presence and he’s angry.”
“Bast, the King of Elves?” As if he heard his name being called, Bast Finn appeared in the tree line, along with his guards.
“Carina is his mate,” Me-Len whispered.
He made his way over to where Carina lay on top of some blankets. Maggie was still leaning over her, healing her body. The white light faded, and then disappeared altogether as Maggie pulled away.
He kneeled down beside her and wiped her hair away from her face. “Thank you, Maggie.”
Maggie bowed toward the Elf and backed away. Sage had only heard stories of the Elf king, but he dressed just like King Arthur and his guards looked like the Knights of the Round Table. He was like the stories said, good-looking, but what she didn’t understand was why he was dressed in armor, with a sword strapped to his back.
A vehicle pulled up and a dark-skinned woman and young man got out and ran toward them yelling, “Carina!” That’s when she saw the driver get out of the vehicle. Goodness, the man was huge. Not just tall, but built like a bear. Finally, his face came into view and all she could think was, wow, what a beautiful man. His brown hair curled over his ears in a way that made her want to reach out and roll her finger around it. He was sporting a beard trimmed close to this face, but man he was simply gorgeous.
“Is she okay?” the woman yelled out, bringing her attention back to them. The woman rubbed her face against her hand. “Carina, it’s Rose. You’re safe, sweetie.”
Carina still didn’t open her eyes until Bast leaned over and whispered something in her ear. She watched as he chanted some type of magic that only Elves would know. She could actually see the magic as it left his mouth and disappeared in the air next to her ear.
As if on cue, Carina opened her eyes and stared back at the king of Elves. “Are you in pain?” Bast asked.
Carina didn’t smile or show any emotion; she just shook her head no. Bast turned around and looked at her sister and brother. “I think it would be best if Carina stayed with me in Valceria until this is over. They won’t stop coming for her.”
At first, Rose shook her head, but her brother spoke up. “Rose, she will be safe there. They won’t be able to get to her there.”
Rose looked over to Knox, who just stared back. Then she looked to Kayden. “Alpha?”
“I think right now, until we can get everything under control, it’s not a bad idea,” Kayden answered.
Rose looked back at Bast. “Only until this is over.” The king of Elves nodded, then bowed his head to Rose.
She watched as Rose and Titan both spoke into Carina’s ear, then hugged and kissed her. Kayden and Zoey did as well. They were her Alphas and cared deeply for her. Carina got up and glanced around at everyone, including a young woman who stood off to the side. When Carina saw her, she nodded her head and smiled, as did the woman. Then she glanced around until her eyes fell on Sage.
At first Sage thought that Carina was staring at Me-Len, but as she walked closer to her she knew that Carina was staring at her. She stopped in front of her, then motioned for her to kneel down. When she did, Carina jumped into
her arms and hugged her.
“Check your pocket,” Carina whispered in her ear. Sage turned her head as the little girl walked away and took the hand of Bast. They walked to the tree line and disappeared. Elf magic was the most powerful of all, and even though she had seen them all disappear with her own eyes, she could hardly believe it herself.
Chapter Twenty-Four
“I think we need to leave and meet back at location two,” Ryder announced. “Me-Len, can you bring Sage?”
“Yes Alpha,” Me-Len answered.
Sage was still staring at the good-looking man with the hair that curled over his ears. She was drawn to him for some reason. Apparently, she had been away from men for far too long.
“Let’s go. The men will take care of your vehicle,” Me-Len said.
“It’s not my vehicle. I stole it from Claudia. It was hers,” Sage informed her with a smile. They both stopped and looked the vehicle over. Smoke was still coming out from underneath the hood, and the sides of the car were mashed up.
“They will take care of it, then. Let’s get out of here.” When she turned around, the big, good-looking man was standing in front of her. His chest was rising and falling like he had been running a race and was out of breath. His brown eyes had turned a golden-brown color as they stared down at her. Ordinarily, she’d be scared, but for some reason the big guy only made her wet between the legs. She couldn’t help but take a good look at him, from his face all the way down. And yes, he had a big one; he was apparently very attracted to her too.
She knew her face had turned red when she looked away. It was obvious what she was looking at. “Brody, this is my granddaughter, Sage Wingate.” Thank goodness her grandmother didn’t notice what she was looking at.
Again nothing came from the man as he closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. “Are you okay, Alpha?” Me-Len said to him when his eyes opened. This time, she saw a bear peeking through beneath his skin. His eyes were those of a bear, and they were set on her.