She saw his face, it was bloody, and he was lying down. It was utterly dark. She could sense his breath, felt his heart beating, but she couldn’t tell where he was. Opening her eyes, she let out an earsplitting scream.
There was no way she was going to lose him. In the blink of an eye, she sent herself to the queen’s temple. It hadn’t been that long since she’d come here begging for help in regards to another man she loved.
“Your highness. I need to speak to you,” she called out and the room went absolutely white. She felt the slight shift as she was transported to the Realm of Mystics.
“What is it, my lady?”
“I come asking a favor.”
“Have you brought an offering, my lady?”
Damn offerings. “No, I have not. I didn’t have time. Jonah has been taken and his wife has been killed. I need help finding him.”
“Without an offering no favor shall be granted.”
“Please, Your Highness. I can’t lose him. Name it, name anything and I’ll give it to you. Just help me find him. He’s all the family I have.”
“You have your prince now, and more powers than the gods themselves. I can not help you, my child.”
“Can’t, or won’t?” Trinity boldly demanded. The smack she felt now was a sucker punch from the inside and sent her flying across the room.
“Do not question me, child. Until an offering is made, no help will be granted.”
She felt the shift, then looked around in a daze as she settled down in her bedroom. Her insides felt bruised and she felt more than a little queasy, but she shook it off and thrust the bedroom door open.
“Trinity? When did you get back?” Gypsy asked when she entered Dante’s room.
“Just now. How are you doing?” she asked Dante.
“My head is pounding and my knee is throbbing like a bitch in heat. But other than that, fine. Did you—”
“No.” She cut him off. She hadn’t found Jonah and was pissed about her encounter with the queen. “Where is Basil?”
“He stayed by the car. With Ariel. Cooper’s on his way back there to bring her home. We need to go out and search. Door to door if need be.” Dante got to his feet a little wobbly, holding his ribs. “We have to find Jonah.”
“You’re not going anywhere and you won’t do anyone any good in this shape. I’ll keep searching. I want him back more than anyone.” She sighed. “Get some rest and put some ice on that head and knee.” She left the room determined to find to her friend.
***
Though he still didn’t have complete freedom, the house was a much better jail then the underground tunnels. Chaos took advantage of his freedom first, by lingering in the shower for nearly half an hour, then sitting on the bed that was big enough for three of him. He did not miss the tiny cot he’d been subjected to sleep on for the past week and three days.
And it was so nice to be waited on once again. He desperately missed that. He had fresh linens on his bed, fresh towels in his bath and all the blood and wine his body required.
“Enter,” he called out at the knock on the door.
“Sir. I have a present for you.”
Chaos acknowledged Daniel with a nod. “Is that so? And what sort of surprise is it?”
“If you would come with me, I’ll show you. Believe me, you won’t be disappointed.”
There were times his youth came out in leaps and bounds. Now was such a case. The boy’s eyes absolutely lit up with excitement. “All right, Daniel. Lead the way.” He thought of the boy as his son, had taken him in the beginning stages of his teen life and had raised him as his own. He felt as akin to Daniel as he would if the boy had come from his loins.
He was led down the stairs to the main level, then down to the cellar. He didn’t need the lights to guide his way but they were on none the less. And he didn’t need to be told there was a human in the room. He could clearly smell the blood.
“We captured this one just for you.”
Chaos turned the corner and the delight at seeing the human male hanging from the shackles in the wall filled him. “What a wonderful surprise indeed. I take it he’s one of Trinity’s?” The man was unconscious as he hung from the wall, stripped to nothing but his flesh. Blood was running a line down his face from the crack in his head, and bruises were beginning to bloom on his chest. He was injured but he smelled of a healthy human.
“Not just any one of Trinity’s people. This is the guy she worked for,” Daniel explained as he took the face in his hands. “This is her best friend, Jonah Moore.”
“Well…” Chaos grinned as he moved closer to the male. “Isn’t that perfect. How was he taken?”
“Three of my men ran them off the road just out of Basil’s estate. One of the females was dead on the scene but was sampled nicely. Another male, my brother, was injured, but a female vampire attacked one of ours in protection of him. She’s the one I had hoped for my own,” Daniel said.
“Ah, and she was protecting your brother? Interesting. Perhaps next time you’ll keep a closer eye on your chosen. I like this one.” Chaos turned back to Jonah. Dipping his finger into the blood along his face, he slipped it in his mouth and sighed. “So fresh.”
“He had the computer shop that Basil destroyed when the king took out Trinity. So, I was thinking he might know how to get into Basil’s place, how to disable the alarm system.”
“You truly do me proud, my son.” Chaos laid a hand on Daniel’s shoulder. “It has been much too long since I had some fun. I think I’ll enjoy torturing some answers out of this one.”
“I thought you would. We’ll leave you to him now, but before I go, I wanted to make sure everything was well enough for you here.”
“Everything is perfect, Daniel. You chose well. Thank you.”
Daniel beamed. “You are welcome, sir.” He hurried up the stairs and away.
“Oh yes, you will do me perfectly well. Let’s see if we can’t wake you.” Walking to the laundry area, Chaos grabbed a dirty bucket from the floor and ran water into it. He carried it to the body, then sent the water crashing over Jonah. He sputtered, coughed and his eyes fluttered open. “Good day, young man. It’s time we got to know each other.”
***
“It’s all my fault.” Dante’s head still throbbed and he couldn’t put pressure on his left knee, but that wouldn’t stop him from looking for his friend.
“It’s not your fault. Come here and sit back down. You’re not going to make your knee better if you keep walking on it.”
He didn’t want to sit, but he let Gypsy lead him back to the bed in any case. “If I’d turned us around the first time they bumped us, Jonah wouldn’t have been taken and Ariel…would still be alive. She was going to have a baby.” She’d had a whole life ahead of her.
“What? She was pregnant?” Gypsy gasped.
“They hadn’t done the test yet but Jonah said she was pretty sure. He was grinning like a fool in love. Damn it, I have to find him.” He stood again, only to have her pull him back down.
“What good will you be out there when you can’t even stand on your own two feet for more than a minute. You need to relax and rest.”
“I need to find him.”
“And we will. Trinity said she was going to go back out and Basil was going to go with her. They have a better chance of finding him that you do.” She stroked his face, kissing his head. “You need to relax.”
“How can I relax, Gypsy, when my best friend is missing and his wife is dead? She was so excited about getting out and I end up getting her killed.”
“Stop it!” she demanded, turning his face to her. “You did not get her killed. The bastards that rammed us did. You lost control of the car, which would happen to anyone. That doesn’t make it your fault.”
“I just
can’t believe she’s gone.” He fell against her, taking comfort in her loving arms around him.
“I know. I know.” She kissed him softly, then just lingered against his lips until the door opened.
“How are you doing?” Basil asked. Trinity was right behind him.
“He’s feeling guilty but I told him it isn’t his fault. Did you…bury her?” Gypsy asked shyly.
Basil nodded. “She has her place of rest. Trinity and I are going out again. I do not want either of you leaving this house. Got me?”
“I could help,” Gypsy piped in boldly. “I’m pretty strong and I can take care of myself. I handled that nasty vamp that had Dante. I want to help.”
“You’re better off here keeping an eye on our boy. You and I both know he’ll bolt as soon as we’re gone.”
They knew him pretty damn well because yes, he most definitely would bolt.
“You’re right.” Gypsy turned to Dante, cupping his face in her hands. “He won’t get away with me around.”
“We have our cell phones with us. If you hear anything—”
“I’ll call. Same for you.”
Basil nodded, then taking Trinity’s hand, left the room.
“She was awfully quiet.”
“Jonah was like a brother to her. Listen to me, talking in the past tense. He is like a brother to her. They have to find him.”
“They will. Now, you lay back and let me make you better.”
He lay back, but even the sensual stroke of her hands on his body couldn’t take his mind off of what they had just been through.
***
“Well, here we are again. You and I, out alone, in search of someone.”
Trinity nodded. It hadn’t been that long ago they had worked side by side looking for five innocent females being used as a ritual to raise the king. “We have to find him, Basil. I can’t lose him.”
“I know, my love, I know.”
She took comfort in the squeeze of his hand. “He’ll be devastated about Ariel.” She was devastated. Ariel was the closest thing she had to a sister. And now she was gone.
“In every war there are always some casualties.”
She stopped dead in her tracks and turned to him with fury in her blood. “How can you say that, how can you be so cavalier about it? She’s dead, Basil. Dead.”
“I didn’t mean it to be cavalier. It was just a thought, a senseless thought.” He cupped her face in his hands now and kissed her nose. “I’m sorry, love. I can only imagine how hard this must be for you.”
“I lost my real sister not that long ago. It was a car accident then, too. I feel like the fates are laughing in my face. And damn it, I hate to cry.” Yet now she couldn’t seem to stop the tears.
He held her against his chest while she wept. She loved Ariel like a sister and losing her was breaking her heart.
“She was with child.”
She lifted her head abruptly and glared into his blue eyes. “What?”
“She was pregnant. I could sense it when I went to her. There were two distinctly different scents of blood.”
“Oh my God.” She fell into his arms again and continued to let the grief wash through her. Not only was Ariel gone, but so was the child she’d been carrying. “I asked the queen for help.” Trinity sniffled as she lifted her head from Basil’s shoulder.
“You went to the queen?” He wiped her tears away with the palm of his hands.
“I needed her help. She wouldn’t help me. What sort of offering did you bring her when you visited?”
“You went without an offering? Oh, Trinity.”
“I didn’t think. She wouldn’t help me and it pissed me off. I kinda insulted her and she smacked me. I still can feel the bruise.” She placed a hand on her belly.
“Oh, love.” He kissed her nose then kissed his hand and placed it on her belly. “The offering has to be worthy of the request. You’re asking her to help you find a human. The gift has to be big, meaningful.”
“She took my pendant last time. She seemed happy with it.”
“If it was the one you wore all the time, then I can understand it. That was a spiritual gem worthy of the queen. And you gave your life for me. Another worthy gift. She won’t settle for just any gift now. Don’t go to her again, Trinity. Promise me.”
“I just want to find Jonah.” She couldn’t lie to Basil but she knew telling him she would most definitely go back to her would only infuriate him.
“I know, and we will.”
She took his hand in hers, not feeling any better for her tears.
“You know, this could also be a diversionary tactic to get you out in the open.”
She shrugged. “I have my mind tuned in to my surroundings. I’ll know if they come at me.”
“Good. Because I lost you once, I won’t go through that again.”
She knew now what he must have felt when she’d died. She was feeling pretty torn up right now herself.
***
His body was on fire with pain. It seemed that every organ, every bone was crying out to him and there was nothing he could do about it. And all he wanted was to die.
He was strung up to a cement wall by steel shackles that cut into his wrists and ankles. The creature before him was a gnarled beast of a man with jet black hair against a pale, aging face. His yellow eyes bore into him with an intense glare that did nothing to scare him.
Jonah welcomed death. He’d lost the only thing he’d ever loved.
His wife.
“Let us try this again. What is the code to the alarm system on Basil’s property?”
“Go to hell,” Jonah spat.
“Your nobility is honorable. I am so enjoying this torture session, but I wonder how long you will be able to last.”
He didn’t bother to look up as Chaos spoke, but he did hear the rustling of something that he hoped was a gun. He didn’t want to live anymore. Not without his Ariel.
“We’ll see how long you last with this.”
He heard it then, right before the slash of fire erupted across his chest. The tip of the whip slashed through his skin and, God help him, he screamed like a girl.
“Still brave?”
Jonah panted through the pain and wished to God he could just die. “Go…to hell!” He screamed again when the whip caught him, stripping away another slice of flesh. He felt the room sway, felt himself tipping over, then bolted awake when the icy water hit his face.
“Can’t have you blacking out yet.” Chaos took his face in his hands and gave it a good hard squeeze. “Was that your wife my boys sampled? They tell me she was absolutely scrumptious. She and the child inside of her.”
Jonah lifted his head and the fire in his chest was matched by his fury. “Don’t talk about her. Don’t ever talk about them again.”
“Now we found our sore spot.” Chaos laughed, releasing Jonah’s face harshly. “So not only did you lose your loving wife, but the child the two of you created as well. That has got to be rough.”
“Just kill me already. I don’t want to live.”
Chaos turned and the whip slashed out with a might force.
Jonah screamed and screamed as the leather cut through his chest to rip open another wound. “Hit me again. Kill me, please, just kill me.”
“You disgust me. Such a weak male. How is it you and your misfits have eluded me all this time. Raven,” he called loudly.
Jonah heard foot steps on the stairs but had no energy to lift his head to see who it was.
“Tend to my slave and make sure he stays alive. I’m not through with him yet.”
“Yes, my lord.”
He didn’t care who saw him crying and let the tears fall. There was more than pain fueling him but a loss no one could
understand. He heard water running, heard footsteps and still he didn’t lift his head. Then he saw her kneel down at his feet. Lifting his heavy head, he saw a fall of silky black hair and a delicate hand reach up to his chest. He cringed as she touched the cloth to his wounds.
“I’m sorry.” She winced as she blotted the wounds on his chest. “I’ll try to do it as gently as I can.”
He closed his eyes and suddenly felt the shame of his nudity.
“I wish I could do more.”
Her voice was gravelly, like she had a sore throat. “Kill me,” he said through his own hoarse throat.
“I won’t kill you. I promise. I’m here to help you.”
He closed his eyes and the last thing he heard her say was, “I’m sorry this happened to you.”
Chapter Thirteen
Dante sat like an obedient child as Cooper tended to his knee. He’d washed it with warm water and clucked his tongue the whole time. Dante had to admit, his knee was pretty ugly. The black and blue bruises overtook the normal deep bronze tone of his skin and the knee itself had swollen up like a balloon. Cooper had rubbed some sort of liniment over it that had a numbing effect.
“Do you have a medical degree, Cooper?” Dante asked for nothing more than small talk.
“I attained it long before you were even a thought.”
“I wasn’t criticizing. I was curious. You seem to know what you’re doing, not just with my knee but the stitching in my shoulder as well.” Which had torn open in the accident. But it wasn’t as bad as it had been. At least it only required gluing this time, which made Dante very happy. He was getting tired of having a needle shoved in his arm. “So how come you work for Basil?”
“I’ve been with Basil since he left his father.”
“How long ago was that?”
“Longer than you’ve been alive,.” Cooper grinned.
“Hm,” Now Cooper was wiggling Dante’s knee cap back and forth. It was the oddest sensation. He only had a minimal amount of feeling in his knee after the liniment had been applied. “How’d you two hook up?”
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