by Milly Taiden
She had to cover her eyes from the sudden brightness, but was quickly able to see a bit of the world around them. They drove out of the industrial park and onto asphalt roads barely wide enough for two vehicles.
The steep hills were covered in green, either trees or fields. They passed the occasional townsfolk walking a bicycle along the side of the road. One was walking a cow. She had watched the movie Sound of Music several times as a kid. Much of the landscape reminded her of that movie. The huge sweeping hills of grass and countryside begged for picnickers and dogs chasing balls.
In the far distance, she saw the old castle the taxi driver had pointed out what seemed like weeks ago. From this angle, the structure looked huge. Several stories high with turrets and ramparts and pointed towers. In its day, she imagined the place was spectacular. But as with almost everything, its time had come and gone, giving way to the new and improved.
The men spoke the local language she didn’t understand. The way they glanced back at her and the wolf didn’t bring her comfort. Sometimes their faces reflected fear, other times anger. What did it mean that they were going to the old castle? If the prince wanted to hold them, the dungeon cells under the palace would be fine without the added problem of transportation.
What if the castle had old torture devices like the rack and all those other things she always saw in movies about medieval times? Was the prince going to torture them to get information on who they were? Then she remembered how the prince reacted to realizing Bryon was a shifter. The man had said he’d waited a long time for another shifter. That meant he had a plan for them. Whatever it was couldn’t be good. She needed to come up with an escape plan that included getting past five guards and moving a wolf that was probably twice her weight. No problem.
Chapter Twenty-eight
Sitting in the back of the van, Kari lost sight of the castle on the hill. She didn’t want to move with Bryon’s wolf’s head in her lap. The driver turned onto a bumpy road and they climbed a hill. The path narrowed as they drove past trees which became a forest the higher they went.
After a short amount of time, they passed through a gate in a stone wall. If she was correct, they were at the back of the castle. The part not seen from the town. The van stopped and the men got out. The two side doors opened and men grabbed the wolf by his fur.
“Hey!” she hollered, even though she doubted they understood her. “Be nice.” She held his head in her hands and scooted him closer to the door so they wouldn’t have to yank and pull on him. She followed her mate’s procession with the last guard behind her.
They came to a rounded door that would’ve looked perfect in a castle if it wasn’t made of shiny metal. The guard punched in a passcode on the electronic entry device and the door popped open. Quite modern, especially when there supposedly wasn’t any electricity in the castle.
Inside, the air was musty and old, but the corners were relatively free of cob webs. So either it was so old that all the spiders had died or there was enough activity to keep them from making a home. She wasn’t sure which was better.
The men led them down a set of stairs where a switch on the wall turned on a single light bulb. The wire was attached to the stone and ran up through a hole in the rock floor. The whole place was probably wired in the same fashion.
At the bottom of the steps, the room opened into a large space that looked multifunctional. Cells with thick bars lined one side. Chairs and foldable tables were stacked against a wall. The other side held a fire box and what looked like a stone altar. All the horror and witch movies she’d ever seen flashed through her mind. All the scenes where the sacrificial victims had their throats slashed or heads cut off or a knife drilled through their hearts. A shudder passed through her. She and the wolf had to get out of there fast.
She looked around for possible escape routes. No windows or other doors except the one they had come through at the top of the stairs. The men dropped the wolf inside a cell and pushed her in before closing and locking the door. The guys whispered as they left. She found that interesting. Were they trying not to draw the attention of the old ghost king? She wanted to laugh at that, but the surrounding environment made the story feel more real.
Kari sat on the floor next to the unconscious wolf’s head and petted him. “Well, wolf, any ideas how to get out of here?” she waited for a reply not coming. “Yeah, me neither.” She sighed.
“I have to say, this has been an exciting trip. When I came on this project, your boss told me I would just have to walk around and pretend to be a girlfriend.” She laughed. “I failed at that spectacularly. I haven’t seen Sheldon in forever.
“But in a way, that’s fine. Because with you, I don’t have to pretend to be in love. You’re exactly what my Tabi talked about when she spoke of Joe and his love. Shifter love.” She looked down at him, stroking her fingers through his soft fur. For years, she’d dreamed about a shifter being her white knight, or black wolf, in this case. He would love no matter her looks or how smart she was. He would love her for who she was.
And she would love him with all her heart in return. They would have three kids, two boys and a little girl. The boys would always watch over their sister and keep her safe from bullies and those who would be mean to her. She’d wanted a cat and dog, until she realized that if her husband was a shifter, he would probably scare the crap out of the cat. But the dog would be okay. But why have a dog when her shifter husband could play fetch with the kids? And he’d walk himself. Huge bonus.
When she’d reached her late twenties, that dream slowly went away. Replaced by bills, a mortgage and car payments, and reality. She watched as her friends, one by one, married and grew their families with children and animals—regular ones. The thought of shifters no longer entered her head. She’d forgotten for the most part that they existed. Everyone looked and acted human.
She sighed and leaned forward, resting her elbows on her legs. Her wish of finding the man of her dreams had come true, but now it seemed they would never have their happily ever after. She felt certain they would kill Bryon. Biting tears flooded her eyes. Her heart sank and a pain inside her ached like she’d never felt before. That was what losing someone you loved felt like.
She felt helpless, overwhelmed by the circumstances. How could she fight men trained to kill? Thinking back, she was trained how to defend herself against those types of people and how to go on the offensive. But she’d had a desk job her entire working life and she used her brain, not brawn. Perhaps it was time to kick her own ass into gear.
She’d been relying on Bryon to get her out of the tunnels. Now that they were, it was up to her to get them out of this. She would do whatever it took to protect him. She could do this.
The door from the upstairs opened, and the stair treads creaked and moaned under someone’s weight. She got to her feet, ready to go head-to-head with whomever. Of course, it would be the red-eyed prince prick himself. What did he want? She was almost too afraid to ask.
Chapter Twenty-nine
Kari stared at the bastard with his red eyes glowing on the other side of the cell.
“What do you want?” she asked. “Going to try to sell us off to the highest bidder? I swear to god, when we get out of here, I will make sure every single person in that warehouse is found and either set free or put in prison. Starting with you.” She shoved a finger through the bars and poked his chest.
The prince frowned and stepped back. He rubbed the spot where she’d touched him. “Do not worry yourself with such trivialities. Soon, your reality will be what I want it to be.”
“What are your plans for us?” If he would give her a hint, maybe she could figure a way out.
“I will take possession of the shifter’s body and live once again. I’ve waited for such a long time.”
“You’ve already taken possession of him and me,” she said. He laughed and walked up the stairs. A few minutes later the guards brought food and water then went back upstairs. Did they real
ly think she was dumb enough to eat their poisoned food? That trick was in every story ever told. Instead, she shoved it in the corner.
Behind her, a cracking sound startled her. She turned to see her Bryon back in human form, lying on the ground. And naked. If not for their dire situation, she’d keep this view for a while. But she turned and wiggled her robe off for him to cover himself. After shimmying it from her shoulders, she turned to see Bryon set down the cup of water.
“No.” She would’ve slapped the cup from his hand, but he’d already drunk it all.
“What?” His voice was scratchy. “Where are we?” His head shook and he wiped at his eyes. “Everything is blurry. Do you have more water?” Whatever they drugged him with dehydrated his body.
“There may have been poison in that drink,” she said.
He looked at the cup then around them. “Well, shit. There probably was if the prince had anything to do with it. It will knock me out in a few minutes.” He sat up and ran fingers through his hair. “Where are we?”
“At the old castle on the hill,” she said. She held out her robe. “Put this on to cover some of you. Probably not all of you, though.” Her eyes strayed down his chiseled chest and abs. When his thighs separated, her look snapped back to his face. He caught her checking him out. Again. She raised her chin as her cheeks flushed hot. “You’re my mate,” she said. “I can . . . can . . .” she waved her arm in the air over his body, “look all I want.” She dropped the robe on him.
He laughed and pulled her down to his lap. “Yes, you can, my love. And I like that you do. But the fear I smell tells me we have other matters to attend to first.” He kissed her neck. She sighed. She felt so much stronger when with him. He gave her the belief they could get through everything. They practically had already. “Now tell me what’s happening. Why are we at the castle? I heard this place was haunted by one of the old ancestors.”
“I heard that, too, but I don’t believe in ghosts, so that’s the least of my worries.” She scooted around on his lap. “Have you seen anything weird about the prince?”
“Weird like what? He’s flamboyant as hell, but that doesn’t bother me.”
“Remember the drawings on the wall talking about the royals being possessed by demons?”
“Yeah.”
“I think it is true. Several times I’ve seen red in his eyes. And that is not a human trait.”
He rubbed his chin. “I have to agree based on what I’ve seen.”
“But I don’t know how that applies to us,” she replied.
“Have you talked to him any? Did he say anything?” he asked.
She thought back to what the prince had said recently. Dammit to hell. Now the bastard’s comment made sense. “He said he’s going to take possession of your body. That he’s been waiting a long time to find another one of you. You being shifters.”
Bryon nodded. “He said something similar to that before—waiting for another me. But doesn’t he know shifters can’t be possessed? The wolf will kick out the demon before it gets a chance to move in.”
“Thank god, that’s a relief. I don’t think he knows that. Should we tell him?”
“Let’s wait until telling him benefits us in some way. We might be able to use it somehow,” he said. His eyes drooped and head fell back against the bars.
Panic ran through her. She slapped his cheeks. “Bryon, wake up. You can’t pass out. We have to get out of here.” His head snapped forward.
“I’m awake. But won’t be soon.”
“How long were you out before?” she asked.
“I don’t know. I wasn’t out too long. Maybe a couple hours. But that was a full dose for me. This was meant for you, right?”
She whipped around to look at him. “You’re right. You were out when they dragged you in here. Why would they bring it for you? That means you got a partial dose.”
“That would explain why I’m still conscious,” he replied.
“But barely.” She took a deep breath. She had to think to come up with a plan. Goddard would try to take over her mate’s body, but wouldn’t be able to. What would Goddard do when he discovered he couldn’t? He’d kill them both on the spot. Shit. Think, Kari, think.
This wasn’t a puzzle easily solved by analytics or moving things around in her head. She’d always wondered if that accident hadn’t happened when she was twelve would she be “normal,” just like the average Joe who watched Wheel of Fortune because Jeopardy made him feel dumb?
He rested against the stone wall. They were running out of time. His shaky hand lifted to her face. Fingers brushed against her cheek. “I loved you the first time I set eyes on you in the prince’s dining room. That second, I knew you were mine.”
He spoke like he was dying. Maybe they were on their way to meet death. Tears rolled from her eyes. “I loved you the second I saw your picture in the director’s office. The guys could smell it on me. I was so embarrassed.” He chuckled. She leaned forward and kissed him. Much too quickly, his body went limp.
The door to upstairs opened, again. More than one person was on their way down. This was where it began.
Chapter Thirty
With nearly closed eyes, Kari sat on the cell floor and stared through slatted eyes at the surreal image of those coming down the stairs. Since she was supposed to be unconscious from the drink, she positioned herself next to Bryon leaning against the wall. From this vantage, she clearly saw the steps.
Prince Goddard led the procession down, wearing a deep red cape-like robe. The collar and sleeves were wrapped in fur with long flowing fibers that almost floated in the air when he walked.
Behind him came those she recognized as the guards, but wearing black robes with hoods over their heads. They carried down armfuls of fluffy rugs. What were those for? Were they going to lie around and tell ghost stories?
The prince continued toward their cell while the men laid out the mats. He spoke the native language, but she could guess what he was basically saying. A black robed person took a key from a pocket and opened the cell. The guard pointed at Bryon and asked a question. Probably wondering why Bryon was in human form and not animal. Shit.
The prince paused for a moment, but told the guy to bring Bryon out. Her poor Bryon, once again, was dragged across the floor. Fortunately, this was smooth stone and not jagged rock. His body was laid on one of the rugs. Worry made her feel like puking. What should she do?
The prince spoke to the group, raising his arms to the sides and dropping his head back. He looked to be preforming a miracle. In a way, he was. Demon possession was only in fiction. The lightbulb in the room faded for a brief second. When Kari returned her eyes to Goddard, she gasped out loud. Oops. All heads turned toward her.
She couldn’t take her eyes off the prince as he made his way toward the cage. “Well, I see you didn’t drink the water,” he said. He smiled when he saw her expression of horror. “You like what you see, young lady?”
Her brain was trying to make sense of the image before her. Goddard was in human form, but looked like a zombie fresh from a grave. His skin was loose and discolored, teeth and nails looked like they’d been soaked in black coffee for years. His face was sunken and hollowed to appear skeletal.
“What happened to you?” she asked.
“Time happened, my dear. Flesh only lasts so long. Ever since finding out about a superhuman race, a species with immense physical power and beauty, I’ve waited and hunted for a creature I could have.”
“So you’re not really the prince, are you?” She was starting to catch onto the logic here.
The creature laughed. She blinked and suddenly, the prince was standing in front of her. “You are correct, child. Goddard and several of his ‘ancestors’ have been purely contrived by me. I would be Goddard’s great-great-grandfather, King Alheim.”
What would allow him to change his image like that. There was only one reason she could come up with. Black magic.
“You’ve used glamour
to disguise yourself as members of the royal family. But the logistics of that would be completely insane,” she said. “You’d have to—”
“Kill lots of people and limit exposure. Yes, of course.” He waved his hand like it was nothing. “When you get to my age, life means little except for what it can do for you.” He turned back to the black robed men gathered around her mate’s body lying on the rug. “And as soon as I have this new body, I will be invincible for generations to come. Hopefully.”
Two thoughts came to her mind. This creature roaming these halls would explain the rumors of the castle being haunted by the older king. And the reason he was part of the traffic ring was to find a body he wanted. Who better to scout for a shifter than someone who made a living finding and capturing people?
His last word registered in her mind. “What do you mean hopefully?” Halfway to the rugs, he stopped and glanced over his shoulder.
“The last shifter possession I tried didn’t turn out so well. The poor creature suffered horrible pain before dying. I waited too long for him to bleed out, among other things. That won’t happen again.”
Oh shit. This was not happening. Panic seized her. She had to find a way to stall whatever the hell this monster had planned until the poison burned off and Bryon woke. The only thing that came to mind was their last option. Bryon said not to use it unless dire. Now looked pretty dire to her.
“Do you know why you failed, dumbass?” she said, making her voice as smooth and haughty as she could. The sick shaking she felt inside wouldn’t be good to show right now.
Goddard swung around, his robe flying out behind him. He stomped his way back to her cage. His arm shot between the bars, aimed for her throat. She lunged backward to hit the wall.
“What do you speak of, child. How would you know my failings?”
Kari rolled her eyes and huffed. “Everyone knows you can’t possess a shifter. The animal half will beat the shit out of the demon before he even gets in.”