Deliverance

by Adrienne Monson

  She and Nik were currently sharing a tight space in the trunk while being driven to the lair. All she knew about the area was that it was bone-chillingly cold. The trunk did little to keep the frigid air from seeping in.

  Nik finally began to stir while they rode in the car. His eyes opened, inches from hers. At first, his expression was tender, remnant of when they had slept in each other’s arms so many years ago. Then his pupils shrunk and his lips pressed into a thin line.

  “How long was I out?” he asked.

  Samantha cleared her dry throat. “I’m not sure, but I’d say the better part of a day.”

  “And we’re still traveling,” he remarked. “Maybe they flew us into Asia.”

  Shaking her head, she explained, “We only flew for three or four hours, then waited in the plane until a little while ago.”

  Nik nodded and cocked his head to listen.

  It hadn’t seemed so bad while the vampire had been unconscious, but now Samantha was all too aware of their torsos touching. Both of them had their arms cuffed behind them—something that was truly becoming painful to Samantha’s shoulders. Their legs were intertwined to accommodate the tiny space they shared.

  “They’re trying to listen to our conversation,” he muttered.

  Samantha nodded in understanding. She wouldn’t so much as say Liam’s name, let alone where he could be. A flashback of Annette raping her mind took over her thoughts. Samantha’s breathing shallowed and she tried to get it under control. She hoped that she could better handle the torture the vampires had in store for her this time. She couldn’t allow herself to betray Leisha and Liam.

  The vehicle slowed and stopped. Samantha’s breath hitched when the trunk opened and a glaring light blinded her.

  She and Nik were lifted out and then roughly shoved onto their feet. After her eyes adjusted, Samantha surveyed her surroundings. They were in a parking garage, only big enough to hold about twenty cars.

  The vampire escorting her yanked on her upper arm, and Samantha did her best to keep up. They entered a hallway lined with high quality, beige carpet surrounded by dark blue walls. She had the impression that they were in an upper scale apartment building, but wasn’t sure how accurate her estimations were.

  They descended a long flight of hardwood stairs. By the time they reached the bottom, Samantha was breathless. A large door opened and she followed Nik and his escorts into a large, round room. There were no windows and the tile floor smelled moldy.

  What filled the space made Samantha’s hands tremble. She watched as the two vampires flanking Nik took him to an old, antique-looking torture device. She recognized it from a movie she’d seen. It had the vague outline of a person and the inside was lined with spikes protruding from every angle except the bottom. That’s an iron maiden! They forced Nik to stand in the center, his arms still bound behind him. The hinges protested in high-pitched squeals as they closed it, forcing a bunch of spikes into his body from every angle. Samantha jerked when she heard them tearing into Nik’s skin as the door clapped shut.

  Samantha cried out when large amounts of blood started to leak through the cracks in the bottom, but the vampire inside didn’t so much as grunt.

  The man holding her arm unlocked her handcuffs. Pain lanced through her shoulders and arms as she rotated them. She would have rubbed them a little, but the vampire pulled her hands above her head. Large metal clasps closed over her wrists and once again, she was bound. A chain rattled above and Samantha was lifted by the manacles until her feet were well off the floor.

  Pins and needles of agony shot into her arms and she bit her lip to keep from screaming. The cuffs dug painfully into her wrists and it felt as if they would pull the sensitive skin right off her bones. She tried to grip the chains and lift herself up with her biceps, but she wasn’t strong enough to hold herself up that way and sagged back down, her wrists and palms taking the brunt of her weight. It felt as if her shoulders were going to pop out of their sockets at any moment.

  Footsteps, distinctive by the high heels clacking, came from the entrance of the dungeon. Samantha looked over and couldn’t suppress her groan when she saw Annette.

  The vampire was exactly the same as she remembered. Even though Samantha knew this woman’s vile character, her beauty—reminiscent of Snow White—was captivating.

  Annette’s red lips curved into a wicked smile. “I’m so pleased to have you two here.” She licked her lips as if she’d just eaten a decadent dessert. “We’re going to have some fun, and then you’re going to tell me everything you know.”

  Samantha swallowed down the bile that threatened to erupt from her esophagus. I can survive this, she chanted silently to herself. She raped my mind before and I survived. I can survive this. I will survive this.

  With a jerk of Annette’s head, two guards opened the iron maiden. Nik looked as if he were only upright because of the spikes that still dug into his back. The guards stepped in and pulled him straight out to get him off of the spikes. He hung heavily in their arms and didn’t resist. Samantha pressed her lips together when she saw the bloody holes that covered his body. Blood seeped from his cheeks all the way to his groin. She’d never seen him look so shrunken. He was dragged to a table, his toes dragging in the blood that spattered around his feet. Once lying on the table, he was shackled down in a spread eagle position.

  Annette smiled at Nik and then walked over to Samantha. The dark beauty stroked purple fingernails lightly over Samantha’s cheek. “You’ve certainly grown up since I last saw you.” She forced Samantha’s chin up. “Your face is thinner, your cheekbones more prominent.” Annette surveyed her slightly swinging torso. “You’ve finally developed some curves, too. Why, dearest Samantha,” she gushed, “you’ve grown into a woman over the last couple years.”

  Samantha wanted to respond with some sarcastic remark, like Leisha would have done, but her mind blanked. All she could think was that she didn’t want to look into those arctic blue eyes anymore.

  When she didn’t reply, Annette smiled. “Well, let’s get to it then, shall we?” The vampire leaned in until her nose almost touched Samantha’s.

  Samantha desperately wanted to look away, but one second was all the vampire needed to entrap her. It felt as if black oil oozed into her brain, filling every crevice. She had no more coherent thought, all she could do was stare into Annette’s eyes as the vampire’s vile mind invaded hers. All of her deepest thoughts and desires were now coated in smut and turned into something rotten. Tears poured down her cheeks, but she couldn’t think about what was happening to her body at the moment. All she knew was the ugliness going on in the most personal part of her. It was over very soon, but Samantha was left panting and with the lingering muck in her brain.

  The vampire in front of her sighed. “You’re too easy.” She touched a finger to her chin. “Granted, now that you’re a human servant, your mind isn’t as fragile as a regular human’s, but still . . . too easy.” Grinning, she turned to Nik, who was watching Samantha with pinched lips and a concerned gaze.

  “Now, our dear Nikita here, he will be so much fun.” The petite woman sauntered over to him, grabbed his hair roughly, and looked into his eyes.

  Samantha watched as Nik’s expression became determined. He glared back at the enemy. She’d seen this same staring contest three years ago. If Nik could gain the upper hand, he could lure Annette into doing whatever he asked of her. While it didn’t seem as if anything was happening, both of their bodies were tense and Nik’s upper lip broke out in bloody sweat.

  Finally, after several agonizing minutes, Nik groaned. His eyes glazed over and his cheeks twitched. It was another minute before Annette turned away with her lips curved up in a satisfied smile.

  Samantha cringed when she heard his whimper. He sounded like a wounded dog. She was certain Annette had been harsher with him than she’d been with Samantha.

 
; “Well,” Annette clasped her hands together as if she were about to host a party. “Now that I’ve primed you two, let’s have some real fun, oui?” She turned toward the doorway and Ellery appeared.

  Samantha squeezed her eyes closed. She’s worse than Annette.

  Glancing in her direction, the empath smiled. “Yes, you should be scared of me, dearest Samantha. How wise of you to know it so quickly.” Walking over to Nik, she lightly stroked his sandy hair. “My, you’re certainly feeling vulnerable right now aren’t you?”

  Nik spit, the spittle spraying over Ellery’s cheek and nose. The vampire just smiled wider. “Yes, I daresay you are.” Samantha’s skin prickled as she watched the evil woman rake her nails down Nik’s chest, leaving bloody gashes on top of the cuts from the spikes. “The thing is, I remember when you became one of us, sweet Nikita. I’ve known your emotions so completely that I can tell there’s a new undercurrent you’re feeling.”

  Ellery walked over to Samantha. She was standing so close that Samantha could feel her breath tickling her neck. “Could this cute little thing be the factor in these deeper emotions from you, Nikita?” Ellery lightly stroked a hand over Samantha’s ribs, keeping her focus on Nik. Samantha trembled under the touch. It felt almost as invasive as Annette’s mind rape.

  The empath’s eyes narrowed as she continued to watch the bound vampire. “I want two men to take this girl—in front of our dear Nikita. I think that might get him talking more than any other torture we could dole out.”

  Samantha stared at the vampire with wide eyes, not certain if she’d heard correctly. One look at Nik’s pale face was all the confirmation she needed.

  Annette huffed. “You mean, we just stand here and watch?” Her ruby lips pouted. “I was going to have a lot of fun tonight.”

  Patting her companion’s back, Ellery comforted her. “Don’t worry. After they tell us everything, you may keep them as your personal pets for a while. Victor won’t mind as long as we find that boy.”

  The brunette was still frowning, but nodded her acquiescence.

  As two vampires approached, Samantha’s breath seized in her chest and her heart thudded painfully. Doing her best to tromp down the gut-wrenching panic, she gripped the chains holding her and waited until the first one got nearer. When he was close enough, she hoisted her body and kicked the leering grin off of his face. Cartilage snapped and blood sprayed out. His bloodshot eyes raged and he slapped her face. The hit was hard enough to make her head spin.

  Hands grabbed at her waistband and pulled her pants down. Samantha’s stomach churned as she tried to struggle out of two vampires’ grips. She could hear Nik yelling and fighting against the metal bonds that held him, and Samantha knew it would be better for him if she didn’t fight. But she couldn’t force herself to sit idly.

  Her skin crawled when a hand snaked under her shirt, over her bellybutton, and up to a breast.

  Ellery and Annette were whispering to each other as if they were at a sorority instead of watching someone being attacked. Their giggles sounded out of place over Samantha’s grunts from fighting.

  She knew her struggling did her no good, and even weakened her, but Samantha couldn’t stop herself. Tears streamed down her face when the chains holding her lowered so that the men could have better leverage over her.

  One stood behind and held her to his chest while the one in front of her began undoing his pants.

  A choking sob escaped her clenched jaws—at the same time the door imploded. It slammed so hard that it reverberated through the walls.

  Shots fired in every direction. Pain sliced through her shoulder, left hip, and right arm. The stone walls crumbled from bullets spraying it. Samantha’s ears were already ringing from the reports echoing around the torture chamber. Some sort of gas billowed into the room. It got harder and harder to breathe by the second. Samantha felt as if she were breathing in an odd combination of menthol and lavender.

  It was almost impossible to see anything through the smoky screen filling the chamber. But she could hear. Samantha recognized Annette’s scream as she rushed forward to fight the intruders.

  More shots resounded and then there was a muffled thump, as if something soft and heavy had fallen to the ground. Samantha could feel the man behind her loosening his grip and sliding to the floor. She was feeling odd herself. Her vision was going black and a strange numbness encompassed her just before she sagged against her chains.

  24 BC

  Another contraction ripped through her. Iliana squatted with her legs out to the sides to try and relieve some of the pressure she felt, but nothing helped. Sweat dripped from the tip of her nose and fell to the floor. Her hair stuck to her face and neck. The baby was coming. At least she was in a safe place, for now. She’d entered a small fishing village four days ago and the healer was kind enough to offer her shelter.

  She had been having contractions sporadically for the last day and a half, but they were regular now and very close together.

  Petite hands brushed over her back and Iliana looked up to see the healer, Sadra. “You must come to the bed I’ve prepared for you,” she coaxed. “Your baby will be arriving shortly.”

  Despite the immense pain, Iliana smiled. Sadra was kind and gentle. More importantly, the healer did not judge her when Iliana told her she’d left her husband.

  Unable to stand straight, Iliana stayed slumped as she followed Sadra to a back room. It was the room the healer used to treat her patients. Another contraction hit hard and she had to hunch over before she could make it to the bed.

  Sadra placed a hand under her elbow and guided her the rest of the way. Pillows were piled behind her so Iliana was propped up, her legs hanging off the edge of the bed.

  “Put your feet on the bed as well,” Sadra instructed. It took effort for Iliana to comply and she had to hook her arms under her knees to get into the position the healer instructed. It was at that point that Iliana had to push or her body would push the baby out for her.

  Screaming, she bore down, feeling tender skin tearing.

  “That’s it,” Sadra encouraged. “It’s almost out.”

  Pushing again, Iliana was startled when a wail suddenly pierced the room.

  “There’s more to come,” Sadra stated. “The babe’s only halfway out.”

  Bearing down one last time, she pushed as hard as she could. Suddenly, the pressure was gone. The contractions were still present, but not nearly as intense. Iliana sighed in relief and glanced at Sadra, holding a screaming, slimy baby.

  Sadra smiled brightly at Iliana. “You have a beautiful little girl,” she announced. “I’ll just clean her and then you can suckle her.”

  Relaxing into the pillows, Iliana felt tears spring into her eyes. I have a daughter. It was a wondrous thing to experience, to know that she had just given life.

  After Sadra had cleaned up the baby, she handed the squalling girl to Iliana. She focused on nursing her child while Sadra sewed up the skin that had been torn during delivery. It pulled and ached, but Iliana simply felt at peace.

  She began to hum a lullaby her mother had sung to her as a child. Her daughter paused in her suckling and opened her eyes.

  Emerald green irises met her gaze and Iliana swallowed down a feeling of revulsion. She knew babies were all born with blue eyes and then developed their true color as they grew, but since Turney was a god, who knew what to expect. The stark reminder of who fathered this girl was staring up at her. The hair on the back of her neck stood at attention and she had to suppress the desire to abandon the child.

  As soon as the trepidation came over her, Iliana fought it back. Kissing the fuzzy head of her newborn, she whispered, “I’ll love you and keep you safe all the days of my life.” As soon as she’d made the vow, Iliana once again felt at peace. She would love her daughter and raise the girl to be happy. The child would never have to know the evils of
her father.

  Chapter 13

  “We’ll have to leave soon,” Rinwa stated as she clacked on the keyboard of her computer. “Even if we don’t have a trail to follow, we have to go. Samantha has probably told them everything by now.”

  They were back in the safe house that Tafari had taken Leisha to. After her husband had called Rinwa, their daughter said it would take a while for her to track them down. There was a brief discussion, and Leisha agreed that they may as well drive back up to Rinwa so that the immortal could work without having to worry about traveling. The three hour drive had gone by quickly as Liam and Tafari talked the entire time.

  “Samantha does not know our location,” Tafari protested as he walked in from the kitchen with a rag in hand. Though they’d eaten an hour ago, the entire cottage was infused with the scent of their meal of leftover lamb.

  Brushing blond locks behind her shoulder, Rinwa swiveled around in her chair and fixed her father with a look. “She knows we’re somewhere in southern Scotland. That’s close enough for the vampires to find us.”

  From her perch on the couch, Leisha nodded. “She’s right, Tafari. It would be ideal to stick around here until we’ve figured out where Samantha and Nikita are being held, but they might find us first.” Liam was sitting next to her and she stroked his hair. “We all know they can’t be the ones with the advantage.”

  Her husband’s gaze landed on their son and his face softened. “Yes, you are right. We will make plans to depart at first light.”

  Rinwa nodded and turned back to her computer. “I’ve been trying to hack into the traffic cameras near the wreckage where Samantha was taken. It shouldn’t be much longer before I’m in. Maybe I’ll have a direction for us by morning.”