Taken For His Own

by Tara Fox Hall

  “Shoot until we’re empty,” Terian said coldly. “I’ll kill whomever is left.”

  “Terian, kill them now with your magic,” I demanded. “We need to save the ammo for the twenty more bears guarding the foxes. Manir might even have more in reserve!”

  Terian held my gaze, then reluctantly dropped his gun to the floor. He began to call out words loudly. Sudden gasps, then screams rang out.

  “Attack!” Manir yelled.

  The men rushed out at us to be stopped by Brian’s bullets. When he clicked on empty, the other men behind them rushed in. Terian crushed their hearts with magic as they came. One by one, they fell convulsing on the floor, their mouths covered in blood.

  “So much for your intel.”

  Manir. He was furious by the sound of him.

  “You should have waited,” Erin said bitterly. “I told you Terian was here―”

  “Too late to be of any use,” Manir hissed.

  “No!” Erin yelled. “You said—”

  A shot sounded, and her voice was suddenly cut off. Manir walked out in front of us, his explosive bullets gun smoking. He looked about eighteen, maybe nineteen. Short, black clothes and platinum hair to his shoulders, cut in a punk style. He wasn’t handsome, but he did look kind of pretty.

  “He’s from the early eighties,” Brian whispered. “Rich vampire trash.”

  I smirked. “No wonder he’s pissed, stuck with eighties hair for eternity.”

  “Terian,” Manir called in a high voice. “You may have killed my men, but I have reserves. There are another twenty bears outside right now. Give me the child and the woman, and you and anyone else can walk out of here.”

  “Never,” Terian said resolutely, blackness oozing out of him.

  “Then I’ll take them by force. You don’t have enough magic to stop us all,” Manir cackled eagerly. “Attack!”

  Terian threw a bolt of lightning at Manir. It caught Manir full on the chest and knocked him backwards, his chest smoking, just as all the great room glass windows shattered. Bears came through, their hulking forms darting and weaving to evade our bullets. We managed to hit only half, and of the ones we hit, some were only wounded.

  Terian grabbed Theoron out of my arms. “Fall back to Danial’s room!”

  We managed to make it inside and lock the door. In the next moment, it began to shudder under fierce blows, the growling of bears deafening.

  There was only one way this could end if we stayed together: capture. “Terian, teleport Elle and Theoron out of here! Brian can get me out.”

  “You trust him?” Terian shot me a worried look. “Erin betrayed us.”

  I remembered Devlin’s words. “Yes. Go! Get them to safety.”

  “I’ll come back if I can.” Terian grabbed Elle’s hand, and the three of them vanished.

  “What’s the plan?” Brian asked.

  “There are studs here,” I said, going to the outside wall of the back room and spreading my hands. “Between is just drywall at most and insulation. Break us a way out.”

  Brian changed to bear so fast his clothes exploded outward in shreds. He smashed into the wall with his shoulders. I crouched as plaster chips flew in all directions, shielding my face with my arms. The wall held; the sturdy two by fours only cracked. Brian smashed into it again, and the central stud broke cleanly in two. Brian squirmed through, me at his heels, just as Danial’s bedroom door was broken down.

  “Go after them!” Manir shouted. “No shooting! Get the baby!”

  Brian ran into the forest, and I did my best to follow him. It was dark, no moon, even the starlight obscured by cloud cover. Though my night vision was phenomenal now due to Danial’s blood, I still tripped, falling more than once. Brian’s eyesight as bear was also poor, but he smashed a trail that was easy enough to follow.

  We finally stopped in the heart of Danial’s woods, near the graveyard. I sat on the ground, exhausted. There were no sounds of pursuit. Brian stood over me in bear form, panting shallowly. I clutched my gun in my hands. There was some comfort in its cold weight. There was most of one clip left and an extra full one in my hip pocket.

  “Can you hear anyone?” I whispered finally, standing.

  He shook his massive head.

  “Can you get me to the road? Maybe I could flag down a car―”

  Brian shook his head again.

  “We can’t just wait here to be taken prisoner―”

  Brian put his paw on my chest and gently pushed me back down. He gave his paw a little extra pressure and then lifted it off.

  “I get you want me to stay here. But I need to know what happened to Elle and Theoron.”

  Brian didn’t move.

  “Do you think Monica finally showed up and routed them?”

  He nodded, then shrugged.

  I handed my shirt to him. “Change back so I can talk to you.”

  Brian’s fur quickly became hands and skin. He wrapped the shirt around his waist. “Sarelle, you need to stay here until we can determine it’s safe to return.”

  “We should try to get to the road or even a neighboring house. Terian might not have made it. We have to contact Theo and Danial—”

  “I don’t answer to them, Sarelle,” Brian answered. “Contacting them isn’t a priority.”

  I stood quickly, then backed away from him. “Who?”

  “Devlin,” he said almost sadly, then moved to block me. “Please, don’t be afraid. I won’t hurt you.” He held up his hands.

  “Danial said you’d wanted Theo’s job years ago,” I hissed at him. “Devlin put you up to it, didn’t he? For revenge?”

  “Yes, that was the plan then, but―”

  “And you agreed? What kind of a prick are you?” I shouted.

  “I refused when his motive was revenge,” he said, his eyes willing me to believe him. “He doesn’t want revenge now. He wants you safe at all costs—”

  “You lied to us!”

  “He has my wife!” Brian yelled back. “He said if anything happened to you, the same would happen to her.”

  This was why Devlin was sure Brian could be trusted: he held all the cards. No wonder Brian had wanted to know where I was all the time. “I suppose you had better call him and report in,” I said sardonically, throwing him my cell from my back pocket.

  “I’m sorry,” he replied, dialing rapidly. “I had no choice.”

  I sat down near the tree, wrapping my arms around my knees to ease my shaking. Brian reached Devlin and briefed him on the night’s events.

  “We’re near the cemetery. Home in on the cell phone signal. We’ll leave it on. We may have to move.”

  Brian hung up and moved to toss the cell phone back. I put down the gun to catch it, but he didn’t throw it.

  “Why is it so misty all of a sudden?” he asked, putting out his arms. “Where did—?”

  “Get down!” I yelled, dropping flat.

  There was a gunshot. Brian let out a cry of pain and dropped down face first, his back a smoking crater.

  “Sar,” a voice called hesitantly. “Where are you? I can’t see you—”

  “You know I’m here, Monica. Just come out,” I replied scornfully.

  “Impressive,” she said, stepping out of the woods. “I’m surprised you can see me.”

  “I can see the explosive bullets gun in your hand.”

  “You are safe now,” she continued comfortingly. “Come with me back to the house—”

  “Bullshit,” I spat at her. “Do you think I’m stupid?”

  She laughed. “Yes, I do. There’s someone at the house who wants a word with you.”

  “Manir can come here if he wants me,” I said much more bravely then I felt. “You’ve betrayed us.”

  She gave me an evil smile. “Not him, Sar. Alphonse is the one waiting for you. Get going,” she said, gesturing with the gun at me.

  Fear slipped like ice down my back. I went on my hands and knees to Brian’s side, rolling him over to see how badly
he was hurt. The gaping hole near his shoulder was healing, his eyes filled with pain. Weakly, he pressed his gun into my hand hidden behind his body.

  “He’ll heal,” Monica said. “I purposely missed his heart. You want him to keep healing, come with me. His life is in your hands.”

  She was good at being hard, I gave her that. “Why are you doing this?” I asked angrily.

  “Because I’ll get what’s left of you when he’s done―”

  I shot her with the gun, pulling it out in a smooth movement. She screamed as the exploding bullet blew her arm off and fell backward into the dirt. I got to my feet and kicked her gun away, her arm still attached. She was screaming hysterically as blood rapidly pumped out of her.

  Ick. “Brian, put pressure on her wound,” I ordered.

  He obeyed, using my shirt.

  Double ick. I wouldn’t be wearing that again. “Don’t try a spell. Tell me what you meant, or next time my aim won’t be off,” I said, leveling the gun between her eyes.

  Her eyes were wide, full of fear and agony. “You’ll kill me anyway,” she gasped.

  “I’ll let you heal yourself, if you tell me the truth,” I offered. “How long do you think you have before you bleed to death?”

  “I did it for Danial,” she moaned softly.

  Of all the things I expected—money, power, maybe even prestige—this was a surprise. “Explain,” I said, pressing the gun muzzle hard against her temple.

  “I’m in love with him, but he loves you. He called me by your name once.”

  Not hard to imagine how that had felt, especially in the probable context. “Go on.”

  “If you’re dead, he’ll grieve, and then he’ll go on. You won’t be around as a constant reminder of his epic love. He can start to forget you, start to really love someone else.” She swallowed. “I might try to have a child with him. I think I can alter my blood to make it resistant as yours is. I need your blood and DNA to study. Besides, with you still hanging around, he would never settle for a life with me—”

  “So you decided to give me to Al?” I said sarcastically.

  “I knew Manir would attack again. When he did, you could disappear in the confusion. I knew Erin was one of Manir’s agents. She’s been waiting for Theo and Danial to go out of town together. She stupidly puts credence in that bullshit ranking. Too many non-humans do these days.”

  “What are you saying?” Brian interjected.

  “That Theo would have been much easier to kill.”

  “Monica,” I said flatly. “We’ll let you heal. But I want your help fighting whomever’s still attacking, Manir or Al. Swear to your Goddess right now that you will help me.”

  “I swear to my God and Goddess,” she gasped out. “If I don’t help you as you’ve asked, or if I raise hands against you in any way, let Them strike me down.”

  I moved the gun away from her head. “Brian, take her gun and put her arm near her.”

  He did as I asked. Quickly, she began to heal herself, saying words in a chant.

  “Sar, this is unwise,” Brian warned me, his eyes scared. “She’s a witch—”

  “She answered my questions,” I said composedly. “I keep my promises.”

  Monica healed herself slowly, flexing her reattached hand in relief when the healing was complete. She got to her feet, dusting herself off with her hands. “What’s your plan?”

  I looked at her for a split second and then emptied the rest of the clip into her. She was dead when the first bullet exploded her heart. The rest of them shredded her chest and torso, smoke rising from her charred flesh.

  “Good,” Brian said in relief. “I’d thought you’d gone crazy, trusting her at her word.”

  “I’ve wondered for some time what explosive bullets would do to a human.”

  “I could’ve told you they make a mess,” he replied, picking up my cell phone and handing it to me. “Devlin’s on his way. We need to head for the road.”

  I remained standing, staring down at Monica’s ruined form. “She had it coming.”

  “If you believed that, you wouldn’t sound so guilty,” Brian said. “She was your enemy and mine. Let it go. If I’d had another clip to waste, I’d have shot her a few more times myself for her treachery. Now follow me. I’ll lead you to the road.”

  He changed at once, and we began walking again. We finally reached the road about a half hour later. No Hummers were there, as we’d hoped.

  “Where’s Devlin?”

  Brian nosed my pocket with the cell phone. I took it out and pressed redial.

  It rang only once. “What is it, Sar?” Devlin said calmly.

  “How close are you?”

  “About a half hour, give or take. Hummers aren’t built for speed.”

  “They are going to find us and take me,” I said emphatically. “Al is here—”

  “Stay alive. I’ll find you,” Devlin said commandingly. “Which side of the driveway are you on?”

  “The right. I can’t see the driveway. But I’m close to that big maple that’s about a mile away from it.”

  “I know where that is. Wait back from the road at least twenty feet. Don’t come to the road until you see me personally.”

  “Got it. Now that we’re synchronized, why did you take Brian’s wife?”

  “Hang up,” Devlin said coolly. “You know why already.”

  “Let her go.”

  “She is free to go,” Devlin said, a thread of malice twining into his flat tone. “As soon as you are safe. I want his best effort and so should you.”

  “That’s not fair. He’s one against—”

  “I’m bringing my best people, Sar. That will more than even the odds.”

  A man’s voice grumbled something in the background. Devlin irritably told whomever it was to shut up and drive.

  “Even with them, you can’t hurt an innocent woman—”

  “I am not Danial or Theo, that you can plead with me and get somewhere,” Devlin said, coldly. “Now sit tight and wait.” Click.

  That said it all, right there. I shut the phone. “He said to wait here until we see him.”

  We sat down to wait. I was tired, cold and hungry. “Damn it, I should’ve thought to grab that shirt. It was bloody, but I’d have been warmer.”

  Brian motioned me to come into his arms. Shivering with cold, I went to him, and he enveloped me in a bear hug. Within moments, insulated by his thick fur, I was warm.

  Suddenly, Brian went rigid, then fell to land hard on his side, blood pouring out of his craterlike chest wound. He gasped, but couldn’t breathe.

  I rose up, raised my gun and fired, hitting the first attacker in the neck and blowing his head off. Then I was grabbed from behind, the gun knocked from my hand. Despite my struggling, the man held me easily. More men came out of the trees, holstering their guns.

  “He’s out for a while, and we’ve got what we came for,” said the man holding me. “Call it in.”

  Another man called in his position and that they’d captured me. They moved in a group toward the road. When we reached it, a van picked us up. I was thrown into the back seat and told to lay there. We drove northwest, according to the vehicle’s compass.

  I worried about Brian, wondering if he was too hurt to heal. I worried about my children, if they’d gotten out. But most of all I worried about what was going to happen when these men got me wherever we were headed. My one comfort was that the cell phone in my pocket was still on, and the signal was being broadcast. The question was would Devlin find me in time.

  * * * *

  Some hours later, we arrived at a huge mansion so large it looked like a resort. The men got me out of the van and led me struggling up the stairs and in the front doors.

  Al was waiting there for us. He looked the same as he had those years ago. He was even dressed in a robe.

  “Sarelle,” he said softly. “You look as lovely as ever.”

  I didn’t reply, averting my eyes.

  �
�Are you sorry you insulted me?” he said angrily.

  Maybe I could soothe his ego. “I was married when you met me years ago,” I said contritely. “I meant no disrespect—”

  “You enjoyed seeing me thrown out of that room like a naughty child caught with his hand in the cookie jar.”

  That was true, but admitting it would be bad. I didn’t reply.

  “Part of me wants to finish what I started with you that night,” Al said evocatively, coming to stand beside me. “There’s no vampire here tonight to ruin things.”

  Not yet, anyway. “Look,” I said persuasively. “I’m nobody special, really. You’ve clearly got the world by the ass. You could have supermodels or Nobel Laureates. Why waste your time with me?”

  “I said part of me wanted you, a small part. But this isn’t about sex. This is about revenge.” He grabbed a handful of my hair, enough to make me grimace. “I’m going to have my men work you over.” He grinned at me evilly.

  Screw him. The worst he could do was rape and kill me and then, according to Stephen, I’d turn vampire. And when that happened I was going to drain his ass dry. Better to be killed as soon as possible, then.

  I gave him a blank look. “This is so B movie-ish. Can’t you get an original idea? Or better yet, skip the rape scene and just kill me? Or are you just impotent?”

  Al snarled and backhanded me hard enough I tasted blood on my way to the floor. With a sneer, he grabbed me up, then pushed me in front of him out the door, down a half flight of stairs and then down another hall. Finally, we went through a door and into a bedroom.

  It was beautiful, with a large canopy bed of carved wood, made up with pure white sheets of fine cotton that shimmered as Danial’s sheets always had. The rest of the room was ornate, overly so. A showplace for a rich man who had pretensions.

  He threw me on the bed. “Strip her and tie her down spread-eagled.”

  His men did as he asked, one with mean eyes licking his lips suggestively. Al sat in a velvet-covered chair and smirked at me, watching as I struggled.

  “We should use the whips first,” one man said.

  “She might faint,” another countered. “Besides, I want her before there’s blood all over her.”

  “Yeah, we want her to move a little, not just lay there,” another said.