Lure of the Night

by Bethany Knox

“Let’s go. Don’t run, just look casual, we are two Medusans looking to see what the fuss is all about.”

  We left the cellblock and walked purposefully through the building and out into the open. There was a pile of broken rocks and crumpled buildings nearby, Ethan led us towards them and we slipped inside a dark doorway. We followed a long, dark passage until we reached another doorway, we went through and started down some steps. The shouting was growing louder, the bell was still clanging and I could smell burning. Even as I noticed it, the first wisps of smoke drifted down towards us.

  “Don’t worry, that’s part of the diversion, our people set fire to an old wooden building.”

  I heard some shouts behind us, the sound of running feet.

  “It’s ok, we’re nearly there,” he said. We reached a heavy wooden door and Ethan turned the handle. Nothing! He pushed and pulled, tugged at it, wrenched even harder but it wouldn’t open.

  “According to our intelligence, this door is always kept unlocked, but someone has locked it. We’re trapped.”

  The running feet were coming nearer and nearer, boots clattering on the rocky passageway. He looked wildly around, but there was nowhere to run. Then the door suddenly opened, someone was there, the other side.

  Ethan tensed, ready to fight, it was the woman who had brought me the food in the cell. Even in her black robe there was something about the way she stood, the way she carried herself that told me that it was her.

  “It’s alright, I am not your enemy. Come quickly.”

  She beckoned us through the doorway. We had no choice, our pursuers were almost on us. We leapt through the door and she closed it and locked it again.

  “This door used to be kept open, but there was a big security clampdown when they decided to raid the Amstrydae. I thought you would come this way, so I waited for you.”

  I looked at her, it was so hard to fathom her expression behind the veil.

  “Why are you helping us?”

  “There are many reasons. I do not agree with the kidnap and rape of young women. Besides, what is there here for any woman, a life of servitude and obedience to any man that decides he wants you as his property? It’s bad enough for us, I didn’t want an outsider suffering the same fate.”

  I thanked her and gave her a hug. “You are very brave, why don’t you come with us?”

  She shook her head. “No, I am too old and too tired. You must go, quickly. If the door at the end of this passage is also locked, I am sorry but I did not have time to check it, there is only one way out, that is a jump into the sea. I could not do that and survive, but you two are young. It may not be necessary, but if it is, do not hesitate, just jump. You must hurry, I wish you luck, I will not see you again. You,” she pointed at Ethan. “I must speak with you alone.”

  He looked puzzled, but left me and went to listen as she whispered in his ear. I heard him say, “Are you sure?” She nodded in reply, Ethan came back to stand next to me.

  “I must leave now or they will suspect,” she said, turning to go.

  “Stop,” I said before she left. “What is your name?”

  “It is Najat. It means safety,” she smiled and went through the door into the passage and locked it behind her. I wanted to ask Ethan what she had said, but there wasn’t time. We pressed on down the passage, ignoring an opening that looked out onto a sheer drop to the sea. The door at the end was locked.

  “We’d better check out the opening to the sea, maybe we can climb down rather than risk jumping,” Ethan said.

  We retraced out steps and stood in the opening, it had a low wall. We peered over but there was no way to climb down. The cliff seemed to curve inwards, the sea was about fifty feet below us. The waves battered the rocky base of the island and they looked menacing.

  “Can you swim?” Ethan asked me.

  “Of course I can swim, but that’s the least of our problems. If we jump into that, there’ll be currents and wave motion that could smash us back onto the rocks. It’s ok for you,” I said.

  “Because I’m a boy?”

  “Because you can’t die. Vampires can’t be killed.”

  “Amstrydae,” he corrected me. “It’s not entirely true that we can’t be killed, but near enough. I see what you mean, though. Claire, you have to trust me, I will protect you. Do you trust me?”

  I didn’t need to think about it. Besides, there were voices outside the locked door now and the rattle of keys, someone was trying to unlock it.

  “With my life, Ethan.”

  “Take off that robe. Then put your arms around my neck so that we stay together, I don’t want us to be separated when we go into the water.”

  I did as he said and we jumped.

  The drop seemed like forever, I held onto Ethan, my arms locked around him. No way was I going to let this boy go, not now, not ever. We hit the sea with a terrific crash, it was cold, so icy cold. We plunged deep, further and further, would our descent never end? Then it did stop as Ethan kicked out to propel upwards and we started to rise. But we weren’t as much rising as being swept along by the current. I had taken a large breath just before we hit the water, but the air in my lungs was fast running out, I needed oxygen and soon. Something hard and sharp brushed my leg, I assumed it was a rock. Were we being pushed out to sea or back onto the rocks? I had no way of knowing, only that we were unable to fight the vicious current and my lungs were bursting. I could hold my breath no longer, I opened my mouth a fraction, a reflex action, but instead of seawater pouring in, another mouth clamped over mine and started breathing air into me. Ethan! It was like a long, passionate kiss, an exchange of love between two besotted people, I sucked back at his mouth, drawing equal amounts of air and comfort from it. Then our heads broke the surface. He pulled away and I turned to look at the island, now about two hundred yards behind us.

  “Claire, there’s another small island about four hundred yards away, we’ve got to swim for it.”

  “I’ll do my best,” I told him.

  “I know.”

  I was quite a good swimmer, but even so it was tough going in the rough, cold sea around Andros. I struck out into a powerful breaststroke and headed for the small island. Ethan kept pace with me, but it was tiring, very tiring. We were still two hundred yards out when a vicious cross current caught us and I could see that I wasn’t going to make the island, the sea was just too strong.

  Strong arms gripped me around the shoulders and Ethan turned me over on my back and started to tow me, swimming in the classic lifesaving fashion. He was very strong and almost tireless, when I canted my head over I could see that the island was getting closer. I felt better and told him I was ok to swim the remaining sixty or seventy yards to shore. He let me go and I turned over and got my powerful breaststroke going again. The tide was beating waves against the rocky shore but there was a tiny inlet, no more than ten feet across with a sandy strip that led to the sea. We swum for it and with the last of my reserves of strength I hauled myself onto the sand. I could hardly believe I was alive, that I was no longer a prisoner of the Medusans, destined to suffer multiple rapes. But it was true, I had got away, rescued by the strong, enigmatic boy that meant so much to me. I didn’t care what he was, some called him a vampire, an Amstrydae or whatever. He was simply my Ethan.

  We lay on the sand, gasping for breath. Soon, I began to realize just how cold I was. I told Ethan I was freezing and asked him what we could do next. Whatever it was, I wanted it to be quick.

  “I contacted our people, we need to wait here until it’s dark, then they’ll come for us.”

  “Ethan, tell me how you managed to contact them.”

  He looked down at me and smiled. “It’s difficult to explain, but I expect that one day you’ll be able to do it yourself. It is a dream thing, I go into a kind of trance and in my dream I go out to the other person and talk to them, like I have with you. It is not as complicated as it sounds. Do you want me to hold you close to me for warmth?”

  “Ye
s, please, I’d like that.”

  I felt much warmer, with his body held close to mine, I was safe, secure. No one could do anything bad to me as long as he held me just like this. I decided to find out more about what was in store for me.

  “What next, Ethan? What will your people do to stop the Medusan threat?”

  “We’ll have to try something,” he said. “They don’t yet know that we were laying a trap for them. We were so determined to lure them into our trap that we were blind to the trap they set for us. It won’t happen again.”

  “So you’ll arrange another meeting? Plant the radioactive stuff and lure them to its location?”

  “We’ll have to.”

  Strangely, I felt no fear. I wanted an end to this nightmare, a permanent end so that I could start living my life again. Ok, so maybe it was crappy most of the time, but at least I knew where I was going each day. I wanted to see Mom again, for all her faults she was generally pretty good. And I wanted Ethan, living in that cute little house the other side of Nathan’s Wood with his nice mom and that crazy housekeeper, or whoever she was. I had a fantasy of us walking together, hand in hand through the wood, arriving at his mom’s house for cups of that weird tea. But thinking of the wood made me think of Ranger Ryan, who I now realized was a Medusan. I shivered.

  “Are you cold?”

  “Yes, a bit.”

  “What were you thinking?”

  “Oh, I was just thinking of Mom, my home.”

  “You’ll see her again soon, I promise.”

  I wasn’t sure if he’d be able to keep that promise.

  Then I heard the sound of engines, but Ethan was already getting up. An inflatable boat with two powerful motors was approaching. Ulysses was at the wheel, together with Dad and two other guys I didn’t recognize. They came up to the beach and jumped ashore. Dad took me in his arms.

  “Honey, are you ok?”

  “I’m fine, thanks Dad. Ethan took care of me. And a woman called Najat.”

  “Najat, who is she?”

  “A Medusan.”

  His eyes widened. “Why did a Medusan help you?”

  “Because she liked me. And she didn’t like them.”

  He looked puzzled and I didn’t feel like explaining to him, not now.

  I heard Ethan talking to Ulysses. “Have we got any plans for a second try?”

  “Yes, we have. We’ve got a facility down in Costa Rica we can use, it’s an island off the coast.”

  I couldn’t help but overhear. “Costa Rica? Does that mean we’ll all be going there?”

  “Only if you want to,” Dad said.

  “Isn’t that where they had that dinosaur thing in Jurassic Park?”

  He smiled. “That’s the place, but I can assure you there are no dinosaurs there.”

  I wasn’t a total dummy, I knew that. I also knew that what could be there might be infinitely more dangerous than a few moth-eaten dinosaurs. Over and above every other thought was an overwhelming tiredness. I had been dragged halfway across the world, kidnapped, rescued and now they wanted to take me back halfway across the world. Compared to what I was going through, school seemed to be a place of sunshine and happiness. Even Mom wasn’t so bad.

  Chapter 8

  Our boat sped across the sea and I settled down for a long ride. Dad had explained that we were going straight to the mainland, the island of Andros itself was far too risky to return to, especially for me. The sea had settled into a calm swell, it didn’t appear to be anything like as threatening as when we’d jumped from the tunnel opening several hours before. I was swathed in blankets that they had brought with them in the boat and I began to feel warmer. I’d feel a lot warmer still if Ethan took me back in his arms, but he was talking to Ulysses.

  “Why Costa Rica?” I asked Dad.

  “It’s pretty remote, honey. Our people have a large estate down there so we will be a lot safer. Well, you’ll be a lot safer, and that’s what counts.”

  We finally reached a small fishing port on the coast of Greece. We went ashore where there was a car waiting for us, as usual its windows were darkened so that I felt safe from prying eyes. Medusan eyes. After driving for almost three hours, we reached the outskirts of Athens and the car drove through a gate into the grounds of a large villa. I heard a clang and looked behind me, the gates were already shut and two men were securing them. I could see another four men patrolling the grounds of the villa, Ulysses noticed me looking at them.

  “Yes, we’ve got the place well guarded, we’re not taking any more chances with your safety.”

  “Are these people armed?” I asked him.

  “They are Amstrydae, they have weapons enough,” he replied. “Not all of us have developed full powers, but these men were chosen because they are able to counter anything the Medusans can throw at us.”

  I guess I had to be satisfied with that, but kidnap and rape are the most disgusting things, almost the worst that could threaten your life. I still wished that the guards were carrying something more tangible, something I could see that would really deal with a Medusan attack. Like a gun, the bigger the better. Maybe a machine gun. I’m not a gun person normally, never have been, but when a bunch of lunatic fanatics are threatening to hunt you down and turn you into a sex slave, the liberal viewpoint has to take something of a back seat until the threat is over. Bring on the rednecks, at least until these bastards are dealt with.

  Megan showed me to my bedroom.

  “There’s a shower through that door, honey, you’ll want to clean up. I also arranged for them to supply you with some new clothes, I know your stuff was lost on Andros. If you want to go and clean up, I’ll put some things out on the bed for you.”

  I thanked her and went into the bathroom, I was still holding a blanket over me and under it I had on my nightgown, I threw it all off and enjoyed a long, hot shower. I put on the robe that hung behind the door and went back into the bedroom. There were clothes were on the bed. Panties and a bra that fitted me well, skinny jeans, sneakers and a black t-shirt. It was a start, a good start on the road back to normality. Feeling more like my old self, I went out and found the kitchen, a huge room with a table in the middle that could have seated twenty or more people. They were all sitting around drinking coffee. Dad saw me and smiled.

  “You look much better, Claire, come and join us. We were just discussing you.”

  I just wished that people wouldn’t do that, couldn’t they wait until I was around?

  “Really, what about me?”

  “How to keep you safe this time. The arrangements are already in place for the next meeting with the Medusans, it is due to take place a week from today. So we’ve got some time for sightseeing, if you would like to see a little of the city.”

  “What is there to see?”

  They all smiled. “Athens is the cradle of our civilization, Claire,” Ulysses explained. “The Acropolis, the Agora, the Temple of Zeus, the Library of Hadrian and so many more places that shaped our world. You should definitely see them before we leave, after all, our ancestors, your ancestors all came from here.”

  “Right. Yeah, ok, that would be cool.”

  I wasn’t entirely sure how cool it would be, it could turn out to be a pile of dusty old fly-blown rocks, but it sounded like the cultured thing to do.

  “Good, it’s settled then. Your father and Megan will be taking you. There will be a separate car with four of our people to make sure nothing happens to you.”

  I spent the next three days sightseeing with Dad and Megan. On several of the trips, Ethan came too. It was wonderful to be back with them and Megan didn’t try to play the role of substitute mom. Instead, she became a good friend, a bit like an older sister. We romped around the thousands of years of European culture, sat in dusty pavement cafes drinking ice cold drinks, watched tourist displays of folk dancers and dark, metal and leather clad warriors reenacting the old Greek battles. Spartans, fearsome in the menacing helmets that covered their heads, scarle
t cloaks, round shields with the Lambda insignia and long spears, sweeping the enemy before them into bloody rout. Then they all got up off the ground, smiled and bowed to the crowd while we all clapped, then they went off to phone their friends on their cell phones. Ancient Greece had sure come on a long way.

  On the last morning I packed the few possessions I had accumulated, a couple of skirts and tops that Dad had bought me, a jeans jacket, a few trinkets I’d bought myself. I put them in the ethnic holdall they’d given me and checked my purse, a kind of rip-off of a French Chanel design, bought in a local market. One day I vowed that I’d treat myself to an original, one day. Then we were climbing into the car and driving back to the airport. On the way, Dad had a surprise.

  “Mom was asking about you, she was worried.”

  “Oh, right. How is she?”

  “She’s fine. The good news is that she’s coming down to Costa Rica, she’s meeting us at the airport and coming out to the island with us. She wanted to be with you.”

  I felt good at last, maybe my life was at last coming back together. Dad, Mom, Megan as a best friend and Ethan always close.

  “That’s wonderful, Dad.”

  We arrived at Athens International Airport and the car drove us to the hangar where we’d arrived. The Learjet was already outside on the tarmac, they told me it was ready to leave. We climbed up the steps and into the cabin, the same cabin attendant made sure that we were secure and happy with everything, then she closed the cabin door and the engines started. My long odyssey was taking me on the next step of the journey, to Costa Rica.

  The journey was long and boring, nothing new there. Once again we refueled at Lisbon in Portugal and once again we didn’t leave the aircraft. Then it was the long flight over the Atlantic, all the way down to Costa Rica. I slept for much of the way, I had little to say to anyone, deep down my stomach was tense and I was terrified about what was to come, although they’d see me in hell before I admitted it to anyone. I recalled their last attempt to pull the fangs of the Medusans, it had not ended well and they had been totally outwitted. Would this time be any different? Jesus, I hoped so. But for now things did improve, I came down the aircraft stairs and Mom was waiting at the bottom. I ran to her, maybe for the first time I felt good about being with her. At one time it seemed as if I’d never see her again.