by Brenda Trim
He focused his magic and muttered, “Codlata.” Blue light flared under his fingertips and he felt the familiar tingle as his enchantment took hold. Moments later Shae slumped in his hold, her eyes slipping closed.
“What did you do to her?” Cami asked.
Gerrick met her gaze and saw her flinch. She was obviously not ready to take him on as Shae had done. He knew many saw him as a cold, uncaring and ruthless warrior. He never corrected them because he preferred it this way. He believed it was better that he was feared, rather than approachable. “I didn’t kill her if that’s what you’re worried about. I merely placed her under a sleep spell. She was bound to get hurt.”
He swung Shae up into his arms and cradled her against his chest, immediately aware of her soft flesh against his. He gazed down at her and was drawn to the sight of her head falling over his arm. Her hair was a dirty, matted mess, but it was the longest hair he’d seen in centuries. He’d guess when it was clean and brushed it would nearly reach her pert ass. Females in modern times didn’t keep their hair as long as they used to, making this female even more of an enigma.
The knotted locks slid off her shoulder, diverting his attention to the fact that her bare breasts were right in front of his face. Her skin was filthy, yet through the dirt he could see that her nipples were a rosy pink. He’d bet they would turn red and pearl to hard points under his attention.
He took a deep breath and started for the basement stairs. For the first time, he caught a hint of her natural jasmine scent through the stench that clung to her skin. She smelled divine and he couldn’t stop the erection that once again sprang to life. He willed it away, but his stupid cock wasn’t listening. It wanted what it wanted and didn’t give a shit that it wasn’t the right time.
He was appalled by his body’s reaction. Here he was carrying the female to their dungeons to once again be imprisoned, yet he was hard as stone for her. The last thing he needed was for Rhys or Orlando to catch sight. They would never let him live it down. He made sure to lead the way down the stairs focusing on anything but the female in his arms.
It was impossible as her soft breaths and tiny mewl caught his attention. Awake she was a snarling, furious ball of fire, but like this she was a fragile female he wanted to bury inside his chest and keep safe. And fuck did he hate this female for making him react to her. He hadn’t felt this attracted to anyone since his Evanna. This place of his heart and soul belonged solely to his lost mate.
He had met Evanna four hundred years ago and it had been love at first sight. He had been a young sorcerer of only fifty at the time, but she had enchanted him from the beginning. He recalled her blonde hair and jade green eyes and how easily she laughed and smiled. Come to think of it, he did, too, at that time.
They’d discovered they were Fated Mates the first time they had sex and their mate marks appeared. He had lost her shortly thereafter, taken from him by an archdemon and its skirm. Nothing could bring her back to him, not even his ability as a Time Tracer. He had nearly destroyed his ability after repeatedly trying to save Evanna that fateful day, and learned there is always a cost associated with using his power. The scar on his face was the cost the Goddess required for trying to reverse fate. He would have accepted scars all over his body if he could have saved Evanna. He scowled as he stomped down the steps, banishing the painful memories from his mind.
He heard Zander and the others leading the remaining females down the stairs behind him. He heard Zander’s mate, Elsie, trying to reassure the frightened females. Gerrick didn’t know why she bothered. He might not like the situation either, but there was no changing it. It was pointless to offer reassurance, and frankly, a waste of breath if you asked him.
He wasn’t as cold and callous as many believed; he just didn’t see the point in telling these women that everything would be okay. They were being locked up again mere hours after having been rescued. No one knew if it was going to turn out well for these females or if they were going to need to be eliminated because they were too dangerous. He looked down at Shae’s peaceful face and vowed he would never allow her to be harmed, no matter what they learned.
Gerrick continued past the basement level where they had a medical clinic, weapons room, training facility, and additional rooms for visitors. The next level down, the brick and mortar gave way to stone and dirt. It was a challenge to have a basement, let alone a dungeon in Seattle, but with the use of pumps and magic they had managed. He remembered digging the holes and then using stone to reinforce the walls of the dungeon.
He shivered from the chill in the air and looked down to see goose bumps raised on Shae’s skin. He made a note to make sure she had warm clothes and plenty of blankets. He stopped at the first cell and used his foot to wedge the door open.
“Grab a blanket and sheets. I don’t want to place her on the mattress like this,” Gerrick called out. Unlike some of his fellow warriors, he had never been locked in their dungeons, but he was glad they’d upgraded to actual beds. Shae shouldn’t sleep on the dirt floor or a flimsy cot.
“I’d have had them all ready,” Nate answered rushing through the door with a pile of fabric in his hand, “but no one told me that you were locking them up. Would it kill you people to actually tell me what’s going on? How hard is it to send a text? Well, hello there,” Nate purred, dropping his bundle as he caught sight of Shae.
Gerrick shook his head. He had no idea why Angus, the dragon shifter who’d previously been their majordomo, wanted to leave Nate as his replacement. Anyone would be more capable and focused than Nate. Nate spent more time drooling over females than he did running the house.
“These females have been through unspeakable horrors and don’t need you being a jackass. Get the sheet on the bed so I can lay Shae down,” Gerrick snapped, wanting to gouge the male’s eyes for looking at Shae’s naked body. He snatched up the blanket and draped it over her. Nate turned from the bars and the pink that tinged his cheeks, as well as, his silence told Gerrick that he understood his timing couldn’t have been worse.
Once the sheet was on the mattress, Gerrick laid Shae down. Technically, his job was done here, but he realized he really didn’t want to leave her side. “Shae is going to be out for a while yet and needs to be cleaned up. Send down some of the staff to take care of it,” Gerrick requested as he glanced around Shae’s new home. Bars lined the front wall while stone made up the remaining three. She’d have more privacy than she had before, and Gerrick would venture to guess that having a working toilet and shower were going to be welcome, but he guessed she wouldn’t be thrilled at her new living arrangement.
He looked at the sleeping female. She seemed peaceful in her respite, but Gerrick couldn’t forget the feral rage that had poured off her not moments ago. He ran a hand over the top of her head, wondering again what she’d look like once she was clean. He imagined her hair was a vibrant red and maybe she’d have freckles across the bridge of her nose.
“Och, Nate,” Zander called out. Gerrick snatched his hand back before someone caught him caressing Shae’s head. He had no idea what was up with him, but he needed to get a grip. “Have linens and toiletries brought to each of the females. Get their sizes and have clothing delivered to them ASAP. You will need to make sure to have extra food delivered as well as bagged blood to feed our additional guests.”
Gerrick left the cell when several servants entered carrying towels and other items. Jace entered right behind them. “Let me draw some blood before you clean her up so we can start running the tests.” Gerrick’s instincts reacted automatically and he snapped his teeth at the male. He didn’t know why he was being so protective of her, he knew they needed to get the samples, and agreed that the sooner the better.
Jace narrowed his eyes at Gerrick. “What’s your problem? I’m not going to harm her. She won’t even know I’ve taken her blood.”
That was a very good question, Gerrick thought, ignoring the healer as he walked out of the cell. He stood in the hall and
watched the flurry of activity unable to make his feet carry him upstairs. He had no business there anymore, yet he couldn’t take his eyes off the female.
Their dungeon was small, and nearly all of the cells were occupied once the females were settled. As Jace finished up and the rest of the warriors left, Gerrick lingered outside Shae’s cell. Two female shifters brought buckets of warm water from the shower and began cleaning Shae.
He was utterly captivated by the sight of her. As the dirt washed away from her arms, he realized how pale she was, not that it detracted from her beauty. Hell, the filth and grime didn’t even detract from that. She was stunning no matter what she looked like and he suddenly felt like a voyeur.
Finally, he forced himself to walk away and made his way up the stairs. Not wanting to be alone just yet, he followed the conversation to the kitchen. The aroma of garlic and onions wafted from the room, making him wonder what Elsie was cooking this time, his mouth watering in anticipation.
In his opinion, Elsie was the best cook on the planet. There wasn’t anything she couldn’t turn into a masterpiece. Whether it was a grilled cheese sandwich or crawfish etouffee, it was always delicious. He pushed the door open and wasn’t surprised to find most of the warriors and their mates present. Since Elsie’s arrival on the scene, the kitchen had become a frequent gathering place, although you entered at your own risk. Zander and Elsie were known to do more than just cook in the kitchen. Not that Gerrick begrudged them their happiness. In fact, he couldn’t be happier for the vampire who had waited seven centuries to find his other half.
“How are they?” Zander asked him when he entered the room.
“Shae is still asleep and the others are still upset, but I’m sure they’re grateful to be out of that shit hole,” he replied and took a stance against one of the counters. He crossed one boot over the other and folded his arms across his chest.
“That’s an understatement,” Hayden, the Omega of the shifters, said as he took a sip of his drink. “What do we do now?”
“We do everything we can to help them get better. They don’t deserve to go from Kadir’s clutches to our dungeons,” Elsie said, tossing the vegetables she’d been dicing into a large pot. He hoped she was making her stew. It had been a cold and long night and that would hit the spot.
“We will, a ghra, no one wants to see them doon there longer than necessary. Jace has already given their blood samples to the scientists, and has assured me they are already hard at work in the lab downstairs,” Zander replied, kissing the top of Elsie’s head.
“It looks like they targeted supernaturals of nearly every species. We will need to hold a council meeting and invite the harpies and Valkyrie. We can’t make decisions for those outside of our leadership,” Hayden pointed out. Gerrick watched the big, burly Omega cross the room to peek into the pot.
“Och, the question is whether the archdemons have control over them. ‘Tis clear they are no’ the same as Jessie. We canna be blinded by the fact that they are female,” Zander added.
“They are completely different than I was. I was never filled with rage like that. I was confused by the changes my body went through, but I was always in control. There was minor pressure in my head. Jace explained it was likely Azazel was trying to reach me, but it was easy to ignore. The biggest thing was adjusting to the changes…oh, wait… the tracker. Do you think they could have placed them in these women, too?” Jessie asked, giving Elsie the bowl of potatoes she’d diced. Definitely stew, Gerrick thought as his stomach growled. He was hungrier than he realized. He’d bet Shae was starving. Her ribs had been showing as if she was malnourished. He made a mental note to make sure Shae got a big bowl as soon as she woke.
Jessie’s comments about her predicament had Gerrick recalling when they had rescued her and Cailyn from a car accident several months ago. Azazel and a Fae named Aquiel, along with the archdemon’s skirm, had driven Cailyn off the road before they had attacked the females. Azazel placed Cailyn, Jace’s mate and Elsie’s sister, under a deadly Fae spell and Jessie had been envenomated.
The only way to cure Cailyn had been for Gerrick and several others to embark on a dangerous mission to New Orleans to retrieve an antidote. Jessie had been writhing in pain from an archdemon bite when they’d reached her. It had been in the days after that they’d discovered she had been turned from human to something else, something no one in the realm had ever seen before. She had dubbed herself a dhampir.
“I doubt it,” Gerrick interjected. “They had no idea we were coming. There is no way they would have stayed put and allowed us to free these females if they had any inkling we were coming. It was clear they had no intention of giving up their play things.”
“Aye, I agree,” Zander interjected, setting his drink down. “The archdemons were confident their lair couldna be found. Still, it couldna hurt to check the females. The protections at Zeum disable the devices so there is no worry they can locate us, but that is no’ the case when they leave here. The real concern and focus must be on their attitudes and behavior. Such overt aggression canna be allowed to roam freely. I only hope their blood tests hold the answers we need. The difference between them and Jessie is obvious and I want to know more. Kadir seemed to target Shae specifically. I want to talk to her and see if she knows anything aboot his plans.”
“I can’t imagine the torture these women have been through,” Jessie shuddered and wrapped her arms around her middle. “Did you see their necks? It looked like some of them have been the demons’ chew toys? I remember how bad it hurt when Azazel bit me. It burned like the fires of hell. I hate the thought that they suffered that more than once. For once, I wish I was the only dhampir in the world.”
Gerrick clenched his fists where they rested under his arms. The left side of Shae’s neck had been riddled with thick, raised scars. Zander was right, it was clear she was a frequent target of the demons and it made Gerrick want blood. He didn’t know anything about the female, but he couldn’t believe she had done anything to deserve that kind of treatment.
“I doona know what we have on our hands, Jessie, but you have never been alone,” Zander assured the female. “What strikes me is how the repeated exposure to archdemon venom still hasna turned them into a skirm.”
Gerrick was grateful for that fact. Skirm lost all their identity and became a mindless minion to the demon. And, despite the rage that had boiled out of her, he didn’t sense that another controlled Shae. Her obstinate refusal to give in and her determination to hold onto every bit of self that she could was proof of that.
Zander continued, “If the injuries and her feral response is any indication, I’d guess that Shae has gone through the worst. She may hold more answers than the others. At a minimum, we need to develop a way to get her rage under control. She is one of mine and I refuse to lose her to those bastards.” There was no way in hell Gerrick was allowing that to happen, either.
“Zander, how do you want me to handle the families of the humans? I can’t inform them that their loved ones have been rescued from captivity only to be imprisoned in our dungeons,” Orlando interjected. Orlando, a fellow Dark Warrior, was their link to the human world through the Seattle Police Department, and often performed the task of keeping families informed of current details.
“We doona tell them anything until we have answers for them. We doona even know if they are safe to be around their families. Protecting the realm comes first. The last thing we need is panicked humans and irate harpies out for revenge. Orlando, you and Santiago gather all the available information on the families that you can. Speaking of, where is Santiago?” Zander asked, glancing around the crowded kitchen.
Gerrick wondered the same thing. The warrior had been gone more and more lately. He wrote it off to the fact that the shifter’s wolf seemed to be more restless lately and he figured the male needed to release his beast.
“I don’t know. He took off without a word when we left the underground,” Orlando answered. Gerrick noti
ced the way Hayden bristled at the interchange and wondered if the old power-dynamic was back in play. There had been a point that Hayden had been pissed and nearly pulled his shifters from the Dark Warriors because they demonstrated allegiance to Zander over their Omega.
“Don’t worry about him, Zander. His wolf was keyed up after the battle and needed to go for a run,” Hayden interjected, confirming Gerrick’s suspicion. There was definitely more going on there than Gerrick was privy to, but he didn’t waste any energy trying to figure it out. As infuriating as it was, his thought kept going downstairs to the redhead who should be waking from his sleep spell any minute.
CHAPTER FOUR
Shae woke feeling sluggish and her mind was fuzzier than a newborn kitten. It had been far too long since the demons had given her blood and she needed to feed soon. They denied her sustenance to the point she was ravenous and by the time they brought donors to her she attacked viciously, draining her victims dry. The demons and their minions enjoyed her torment over her actions.
There was nothing she could do to change her control over her appetite, either. Anytime she backed off and got control of her hunger she felt Azazel’s pull in her head, urging her on. She had never killed so much as a fly before she was kidnapped, and now she had killed countless innocent humans.
Rolling over, she immediately realized something was different. It was nice not to be shivering from the cold and felt fantastic to be wearing clothes again. Gone was the cement floor and in its place was a mattress that felt like a cloud. Hell, she swore it was the softest thing she’d ever laid on. Had the Goddess finally answered her prayers and taken her to Annwyn?