by Amber Lynn
“I suggest you let go of her now or you are going to become a very dead wolf,” Sebastian says slowly with a dump truck full of menace.
“You guys have kept her away from me for months. Can't you let me just take in the new her? Congrats on the baby, by the way. The extra weight really suits you, especially in the chest. Holy cow.” He releases me and I take a second to put the knives away. He spends the time memorizing my milk jugs.
“The last time I saw you, Ryan, you weren't exactly happy with me. What gives with the hugs?”
“And how did you pick out the right one? There are three of us,” Hilda adds. Good question, I am supposed to be glamoured to look like Phee.
He makes an odd noise in his throat like he is trying to clear it or something. “The glamour isn't going to be an issue for any of the Collective agents here today. They are all on that stupid drug that made me nuts. It does have some really nice abilities loaded into it, but those side effects are killer.” Screw the side effects, seeing through the glamour is what produces three of us. His comment doesn’t make sense.
“Like aggressive tendencies and an unnatural obsession with my baby momma,” Sebastian says.
“Really? The baby is yours? I thought for sure Alex got those honors. You are deYork, right? The disguise is really good, but the look in your eyes is the one I remember from the day you took her out of my life. Anyway, yes those are the main side effects. How they target you specifically I don't know, but most people on the drug are triggered to want to be the one to put a bun in your oven. It's really the vampire's kid?” he asks again looking down skeptically.
“Yes, there is no way it could be anyone else's,” I assure him. “If you look really close you will see her little vampire fangs sticking out.” I find people staring at my stomach and I always assume that is what they are expecting to see.
Getting a good look at Ryan, not one thing has changed since the last time we saw each other. I take that back. There is something different about his face. The hardness is gone. He looks more like the teenager I used to have fun with. It’s nice to see the sparkle back in his eyes.
“But Alex is your mate, right?”
“They both are. Can we move on to how you were certain I was me and what is waiting for us, since you seem like a fountain of information.” I am still really leery about his motives. You don't go from Hell bent on keeping me locked up barefoot and pregnant with your child to you look great wearing someone else's kid just like that. It has been months, but that last meeting made me think we were going to come to blows.
“You shouldn't have to ask how I could recognize you. Even without the drug's effect, I was half in love with you from the first day we met. I would know it was you if you were physically altered to be a foot taller and a man. The other people at the meeting will just see three of you. Five of us were sent to scout for your group and report back how many you had and whether you brought any surprises.”
“Is my dad okay?” Those should have been the first words out of my mouth, but the shock of the joy in Ryan's voice made my mind freeze.
“Aaron? Sure he is fine. Frank roughed him up a little and Aaron is really going to be pissed that you actually showed up, but there wasn't any permanent damage done the last time I saw him. Frank is only mostly brain dead. He knows you would want to see your dad before you gave yourself over.”
That is a huge relief. Frank can be pretty vicious with just his bare hands and I imagine there was sharp metal involved in the original hostage taking. Aaron Gentry is no person of little consequence when it comes to fighting. I haven’t had the opportunity to witness him in action, but Jonas and Walt have tons of stories.
“Care to explain your meeting up with us and not trying to attack?” Alex asks. Looking around, the guards are still on high alert and scanning the trees for any movement. Ryan did kind of sneak up on us.
“First, you can't expect me to go against Nyx. That is so against every cell in my body that under mind control it wouldn't happen. A month after you left, I met a scientist by the name of Carl Tragger. Aaron had heard what happened to me and wanted to try to fix it because of me helping keep you safe all those years. Your dad is way cool, by the way.
“So, Carl took some of my blood and started doing all sorts of tests on it. That was after he spent a week convincing me it was a good idea. I was still pretty hung up on you and I was generally a dick to him. He persisted, though, and eventually he made an antidote for the side effects. I still have all the cool speed and sensory type add-ons, but I am not a jerk and I can be happy that you found someone you love.”
“She has more than just one person to love and don’t forget it,” Alex interjects. “You give a nice speech, but why should we believe you?”
“I am here to tell you what the Collective's plan is and help fight them in whatever capacity you think best. I have only been staying close to Frank so I can report stuff back to Carl and he can pass it on to the resistance,” Ryan explains.
“Have you heard of the scientist before?” Sebastian asks Alex. I really want to believe Ryan has turned over a new leaf. For years before I met Sebastian, he was my only friend. I know we had our issues, I still don't know when he found out I wasn't human and how long he kept it from me, but he was really there for me.
“Yeah, he is really good at his thing. I have been thinking about sending him some of Nyx's blood to analyze, but I decided the fewer people that knew what she was the better. At least until her trials are over. I don't think anyone is going to miss her wearing a halo.”
“You do know we don't actually wear halos, right?” Gabe asks. “That would be rather silly. If you believe that, you should be scratching your head trying to figure out why the vampires in the group didn’t spontaneously combust when I showed up.”
“The angel doesn’t have a sense of humor. If he is going to be hanging around you, Nyx, you are going to have to get him to lighten up,” Alex responds.
“What are you talking about? Angels? If you have one, that might be useful. Frank has a demon on his side and I was worried how we were going to get everyone out of this alive,” Ryan claims.
“We have one and a half angels, which I hope will be enough. If you say the demon is a succubus, I am going to start throwing things,” I reply and look around to find the biggest rock. Crap. I can't bend over to pick it up. Maybe Alex will let me throw some diapers around. They are light enough that I shouldn’t cause myself any damage.
“How did you know? Out of all the different kinds of demons out there, most of which I am sure neither of us have heard of, you picked the one that has got Frank in a tizzy to capture you.”
“Ben said he was going to keep her locked up,” Sebastian says and I can feel him tensing up thinking about Candace being on the loose. I have an overwhelming desire to start spewing every four-letter word my mind can come up with.
“I should have just let Peanut watch me kill her. It has to be her, right? You didn't turn down any more of them during your youthful foolishness stage did you?”
“No,” he replies and has now moved on to the pissed stage. Hey, I was already there when the word demon was mentioned.
“You think you know her? Tall blonde that would make most guys swallow their tongues for a chance with her. I want to go on record and say I am not one of those guys. She walks around like she owns the place and loves to wear tight leather.”
“Succubi can change their appearances if they want, so looks technically don't help. So far, they are on target for my nemesis, though. I thought my mom scared her off. Why would she bother to make an attempt on me again? If I don't kill her, Mom is going to do things to her even Candace wouldn't enjoy.”
“This one calls herself Candy; do you think they are the same person?” Ryan queries.
“I am killing her this time,” Sebastian says. He is fighting the urge to grab my knife away from me and run for it. I will give it to him when the time comes because I am not letting her get away thi
s time.
“You have my blessing. Ben is going to be one dead demon when I find him. Why would he let her go? He knows she wants to kill me. You would think Lucifer would step up and put a tracker bracelet on her.”
“You know Lucifer? Just what have you done in our time apart?”
“Lucifer is my mother, so yes I am unfortunate enough to know her. I have spent my time helping others, finding out where I came from, and letting Sebastian poke his sausage in me enough times to create the wonderful child inside of me that is in the process of escaping.” I am getting tired of the conversation and I don’t really have the time to stand here in play catch up.
“I see you are ready to get moving, but I am going to bring up what you just said when we get back home and things have calmed down. With the demon on their side, your disguises aren’t really necessary. She will be able to tell them who is who,” Ryan says. “I assume she has that ability anyway.”
“Our plan didn’t even consider they would have that kind of extra help. Might as well make everyone themselves again,” Hilda says. “Contrárthra.”
I look down and verify my fingernails are back to their usual short, broken state. “Plan A is out, what do we have for plan B? How long has Candace been hanging around?”
“I don’t know for sure. I saw her the first time two days ago, but I got the feeling she had been around stirring up stuff before then. The camp is about two miles north of here. It won’t take but a second to get there, but they have people everywhere around the cabin waiting to send word back that you have arrived.”
“Just how bad is everyone here itching for a fight?” Hilda asks.
“With the threat of Nyx and Sophia being injured, I would like to see things go as smoothly as possible. Against one hundred people ready to fight, we don’t have much choice,” Alex answers. Sebastian is too busy sticking a knife into Candace over and over in his mind.
“Mr. Angel could make things really simple for us, but I know Gabe likes to watch things play out. Let me look in my bag of tricks real quick. Fae Knights, why don’t you guys join me? We still have thirty minutes if my internal clock hasn’t been jerked around. I know I didn’t bring anything demon specific. We are pretty much screwed on that front.”
Hilda takes the Fae over to discuss what magic she can throw together on short notice. I thought she could just conjure stuff to her and whip up a five course meal. I wonder if us being in another world limits her power.
“Carl and I have been working to spread the antidote to the other altered wolves. We have had to do it in really small doses to not alert anyone. If everyone started being mellow, it would have been suspicious. I am pretty sure the succubus only has her tentacles into Frank, but I have been gone for a couple of hours. She could have made her way through the rest of the troops by now.”
“The wolves won’t be an issue,” Hilda says already returning. “How are the contractions coming, Sebastian? Gabe said we need to get a move on it before he took off.”
“What?” I look around and find we are down a man. “Where did he go? He said he was going to be my backup.”
“Do I look like his, or anybody’s, secretary? He probably forgot he left some turnovers in the oven and had to go check on them. Angels are flighty that way. Sebastian, contractions?”
“They are becoming more frequent, still not much pain,” he replies. “I don’t think it would be appropriate to check how far she is dilated, but the quicker we get home the better.”
“Perfect. I don’t care how good Sophia is being about making things not hurt; unless she comes equipped with a bucket of Novocain, when the time comes you are going to feel your body try to turn itself inside out. The Knights and I were able to whip up a sleepy time potion. The forest is severely lacking the herbs and botanicals I usually use, so we had to improvise. I just have to finish twisting the spell when we get there and those not under the influence of the arugula sniffing biscuit eater will take a nice little nap.”
“Arugula sniffing biscuit eater, I like that one. I think I will keep it in mind for later. Let’s go. I am ready to get this over with. If I have to say that one more time today, I promise someone is getting shot.”
I am having trouble believing how things have been dragging along today. I left the house hoping this would be an easy in and out deal. I am well aware that is one of the most unrealistic thoughts that has ever swam around in my melon. I am sure that I haven't had to repeat myself more times in my life as I have had to today. It has gotten so bad that my mind is doing one of its rambling things.
Ryan starts leading us in the direction of my father. I am still on the edge of trusting him. His attitude has vastly improved and that scores big points. However, it could all be an act. Frank would know firsthand how close me and Ryan were in old days. They may be plotting together to get me back under their control.
“At the first sign of betrayal, I will glory in ripping his head from that body of his and if Sophia is a really good girl, I will give it to her as a present,” Alex says while he tries really hard not to envision the task, but fails miserably.
“Clyde would be a proper recipient for that gift, not our daughter. Jeez, how demented are you hoping she will be?”
I am afraid of his answer so I try to move the conversation elsewhere. “Ian, how does Faerie time work? Is it independent from outside elements or can it be controlled?”
“That is one of the reasons I hate visiting here, love,” Sebastian replies before the Fae gets a chance. “It all comes down to the Queen's whims. It works out well for her, and her subjects don't seem to mind, but most visitors get a little discombobulated.”
“It is nothing if you stay longer than a week, but I could see it taking some getting used to,” Hilda adds.
I had a feeling that was the case. All the more reason to get out of here. The lifeless forest we are walking through is another great reason not to stick around.
We don't travel far before Ryan draws us to a stop. “It is just through those trees,” he says pointing just off to the right of dead ahead.
“Great,” Hilda says. “Dul a chodladh.”
Ryan immediately drops to the ground in front of me. “Was that necessary?” I ask trying to see if he hit his head on anything sharp. Not being able to bend down makes the task pretty much impossible.
“I didn't trust the look in his eyes and he was agitating Alex. I had to say the spell now anyway. Adding one more wolf to the mix doesn’t even cause me to break a sweat.”
“Are we just leaving him here?”
Alex walks over and kicks his leg a little. “Sounds like a great idea to me. We can pick him up on our way out of town. Maybe the Grim will come along and play with him until we get back.”
“We will take him back with us, ruthless mate. Everyone here is protected from Candace, right?” I know my core group doesn’t take their charms off even to shower, but the Fae and the regular guards may be a different story.
“Sadly, I don’t think that will be an issue,” Frank's voice calls. Duh. We are close enough that if we were smart we would be listening in on what they have to say. “Why don't you guys just send Nyx on over. I will release Aaron as soon as I have her in my arms.”
I guess it is time for negotiations. My do what I want, when I want attitude makes me a horrible negotiator. Clyde would do a better job and his technique would probably end up with him walking up to the other person and peeing on their leg.
Chapter 16
Something happened, I just don’t know what
“Where did your little pet succubus go?” Hilda asks before anyone makes a move. “You should be taking a literal dirt nap if she isn't around.”
“Sorry to disappoint, but Candy was able to give us some last minute protection before the dude with the gigantic sword showed up. I still have sixty able body men ready to bring our girl home. The Collective has some big plans for her and they aren't going to be denied. Make it easy on yourselves and just give up. Y
ou can go on pretending you will eventually grow the balls to overthrow us.”
“Daddy, are you okay?” I ask. We still don’t have any kind of visual on what we are up against. I think we have the advantage here without Candace helping and controlling people.
“Mmm mmmm mmm,” I hear a muffled voice say.
“Duct tape, honey. I believe you have a fondness for the stuff. I am tired of hanging around here. Get your snarky self over here and we can be done with this. I will even let your biological father live.”
“I like the idea of us just coming over there to retrieve Aaron and killing everyone that stands in our way,” Alex says and it sounds like a great plan to me.
“If I so much as sense any of you getting ideas and coming closer, other than Nyx, I will kill Aaron,” Frank replies. “And if I don't hear my adoptive daughter on her way over here within the next thirty seconds I will start cutting off body parts.”
“Mhmm hmm mmm,” Dad mumbles. I pretend he is commenting on the adoptive daughter part. I know he hates the fact that Frank raised me. In reality, he is probably telling me he was going to dismember me if I even think about making the deal. Unless Hilda or the Fae can think of something, I think I have to give myself over and wait to be rescued.
I don't like the idea of having to be rescued. I wish I knew how to use my angel powers. I don't know what kind of offensive weapons I have in that arsenal, but I bet there are some really wicked death rays available.
“Do we want to make bets on how fast you guys can find me?” I ask the guys making sure they realize this is going to happen.
“Can one person accompany Nyx? Her present condition is even more delicate than you are aware of and I would really like to be there for the birth of my child,” Sebastian hollers to the trees.
“What? No, you are supposed to come to the rescue, not dig yourself in with me.” Doesn't he know he is my knight in shining armor?
“I would prefer we just run in and kill everyone, but Frank most likely has a knife or gun on your dad. No matter how fast I am, I don't think I could save him. Plus, your contractions are really getting strong. We don't have a lot of time,” he explains. Alex hands the baby bag over to Sebastian, who in turn puts it over his neck and slings it across his body. Having his hands free is a good move.