The room erupted in laughter and Jace took his first deep breath since walking through those enormous double doors. He hadn’t realized how nervous he really was that they wouldn’t find Melanie until just that moment. A thought that chilled both man and beast to their core.
In less than ten minutes all eight Guardsmen were loaded into two black SUVs heading in the direction Kellan had indicated. There was no conversation, just a buzz indicating they were all deep in thought as they made the sixty minute drive. The closer they got to the location, the harder Jace prayed.
We will find her. We have to find her.
Not wanting to alert any of the Dorcha that might be hidden and guarding the facility, it was decided they’d park a few miles away then hike through the dilapidated industrial park to the rear of the building. As soon as the parking garage Brannoc had indicated on one of his old maps came into view, the Guardsmen gathered their packs, preparing to exit the vehicles.
Jace was in awe of the incredible focus and dedication he felt coming from each man. It wasn’t anything he hadn’t seen with his own clan, but in this case, it was all for him and Melanie. He knew he should thank them, but as he started to speak, Rory tapped his temple, indicating they were to use mindspeak and only if absolutely necessary. The one thing about black magic that none of them, including Kyra, had been able to figure out was when or if a dark magic practitioner could sense the dragons’ mindspeak, so they had to be careful.
Taking formation, they set out into the dark night using their enhanced vision. The first two miles of their trek was uneventful, which should’ve eased Jace’s tension but instead made him more nervous. Without something to keep his mind busy, he thought of Melanie and what she must be going through. His dragon chuffed and blew smoke, pushing the man to let him out. It was tempting, but the young Guardsman had already caused enough trouble and decided he liked breathing.
Royce would kill me and then have Kyra bring me back just so he could do it again.
Chuckling at his own joke, Jace ran straight into Pearce’s back as Royce’s voice sounded in his mind. “What exactly am I kicking your ass for this time?”
“Nothing. Nothing at all,” Jace hurriedly answered while mouthing his apology to Pearce, who just shrugged it off and kept moving forward.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. I’ve heard that before.”
“Give the kid a break, Roy. He’s stressed about his girl.” Rory interjected, saving Jace from anymore chastising from his mentor.
“See you in ten.” Royce growled and cut their connection.
Thankful for Rory’s intervention, Jace turned his attention back to tracking. He knew Kellan was older and better at it, but there was no way the younger Guardsman was going to let anyone else get to his mate first. He would do everything possible to have his face be the first she saw when she was rescued.
True to his words, in exactly ten minutes Royce, Kyra, Devon, Lance, and a fifth figure Jace didn’t immediately recognize appeared over the last small ridge, standing between the search party and the abandoned industrial park. As they closed the distance, the young Guardsman recognized the sleek figure as Maxmillian Prentisse aka Max, the King of the Big Cats. It was a welcome surprise. The werepanther could get into places man nor dragon could, was a hell of a tracker in his own right, and could fight with the best of them. None of which the dragons liked to admit but all did in the name of cohabitation of the species.
There was no discussion, just a look between brothers and the two groups became one, traversing the remaining landscape in record time. No dark witches or wizards could be seen. Every Guardsman reached out with his enhanced senses but again came up empty-handed.
Rory momentarily broke their silence. “Anybody getting anything inside or out?”
“No,” was the general consensus.
“I can’t get a read past the ground level. It’s like everything lower is covered in a fog,” Devon added. Not good news considering the older Guardsman was one of the strongest in mental ability Jace had ever met.
“All right, teams of three, Kyra with Roy, fan out just as we planned. Jace, you go with Kellan and Declan to the room your Melanie is in. She’ll need a friendly face,” Rory commanded.
“Yes, sir,” Jace answered as he moved into position.
“Did you hit your head, kid?” Lance asked.
“No, sir, why?”
“I haven’t heard this many ‘yes, sir’s’ or witnessed this much butt kissing since you let the horses out when you were a teenager.” Lance laughed out loud at his own joke while Jace shook his head and the rest of the dragons ignored the jokester.
Just another reminder of why his nickname is ‘pain in the ass’.
Focusing on Kellan’s movements, careful to follow all his hand signals, Jace opened his senses as wide as he could and searched for Melanie. Their slow, methodical descent into the basement was nerve wracking. All he and his dragon could think of was how long their mate had already been in the clutches of the mad leader of a crazy black magic coven.
When they came up empty-handed, Jace’s beast roared in his head, chuffing and blowing smoke, demanding to be let out. Using all the control he’d been taught, he finally calmed his dragon and a few deep breaths later was calm again himself.
Kellan directed them to a set of hidden stairs leading to the sub-basement. Again, they followed the same procedure. Stepping onto the lowest level of the building, Melanie’s scent flooded Jace’s senses. Not wanting to break rank but finding it hard to remain calm, he called to Kellan.
“She’s here. I can scent her.”
“Me, too, but she’s not alone, if she’s there at all. I sense at least two males and another female, all doused in black magic. Rory says take anyone we find alive so we have a chance to interrogate and find the whole coven. That means we need to approach from two sides and as carefully as possible.”
“What do you mean if she’s there at all?”
“Exactly what I said. Can you get a good read on anything but her scent?”
Jace wanted to argue but knew it wouldn’t do any good. He had to admit Kellan was right. He wanted Melanie back as quickly as possible, so he took his hundredth deep breath and fell back in line. They reached a fork in the hallway. Declan signaled he was taking the left and pointed for Jace to follow Kellan to the right.
Just like they had on the last level, they looked around every corner, behind every door, and inside every nook and cranny, carefully working their way to the room they both identified as Melanie’s prison. They turned the last corner and met Declan coming towards them. He pointed at the only door they hadn’t gone through. The door that was keeping him from his mate. Unfortunately, instead of looking forward to seeing her beautiful smile, Jace’s heart fell and his dragon snarled at the sight before them. The door was ajar, a chain had been haphazardly hung over an enormous hinge lock that from the shine of the metal had only been attached a few days earlier and there was a massive padlock hung through one of the links.
Stepping around Kellan with the full intent of rushing into the room, Jace was stopped midstride by the older Guardsman’s hand on his shoulder.
“Move that hand or lose it.” Jace growled.
Doing just the opposite and gripping even tighter, Kellan returned his growl with one of his own. “Stop and think. If she’s in there, you don’t need to see her. Let us look first. What’s more likely is that they’ve already moved her and the room is booby trapped. Again, something we’re better prepared to handle.”
As much as he hated to admit it, Jace had to agree. He was ninety-nine percent sure Melanie was not in that room. He had let her down again. Hadn’t gotten here in time. To say he was pissed was an understatement. Kellan’s voice pulled him out of his pity party.
“Pull your head outta your ass. We need to secure that room and get in there before the trail goes cold.”
Without another word, Kellan nodded towards Declan and in unison they moved towards the door with Ja
ce in tow. In less than two minutes, the three of them had entered the room, found no magical traps, and were searching for clues. Thankfully, Melanie’s kidnappers had been sloppy. A tray of half eaten food was left on the bed, the clothes he guessed she’d been wearing when they abducted her were thrown in a pile on the bathroom floor, along with a damp towel. There was also a hairbrush he was sure she’d used sitting on the back of the sink.
Gathering all the evidence, Jace returned to the main room and took a moment to look at the straight back wooden chair and leather restraints he knew without a doubt had immobilized his mate. Fury like he’d never felt filled his entire being and that of his dragon. The longer he stared, the more irate they became. He imagined Melanie’s soft creamy skin abraded with the rough leather straps and promised slow, treacherous retribution to any and all that had dared touch her.
Needing to be anywhere but in that room, Jace headed for the door. No longer needing to use only mindspeak, he yelled over his shoulder, “I need some air. See you outside.”
Not waiting for an answer, he sped towards the stairs. Taking them two at a time, he hit the floor of the basement just as Kyra and Royce were heading down.
“Kellan wants Kyra to take a look at the room where Melanie was.” He heard Royce say as he passed and threw a grunt of acknowledgement over his shoulder. Jace knew he’d need to apologize later but was not about to stop his assent.
Jogging across the basement floor, he finally reached the stairs leading to the ground level and the blessed fresh air he so badly needed. This time he took the stairs three at a time, thinking of nothing else but tearing Melanie’s kidnappers limb from limb. He was so engrossed in his plotting he barely heard the whisper of a voice fighting for his attention.
“Jace…”
Stopping dead in his tracks and thanking the Heavens for the enhanced senses that kept him from rolling down the steps he’s just climbed, Jace listened. It seemed to take forever but finally he heard it again, just slightly louder than before.
“If you really are looking for me, and my heart says you are, look for the Blackthorn trees with the blood red blossoms. They only grow near the coven. Jace, I wanted…” Her voice trailed off and Jace felt the connection break.
Running as fast as he could, retracing his steps and bellowing for all his brethren to hear, Jace announced, “Blackthorn trees! We need to find the damn Blackthorn trees!”
CHAPTER FOUR
Melanie had no idea if Jace heard what she was saying. If she was being honest, she had no idea why she believed he would, she just did. The overwhelming feeling in her heart and soul that he was out there looking for her and they were linked…bonded in some way, kept her going and made her reach out to him. Being hidden away deep in the bowels of the coven she’d fled all those years ago made her hope for the improbable and pray for the impossible. If there was any way she was going to survive, it was going to take everything she could come up with and a few things she’d just have to pull out of her ass at the right time.
She was glad Hannah had knocked her out before her captors had entered the room. At least she was spared listening to them on the trip back to the coven. When she woke up, it was as if she’d been transported back in time. Her surroundings so familiar that she closed and opened her eyes several times, praying what she saw was a dream. Unfortunately, it was all too real.
Groaning, Melanie rolled on her stomach, buried her head in the fluffy pink covered pillows, and screamed as long and as loud as she could. That stupid asshole, aka the Grand Draoi, and more importantly, aka her grandfather (only by genetics) had plopped her right back in the room from her childhood. She figured the deluded leader of the Dorcha thought he was doing her a big favor. That she should somehow see it as how much he loved her that he’d kept her room just as it had been all those years ago. Truth was, it made her sick. She actually wanted to throw up at the thought of him keeping all her things like some shrine to her existence when in actuality, he just wanted to kill her and steal her powers.
I know all families have their issues, but not even Dr. Phil’s got an answer for this shit!
The only difference between the past and the present was the new clothes hanging in the antique wardrobe and the white silk ceremonial robe that made her skin crawl. The asshole really had some nerve. Hanging a ‘death shroud’ next to plain, old, every day clothing like it was a foregone conclusion that she would march to her own death without raising seven kinds of hell and taking as many of the ass kissing Drocha with her as she could.
Finally climbing out of the giant four poster bed, she padded into the bathroom, washed her face and returned, then decided to see exactly how bad things really were. She turned the door knob, not surprised to find it locked and even less shocked to hear a guard outside her door. Next, she checked all four windows, laughing at the iron bars and wondering who the old man had gotten to install them since iron was a witch’s kryptonite. She hoped it was Putz One and Two.
Lastly, she went to the vent inside the linen closet just outside the bathroom door. It had been her escape hatch more times than she could count, especially after her mother’s untimely demise. Melanie was thrilled to see they hadn’t found it and completely pissed when she realized how much bigger adult Melanie was than twelve year old Melanie. Her head and shoulders fit through the opening but that was where the buck stopped. Her ample bosom that most of the time she thought was pretty cool became nothing but a hindrance as she tried to squeeze into the shaft.
Sweating and exasperated, she backed out of the vent, collapsed on to the floor, and pouted. It was defeating, to say the least, for Melanie to admit that she was trapped in a room she’d hoped to never see again, in a place she’d never wanted to visit again, about to be confronted by a man she’d hoped would die before he caught up to her. Of course, none of that mattered, she had to find a way out. There was no way she could let Sarah Beth, Hannah, or any of the other people that had been friends of her mother help her escape. Yes, they had all done it before and not been found out, but letting them do it again would tempt Fate in the worst way.
And let’s face it, Fate has NOT been good to me lately.
Then she thought of Jace and had to admit that someone up there was looking out for her. She thought about the crazy ESP message she’d sent him and wondered for the tenth time if he really was looking for her. No sooner had the thought crossed her mind than the little voice she’d always depended on to get her through the hard times whispered, “He is. And he’s bringing reinforcements.”
She laughed out loud and shook her head, wondering when she’d lost her marbles. But she’d learned early in her career as a nurse that hope was all people needed to believe and if they believed, they could accomplish damn near anything. If there was anyone that could accomplish saving her from the mess she was sitting smack in the middle of, it was the amazing man that had captured her eye and was working on her heart.
Sitting in the bathroom, contemplating life as she knew it, the main door to her room swung open and in rushed Hannah. Her cheeks were flushed and she was out of breath as she balanced a tray of food in one hand and a pitcher of tea in the other while trying to kick the door shut.
Melanie jumped up and ran to help. “What the hell? You can’t even help with the damn door?” She shouted at the guard as the door clicked shut.
Grabbing the pitcher from her friend, she scolded her as well. “You should’ve made that bonehead help. He’s just freaking standing there…doing nothing!”
Hannah smiled while she set the tray on the table, took the pitcher, and poured two glasses of tea before motioning for Melanie to sit down. “Sit and eat, hothead. Yelling at the guard is only raising your blood pressure. He could seriously care less.”
Both ladies chuckled as Melanie took the covers off her food and began eating. Once again Hannah’s sisters had made some of her favorite foods – chicken salad with apples and walnuts on romaine, whole grain rolls, cucumber salad, and a slice of home
made apple crisp. She took a deep breath, inhaling all the yummy goodness and smiled before digging in.
She was just about to take her first bite when Hannah uttered, “Tost.” Shrugging, Melanie took the bite off the fork floating before her mouth and waited for her friend to explain.
Looking side to side, Hannah leaned forward and quietly said, “I put a Silence Spell on your room. It should go undetected, but just in case, we’re gonna make it quick and I’ll remove it so no one questions what we’re doing.”
Melanie chuckled at Hannah’s thorough explanation, knowing it was her nerves talking. The young witch had grown up making the best of a horrible situation. She had survived all the black magic and killings without turning dark. Melanie knew it was because Hannah had the strength of her mother and sisters. Joanie had always told Melanie if anything happened, she could count on Sarah Beth and all these years later it was still true.
Many times before her mother had died, when they’d been planning their escape, Melanie had asked if Hannah and her family were coming with them. Her mother’s response was always the same. “They can’t, honey. This is all they know, but they are good and with any luck will reform the Dorcha. We just need to pray for them, Meli Rose. Pray that they can overtake Cleland.” Melanie was sad that her mother’s prayers had not been answered but happy to see her childhood friend was still one of the good ones.
Melanie nodded her understanding but continued to eat as Hannah quickly explained. “Mom and few of the others are working on a plan. It seems like Cleland may suspect them, so it is taking longer than they anticipated, but she said to tell you she will do everything in her power to keep you safe.”
Melanie saw the unshed tears in Hannah’s eyes. Laying her fork on her plate, she placed both her hands over her friend’s and smiled. “Tell her to keep herself and her family safe before worrying about me. Let’s face it, if Cleland wants to go through with this, there’s little any of us can do without outside help to stop him. I won’t have any of you getting hurt on my account.”
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