by Amber Flora
He wondered if this was a setup. He knew it was in Kat’s nature to worry about others, but this conversation had Bonnie written all over it.
“Did my mother send you?”
He hadn’t spoken to his mother since the day she voted against him with the council. Bonnie and two others decided Ashtyn and Mac weren’t worth saving. They refused to give Cody the men he needed to storm Damon's castle. Because of that Mac was tortured near the point of death and Ashtyn had sacrificed her freedom to save him. Cody was not ready to forgive, and he certainly wouldn’t forget.
“You think I need someone to tell me to look after you? I’m a healer, Dakota, it’s what I do.”
“I’m sure there are many more deserving souls than myself you can waste your time on.”
Cody wasn’t mad at Kat. He knew she was being a friend, but he couldn’t help himself. He was angry and in pain. He didn’t need bread, he needed to know Ashtyn was safe. Katrina stood crossing her arms around herself.
“You will never be a waste of my time. I miss Ashtyn too. She isn’t just your friend, you know, but this isn’t your fault, Cody, and as much as you want to put blame on your mother, this isn’t Bonnie’s either. We will get her back, but it’s going to be even harder to do so if you're knocking on death's door. You need to eat. If you don't do it for me or your mother, do it for Ashtyn. She wouldn’t want you punishing yourself like this. Ashtyn made the choice to stay with Damon. She did that so you and Mac could live. Don’t waste the gift she gave you.”
Kat placed her hand on Cody’s shoulder before turning and walking away. He hated when she made sense. Why did she have to be so damn wise?
“Who pissed off the healer?” an Irish accent asked from behind.
“I think I’m guilty of that,” Cody replied, putting his face in his hands and feeling the exhaustion of the last few days. This was one of those moments he wished he could sleep. The humans didn’t know how good they had it. Sure, he would live hundreds of years, but he might trade a decade or two to know what it was like to close your eyes and drift into nothingness.
“Well aren't ya just a barrel of excitement.”
Mac took the spot where Kat previously sat, putting his feet up on the pew in front of him.
“Tell me you have good news,” Cody said. He really needed something to lift his spirit.
“Well now, that’s a matter of perspective. I have news, if it’s good or not will have to be determined by you I’m afraid.”
“I’m not in the mood for mind games, Mac,” Cody hissed.
“All right, don’t get your knickers in a bunch. No one knows where Damon took her. The langer covered his tracks pretty damn well, but word on the street is that Damon brought in a bloke named Herrick. This isn’t any ol’ lad, he’s a hired gun that’s been known to teach the Credo a thing or too.”
Cody looked at Mac, trying to piece together the puzzle.
“So he’s growing his army?”
“Maybe, but some say that’s not the case. Word is he’s there for Ashtyn.”
“Why would Damon bring in a skilled assassin for Ashtyn?”
Mac rubbed the top of his shaved head the way he always does when he’s deep in thought.
“Don’t rightly know. They also say there’s something off about him. No one knows what race he is. Gossip around town is that he can heal, but they don’t think he’s a dreamwalker.”
Cody was thoroughly confused. What other race besides dreamwalker could heal? And what was Damon's plan? Why would he let a killer with a shady background be so close to Ashtyn? Was he there to torture her? He wondered to what extent Damon would go to find Ser’ie.
“Could he be turned to our side? Maybe he would be willing to help Ashtyn escape?”
“I heard he would sell his own mother for the right amount of money.”
Cody suddenly felt hope. Maybe there didn’t have to be a war. They might not even need the council's army. If they played it right they might be able to get Ashtyn back with just a rogue stranger and a bank roll.
“We would have to find him first. If he is with Damon, chances are he won’t be letting him go anytime soon. So we have a plan: Find Damon and get a message to this Herrick fella and hope his morals are as loose as people say.” Mac was fuming, every time he thought things couldn’t get any worse he was proved wrong.
Cody thought about Ashtyn, she was surrounded by vile men and all alone. He knew she had a strong will, but he just prayed this experience didn’t break her. What type of deal did she make for Mac’s freedom? It had to be something big. Cody had no doubt that Damon had every intention of killing Mac. Hell, if he was being honest with himself, Cody wanted to himself a couple of times. Mac had been his best friend since they learned how to walk. Cody trusted him with his life, but the Irish boar was very good at getting under your skin. Whatever Ashtyn had promised Damon to gain his release was a game changer. He just hoped whatever she offered hadn’t come to fruition.
“We’re going to need someone with a fairly large back account,” Cody said looking at his friend.
“Aye, already on it.”
“I’m sorry, you want me to do what?” Ben asked, looking between Cody and Mac.
“Are ya deaf, lad? We want ya to steal money from the council.” Mac acted as though he was asking someone to hold the door for him.
“Absurd, I will do no such thing.” Ben questioned the mental state of the two men standing before him. Not only were they asking the general of the guards and their boss to commit a crime, but they were asking him to betray his own people.
“Ben, I know we are asking a great deal, but it may be the only way to save Ashtyn. You do still want to rescue her don’t you?”
“Don’t play that game with me, Dakota, You honestly don’t believe you can play on my emotions. It’s as if you have never met before,” Ben said.
“Maybe he doesn’t want her back because she might blather about how he loved her mother and tricked her into kissing him,” Mac poked.
“I didn’t have to stoop to your methods, Irish. Ashtyn kissed me freely; I didn’t need your crude seduction tactics.”
“Is that so, General? The way I remember it she was drunk off her arse.”
“As opposed to being high on vampire blood?” Ben retorted.
Mac lifted his fist to swing on Ben. He had no idea how Ben found out about the night he and Ashtyn had shared together, but he would damn sure knock him out before he revealed all the murky details to Cody.
Cody stepped in the way to block him.
“Stop it! Both of you! How is this helping? Ben, we have a chance at saving her without bloodshed. This is the best option for everyone, but we need your help.”
“Even if I agreed to do it, every penny is accounted for. I couldn’t take that much money without being caught.”
“You can with my help,” a feminine voice said from the doorway.
The men turned to see a short adorable redhead standing at the entrance. Gloria was the bookkeeper of dream realm. She kept records of every council meeting, all history pertaining to dreamwalkers and, conveniently, managed the council's accounts.
“No, not going to happen. You are not getting Gloria involved in this.” Ben's anger began to take over as he looked at the innocent redhead weaving herself into the boys’ half-baked plot.
The 5-foot-4-inch librarian stood toe-to-toe with the 6-foot-4 Viking general, squaring her eyes on his.
“That is not your call to make. I will do whatever it takes to save Ashtyn. I would think you being a man of honor that you would do the same.”
“That’s my girl! See what a little Irish charm gets ya, Ben?” Mac laughed.
Gloria gave him an eye roll.
“This has nothing to do with you, Mac. Ashtyn is my friend and I can’t bear the thought of what Damon could be doing to her. We have to get her out of there. The council donates to charities all the time. I couldn’t think of a better contribution than giving someone his or h
er freedom.”
Ben lowered his head in defeat. He knew there was no point in fighting it. If going against the council and turning into a thief was the only way to get Ashtyn back, then he had to do it. He owed her that much, plus he wasn’t about to let Gloria take the fall if this thing came back to bite them.
“What’s the plan?”
“Mac and I will find Damon's new hideout. Once we do we will get word to the assassin that we’re looking to buy his services. Once Herrick names his price you’ll steal the money from the council's accounts and Gloria will fix the books. The council won’t even know for weeks, maybe months.”
“And when they do find out? What do you see happening then? Ashtyn is free and we’re all put to death?” Ben asked.
“Once she is safe I’ll take her into hiding, where Damon and the council won’t be able to locate her. You can pin the entire thing on me. Tell them I went rogue.”
“Oh no ya don’t, lad. You’re not getting all the fun. Wherever you go I go.”
Mac had already made a promise to himself that he wouldn’t hold anything back the next time he saw Ashtyn. She might choose Cody — hell, she might choose neither of them — but that wouldn’t stop him from protecting her. He knew Cody had feelings for her as well. In the beginning he swore to leave it alone and let him get the girl, but Cody wasn’t in the cell the night Ashtyn came to him. It was Mac that felt her kisses of desire and saw the fear and love in her eyes as she said goodbye. He wanted nothing more than to save her from that hell. Even when his body was broken and bloodied, he still tried to fight off his attackers and get to her. In the end Ashtyn had sacrificed herself to save him. He couldn’t get the image out of his mind as Grison tore her from his cell, the pain in her eyes when he revealed to her the meaning behind his nickname for her. He didn’t know why she thought to ask him that question the moment before she was ripped away from him, but he was glad she did. If nothing else she knew his intent. She wasn’t his Phoenix or just another woman he wanted in his bed. She was his heart. Every beat reminded him of her, with her soft brown curls and penetrating eyes. He would not be whole until he held her in his arms and told her all the things he longed to say.
Algon wiped his brow trying to stay awake. He had to be missing something, but what?
“You are not too old for me to ground you,” Victoria said, handing her son a glass of water.
“There has to be something here. How is he doing it?”
Algon had been racking his brain and searching through every spell book he could to figure out Damon’s tricks. When Mac had told him that he couldn’t flash while he was being held prisoner by Damon, Algon had been driving himself crazy trying to figure out how he was doing it. Worse was that Ashtyn wasn’t dreaming, and if she couldn’t dream, they had no way of contacting her. So many nights he lay awake thinking of her. He tried not to interfere with her life. He had wanted his daughter to be as normal as possible, but every now and then he would enter her dreams — he just had to see her face. She looked so much like her mother. How he wished he could look in on her now. Damon had unprecedented abilities, even for an impure. He had never known magic to block dreamwalker abilities like that. Algon and his mother were two of the strongest wizards in Cardician. If a half-blood could create a spell like that, exactly how powerful was he?
“I can’t figure it out, mother. If I knew how he did it I might be able to reverse it.”
“My son, you're exhausted. I haven’t seen you sleep in days. Get some rest. Perhaps something will come to you in your dreams.”
Algon’s head shot up.
“What did you say?”
“I told you to get some rest.”
He kissed his mother's forehead and smiled.
“Mother, you are a genius. I might not be able to figure out how he’s keeping Ashtyn from flashing, but I think I can get inside her dreams.”
“Algon, she isn’t dreaming you know that.”
“No, she isn’t, but Damon is trying to keep the dreamwalkers out not wizards. He probably hasn’t thought about someone dream sharing. If I can conjure enough magic it’s possible I could bring her into my own dream as long as she’s receptive to it.”
Victoria clapped her hands together in victory. “Algon, that’s wonderful. It could actually work. If you dream of a place she's familiar with it should strengthen the bond. Should you go now?”
“No, we might only get one chance to speak with her. First we need a strategy. Get in touch with Cody and Mac. Tell them I’m going to see my daughter.”
Chapter 4
In one of the rare moments I was left unattended I curled up in the bay window looking out at the landscape. Under different circumstances I would be overwhelmed by its beauty but the gloom of my situation made it look like a Mark Thompson painting — one of a bleak apocalyptic future. On one side of the estate I could see the crash of waves against the rocks. The remainder of the premises was surrounded by a lush forest. It was nearing winter and I was awaiting the first drop of snow that would turn the large estate into a winter wonderland. As beautiful as I could imagine this place being covered in a blanket of snow, I had no intention of finding out what Christmas with the devil was like. I wondered if Lori had put up the decorative lights without me. We had a tradition of playing Christmas music and drinking a bottle of wine while putting up the decorations. One year we had a little too much to drink, which resulted in a broken toe, a trip to the emergency room and Lori dating my doctor for a couple of months. I smiled at the memory of Lori hysterically running around trying to find her keys so she could drive me to the hospital. Someone would have thought I lost an entire foot by my best friend’s massive freak out.
“Would you like to take a walk around the grounds?”
I turned my head to see Damon approaching. I would rather poke my eyes out then spend more time with him, but I decided it would be harder to escape if I couldn’t see.
“You sure you have the time?” I asked, attempting to feign interest.
“I think the Credo can survive without me for a couple of hours.” He stood beside me holding his hand out for me take.
“If you insist.” I smiled as if I were actually excited to spend time with him.
Damon wrapped my arm in his as we walked around the outer area of the estate. The cool air whirled through my hair and chilled me to the core, and I zipped my jacket higher. Even with the winter breeze it was better than being cooped up inside the penitentiary. I remembered how confined I felt being shacked up in the boys’ apartment while the Credo hunted me. I would gladly spend the rest of my days there now. I had no idea how free I really was.
“How is your training going with Herrick?”
I wasn’t about to let Damon know exactly how well I was doing. It wasn’t like I had become a world-class ninja overnight, but I didn’t want him to cancel my classes because he thought I had learned enough.
“It’s OK, I guess. I don’t think I’ll be winning any fights soon, but I’m getting the basics down.”
“I don’t expect you to ever use the skills he is teaching you, but everyone should know some sort of defense.”
“Who taught you to fight?”
I figured I would seize the opportunity to try to get him to divulge some of his secrets.
“I acquired some training from different people. I’m skilled in many forms of combat.”
I wondered if Herrick had taught Damon at one time. I doubted Damon would have allowed him to train his new recruits if he didn’t have firsthand knowledge of Herrick’s skills.
“What about your magical abilities? Did one of your parents teach you how to wield magic?”
Damon laughed as he looked off into the distance.
“The only thing my parents taught me was you can only rely on yourself. Ser’ie gave my father a choice: side with him or die with me. Ironic that I’m still alive and my father isn’t.”
“Your uncle killed his own brother?” If I didn’t despise Damon w
ith a passion, I might have actually felt sorry for him.
“Yes, because of your mother. My father was tasked with capturing her and failed. Ser’ie repaid him by ridding him of his head.”
Now I definitely didn’t feel sorry for him. It seemed like his entire family made it their life's goal to destroy mine.
“What about your mother? She was the wizard and as powerful as you are, she had to have taught you something.”
I honestly didn’t care what happened to his mother, but I wanted to keep him talking in the hopes that he would reveal something useful.
“She took me on the run with her for a few years, but I was always in the way. When I was seven she sent me to the potion shop to pick up a vial, when I returned, she was gone. I haven’t seen her since.”
“Maybe she thought she was protecting you by leaving.” It was possible. My father had left me in the human realm to protect me. Maybe Damon’s mother thought he had a better chance without her.
“I can assure you she did it to save her own ass. Ser’ie was hunting me, not her. If she abandoned me they would continue to chase my whereabouts and forget about her. I’m sure she's out there somewhere living a happy little existence.”
I was beginning to understand where Damon’s hatred came from: Everyone he should have had to rely on had abandoned him, left him to fend for himself. It didn’t excuse the terrible things he has done. Plenty of people suffer in life, yet they don’t turn into homicidal maniacs.
“I don’t understand, how did you survive at such a young age on your own, and if your mother didn’t teach you magic who did?”
Damon directed his attention to some leaves on the ground, pointing his finger at them. He spun it in circles until the leaves elevated. They swirled around like two lovers enthralled in an intimate dance. His abilities were unlike anything I have ever seen. It all seemed so natural to him. He made it look as easy as breathing. I couldn’t understand how he managed to be that powerful without having someone to guide him.