Unfamiliar (The Vandran Legacy Book 1)

by Anna-Louise Dann

  “Hey, you’re safe now, we’ve come to get you all out,” Clara said in a hushed voice. The girl raised her head from her knees and looked straight at her. She had a bruise under her right eye.

  “Are we really free?” the girl whispered, as if she was terrified to speak. “Yes, you are,” Clara said and smiled warmly at her. “I have to go and open the other cells, you can either wait here until we have everyone or you’re free to leave... What’s your name?”

  “Rachael... my name’s Rachael,” the young girl croaked, trying to stand. Clara walked over and kneeled.

  “Hello Rachael, my name is Annabelle. I need to go now to help the others. If you want you can stay in here for now, until you become steadier on your feet. Someone will come for you in a little while.” Rachael just nodded at her, the look of relief evident on her delicate features.

  Clara stood and left the cell, nearly bumping into Heather on her way out. She had found two other girls locked in the cell next to Rachael’s. They were both a little older, possibly early twenties, both were just as scared. She ushered them in with Rachael, at least they could bring comfort to each other while she dealt with the rest of the captives.

  She felt even more determined the more cells she opened. Finding more young girls inside them, she had to perform the healing spell on some because their wounds were too severe. They all had the same haunted look on their faces. It was a look she knew all too well.

  They finally reached the last few cells and the one she had been dreading more than any. “Aperio!” she cried, and heard the lock click open. She hesitated, her steps faltering. She cursed and pushed the door open.

  The smell hit her first and then what followed would haunt her for the rest of her life. Her saviour who helped her escape this hell was chained to the wall in a kneeling position; her insides had been removed and were lying all over the cell floor. Her hair had been tied to the wall so she could see her features clearly. Her face had been slashed wide open so the muscles underneath the skin were visible. Her eyelids were removed so her eyes stared wide and lifeless. Above her head in blood read the word ‘PRODITOR’. She knew that word, Dominus had used the same one when he murdered Annabelle’s family.

  “It means traitor,” Heather’s voice said from behind her, making her jump. “Is she...?” “This is the woman who saved m e. Look at what they’ve done to her, she didn’t deserve this.” Clara’s voice broke and she slammed the cell door, unable to see anymore.

  She composed herself before speaking.

  “How many women got out?” she asked Heather, her voice now void of emotion. “Twe nty-seven. We found five dead, including this... er... one,” Heather said. “Let me take care of this for you, my darling,” Heather said, a look of concern in her eyes.

  “No. It’s my responsibility,” Clara argued.

  “Like hell it is!” Colt’s deep voice startle d both her and Heather. He was back to human form and had put his clothes back on.

  “Me and Heather will deal with this, there is someone who I think you’re going to want to talk to in the torture room. Jake has him pinned,” Colt said.

  “Was Kate here? I only got a few names,” Clara asked him, a little reluctant to leave.

  “I am not sure. Stop stalling, Clara. Trust me, we’ve got this.” She nodded. “Just make sure she’s given a proper burial, Colt, she saved my life. I just wish we had gotten here sooner.” Her voice broke again. A tear slid down her cheek; she wiped it away angrily. She didn’t have time to let her emotions take over, she could grieve later.

  Colt walked over and planted a loving kiss on her forehead, no more words were needed. If she talked about it anymore her walls would come crumbling down. Clara knew she had to let them take care of it, seeing that horror when she opened that cell had almost sent her over the edge. She couldn’t allow herself to break, she had to find him and make him suffer. She made her way through the cave to the torture room.

  She reached it in less than a minute. It was a massive open space in the centre of the cave. There were shackles and ropes on the walls and floors; different torture devices hung on hooks that protruded from the rocks. She had spent hours on end chained to the floor in this hell hole, being whipped and beaten, now she would make sure nobody else would ever have to suffer in this place again.

  “You and your friends are going to be sorry, Dominus will make you all pay for this,” the asshole spat at Jake, who had him pinned to the floor with his big paws. Jake bared his teeth at his captive, who didn’t seem fazed at the big grizzly snarling in his face. Clara had heard enough.

  “You should be more concerned with what’s about to happen to you,” Clara drawled impressed with how confident she sounded.

  This made the bastard turn and look at her. It’s not him, but she knew him he was one of the men who had joined in with beating her a few times.

  Where was he? “Where’s the usual sick bastard who normally works the torture chamber?” she demanded. “I owe him something.”

  “Ha... He’s not here, you stupid whore,” he snarled. “Oh, well you’ll have to do then. You can go now, bear cub, he’s mine.” As soon as Jake let him go she threw her arms out and shouted, “Concluserat! Bind him for my pleasure.”

  She watched dumbfounded as the magic took him and dragged his body to the chains on the walls, locking his arms in place.

  The look of surprise and sheer terror on his face made a sly smile appear on her lips and she sniggered. “Call me a whore again, dipshit, I fucking dare you,” she snarled as she walked menacingly over until she was a few metres away.

  She was aware of everything around her now – her Cailleach was in full battle mode and was eager to hurt this son of a bitch. The power she felt inside her made her feel indestructible, but she knew she had to control it. Annabelle had only used her magic to heal, she had fought against the darkness their magic could conjure.

  Cla ra knew she wouldn’t have the luxury of holding back the darkness, especially with these bastards after what they had done. She would have to fight violence with sheer brutality but she would only inflict pain to the assholes that deserved it.

  The snivelli ng sack of shit wasn’t too cocky now his arms were restrained. He snivelled with his head down.

  “So, you enjoy torturing and raping women, hey? You sorry sack of shit!” she screamed at him. He started sniggering; the cocky arrogance was back again, he was obviously feeling brave. “What’s up, Princess? Jealous?” he said, meeting her glare with a deranged look on his face.

  She kicked him as hard as she could in-between his legs and he let out a high-pitched squeal. “Do you realise who you are speaking to, you fucking moron? I could gut you just by muttering a few words, so I would watch your fucking mouth.” She spat at him and cackled as she watched tears roll down his face from the beating his balls had just taken. “I am going to keep you alive, you sorry asshole, but for one reason alone. I need you to deliver a message to your dickhead Master. Tell him Annabelle’s back.”

  “Y-you’re her, y-you were killed centuries ago,” he stuttered, looking even more terrified. “Let’s call it magic, shall we...? Oh, and he’l l probably kill you after you pass on the message, you’re finished... Have a nice time swinging from these chains, dipshit.”

  As she headed for the entrance a small, sadistic smile pulled at the corners of her mouth as she could hear his pleading screams.

  For the first time ever, she felt powerful. She knew now she was ready to face her biggest demon. When Clara stepped out of the cave she welcomed the crisp air that filled her lungs and she took a breath, trying to rid her senses of the smell of death which seemed to cling to her. She took in the surroundings and was astonished to find the ground completely clear of the corpses that had covered the area before. She spotted Terrance and a few men she didn’t recognise near some big white transit vans – they looked deep in conversation. She walked over feeling a little cautious of the new faces.

  “Hey, Terrance, did
you find Kate?” she asked. He smiled at her, but there was sadness in his eyes.

  “Yeah, she was chained up in the torture room, Jake found her. She’s been pretty badly beaten, it’s going to take time but she’ll heal. It’s just the mental damage, you know,” he said, glancing off into the distance. He looked a million miles away; the look on his face told her they must have found her in a bad state.

  “Where is she?” Clara asked.

  “She’s in the back of here,” he said, nodding to the van closest to them. “Can you bring her out? I might be able to help with the damage done to the outside. She’ll have to work on the psychological bit herself.”

  He walked to the van and returned seconds later with a young girl in his arms. She was wrapped in a dirty blood-stained sheet and she was unconscious. The fresh lacerations were visible on her front and back. The sick bastards had whipped her front as well as her back.

  “Please help her, Annabelle, I can feel her slipping away from me, she’s not going to make it,” he sobbed. “Lay her down here,” she said, trying to not let her emotions get the better of her. She needed to focus all her power on saving this girl. He did as she asked straight away, and she checked for a pulse. There was one there but it was very weak, she hoped her power was strong enough to save her. She placed one hand on her forehead and the other on her stomach, praying she was doing it right. Closing her eyes, she chanted the words.

  “Great goddess, I call upon you,

  Heal this girl, heal her wounds,

  Make her well.

  Dolores inferni circumdederunt,

  Magnae Haec cura puellae,

  Vulnera sana eam sana eam.”

  She felt the overbearing heat in her stomach

  almost instantly as the magic began to work. She opened her eyes and watched as the glow from her core passed down her arms and into Kate where her hand touched. Kate’s whole body started to glow and the wounds started to close immediately, revealing new skin underneath.

  When the magic was done she removed her hands, and looked up at Terrance. She was surprised to see Colt, Heather, and Jake all stood around her with the other men. They all had a look of wonder on their faces at what she had just done. She didn’t have time for their praise, they needed to get these women to safety, and she needed to change back into herself and contact Emmie. Her stomach was in knots with worry over what had happened to her. She stood and spoke to Terrance who was staring at her, starry eyed.

  “Just let her rest now, Terrance, she’ll be ok,” she said, needing to get out of there. He opened his mouth to say something but she stopped him with a raised hand. She didn’t want his thanks. She looked at Colt; they needed to leave. “Let’s just get the fuck out of this hell hole... This isn’t even close to being over.”

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Emmie She had been tied, gagged, blindfolded and dragged from her house, thrown into a car, and driven to God knows where. Now she was kneeling on a cold floor, praying that this would be over soon.

  Another sharp pain erupted in her side as the fucker kicked her in her ribs again. She winced, refusing to cry out. She had to fight against her beast who was eager to rip the bastard’s leg off.

  “That’s enough, Phil! Dominic won’t be happy if we bring back damaged goods,” a high-pitched female voice said. “There’s been an incident at The Cove, so there’s a change of plan. We’re taking her straight to the house. Dominic got back earlier than expected from his trip unfortunately and wants us to meet him there.”

  “Aww, Juliet, can’t we just rough her up a little?” So, this was the bitch Will had been fucking behind her back.

  She wished she could see the bitch’s face. “I would love nothing more than to hear this stupid cunt beg for her life, but unfortunately, she’s important to my dickhead brother. Make sure she’s ready for transport,” she barked, and slammed out of the room.

  “You hear that, whore? Master wants to see you,” the sick asshole said, his voice close to her ear as something hard hit the side of her head, sending her into darkness.

  *** Emmie woke to muffled voices. Her head was pounding and her throat was raw and scratchy. She couldn’t decipher where she was because of the stupid blindfold over her eyes – it sounded like she was on a plane. She lay still, pretending she was still unconscious. She could hear Juliet talking in a hushed voice to someone.

  “Miles has got it all sorted for us, it won’t be long and Dominic won’t know what’s hit him. He’s been so preoccupied with finding Annabelle’s long-lost family he wasn’t aware of what was happening in The Cove all this time,” she said, sounding smug. “Ha. He didn’t even know we had that bitch’s sister locked up, can you imagine what he would have done if he found out his precious Clara was given a thrashing before she escaped? That’s the reason we grabbed her sister now, I didn’t want him going to the funeral,” she said, sniggering. Emmie wanted to rip Juliet’s face off.

  “Well what the fuck does he want this whore and the brat for when Clara’s dead?” the asshole who kicked her earlier asked.

  “He’s getting sentimental, feels bad for what our father did to them. He’s losing his edge, he used to be a tough son of bitch—”

  A sudden coughing fit from Emmie broke their conversation. She cursed her stupid body for betraying her. She spluttered and gasped for air before spluttering again; the coughing hurt her injured ribs which she was sure were badly bruised.

  “She’s choking, get her some water!” Juliet shouted. Emmie felt the top of a bottle pressed to her mouth. She swallowed down the water greedily – it was warm but it eased her sore throat a bit.

  “Don’t you fucking die on me, bitch.” Juliet spoke through gritted teeth, placing the bottle in her bound hands. Judging by the shake of her voice, Juliet was obviously scared of Dominic despite her cockiness about him before.

  Emmie was now confused as to whether Dominic was behind any of this, or was this Miles calling the shots? She would have to ride this out and see if she could contact Clara later on.

  She couldn’t think about that right now, there were more pressing matters, like who this Dominic was and what he wanted with them. Juliet had said something about him feeling bad for what his father had done to their family. Did that mean he didn’t have a clue about what was happening in his own business? Her headache grew more intense with her thought process, she needed a painkiller and some Hope cuddles. These last few days had broken her heart, being away from her little girl.

  She felt a sharp stab in her neck and suddenly felt light headed again. Her eyes grew heavy and she fought to stay awake; her body gave in to the sedative and she fell into another unconscious state.

  *** Emmie stirred and rolled onto her side. She winced at the sharp pain that travelled through her ribcage. A warm little body snuggled into her and long hair tickled her nose. She opened her eyes, now wide awake. The events from earlier came racing back and she was surprised to find herself in a bed. Hope lay on her side next to her, fast asleep. Her soft snores were a welcoming sound to Emmie’s ears and she wrapped her arms around her baby. Relief and a million emotions flowed through her and she fought back tears.

  “Mummy’s missed you so much, munchkin.” Sh e kissed her hair. Hope grumbled, not liking being disturbed while she slept. Emmie smiled and sighed contentedly. She rubbed her nose into Hope’s hair, breathing in her unique scent.

  It was still dark, and she wasn’t certain of the time. She lifted herself up, trying to be careful so she didn’t wake Hope. Her ribs were so tender and ached as she moved but she badly needed to pee, and to scope out her surroundings. She slowly pushed out of the bed which was covered in a white duvet. In fact, looking around, the whole room looked white. Wait a minute. Clara had said she had seen a white room in her vision of Dominic’s house. Is that where she was?

  She still had the same clothes on but her shoes had been removed. Her eyes were now adjusted to the dark and she spotted her shoes next to a white dresser on the other
side of the huge room.

  There were two doors, she was sure one must be a bathroom. She stood; her head spun a little so she had to sit back down to compose herself. She tried again and made her way to the first door, opening it. The light from the hallway lit up the room. Clara hadn’t been wrong when she had described it as ‘just like the hallway from The Shining’. The walls were white, and there were at least six other doors in this hallway leading to other rooms. There was a set of stairs with a fancy dark wooden banister leading to a lower floor.

  She closed the door gently; she wasn’t ready to venture out there just yet and besides, her bladder was now reminding her how badly she needed to relieve herself. She tried the other door, finding a big bathroom. She turned on the light, squinting at the brightness – this room was all white as well. There was a massive walk-in shower and a bath tub; there was a double sink with a mirror over each of them. This room was amazing.

  She used the toilet and washed her hands. The water looked so refreshing. She put her mouth to the tap and guzzled some water down, she was so thirsty.

  She took in her reflection in the big mirror. Her usual straight blonde hair was matted from being dragged by that evil bastard before, and there was a nasty rose-coloured bruise at her temple where she had been hit. She looked a mess. She pulled her fingers through her hair to get some of the knots out, and splashed her face with warm water to clean some of the grime off. Satisfied she looked a little better, she turned off the light and left the bathroom. Hope was still fast asleep; she decided to try and contact Clara.

  She sat at the end of the massive king-sized bed with her legs crossed and closed her eyes.

  “Clara, are you there?” Nothing. “Clara...?” “Emmie? Oh my god, what happened? Where are you? I was so worried.” Clara’s voice broke through the silence and she released the breath she had been holding. She needed to get everything out before the connection was lost again. “Juliet and some of her goons grabbed me, I’ve been roughed up a bit but I am ok. Are you ok?”