by Lola Gabriel
“Nice job,” she said.
Noah turned to her, wrapping her in his arms and kissing her. “She won’t be a problem now, Raina. It’s just me and you now. Forever.”
The white vision went away. Chessa looked around frantically. She was alone in a clinical looking room, locked in a cage, her hands and ankles bound to large, heavy chains. Her head began to spin as tears of confusion and anguish flooded down her face.
Noah had brought her here. He had knocked her unconscious and locked her away. But why? He had been the one who had insisted they should be together, that they could make it work. If he wanted Raina, why had he done that? Was he just torturing her for breaking his heart so many years ago?
Chessa didn’t know why Noah would turn on her, but she knew she had to find a way out of here before it was too late. She tugged on the chains, but they wouldn’t give so much as an inch. She tried to pull her hands out through the cuffs, which was no use. They were so tight that she couldn’t even move her wrist, let alone force her hand through.
She screamed for help, shouting as loud as she could until her throat burned raw and only a pitiful croak came out. Finally, exhausted and devoid of any hope, she fell to the ground. She lay on her side, her knees curled up, and let the tears flow freely without attempting to wipe them away. She watched them form a dark little puddle on the concrete floor. She felt empty, abandoned, and she knew with a sudden certainty that she was going to die here.
“I’m sorry, Mom, Lexi. Please forgive me for getting mixed up in all of this. I really thought he loved me,” she whispered. Her words trailed off, and Chessa lay silent, her mind closing down, her eyes staring, unseeing, ahead of her.
11
Noah felt his stomach cramp at Harvey’s words. He glanced at Raina, who looked back at him. There was the same look on her face as was on his. Horror. Fear. Anger.
He focused on the anger, but as soon as he did, the beast within him roared, trying to come out. His beast was furious that someone would mess with his girl. Noah forced himself to rein in his anger, to focus on the practical instead of the emotional. His bear side was powerful, and he loved the freedom being an animal brought, but right now, he needed his human mind. He needed to be able to hear what Harvey had to say and then work out a plan that didn’t end with one of them dead.
“Tell us how to get in, and we’ll do the rest,” Raina said.
Noah hoped she was as confident as she sounded. She made it look easy. In theory, it was. Get in, find Chessa, get out. Hearing that a vampire who was over half a century old wouldn’t tackle Freya, though, told him it was going to be anything but easy.
Harvey pulled a rolled-up sheet of paper from out of the back pocket of his jeans. He gestured for Noah and Raina to come to the dining table, where he spread out the paper. Noah could see it was a rough blueprint of a three-store house.
“First, you’ll have to get into the grounds. There’s no way to get the gate open without using enough force to raise the dead, and there’s no way Freya doesn’t hear that. You’ll have to scale the wall. Shouldn’t be that hard for bears, right? If you come at the house from the north, you’ll see some fir trees. Get in there. The view from the house is restricted, so assuming you’re quiet, you won’t have any problems there.”
Harvey looked up to make sure Raina and Noah were with him. Ensuring they understood, he moved onto the house itself.
“The top floor is irrelevant,” he said. “This is the ground level, and see here?” He pointed to a marked spot on the blueprint. Noah and Raina nodded. “This spot here. I’ve been coming and going through it for a week or so now. It’s very hard to spot, but basically, there’s a square of wall that you can lift away. It opens out into a room I’ve never known Freya to use, but obviously, be careful. You never know when she might be in there. Once you’re in, you’ll have to make your way through the house and down to the basement, which is here.”
He pointed to the blueprint again. “Freya keeps her stock in large metal cages.”
“Stock?” Noah interrupted him. “That’s my mate you’re talking about.”
“Noah…” Raina warned him.
“It’s okay,” Harvey told Raina. He turned to Noah. “I’m sorry. It’s nothing personal. It’s just the easiest way to describe Freya’s human victims quickly. If I really thought of those people as nothing but stock, do you think I’d be risking my life every day, hunting down Matchmakers and trying to stop them?”
“Point taken,” Noah said. “Sorry, I think I’m just a bit on edge.”
“Understandable,” Harvey said. He turned his attention back to the blueprint and continued. “The keys hang just inside of the basement door. You can’t miss the cages.”
“It doesn’t sound as bad as I was expecting,” Raina said.
“It’s not that hard to get in,” Harvey agreed. “Freya is so used to everyone being wary of her that she isn’t big on security. The hard part will be getting back out again.”
“Why?” Noah asked.
“Two reasons. Firstly, mortals aren’t exactly known for their agility or for being able to move quietly. You’re much more likely to attract Freya’s attention when you have the girl with you.”
“And second?” Raina prompted him.
Noah saw Harvey’s face change slightly, and he knew what was coming next was going to be bad. He steeled himself for it.
“Freya likes to torment the women she takes. She doesn’t harm them physically; she’s not stupid enough to risk a client refusing the sale because she’s harmed the girl in some way. Instead, she gets into their heads and reads their psyches. She finds the things they’re most afraid of, and she uses those fears to torment her victims, giving them horrible visions that feel so real that the women believe them. You’ll have to find a way to break the spell Freya holds your girl under before you can safely get her out of there.”
“So, presumably, the people who buy these women can break the spell. How do they do it?” Raina asked.
“They don’t,” Harvey answered. “Freya does it herself before the buyers arrive.”
“Shit,” Noah cursed. He thought for a moment. “Okay, I’ll find a way to get through to Chessa. She’s definitely not afraid of me, so it’s not like she’ll be reacting instantly when we get to her. Whatever Freya has done to her mind, a witch or a fairy will be able to undo it. I can worry about that once she’s safe.”
Harvey nodded, although he didn’t look overly convinced. He gave them the address of Freya’s house and some rough directions. “What else do you need to know?”
“Do you have any weapons that could help us?” Raina asked.
“If you’re asking me if I have an arsenal of Ure swords, then no,” Harvey replied.
“I think that about covers it,” Noah said.
A new thought occurred to him, one that had been niggling at the edge of his mind since Raina had dropped this bombshell on him. He turned to Harvey.
“Would you mind giving us a moment, please? There’s something I need to discuss with Raina,” he said.
Harvey nodded and made his way through a door in Raina’s apartment. Noah waited until he heard another door open and then close.
“What is it?” Raina asked.
“How well do you know Harvey?” Noah asked.
“Well enough,” she said. “If you think he might be somehow in on this and leading us on a wild goose chase, then you’re wrong.”
“It’s not that,” he said quickly. “It’s… Do you trust him, Raina? Around humans?”
“I’d trust him with my life. I mean, he has to drink human blood, there’s no getting around that, but he’s not one of those monsters that grab humans off the street and devour them. He’s set up what the humans believe is a private medical facility. He pays them $1000 dollars per pint to extract blood from them. He takes what he needs to survive, and the rest, he donates to the local hospital. Why?”
Noah went to the door Harvey had left through and c
alled his name.
“I have a favor to ask you. I know I don’t know you well enough to do that, but it’s important,” Noah said.
Harvey was shaking his head almost before Noah finished speaking. “Look I get it. She’s your mate. But I’m not taking on Freya. I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s not that. Chessa’s mom, Ally, had a heart attack. Chessa returned here to take care of her. She had a nurse stay over with her last night, but she’ll be long gone now. I know it’s not exactly glamorous, but would you be willing to drop in on her and make sure she’s okay?”
“I’m not sure I’ll be much good as a nurse. I don’t know the first thing about that shit,” Harvey said. “But I can read directions and hand out meds. I even make a decent cup of coffee and a mean grilled cheese. If that’s the extent of what you need, consider it done.”
“Thank you,” Noah said.
“Listen, there’s only one problem with this. She’s going to be scared out of her mind when she finds a stranger in her home. Particularly a guy. I don’t like to use mind control on humans. It feels wrong. But I also don’t want to scare her half to death and risk making her heart worse. I’ll have to use mind control on her, convince her I’m a friend of Chessa’s and that she doesn’t need to be afraid of me.”
“Does she need to be afraid of you?” Noah asked.
“Of course not. Like Raina already told you, I don’t go around drinking from the vein.”
“You heard that?” Noah asked sheepishly.
Harvey nodded and smiled. “Yeah, and I get why you had to ask. It’s cool.”
“Then it’s fine to use mind control. You’re not lying to her. She’ll be safe with you, and she doesn’t need to be afraid of you, and once Chessa finds out you helped us free her and made sure her mom was fine, she’ll definitely consider you a friend.”
“I’ll stay with her until you get back. But if you don’t…”
“We will,” Raina said.
“If we’re not back by ten o’clock tonight, contact Jason from my father’s lab. Tell him everything and ask him to make sure Chessa’s mom is looked after. He’ll take care of it.”
Harvey nodded. “Right. I just need the address, and I’ll be on my way. Don’t worry about your girl’s mom. Nothing will happen to her while I’m with her. You have my word. Good luck, guys.”
Once Noah gave Harvey the address, Harvey left them the blueprint, wished them luck again, and then he was gone.
“Raina, listen,” Noah said, turning to her. “If you don’t want to do this, I understand. I—”
“Shut up, Noah,” Raina interjected. “I’m in.”
“And so charming with it,” he replied. They gathered up the map, and Raina grabbed her cell phone and her car and apartment keys.
“Let’s do this.”
“This feels almost too easy, doesn’t it?” Noah whispered to Raina.
They had managed to climb over the wall hidden by the trees, as Harvey had told them to. They’d found Harvey’s loose panel and made their way inside, creeping through the house. They now stood outside of the unlocked basement door.
“What? You want it to be harder?” Raina hissed back.
“No,” Noah said. “It’s just that if Freya’s everything Harvey said she is, why has she made it so easy for anyone to just walk into her home and creep around in it this way?”
“He also said that she’s so used to people fearing her, so she doesn’t think she needs extra security. And he did say getting out would be the hard part.”
“Hmm.” Noah was not entirely convinced, but he had no real choice other than to press on and just hope that, for once, luck was on his and Chessa’s side. “Let’s just hope that’s all it is.” He pushed open the basement door, wincing as it creaked slightly. “Even this door isn’t locked. Doesn’t that seem a little odd to you? Like we’re walking into a trap or something?”
“Honestly? Yeah. But unless you want to go back and leave Chessa behind, there’s nothing else we can do. Hopefully, it’s never occurred to Freya that anyone would try and stop her, and she knows the cages keep her victims secure enough that she doesn’t need to lock this door.”
Cautiously, Noah grabbed each of the eight keys that were hanging from hooks on a board behind the door. None of the keys were labeled, and having to try them all would slow them down, but again, he had no choice, unless he was willing to leave without Chessa. To him, that wasn’t an option.
He moved down the stairs slowly, quietly, his ears straining to hear any sounds from above that could mean that Freya was approaching. He wished he could turn and have the animal senses of his bear, but then he wouldn’t be able to open the cage door, and his beast was unpredictable. He’d much rather rescue Chessa and get out of there without having to face Freya, though his beast would feel differently. His beast would want revenge on Freya for daring to go anywhere near Chessa.
He and Raina reached the bottom of the staircase, and the cages came into view. Only one cage had an occupant, and Noah was relieved to see the occupant was Chessa. Now that they had found her, that was half of the battle won. From where he stood, Noah could see that Chessa was physically unharmed, except for one small cut on her temple. Harvey had told Raina that Chessa was unconscious when she was brought in. That had to be the place Freya had hit her to knock her out.
Noah felt a surge of anger rush through him, his bear rushing to the surface, desperate to get out. He fought the urge to turn, creeping closer to Chessa with Raina by his side. His relief at finding Chessa unharmed was quickly replaced by dread when Chessa saw him and Raina approaching and pressed herself as far away from them as she could.
“Don’t come any closer,” she whispered.
“Chessa? It’s me, Noah,” he said. He spoke calmly, clearly, like he was trying to coax out a frightened child. He handed the bundle of keys to Raina as he spoke.
“I know who you are,” Chessa replied. “Why are you doing this to me, Noah? You could have just told me you didn’t want to be with me.”
“Chess, what are you talking about? Of course I want to be with you! You think I’m behind this?”
“I know you are. You and that bitch,” Chessa said, throwing Raina a disdainful look. “You want me out of the picture so you two can be together. You don’t have to hurt me anymore. Just let me go, and I’ll stay out of your way. As soon as my mom’s better, I’ll leave town.”
“Chessa, I would never hurt you. You know that. Freya has used mind control on you. She’s making you see things that didn’t happen. She’s playing on your fears, making them a reality.”
The thought that there was a part of Chessa that was secretly afraid of Noah almost floored him, but he would worry about that later. For now, he had to convince Chessa to trust him so he could get her out of there. While he pleaded with Chessa, Raina moved to the front of the cage and began trying the keys. The fifth one she tried popped the lock, and she stepped inside of the cage.
“Chessa, Freya is a Matchmaker. If you don’t come with us now, then she’s going to sell you to an immortal being,” Raina said, reaching her hand out to Chessa.
Chessa didn’t respond. She just pressed her back as hard as she could against the wall. Noah debated going along with her delusion for now and just telling her he’d changed his mind and she was free. He knew it wouldn’t work, though. If Chessa believed he was responsible for this, she wouldn’t listen when he told her to get out, and if she ran into Freya, she wouldn’t know she was the real enemy here.
Raina stopped trying to reason with Chessa and closed the gap between them. She began methodically trying the keys in the cuffs that locked Chessa into the chains. Chessa tried to pull away from Raina, but Raina held fast to her, and finally, she had the cuffs off her.
The second the last cuff was free, Chessa bolted. She ran to the staircase, screaming for help. Noah crossed the distance between them in seconds, grabbing Chessa’s wrist. He spun her to face him. She continued to scream, and Noah
could feel panic rising in his stomach. There was no way Freya wouldn’t hear the ruckus and come to see what was going on.
“Noah, knock her out!” Raina shouted. “Once the mind control is lifted, she’ll understand!”
“I can’t do that,” Noah replied. “I made her a promise I would never hurt her, and I meant it.” He looked Chessa in the eye. He could see the glassy look in her gaze, like she was staring straight through him. “Fight the mind control, Chessa. Ask yourself if what you saw could be real. You know I would never hurt you. You know it,” he pleaded with her.
She didn’t look completely convinced, but she stopped screaming for a moment and looked at Noah.
“I love you, Chessa. You and only you.”
Although Noah could see he was starting to get through to her, it was taking too long, and they had to get out of this place. Freya could be upon them at any moment. On a whim, Noah leaned closer to Chessa and kissed her.
She fought him, kicking his shins, smacking him with her fists, but he wrapped his arms around her waist and didn’t let go. He kept kissing her, a gentle gesture. Slowly, Chessa stopped fighting him. She pulled her head back from his and looked at his face as though she was seeing him clearly for the first time since they had come into the basement.
“Noah. I… What happened? Freya, my mom’s nurse. She… she knocked me out. And then… I don’t know. I saw you standing over me. You were so angry, yelling about how I’d ruined your life and tried to keep you from Raina. And then I saw you knocking me unconscious, locking me in a cage. What’s going on?”
She was babbling, her eyes wild with fright, but she was back to herself. The glassy look in her eyes was gone. She was no longer seeing what Freya wanted her to see. She was seeing him.