Chapter 16
For a few blissful minutes following my arousing, I didn’t think of anything but Riley’s warm body against mine. I loved the feel of him, loved feeling so secure with his arm around me, holding me safe and warm.
Then, reality seeped in and I craned my head to the left to look out the bare windows; it was dark. My body went from relaxed to tense in a split second. Darkness meant that we could sneak closer to the Inn to save my parents. But what if they were no longer in the reception area? Had the man transferred them to a bedroom? Had he fed them? Had they slept?
“You think too much,” Riley murmured close to my ear.
I felt a shiver run down my spine at the feel of his hot breath so close to me. I remembered the way he had distracted me in the car to avoid the stress of shifting from one world to another and my shiver increased. I was practically panting from the very vivid images, scents and touches going through my mind.
“Are you cold? You’re shivering.”
He’s completely oblivious! I didn’t know whether I should laugh or groan. “I’m okay, just anticipating what’s coming next.”
Riley sighed, released me. “Let’s go check up on Scott.”
Riley rose and tested the weight on his injured leg. I studied his face carefully but he didn’t seem to be in pain.
“How is it?”
“I can feel it pulling where the scabs must have grown but it’s better.”
“Scabs already? Are you also a healer?”
“All of us in the land heal faster than Terrans but never as quickly as RM’s. Maybe our proximity while we slept helped because there’s no trace of wounds, scabs or any marks at all on your face.”
My hand shot up and felt nothing but smooth, unblemished skin. I gaped. “Wow, that is fast!”
Riley chuckled, held out his hand which I took and neither of us let go. We stopped abruptly when walking into the living room. A single candle was burning on the kitchen counter but Scott was nowhere to be found.
“Scott?” I called out quietly, then louder, “Scott?”
Riley retraced our steps down the hallway, checking the other rooms while I went to the seat and touched the sheet; it was cool.
“Nothing?” I asked when he returned.
“No, nothing to be found, no one either. Shit! I should have been in dog form, I would have heard something.”
“But we needed you to heal, Riley. Don’t beat yourself up.” I gestured to the dust cover. “It’s cool, he’s been gone for a while.”
“I knew we couldn’t trust him,” Riley said.
“He saved my life twice,” I said quietly, “and he left a candle burning for us.”
“Look,” Riley took my hand in his own, “I do appreciate that he’s saved you when I couldn’t, I really do, but there’s something definitely odd about- ”
Just then, the door opened and Riley reacted swiftly, pulling me behind him as he faced the door.
“Ah, you’re up!” Scott said, and I rounded Riley’s broad body to stare at the young man. Riley had been right; Scott was also completely healed.
“Where were you? We were worried.” I couldn’t keep the worry from my voice.
Scott immediately looked contrite. “I’m sorry, I thought you’d understand if I let the candle burning that I was fine, that I was coming back.” He shrugged, looked around. “I couldn’t find any paper to write you a note and I wasn’t able to sleep anymore so I went out to investigate the area.”
“And?”
I wanted to test a theory, although why it was important at the moment, I didn’t know. I had sensed Riley’s jealousy toward Scott and knew that part of our fight from a few days ago came from Riley’s panic at seeing me close to another man. I felt it, knew it to be true. I wanted to know if part of Scott’s obvious uneasiness was due to Riley and I being close.
I sidled closer to Riley and curled my arm around his waist, hugging him close to me. I felt him tense, and he briefly looked down at me, a question in his dark eyes before curling his own arm around me. A smile was tugging at his lips and I was ridiculously pleased that he liked my body pressed against his own. I glanced at Scott, trying to be subtle about it; no reaction.
He barely glanced at us both before saying, “Well, the Wogs are still there, which either means they weren’t discovered or they were left there to catch us off guard. Then I walked to the Inn, at least where it was written Inn on a window pane, and there was no light. I didn’t go see any closer,” he added apologetically, “so I couldn’t see whether your parents are still there or not.”
I nodded and said, “So what’s the plan?”
“You mean, you don’t have one?” Riley seemed amused.
“Not yet. I was going to think about it on the way over but it took me every once of willpower I had to keep going. Trust me, my brain was only thinking of the next step.”
Riley turned to Scott who was looking out the windows. “Did you happen to find any weapons of any kind while you were snooping around?”
“Nothing at all. The owners left this place with the obvious intention of coming back but besides cookware and such, there isn’t much.”
“We don’t even know what we’re up against,” Riley muttered. “Okay, look, we need to scout the area. I’ll transform and Scott I need you to remove your gloves. If anything looks even slightly suspicious, drain it.”
“What about me?” I asked, turning to look at Riley. “And don’t even think of suggesting I stay here; it won’t happen.”
Riley shut his mouth and Scott chuckled. “Yeah, even I saw that one coming.”
Riley transformed and we headed out into the night after extinguishing the candle. We made our way through the silent streets until we were in proximity of the Inn. All was dark and quiet and I didn’t like it one bit. We didn’t know what we were walking into, who would be waiting for us and how we would escape with my parents.
We had already decided that Scott would stay with me while Riley investigated the building. His developed sense of smell would warn him of any Wogs or other unfamiliar smells. While he was gone, I tried to remember everything I could about the scene I’d written. Had there been a bell over the door, one that would warn of anyone entering? How far away from the door was the reception counter? Ten, twenty feet? Once in, the hallway to the left was where the man had headed for bed. To the right had been a waiting area.
Neither Scott nor I had a watch and we couldn’t be sure how much time had gone by since Riley had left but it was taking too long. Something wasn’t right.
I felt Scott flinch beside me and I looked at him. I realised that my right hand was curled into his forearm and my nails were drawing blood. I froze. “Scott, why don’t I feel weaker? I’m touching your skin.”
I withdrew my hand, and trying to be inconspicuous, I scraped his skin from underneath my nails.
Looking tense, his voice tight, Scott said, “I drain from my hands. The rest of my body is safe.”
“What’s taking him so long,” I whispered.
I could feel Scott’s growing agitation and it did nothing to calm my own. We hadn’t discussed the possibility that Riley wouldn’t come back. Now what did we do? Go after him? Wait some more? What if we went in and Riley rounded the corner, found us gone?
“I think we should go in,” Scott said quietly. His voice was tight and his eyes were dark as I looked up at him. I couldn’t decipher his expression and didn’t know what he was thinking. Did he regret following me? Was he scared about going in?
I mentally snorted while I tried to picture the man beside me telling me he was scared. “I agree. He should have been back by now.”
“We should go in from the front because he went out back and hasn’t returned from there.”
“But what if he’s hurt?”
“Shanna, if Riley was hurt, he would have found a way to crawl back to us. I’ve seen the way he looks at you; he wouldn’t want you to be worried.”
A flutter like soft butterfly wings tickled my stomach at Scott’s words. He seemed to think Riley cared about me. But he was right; Riley would have made his way back if he could.
“Obviously,” Scott continued, “something’s happened. Let’s go investigate.”
Scott strode forward, crossed the street and hid in the deepest shadows of the building two doors down from the Inn. I followed closely while scanning the area for any movement. When nothing or no one came jumping out at us, we inched closer until we could peer into the closest window. As per my memory of the scene I’d written, this window would look into the waiting area.
Scott peered in quickly then pulled back hastily. “It’s too dark, I can’t see anything,” he whispered. “The full moon would have been appreciated tonight.”
I looked up. “Not really; they might have seen us more easily than you could see them,” I murmured.
“Good point. Are you ready?”
“I was born ready,” I replied. It was all talk, of course. I’d been born to be a writer, born to be an RM, born for many things perhaps but saving my parents from a magical serial killer? Not sure the fates had that planned for me.
We crouched and moved forward until we made it to the door. Scott silently opened it and I sent a prayer to the owners who hadn’t put a bell there. I held back the door as it closed so it wouldn’t make noise and Scott took two steps forward.
I heard a shuffle and a startled gasp. “Scott!” I called softly.
An answering thud was heard nearby and I inched closer to my friend. My eyes were slowly getting adjusted to the darkness and I could make out his body lying on the floor. “Scott?”
Three sets of angry red eyes suddenly met my gaze and with a gasp I backtracked into a corner. I crouched to make myself as small as I could and held my breath. Wogs! There were Wogs! Was this a trap? Why wasn’t Scott draining them? What could I do? I couldn’t see!
Were my parents nearby? Could I reach them? “Mom? Dad?” I whispered.
Out front to my left I heard a short gasp. “Shanna? Is that you?”
“Yeah, it’s me. Is Dad there?”
“I’m here baby. Shanna, you shouldn’t have- ”
I’d been crawling slowly toward the sound of their voices when suddenly a voice rang out to my left. “How touching; a family reunion.”
A light was suddenly flicked on and I hastily retreated to my corner; I didn’t want to be out in the open with my back unprotected. I held up an arm to my eyes, trying to shield them from the too-bright light. My eyes filled with tears and I wiped them away with my other hand. When I finally let my arm fall, the sight that greeted me was shocking.
There were dozens of Wogs spread out around me; in the waiting room and around my parents. Three of them held Scott pinned down, two with their weight holding down his arms with their forepaws and the third held him by the throat. My parents were still chained to the bronzed-coloured metal rail circling the reception counter. They were both weary-looking, bloodied and bruised.
A deep dark rage replaced the earlier butterflies in my stomach and I rose slowly, my gaze levelled on the man standing there, a smirk on his face.
“And so the prodigal daughter has finally arrived. I was beginning to wonder when you’d get here.”
In books, evil-doers were always described as being sinister-looking fellows with sharp faces and yellowing teeth. This one was nothing like them; he had short blond hair and pale blue eyes. His smile was actually nice with perfectly lined white teeth. His build was athletic and it was obvious, by his healthy complexion, that he kept himself in shape. I flicked a glance to my parents who didn’t look quite so healthy.
If I’d been one of my magical characters, there’d probably be tiny flames dancing in my eyes right now. I took a step in the man’s direction. He halted me with a hand. Oh, and the Wogs. At their master’s command, two of them came running to me, growling and snapping their teeth.
Taking a quick step back, I settled my hands on my hips. “Do you always do what he commands, you spineless beasties?”
Apparently, they understood English. They advanced on me so quickly that my back hit the wall hard as the one on the right clamped its jaw on my leg. I screamed out as pain entered me swiftly but I didn’t fall down; it would bring my face too close to the other Wog.
My parents eyes were dilated with fear as they struggled with their manacles. I held myself up by sheer will as I met evil-man’s eyes once again.
“Apparently we don’t all appreciate your sense of humour, Princess.”
“What is your problem with me? With us? Why kill all the Royal Magicals?”
The man’s golden brow shot up. “Oh, you know about that, don’t you?” He eyed me enquiringly but I wouldn’t satisfy his curiosity. I was really really hoping he’d end up dying from it.
The man began pacing before me. “First, let me introduce myself. My name is Silas.”
“I really don’t give a rat’s ass what your name is, Mister. Just let me and my family go!”
There, I’d shown him, eh? I knew how to deal with difficult people back at home; I was a pro at it. But those people didn’t have their pet Wogs chewing on my leg in the process and I couldn’t hold back the whimper of pain as the Wog tightened its hold.
“Stop it Silas! Let her go!” My father’s voice was hoarse with anxiety.
“As I was saying, my name is Silas and I’ve been waiting for this day a very long time. Tell me Princess, are you as powerful as they said you’d be?”
As who said what? “How do you think I found you?” I said between clenched teeth. If this kept up, Silas wouldn’t have to kill me; I’d die from blood loss.
The man’s pale eyes flicked to Scott before coming back to me. I turned my head to my friend who was laying motionless, while the Wogs’ attention was on Silas. I didn’t think he was wounded, at least I couldn’t see any blood around him.
“Why - Why are you doing this?”
“Why do you think? If this was one of your stupid little books, why would your characters be doing this?” I must have looked surprised because he chuckled and said, “Of course I’ve read them; I always research my prey. Now, answer me. What do you think?”
Shouting, “Because you’re crazy!” was at the tip of my tongue. After all, I was already a goner. But I was afraid that he’d hurt my parents and Scott. And Riley. Where was Riley? I scanned the room but the dog was nowhere to be found. My heart sank. What had they done to him?
“Shayna?”
I shook my head, trying to clear my hazy thoughts. “Love, lust, greed.” My voice was hoarse as I held my sobs within me. I would not show weakness.
“And?” His tone of voice was pleased, like a teacher with a recalcitrant student.
“Power,” I whispered. I looked up, said louder this time, “Power. That’s it? Power?”
“Precisely.”
“But why? What did you need so much power for?”
A look of disgust crossed his features. “Are you really so naive, girl? Power is everything. This isn’t different from Terra, where you’re from. What of those who have more power than others? The politicians, the millionaires. The doctors and lawyers, all of them in positions of power. They do as they please, whenever they please.” Silas raked a hand through his short hair as he paced faster, in tight, angry circles. “They rule the world, those with power, much like here. The RM’s were faster, better, stronger than everyone. They were given titles and treated like the sun rose and set with them. They aren’t different from me! At the end of the day, none of them could save themselves with their so-called magic. All they could do was beg and plead for their lives.” He turned to me and his smile was wicked and full of promise. “You’ll see soon enough.” He flicked a glance to my parents.
“I don’t understand how butchering them can give you more power.”
“True, at first it was butchery,” he admitted, “but I soon found a way to take their power and magic from them before killing them. It wasn’t less painful for them but infinitely less messy for me.”
Silas gave a sharp whistle and the two Wogs watching me and those with Scott retreated, keeping their red eyes focused on us. Unable to remain upright, I sank to the floor. I heard Scott groan and I turned my head, met his gaze. His eyes were intense, almost feverish. Had he been hurt after all?
Slowly, keeping a wary eye on both the Wogs and their master, I crawled closer to my friend. Surprisingly, no one tried to stop me. By the time I made it to Scott, he was swaying on his feet. He braced one hand against the wall as he extended his other one to help me up. His grip was unexpectedly strong and firm as he hauled me up and held me against him for support.
Silas watched us and a smile curled his lip. I knew he was thinking that wounded like we were, we wouldn’t put up much of a fight but he was wrong; I’d give it all I had to save my friends and family. They were all I had in the world and I owed it to them. Somehow, I’d fight back. I looked down and saw the puddle of blood around my feet and I felt lightheaded.
Trying to distract myself and to gain some time, I said, “What- Why? I still don’t understand your need for power. Surely you couldn’t just ingest their magic? What do you gain by their deaths?”
“You’re right of course. I wasn’t born with much power and I couldn’t steal it from others.” He gestured to the Wogs. “But their magic gave me these. These beasts were created from the very essence of those I’ve killed.”
What? These were created from the pure magical souls he’d killed? No way! “That’s impossible.” I looked out and met the hungry red eyes of the Wogs. Was Riley’s mother one of them? And what happened to them when they were killed? Were the souls trapped?
“Apparently not,” Silas replied.
“If you have no power, how were you able to elude the trackers all these years?”
I could feel Scott’s tense body against mine and I realised I was feeling more than a little lightheaded. I was weak, much like the two times I’d touched Scott’s hands. I looked down and found his hand wrapped around my upper arm. “Scott, your hand is touching me,” I whispered and when he didn’t remove it, I looked up and met his guilty gaze.
My heart stopped beating and I gasped. I finally understood. I made a move to back away from him.
“Scott!” Silas said sharply and my ex-friend removed his hand from my arm and curled it around my neck. Some kind of charge when through my body at the contact and I immediately dropped to my knees. I glared up at him as tears threatened to spill but Scott wasn’t looking at me; his eyes were fixed on Silas.
“She is restrained, Father.”
