Текст книги "Chains of Darkness"
Автор книги: Caris Roane
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CHAPTER 6
Suddenly a new voice intruded straight into Claire’s mind.
Claire?
A young woman’s voice. How was that even possible?
She drew back slightly. “Lucian, I think I’m hearing someone calling to me.”
He shook his head. “Who?”
“I’m not sure.” At first she thought it might be Zoey. But she focused once more on Hawaii and suddenly, Amber’s voice pierced her mind. Claire, is that you? Claire? Am I talking inside your head because I feel you inside mine? Claire?
Amber? Zoey’s sister?
She thought she heard a scream, or a squeal maybe, and she gripped Lucian’s arm hard.
“What is it, Claire?”
She shook her head in disbelief. “I’m communicating with Amber telepathically.”
He looked stunned. “This is a result of Ancestral power.”
Claire nodded.
His lips worked as though he ran through a quick litany of questions. Finally, he asked, “Does she know where she is?”
Claire asked her, but Amber’s response was cloaked in sobs. When Claire finally made sense of what Amber was saying, she addressed Lucian. “She doesn’t know. She smelled fruit of some kind, and some of it rotten, but that’s the most she could tell me.”
“We’ll figure it out. Tell her we’re coming.”
Claire nodded, then turned her thoughts toward Amber. It’s okay. We’re coming for you, sometime within the next hour. Be ready. We’re leaving now.
Thank God. Just hurry. Some of the women are getting hurt.
She ended the telepathy and yet again drew in a deep breath. “So, do you know where the Hawaiian cavern system is?”
At that, he smiled, a big perfect smile, something he did so rarely. “Hell, yeah.”
He turned toward Rumy. “Not sure when we’ll be back. Hold the fort and let me know if Daniel makes a move while we’re gone.”
“Understood.”
Before Claire could prepare for what was about to happen, Lucian switched to altered flight. Suddenly she was streaking through solid rock then high into the dark night sky, gliding through space like it was nothing.
Feeling any pain?
She gasped slightly. Not even a little.
I’m so glad, Claire. I was worried.
She glanced down. Wow, look at the Atlantic. So we’re heading west this time?
Yep. Flying into the night.
The flight was so fast—even faster than when he’d flown them both out of the Dark Cave system—that she watched the earth below her in amazement. The Atlantic gave way to the Gulf of Mexico to Mexico proper then the Pacific, all in less than a few beats of her heart.
He began to slow, though she wasn’t certain why until she realized how easily he could overshoot the Hawaiian Islands.
He dropped closer to the earth as well.
Okay, Claire, you’re up. There are several disguised caverns along this side of the island, so focus on Amber because I’ll need you to guide me in.
She settled her thoughts on Amber as Lucian’s movements grew slower and slower.
I’m trying, she sent, but this tracking thing isn’t working for me.
Then try your disguising power. Maybe that’s the key.
The moment she shifted her focus toward her ability to create and detect disguises, the direction she needed to guide Lucian suddenly arrived.
Head toward the volcano. The caves nearby have unique, powerful disguises. I haven’t seen this kind before.
Once she’d set the end point, Lucian sped up. The next moment he said, Create a strong disguising shield around us.
The funny thing was, when her thoughts became fixed on Lucian, what followed was a sudden powerful need to protect him. Was this the chains talking? Or something more typical of the vampire culture and experience?
She was so intent on what she’d created that she didn’t realize he’d come to a stop, that they’d touched down at what looked like an enormous docking bay carved out of an equally large cavern.
She glanced around. Oh, my God. This is a real business. But where are they shipping all those pineapples to?
He moved her off his foot but kept a loose arm around her waist. We have thousands of legitimate businesses in our world. These pineapples are shipped everywhere. But I have to say that this new disguise you created around us is amazing. There’s actually a color now, sort of violet.
You’re right. But I wonder why that is.
Just probably part of your gift.
Well, I think that’s interesting.
What? Why are you frowning at me?
Because I’m starting to understand you. You’re generous with me, but not with yourself.
He stared at her for a moment, then shrugged. Not sure what that means, but let’s see if we can find Amber.
Good idea.
She turned her focus on Amber and extended her senses into the Hawaiian cavern system, searching as best she could for Zoey’s younger sister. From what she knew about all the systems in the vampire world, the caves could go back into the earth for miles, with layers of caves one on top of another, at times opening to massive caverns or at others shrinking to tunnels that would need work before being usable.
But as she focused on Amber and her long, thick black hair, she found herself moving yet not moving, as though some internal visionary part of her could see. A second-sight window opened, and she reached for Lucian’s hand. He gave her a reassuring squeeze so that while she experienced this strange split viewing, she felt grounded and secure.
What met her was one disguising shield after another, each one with a different texture. Some swirled, some moved in strange waves back and forth, but none of them was in color.
As she witnessed the various disguises, she related them to Lucian, who remained very quiet. She sensed he was letting her explore without commentary or question—maybe to keep her centered, she wasn’t sure. She could sense, however, a certain amount of astonishment as he occasionally gave her hand a squeeze.
Keeping Amber at the forefront of her mind, she traveled deeper and deeper into the system, one mile then two, until she knew she’d reached the last disguising layer, though she couldn’t say how she knew.
This is it, the last barrier. I can feel it.
Break through, if you can. Let’s see what we’ve got here.
The final disguising layer proved more than Claire could manage, however. She moved up and down searching for a way in, but nothing budged. I don’t know what’s going on, but this last shield is stubborn. And I know Amber’s there, I can feel her.
Lucian remained quiet, a sign he was thinking about the situation. I wonder if you can access more of my power. I’m going to try something.
Do it.
He let go of her hand. She glanced at him as he stepped behind her, moving in close. He surrounded her with his arms. Lean back against me and try again. Just think about Amber.
Easy for you to say; I have a gorgeous vampire with his arms around me.
He chuckled again.
So what’s the plan?
I’m going to funnel as much of my power into you as I can, holding you like this. Okay?
Ready when you are.
The power flowed in a strange zing of energy. As she concentrated on the second images in her strange split-vision, the disguise began falling away in bits and pieces.
It’s working. Or starting to. I can see the tops of what look like jail cells. The floor is a dark slate and extends at least fifty feet in length. I hear the women now, all the slaves, some talking quietly, others weeping. They seem to be somewhere in the middle of this part of the cave system. The tunnel isn’t broad but it’s wide enough for a row of cells on each side, with bare lightbulbs overhead, that’s it. These women must be scared out of their wits.
No doubt. Do you see any guards?
More of the disguise floated away, disappearing like mist. The lower portion of the west end of the space came into view.
At least one man is standing in front of a desk. I can see the backs of his legs. Two more guards are off to his right and one, to his left. I hear them laughing now. But a woman is screaming. More of the disguise lifted. Oh, God. She gripped Lucian’s arms. They’re raping one of the girls right there. Right now. On a desk.
Okay, take it easy. We’ll get to her, but I’ve got to call in reinforcements first.
He released her, slipped his phone from his pant pocket, and the next moment spoke to Gabriel. Within seconds he’d relayed their position, called for a large team including medical personnel, then hung up.
This is it, Claire. We’re going in, but don’t worry. I’ve been fighting for centuries and I can handle all five of these bastards. Set us down in the middle like you said, then find your friends. I’ll do the rest.
Do it, Lucian.
* * *
“Do it, Lucian.”
Just like that. No fear.
Lucian was amazed by Claire’s courage. He didn’t know if she’d always been this way or whether the struggles of her abduction had created her confident spirit.
Of course, once she witnessed the carnage soon to follow she might change her tune, but right now she had a warrior’s mentality.
I should warn you, I’m going in to kill, not to save these vampires. They’re bad men. Do you understand?
She turned to look at him, her soft brown eyes suddenly hard with an emotion he understood quite well. The young woman is still screaming, so beat the shit out of each one of them and cut their balls off if you need to. I don’t give a damn.
He nodded and something like respect flowed through his chest. Then he ignited his Ancestral power, used Claire as a beacon, and took her straight to the center of one of the biggest abduction cells he’d ever seen.
That part of him familiar with battling evil in his world came alive, a twisted creature that enjoyed doing what he did best.
Just as he said, he left Claire in the center so she’d be away from the guards and could help the other captives. He then headed toward the desk and the five bastards. From behind him, he heard Claire calling for Amber and Tracy.
One of the vampires had just finished, and the girl had stopped screaming. She lay with her eyes closed, breathing hard, blood smeared over her face, her neck having been pierced more than once, her features twisted in pain.
Lucian felt his rage overtake him. They got off on it, the way his father had gotten off on hurting his sons, slicing them open with blades, beating them until they were a mass of vivid red, black, and blue.
He shifted to flight mode and went for the first man, now zipping up his pants. His new Ancestral power, combined with his rage, had an unexpected effect. He grabbed the vampire, yes, but his movements as he shifted to altered flight took him through the cave wall and suddenly he was over the Pacific Ocean. He still had a proximity issue, though much longer than previously, because of the double-chains. He felt a profound tug on his neck.
But his instincts kicked in and he snapped the rapist’s neck, then dropped him into the water, returning swiftly.
He found that two of the men had remained by the desk but the other two now headed in Claire’s direction, looking around as if confused.
He landed in front of Claire. These men didn’t deserve to live one second longer for their crimes, so he did what he’d been able to do since he was young: He split into two separate battling entities. His secondary self drew a knife and headed to the top of the room after the remaining two vampires near the desk.
The ones closest to Lucian’s primary self started backing up.
“We’ve got an Ancestral in here,” one of them shouted, reaching back and pulling out a knife. The men were fighters, and even though they were scared, they weren’t going to back down.
Lucian laughed and with a wave of his hand beckoned the man forward. He drew a long battle chain from the pocket of his leathers and began to spin it quickly.
The vampire sprang forward with a low growl, slashing at the chain with his blade, hoping to disrupt the spin. But Lucian had worked the long battle chains for centuries now and with the slightest flip of his wrist moved it away from the blade. The vampire rushed in, a big mistake, because another flick of his wrist brought the chain wrapping around the man’s throat.
He slashed out with his hands, but Lucian used the chain’s strength and flipped the man over, then struck his lower spine hard, breaking it. His body went limp.
He let the battle chain fall to the floor, then stepped over the dying vampire. The dark part of him that loved to make war caught the other vampire’s gaze and held on tight.
The man looked scared, just as he should. He had the woman’s blood all over him, on his face and down his neck. On his hands as well. Looked like he’d already had his fun.
Rage reached Lucian’s fingertips. He drew his second battle chain from his leathers and got it spinning. This time he lunged suddenly, and in a quick, arcing bite, he cut up the vampire’s face. He screamed and flew back against one of the cell doors. The young woman within also screamed then dove under her cot.
Lucian let those chains fall as well, then slipped a dagger from the right side of his battle leathers. He could feel his second self punching the remaining two vampires near the desk, taking turns on each with a speed that came directly from his rise to Ancestral status.
His primary self, now bending over the vampire whose hands shook near his cut-up face, thrust the dagger at a low angle through the rapist’s chest, reaching upward until the sharp point connected with the tougher flesh of the heart.
He screamed one final time, lost air, and arched. Lucian held the blade steady until the vampire lay still, his hands falling away from this face.
For a long moment, he stared down at the man he’d just killed, breathing hard. But as his adrenaline eased back, his hearing opened and he heard the weeping of the young women in the cells. They’d had to witness these kills.
He stood up, stripped off his shirt, and threw it over the corpse. The captives had had enough trauma for one night.
He turned and saw Claire put her arms through the bars of a cell and embrace a young woman with black hair. He made his way back to his second self, looked into his own eyes, and with a powerful vibration rejoined.
All four vampires were dead, and the woman on the table lay very still. Her clothes hung off her in ragged, torn pieces. She’d lost a lot of blood, but she hadn’t died, and for that he was grateful. How many times had he found human women in this state: gang-raped, drained, in terrible pain, traumatized? And how many times had they died because of it?
He didn’t dare try to touch her. She wouldn’t understand he meant to help. He called for Claire, who took charge of her, lifting her from the desk, putting an arm around her shoulders and speaking in a low voice. “We’ll have help here soon to get everyone out, medical assistance as well.” She drew the woman to a corner away from the desk as well as the cells and held her as she sobbed.
With the victim taken care of, he turned to getting the dead bodies out of viewing distance. He moved them into an adjoining room, a task that, given his increased physical strength, took less than half a minute to accomplish. He didn’t want the women staring at this much carnage.
He withdrew his cell and called Gabriel.
“What’s your ETA?”
“We’re already here, though we’re looking at a bunch of astonished dockworkers.”
“I’m sure you are.”
“So what have you got?”
“One rape victim who will need medical attention and it looks like at least a hundred recent abductees. The guards are dead. They’ll need to be processed, and I’m sorry to say one of them got dropped in the Pacific.”
“I’ll send someone out to retrieve the body.”
They would do everything they could to keep the vampire genome a secret from the human world.
Gabriel continued, “I’ve got my people with me, but this is some serious disguising power. There’s even a trace of something violet. Just a trace.”
“Can you follow that trace?”
Gabriel was quiet for a moment. “I sure can. I take it this is Claire’s signature.”
“It is. Just follow it and you’ll find us.”
“We’re on our way.”
A moment later Gabriel arrived along with this team.
* * *
Claire turned the rape victim over to the physician in charge, but continued to hold her hand until the woman could let go. A shot of morphine for her pain helped a lot. Claire wasn’t surprised that by the time she was strapped to a stretcher, she’d passed out.
Only then was she able to rejoin Lucian, who stood beside a vampire almost as big as he was. Lucian introduced her to the man called Gabriel, the one she knew Lucian thought of as his real father. He had short spiked black hair and gray eyes, similar to Lucian’s, but they held more tenderness than she’d seen in any of the vampires she’d met before.
She liked him already, but mostly because from what Lucian had told her, Gabriel had taught three teenage boys to function with a conscience even though they’d each gone through hell at their father’s hands.
“You’ve done a wonderful thing here, Claire.” He gestured down the long row of cells.
All the young women were now clustered together in the middle of the room as his team began making its way through their number, tending to each one.
“I was only too glad to help.” When she heard Amber call to her, she excused herself and hurried in her direction.
Now that all the cells had been opened, she caught Amber in her arms and held her tight. Amber wept against her shoulder, then gestured for Tracy to join her. Claire had never met Tracy before, but she opened her arm and all three women embraced.
Claire, though having boasted to Lucian that she wasn’t a weeper, found tears streaming down her cheeks anyway.
After a moment, Amber drew back, linking arms with Tracy. “What’s going to happen to us?”
“You’ll be taken home.”
“But won’t they come for us again? The ones who took us in the first place?”
Claire glanced back at Lucian, who had remained near Gabriel. The men appeared deep in conversation, their expressions serious. “I’ll talk with Lucian, the one who battled your captors. I’m sure he’ll fix things so that you will never have to worry about being abducted again.”
Amber nodded, but she had the skittish look of a woman who’d been taken against her will, her gaze bouncing around from the cells, to the medics, to the other young women.
Claire didn’t say anything. She just let Amber find her own pace with the situation.
Finally Amber’s gaze settled on Claire. “Do you know where Zoey is? I thought maybe she’d be with you.”
Now the next hard part. “No, I’m afraid she’s not. It’s a long story, but after we were abducted, we were separated. Right now, however, I’m finally able to start looking for her. And I feel very confident that I’ll have the means to find her within the next few days.”
“But it’s been two years? Why are you just looking for her now? I don’t understand.”
Claire debated just how much to tell her but finally sketched out her own experience, adding that Lucian was now working with her to find Zoey.
Amber kept shaking her head, and more tears streamed from her eyes. Claire hugged her once more, drawing Tracy in as well, then reassured them both that all would be well.
As she held the girls, she glanced once more in Lucian’s direction and found that he was still talking quietly to Gabriel.
* * *
Later, Lucian met Amber and her friend, but he moved away shortly after. He could tell his sheer size and the fact that he no longer wore a shirt intimidated the young women.
While he waited for Gabriel’s medical team to wrap things up, he watched Claire as she continued to comfort Amber and her friend and as she extended herself to many of the other young women around her. The new set of chains gave them both a much greater range of movement, one of the many benefits he was already experiencing.
Other aspects were similar to the single-chain, especially that he remained driven as ever to follow her with his gaze, to desire her, to long for some alone time. His need to feed rose as well, a typical response to having been in a recent battle. Splitting into his dual selves, something he often did while fighting, also tended to use up his reserves. But because of his blood-madness recovery, he already felt twitchy.
Claire caught his gaze and tilted her head, an inquiring expression. He smiled ruefully, knowing he’d been caught essentially lusting after her again.
The new chains grew very warm there for a moment. Where were your thoughts?
In my home in the Ozarks. Did I tell you I have a place there?
No, one more indication how little we know about each other.
I thought maybe you’d like to see it once we take Amber and Tracy home.
Sounds like a plan. But do you know what is amazing?
What’s that?
Only that we’re standing at least thirty feet away from each other and it’s as though you’re right next to me.
It’s pretty amazing.
Amber said something to Claire so that she turned her attention to the younger woman, once more taking her in her arms. But over Amber’s shoulder, Claire’s gaze traveled to Lucian. Do you know if they’ll be going home soon?
I’ll check with Gabriel.
When he approached Gabriel, he saw the man smile, after which he tossed him a fresh shirt. “When I saw you in just your battle leathers, I thought we couldn’t have you frightening all these women. In case you haven’t noticed, you’re one big sonofabitch.” After Lucian and his brothers had escaped from Daniel, Gabriel had taken them under his powerful wing. He’d trained them as warriors, helping to focus all that they’d endured into a force that could help the world. Lucian thought of Gabriel as his true father.
“Look who’s talking. And thanks.” Lucian shrugged into the shirt, grateful. “So how is everything shaping up?”
“Really well, I’m glad to say. Most of these women haven’t been here longer than a few days, so hopefully we’ll be able to get them back to their homes before too long. A few have been hurt, but we’ll take good care of them.”
“Thanks for coming, Gabriel.”
“My pleasure.”
In the end the doctors declared most of the women fit to be taken home, including Amber and her friend. Only a handful of the young women would require rehabilitation before they could leave his world. Those who had been brutalized, whether raped or beaten, would remain in Gabriel’s charge until each was completely healed.
The whole thing sickened Lucian, this wretched part of his world that trafficked in human flesh. He blamed Daniel, who in the past several decades had built hundreds of clubs across the globe to service a hungry, perverse clientele. Some said his Dark Cavern system, which he personally owned, was dedicated almost exclusively to the trafficking of humans.
The sheer size of Daniel’s operation appalled him, one more reason to get rid of him forever.
Once Gabriel’s team had processed all the women, Lucian agreed without hesitation to personally see that Amber and her friend got home safely.
Gabriel said good-bye without even asking how Lucian was taking to his new Ancestral status. For that, Lucian gave him credit. Gabriel, of all vampires, knew exactly how Lucian felt about rising to his father’s level of power.
Making use of a second and third vampire to carry Tracy and Amber on a slow flight back to New Mexico, Lucian held Claire close. The journey took a very long hour, but because of the less demanding speed, neither Amber nor Tracy complained of headaches or nausea.
Once he had the girls outside Amber’s home, he sent the other vampires on their way. Each took off, heading back to continue their service to Gabriel.
Lucian felt the sudden nostalgic shift in Claire as she looked at Amber’s low, single-story house made of plaster and built with dark, round beams that jutted out at the roofline. The style was popular in the Desert Southwest.
From inside the house, he heard arguing.
“That’s Mom.” Amber’s voice was hushed, her lips trembling. “She always yells when she’s mad or sad.” She turned toward Claire and hugged her. “Thank you so much, Claire, for saving us, but please find Zoey.”
“I will.”
He approached both the young women and after Claire had hugged each of them again, he asked for hugs himself, something he only did when he had a specific job to perform. Claire knew what he needed to do, but neither had felt it wise to tell the girls up front. In this case, they wouldn’t remember, not even a little, where they’d really been for the past few days, or that a vampire named Lucian had actually rescued them.
The girls went to him readily, thanking him for getting them home, for saving them.
Just as each would have pulled away, however, he began the process of sweeping her mind clean. What surprised him was how easy it was now that he had new power. What might have been the work of several minutes became a fifteen-second jaunt inside each mind, exchanging traumatic memories for what would no doubt become a case of “selective amnesia.” They simply wouldn’t remember where they’d been or what had happened to them for the time they were gone.
When he let them go, they turned and walked up the path to Amber’s home, not looking back even once. Lucian could feel how hard this was for Claire: They were getting to do what neither she nor Zoey had been able to do. He drew close and slid his arm around her waist.
The screen creaked, a comforting sound all on its own. Amber knocked on the door and a few seconds later, a woman, clearly Amber’s mother, shouted then screamed as she embraced first Amber then Tracy. The father came next, doing much the same but without the noise. He then got his cell out and called Tracy’s parents.
At that point Lucian’s rage surfaced, a blinding heat of anger at what had almost happened to these girls. He promised himself that one day, there would be a reckoning with all traffickers.
What is it? Claire asked, looking up at him. You’re suddenly so angry.
He wanted to answer her, but for a moment he couldn’t even speak.
When the front door closed and both girls were inside, he turned away from the house, glancing down the street. He’d been around. He’d been down a thousand streets like this all over the world. Every culture, in his opinion, was pretty much the same, including his own: Most humans—and vampires, for that matter—worked to take care of their families and their communities. Unfortunately, there were just enough psychopaths around in both species, to destroy hundreds, thousands, and sometimes millions of lives.
We’ve done some good here, Lucian. You need to know that. I can feel how angry you are.
He met her gaze. I hate this, you know. All this suffering.
So do I. And that’s what I’d dedicated my life to before I was taken—helping women who’d fallen into prostitution.
He nodded. I know you did.
She then smiled, but there was a glint in her eyes. I’ve been thinking that there’s something I’d like to do right now.
He glanced at her, frowning. He couldn’t quite pinpoint the sensation that the chains gave off, so he wasn’t sure what she was thinking. Revenge came to mind, but in what way, he couldn’t imagine. And what’s that?
How about we pay a visit to The Prickly Pear—you know, the club that caused us all so much grief. I understand it’s owned by vampires.
At that, Lucian’s lips curved. You have a very wicked mind, and I’m liking it. Let’s go.
He knew the location well and had tried several times to get the club shut down. But the ineffective court system in his world never ruled against Daniel or the other more powerful traffickers, using the “secrecy” directive as an excuse for not taking action.
Tonight, at least for this one club, in this one moment, he and Claire would change things. Dawn was already visible on the distant horizon, so the timing worked well: The club would have been shut down for several hours by now, and wouldn’t be open for business for a few hours more. Essentially, there was no one around.
He flew Claire around the back, and after she set up a serious disguise over the whole building, he went inside while she stood guard. He had just started breaking up one of the wooden bar stools when his stomach cramped and a hard tremor went through him again. Fucking blood-madness. He’d hoped that his Ancestral status would have changed that aspect of his current predicament, but no such luck. He really did need a good solid hit of Claire’s blood, and the sooner the better.
He took the wood to the greasy kitchen and turned on the gas stove. Once the pieces caught fire, he threw them through the club.
He kept doing this, tearing stool after stool apart, until the building set up a serious blaze and really started to roar. He shifted to altered flight and left through the roof, flying high in the air, admiring the flames as well as Claire’s violet disguise that kept the stand-alone facility hidden from human eyes, and therefore the local fire department. As the flames rose higher, he kept rising in the air but stopped when the proximity tug of the new set of chains warned him he’d reached his limit. He went in search of Claire.
He found her at the edge of the parking lot and flew to land beside her. The growing sunlight prickled his skin and the backs of his eyes, clear warnings that he needed to at least switch to altered flight. Once in flight, the damaging rays of the sun couldn’t touch him.
He held his arm wide for Claire. She slung an arm around his neck and stepped onto his right foot. The chains vibrated heavily, though, which caused him to focus on her completely because right now a terrible sadness weighed her down.
As the sun crested the horizon and when his eyes burned from too much sunlight, he drew Claire into altered flight.
Sorry, my vampire physiology can’t take this much sunlight.
I understand. Can you fly me once around the building before we leave?
Of course.
He took her in a slow pattern around the entire circumference, then high enough so that she could watch the roof collapse and flames shoot high in the sky.
I’m going to remove the disguise from the property now.
Go for it.
He felt her draw her power in, the power she siphoned from him as though it was second nature, and the disguise vanished.
While in the air, he turned in a 360-degree circle, looking at Santa Fe from a bird’s-eye view.
She remained silent as she leaned her head against his chest, then addressed his ongoing problem. You need to feed again, don’t you?
