Broken Compass: Supernatural Prison Story 1 (14 page)

He slammed his staff down and the floor shook. Even all the way under our cage.

It looked as if the inhabitants of the seats around the stage were shifting slightly, but I still couldn’t get a clear view of whether they were human or supe or … other.

Staff guy continued: “First on the sale block we have two unicorns from the Land of Illusion and Bespelling in Faerie. Prized for many magical properties, the dust and residue of their horns are key components in many dark magics. Their hides will keep you hidden and protected, and their blood will rejuvenate and heal. We’re going to sell them separately. Let the bidding begin.”

“It’s a supe smuggling ring,”
I whispered to Jessa, tendrils of freak-the-hell-out clear in my voice. “They’re going to purchase us like slaves and then do whatever the hell they want with us all.”

She didn’t answer but I could feel her agony and fury. There was nothing we could do but stand and watch, waiting for our turn to end up on stage.

One by one, cages flew past us and the inhabitants were sold to the absolutely despicable excuses for human or supe in the audience. The price of purchase ranged from dragon toenails to a spell for eternal youth. Apparently that spell was worth a fortune in the human world, which made it very valuable to the staff-wielding asshole selling off supes.

I had no idea what the little cloaked being sitting very close to the platform was, but he now owned a unicorn, two ogres, three pixies, a witch from the original bloodline of Norta, half a mermaid – apparently they could just slice her right down the middle and go halfsies on her heart – and a bunch of other supernatural creatures.

From what we’d seen the majority of the cages held demi-fey, but there was certainly a mix of the other races also. Including a rare white tiger shifter, who had a thatch of white-blond hair and eyes which were such a piercing shade of light blue that I could see them all the way from my cage. He went to a female standing in the shadows. Two guesses what she wanted the stunning male for. There had also been two human lots. They were sold just the same as the supes, and went for one of the highest prices so far.

“How is this happening?” I murmured. “How are they getting away with this?”

Jess had been very silent, but I could feel the vibrations shaking her entire figure. Her fury was barely contained.

“I’m going to kill every single asshole in here,” she said slowly through clenched teeth. “One way or another, this will be stopped. We just have to figure out a way around that staff’s control.”

That was easier said than done. It didn’t matter which creature, race member, or other, stepped out of those cages, they seemed to be completely under the mercy of the staff’s control. Then, once they were sold, magical bands were strapped onto their wrists, or legs, or whatever appendage they had handy, and they were immediately immobilized, r
eady to be transported by their new owner.

Owner. Okay, I was totally with Jessa. We were killing them all.

Who knew I had such a bloodthirsty side? Probably my wolf’s influence. She was practically howling inside of me; my stomach churned as dread filled my gut. Luckily I was past the worst of the morning sickness and could control my gag reflex, or Jessa and I would find this prison even less comfortable.

Two more cages flew past us and I missed the inhabitants this time because I was too busy noticing that there were only two more cages on the right side of us. Pretty soon we were going to be up there on the stage. Shit … us and the hellhound.

“Lot two hundred and sixty-six: a pair of love birds from the Alaskan region. These mythical and rarely seen pairs mate for life. Their wings contain essence which will brew a true-love potion. These will sell together, as to separate them means instant death. Bidding will start at … thirty pints of sorcerer blood, from the mage at the front…”

While the furious bidding ensued for the love birds, which were seriously two of the cutest fairytale-looking creatures I’d ever seen, Jessa and I started to whisper out a plan.

“I think if we stay connected to each other, it’s going to be harder for him to control us,” she said. “There’s strength in a twin bond, not to mention we both carry Compass babies. If anything is going to give us the ability to withstand the control, it’s the power of the quads. They’re like born of the freakin’ gods or something.”

I nodded a few times, a slice of me hoping for the best, but more of me expecting that things were going to go to hell really fast.

Truth was, we could not let ourselves fall into the grasp of any of that crowd out there. They were here for terrible reasons, and the creatures that they purchased were all going to suffer horribly at their hands. It would be better to die than to let that happen.

But we also had our babies to think of. So there was no choice but to fight until our very last breath.

The bidding finished up on the love birds. Next was an arctic yeti. Standing well over ten feet tall, pure white with fur that looked as soft as a lamb, the poor thing just stood there blinking large, obsidian eyes. I couldn’t see the details clearly, but I was sensing panic and confusion and fear.

I found myself growling then, and it was so wolf-like that I had to be impressed. I’d never managed the very deep rumbling growl like that before. Jessa did it almost daily. Especially if her breakfast wasn’t ready when she sat down.

“If we get out of here, Jess,” I said through clenched teeth as my anger took control, “we do not stop until we figure out who is behind this and we kill them. Then we track down every single one of these assholes here who thinks it’s okay to buy living creatures like they’re nothing more than objects, and we make them all pay.”

Jessa blinked exaggeratingly slow for a few moments, before the hugest grin I’d ever seen crossed her face. “Firstly, great job with the cursing. Secondly, you and I are on the exact same page about how this is all going to go down.”

We were cut off by the rattling of the cages next to us, before they flew past. The poor supes inside were next on the chopping block, which meant we were only minutes from our turn on the stage.

Jessa and I waited in silence, our hands linked. The seconds seemed to pass by so fast. Then, as our cage started to shake and detach itself from the row, I reached out and grabbed onto the bars with my free hand. Crap! It was time. Despite the fact I was prepared to do everything in my power to free us from this mess, I still couldn’t halt my final thought.

Maximus Compass, if you’re coming for us, now is the time to get here.

Maximus Compass

I was going to kill Louis. Or at least give it a damn good shot. What the hell was taking him so long? The sorcerer was currently doing something meditative as he tried to figure out how to get to the land between. The red haze, which seemed to be a permanent part of my vision now, crashed down again, and I was about to lunge toward the magic user when the heavy whooshing of Braxton’s wings distracted me.

We all turned toward the dragon, waiting for him to descend back down through the gap in the tree line.

Tyson’s normally laidback, happy tone had been replaced by something angry and dark. “Do you think he found anything?”

“No, he’ll not have found anything, because they’re not here on Earth any longer,” Louis said, getting to his feet.

“Well, did you find something then, oh great one.” Tyson’s tone was mocking, and even more growly than before.

“You can call me Louis. Great One is so formal,” Louis said without missing a beat. “And yes, actually, I have picked up on the same energy. It’s across the country though, so we’re going to have to take a step-through, and we need to hurry the hell up.”

My eyes shot to Braxton, who had landed and was in the process of shifting back. “Clothe the man and let’s move our asses.”

Jacob’s hand landed on my shoulder, and I could feel the soothing energy of his fey power as it tried to calm the beast. His essence was all elements, nature, and ancient gods, but I was not in the mood.

“What’s up with you, Max?” Jacob said as I knocked his arm down. “I mean, I know the girls are gone, but we don’t know anything bad has happened yet. Usually you’re the calm one keeping Braxton from losing his shit. Now we have to hope Ty and I can manage the two of you.”

Good luck with that. Braxton and I were both stronger physically and energy-wise than our younger brothers. Not by much, but just enough that Jacob and Tyson would be in trouble if they had to contain both of us.

“Lucky I’m here then, isn’t it?” Louis was back to being annoying and cheerful, although I could still sense that undercurrent of fierce supe he’d tapped into before. He was worried about the girls, especially Jessa. He had claimed her as family, and that meant something very real in our world.

His purple-hued gaze locked in on me. “I think I can handle a few mated males losing their minds.”

A sort of blankness descended over the red rage and I remembered for the first time in forever that Cardia was dead. Shit. Had I even reacted this strongly when she died? Despite Louis’ assertion about mated males, Mischa was not my mate … and yet my vampire was murderous, absolutely inconsolable in its rage. We craved to find her. We needed to make sure she was safe, and not just because of the child. No … because of her.

I was so fucked up.

Tyson magically clothed Braxton, and by the time the pair got to us Louis already had the swirling portal ready to go.

Braxton’s voice was guttural: “Did you find them, sorcerer?” Even though he was no longer wearing scales and claws, his eyes were still blazing yellow.

A few months ago, when the dragon king stole Jessa out from under him, he’d lost his soul. What was left became a pure killing machine,
and it was only through the quad bond that we managed to pull him back from that insanity. I wondered if I would even bother this time, or if I would simply join him in the killing.

“I haven’t found the girls yet, they’re not on this realm.” Braxton didn’t look surprised, which meant he’d already figured that. “But the transportation magic used had a distinct, dark magic feel to it. I’ve locked in on a similar vibe, somewhere around Sequoia National Park in California.”

The dragon shifter didn’t say another word, he just stepped into the portal, and the rest of us followed. The journey was short. As we exited the step through into a woodland of massive trees, warmth hit me hard. Definitely west coast weather here.

I stood shoulder to shoulder with Braxton, and for once I think both of us were in the same mental space – completely losing our minds. His anger was palpable and it elevated mine. Neither of us were able to stand still as we waited for everyone to make it through and for Louis to close down the doorway. Luckily, he started to move immediately, practically running as he led us across a mile or so of forest. Braxton and I kept pace on either side of the sorcerer. Our main priority was to keep him safe while he was following the energy. We’d be screwed without his guidance, and the girls were relying on us.

“It’s much stronger here,” Louis muttered. “The energy. It’s all part of the spell to make it difficult for other magic users to pinpoint the location … but they need to get up earlier than this if they want to try and hide magic from me.”

Braxton was growling again. The sound died off as we crossed a small trickling brook and found ourselves staring at a clearing in the forest. Normally I’d think the sight before us was completely insane to find in the middle of protected national parklands. Except of course we’d just come from the candy house from hell, so it was all starting to seem normal.

“For fuck … is that real?” Tyson said, his eyebrows raised, mouth open. “Are they the three little pigs’ houses?”

I looked to Louis. The sorcerer was doing that shrewd gaze thing as he tried to figure out what the hell was going on. Finally, he gave a strangled laughed. “It’s freaking genius. It really is.”

“What the hell is genius about this … scene?” I snarled. “And how is this supposed to help us find the girls?”

Three tiny houses. The points of their roofs stood no higher than my waist. The first was made of straw, the second was made of sticks, and the final, you guessed it, was made of brick. In our world, kids weren’t big on human stories, but some of their “fairy tales” were really stories passed down by supes, just modified for humans. Have you ever actually read the Brothers Grimm? Dark stuff, and not all of it made up.

Louis took a few steps closer to the straw house. “What better way to lure powerful creatures than using the magic of fairy tales.”

The magic of fa—what was the mage talking about?

Braxton, who was still in full yellow-eyes mode, let out a bellowing roar. “Explain yourself now and get us to the girls. They need us. I’ll not wait a moment longer.”

Louis dropped all pretense of joviality and went into scary, badass sorcerer mode. His voice was low; power twanged across the air on each syllable. “Fairy tales are powered by the energy of humans and supes. Every time a story is read, every time a child believes in it, there’s a certain power to the tale. Someone has tapped into this, has sent out a spell which will recreate the fairy tales using the energy contained within each story. They then lure in unsuspecting humans and supes. Don’t you feel it, the way it’s drawing us in? Don’t you want to step forward and touch the houses?”