Captiva Capitulation (17 page)

There went that blood-curdling scream again.

When Sixten felt Poison slip away, he dropped him to the ground, disgusted, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand. When he kicked him in the head a few times, he waited. Nothing. Not even a twitch. No heartbeat, either. Then his body dissolved into the ground. “Fuck…there’s no way,” he groaned, wondering how the bastard lived through that.

Disregarding his pain, he tugged at the blade buried in his chest, also choosing to ignore the revolting drag as he slid it free from his organs. Looking everywhere, he scanned all crevices, unable to find those darting shadows again. Where had the others gone? Why didn’t they attack him when he attacked Poison? Why didn’t they help their nefarious leader? A weaker scream echoed, which brought him quickly out of his thoughts, this one coming from Sixten’s right.

“Sixten?” he heard Oycher call.

“Over here.” Pressing his palm into his middle, he couldn’t halt the blood flow, but at least he was well fed, would last a while on Poison’s blood. “Kash,” he said, nudging his friend’s shoulder with the toe of his boot. “Speak to me! Please!”

“Shut,” muttered Kash, “your drama. You
have
been watching too many movies with Blythe.”

Sixten snorted. “I can’t bend down or my spleen will pop out. Think you can pull yourself up on that pipe?”

“I got it,” Kash growled, bringing himself up on two feet, swaying but he righted himself. “Are those your intestines, Six?”

“I believe that’s an accurate assumption,” he said, wondering how he was going to move up the floors when he was in no shape to mist or climb. “Blythe can’t see me this way. I swore I wasn’t fighting anymore and she’ll think me a liar.”

“You
are
a liar.”

“Right, but why should she confirm it?” He frowned, following Oycher’s movements. “Oycher?”

“A female!” he shouted, throwing heavy pipes in all directions. “She’s alive!”

How lame of an excuse was that? He put his palm on his head, staring up at the ceiling. He’d left his beautiful wife with Rock yesterday afternoon, last night, and then half of this day. Though it had flown by while he and Kash healed from wounds that would have killed mortals on the spot. It’s not as if he could tell her the truth, upsetting her with more shit when she hadn’t calmed down enough over her abduction. How could Sixten tell Blythe that her life would never be her own until he shut down this Habaline mess?

Kash nudged him in the back, his leathers creaking, since he wore his coat to bed, passing out while fully dressed. At least Sixten managed to get his coat off and drop his blades.

Blades were a bad subject. Rubbing a hand across his stomach, he winced in pain. Kash suffered a cranial fracture, while Sixten gutted himself, with Poison’s help. “Kash says hello. Oh, yes,” Sixten said, flipping over and winking at his awakened friend. “He’s been here all day, doesn’t want me to show him up in front of his Master.” A knock sounded on the door, power emanating from the other side. Speaking of Masters… “Gotta run, moja láska. Love you, too.”

Maestru stuck his head in, looking like hell. “Can the two of you walk yet?”

“I’m offended,” Sixten sat up, his eyes nearly popping out of his head from a gut-wrenching tearing sensation. A literal one. “Yep,” his voice shredded with the pain, “ready… to work.”

“Ready to work so you can get home to your lovely mate sooner, can’t blame you there,” Maestru said wearily. “Kash?”

“Head’s good.” He sat up, stretching his neck. “Everything’s in working order.”

“Oycher’s with the female.”

That didn’t surprise Sixten. Oycher had a way with women that Maestru didn’t, especially when the Master was seething. And by the looks of him, Maestru was seething. “Maestru, what happened to you guys when this idiot next to me followed me down the concealed shafts?”

Obsidian eyes raked him. “Our men had the perimeter squared away for scant minutes, if that, but all was lost. The trap was set on the outside, Habalines ambushing from the exterior, dropping from air. Kash had already moved down to you. Oycher happened to jump through the hole before the shifters rolled in. The majority of them were pure blood. I killed everything I could, but we lost six soldiers. Six that we couldn’t afford to lose. I just came from meeting with their families…their children.”

“If I had been there instead....” Sixten went to the sink, splashing cold water on his face. He wanted to vomit.

“Is that how you see it, Six?” Maestru asked, gripping the door facing. “Presently, we have a survivor we can question.” Shaking his dark head, he moved back into the corridor. “Both of you come. Now.”

Sixten and Kash followed Maestru down two flights of stairs and one fetid corridor. Sixten fought not to gag. Oycher met them before they reached the female’s door. “It’s her,” he said. “She says her name is Amy.”

“Adam’s Amy?” Six asked in astonishment, which was stupid. It’s not as though she would accept a Habaline as a mate after being enslaved and undoubtedly tortured by them. “Scratch that. Is she going to live?” Could life rise from the ashes on the heels of such a gruesome death filled night?

“Oh, she’s gonna live in
double
time. Dru just left, says she’s pregnant,” Oycher whispered. “She’s horrified, of course.  Though not about the pregnancy, Amy was aware. She speculates that
we’re
going to keep her imprisoned, as well, because of the baby and the fact that she knows of the supernatural world.”

Sixten glanced at Maestru, thinking it was a logical assumption. They could wipe her memory, but there would still be a baby, an
inhuman
baby in her womb. “I’m assuming the unborn is one of Poison’s projects.”

“She said that she went through a series of surgeries, wasn’t told what they were doing to her body at the time.” Oycher had his head down, his hair falling over his shoulders. “It became obvious.”

“After everything Amy’s gone through, and we can only imagine the extent of it,” Maestru said. “How can she handle this pregnancy, this child? She’s only human.”

“How are we going to handle
her
?” Kash crossed his arms, staring at her door.

“I can’t answer all of that,” Sixten said. “But she’s gotta give
me
some answers.”

“Take it easy,” Oycher said, gripping Sixten’s arm, daring to get in his face. “If your irises start glittering in the alien way, she’ll freak.”

“For someone who doesn’t like human females, you’re getting awfully pushy.”

“For someone who wants to get answers from a terrified female, you’re awfully bloody. Good luck,” he sneered, flashing fang. “She’ll pass out before you get three feet inside her room.”

Maestru had his shirt off before Sixten could respond, handing it over before shrugging back into his long coat. “I’m misting to Captiva to check on something,” he said cryptically. “I’ll send Grim back with some fresh leathers from the Sanctuary.” Sixten couldn’t miss the knots forming in Maestru’s jaw when he added, “It’ll serve him right, since he stayed out and partied all night between human thighs. Talk to Amy. Take a shower. Call me before you go home.”

Sixten dumped his bloodied and torn shirt in a nearby trashcan, summoning a clinician. She sidled up to him, and he asked for all of Amy’s records. When she handed him an electronic tablet, the clinician was astonished to find him working it without her assistance, reading all the reports. “This must be a mistake,” he stopped, eyeing the ultrasound results.

“No, Sire, we double checked those since she didn’t know her pregnancy gestation. Dr. Holt confirmed this himself. However, I can get another doctor for you, if you’re concerned.”

“Female.”

“What?” Kash asked, reading over his shoulder. “She’s carrying a little female?”

Sixten handed the tablet back to the clinician. “Her blood levels are off.”

“Well,” she glanced at him quizzically, “she’s anemic.”

“I saw.” Big surprise there. “Other than that?”

“Nothing else, though that’s bad enough, considering the baby will draw everything it can from her body and she hasn’t enough iron stores, but we’re working on it.”

“Good enough.” He turned back to Kash and Oycher. “Has anyone told Adam?”

“Yeah,” Oycher said with a smirk. “He says you’re even now, since he gave you intel which aided in finding Blythe.  Afterwards, he showed up at that meeting with the prince without giving anything away.  In turn, you uncovered his female’s whereabouts. Not too happy about the pregnancy, though, but Adam wants to stick with her. We’ll see.”

“Maestru still has him locked up nice and tight?”

“Hell, yeah.” Oycher rolled his eyes. “I seriously doubt Amy will want to see him again. After all, she was his
only
Donor when he lived in Rave’s facility, not exactly a romantic situation conducive for mating. Anyway, Adam has a new neighbor in his cell block. Collin’s a scentless vampire the werewolves turned over to us. Went rogue overseas with his brother and then came to the states, attacking Gage MacGelton and family. Rumor has it – he knows the spells for immortal fire.”

“Which explains why he’s bunking next to Adam, Maestru shouldn’t spread his tethering magic so thin, huh,” Kash said.

“Maestru can handle it,” Oycher dismissed. 

“He’s what...did you say he was scentless?” Sixten stammered.

“Scentless,” Oycher repeated. “We barely had him situated in his cell before someone up and nearly drained him.”

“He bleeds red or opaque?” Those empty blood bags in the closet...were they  Collin's?

“Depends on who feeds him.”

“How many are guarding him?”

“Four now,” Oycher said. “Why?”

“Tell me if anything else happens with him, would you?”

“Not a problem, Six.” Oycher winked at the clinician. “A vampiress is just what the doctor ordered.” He sauntered over to her.

“She’s awake,” Kash said with his hand on Amy’s door. “Her heart’s steady. Let’s go.” He rapped on the door and then stepped inside, approaching her in measured steps. “Hello, Amy. I’m Kash and this is my friend. We’d like to ask you some questions.”

She nodded. Her tiny frame lost in the vastness of the bed, eyes as big as saucers. “Did you save me?”

“It was a combined effort,” Sixten spoke up, finding a stool so he wouldn’t appear so imposing to her. Plus his stomach was still funky. There wasn’t a seat for Kash, so he leaned against the nearest wall, sliding his feet across the floor so he seemed shorter. From her expression, both were futile efforts. “I’m sure you know that if we wanted to hurt you, we wouldn’t have brought you here for treatment.”

“I’m sure you realize,” she said, her voice quivering, “that I’ve been held in a medical facility for quite some time now. It’s not comforting to fine myself in another one.”

“As soon as Doc says you’re ready, we’ll find you a real home,” Kash promised. “You have my word.”

“I want to go to
my
old home,” she pleaded. “I’m told you are vampires. I don’t want any dealings with you after I leave.”

No one expected her to be shocked about vampires after everything she had seen and done. However, there was a foreseeable hitch in her plans. “And you’re carrying a child that isn’t entirely human,” replied Sixten softly, “which means you’ll need our help, and we’re offering it to you.” Demanding she accept it. He let it hang there, wanting her to unravel the threads on her own. She could not raise a powerful child, such as a Habaline youngling, without significant help. Just ask his mother. Amy would need another Habaline mixed blood or a Master vampire to control that child and nurture it into a respectable creature.

“What did you want to ask me?” She looked around, probably for a window, which she wouldn’t find underground. “I know that I’ve slept, but I’m so tired.”

“Several things, but we’ll start with a few questions and let you rest,” Kash said. “Did you see any
particular
vampires…creatures with black wings, shadowy bodies?”

“Twice,” she said, “and there were two of them. They looked alike, but one of them had more of an attitude, was always fighting with the man they referred to as
him
or
he
, but never by an actual name.”

“Was the man in a position of authority?”

“Definitely, he argued constantly with the one known as Poison, but he was his accomplice in every way.”

“And Poison let him get away with his insolence?” Sixten found that startling. “Did you see this man up close? Could you describe him to us? Did his eyes glitter?”

“I never saw Poison punish him. Nor did I get a good look at the man, so I can’t say if his eyes glittered. I’ll tell you, though; he has to be as big as you two and he was around when the one named Rave was.”

There were a few mortals as big as they were, but Poison wouldn’t tolerate a human berating him, he was too proud. Therefore, their mystery man was definitely an immortal. “Did you ever witness this man transforming into a winged creature, even from the distance you kept?”

“No, but rarely was I around him.”

“Besides captives, did you see other humans there, maybe in a working capacity?”

“I suspected some of the men working in the labs were humans, though I’m not sure. One man came in often, made me edgy even though he was smaller, definitely human.”

Kash asked her, “Did you get a name? Maybe you can describe him.”

“Rave referred to him as Giarusso, and, apparently, he was the first one they cured.”

Sixten stiffened. He knew Blythe’s brother had reprehensible dealings with the Habalines but refused to accept those dealings went back to his brother in particular. Wishful thinking. His fists clenched on his knees, his breathing picked up.

“Cured?” Kash asked. “Cured for what?”