Feral Craving (24 page)

His senses stretched out, and
as they felt that brush of familiar darkness, he shuddered. The meaty palm
around his neck tightened as his father stepped up to him. Maximus didn’t speak
and instead reached out with another hand and wrapped it around the front of
Bari’s neck. Power surged inside of Bari, a strength he hadn’t experienced.
Distantly he realized the power surge came from his father. Yet it was tainted
in evil. He was lifted off of the ground and held within inches of the face
that haunted his dreams for so long.

He gagged and coughed,
desperate for air, his lungs kicking into overdrive with a need to get oxygen.
His windpipe had been effectively cut off from obtaining any substance, and as
he struggled, his legs kicked out, catching nothing but the air his body
screamed for. His vision started to darken, black spots clouding the way before
he flew through the air, one twitch of Maximus’ wrist sending Bari spiraling
across the yard and head first into a large tree.

Pain flew through his body,
jolted his mind into the unknown of hurt. And as he coughed, wheezed, tried to
gulp in air, his lungs burned and his eyes clouded over. Dark liquid poured
over his eyes just as he glanced up and through the reddened sight saw his
father stalking over to him once more with a deadly intent in his eyes…

****

Not caring about the shifting
rocks beneath her feet, she ran, her legs spreading distance as she fled
through the forest. Her run wasn’t due to fear, but a testimony to the need to
get help for Bari as she ate up the ground looking for the edge of the cliffs
that now dwarfed her, the ones that would give him back to her.

She rounded a corner, the
cliffs breaking free into an open field ahead of her. Mackenzie’s heart pumped
and gave an erratic jolt against her chest as she recognized the house looming
on the other side of the field. At the bay of Nantucket, spread out to her side
and to the back of the house held the ocean. The tire swing sat out front, a
reminder of childhood memories shared with him.

Bari.

Dear God.

The fear pounding through her
body urged her to push herself, and she sprinted across the field. Her lungs
sawed for breath, her muscles strained and shook, and as she reached the front,
bounding up the steps, she collapsed into Tyler’s arms as he opened the door.

“Mac, where’s Bari?”

She gulped for breath and
tried to find her voice. Her throat choked on oxygen, and her vision dimmed.
Distantly she heard Tyler calling out for his team as he gathered her close and
sat with her on the porch’s bench. It took several agonizing moments, but
finally she was able to get the words out.

“They’ve got him.”

****

Bari came to and found his
hands bound above his head. Behind his eyes, a pulse pounded and throbbed, each
simple movement, even the blinking of his eyes, caused him to wince. He tried
to shift his body, felt the chains digging into his wrists and found only the
tips of his toes touched the floor. Good God, so this was it, huh? This was how
his life would end. His eyes fluttered closed, and his head rolled back on his
pulled shoulders as he fought emotions clogging him. Twisting and pulling, he
tried anything to break free of the bonds, but as his muscles tired, and his
body screamed out with pain, he found it hopeless.

Bari heard a movement behind
him and snapped his head, crying out in pain at the movement as he tried to get
a look. Maximus stood there watching him, his eyes gleaming evil red as he held
a look of amusement and anger all rolled up into one on his face. He stepped
forward and let out a tsk, his eyes glancing down to something he held in his
hands. Bari’s eyes followed the path and widened as a reflection off of metal
made its presence known. He struggled with a renewed force against his bonds,
and when they didn’t budge, he tried to keep his calm, fought against the panic
and realized he was lost in a situation he had no plan for.

“What are you doing?”

Maximus walked up, and his
head shook back and forth. He brought the blade up quickly and held it right
under Bari’s chin. It forced him to still, his face to lift up and meet red
eyes. The eyes used to be gun-metal gray and now the swirling darkness, the
bloodied colors he saw there reflected the gaze of a stranger. He remembered
when those eyes changed—it had been so abrupt. And his mother was lost soon
thereafter, killed by his father’s hand in a fit of what Bari could only
compare to the devil’s rage. They reflected a knowledge he should have known,
showed all the compassion he did not have, and all the murderous intent he
stood for.

“Son, I’ve been looking a
long time for you.”

Bari’s fists clenched above
him and he willed his limbs to stay awake, as it stood now, they prickled with
the blood rushing away. “Don’t call me that. You lost your right to call me
that long ago.”

Maximus raised one brow, an
almost amused look marring his features. Bari was almost a replica of his
father, except for the color of his eyes and even now, signs of aging missing,
if he didn’t know any better, they could be considered twins. “Do you not have
my blood running through your veins?”

“You gave that right away,
Maximus, when you turned. There is still hope for your soul though. You could
let me free so I could put you out of your misery.”

“Ah, my child. What lies you
spew as if I am some fledgling looking to be taken under your wing.” His head
dipped, and Bari flinched. Maximus breathed deeply by his ear, ran his nose
along the length of Bari’s neck.

“You reek of her, Bari. And
now, you both shall pay…” With a flick of his wrist, Maximus sliced down the
front of his shirt and as the blade met his flesh, Bari screamed out in agony.

“You son-of-a-bitch! Get away
from me!”

Chapter Twenty-Six

Several hours passed before
Maximus left him alone, and Bari felt every bit of the pain the man painted
across his body, every bit of the strength he stole, and with the drain he was
under, he recognized he wouldn’t last another round. His head lolled on his
shoulders, his strength not nearly enough to hold it up. Red blood dripped
continuously from his body, and he could only watch as his life’s essence
dripped onto the dirty ground beneath his feet. His arms had long ago gone
numb, both the pain and fatigue of being held in this position for so long
draining all the blood from the extremities. His skin felt chilled and with the
higher body temperatures of his kind, he knew that wasn’t a good sign. He
blinked unhurried and thought on Mackenzie, hoping with everything he was that
she had made it to safety.

Despite his condition and
past the pain, he realized if he died here today, her continuing life would be
the ultimate gift, the greatest outcome in what he had been thrust into. His
team would care for them, his family. That was the only thing he hoped for now.

His father wanted him to
break, join in on his fight. It had to be of his free will though and wasn’t
something that could be faked. Much like the blood bond he initiated with
Mackenzie, he’d have to taint his body with the evil acid running through
Maximus’ body and accept his fate. The thought of becoming anything like his
father, a fear he’d held for too long, resolved his decision as he prepared to
die.

A noise, the door opening,
had his body tensing slightly and without having any control over his actions,
he hissed between swollen lips, thinking Maximus had come back for another
round, this one very likely being the one to finish him off. His eyes pricked
and burned, a sure sign of weakness, something that sure was going to piss off
his father, but he really didn’t care anymore. Swollen eyes closed, and he
thought of his happiest times. It really wasn’t a surprise when Mackenzie and
Byron entered his mind, filling him with such love and passion, a unique
connection before any others they had known for years. And as a set of hands
wrapped around his chin, he kept his eyes closed and then heard a voice that
sounded nothing like Maximus whisper his name. His eyes flashed opened and met
the very concerned gaze of Tony.

“What the fuck are you doing
here?” Bari’s voice sounded slurred even to his own ears.

“Trying to save your ass,
Princess, that’s what.” The deep rumble of Tony’s voice sounded almost like
angels singing to Bari’s ears. He’d never tell that shit to Tony though.

His hands were released and
as soon as he was free of the bounds, his legs touched the floor, and if it
hadn’t been for Tony taking the brunt of his weight, he would have hit the
floor. As it was, his legs stumbled weakly even with Tony’s help, and he
couldn’t seem to catch his footing on the floor. Tony clamped a hand over his
mouth as he started to moan. He glanced up and saw the caution in his eyes as
Tony lowered him to sit on the floor. He couldn’t feel anything, his entire
body past the point of even feeling pain, but that made a problem for him as he
also couldn’t control his muscles and had no way of moving or fighting.

Tony lowered him to the
ground and propped him up against the wall, immediately reaching down for a
dagger held on his hip.

“You need to drink from me,
Bari.”

Bari drew back, winced at the
pain in his head and then tried to eye Tony warily. He didn’t know how much of
his expression came across his face because Tony didn’t react, only waited with
what seemed like annoying patience while they were in the middle of harm’s way.
At any moment it felt as if someone was going to walk in the room.

“What the hell are you
talking about?”

Tony sighed and then rushed
on to explain. “I don’t have a lot of time to answer questions, Bari. Here’s
the deal. You’re hurt.” Bari opened his mouth, and Tony lifted a hand to ward
off whatever he had been about to say. “No time for bullshit, just accept some
help, for once.” Tony paused, met his eyes and then continued on. “We need this
bond, Bari. Relying on Mackenzie only put her in danger, and that’s something
our kind has a really fucking hard time doing. She’s your soul and without her,
without her cleansing of your soul, you’d be lost to us forever. We won’t take
that risk again. You understand.”

Well hell, when he put it
like that he did. Bari nodded.

“So I need you to drink. It’s
also going to help you have the energy to get out of here. We can’t have
anything slowing you down.”

Bari’s eyes shifted
restlessly around the room and then back to the door. He tried to control his
breathing, and watched as Tony slashed the blade across his wrist. Tony held
out the bleeding limb and whispered an urgent command for him to drink. Bari
glanced at it in question. Tony pushed his wrist closer, giving him a silent,
urgent plea.

The sweet scent of blood
filled his nostrils, and he set his lips to skin. At the first taste, he gagged
from the crimson liquid, sputtering out droplets from his mouth. His body had
been worked over so roughly it seemed to not want to cooperate with what his
mind was telling it to do. Tony’s insistence and growing fear forced him to
try, and as he swallowed hard, he forced the fluid down his throat. He needed
it make its way into his body for the replenishment of lost substances he
required, to help with energy he was without.

After a few minutes he
released Tony’s arm and lifted his head. Power surged inside of him, a strength
he hadn’t sensed before. The bond between he and Tony, the braid of a link
seemed to shine brighter than before. Bari wiped at his mouth with the back of
his hand, cringing as his body’s pain made its presence known.

“Guess it’s not the cure all,
huh?”

Tony arched a brow and the
twitch of his lips gave the indicator he heard Bari. Instead of responding, he
rose and moved back to the entrance to the small room. Bari took the time to
finally look around. Before, his focus had been so drawn to Maximus and the
pain he hadn’t paid any attention. Long wooden logs lined the four walls and
above him the ceiling held a colonial point. Only one door provided for a means
of exit, and the room was completely devoid of windows.

“We need to move quick, my
man. Coming in we didn’t run into too much interference but going out may be
another story.” Tony passed back a hooded sweatshirt sitting to the side, and
Bari reached for it.