Hill, Meagan - Master Me [Masterson] (Siren Publishing Classic) (22 page)

They stayed there for several minutes whispering sweet love words to each other and making promises for the future. Eventually, the radio on Mitch’s belt chirped, indicating the other teams had reached their positions. He gave her one last long, deep kiss as he poured all of his heart and soul into her before releasing and helping her into the driver’s seat. “Be careful, my love. I’ll be right behind you,” he reassured her audibly, knowing they both needed to hear the words. “I love you.”

“I love you, Mitch. Be careful, too,” Miranda answered, a little shakily. With a wan smile, she put the dilapidated car into gear and drove away.

* * * *

Mitch thought he’d go insane as he watched her drive away from him. Shaking off the fear that this would be the last time he saw her alive, he turned and began loping towards the brush that bordered the back side of the compound. Miranda had identified five different places where they could enter the compound with a reduced chance of detection, and he was assigned to the entrance closest to the ceremony room.

Less than five minutes later, Mitch was in place, and they were waiting for Miranda. Mitch had turned his radio from audible to earwig, allowing him to hear what the others were saying without being overheard. Groups One and Two reported they had seen Miranda moving about the compound and opening their points of ingress. John, the leader of group Two, mentioned that her behavior was drastically different from what they had seen earlier, asking if that was a cause for concern.

“Is it extremely submissive?” Mitch murmured, knowing his microphone would pick up the slightest noise.

“Yeah. A guy walked by, not one of the top ones from what I could tell, and she hit the floor on her knees with her forehead to the ground faster than I’ve ever seen anyone move.”

“That’s her trained behavior. It’s what they expect their members to do to a higher-ranking member.”

Complete silence reigned for several seconds before John responded. “That’s just wrong.”

The radio was silent for several more seconds before Group Three reported she had opened their entry point. The remaining two were the front and back doors, which were always unlocked. They were ready to move in on the compound.

Mitch and his group moved as quietly as possible, sticking to the shadows to lessen the chance of anyone catching sight of them. The healers stopped at the tree line, ready to enter when the danger was past. As soon as Mitch got to within thirty yards of the compound, he picked up Miranda’s mental voice. She sounded worried.

“Mitch! Can you hear me? Damn it, we should have tested the distance we could go before doing this. Mitch? If you can hear me, watch out. There’s something off around here. Most of the coven isn’t here, and no one can tell me why. They just keep saying they’ll be back in time for the ceremony. Mitch, can you hear me?”

“I got you, Miranda. I’ll tell the others. Just be careful, and don’t arouse anyone’s suspicions. We’ll be inside in less than five minutes.”

“Phew! Okay, just watch yourself. It just feels weird in here, like everything is muted and dull. I’ve never felt anything like it.”

“Okay, hang on.”
Mitch keyed his microphone immediately, passing the information along to the remainder of the group. Malcolm, John, and James conferred quickly before deciding to move forward with the plan. Either way, Mitch was going in to at least get Miranda out, and they knew it. The groups crept forward, carefully watching their surroundings before entering their assigned points. It was black in the rooms they entered, and they were forced to move slowly to keep from stumbling into something that would raise the alarm. The members who could produce light with their magic tried in vain, confused as to why something so simple would suddenly become impossible.

Suddenly, every light in the compound blazed to life. Each team was confronted with a number of armed men. The warriors tried to fight back with their magic but soon found, to their horror, that their magic had been muted. That must be the dullness Miranda had warned them of.

* * * *

Miranda returned to the main room after opening the last entry point, still wondering where everyone was. Seeing no one, she considered whether she should wait there, her designated point to wait for Mitch and the rest of the team, or if she should continue looking around. The decision was taken from her when someone grabbed a handful of her hair and yanked her head backward to a painful angle, forcing her to her knees, before pressing the tip of a very sharp blade to her throat.

“Argh!” she moaned, unable to stop the sound.

“Well, well, Mandy, you’ve been gone five days and have already forgotten your training,” a husky voice muttered. Fear blew through Miranda as she immediately recognized that voice. It was Cabela himself. “In a way, I should reward you for bringing me so many powerful people, but I just don’t have the time to take all of their souls, my dear. You betrayed me.”

“No, no, Master, I have not betrayed you. I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”

“I’m talking about all these people, Mandy, that you just let into my spider’s lair.” At his signal, people began pouring into the room from every possible direction as Miranda looked on, horrified by what she was seeing. Everyone, including the healers, was being pushed and prodded into the room by armed men. There were twenty-six members of the Masterson group being held at gunpoint by thirteen of the fifteen coven members and seven men that Miranda recognized but could not place. “Welcome to my humble abode, ladies and gentlemen. I hope you enjoyed your life because it ends tonight, for all of you. You will make the perfect sacrifice for what I am doing tonight, for tonight I bring to life five demons with which I can rule the world!” Cabela cackled madly as the rest either looked on in fervent adoration or horrified fear.

Miranda’s mind was screaming in panic, her eyes locked with Mitch’s. His own eyes were filled with fear as he watched the crazed warlock hold a wickedly sharp knife to his mate’s throat. He tried to mentally tell her to calm down and give her reassurance, but her own inner panic was making it impossible for her to hear him. Finally, Mitch mouthed the words “Calm down. Listen.” to her several times before he could see her reining in her terror and something more than the screaming panic began to come to him. Unfortunately, Cabela caught the exchange and motioned to the nearest thug.

“Bring that one here. He’s talking to Mandy.” The guy prodded Mitch’s shoulder painfully with the butt of his gun, forcing Mitch to move toward Cabela and Miranda. He kept his eyes on Cabela, watching his every move, though he could feel Miranda watching him as closely.

“Be patient, baby. We’ll find a way out. Just keep calm, and keep thinking.”

“Why doesn’t anyone blast him or something?!?”

“There is some sort of spell on the compound. As soon as we entered the walls, all of our powers were gone. That’s why you felt like everything was muted. It literally is.”

“Oh, my god, Mitch, what are we going to do?”

“I don’t know, baby, but we’ll figure something out. Remember what Mom said. You can finish this all on your own, doing something you already know you can do. We just have to figure out what that is.”

“What the fuck am I gonna do that any one of you can’t?” Miranda shrilled, panic closing in on her again.

“Miranda! Stay calm! We have no chance if we can’t think, and we can’t think if we’re panicking. We’ll figure it out.”

Their conversation was cut short as Cabela jerked Miranda to her feet, mumbling, “I don’t know what you two are up to, but quit. It’s time to get everyone ready for their sacrifice.” Cabela, keeping his hold on Miranda’s hair and the knife at her throat, forced her to walk through the door and down to the ceremony room. The rest of the people followed at the prodding of the armed men.

Once in the room, the hostages were crowded into a small side room and told to strip. Cabela, needing to go prepare himself for the ritual, passed Miranda off to Carl, who was smiling widely. “Well, well, Mandy. You thought you were so smart, didn’t you, you little bitch? I bet you still have no idea how we figured out what you were doing.” He laughed again as she shook her head. “Strip, and I’ll tell you how.”

Miranda heard Mitch growl in response to Carl’s command but knew she needed to keep Carl talking. He might give them some clue of how to fight back. Mitch picked up her thoughts immediately and calmed himself, knowing she was right, no matter how difficult it was going to be to have to watch her strip in front of all these people.

Miranda began to remove her clothes, taking her time, hoping to draw it out long enough for one of them to figure out a way out of their situation. Seeing that Miranda was going to obey his directive, Carl began talking. “You are stupid, bitch. You and your new coven. We tracked you with the GPS on the cell phone. At first, when you flew to Charleston, we were really confused, but when you said you were broken down in east Texas, we figured out you had somehow managed to jump ship and joined up with another coven. A little research and we figured out exactly who your new coven was. We weren’t expecting quite this many people, but hey, the more the merrier when it comes to sacrificial rites. It was quite humorous to watch your group realize their magic was impotent here. White magic always is, but you probably didn’t feel that until you came back, all shiny and clean.” Carl broke off his gloating as he noticed Miranda’s back. “How the hell did you get the branding off your back? And where are all your pretty scars? You know, most of those are mine, other than Cabela’s. They marked you for the whore you are. Too bad you’re not going to be around long enough to earn some new ones. Is the tattoo around your neck their mark of obedience?”

Miranda froze in shock a moment, realizing that Carl had no idea that the crest she now wore meant she was mated. She felt the same shock ripple through the rest of the group who were quietly listening as they moved to obey their latest order. Finally, all of them were completely nude, including Mitch and Miranda. It was a strange time to feel it, but Miranda could feel a definite tightening in her body in response to seeing Mitch naked again. Apparently, Mitch was similarly affected as his flaccid cock twitched in response, and he smirked at her before shrugging.

Carl ran a hand down her back and cupped her ass as Miranda struggled not to react. Mitch couldn’t help his responding growl as Malcolm and John put a restraining arm on his shoulders, whispering to him to keep calm. “Hmm, your new master is rather possessive, isn’t he? How come not everyone in the group has the tat?”

Miranda knew she couldn’t tell him the truth without giving away weaknesses within the group, so she quickly answered, “Sister covens. They don’t require the mark.”

“Interesting. That must have taken quite a while to put on and hurt like hell.”

“It went faster than anyone imagined. I’m used to pain.”

Carl nodded in agreement. “Yes, you sure are. You’ve filled out some, too. You’re not as skinny as you were,” he murmured as his hand continued to explore her skin. Mitch could only look on in fury as he watched Miranda being molested by another man, but she held his eyes, telling him she was okay and that they had to figure a way out. Carl had just cruelly pinched and twisted one of Miranda’s nipples when Cabela entered the room.

“It’s time. Please escort our guests to the altar,” he instructed, completely ignoring the tension in the room. Malcolm and John continued to hold on to Mitch as he quivered in rage at the abuse Miranda was receiving. Miranda, on the other hand, kept her face impassive and her eyes on Mitch, even as she screamed in pain in his mind.

“I’m okay, I’m okay, Mitch, calm down! Don’t pull their attention to you, please! Keep calm, and keep thinking!”
Miranda begged him with her mind as Carl jerked her away from the group and up to the altar.

“We’ll be beginning with you tonight, Mandy, since you thought you could outsmart all of us. Stupid bitch. I’m going to murder every one of your new friends and then chop them up into so many pieces no one will ever be able to put them back together.” Cabela motioned for Carl to move her to the altar, which he immediately did, forcing Miranda to lay flat on the altar as he chained her to it. Miranda’s new position didn’t allow her to see much, but she could just make out Mitch, whose face was twisted with anguish, and Malcolm standing next to him, holding him in place. Nina stood just behind Malcolm, looking at Miranda intently, like she was trying to convey a message. Miranda returned her stare for several moments as Cabela moved around the altar preparing for the ceremony he was about to conduct.