Rapture (22 page)

“I
am,” she lied. There was no going back now. She’d picked her memory, and she’d
stick with it.

“How
many sons have you?”

She
bit the inside of her cheek as “three” was mentally answered. “Two,” she said.

He
nodded gravely. “I will you see you again, sister. I do hope that next time you
will not be bound.”

“As
do I, brother,” she said before Thor ducked out of her cell, barely glancing at
Darla as he opened the door and disappeared.

Raine,
however, couldn’t help but glare at Darla as the Valkyrie sauntered over to the
lever that would raise and lower the chains that held Raine suspended.

“Well,”
Darla said as she yanked the lever, lowering her to the ground, “I think that
went really well. Don’t you?”

Raine’s
feet touched the ground and she fell, slowly, into a heap on the floor as the
chains continued to lower. She rose as soon as she could, her gaze meeting her
sister’s. “How much have you taken?” She only hoped Darla couldn’t see through
the ruse.

“Taken?”
Darla asked, confused.

“I
know your specialty. How much of my memory have you taken?”

“Oh.
I have no idea.” She waved a hand dismissively. “All I know is we’re not there
yet.” She gripped Raine by an arm, giving her a warning glare when she moved to
resist. Almost as quickly as she’d had the thought to fight, she was thrown
onto the table and pinned there, her eyes widening as Darla’s face closed in
right before her eyes.

Dear
gods—any gods—please don’t let her forget her mate and sons. She couldn’t give
them up. She’d hang on to them until her last breath.

****

Ferox
sipped the remaining bit of Scotch left in his glass and set it gently down on
the table, looking out at the crowd of gyrating bodies that took up most of
Pandora’s Box. Draven had explained that Pandora’s was the only nearby
Lore-owned bar, and was the Guardians’ preferred hangout where they often met
up for a drink before, after, or even during patrols. Blaze had taken off to
who-knew-where, Nitro and Ash had gone out hunting, and despite the fact that
they should have joined the others in scouting for Riley or the enemy, Draven,
Ethan, and Raider had stuck to Ferox like white on rice; though he wasn’t sure
if that was just because of who he was, or if it was because of their hope to
find Raine. Days had passed since her capture. Too many days, by his standards.

“Nice
to see you tonight, boys,” a woman said as she set a tray of drinks down on the
table and started passing them around. “Been a few days.”

“Dora,”
Draven greeted happily, nodding thanks as the woman handed him a tall beverage
smelling strongly of alcohol. “How’s Penny?”

She
grinned at him and rested her elbows on the table. “She’s fine. A little
hellion, but what’s different about that?” She laughed.

Ferox
focused on the woman, taking in her short, maroon hair and pierced nose. It was
done tastefully, a small diamond that rested at the side of her nose. Her
bright green eyes and pursed lips regarded the men as Ethan and Draven asked
her questions.

Raider
leaned in close to Ferox. “Dora is the owner here. She’s from a long line of
guardians, albeit a different kind. She has a daughter named Penny. She’s only
seven or so.”

“Do
the Guardians trust her?”

“Absolutely.
Knowing what she’s been entrusted to guard, there’s no one we would trust
more.”

His
whispering drew Dora’s attention, and she looked at the two of them curiously,
leaning a little more on the table. “I’ve heard a few things in the
underground. Seems there might be some truth to it.”

The
men glanced at each other, and both Ethan and Draven scooted farther in the
booth, allowing Dora to slide in alongside. “What have you heard?” Ethan asked,
being the closest to her.

“That
the Guardians’ stronghold has been destroyed, and that you’ve all spread to the
wind, no longer having a umm—” she coughed uncomfortably, “—competent leader to
guide you.” Her gaze met Ferox’s. “So it’s true then, you have no memory of the
past.”

He
shook his head slowly.

Dora
looked thoughtfully at each of them, her fingers drumming on the table. “You
know I don’t like to talk business out in the open, but I feel a stirring. I
don’t know what’s causing it, only that it could be serious. And with demons
hearing that you’re all out of commission, I fear it will all get a lot worse.”

“I
guess we’ll have to make sure it’s well known that we’re still here, and still
fighting,” Raider said, an air of anger in his voice. “Do they really think
we’re that easily defeated?”

“From
what I’m hearing, yes,” Dora said. “I don’t think the city can stand an influx
of attacks, not without drawing some attention.”

“Agreed.”
Draven nodded. “We’ll make sure to double our efforts, add more warriors on
rounds.”

“If
there is anything I can do to help, you know I have a few warriors.”

“You
should keep them here,” Draven replied. “You may need them more than we do.”

“There
is something I wonder if you can help us with,” Raider said, turning the
direction of the conversation. “Have you ever met a Keymaster?”

She
narrowed her eyes. “What would you need with one of those?”

“Raine’s
been kidnapped,” Ferox replied, leaning into the table, meeting her eyes
full-on. “I need a Keymaster to reach her. Otherwise, I’ll need to take other,
more dangerous options into consideration.”

“Raine?”
Dora gasped. “Who would take her? How? Why?”

“The
reasons are unclear,” Raider responded. “We just need to find a way to reach
her.”

Dora’s
eyes met Ferox’s, and he noted that she seemed troubled at the thought that
Raine had been captured. The woman sighed and slid sideways, extracting herself
from the booth. “Follow me, and need I remind you … be discreet.”

Within
minutes, they had each taken turns leaving the booth, winding through the dance
floor, and beelining it toward the employees-only section. Dora had waited in
the Manager’s Office until he, Raider, Draven, and Ethan had each made it
inside.

“I
have never shown you what lies under the club, but needless to say, your mate’s
abduction is a qualifying event.”

Draven
shook his head. “You’re not—”

“Showing
you the vault? Not quite.” She turned on her heels and approached a large
picture frame that she muscled to the side, revealing a dark opening with only
a few stairs and a rail in view. “Follow me if you will,” she said, taking the
stairs and disappearing around a curve.

Ferox
followed her, not concerned if the others did or not. Dora clearly knew
something, and he’d be a fool not to at least see what she had to say.

The
others did follow him, however, as Dora’s voice echoed through the long,
circular stairway that took them deep into the ground. “You two are a legend.”

“I’m
sorry?” Ferox asked, confused.

“Your
love, it’s legendary. Without the two of you having hooked up at the Tournament
of Legends, I very much doubt there would
be
any interracial couples.”

“They’re
the reason?” Draven asked, beating Ferox to it.

“Yes.
The love they showed one another at the Tournament just proved to everyone out
there that their mate didn’t have to be like them. Your parents were and still
are the inspiration for so many. They’re the legendary lovers.”

Ferox
continued down the stairs, wondering just how far down they could possibly go.
“How could Raine and I be responsible for all of that?”

“Well,
I guess you don’t remember, but that’s why I’m bringing you down here. You’ll
see.”

“You’re
not really about to feed us to a bunch of hungry monsters, are you?” Ethan
asked, a hint of tease in his voice.

Dora
laughed. “I don’t just keep the vault down here.”

“Oh,”
Ethan said, sounding a little relieved. “I figured you were taking us right to
it.”

“It’s
a little harder to get to than that. This is my library.”

In
fact, it was a library, with aisles and aisles of ancient-looking books—and a
few romance novels, he noted with a sideways glance—all sizes, all widths.
There was a single, round table sitting in the center of the room, with aisles
spreading out in all directions.

“Let’s
see,” Dora said, glancing around the room, considering. “Keymaster …
Keymaster….” She bent down and slid a book from one of the shelves, hefting the
heavy tome onto her left forearm and flipping it open. “This one might just
give you some details on a particular Keymaster. I think this is the one you
want.”

Ferox
stepped toward her. “What is that?”

“Just
the account of everything that happened at the tournament. Let’s just hope it
mentions if there happened to be a Keymaster present.” She grinned sideways as
the others closed in around her as well. “Let’s just go hit the table and see
what we can find. Here.” She handed Ferox the heavy volume and sauntered over
to the table, taking a seat on the far side.

He
merely stared at it, eyes scanning over the aged pages and hand-written
accounts, though for how long he didn’t know. It was only when one of the
warriors cleared his throat that it drew him from his thoughts. This could be
just what he needed. It could help him remember, and not only who the Keymaster
was that he’d used before, but also more about his time with Raine.

Chapter Seventeen

Tournament
of Legends

Day
Fifteen

“Have
you found yours yet?”

“No,”
Raine said, studying the intrinsic patterns painted on the cliff face. “Have
you had any luck?” She took a break to look over at the vampire, though it
wasn’t the first time she’d done so since their little interlude. She’d drunk
his blood, and it wasn’t nearly as gut-wrenchingly disgusting as she’d
imagined. Certainly nothing like the times she’d tasted a bit too much blood
when eating a piece of undercooked meat.

In
fact, it was overly pleasant. She’d been in so much pain, barely able to defend
herself—which rankled more than she cared to admit—but he had stuck by her side
and helped her through. And his blood … Oh, it had been delicious, and she had
experienced the most miraculous thing. It was as though everything she’d felt
while she’d been in his arms earlier, kissing him and teasing him, had all
crashed down on her at the same time. She’d nearly levitated, it had felt so
good. Her body had grown wet and needing, and then almost just as suddenly,
she’d convulsed and everything had gone white as a shot of heat ran through her
body.

She
wanted it again.

Ferox
caught her peeking at him, and she quickly glanced away, focusing on the wall
again. “Are we overthinking this?”

“Don’t
know. Our treasures aren’t very big, but we’ve got to find a matching design.”

Irritating.
There were designs within designs, and her head was already hurting. She wasn’t
sure her eyes could take much more of this heavy investigating. She inspected
the shield again, though it was pointless. She knew what it looked like, could
pick it out of a thousand shields with her eyes closed and only the gift of
touch to guide her.

“Raine,”
Ferox said, drawing her attention. “You might want to come over here.” She eyed
him as she strode over, seeing the scowl on his face as his gaze darted over a
certain section of the wall. “Hold out the shield. Yes, like that.” As she did
so, she caught sight of the shield’s design on the rock. Ferox held up the
treasured vampiric sword, hilt up and on an angle. The two designs had been
intermingled, crossing each other.

A
cold chill ran through her just as the glaive and shield vibrated, sending a
shockwave up the wall, scattering bits of rock that rained upon them.

“Press
it to the wall,” he said, pushing both items tight against the rock. She pushed
as well, her body surrounded by Ferox’s arms as they both kept the items from
separating from their counterparts.

The
treasures lit up in a glowing blue, the light building brighter and brighter
until a flash stung her eyes. She put all her weight into it, and Ferox did the
same, his chest pressing tight against her back as they both groaned.

They
fell forward, face-planting into dirt, with the sounds of cheering crowds all
around. Raine lifted her head and looked up, seeing rows and rows of demons,
sitting in the arena. Ferox coughed and rolled off of her, appearing just as
dumbfounded as she felt.

“Congratulations!”
a voice boomed as they both got to their feet. “Our first victors of round
two!”

Raine
turned just as the compere reached them, shaking their hands with excitement.
He stood between them then, lifting a hand in the air for each of them. “Raine
of the Valkyries, and Ferox of the Vampires!”