Seizing Darkness (Fur, Fangs, and Fairies) (25 page)

“You’re a real bastard, you know that?” I spat out. I was furious and sick. “Where is Valdimir?”

“He is in the van awaiting your arrival.” I could see Andrei’s insanity in his eyes. I don’t know how it had happened or when, but this vampire had lost his mind. Isaac wasn’t right either. I could smell it on him. He hadn’t been made right. I remembered something from Dante’s mind about that.

 “Isaac, if you would so kindly restrain her, we can be on our way before anyone else joins us.” Andrei sounded so proud of himself.

“Of course, master,” Isaac said.

I didn’t flinch as the rough rope dug into the sensitive skin of my wrists. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. Andrei would die for this. He should have let Isaac just die. I knew the kindest thing to do for Isaac would be to kill him, again. I didn’t think I could convince him that I’d been forced to do it. I could see the insanity in his eyes, as well. I couldn’t remember the exact details, but it was something I had picked up from Dante’s mind when we had been connected. If a vampire was created incorrectly, the best thing to do for them was to kill them. I just didn’t know if I could do it twice. I guessed I was going to find out. I would take them with me if it came down to it, but I wasn’t going to go easily. For now, though, I needed to make sure the ones I cared about were safe.

I followed them to the waiting van. It had no windows in the back. I saw Val lying there when the doors opened. He looked unconscious
, but I wasn’t sure. Isaac shoved me into the back. With my hands bound behind me, I couldn’t catch myself and I fell into Val. I think he actually cushioned my landing on purpose. I tried to roll away, but only managed to get as far as his shoulder with my head. His smell was comforting and so similar to Radek’s. I buried my head in his shoulder, inhaling deeply before looking up at him. Val’s eyes were open and golden, showing me that he was livid. He gave me a smile that said he wasn’t surprised to see me, but wished he hadn’t. I laid my head back down on his shoulder and stayed still.

It seemed like hours that we rode like that. I really have no idea how long it was. Val and I didn’t speak, we just laid there in agonizing silence. Finally the van came to a stop. My body was aching from being bounced around on the metal floor of the van. As the doors came open, the smell of the ocean hit me. So we were somewhere near saltwater. That covered a lot of ground in Washington, so it didn’t help me much in determining where we were.

I could only assume that it was somewhere away from people. I could barely see it through all the trees, but I thought I saw a barn around fifty feet from the back of the van. An eerie silence surrounded us. Even the forest creatures didn’t dare make their presence known. I hated the look of it right away. I glanced at Val; his jaw was set and his expression gave nothing away. I was pushed forward and caught myself before I fell. I went up the slight hill toward the barn and house that slowly came into view.

“Take him into the barn. I want to play with my little Kitten for a while,” Andrei sneered.

I was not going to like that. Val lunged at his words, but Isaac hit him and knocked him out. I went with Andrei – it wasn’t like I had any kind of choice.

Chapter Twenty-six

Andrei led me into the basement. I could smell the lingering fear and blood. This was a place of torture and death. I took shallow breaths so I wouldn’t get that stench permanently stuck in my nose. That was the least of my problems and I knew it. I had to think about something other than being alone in a room with Andrei. His quiet laughing made me cringe on the inside. I tried to hide my emotions.

He pushed me against one of the walls and I slammed into it. I couldn’t catch myself because my hands were still bound. It hurt, but it wasn’t anything that would do permanent damage. I used the wall to stand and turn around. Andrei was right there and I could smell his rotten breath. He was sick. Reaching behind me, he quickly had my hands and feet spread and in chains.

I barely held it in when he licked the side of my face. I closed my eyes so at least I wouldn’t have to look at him while he did whatever he was going to do to me. I had a good idea of what was in store for me. I’d seen some of his work over the years, even experienced it on some occasions.

“I wish you had not made me punish you, Kitten. I do so love your little body. I will tell you the rules of this little game we play. If you shift, I will bring Valdimir in here and do to him the things I have in store for you. Am I making myself clear?”

“Yes,” I managed to say. Well there went that idea. I needed to meditate. One of the things we had been taught in training was how to deal with torture. I could handle this. At least that’s what I told myself.

“Yes, what?” he insisted.

Damn, I knew what he wanted me to call him, but I thought I would choke and die from saying it. I used everything I had to make the words come out of my mouth. “Yes, Master.”

He giggled like a little boy. “Oh, you are learning so well. Now I must start your punishment,” he said just as Isaac walked down the stairs.

Andrei turned to the other vampire. “Oh good, you are back. I need you to turn her around and secure her. I must hand out her punishment. Give her a dose of Dr. Cushan’s special mixture first. We don’t want her healing too fast.”

Whatever they were going to give me didn’t sound good. I didn’t think I was in a position to fight right now. Before I could come up with a strategy, Isaac had turned me and ripped the clothes from my body. Being naked wasn’t usually a big deal since I’m a shifter, but this just made my skin crawl. I pressed my face into the cold damp cement wall. I shut my eyes and tried to come up with something to stop me from thinking about what was being done to me. The only thing I could think of was that with these two concentrating on me, they were leaving Val alone.

I felt the prick of a needle, and fire started spreading through my veins. I bit my tongue so I wouldn’t cry out. I could taste my own blood. I wasn’t going to give them the satisfaction of hearing me scream.

I was trained in how to endure torture, and the teaching was coming back to me. I took deep breaths, ignoring the smells, and focused on removing myself from my head. Once I was able to reach that state of mind, I knew I was going to make it through. It really didn’t matter what they did to my body if they didn’t touch my mind or soul. I stayed in the trance-like state as they proceeded to whip me. It seemed it was happening to someone else. I held it together and didn’t make a sound. I kept out of my own head. I knew I could withstand this. The smell of my own blood was heavy in the air. I don’t know how long this went on, but it felt like it took forever. Finally, they were done with me.

I was surprised they didn’t bite me. Maybe it had something to do with what they had injected me with. I knew my wounds weren’t healing as they should. I was losing a lot of blood. I didn’t have the energy to worry about that now. I needed to get through this. Dawn had to be approaching soon. It couldn’t come soon enough for me. They finally released my hands and feet from the chains.

I collapsed onto the ground, lacking the strength to hold myself up. My back felt like it was on fire every time I took a breath. I wanted to let the darkness take me, but I resisted. The need to stay awake and aware was stronger. I was blocking out what they were saying. Someone pulled me up and threw me over their shoulder. I was powerless to stop him. My nose was deadened so I couldn’t tell who it was. I hung limp as he walked with me. It wasn’t long before I was thrown to the ground. I heard a metal door squeak and the only thing I could think of was that someone needed to oil that damn thing. Then I heard the click of a lock sliding into place. As the footsteps retreated, I managed to open my eyes.

“Natalya?” It was Val. His voice was harsh to my ears. I must have let out some kind of sound because he spoke again. “You shouldn’t have come. What did they do to you?” He sounded different. The drugs or lack of blood must be affecting my brain because I could barely understand what he was saying. I knew that I needed to say something to him, but I couldn’t wrap my mind around any thought. I tried breathing again and his scent finally registered. That snapped me out of it. It was another minute or so before I could speak.

“I’m fine,” I managed to say.

“You don’t look fine. You’re still bleeding. Why don’t you shift?” he said, his voice thick with emotion.

“Can’t,” I told him.

“Why not?” he asked.

“Hurt you. Drugged.”

He was quiet for a while. I really didn’t know how long. The blackness was still threatening to overtake me.

“Rest, just rest,” he said.

I thought I heard tears in his voice, but I wasn’t awake long enough to figure it out.
 

* * *

I let out a groan. The rancid smells hit my nose and I sneezed. That brought out another groan. I hurt everywhere.

“Are you conscious now?” came a voice I knew well, even though it was strained with pain.

“Yes Val, I’m all right,” I assured him. I managed to sit up some.

“There is some water for you over by the door. Drink slowly; you have been out for over a day,” he said.

I didn’t look at him as I made my way over to the small plate of food and cup of water. Well at least they mean to keep me somewhat alive, I thought. I left the food alone knowing that I couldn’t handle it at the moment. I made myself drink the water slowly. I looked around my cage, for want of a better word. There was a blanket in the other corner. Once I had drunk enough water to satisfy me, I slowly made my way to the blanket, taking the plate and cup with me. I curled up in the blanket and faced Val. I cringed as I saw that he too had been beaten. I guess Andrei hadn’t kept his word on that one.

“How did they manage to get you, Val?” I asked. I was taking small bites of the meat that was on the plate. I didn’t want to eat too fast and get sick.

“Never mind that, just keep your strength. I’m sorry that you have ended up in this horrid situation.” He sounded tired and almost defeated. I understood that he wasn’t going to tell me for whatever reason. I was going to just have to let him have his little secret. It really didn’t matter anyway.

“I’ve been through worse, so don’t worry about me. I can handle whatever he dishes out.” I sounded more fearless than I felt.

This brought a small sarcastic smile to Val’s face. “Sure you can. Why aren’t you healing as quickly as you should?” he asked.

“They injected me with something,” I told him, trying to remember
, but at the same time not wanting to.

“I figured it was something like that. There are a few more hours before they should be awake. You should rest up. I have a bad feeling about what they have planned for you next.”

“Like they ever had anything good planned for me,” I said. I was getting sleepy and I did need to conserve my strength. I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.

Chapter Twenty-seven

I woke to the feeling of being watched. I opened my eyes to see a vampire in front of me, staring down with a sneer on her face. I hadn’t met this vampire before.

“Good, you’re awake. Master wants to play with you tonight.” She pulled me up by my arm. I didn’t say anything or resist. I glanced at Val and could tell he was just barely containing his growl.

I squared my shoulders and walked from the cage. She stopped me from exiting the barn and took me into another area. I didn’t like where this was going. Isaac and Andrei were waiting at one end with another vampire. It looked like Andrei had made himself a throne. Really, a throne? I thought. Could he get any more archaic? I couldn’t refrain from rolling my eyes. As we neared them, I was unable to harness my tongue either.

“Seriously, Andrei? A throne?” I asked, disbelief heavy in my tone. I was really trying to hold back my laughter. I knew I shouldn’t be laughing when they probably were going to kill me – or worse – but I really couldn’t help it. Not only was it a throne, but it was a gilded throne.

The vampire bitch pushed me hard, and in my weakened state
, I fell to the ground. I had a good idea that I was going to kill her for that, and soon. If they were going to execute me, I planned to take as many of them with me as possible. I wasn’t down and out yet.

While I was off in my own head, Andrei had been speaking. I hadn’t heard a thing. Oops. I tuned in just in time to hear him call for someone to bring Val in. “You said that you weren’t going to touch him if I came willingly,” I narrowed my eyes at him. I felt a prick in my arm and the surge of whatever drug they had just given me rushing through my veins.

“I’m not going to touch him little Kitten. You are.” Andrei giggled again.

My vision started getting fuzzy and a rage started building. Whatever they had injected into me wasn’t good. I could feel the shift coming as well. I heard growling and realized it was me. I heard Val being led in. Someone was talking
, but I couldn’t make out the words. It was taking everything I had not to shift. This wasn’t normal. Then my vision turned red and I lost the battle.

The shift hit me hard. It didn’t usually hurt. I was panting hard when it was over. The growling noise had increased. I glanced around; all I saw was enemies. I knew something was wrong but my instincts had kicked in. I needed to kill, I needed to fight. The rage was strong.
The closest thing to me was another tiger. My brain said ‘enemy’ and ‘must kill,’ but something was wrong. I heard a voice say
kill him
.

I don’t know why, but I listened to it. I lunged at the other tiger. He avoided me. We circled each other. All the while there was something nagging me. I saw an opening and lunged for him again. He wasn’t fast enough this time. I caught his back leg with my teeth and crunched the bone between my jaws. As I tasted the blood, a thought registered in my brain. He wasn’t who I wanted to slay.

I turned toward the voice that had commanded me to kill. I didn’t follow anyone’s commands. He must die first. By now, I was close to the shiny thing with the dead rotting meat. The stench of him enraged me further. The other dead-but-not-dead creature took off running. For a second I considered going after him, but I wanted this one.

I stalked him and he laughed. Finally
, I leaped for him. I easily caught his small neck between my jaws and snapped them shut. The head popped off. I felt elation but didn’t know why. I needed to rip him to pieces, something inside of me said, so I did just that, forgetting anyone or anything else was around. It felt so good. I needed to taste his flesh.

I was just getting into it when suddenly there were people everywhere and loud noises. I looked up from my kill, intending to protect what was mine. I heard what was being said
, but barely comprehended the language.

“Holy shit!” a dark haired man creature said. “Natalya?”

For some reason I didn’t kill him. What was that word? Why did I want to go to him? I crouched down, ready to pounce, a growl emanating from my throat. It was a warning to stay away. Then another man creature stepped forward. His smell hit me. He smelled of fire and fur. I didn’t know what he was. He wasn’t like the one I’d ripped apart. He was more like the one that I’d attacked, but not the same. On some level I knew him. I could not hurt him.

He was using a low, soothing voice, but it was the flame that flickered in the center of his crystal blue eyes that drew me in. “Natalya, it’s done,” he said. “Come here, my sister.”

What was the word he’d used? It was foreign, yet I knew it. I wanted to go to him. His scent and voice reminded me of safety. An image flashed before my eyes. He looked bigger in the image, and his face had been close, but he would protect me. I took a tentative step toward him, mesmerized by the flame in his eyes. All the other sights, sounds and smells in the room vanished as he became my sole focus. I slowly went to him and sat on my haunches, looking up into those eyes. He smiled down at me. It was almost sad.

“You are safe. No harm will come to you. Lay down.” His voice was gentle and I wanted to listen. I lay down in front of him and he crouched down. He stared into my eyes. My eyes closed of their own accord as I lay in the dirt. Words and conversations flowed around me.

“What did you do to her?” I knew the voice, but couldn’t remember who it was. I wanted to cringe away. He would be angry with me. He would hurt me. I tried to get up, but something held me down.

The one that was near me answered, “Nothing that you need to worry about, Dek. Don’t come over here though. She’s afraid of you. I don’t know the cause, but we can’t push her right now. I barely have control over her as it is. How is Valdimir?”

“He will live. His leg will take a while to heal, but he will live. Why isn’t she healing better than that? I can smell her blood.” That was someone else. I should know that voice too. He smelled like the one I’d killed. Maybe I needed to kill him too. I lunged again, but something held me back.

“Natalya, he is not your enemy.” It was the soft voice that held flames. I had to listen. I laid there trying to figure out what had happened. I didn’t think I could move even if I wanted to at this point. I wanted to shift again. I was afraid. There was something stopping me.

“Shhh, Natalya. It’s okay. We are here to help you.” It was the soothing one with the fire-blue eyes. I calmed.

He continued, “I smell something wrong with her blood. I am guessing that they drugged her. Is Valdimir conscious? Maybe he can tell us.” I wanted to know who and what this creature was. I wanted him to keep me safe. “Shhh. Rest, little sister,” he said to me.

“She was drugged and beaten pretty badly. I don’t know what they gave her, but it made her go berserk.” That was a different voice and it sounded strained. I wanted to get away from that voice. My heart started racing and I started fighting whatever was keeping me there.

I felt a hand go through my fur and stroke my cheek. “Easy there, Natalya. There is no need to worry. You are safe. No harm will come to you.”

I knew it was true. He would protect me. I calmed under his touch.

“Val, did she do that to you?”

“Yes Fane, she did, but I don’t even think she knew who I was when she went under. The pieces of corpse are what’s left of Andrei. She was too busy tearing him to pieces to bother with me.” I thought I heard relief in that voice.

“It looks like his little game turned on him then. Dek, could you go and find some kind of blanket or something for her? Dante, she’s losing too much blood. Would you be willing to part with some of yours? That should sustain her. Kali is still back at Madon’s. We need to get Natalya out of here.”

“Of course, Fane.” The voice was closer now. I tried to get away. I didn’t like the sound of what they had planned.

“Easy, Natalya.” Fane tried to soothe me.

I was beginning to get flashes of memories. I knew most of the voices. I smelled Radek when he came near. The smells and voices and names were falling into place in my mind. I had hurt Val. The thought horrified me. I needed to get away. But the one named Fane didn’t let me go. I didn’t know him. I could tell he wasn’t a vampire. He was some sort of werecreature. I couldn’t place it.

“Here, this should work. What do you mean when you said get her out of here? You aren’t taking her anywhere,” Radek growled out. I flinched away from the sound.

“You need to calm down; you’re making her worse. I’m using everything I have to keep her under. My sister has a strong mind. If she shifts right now, she might bleed out. I won’t be taking her far, just a place where Kali can work on her properly is all.” I flinched at the sound of his sharp voice. It struck like fire. Then I felt his hands on me. He was wrapping me in something. I was cradled in his arms now. I let my body hang.

 
“Dante, we need you now. I don’t think she is going to hold out much longer.” There was more urgency in his voice this time. The next thing I knew there was something warm dripping on my lips. I turned my head, trying to get away from it. A finger was put in my mouth to open it and I tried to bite down on it to stop it. Someone laughed. It was blood that was dripping into my mouth. I tried to get away, but his arms were like steel rods and I was weak.

“That should be enough,” Dante said.

“I’m going to get her out of here. You two take care of Val,” the one holding me said.

“There were two more vampires here
, but they escaped. Fane is right, she needs attention.” Val’s voice sounded stronger.

I really needed to get away from him. I’d hurt him.

“I don’t like it.” Radek’s voice made me cringe.

He would kill me for hurting Val. I knew it.

“Fane will take good care of her. She needs his help right now. They can take her by chopper and we can meet up with them later. Leave it be, Radek.” Val’s voice held a command.

I smelled Radek as he closed in, and an image of his face flashed in my mind. I was tired and wanted to rest. Then I felt his lips on my head. I heard his whispered words, “I will come for you, my love.”

I nestled deeper into the arms that held me. I was safe and whatever bad had happened was over. I could think about it later.

“Yes, little sister, it’s over. You can rest now. Nothing can happen to you while I’m near. You will survive this. For now, just sleep and heal.” Those were the last words I heard as I let sleep take me away.

Rest now, I thought. The fight is over.