The Sacrifice (22 page)

A
tall figure came toward the bars. The light shown down on a face that wasn
’
t
identical, but strangely similar to Cy
’
s. Except for the
eyes. Where Cy
’
s were a luminous blue, this man
’
s
were tenebrous, the color of night, merciless and cold. Malevolence radiated
from him as if it were a palpable, living being. As realization dawned, Riana
’
s
heart rode up her throat like a taxi with opened doors.

Vind.

His nostrils flared. His sharp
inhalation pulled in her rising fear, apparent by the cruel tilt of his mouth
that followed.

Riana
glared at Mr. Connors. “What is this? You lied about the unconscious guard,
didn
’
t you?” As she turned to leave, he darted in front
of her and grabbed her arm.

Alarm turned into panic, and she
jerked from his grip. “Mr. Connors, you had better get out of my way!” Her
voice boomed inside the cells as if she had screamed over a loud speaker.

“Please,
you have to listen to him,” Mr. Connors pleaded. “I
’
m
sorry Miss Martin, but I had no choice. He has my family. He
’
ll
kill them if I don
’
t do what he says. Please, you have to listen.”

“Stop your sniveling, Connors,” Vind said, never taking his eyes
off Riana. “Well, well, you possess a bit of fire in your blood. I
’
ve watched you and my brother for
quite some time. I must say, he definitely has good taste.”

As
Riana stood face to face with Cy
’
s twin, her knees shook from the surge of
adrenaline coursing through her system. He had looked like a boy when she
’
d
seen him through Cy
’
s memories during their blood exchanges. What
stood before her now was a cold, menacing feeder. His dark eyes were proof he
’
d
been an addict for a long time. “What do you want?” she snapped. Her temper was
her way of hiding fear.

“I
have a proposition for you, my dear.” Vind
’
s deep voice vibrated
and echoed against the walls. He sounded more like a proper English gentleman
than the murdering dictator he was.

“I
’
m
not interested in
anything
you have to say.”

“You
might want to rethink that remark.” Vind glanced at his watch. “Especially if
you want Cygan and Ozeas to live for another…oh, let
’
s
say, ten minutes. Cy has returned and is in Ozeas
’
office.
The two of them are planning my demise, no doubt. Mr. Connors’ nephew is about
to deliver them a refreshment. He
’
s outside their office awaiting instructions as to
whether or not he should add a very fast-acting poison to their tea, which
instantly stops the heart.”

“There
is no poison that will kill us. I
’
m a doctor, and I am not stupid. They will
recover, unless he
’
s planning to get close enough to remove their
head, or drain two deadly Protectors. And I really don
’
t
see that happening.”

“They
will be incapacitated long enough to completely dismember them both, if I give
him the order. That depends on your actions, my dear. I
’
m
sure you
’
ve heard enough about me to know I don
’
t
make idle threats.” Vind rocked back on his heels, and crossed his arms. If you
refuse to do as I ask, they will both be dead long before you reach them with
warning.” He cocked his head to the side. “Just think of it, the man you love,
the father you never knew. It
’
s all very sad. Don
’
t
you agree?”

Heat
flooded Riana
’
s cheeks. She tilted her head up and looked him in
the eye. “What is it you want from me?”

Vind leaned in closer to the bars. “I want
you, love, what else? You and I will walk out of those gates together. Shortly
thereafter, you will become my queen, and give birth to my heir.”

In
spite of being scared out of her wits, Riana burst into laughter. “You
are
delusional. Why would you want such a thing? You don
’
t
love me, and I certainly don
’
t love you. I never will, no matter what you
believe you can force me to do, you…you…
homicidal maniac.
”

Vind pinned her with a hard stare.
“Love has absolutely nothing to do with this, little girl. It will suffice to
say, my brother is living a life meant for me. I refuse to allow him to be
happy while he does it. He took what was mine. From beneath his nose, I will
take what he loves most. His life-mate.”

“That makes no sense,” Riana snapped.

A
vein bulged in Vind
’
s forehead as cold, uncaring eyes bore through
her.

“I want an answer
now,
Riana. I will not argue this with you any
longer. What is it going to be? Are your father and life-mate to live, or die?”

“How
do I know you won
’
t kill them anyway?”

“You have my word. As long as you
cooperate, they will remain unharmed.”

“And
I
’
m supposed to just take your word for it.” Riana
’
s
eyes darted down the hallway.

Where
on earth are the guards?
She looked at Mr. Connors’ pleading
eyes, and his gaze shifted to the floor. His shame and fear were overwhelming.

“No one is here to help you,” Vind
said.”

She
stiffened her back and stared the monster in his heartless eyes. She refused to
give Vind the satisfaction of seeing fear consume her with each passing moment.
Somehow, he knew she would never take a chance with the lives of those she
loved. She felt like a child, defeated in a war of wills. But there would be
guards and Protectors outside. As soon as they laid eyes on Vind, they
’
d
shoot him. She
’
d probably die in the process. At least the
commotion would stop Cy and her father from being served that tea. “All right,
I will go with you, as long as no one gets hurt.”

“I need your word,” Vind demanded.
“When we get outside, if you get the bright idea to start screaming, or run, I
will simply take out as many innocent people as possible. Do you understand?”

Riana
took a deep breath, her face a mask of disgust. “You have my word,” she said
between clenched teeth. “If you think I have some kind of pull around here, I
don
’
t. The guards will not allow us to walk out those
gates.”

“Do
not worry your pretty little head about that. I would have never allowed myself
to be captured without the ability to escape. Like I said, I will walk out of
here right by your side. By the time they figure it out, we will be long gone.
I have very smart people on my payroll. You
’
ll meet them all
soon. After all, you will be their queen.”

 Riana
’
s
pulse quickened and bile rose at the thought of being queen to a bunch of
murdering, raping, psychopaths.

Mr.
Connors unlocked the cell door. “I
’
m really sorry, Miss
Martin. I would never do this, but I love my family.” He desperately searched
her face for some sign of understanding, or maybe it was forgiveness. Riana
looked away, unable to give him either. Even though his reasons for doing this
were no different from hers.

Mr.
Connors pulled an electronic device from his pocket and removed Vind
’
s
anti-transport bracelets. Then he removed a clear packet with a white powdery
substance and handed it to Vind.

Vind
opened the packet and placed the powder under his tongue. “Riana, in about
thirty seconds I will disappear. Do
not
make the mistake of thinking I
’
m
not here and do something stupid. You will feel my hand around your elbow. When
we leave here, we will walk straight for the gate. Do not look at or speak to
anyone. If you do, I will not hesitate to kill you both. Even if you die, I
will continue with my plan to poison Cy and Oz. Only then, it will include the
rest of the compound. If I were you, I
’
d be very careful.
Once we
’
re outside the gate, I
’
ll
transport us to our next destination.”

Riana
’
s
heart pounded in her ears. If she made it out of this alive, it
’
d
be a miracle. Vind began to fade before her eyes.
Oh, my God, he really can
disappear.
She strained to see a trace of his form. A few moments later, he
was completely invisible. She started, when he took hold of her hand. An unseen
voice near her ear said. “Take off that ring and place it on the cot.”

“No!” She jerked her hand from his
grip and squeezed her fingers into a tight fist.

Two incredibly strong hands grabbed
her wrist.

“You can remove it, or I can break
your finger and remove it myself.”

She swallowed the lump in her throat,
opened her hand and watched helplessly as her beautiful ring slid from her
finger. It flew across the cell and landed on the cot, as if her entire life
had slipped from her grasp. He took hold of her arm and guided her from the
building. Her entire body shook from another surge of adrenaline.

“You
need to control your emotions, Riana. If you draw attention to yourself and
someone stops you, whoever you speak to
will
die. Their deaths will be
on you. No one will know what
’
s happening until it is too late. To everyone
around, it will appear as if they fell over dead for no apparent reason,” he
said, as calmly as if he were talking about the weather.

Riana
looked around for Mr. Connors, but he was no longer there. She had a bad
feeling about his family. Even though he held up his end of the bargain in
order to free them, they were more than likely dead already. Maybe he should
have sat through a class on the history of their race. Then he would
’
ve
known exactly who he was dealing with.

As they walked outside, Riana willed
her knees not to give way.

If
I fall, he will kill me. If I speak to anyone, he will kill us both.
She glanced around. Only a few students remained,
waiting to be taken home. A small group walked toward the courtyard, laughing
as if they didn
’
t have a care in the world. Riana dropped her
gaze, afraid if their eyes met, they
’
d read her fear. She
picked up the pace and prayed no one noticed.

Suddenly,
Lily
’
s small form jumped in front of Riana, forcing her
to stop or trip over the child.

“Hi,
Riana. You sure are in a hurry. Where
’
re you going?”

Riana
’
s
breath locked in her chest, and her pulse bound at a dizzying rate.

Oh,
God, please no
. Riana
attempted to go around her without saying anything. She
’
d
been around Lily enough to know it wouldn
’
t work.

“Move
Lily, I
’
m in a hurry!” Riana said in a stern voice. “I
have to go into town.”

“Can I come? I want to go shopping
with you again, pleeeease?”

She
and Cy had taken Lily shopping so she could get used to Riana being around.
Lily still intended to marry Cy when she grew up. “No, not today, honey. We
’
ll
go another day. Now run along.” Riana started toward the gate again.

Vind
’
s
grip tightened on her arm and pulled her to a stop.

“Please
don
’
t.” Riana said quietly, afraid he was about to
kill Lily. “She
’
s only a child.”

“I
’
m
not,” he whispered, hot breath hitting her ear. “We are taking her with us.”

“No!” she whispered, turning to look
at nothing but knowing exactly where he was. “I refuse.”

His other hand circled her throat and squeezed.
“You do not have that option, Riana. You will bring her with us, or you both
die. Right here, right now.”

“If
you harm her, you
’
ll never get out of those gates alive.”

“You
cannot kill someone who
’
s not there,” he said, his tone smug. “Now move or
you both will be taking your last breath in about two seconds.”