Blood Chained (Dark Siren Book 3) (29 page)

Chapter 41

The kin doubled back twice and still failed to pick up Bailen’s scent. It was as if he had disappeared into thin air. But that was both unlikely and impossible.

They’re going to take me soon. It has to happen.

Bailen hadn’t vanished. Builders had taken him, and they had to figure out where.

“They have him, York.”

“Okay. Whoa.” York held a hand up. “Let’s exhaust every possibility before we jump to the worst conclusion possible.”

Kali fidgeted impatiently. She had to move, do
something
. “This is a waste of time.”

“I don’t think it is.” York took her by the shoulders. “Dmiri said Bailen has been visiting their den pretty often. He could be there. It wouldn’t be the first time. Ian’s pack isn’t far from here, so we should check with the kindred first. If nothing else, maybe one of them saw something and can point us in the right direction before we go running off in the wrong one half-cocked.”

“But what if he’s not there? He’s counting on me. I was supposed to protect him.”

York’s expression was pained. “Okay,” he said, regrouping. Kali could see the different plan taking shape even as he spoke. “How about this? I’ll take Matt and Rion to find Ian. Orrin will keep trying to track Bailen from here. We’ll widen your search and find that scent no matter what. Either way, let’s touch base in half an hour and see where things are. Kali, go with Orrin.” York took a breath, searching her eyes. “How does that sound?”

Swallowing hard, she nodded. “Thank you.”

York squeezed her shoulder. “He’s my family too, kiddo.”

Following York’s instructions, the two groups separated to resume the search. One hour later, the hunt continued with still no sign of Bailen. York had called to report Bailen wasn’t with the kindred. Now even he believed that Bailen was really missing.

York, Matthias, and Rion returned to the river to begin tracking in the opposite direction. As soon as any clue was found, the successful party was to once again phone the other. Several hours into the hunt, it was Orrin who finally caught the scent.

“I got him,” he announced suddenly, making Kali’s heart leap. “Call York. Tell him we’re next to the interstate out of Sumter National Park, just past Hwy 72.”

York answered on the second ring. She relayed the information exactly as Orrin had given it.

“Are you sure it’s him?” he asked.

“Yes, dammit. I’m sure,” Orrin answered tensely and loud enough so Kali had no need to repeat it.

“Okay, okay,” York said quickly. He exhaled. “We’ve still got nothing on this end. Looks like we’ll be coming to you.”

Orrin started moving again. Kali hurried after him but stopped when the phone began to crackle. “York,  I don’t think we can’t wait.”

“I understand. Do what you have to. We’ll get there as soon as we can.” He paused. “Hang on a second…I don’t believe it.”

“Kali, we have to go,” Orrin called. “This scent is at least three hours old.”

Moving toward Orrin, she kept the line open. “I’ve got to hang up, York.” Every step she took splintered the connection between them.

“Kali…wait. Kali…you’re breaking…”

She shook her head though York couldn’t see her. “It’s okay. I have to go. Orrin thinks we’re running out of time.”

Swearing, York said he would call back. Or at least that’s what Kali thought he’d said through all the static.

Orrin held out a hand as she ran toward him. His firm hold was greatly appreciated through the struggle up the steep incline. Beyond it, the highway lay only a few feet away.

“We need a car, something fast,” he said while surveying the roadway. “There is no way we can catch up on foot.”

“I’m sure there are houses nearby.” She pointed to the twenty foot sound barrier that started less than a quarter mile ahead. “Those walls are built to block highway noise in residential areas. Houses mean cars.” Kali chewed her lip. “And this is the south,” she added. “Plenty of people still leave the keys inside with the doors unlocked. Maybe we’ll get lucky.” 

“Your idea is good, but time consuming. We must be more reckless.”

Kali raised an eyebrow. Orrin and reckless just didn’t belong in the same sentence. Failing to notice her uncertainty or choosing to ignore it, he knelt to the pavement. “When I say now, I want you to set a blaze five meters wide across this roadway.”

Before Kali could get clarification on the conversion of meters to feet, Orrin said the signal word, and it was show time.

“
Bralemar
,” she whispered with outstretched hands, making her flames appear. Only it was a clumsy thin line of gray fire that barely reached the opposite side of the highway. Orrin’s fingers flexed at his knee, but his attention remained fixed on the road. “More, Kali.”

“Gimme a sec,” she squeaked in embarrassment. Closing her eyes, Kali deepened her concentration. “
Styganna lumas
,” she commanded and the roadway exploded into an inferno she hoped measured five meters. Kali glanced at Orrin for approval, but there was no need. The ensemble of screeching brakes that ensued was confirmation enough.

A pickup lost control midway through a ski but managed to keep all four tires on the asphalt. The sedan behind it wasn’t so fortunate. Veering partially into the grass, the car chewed up turf and rock, spewing debris from its undercarriage. When the driver overcorrected, the sedan went careening in the other direction, rocking wildly before slamming into the concrete barrier.

Kali shouted Orrin’s name, concerned someone had been seriously hurt. But Orrin had already jumped into action and reached the car in seconds. Ripping a damaged door right off its hinges, he pulled two people from the wreckage—a young man and woman—and gently positioned them side by side on the ground. “They’re alive,” he called and trotted back to her position. “The female has minor injuries. The boy will need a hospital, but he will otherwise be fine.”

People everywhere were beginning to emerge, stepping from their vehicles with varying degrees of confusion and fear. But the driver of a sports car, the second vehicle to stop, wore an expression of fury. Climbing out of his seat, he stalked toward a middle-aged couple who drove the rather large RV he’d narrowly avoided colliding into. The wife screamed as the man shoved her husband, but her alarm was premature. Her husband countered with a swing that put the much younger man cheek to pavement.

Orrin took Kali’s arm and drew her along behind the gathering crowd. Between the fist fight and fire, no one took notice as they slipped into the vacated sports car. Kali didn’t know much about cars but from the pristine white paint job, flashy red leather interior, and the borderline maniacal grin that came across Orrin’s face as he revved the idling engine, she figured the ride they were about to steal was a pretty nice one.

Coaxing the engine into another throaty growl, Orrin pointed the car toward the fire ahead. “You should put that out now.”

Kali waved her hand. “
Orrece
,” she said, telling the blaze to stop before they passed through it. She looked over her shoulder at the chaos they’d created and then at Orrin. “I can’t believe we just stole a car.”

Finally reaching a satisfying speed, Orrin settled the engine into sixth gear. “This isn’t just a car, Kali. It’s a supercar. That purr you hear is the sweet labor of over six hundred horses.”

“Okay. I can’t believe we just stole a
super
car.”

“We’re not stealing.”

“Oh really? Because this really feels like grand theft to me.”

“It’s only stealing when you do not return things. Think of what we are doing as long-term borrowing.”

“Right.” Kali really didn’t have moral objections to any of the events behind them. She was willing to do whatever was necessary to get Bailen back, even if that meant skirting or breaking a few laws.

After the adrenaline wore off, her mood sobered, and she was back to worrying. It helped that she had never witnessed Orrin so excited by anything so material. The plaid-loving kin was typically the stoic and responsible guy, leaving impetuous endeavors to the other young kin. Clearly, all it took was a ridiculous amount of horsepower to change that.

“War is going to be so jealous,” he said and dropped the car into fifth gear, rocketing the speedometer well into the triple digits.

Chapter 42

For over two hundred miles, they raced down the interstate at terrifying speeds. Wind roared through the open driver’s side window, making continued tracking of Bailen’s scent possible and conversation impossible. Kali was confident in Orrin’s driving ability. No doubt the quick reflexes and heightened senses the kin possessed could have qualified them as world famous racecar drivers. But it was unsettling to see scenery whip by at a velocity that made it practically invisible and how other vehicles seemed to be at a stand still.

Without warning, Orrin downshifted and applied the brakes. The car slid sideways for several long moments and then Orrin was hitting the accelerator again, slinging their trajectory into the opposite direction and off the exit ramp. In one smooth sequence, he threw the gear to neutral, yanked the emergency brake, and hopped out. Kali scrambled after him.

He was already several yards away. “What is it?” she called.

Abruptly, he turned and came back. Both his stride and expression were all business. “They got out here. Call York. Give him the mile marker.”

Kali quickly dialed the number. York answered just as she was sliding into the passenger seat again. “We’re taking the county road for the Cooper Ridge exit.” Gravel crunched beneath the tires as Orrin steered the car off pavement. From there, the ride got much bumpier. 

“Okay. If we cut through the mountains from our position, we’ll be under an hour behind you guys. Put me on speaker, Kali.”

She pressed a button and the speakers crackled with every nuance of sound in the background. But York’s voice rang through the static loud and clear. “Orrin, I need an update.”

They were in the woods now. Literally steering through trees, the supercar struggled over terrain it was never meant to conquer.

“Whoever has Bailen, they left the highway here. Service road access is ahead, but I’m ditching the car because can we be faster and quieter on foot from here on.”

“Do you expect trouble?”

Orrin hesitated. “I do.”

“I don’t like it. Stand down.”

“York—”

“That’s an order. Hide your transport and wait for us. We’re bringing reinforcements.”

The line went dead. Orrin quietly swore under his breath.

“So that’s it then, huh? We wait.”

Orrin nodded. “We follow orders.” Switching to neutral again, he turned the ignition off. “At least that gives us time to do a little recon. C’mon,” he said, rounding to her side of the car in a flash of movement.

“I thought York said to stand down.”

“We won’t move on anything, only get more information. I can’t be sure from this distance, but I picked up the scent of at least half a dozen men out there.”

“That doesn’t make me feel good.”

“I know. Me either. I cannot sit here anymore than you can. We should at least find out what we’re up against while we wait.” Orrin’s mouth twitched into a slight smile at the mention of waiting. Then he began pushing the car deeper into the woods. Kali was careful to stay close. The darkness was growing lighter, but her weaker eyesight was next to useless beneath the thick covering of trees that moonlight could not reach beyond.

Covering the car in a layer of leafy branches, Orrin was at last pleased enough with the hiding spot to lead Kali away. Once on the service road, she could navigate easily on her own. Light from a waning moon penetrated the thinner foliage and lit a clear path for her feet. Time ticked by at a maddening rate, marked by the chirping of crickets, croaking of bullfrogs, and the call of at least one hoot owl. But all of it was drowned out by the silence stretching between her and Orrin.

With a closed fist, he signaled for her to stop. She noticed the gesture in barely enough time to avoid ramming into the back of his heels. “The smell is stronger,” Orrin said, almost too low for her to hear. “Stay quiet.”

She angled her feet sideways as they moved forward again, concentrating on making as little noise as possible. That ambition became easier once they left the graveled roadway. Down a shallow ditch and through a small crop of pine trees, they found it. Apparently Bailen’s kidnappers had the same idea of hiding their abandoned vehicle. Only instead of a supercar, these nameless villains had used a semi tractor.

Orrin grabbed the corner of a heavy tarp covering the long trailer and lifted it partly away, revealing a company logo Kali didn’t recognize. The western hemisphere of a world globe adorned with multi-colored and crisscrossing bands was nestled in the corner of an otherwise white canvas.

“Seem familiar?” Orrin asked.

Kali shook her head.

“Let’s check the back.”

Wincing when he broke the lock sealing the cargo doors, Kali tried not fret about the potential consequences of leaving any evidence of tampering. Discovering the empty cargo area did little to deter Orrin. Jumping inside, he turned and offered Kali a hand up.

“Do you feel that?” he whispered.

“Yeah,” she answered softly. Her voice was filled with wonder even to her own ears. The atmosphere inside the trailer was like nothing she’d ever experienced before. It felt heavier, pressing from all around, above and below. Hairs along her arms and scalp tingled as they lifted were away from her skin by some invisible force. “Can I use a light?”

“We are shielded here. I don’t think it will cause harm.”

Fumbling her cell from her pocket, Kali selected an application that was essentially a virtual flashlight. Powerful for its size, but a complete battery drainer, the beam illuminated something extraordinary.

Orrin dropped to his knees for a closer look, and Kali quickly followed. “Whoa,” she said.

“Yeah,” he agreed.

Floating above the floor were things that should have rested on the floor—dust particles, paper scraps, a few random screws—all levitating in a thin layer of debris. “Static electricity?” Kali suggested but didn’t believe the idea even as she said it.

“I don’t know.” Orrin plucked a screw from the air and studied it. “Whatever this is, maybe Rion will understand it.”

“What about Bailen?”

“He was here, Kali. He was definitely here.”

#

Wesley got the call after four in the morning. He was in bed, resting soundly despite the recent atrocity he’d committed. But the blaring ringer stole that peace away. As he turned over and opened his eyes, he again became aware of the monster he was becoming. He wanted to call Kali and apologize for barging into the manor and attacking her friends. He wanted to tell her he was sorry, that he should not have been so angry with her, that it was he who should have been a better friend and helped returned Rhane to her safely. But what was the point? Wesley could apologize. But then he would have to turn around and hurt her all over again. Because only a child of her blood could end this war.

Tsai’s voice reached across from an unknown location and from an equally unknown distance. “Have they found the child?”

Rubbing sleep from his eyes, he suppressed a yawn. Like the regret he suffered, yawning was a very human thing to do. “No. But the siren is on the trail. Misha and Denali watch from afar.”

“Are you sure this plan will work, Wesley? The destruction of that facility is crucial to decelerate the human threat.”

“At least one of ours will have to attack in order to sell this. But it will work. I am certain.”

“And Banewolf?”

“We will strip the immortal from his bones as we did with Gabriel the Fallen. The child will succeed him, and he will become invincible.” Wesley told himself that his conviction remained resolute, so why then was his heart squeezed by the guilt of betrayal? Builders do not have hearts, he told himself.
Builders do not feel.
“Where is Rhane?”

“Do you mean Banewolf?”

Though the question had been asked with complete neutrality, Wesley hastily stood from his bed. His heart hammered frantically within his chest. It was careless to speak of the immortal so informally. “Yes. Of course I meant Banewolf.”

“You sound strange, Wesley. Is everything alright?”

“Yes. I’m fine.”

Tsai hesitated. “Banewolf is en route…sooner than we would have liked. Asmahani and Eurico were destroyed in delaying him. But their sacrifice was not in vain. Our plan will succeed, brother.”

“We will succeed,” Wesley echoed and closed his eyes.
Kalista will never forgive me.

#

York, Rion, and Matthias arrived at the tree line, exchanging wolf forms for their human ones as they stepped out of the forest. Orrin and Kali waited nearby and came forward to greet them but stopped short. York already knew why.

“What is he doing here?” Kali demanded.

Feeling guilty as hell, York glanced at Gabriel. “I called him.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “We might be going up against Builders tonight. After what happened at the manor with Wesley, I figured we could use a little extra fire power on our side. And no one has a bigger grudge against them than this guy.” He didn’t mention that River, who was their best tracker, was indefinitely unavailable.

Kali’s glare didn’t ease up. York couldn’t blame her. He wouldn’t stick his neck out and call the fallen Prime an ally even on a good day. Ian was a different species, but York trusted the kindred alpha a thousand times more and would have preferred to bring him along. Unfortunately, Ian was tied up with his own affairs, such as safeguarding his den from the inevitable revenge of Erebus’s sister.

The latest stunt Gabriel had pulled wasn’t helping either. York had no idea why he could possibly be targeting Kali’s adoptive sister, Rosalyn. Yeah, Gabriel had a mate once. She hadn’t survived the Great War. And Gabriel’s capacity for love either died with her or during his entombment. Not that Gabriel loved Rozzy. York wouldn’t take it that far. No doubt the human girl served some obscure purpose in Gabriel’s twisted mind. York just hoped they would find out what that purpose was before it was too late.

He held his breath, waiting for Kali to launch either a verbal or physical attack. But the girl literally bit her tongue. The resolve to play good soldier was plainly written on her face. York was relieved. Though justified, it wasn’t the time or place to start a war with Gabriel. There was a good chance the fallen Prime could help get Bailen back. Tonight the war was with Builders. 

Looking directly at Kali, Gabriel inclined his head graciously. “Darkesong,” he said.

Kali returned the greeting in a voice that dripped with forced civility. “Hello, Gabriel.”

York looked at Orrin. He got the message, immediately turning to lead them into the forest. At a cautious but steady pace, they reached the deserted semi tractor fifteen minutes later. It was carefully nestled within a small cropping of pine trees. A heavy green and tan tarp draped over it for added camouflage.

After making sure the scene was safe, they approached the semi. Kali and Orrin had carefully covered their tracks, but York knew the two had already searched the site, despite his orders. Now it was York’s turn to bite his tongue. It wasn’t the time or place.