Bound by Revenge (Guardian Series) (25 page)

“She’s there. And she’s ready for us.”

“We shouldn’t keep her waiting. You must be anxious to spend some time with her.” Sam knew that she wasn’t being fair. Vance didn’t have feelings for Morgan. He shouldn’t be blamed for what he’d done in his past. God knew that Sam would hate to face down every decision she’d ever make. But for some reason, she couldn’t stop herself from prodding the open wound that made her stomach turn every time it passed through her mind.

“This way.” Vance ignored her response and lead the way down the stairwell, and out onto the floor below. “They’re right in there.”

The door off to the right of the landing was closed tight. Not a single noise broke through, and Sam struggled to place each person inside.

Abby and Alex walked down the hall from the other direction. They met up with each other right in front of the door.

“There was no one the way we came.” Abby spoke as low as she could. “Everyone must be in there together.”

That’s what Sam had expected, but she had hoped that maybe they’d be able to take out a few stragglers on their way. They were heading into a trap otherwise there would have been people around, going about their business. This meant everyone would be waiting for them just beyond those doors.

There was nothing left to do now but charge in and face off against their enemies. 

Chapter Eighteen

Sam walked in first, despite Vance’s objections. She’d been doing this far too long to play the frail little girl hiding behind prince charming. No matter how cute prince charming really was or how nice it felt for someone to worry about her.

Everything in the room looked just like it had in her vision. The leanthans were waiting right behind the door, prepared to fight. Morgan was just a few feet off to the left. She stood relaxed, leaning against the wall. She even gave off an air of boredom like there were a million other things she’d rather be doing, things she could get back to as soon as she completed this one little errand. And in the back Sam saw the boy. It was the first time she’d seen Tom in real life. And, while her vision was vivid, it didn’t even begin to scratch the emotional surface of the group.

Tom was an attractive young man, bearing a similarity to the other men in his family that was just enough to identify them as relatives. She could tell from where she stood that his wrists were bound with metal chains and he was held in place by a rather large demon while another demon blocked the back entrance just to his side.

He was much worse for wear but somehow he managed to stay upright with a mental strength that overrode the physical pain and exhaustion. The spark of life, or maybe insanity, that emanated from his aura spoke volumes about the young man’s character and his iron will. He wasn’t going down without a fight. He held his shoulders back and his legs hips width apart. He was ready to take on anyone, despite the shackles. And his eyes, they had that same fire that blazed behind Abby’s.

The others filed into the large open room right in a tight line behind Sam, then fanned out to her sides. Vance loped across the room like an animal stalking his prey. His target, Morgan.

Arratta swung a heavy fist in Vance’s direction as he passed. Vance swatted him away without a flinch. He treated him more like a fly than an opponent. There was nothing that could pull his focus away. His tunnel vision ended only with Morgan.

And Sam wasn’t about to let Arratta get in any solid blows when her Vance was distracted. Vance would more than have his work cut out for him fighting Morgan. If he had to watch his back at the same time, he was guaranteed to lose. He’d never walk away from this room. And if he didn’t walk away from this, Sam would make sure none of the leanthans or demons did either.

In order to prevent that less than pleasant outcome, Sam would deal with Arratta and keep him distracted and far away from Vance. She’d even get to cause some damage in the process.

The head of the leanthan army knew how to fight. Really well. But so did Sam. And she had one thing going for her side. They were fighting for family. If Morgan thought the hostage would make them lose focus, she was dead wrong. Seeing Tom, tied up, beaten, who knows what else. It didn’t make them feel weak or helpless. It pissed ‘em off. And a pissed off guardian was a force to be reckoned with.

What were his knuckles made of titanium?
That’s all she could think when her body reeled at the first blow to her cheek. And the second one landed before she recovered from the first.

Not to be outdone, Sam returned the favor, and knocked him upside the jaw with enough force to throw him onto his back.

That half a second rest, with Arratta on his back on the ground, was enough time for Sam to check on the others. Abby and Alex could very well be in over their heads. It was their first time facing anything like this. There was no way to predict how they’d handle it.

Abby was just where Sam knew she’d be. Exactly as she’d seen it, Abby was off to her side, locked in her own fight with the other leanthan.

Abby’s opponent didn’t have as many centuries of battles under his belt that Sam’s did. Good thing for her, since neither did she. This was the first time she’d fought against an opponent who wasn’t interested in winning a medal or earning bragging rights to his friends. He actually wanted her dead. If he didn’t like her, that was fine. But she liked herself way too much to give in without a fight. And growing up with two brothers taught her a very important lesson, there was no shame in fighting dirty, as long as you won.

Big brother wasn’t about to let her go in unarmed. Alex had given her a few things on their way through the building as they headed downstairs. The first thing he had pulled out was a gun. “You can’t go into a fight like this without packin’ heat.” He told her. “Long range, Abby. Long range.” She knew better than to argue with Alex when it came to something like this. So she took the small silver gun from his hand and shoved it in the back of her pants.

He took a much larger black one for himself. Probably because he thought it looked cool. It had to have been Vance’s. Alex didn’t own a single fire arm. Either way, she was sure that neither she nor Alex would use the guns. For all their training, they’d never spent a second on how to use a gun. She knew the basics. What she’d learned from watching movies and TV. But she had a feeling it wouldn’t come as easy as they made it seem.

The second weapon he handed her was a black and silver knife. It actually looked a lot like the ones she used at home to cut her food. Good for cutting steak, spreading butter, other mundane daily tasks. Nothing about it said superhuman warrior. She hadn’t wanted the damn thing but Alex shoved it through her belt loop. He said she needed a backup weapon. Just in case.

“If all your other weapons get knocked out of your hands, what are you gonna do? Scratch their eyes out.” He said to her.

Her last weapon was the one she’d chosen for herself. A xiphos, an iron sword with a blade just under two feet long. Really cool and indescribably deadly.

Abby’s skill with a sword rivaled anyone she’d ever faced. And the thick, leaf-shaped blade of the xiphos gave her the power she loved and the range of motion she needed to gain the upper-hand against these trained warriors. This weapon was as much for fun as it was for function.

This was the weapon she pulled out for her faceoff with Leus. She held the sword diagonally across her chest in a defensive stance and stared down her opponent. In her mind, she flipped through all the papers she’d read about him. She knew he was the leanthan’s second in command and that he was a rebel who followed his own path. He was the kind of guy she’d never be able to get a definitive read on. Anticipating his movements would be a challenge.

They were all great reasons to pull back and reconsider or to find a safer way out of this. Seeing Tom in her periphery destroyed that option. And if they’d harmed him in any way, she was going to kill them all. These were the ones who’d taken him. They kidnapped him from right under their noses. The guardians were supposed to protect the whole world and they hadn’t even been able to protect their blood.
I’ll make up for that
, she thought and let the air out of her lungs through her bared teeth in a hard huff, then charged.

Lifting the sword high above her head and holding it in both hands, she covered the ground between them in two strides and brought the sword down with all of her strength. The air whistled as the sword cut through. The force was enough that she’d have decapitated the leanthan had he not rolled out of the way in time.

Leus landed in a low crouch. A position he planned on taking full advantage of. He pounced up at the woman in front of him, threw her to the ground and knocked the sword from her grasp. A fury’s scream slipped through the woman’s lips and she fought hard to break his hold from her legs so she could reach her weapon.

His strength won out and he was able to keep his grip. Only because she had yet to reach her full potential as a guardian. The same battle would have had a completely different result had it occurred two weeks later. Give it another year, she’d take ‘em all out single handedly.

Her nails dug into the floor. She splintered both as Leus dragged her back into battle. In a frantic attempt to get free, Abby thrashed her legs and finally landed a solid kick to Leus’ mouth. Blood poured out over the edge of his lips. He spit on the floor in disgust and wiped the trail from his face.

Stupid move, letting her go. Getting a hold of her was a lucky break. It wasn’t something he could duplicate.

Alex waited until the others were fighting to sneak past them and head across the room. He knew the plan. One of them had to go after Tom. To make sure that the demons and leanthans didn’t kill him while the rest of them were fighting. These weren’t the most trustworthy beings. Especially the demons. And, even though he knew how dangerous it would be, Alex volunteered for the job. There was no one else he’d trust to save his brother. And he’d never be able to forgive himself if he shirked such an important responsibility and left a stranger to do what family should do.

The others might as well be banging against a brick wall for all the damage either side seemed to be doing. And that was fine for him. He didn’t care if the leanthans died or not. He just wanted to get Tom back safely and then to get everyone to safety and from where he stood, the only thing standing in his way was a couple of burly demons.

Before he could reach the far end of the room, a large pissed off looking leanthan slipped through the back door that the demon was blocking.

“You need to get through me first. And I’ll be dead before that happens.” The words rumbled out of the stranger’s mouth. He hadn’t been a part of their studies. But it didn’t make him any less dangerous.

“Whatever you say. I aim to please.” Alex’s lighthearted sarcasm struck the leanthan off guard. But Tom smiled in response.

“Glad to see me, baby brother?” Alex looked over the leanthan’s shoulder at Tom.

“Couldn’t be happier. Well, I guess I could’ve been happier if you showed up a little earlier.” The playful banter was remarkably out of place in such a serious environment. The boys had always communicated solely in the ancient language of sarcasm. Alex was happy to see Tom’s sense of humor ruled out even facing death.

For Tom, there was no one in the world he’d be happier to see in front of him. And no one in the world he’d trust more to save him.

He’d seen Alex fight before. Hundreds of times over the years. And how many times had he lost? None. Not once, ever. He won every single competition, every match. And he did it without breaking a sweat. Alex was competitive to the core. In everything he did.

Tom just hoped today wouldn’t mark his first loss. These guys weren’t your average black belts. Sure, they were trained to fight, but they had some real muscle behind that skill.

“You should give me a little more credit. You honestly think you can take me hand to hand?” Marius sneered at the guardian.

“I brought weapons.” Alex said nonchalantly. “I just thought we’d have a little fun first.”

And all it took was a quick kick, landing his heel on Marius’s kneecap. And Marius was on the floor grabbing his leg and screaming in pain.