Survival -Guardians of Vesturon [1] (34 page)

He glanced over at Red and saw her squiggling and squirming, trying to get those ropes loose. He wouldn’t put anything past her. She’d survived more than anyone else he’d come across, so he wasn’t taking any chances. He knew exactly how to keep her still. He reached for his crossbow and saw her eyes widen. This was the part he loved the best. He walked up to her and from six feet away, fired a shot right at one of her quadriceps. It went straight through flesh and muscle, scraping bone as it passed through her leg and embedded in the ground beneath her, effectively trapping her.

Her muffled screams were like a symphony to his ears. He could hear his commanding officer congratulating him on his exceptional shot.

Now for round two; he narrowed his eyes as he looked at her closely to determine where his next shot should be. He didn’t want a kill shot, just one that would let her know who was boss. He decided to put one right beneath the clavicle. He let it fly and the arrow went clear through, impaling her to the tree. Red was now trapped and wouldn’t be going anywhere; not for awhile, he thought as he snickered to himself.

Maddie felt the racking pain of the first shot. Her nerve endings were ultra sensitive from her earlier adrenaline surge, but the shot from the crossbow was searing. She felt it rip though the tissue and muscle of her leg, crunching by bone and crucifying her to the ground. Even the slightest movement would send currents of pain roaring through her. When the second shot came, her hold on her sanity began to crumble. Thankfully, the darkness came and enfolded its soft cloak around her.

Darryl was miffed at her for passing out during his little party. He backhanded her across the cheek to awaken her but had no luck. She was out; maybe some water would do the trick. He took one of his CamelBak bladders and started squirting water in her face. He saw her eyes finally flutter open. That was good thing because he wanted to have a bit more fun with Red.

“How do you like our little game here, Red? Come on. You need to stay awake because the fun is just getting started.”

Maddie heard someone whimpering and wondered who was making that noise. Minutes passed by before it occurred to her that the pitiful whines were coming from her. She tried to beg for her life, but the duct tape muffled her words. She had nothing left, nothing to bargain with, or for.

She desperately started to think about Rayn. She remembered somehow, in her delirium, he said he would always hear her. She simply had to think of him. And she did. She thought of everything that had taken place. She begged him to find her. The thoughts kept repeating themselves in her brain, over and over.

The pain was distorting her thoughts. She started hallucinating, thinking she was with her parents. Then clarity returned. She never knew pain could take you to these depths; she must surely be in hell. Tears were streaming down her face, but her mind regained its intense focus on Rayn.

Please find me, Rayn! I don’t think I can hold on much longer! My mind is slipping, and he’s going to kill me! Rayn, please find me
, her thoughts screamed out.

Over and ever her thoughts continued until she lost consciousness again.

This scene kept repeating itself. Maddie passing out, and Darryl Carter waking her up. He didn’t seem to tire of it because he reveled in the pain he was causing her.

He loved the fact that she was at his mercy and couldn’t wait for her to beg. That was his favorite part; it made him feel so important, like he
was
someone
. He was going to feel especially proud tonight when Red begged.

Darryl Carter finally reached the point where he was ready to hear her voice, wanted to hear her pleas for her life. This part tickled him to no end. Like she thought that would work! Oh well, he thought, let’s not spoil all the fun.

He yanked the duct tape off her mouth, and she started screaming and screaming. He thought she’d be too weak to scream, but then again, this one was just full of surprises. He backhanded her again, putting all his strength into his swing, just to shut her up for a minute. He was astounded at how loud she was. Her head snapped back and bounced off the tree. Darryl briefly wondered if her killed her then, for the blow sounded as if it had cracked her skull. He thought he would try to revive her again with his little water trick.

As soon as the water hit her, Red started screaming again. Bam, another smack across the face. Darryl was in his element. Now this was starting to turn into his kind of fun. What he wanted her to do though, was to start begging for her life. That was his favorite part.

Suddenly, Red pinned him with those topaz-colored doe eyes of hers, and he practically had to leap back. Her eyes were spewing so much hatred he could feel it all around him. Darryl didn’t understand how, but he knew she had some kind of power in those eyes. The hairs on the back of Darryl’s neck rose to attention. For a minute, he knew if she wasn’t tied to that tree, he would be afraid of her. If given the chance, he knew without a doubt she’d kill him.

Somehow, she mustered up the strength to ask him in a hoarse whisper, “Why are you doing this to me? What did I ever do to you?”

“Let me see. How about this: I love your red hair? Or, how about you got in my way? Or maybe, wrong place, wrong time? Anyway, I’ve been ordered to kill you. So that’s really the why of it.”

“Who ordered you to kill me?” she croaked incredulously.

“My commanding officer, that’s who.”

Maddie realized then he was not only cruel but also insane. There would be no getting out of this one. It was the end of the line.

Darryl Carter watched her think. He knew she was trying to figure out a way to get out of this. Another smack and that might change her mind.

He backhanded her again and watched the blood trickle out of her the corner of her mouth. Her blood was smeared all over her face by now, and her left eye was swollen shut. Her other eye was still spewing out the hatred though, and he was a little more than freaked out by it. He decided he’d have to take care of that. He pulled off a length of duct tape and taped over her good eye, effectively sealing off her vision.

“No! Please, will you please take that off, I don’t like not being able to see,” she begged. “Please?”

“That won’t matter much because in a little bit, you won’t need to see anymore.”

“Please, don’t kill me. I’ll do anything you ask. I won’t say a word or scream or anything,” she whispered, now barely able to speak at all.

“Naw, it doesn’t matter anymore. Your time is about up here.”

“Please…”

He walked up to her and kicked at her leg. She let out a hoarse scream. Her breath was coming in short little pants now, and her head was lolling side to side. Darryl was in heaven, absolute heaven. Red had sure been a tough one, but now he was getting what he’d been waiting for. He decided he’d had enough of her screams though, so he taped her mouth again.

Maddie put all her thoughts into Rayn.

“
This is it, Rayn. I don’t have much longer. Please hear me. I don’t know if I can take any more of this. Please, Rayn, please hear me. I don’t know where I am, but I have to be close to Sharra. You have to hear me. Please, hear me. Rayn, you have to hear me now! HELP ME!
”

His quarters, as his parents and the Council referred to them, were well appointed, offering him every amenity and convenience he could possibly want. Still, Rayn paced around the room like a caged animal. He was imprisoned and would remain there until the Council rendered its verdict.

He would have an opportunity to request a jury, although he didn’t know what good it would do. He had pled his case before all, trying, he believed unsuccessfully, to get their understanding of his connection with Maddie. Time was his enemy now, ticking by so slowly that every minute felt like hours.

Initially, he believed he could gain his mother’s support in this. After all, her relationship with his father had a rocky beginning. Yes, she was Vesturion, but she wasn’t as highly bred as one would demand for the Great Leader.

Over the years, the Council had eased its constraints on mates for highly bred families. When his parents initially met, nothing could have kept them apart or hindered their bonding. They immediately made their connection and his father forced the issue with his parents. Their relationship was contested among the Council, but Rowan threatened to abdicate in order to unite with Annalise. After much argument and debate, threats and warnings, the Council relented and granted its permission for the unification. As time told all, Vesturon could not have had a fiercer First Mate than Annalise.

Rayn tried to convince his mother, appealing to her emotions, that he was in the exact place she had been. She was relentless in her argument of how Maddie was not a Vesturion and was disgusted with the manner in which Rayn completely disregarded his duty, family, and the Covenant. Rayn felt as if he were arguing with a brick wall.

The recognition of his desperate circumstances made him begin to create plan B. If he were refused permission to unite with Maddie, he would create an alternative that would include his renunciation of his birthright and the Brotherhood of Guardians. He would not, could not, entertain life without Maddie.

Maddie, what to do? How he missed her. He dreamed of her nightly. She was so unaware of herself. She was nothing like anyone he had ever known and she never ceased to amaze him. She was unselfishly kind, loving and so perfectly innocent. She was athletic, but he chuckled to himself when he thought of her dancing antics. She was always in high gear. She loved to run and feel the wind against her skin; she had an irrepressible urge to experience life to its fullest, almost as if she couldn’t let a single thing pass her by, like she didn’t want to miss out on anything.

Rayn assumed her intensity to live life to the fullest was the result of the early death of her parents. Maddie was determined to experience everything she could in every way possible because she was keenly aware of how it could be snatched away in a heartbeat. She was ever impatient to try new things. But what he loved the most about her was her honesty, sincerity, kindness, and gentleness.

Maddie had been in good spirits, and from his communications with the other family members, she seemed to be thriving. He was so proud of her, of her ability to jump right in and become one of them.

His brothers were completely smitten with her, and she and Sharra had become fast friends, like sisters in fact. Sharra couldn’t be happier; she finally had another female to spend time with. Now, if they could just prevent her from burning down the house, all would be well!

Xarrid still had not come around. Yes, he admitted his fondness for Maddie, but he still could not accept the relationship between Rayn and her. That grieved Rayn but he would have to deal with that later. The others had promised their support and would all be present on Vesturon for his hearing.

Rayn had thrown himself across his bed and was lying there, deep in thought, when his body wildly jerked with violent painful spasms. Searing, relentless agony began washing over him. His breathing became shaky, and pain radiated over his entire body.

With utter horror, he began to hear Maddie’s voice—her thoughts of what she was experiencing, the begging for release from her torture, her imminent death.

Bloody hell! Sweet Deity! No!

He
had her again. How did this happen? She was suffering, severely, horrifically. He had to help her. Rayn flew up and started screaming, howling, roaring, shaking the walls with his strength and emotions ripping through him. Things began flying off the walls and furniture, crashing into the floor. His Power of Telekinesis was firing completely out of control. He instantly reached out to his brothers.

“
Maddie…in trouble…in the woods…wounded severely…she’s dying…he has her again…bloody hell, he is killing her…help her!”

Tesslar, Rykerian, and Therron were sprawled across the sofas enjoying their favorite activity—watching sports on TV—when they were simultaneously hurled to the floor. Shocked, dazed and breathless, they all were still for a moment, feeling like they had just been blasted.

“What the devil was that?” Rykerian asked, rubbing his head.

“Dunno,” Therron slurred in response.

“I have never felt anything like it.” Tesslar was just shaking his head back and forth, trying to regain his senses.

In the next instant, all three of them were on their feet screaming at and over each other, running back and forth.

“It is Rayn…in pain.”

“No, not Rayn…it is Maddie.”

“Oh, blessed Deity. What has happened to her?”

Their thoughts were whirling around the room at light speed.

Sudden silence…and then, “We must go! We have to get to her. Right away. Gear up
now
!”

“Arm yourself, and get the first aid kit. Grab the morphine. Whatever’s happened, she going to need it.”

“Tesslar! Get a tracer on Maddie now. Use Sharra’s coordinates and go from there. We do not have a second to spare.”

“On it!”

“Where is Sharra? I thought they were together.”

“Out cold. She was the medium for them tonight.”

“Bloody hell, how did he get her?”

All the conversations were taking place at once mentally and verbally, while they were gearing themselves up.

Tesslar shouted, “I cannot locate her! I have found Sharra’s coordinates, but Maddie is not with her.”

“Expand your zone. She must be somewhere close to Sharra. They were to be together all night.”

Therron was frantic, tearing around the room, looking for his shadars. “I cannot find my weapons!” he screamed.

Once again, they all flew several feet in the air, Rayn’s thoughts overwhelming them.

“Rykerian, tell him to stop. We cannot think with those blasts of his,” Tesslar shouted. “I am headed to security to try to locate her using the compsys.”

* * * * *

Maddie knew she was dying. She couldn’t even project her thoughts anymore.

She saw Rayn’s beautiful face, his eyes she loved so dearly, those precious lips she loved to kiss, his thick wavy hair she adored running her fingers through, and the braid she so loved.