TangledHunger (13 page)

He shrugged. “I had no choice. The only way for me to move
up in this world was to marry somebody from a more prestigious family.” His
smile made Tanasha nearly vomit.

“And your precious Sydney was just right. Rebellious little
princess looking for a way to get back at Daddy.” He spread his arms. “I was
perfect for her. She just didn’t realize that I piloted the ship, not her.
Well, not until it was too late and I began to drain her. You should have heard
her screaming then. It was such a beautiful concert.”

His gaze focused on her. “Maybe your screams will be even
better. It’s your own fault. If you had fallen in and not stood against me you
would not be in this situation.” Marius turned to the Feral who’d tortured
Duncan on the way over. “Take her down to the cells.” He waved at her. “I will
see you later, my dear.”

Tanasha struggled to calm her irregular breathing and her
racing heartbeat. One part of her mind still hammered against the wall that
suddenly stood between Duncan and her while the other desperately tried to find
a way to escape.

No such luck. The Feral didn’t take his eyes off her for a
second. She wasn’t even sure if he blinked the whole way down to the dimly lit
cellar.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” She couldn’t believe her
eyes. Two small cells, separated from each other and the rest of the cellar by
laser bars, stood before her. Each had a narrow bed, a sink and a toilet.

And absolutely no privacy.

Movement on one of the cots drew her gaze. “Sydney!”

She raced to the edge of the cell, unable to believe her
eyes. “Jade, what happened? You look awful.”

A tired chuckle came from between dry and cracked lips.
“Always could count on you to be honest.”

Tanasha swallowed. Her friend usually had a lovely, melodic
voice, but now she sounded as if she’d swallowed a box of nails. The blue dress
she wore hung off her in rags. The svelte body Sydney had been so proud off had
turned emaciated. Scratches and bruises in all colors decorated her all over.

And the light that used to sparkle in her blue eyes was no
longer. Sydney looked barely alive.

Tanasha stepped closer. “Sydney.” Before she could reach
between the shimmering laser bars, the Feral pulled her back with a jerk.

“Unless you want to lose an arm or a finger, don’t touch the
bars.” He waved his hand and an opening in the bars of the empty cell appeared.
The Vampire pushed her in so hard Tanasha fell to her knees.

He flashed his fangs at her. “We’ll be back a little later
for the first withdrawal.” He blew her a kiss and marched out of the cellar.

Tanasha climbed to her feet and dropped on the cot. For a
moment she only breathed deeply. In and out. In and out.
Screaming in panic
will only amuse them.

In and out.
I will get through to Duncan. He’s unbound
and they think he’s no danger because he’s under Marius’ spell.

In and out.
I have to break through the barrier. I can do
it.

In and out.
It is our only way out.

Somewhat calmer, she rose and stepped up to the bars
separating Sydney and her. “Don’t give up, Sydney. We’ll get out of here.”

Another weak chuckle. “You’re always so positive. Even if
you get out, I can barely walk, let alone run. You’ll have to leave me behind.”
She lifted a hand far too pale to belong to a living being. “This is where it
ends for me, sweetie. I’ll pray that you’ll get out before they come to take
your blood.” Sydney coughed. “He hasn’t given me the time to regenerate my
blood supply. He said he couldn’t wait the week, let alone two. One more
withdrawal and I won’t wake up again.”

With effort Sydney turned her head and looked at Tanasha.
“At least I know you’ll ensure that Marius pays,” she whispered.

Weak-kneed, Tanasha sank onto her bed. She’d never watched
anybody die and she definitely didn’t want her best friend to be the first.

Attempting to keep her whirling mind occupied she studied
her surroundings. Except for the two cells it appeared like any other cellar
she’d ever been to. Boxes and containers messily piled in one corner, old and
forgotten furniture against one wall and dust-covered bikes and hoverboards
against another. A narrow door probably led to the utility room.

Nothing exceptional or exciting. Nothing that would help
with an escape.

Tanasha rubbed her forehead where a headache had taken up
residency. She needed to reach Duncan. She dropped her head into her hands.
Jade,
what are they doing to him?

She closed her eyes and focused on the rainbow-colored
strand, so much paler than she’d ever seen it.

Duncan. Duncan. Duncan.

For the next two hours she focused on Duncan, on their
connection, trying to think of anything that would help her overcome the wall
she continued to slam into.

But no matter what she did, how she remembered him, thought
of his touch, his scent, his lack of respect when talking to Marius, nothing
overcame the wall.

No response came down the link.

No sudden jump to the bedroom with Duncan lounging on the
massive bed.

Tears trickled down her cheeks.

Nothing.

Chapter Eight

Duncan’s ribs ached. Each breath was painful. And his head.
His head was ready to explode. Nothing he did, nothing he rubbed made the
slightest bit of difference. One eye was mostly swollen and his lower lip
resembled an inflatable. His whole upper body tingled as if his limbs had
fallen asleep and only now came back to life.

So he’d been in a fight. But whom with? How had they
inhibited his natural healing? And why did he sit in this room staring at a
huge crystal across from him? He tilted his aching head and blinked at his
surroundings. There were more crystals, pretty crystals, all around him. Some
made him smile with their sparkle, some made him cringe with their blinding
light. The big one was the worst.

When he had to squint through burning eyes to avoid the
painful glare he had enough.

Duncan stumbled to his feet and nearly fell flat on his
face. His legs wouldn’t move. He covered his face with his hands and tried to
remember.

Something about a guy telling him to sit and not move.
Thinking became easier when he shut out the crystal glares.

Naema. The guy who told him to sit had been a Naema.

Since when do I take orders from a wing weasel?

The muscles in his legs relaxed and he took a step forward,
but as soon as he opened his eyes his mind fogged over again. Duncan shook his
head and groaned. He put his face in his hands. Immediately his muscles
relaxed.

He exhaled.

Crystal light bad. I get it.

What the Jade had brought him to this house? And why did he
have this nagging feeling that time was one step away from running out, that
someone else was in danger?

Eyes shut, arms stretched out before him he carefully slid
forward, aiming for the door. A few minutes later, his shins and knees blue and
green, he found the doorknob. Duncan leaned against the door and listened for
any noises outside of it.

Silence.

He twisted the knob and opened the door. Even through his
closed lids he sensed that the hallway had far fewer crystals than the room.
With a sigh of relief he closed the door behind him and leaned against it. The
dim light soothed his eyes after the glare in the other room.

Still, the last few hours were fuzzy. They must have
separated them. If Nasha had been—
Tanasha
. His body jumped to attention
and Duncan almost doubled over in pain.

Where is Tanasha?

His focus turned inward and he followed the now nearly
see-through rainbow link until he found himself in the bedroom of their
imagination.

Seconds later she arrived.

His knees turned weak. She was still alive. Everything else
they could work through. “Nasha.”

She remained frozen in place and stared at him, her lips
quivering. “Duncan?” Her eyes were red-rimmed. She’d been crying.

Duncan strode forward and pulled her into his arms. “Nasha.”
Holding her, even in a made-up place where only their minds connected, was pure
heaven. No matter if his body hurt like hell.

She didn’t respond to his embrace for a moment. Then her
body started to shake. She threw her arms around his waist and clung. “I
thought you were dead. Duncan, I thought you were gone. I couldn’t get through
to you.”

He winced when she bumped a bruised rib, but tightened his
grip and inhaled her presence. The hole inside him that had opened up as he
woke in the glare-filled room closed. He was whole again. “I’m sorry, Nasha, I
had to fight myself out of the grip of the crystal. It must have blocked the
link between us. Where are you?”

“In the basement with Sydney. Duncan, she’s in a bad way.
I’m not sure how much longer she can hold on.”

“I’ll come and get you. The most important thing is to get
you and Sydney out of the house and—”

She pushed back and gripped his tattered shirt. “No, the
most important thing is to destroy the big crystal Marius used to put you
under. Without it he won’t be able to focus his
¼
his
blood magic. He’ll be less powerful. And once we destroy the crystal the magic
that imprisons everybody will break as well.”

“No, Nasha, we need to get the two of you out of here.”

She put a finger against his lips. “Duncan, listen to me.
Sydney is nearly dead. Nobody except the two of us knows about Marius’ plan and
the tools he uses. If we try to escape and something happens we may not be able
to stop him.”

When he shook his head again, she cupped his cheeks. “He’s
given Sydney’s blood to somebody. We need to find out who and where this
Vampire is. His power is most likely off the charts and his plans can’t be
beneficial to anybody.”

“I can’t lose you.”

A beautiful smile lit up her face. “You won’t. You yourself
will ensure that. With your experience and knowledge of strategy and my
¼
my Gift, we’ll take Marius down.”

Despite the situation a smile quirked his lips. “You believe
me now?”

She shrugged. “I still need to know more, like how you found
out and is there a manual or something I can learn from, but I trust you. If
you say I have this power I believe you.”

His smile died. “I don’t think it works like that. You have
to believe in yourself.”

“I’ll be fine.”

Despite a voice inside him screaming to get out, to get
Tanasha away from the danger, Duncan knew she was right. They needed to take
Marius down before he could do more damage. And with the Naema out of the way,
another head of the blood-smuggling hydra would be chopped off.

“All right, I will come and ge—”

He stopped and listened.
Footsteps. Coming toward me.

He cursed and grabbed her by her shoulders again. “Listen to
me, Tanasha, they are coming back to my room. If for whatever reason something
goes wrong don’t give up. Last night before I got home I sent all the information
I collected as an encrypted message to two friends of mine. Nikolai and Galen
are on their way. Once they discover what I’ve supposedly done, they’ll know to
come for you.”

She shook her head and opened her mouth.

Duncan stopped her from speaking with a mind-melting kiss.
“We’re out of time. I have to go back into the room.” He pointed at the link
between them, now lightly shimmering with all the colors of the rainbow. “The
connection is open. Keep sending your power down the line. I will pretend to
still be under their spell and wait for an opportunity. Keep the link open.”

He kissed her one last time before he returned to reality.
The footsteps were much closer. With care he reopened the door and stumbled
back to the chair he’d sat in earlier. He kept his head turned away from the
large, blinding crystal, but his muscles already slowed down and his mind grew
unfocused.

Tanasha?

Silence.

Jade, the crystal, was it too strong?
Nasha?

More silence.

Duncan?

Strength and focus ran into him. The bond still existed.

Duncan, what’s happening?
Fear flowed along the link.

Don’t worry, love. It’s only an evolution of the link. We
no longer need the room. We can send words directly to each other.
He
wasn’t going to say anything about the lifemate bond until they had time to
talk in peace.

Silence. Hesitation.

Does that mean you can read my mind?

He chuckled.
I wish. No, I can only hear what you send me
with intent.

More silence. More hesitation.

So we can talk mind to mind, no matter how far apart?

Pretty much.
He paused to listen.
Hang on, Nasha,
they’re here.

The door opened to Marius and two of his goons coming into
the room. One of them was Duncan’s good friend Wally.

Despite the rage simmering in him, Duncan relaxed his jaw
and attempted to look zombie-like.

Marius studied him through narrowed eyes. “What are you
playing at, Vampire? Why didn’t the crystal keep you under?” He picked up the
crystal and stepped in front of Duncan, who couldn’t avoid a flinching of the
eyelids.

The Naema grabbed his chin. “You think you can pretend? This
is my power. I feel every last dreg of it and it isn’t in your body any
longer.” He lifted the crystal and held it a few inches before Duncan’s eyes.
“Try and avoid this.”

Duncan attempted to move his head, but once again the Ferals
stepped behind him and held him. Wally dug his nails into Duncan’s neck. With
Marius’ hand on his chin and the T-Guard nanites still swarming through his
body, Duncan couldn’t move.

He struggled, tried to pull back, to kick or punch. None of
his limbs followed orders. It was as if he moved through molasses. Duncan
closed his lids, but Marius pulled up one and ordered a Feral to pull up the
other.

There was no way out.

And with Marius pushing the hypnotic power into his mind,
his subconscious, his dreams, Duncan couldn’t see a way out. Unlike the first
time, now Marius’ power burned as it spread through him as if fighting the bond
for every inch.

Duncan? What’s happening? The connection is growing
unstable again.
Warmth streamed inside him and pushed some of Marius back,
but it was like stopping a dam breach with a cork.

Nasha, love, it’s not enough. Marius and the crystal
together are too much. Our link isn’t strong enough yet to push him back
completely.
His mind fogged for a second until Tanasha thrust more of her
essence along the link.
Love, no. This is your life energy. You need it to
survive until Nikolai and Galen come.

No, Duncan. You’re not giving up. Stop making my
decisions for me.
She shoved more energy into him.
What did you mean the
link isn’t strong enough yet? What do I need to do to make it stronger?

I’m not making the decisions for you, I’m trying to
protect you, woman.
Aggravation and amusement swirled through him while at
the same time his body was torn into ten different directions. At once. Duncan
panted, working to push through the pain.

What is missing? For Jade’s sake, now is not the time to
pussyfoot around.

A particularly violent wave of agony flooded through Duncan,
throwing Tanasha’s warmth and energy aside.
Lifemate.
He had to protect
his lifemate.

What is a lifemate? Duncan, tell me. I feel your pain.
Let me help.

No.
He wheezed when another torturous wave slammed
into him.
I can’t lose you, Nasha. I love you.

The world froze.

He hadn’t meant to say those words, but now that he had
Duncan was relieved. He needed her to know what he felt. That she was loved.

I love you too.
Suddenly her hands were on his face,
her warmth next to him. The pain burning through him subsided a little. Her
lips touched his.

What does it mean to be a lifemate, Duncan? I can’t lose
you. You have to tell me.

Weakness invaded his whole being. The energy drained out of
every inch of his body.
You
¼
you
have to
¼
have to agree to the
bond. Without consent on either side the bond will not come alive.

The bond? What bond?

The
¼
the
lifemate bond. It’s for life.
Gray edged into his vision. The vibrant
rainbow-colored connection between Tanasha and him faded before his eyes.

Duncan. Duncan! I love you and I agree to the bond. Come
back to me!

A lightning bolt slammed into him. Rainbow-colored comets
swirled around him.

But most importantly, strength raced through his body.
Tanasha’s love and openness to the bond that would link them for life flung
back every drop of magic Marius attempted to drown him with.

Life and energy tingled through him, awakening every inch.

I love you, Nasha. I’m coming for you.

I love you too. Be careful.

It was as if she stood right beside him. Her scent
surrounded him, her fingers stroked across his cheek and down his chest.

A whole new kind of fire filled him.

Hmm, this has unexplored potential.

Duncan burst into laughter.
You have no idea, love.

I’m looking forward to finding out.

Her lips touched his and she was gone.

Duncan returned to reality to find Marius staring at him,
something akin to horror on his face.

“What the Jade are you?” the Naema whispered.

Duncan laughed again. “Hate to sound like a cliché, kaveri,
but your worst nightmare.” With that he head-butted backward and hit Wally on
the nose. Cartilage broke beneath his skull with a crunch. The Feral released
his head and stumbled back.

Marius moved away from him, clutching the crystal to his
chest.

Feral Two clenched his fingers around his neck, trying to
twist and break it. His fingernails scoured his skin. Blood trickled down Duncan’s
nape.

Duncan grabbed the hands digging into him, pulled them off
and used them as leverage to summersault backward and land behind Feral Two.
Before Feral Two even had a chance to realize what happened, Duncan broke his
neck.

The body dropped to the floor.

Wally wiped his bloody nose. His fangs snapped down. He
kicked the chair between them toward Duncan.

Duncan recalculated his approach. Wally had some training.
It was in his movements, in his posture.

This will hurt.

Duncan thrust any thought of his aching body aside. He
couldn’t afford to be slow or injured if he wanted to live.

They circled each other, studying, looking for weaknesses.

A punch here, a punch there. None of them connected.

Duncan felt bruises forming on his forearms from the blocks
he’d thrown. The T-Guard nanites stopped him from healing.