Unbound (17 page)

Jubi shuddered. His wings stopped beating and he dropped, catching himself before he hit the ground. If the Mage did this to Roo, what would he do to the master? Jubi thanked the young one for telling him this news and flew about Roo, impatiently waiting for Karn to show himself.

Soon he heard the hard slap of running feet coming towards him. Breathing a sigh of relief, he saw Karn long before the man reached them.

Karn ran past him to the still form on the ground.

* * *

It horrified Karn to see his pack leader near death. He was so new to the pack that they hadn’t yet formed a strong attachment, but he liked the new leaders. Karn gathered Roo in his arms and carried him back the way he’d come.

Just as the group cleared the last of the brush near the camp, Gannon rushed out of the water, running towards Karn.

“What the hell have you done to Roo?” He skidded to a stop and tried to wrestle him away, but Karn dodged him.

“I might ask you the same thing,” Karn growled. His face elongated and his teeth grew sharper. “Where’s Kayla? What have you done to her?” He tried to push past Gannon.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, you crazy MoonSkin. Now give the dog to me, or I won’t be responsible for the consequences.”

Karn paused, calming his rage enough to smell his surroundings. Remembering that, earlier, Gannon’s scent had been different, his nostrils flared. Comprehension dawned and he realized what Jubi had just tried telling him.

Jubi flew into Gannon’s face, blocking him “Gannon, stop this before you do something you’ll regret. This isn’t what it looks like. Stop!”

Gannon batted at Jubi. “What the hell is going on here?”

Karn’s anger cooled, his face returning to normal when he realized that Gannon hadn’t anything to do with Kayla’s strange behavior.

“Where’s Kayla?” Gannon cast his eyes over the gathering crowd drawn by their argument.

Karn moved towards Gannon and laid Roo in his arms. He stepped back, scuffing his feet against the ground. “I don’t know how to tell you this,” he finally said, “but I don’t think Kayla is here with us anymore.

“When you were in the cave with Rosen, you came out and took Kayla away. You didn’t smell like yourself and told me that you didn’t need or want my help. Kayla behaved as if she were in a trance. So I went looking for Roo and, when I couldn’t find him, I sought Jubi.

“We found Roo lying in the woods not far from here. One of the Sprites told Jubi that she’d seen a strange Mage near the waterfall. We were bringing Roo back to Rosen to ask her to heal him. Then we see you crashing through the water. So you can see where the hostility came from?”

* * *

Gannon could see how Jubi and Karn felt. They’d thought he’d taken Kayla somewhere. He needed to have Roo taken care of first. After that, he would find Kayla, he thought with a sinking feeling in his gut. Gannon looked to Jubi, often his voice of reason. The crowd parted and the slight child Kayla had taken from Covington’s gestured for him to lean down.

Though impatient to be off, he felt he needed to take the time for this little one. He rested Roo on his knees and looked the girl in the eyes.

“My doggy hurt?” Her voice trembled and her bottom lip quivered.

“Yes, I’m afraid doggy’s very hurt.” Gannon shifted, his throat tightening.

She nodded then leaned forward, gently kissing Roo on the nose. A large pink tongue licked her cheek, making her giggle.

“Doggy better,” she cooed when Roo wiggled and got down.

Gannon couldn’t believe his eyes.

“My doggy!” she cried, hugging Roo. She laid her head on his, giggling when he licked her. “Doggy kisses.” Roo continued to lick her. She patted him roughly on the head. Saddened eyes looked deep into Gannon’s. “Find my
mama
.” She turned and dashed down the path, without a backward glance.

* * *

Roo whimpered looking after her, then sniffed the air. His mistress was nowhere to be found in the crowd.

Where’s Kayla? Karn what happened? One minute I’m chasing the Mage Rosen told to stay still. The next thing I know, Sasha’s kissing my nose.

Who’s Sasha?

Kayla’s daughter. Where’s that blasted cat? What the hell happened here?
He growled, nipping Karn’s hand.

Something that looked like Gannon took her.

Damn bastard! Why can’t he leave her alone?

Who?

Keaton.
Roo sniffed the air again, growling under his breath, and looked across the pond.

There’s a Mage watching us. Tell the others. I’m pretty sure he’s not in his right mind.

Oh, and Karn.

Karn looked at him, trembling a little.

Not a word about Sasha to anyone.

“Greg, there’s a Mage on the other side of the falls. He needs to be caught and held for questioning. Do you think you can get the others together and do that?”

The MoonSkin stiffened, his eyes flashing. “Will do. Anything else?”

“You and Damien keep the others safe, stay near the falls. Nothing about this seems right.”

The Wer moved off stiff backed.
We’ll have to deal with them soon, won’t we, Roo?

Yes.

“Now that that’s settled, let’s go after Kayla.” Gannon walked toward the woods.

My thoughts exactly
. Roo trotted down the path after him.

* * *

“Gannon, I think we should find the person who sent Kayla on her errand in the first place.”

“You’re right, Jubi.” He feared a hole in the T’ween might be contributing to how the evil construct had found its way into his safe haven.

“Whoa! Wait a minute. What are you guys talking about?” Karn piped up.

“Kayla’s boss.” He ran into his cottage and started to pack things he thought might be useful for whatever lay ahead.

Kayla had come into some serious power recently, but she had no idea how to control it. She was a loose cannon. He feared, with her out there unprotected, the Mage Hunters would find her, capturing or destroying her.

He shivered, slamming open the gate. He didn’t care if the others followed or not.

* * *

Kayla looked at Gannon’s back as he dragged her along. She balked; something bugged her, a something she couldn’t quite place. They’d been gone from the T’ween for a while. The surroundings seemed familiar, but she couldn’t figure out why.

He swung around to look at her, jerking her in the direction he wanted to go. She noticed for the first time that his eyes were dead.

Fearful, Kayla backed away. “Wait a minute, Gannon. Where are you taking us?” Kayla asked, unsure if she was even with Gannon. Her mind scrambled for reasons he would act thus. He had to be possessed or under a spell. Kayla knew she had been under a spell.

It wasn’t like her to not remember whole parts of her day. She didn’t know how she’d come to be so close to Keaton’s club.

The man who stood glaring at her didn’t look like the Gannon she’d come to know and admire. There was no sparkle in his eyes that showed the keen intelligence she knew to be behind them.

“Let go, Gannon!” she struggled to pull free.

His hand swallowed hers whole, covering her arm in a thick, cement-like substance. She kicked at him, but couldn’t pull her arm free. He dragged her closer to their destination. She dug in her feet while pulling backward on her arm.

Kayla didn’t know why she was being taken to Keaton, but she could give a pretty good guess he wasn’t throwing her a party.

She glared at the creature she’d thought was Gannon. Its features melted into a lopsided grin. A flesh colored blob broke off and hit the ground. She could feel a high pitched squeal being emitted as they entered the building. Kayla’s fear caused a surge of magic, hitting the Gannon-creature in the chest.

It shrieked, bits of it breaking off, hitting the ground and crumbling into dust. Kayla ran back towards door. She felt a clammy hand slap down on her shoulder. She recognized that smell. A cackle sounded behind her, she couldn’t move her head. He groped her breast, causing fear to overwhelm her.

“I’ve waited for this, a long time.” Keaton fondled her.

Her skin crawled in revulsion. “Get your filthy hands off of me,” Kayla ground out through clenched teeth.

“I don’t think so. You disobeyed the rules; you should never open a package. Now I can do whatever I want and there’s not a thing you can do about it.” He gave her hair a sharp tug.

“That’s not true. Someone put a compulsion spell on that bag. You’re a filthy beast! Get your hands off
ME
!

He laughed. “What could you possibly do to me? You’ve all the power of a crushed mouse.”

“That’s it!” Kayla pushed all her power towards the point where he held her shoulder. Keaton shrieked when the wave of energy hit and threw him into the bar.

Kayla turned, heady with power. She considered pursuing, but decided he wasn’t worth it.

Keaton’s skin dripped from his body in chunks. A large, hairy, pustule-ridden monster rose from the remains.

“I really wouldn’t have done that if I were you,” the daemon said, shaking off the last of its skin. “I was going to hand you over to Covington for the reward money after a bit of fun, but now that’s not going to happen.” He licked his fingers. “You’ve gone and made yourself edible.”

When he moved towards her, Kayla tried to retreat, but her limbs wouldn’t respond to her frantic commands. Terror replaced her smugness. Always before, she’d knocked down anything in her path, but this thing coming towards her didn’t seem to be fazed by the magic.

Keaton advanced, grabbing hold of Kayla. She felt the life being forced from her as he lowered his mouth to hers, sucking the very breath from her lungs.

“I’m going to take this slowly; it’s been a long time since I’ve had a decent meal. If I’d known all this time I sheltered such a feast, I would have awakened your powers long ago.” He dragged her deeper into the room.

Kayla slumped against him, almost unconscious. She passed out as she hit the ground.

* * *

Roo could feel Kayla slipping away from him.  His connection to her wavered and his heart hiccupped. The damn girl couldn’t keep herself out of trouble if she tried. He hoped that they weren’t too late.

They reached a seedy club in a derelict part of town.
Keaton.
When Gannon made the move to go forward, Roo blocked his way. Creeping forward, he peeked through a half open door, his body quivering. Deciding not to heed him, Gannon walked forward with Karn close behind. Roo’s heart stopped. Kayla slid to the ground from the arms of a monstrosity.  Gannon peered around the opening. He bit him on the leg, pulling him away.
Karn, keep the damn fool back.
He motioned for Gannon to wait, before creeping back to the cracked doorway; Roo knew that Keaton’s wards probably hadn’t been changed since they’d left a few mornings ago. The daemon just wasn’t that smart. He knew his animal energy wouldn’t trip them. If only he could keep that hotheaded Mage at bay.