Taken

  “The bruise,” Peter said. “That handprint. That’s what it was?”

  “This could be it,” Carl said excitedly.

  “Except for the getting stuck part,” I reminded him.

  “It might be your only option,” Peter said.

  “What if I get stuck? What if I don’t, and only get stuck on my way home? What if—”

  “What if you do it right?” Carl asked gently.

  I thought about it all night, sitting up in the kitchen alone. Peter was asleep in my room with Emmett, and Carl had taken the spare bed. I couldn’t sleep, not with the idea everything might depend on something I wasn’t good at running through my brain.

  I paced up and down, trying to figure out some way of making sure it would all work out for the best.

  “You need some sleep,” Peter said, sneaking into the room and making me jump.

  “I can’t. Too much thinking going on.”

  He came up behind me and surrounded me with his arms. I wasn’t sure if he was comforting me or himself. I didn’t care. I spun around and pulled him closer, pressing my mouth against his, taking everything he could give me. He lifted me onto the counter, reminding me of the succubus mark, but I shoved it all out of my head. His kisses were almost violent; he managed to push every emotion possible into them. Every kiss with him was a last kiss. I was okay with that.

  “You can do it.” He pulled away, breathing heavily.

  I nuzzled his throat with bruised lips and fangs that itched to sink into skin. I held him close, able to resist the temptation, but it was the fact he could let me so close that surprised me. “And if I can’t do it, Peter? What then?”

  His answer was another kiss. I was okay with that, too.

  “You can do anything,” he whispered against my lips, and my tongue erased all trace of his words. My fingers gripped his hair, and he carried me into the living room, his mouth never leaving mine.

  We lay on the sofa, and he gave me everything he could, but when I awoke early the next morning, shivering, I was alone. I had to get used to that.

  I checked in on Emmett, finding him asleep in his father’s arms. I let out a breath I hadn’t realised I was holding, feeling more relieved than I could say at the idea that Peter was finally putting his son first. One less thing for me to worry about.

  Of course I had plenty more concerns. Gabe had no answers. Maeve wasn’t around, and time was ticking. So I took my dagger and headed back to Folsom’s home, hoping nobody was watching. If they were, they couldn’t do much, but the less suspicion to fall on Folsom’s place, the better.

  Something grimy was in the air, as though the earth was preparing for battle. I was hoping for less of the battle and more of the lucky breaks.

  I rang Gabe on the way, deciding I couldn’t wait for him to call me. He sounded flustered when he answered, but after I said hello, he seemed relieved. Not exactly typical.

  “I’m glad you rang,” he said. “What you need is a hotspot, a place where the connection between the two worlds is at its strongest. It can be at a source of great magic, or the place of a magical battle even, but there aren’t many of them. Finding one is the biggest problem.”

  “I need less problems, Gabe.”

  He laughed softly. “I realise that. Your only options are to find places that have already been accessed. Once there, you need to concentrate on using your will. It’s in your nature to force your way through. Use your energy, whatever comes naturally to you. But be careful. You don’t want to let anything out.”

  “Uh, okay, thanks.”

  I hung up quickly, thinking hard. By the time I reached Folsom’s place, I wasn’t sure if Gabe had actually been helpful or only confused me even more.

  Silence surrounded the garage, but I knew where I was going, and the stairs seemed less spooky since I knew what was hidden below them. I passed through the wall easily, this time prepared for the unsettling feeling of watching my body move by itself. Or whatever it was.

  Folsom was waiting for me, his skin looking greyer than usual. “They didn’t think you would come back,” he said. “But I had a feeling you would surprise us.”

  “What else do I have to do? I’ve been busy trying to figure out how to make this plan… go according to plan. I have an idea, but I can’t guarantee it will work. Val doesn’t have to come with me because I can’t tell her it’s safe, but I’m going today. I can’t wait any longer.”

  “I’m coming,” Val said, stepping out of one of the seemingly endless number of bedrooms. “Is that your only weapon?”

  I held up the dagger. “It’s pretty good. What are you taking?”

  She smiled. A horrible, dangerous smile. “As much as I can carry.”

  I blinked rapidly, suddenly unnerved. “Well, goody for you. How’s Helena today?”

  “Fading fast,” Folsom said.

  “She has to see the twins first,” I said. “It wouldn’t be fair if she lost out this close to the end.”

  “Go as quick as you can,” he advised. “But don’t make mistakes. How will you open a gate?”

  “I’ll figure something out.” I didn’t want anyone watching me mess up, so I was glad it was early and everyone else seemed to still be in bed. “I’ll just say goodbye to Helena.”

  I went to Helena’s room, sat by her bed, and took her hand. I whispered her name. She opened her eyes slowly, and I could plainly see she was fading.

  “I’m going to find them,” I told her. “I’m going to bring them home. Can you help me?”

  She mouthed, “How?”

  “Think about them. Your connection to them might help me find them faster.”

  Her skeletal fingers gripped mine harder, and I hoped it would work. I tried to soak up her emotion while I remembered my own experiences with the twins, and as Esther was a good friend of mine anyway, I felt slightly more confident that a door would open for me.

  “Hurry,” Helena said, and the word compelled me to leave her there and join the others.

  “Are you ready?” I asked Val.

  She nodded, and Folsom offered me a satchel. I stared at it in confusion.

  He pressed it into my hand. “Some food and water, and a first aid kit. You don’t have any idea what will happen or how long you’ll be. At least this will have you somewhat prepared.”

  “I’m counting on being back before I get hungry,” I said, but my stomach was churning. I had no idea if we would ever make it back.

  “What do you need from me?” Val asked.

  “What can you do?”

  “Kill things.”

  “Good stuff.” I wandered around the hallway while they watched, probably thinking I was a gigantic psycho. I brushed my fingers along the stone, trying to feel for something: energy, a sign, a place that would be easy to pass through.

  “Feel the thinnest place,” an arrogant voice said behind me.

  “What would you know, angel?” I snapped, irrationally embarrassed.

  “More than you,” he replied. “You were born to walk on all sides of the wall, but you need to find the gaps in the fence. Do you understand?”

  “I think so.”

  Energy thrummed in the walls, under my feet, and over my head. The hotspot was all around me once I paid attention. I closed my eyes and reached out with my other senses until I found a weakness in the wall, a crack in the boundary. I moved, eyes still closed, toward the shaky part of the structure and reached out with one hand.

  “Here,” I said. “This is the right place.” I opened my eyes. The spot was in the corner, and it was dark, but it felt right to me. If I was some kind of hell spawn-ish tainted whatever, then I should fit right at home with the creatures beyond that wall.

  “Sure you’re ready?” I asked my newest partner in crime.

  Val nodded.

  I shrugged, turning to Folsom. “If we don’t make it back, be careful.”

  “Tainted,” Cam said. I turned to look at him, holding my breath. “Don’t get lost,”
he added with a grin.

  I rested my hands on the wall, leaning my forehead against brick. I pushed out with my other sense, moving from one plane to another until I was back in that sticky place. The air turned dusky mauve and grey, and sound stopped. Breathing stopped. I concentrated on the twins, on the brands burning my arms, on Esther and her stupidly big bear claws. I sought them out, and suddenly, I was flying, freefalling.

  I moved so fast that if I had been breathing, I wouldn’t have been able to still manage it. The journey was breathtaking; I flew under water and above clouds, in darkness and in light. It took years and a split second, but I felt the end of my journey approaching. I skidded to a stop right outside the old Georgian-style house that had once had an upside down nine on the front door.

  Esther lay on the ground, apparently injured, and Lucia knelt next to her. Lorcan stood in front of them, his face determined, fae sword in hand. I saw it then. The barrier around them was breaking. Someone outside had the magic to tear it down slowly. Time was almost out.

  With a silent gasp, I flew back, quicker than an instant, and was back with Folsom, Val, and Cam again.

  “We don’t have much time. They’re in serious danger,” I said hurriedly. “Hold on to my shoulder.”

  Val gripped my shoulder, and I winced. Closing my eyes, I imagined myself passing through, creating a new gateway. I saw the veil, lifted it, and made sure the twins and Esther were on my mind.

  I almost screamed when I faced Val coming straight at me, but then I was sent straight back into my body, and all was normal, except for the long passageway. A shimmering archway stood behind us, darkness in front of us, and we had only one way to move if we wanted to keep going.

  “Let’s go,” I whispered. I used my senses again as we moved. “Nothing’s around. It’s just us.”

  “Good,” she said, looking grim.

  “Val, I have no idea how to close the door behind us. Anything could follow us.”

  “We’ll deal with that when, or if, the time comes. Let’s go.”

  We jogged for a little while, and I began to worry. “I meant to walk straight into their place,” I admitted.

  “I don’t think that’s how it’s supposed to work. Let’s keep moving. We’ll get there.”

  We walked without speaking for about twenty minutes.

  “Helena told me you and Leah were in the market,” I said, mostly to cut through the eerie silence.

  “Yes, when they realised I was almost as strong as my father, they made me guard the market instead. I wasn’t the only one, but I stayed closest to the children, and I got to know Helena.”

  “What was your father?”

  She sighed. “A hell hound.”

  “Are you having a laugh?” It was too dark to see her expression, but I could almost feel her glare ripping into my skin. “How did you end up in the market anyway?” I carefully watched for any sudden movements. I didn’t know for sure that I could trust her, and I had already pissed her off.

  “I was born there,” she said briskly. “My mother grew up in the market. One of the stolen humans, apparently. My father was a guard. He raped her, and when I grew in her belly and killed her by clawing my way out of her, he laughed. He delighted in telling me that story. So when I escaped with Leah, I made sure I killed him on my way out.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  She looked askance at me. “Cam told me what you are.”

  “I thought you didn’t like him.”

  “I don’t.” She paused for a beat. “But he helped us when we needed it, so I suppose I owe him. He’s a bastard, though.”

  I bit down on my laughter. “Seems to be a species trait.”

  She gave me a rare smile as we passed under a strangely glowing light that reflected eerily in her eyes. She was probably the most striking person I had ever met in my life. Everything about her seemed alien, but in a way that demanded a second glance. I liked her, I realised. I wanted to trust her. I wanted her to stay on my side, and not just because I didn’t think I could take her.

  She chuckled. “I should probably cut him some slack. After all, his kind and mine should be natural enemies.”

  That brought me back to the hell hound aspect. “So your father… he was… like a…”

  “He wasn’t a dog, Ava. He was a person who happened to turn into something ferocious if he needed to. Don’t take everything so literally.”

  “Sorry. I’m new to most of this.”

  “Sadly, I’m not.”

  Ten minutes later, I decided to take another shot. “What’s the deal with Leah?”

  Her voice softened. “She’s special. Valuable. And I took my fate into my own hands to become her guardian.”

  “What is it she can do?”

  “Do you always talk this much, Ava?”

  “More, usually. Lots of quiet time to make up for.”

  She laughed softly. “Leah thinks you could help us.”

  “Help you do what?”

  “Change everything.”

  We made it to the end of the hallway, and I said, “Keep your hand on my shoulder again. Just in case. I know you’re from here, but I could have messed up somehow.”

  “You didn’t.” She put her hand on my shoulder anyway, with a little less circulation-numbing strength in her grip.

  I leaned against the wall, feeling my way to the other side. That time, I barely noticed what looked like Val walking straight into me, but I did see the darkening of the sky as she passed through onto the twins’ street, and I wondered how long we had really been in that tunnel.

  “Hey!” I shouted, relieved to see we had arrived in the right place. Everything was as I had seen it: Esther, injured, and the twins waiting to protect her. Esther and Lorcan jumped at my yell, but Lucia smiled as though she had been expecting me.

  I nodded in greeting. “Time to go. I need you all to hold on to each other.”

  “Where are we going?” Lorcan asked, eyeing the doorway behind me while helping Esther to her feet.

  “Not enough time. Come on!”

  The way back would be harder, partly because I could sense the old barrier protecting the twins’ home tearing behind me. But we all moved through the doorway I had made.

  “It’s a long way, but we have to run,” I said.

  “The vampires sent a group after Esther,” Lorcan said. “They’ve been out there all night with a witch, trying to break down the barrier. You came just in time. They’re almost through the protection.”

  I pushed him ahead of me. “Which is why we have to run. They could follow us. I’ve no idea. I don’t know how to close it.”

  “Ava, wait,” Esther said weakly. “Leave me here. I can’t run. Just get your friends to safety.”

  “Shut up, Esther. Val, help me.”

  Val and I grabbed Esther and half-carried her along between us. Lorcan bade Lucia to join him ahead of us.

  “Where are we going?” Lorcan asked again, more persistently this time.

  “Somewhere safe. Just trust me.”

  We heard yells behind us, and then screams.

  “The door closed on them,” Val said confidently. “It couldn’t let them all through.”

  “They close by themselves?” I asked.

  She glanced at me as we ran. “Let’s hope not all of them.”

  Footsteps running behind us grew close enough to make me sweat.

  “Run ahead,” I said, letting go of Esther. “I’ll stall this one.”

  They moved on, and I waited, jumping from one foot to another, my dagger in hand. The blue blade gleamed. I felt the hilt tremor in my fingers and wondered if some part of it had woken up so close to hell, ready to do the job it was created for.

  A vampire ran at me, its eyes wide and blood-red. It screamed with an inhuman voice, and for a split second, it reminded me of Becca. But then it grinned, and it was just an ordinary vampire after all. He made some ridiculously vague threat, while I looked him over for a weakness.

&
nbsp; I ducked under his strike, driving my shoulder into his stomach. He fell against the wall, and I stabbed him in the heart with my dagger. He spluttered soundlessly before burning up in front me, vein by vein.

  I didn’t stay to watch the show. Other footsteps were coming. I caught up to my friends, my stomach sinking at how short a distance they had moved.

  “Should you phase?” I asked Esther.

  “Can’t. Not enough room.”

  The ceiling was quite low. Too low for a ginormous bear, I supposed. As we ran, I threw out my senses and discovered we weren’t so far away from our destination. It had seemed a lot further the previous trip.

  A few feet away from the doorway, I heard the vampires getting too close.

  “Run!” I screamed. I stayed behind. I couldn’t let the vampires through the doorway I had made. I couldn’t let them into the sanctuary.

  But Val came back to grab my arm. “We’ll make it,” she said. So we ran.

  Lucia got through the doorway first. It opened wide for her. Then Lorcan and Esther passed, but the opening closed just as Val and I got there. We ran right into solid wall, colliding heavily.

  “Shit.” I felt around the wall, overwhelmed by a mixture of panic and relief. The deal I had made was over. If I could just survive this one last thing…

  “Make another one. I’ll hold them off.” Val pulled out what looked like an overly large studded hammer. She flexed, cracking an obscene amount of bones at once. With a death roar, she held up her weapon and waited for them to charge.

  I laid my hands on the wall, but I couldn’t help watching as Val’s shoulders and neck bulged, the bumps along her skin extending into sharp hornlike growths, and her eyes darkened into something terrible. She took one vampire off his feet with a single blow, and I turned my attention to creating a new doorway.

  I thought of the twins, Esther, Helena, and even Leah. I had to find my way back. My soul seemed to gush out of my body and whirl through the air haphazardly until it came to the twins. Instantly, I pulled back, creating the door.

  A female vampire was on Val’s back, but I tore her down to the ground and stomped on her face, feeling her nose crunch under my foot.

  “Come on!” I cried.