The Council (Darkness #5)(33)

Another roar shook the walls. The huge bear pushed past Jonas and Charles, aiming right for us. The block wobbled again as Rudy tripped, dragging me against the wall with him.

What the hell was I doing? Waiting to be saved? This wasn’t Sleeping Beauty—I needed to grow a pair!

Rage surged into my body, replacing my previous terror. I punched Rudy in the nose. My fist screamed in pain. I tried to gouge his eyes and instead scratched down his face. That’ll work.

One of Rudy’s men flew through the air, smacking the wall headfirst. The bear was once again in pursuit.

The link wobbled, so much weaker now. Rudy struggled, trying to maintain control of the link. Failing.

I pushed at the magic and then pulled again and picked. Then I screamed in his face. He ripped me off the wall, backhanding me as another of his men’s yells cut off. My other cheek erupted in pain. My eye felt like it was trying to squeeze out of the socket.

And then the hand holding me disappeared. I staggered into the wall, my shoulder connecting first and sending waves of agony through my body. Hazy, disorientated, I looked up to find Rudy sprinting down the hall. A mountain lion took up the chase immediately.

“C’mon, Sasha, I got you. Ann’ll get him.” Charles scooped me up into his arms and started running.

“I can’t feel Stefan, Charles. We have to find Stefan.”

Chapter 9

Bursts of emotion fired in Stefan’s body as he shoved open the door. He looked around the room wildly, feeling Sasha cringe through the blood link. He could feel her panic.

His gaze fell over the packed suitcases. The made bed. Everything was organized. Even the vase with stationery on the desk had been straightened.

He squeezed his eyes shut as a sickening wave of violation swept over him. His stomach turned, knowing exactly what was happening.

Thoughts fleeing, panic creeping into him, he spun quickly for the door. A moving object expanded in his vision right before making contact with his face. The world went black.

***

Consciousness descended slowly. A cloudy haze took over his vision. Stefan’s head throbbed. His brain pushed painfully against the inside of his skull. Coarse material cut into his wrists, stopping blood flow to his fingers.

He blinked, trying to clear his vision.

Soft cushioning beneath him barely hinted at the bump and sway of a moving vehicle.

“Hello.” Andris’ blurred head leaned into view across a smooth surface—a table, it looked like. “You’re joining us.”

Stefan stretched out his jaw and moved his face around. “What’d you hit me with?”

“Steel piping. Hurts, doesn’t it? That’s what Dominicous hit me with after you destroyed my demon. And then he drugged me. So, I thought I’d pay you the same courtesy.”

A plethora of blinking brought Andris into focus, though it didn’t do much for the agonizing pulse of his head. He reached for his magic, only to hit against a block. He focused on the link, its effects somehow muffled, but not by him.

“Trying to access your lady love?” Andris smirked and leaned back, crossing an ankle on his knee. “That’s the wonder of the drug. Cuts out a blood link. Well, mostly cuts out a blood link, I should say. Clever. I can only assume that white mage of Dominicous’ thought that up.”

“Where is she?” Stefan ripped at his hands. His bindings cut into his skin, hot and stinging. Liquid dribbled into his palm. Blood, by the feel of it.

“Oh, she’s either safe and sound with a council full of people vying for her link, or she’s in Rudy’s hands. Though I wouldn’t be overly concerned about Rudy. He’s great at maneuvering people and edging into power, but his strategy is greatly lacking. No stamina.”

They sat at a shiny table in a plush motor home—the motor home Andris had been carried to the Council meeting in, actually. A male sat on the couch, staring straight ahead, a sword at close reach. Two more males sat up front, swords and guns both handy. Stefan turned to see behind him. Two more.

“Afraid I’ll escape?” he growled, testing both the block on his power and the block to his link with Sasha.

“Just a precaution. Not to mention, we have the extra space. Might as well use it, right? More the merrier.”

Stefan leaned back against the seat and squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. It didn’t help the pounding in his head. “So, where to? And why me? What do I have that you could possibly need?”

Andris chuckled softly. “The end of the thorn in my side, Stefan. That’s what you have. You’ll make a strong sacrifice for a demon.”

The world stilled. “You’ve kidnapped me… to kill me?”

Andris threaded his fingers together and leaned on the table with a smug grin. “Finally, yes. You’re hard to pin down, I’ll admit. You keep popping up, spoiling my plans, eluding me… So yes, while I was heading to the car, I figured I’d just swoop in and pick you up. Might as well, right? You were right there.”

“And this has nothing to do with Sasha?” Stefan clarified, studying the face of the man in front of him intently.

Andris cocked his head. “When did you get so noble? No, this has nothing to do with that harebrained human. I have one of my own—one that actually works in the capacity I need her. When you’re gone, your human will be no good to me.”