It took me nearly two hours to get to an agency and rent a car. After I stashed my bag in the front seat, I climbed behind the wheel and headed out of town. I didn’t want Gideon to find me. I didn’t want or need to hear anything he had to say. It was over, that was enough.
After acquainting myself with the interior of the car, I drove North, toward Traverse City, and stopped in a little Podunk town that had one tiny motel with twelve-by-twelve rooms. Opening the door, I stared at the nineteen-inch tube TV and the six-by-four bathroom with dismay.
“It’s good enough for one night.” I shouldn’t have been tired, since I’d just woken up not four hours before. Still, I was exhausted. Was I depressed? I hoped not. I usually like to think I’m good enough on my own. No woman really needs a man. She might want one in her life, but she really doesn’t need one—not me, anyway.
I tossed my bag next to the bed and flopped face down onto the hard mattress. I pulled a pillow under me, buried my face in the white case, and cried myself to sleep.
Darkness surrounded me when I woke up. Even the alarm clock I’d noticed on the stand next to the bed was dark. The air-conditioner, which had been laboring noisily to keep the room cool, had also gone silent.
Apparently, the power was out.
Wide awake, I pushed the hair out of my face, not that it mattered because I couldn’t see, and sat up. The room was eerily quiet—too quiet.
Closing my eyes, I reached out with my senses. I didn’t talk much about it, but I did have sensitive ears and my nose picked up smells better than the average human.
You aren’t human. Gideon’s words came back to haunt me. You are a dragon—at least partly so.
At least that explained why I’d been a freak all of my life.
You aren’t a freak. I gasped at the sound of Gideon’s voice. Tell me where you are, cara. I will find you eventually, anyway. Telling me where to find you will only speed up the process. I have taken your blood. You cannot hide from me.
“Wanna bet?” Blind as a bat, I felt my way to the bathroom and took care of what business I had there. I felt my way to the bed, grabbed my bag and headed for the door. I felt my pockets for the keys to the rental car and frowned when I came up empty.
“What’d I do with the damned keys?” Closing my eyes, I retraced my steps when I came into the room. I’d set my bag on the floor and walked over to turn on the TV, thought better of it and then tossed the keys on the small table on the other side of the bed.
After retrieving the keys, I headed for the door, peeking out through the window before I opened the door and headed toward the car.
“Psst.”
The hair on the back of my neck stood on end. Slowly, I kept moving toward the car.
“Hey, you!” I stopped again. “I wouldn’t get into that car, if I were you.”
One of these days, I’m going to learn to listen to my inner alarms. However, it wasn’t going to be anytime soon.
“Why not?” I asked against my better judgment.
“Because if you did that, I wouldn’t have been able to get to you before you locked the door, started the car and left this place.”
Whomever the voice belonged to stood close enough behind me that I could smell his rancid breath. I could also feel it against the side of my neck and every warning alarm inside me blared at its highest volume.
Damn it.
“Why would you want to get to little ole me?” I raised my voice an octave and added a slight southern twang.
For some reason, people thought southerners were lacking in the brains department. However, I can say that every southerner I’ve ever met has been as smart as anyone else. In fact, one of them was a physicist working on alternate propulsion.
“Because, you are the key to my happiness.”
Big beefy arms wrapped around me and picked me up off my feet. I kicked and clawed, but had no way to fight my way out of that. Usually I could see what the hell I was doing, and usually I could fight my way out of any situation. However, the thing that grabbed me likely had arms the size of most people’s thighs, given the way he held me with almost rib-crushing force.
“That’s funny. I haven’t been the key to anyone’s happiness in years.” I’d stopped fighting. Instead, I’d chosen to wait it out and save my strength for my eventual escape.
“Say, goodnight, Gracie.” My arm stung like the dickens. I had only a few seconds to realize he’d drugged me.
Okay, Gideon. I really hate to bother you. I know how you feel about me, but I need your help. Someone just drugged me. My mind grew more and more sluggish.
You have no idea how I feel about you. If you did, you would never have left me.
His mind quickly merged with mine, giving me the strength to study my captor, inhale his stink into my lungs and get a glimpse of the vehicle he carried me to.
Where are you?
Somewhere a bit south of Traverse City. I think the last sign I saw on the highway said something about White Cloud, but I’m not...
Wake up, cara. The sound of Gideon’s voice, soft and gentle, woke me from my drugged stupor and I looked around.
Where... where am I? I lifted a hand to my pounding head. My stomach churned and I thought I would be sick.
I would like to know that, myself.
Gideon? Is that really you? I swallowed, thickly, trying not to think of how thirsty I was. Whatever my kidnapper had in that syringe had given me cotton mouth.
Yes, cara it is me. Did you see anything, any landmarks to lead me to where your captors are keeping you?
Let me check.
Rolling onto my side, I sat up and tried not to vomit on my legs as I studied the small cell where I’d awakened.
The sound of sobbing came from the other side of the wall and I realized that I wasn’t the only prisoner in the place.
I stood and walked to the door. A tiny window afforded me a small view of the empty hallway. Taking a deep breath, I tried to ascertain whether anyone stood guard or if our captors assumed their prison was inescapable.
I don’t see anything but the inside of a cell and part of the hallway on the other side of the door.
I could almost feel Gideon’s frustration at not being able to find me. He might not care about me in the romantic sense, but he took his job as protector of humanity seriously.
Had they taken me to the same place where they held their guides captive? Could I find a way to escape and help the others held prisoner?
“Hello,” I whispered through the small window. “I’m Tara. Who else is here?”
“Tara is a nice name. I know a lady named Tara.”
Filled with sudden hope, I closed my eyes, praying that it was Marnie who spoke and I could do something, anything, to rescue her and any other guides the demons might have stashed in the cells with us.
“Really?” I asked, in an attempt to keep her calm and talking.
“Yes. She’s beautiful and good and everything a woman should be. Tough and fair. Yeah... she was tough and fair.”
“Beautiful, huh?” Well, that left me out, didn’t it? I sighed, wishing there was something I could do other than sit here and wait to see what our captors held in store for us.
“Yeah, though I think she doesn’t think so.” I heard the rustling of material and could almost hear her shrug. “She probably thinks she’s not, though she is, inside and out. It’s probably why Gideon loves her so much.”
“Marnie! It is you.” Even overjoyed to find my young charge still alive and well, I managed to dwell on what she said. “Gideon doesn’t really love me. He just... needs someone right now, and I’m handy.”
“Oh, no! How did you get here, Tara? You have to escape. The monsters who took us plan to kill us.”
She paused as though she had just realized what I said.
“Of course Gideon loves you. Anyone with eyes can see that.”
There wasn’t much I wouldn’t give to be young again and see romance and goodness everywhere.
“Whatever... that doesn’t matter right now. All that matters is getting you out of here.”
“I didn’t mean to let them take me. I just wanted to go outside and look up at the stars for a minute. I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault, honey.” I leaned against the door, wondering how in the hell we’d get ourselves out of the mess we found ourselves in.
“Evan told me not to go outside, and I didn’t listen.” She started to cry. “The last thing I said to him was, you aren’t the boss of me.” She sobbed. “I should have let him be the boss of me. I sure messed things up. He probably hates me now.”
“He doesn’t hate you,” I said absently as I studied the door and the surrounding area. There were no windows. The sad bit of light in the room came from a recessed LED bulb just over the top of the door. “In fact, he blames himself for your disappearance. He thinks he should have done a better job keeping an eye on you.”
If I had a screwdriver, I could have jimmied the pins out of the hinges and taken the door off the frame. I checked my pockets. I didn’t even have a nail file, damn it.
“Do you have a window in your room?”
Marnie stopped sobbing for a moment. “No. I think we’re underground. Why?”
“I’d hoped to have you describe what you saw so that I might relay the information to Gideon.” I almost gave away the fact that Gideon and I had a mental connection, but thought better of it. I couldn’t tell if someone was lurking in the hallway listening. “I mean, if we manage to get out of these cells and find a phone, it’d be nice to be able to tell him where we are, wouldn’t it?”
“Yeah.” Marnie sounded more depressed every time she spoke. “I saw a gas station when we turned down the road to this place. It was on the corner to my right, just before we turned left to come here.”
“What kind of gas station and do you have any idea how long you drove before they stopped here?”
“They didn’t know I was awake. I kept having to close my eyes to keep them from finding out. The gas station had a humongous sign that said something about buffalo meat. When we turned down the driveway, I saw a really big tree with lots of white flowers on it.” She paused for a moment. “Do people really eat buffalo meat?”
“I don’t know. I suppose so.” I tried to connect with Gideon, but I wasn’t sure how. Damn it, Gideon. How do I connect with you to tell you what I’ve found out?
The illusion of warmth flooded my mind. I am here.
My head felt strange for a moment, as though Gideon had somehow found a way into my brain and ruffled around my memories for a bit before he withdrew.
I have what I need.
I’m glad. And, Gideon?
Yes, cara?
I’m sorry I mistook your intentions toward me. It won’t happen again. I’ll get out of your life forever, once you get me the hell out of here.
I felt his hand caress my face before he said, Apparently, we must talk... extensively, once I find you.
Yeah. We’ll talk. I said that to him, but I had no intention of talking anything over with him. The last thing I wanted was his sympathy. At the moment, I’d tell him anything to get his happy ass to find us and get us the hell out of here. Who knew where we were or how many people our kidnappers kept imprisoned with us?
“Tara?”
“Yes, Marnie.”
“Will you come visit me when they put me in foster care?”
She’d never sounded more like a little girl than she did now.
“Of course I’d come visit you—though I think you won’t be going into the foster care system. Gideon and people he knows have friends in high places, and something tells me you’ll be living with one of them so they can protect you. Now that the people who’ve kidnapped us have targeted you, you’ll need better security than what the state can provide.”
“You mean the demons, don’t you?” The sound of her leaning against her door and sliding to the floor seemed to echo in the hallway.
“I think we should stop talking for now and concentrate on finding a way to escape. Let’s be quiet for a little while and use our brains.”
“I’ve used my brains, trying to escape this place for months.” A strange voice said from somewhere down the hall.
“Months?” Came another voice. “I’ve been here for at least a year and a half... I think. There’s no way out. They searched us before they brought us here. They took my cell phone and the nail kit my brother gave me for Christmas.”
The voices grew in number and volume until I couldn’t tell who spoke or how many were imprisoned. There were a lot more than just three or four girls stuck in these small cells with us, and I would bet my house that every one of them was a guide under the age of eighteen.