Wait for Dusk

Chapter Twenty-Four

My ribs throbbed as if some of them had been broken. I lay with my eyes closed, mentally searching out the pain. It didn’t make any sense. My ribs hadn’t been injured at the Solstice Ball and yet I could tell that at least two were in the process of mending.

“Get the hell up!” shouted an angry voice. “The sun set more than an hour ago. I want to get out of here.”

I lurched into an upright position and instantly regretted it as pain shot through my frame from my fractured ribs. My head knocked against a cold concrete wall as I tried to inch back down, creating a new pain that succeeded in scattering my already broken thoughts. I blinked and looked around the small dark room. Instead of pastel walls and heavy curtains, there were plain concrete walls and a steel door with a small window at the top. I was in a dungeon of some sort.

Standing in the far corner with eyes narrowed on my prone body was Rowe. I dug my heels into the concrete floor and pushed so I nearly slid up the wall in my desperation to put some distance between myself and the lethal naturi. Panic spread through my frame as a cold sweat broke out down my back. I had been trapped with my enemy while asleep. I had been completely vulnerable, and yet Rowe hadn’t killed me, for some bizarre reason.

“What are you doing here? Where am I?” I demanded when I finally found my voice. I couldn’t understand it. The last thing I remembered was falling asleep on the bed in my hotel room. Had someone grabbed me when I was unconscious? Had someone touched me and brought me here to this concrete prison?

“You’re here for me to kill,” Rowe sneered.

“Where’s here? Where are we? Who brought me here?” I fired back at him, my brain chunking along at a slow pace because I just couldn’t accept the notion that someone had gotten to me when I was at my weakest. Why hadn’t Danaus been there to protect me? Why hadn’t . . .

Because he had been busy protecting Sofia, I thought dismally. Something inside of me broke. I slid back down the walls to sit on my heels, hanging my head down so Rowe couldn’t see the tears in my eyes. Danaus had abandoned me for a human, and I’d been captured as a result. Or worse, Danaus had been killed while protecting Sofia. A part of me didn’t want to try to reach out and discover whether he was still there. I couldn’t decide which was worse: his death or his betrayal.

“Still with me, sparky?” Rowe mocked, snapping his fingers a couple of times.

I lifted my head and glared at the naturi, fighting the urge to set him on fire. He was stuck in here with me and had ample opportunity to kill me, yet he hadn’t. He was also the only one who might know where we were or who had us, though I had a couple guesses. “Still here, you fucking pirate. But where is here?”

He leaned back against the wall, relaxing his stance somewhat, which was surprising. I had the upper hand. I could set him on fire in the blink of an eye. His gift allowed him to call down lightning at will, but there were no windows to the outside, no way he could call down the thunder, so to speak. I could only guess that he was relying on my sense of fair play, since he obviously didn’t strike when he had ample opportunity. “I thought you would recognize it. The place belongs to one of your kind.”

“You’re going to have to be more precise than that. Unlike naturi, there are a few nightwalkers in the area, from what I’ve seen,” I retorted, causing his features to twist.

“The nightwalker that commands this territory. The one they call Veyron, I believe. From what I have seen, we’re at his place, locked in the dungeon,” he explained through clenched teeth.

I sighed as I bent my knees before me. Sure, I could go at Rowe now and destroy him. It was more than a little tempting, but it also wouldn’t help me. I needed to get out of there, and I had a feeling I would need his help.

“I can make a guess at how I got to be here,” I said, running one hand through my hair to push it out of my eyes. I frowned when I ran across a clump of dried blood on my scalp, bringing a smile to Rowe’s lips. “Did you have to knock me around while I slept?”

Rowe shrugged, still smiling. “I had to make it convincing.”

“Sure.”

“I only stopped because it was far too easy.”

“And you need me alive so you can hand me over to Aurora,” I reminded him.

“Yeah,” he muttered, looking away from me. I think he was beginning to doubt that his plan to get back into Aurora’s good graces through my hide would work.

“How did you get here?” I repeated.

Rowe sighed and shook his head at me. For a second I didn’t think he was going to tell me, but he finally spoke in a low voice. “I knew which hotel you were staying in and planned to grab you myself when the sun finally set. Unfortunately, I wasn’t the only one with that plan. A group of six showed up: humans, lycanthropes, and a witch. Grabbed you before I could. One of the lycans spotted me, and the witch grabbed me with a spell before I could get away. When I found myself locked up with you, I didn’t exactly see this as a bad thing.”

“What about Danaus?” I demanded, pushing the words past a lump in my throat.

“Shot him.”

Pushing off the wall, I was across the room in a blur, grabbing the naturi by the collar of his shirt and slamming him against the opposite wall. “What do you mean ‘shot him’? Is he dead? Did they kill him? Was he coming after me?”

The smile on Rowe’s face grew as he saw me twisting at his mercy. I was trapped. The walls of the cell felt as if they were closing in on me and the floor was crumbling beneath my feet. I had to get out of there and find Danaus. Pulling Rowe off the wall a little, I slammed his back into it again with more force, causing his smile to slip slightly. “Tell me what you know.”

“Or what? You’ll kill me? Won’t get any information that way,” he mocked.

I narrowed my eyes at him and leaned in so the tip of my nose was nearly touching his. “I can torture you slowly. I’ve gotten very good at it over the long centuries. Trust me, you’ll be screaming answers before I am done.”

Rowe stared at me for a long time, his teeth clenched. “He never got into the hotel. They shot him as they were carrying you out. He may not even know they have you. Don’t know if he’s still alive.”

I released Rowe and walked back over to the other side of the cell. He took the opportunity to put his foot against my butt and shove me away from him. I stumbled into the far wall, catching myself before my face smashed into it. Twisting around, I growled at the naturi, fighting the urge to lunge at him.

“Don’t touch me again!” he snarled.

I chuckled at him as I straightened into a standing position. “I thought you’d like it. You’re the one that kissed me all those years ago.”

The anger slipped from his features and he smiled as well. When I was kidnapped by the naturi centuries ago, Rowe had tried to get me to betray my kind by convincing me he was a poor human about to be executed by the naturi. He kissed me as a last ditch effort to break me. It nearly worked. Even now my lips burned with the ugly memory.

“That was a special circumstance,” he said in a low, amused voice.

Leaning my shoulders against the opposite corner, I took a deep breath and slowly released it. “We need to figure a way out of here.”

“Brilliant grasp of the obvious you have,” Rowe said snidely.

I ignored his comment. If I didn’t, I would be forced to smash his smug face in. “Any suggestions?”

“He was told he would be released unharmed if he would simply kill you for us,” announced a sweet voice from the other side of the door. I crossed the tiny cell and peered through the window in the door to find Sofia standing on the other side in a gauzy pink dress that floated around her like a thin wisp of smoke.

“Get me out of here, Sofia,” I commanded, wrapping my fists around the bars in the window.

“I don’t think so,” she said with a little shake of her head. “You’re too dangerous to be left running around. You’ve already slaughtered the werewolf pack. Who’s on your hit list next?”

“You are if you don’t get the key and get me the hell out of here,” I snarled, rattling the door a little in its frame. The metal groaned and squeaked, but otherwise didn’t budge.

“No, Veyron and the others certainly wouldn’t like that.”

“Set me free and I’ll protect you. I’ll return you to Danaus. I can help you,” I offered.

Peels of laughter fell from her like the tinkling of bells. She wrapped her arms around her stomach and took a step backward to regain her balance as she laughed at me. “Free me? Who do you think led Veyron’s people to you?”

My hands loosened from where they gripped the bars and slid back down to my sides as my mouth fell open. “You tricked us. Convinced Danaus you were some helpless human desperate for his help. You knew he would come after you,” I murmured.

“And you’re an old nightwalker stuck in your old ways. You don’t meddle in the affairs of other nightwalkers, particularly when it comes to their human pets.”

“You tried to separate Danaus and me,” I said, still stunned by their plan.

“Of course.” Sofia took a step closer to the door. “We figured if we couldn’t kill you, the hunter easily could since he was able to get so close to you. When he failed, we thought maybe the naturi could. Unfortunately, he’s proving to be useless. I guess we’ll have to figure something else.”

“Bitch,” I snarled through gritted teeth. Focusing on her, I sent my powers out from my body and wrapped her in flames. I wanted to see her writhing in pain as the fire ate away at every inch of her flesh. She had deceived Danaus, separated us, and now she was trying to kill me.

But the flames never touched her. Sofia spoke a single, inaudible word and the flames swirled around her like a liquid shawl of fire. The flames danced and crackled with energy, but they never touched her. She looked up at me with glowing eyes. Damn it, she was a witch. It had all been an act, an elaborate hoax.

“Sorry, Fire Starter. You can’t kill me, but don’t worry, I’ll be sure that Danaus knows the truth the moment before he dies,” she said, then sauntered back down the dark hallway, leaving me alone with Rowe.

“Get back here, Sofia!” I screamed, pressing my face against the bars. “Get back here so I can kill you!”

“Oh, yeah. That’s going to win her over,” Rowe said sarcastically beside me.

“Shut it, pirate!” I snapped, pushing away from the door to pace the cell. Unfortunately, it was only a few feet wide. “I need to concentrate. We need to make a plan.”

“A plan for getting out of here?”

“And killing all those that put us in here.”

“I would be game for that,” Rowe said, surprising me.

I looked up at him, my brows furrowed over my nose. “A temporary truce?”

“Extremely temporary. Just until we get out of his house.”

I nodded, and returned to my corner in the cell. I lowered my eyelids so I could still partially see Rowe but was able to concentrate on what was going on outside the cell. I could sense Sofia and a scattering of other humans, but she appeared to be the only magic user in the house. I couldn’t sense Clarion. Ferko was also in the house, but there were no nightwalkers about. The hour was still relatively early. I could only guess that they were all out hunting, not expecting me to actually survive the day locked up with Rowe. And in truth, I couldn’t blame them. The only reason I could guess that I was still alive was because Rowe thought he had more use for me as a living entity to barter with.

I took another calming breath and reached out nervously with my powers. Rowe had said Danaus had been shot, and Sofia seemed to think that he was still alive, but I was afraid to find out for sure. My powers crept slowly across Budapest, fanning out in all directions. I could have reached out directly but was afraid he wouldn’t be there.

Mira! Danaus’s voice rang true and clear in my head.

I stifled a half sob at the touch of his powers. He was alive and he felt strong to me. Danaus! You’re alive. Rowe said you were shot.

I was. Where are you? Is Rowe with you?

Ferko and some others grabbed me. I think I’m at Veyron’s. They grabbed Rowe, too. Are you all right?

Fine. Rowe’s there? He’s with you? he demanded.

Yes, we’re both locked together in what looks to be the basement. We’re going to try to break out. Where are you?

Near the hotel. I’m going to grab a taxi and get to Veyron’s. Wait and let me get there first before you strike.

No, stay where you are. I’ll get Stefan to come get you. We’re going to need the help. I paused and took a deep breath. Sofia is a witch.

Mira—

No, listen to me. It was all a plot to separate us. She’s a witch.

Mira, you can’t—

I can’t explain now. Just trust me.

Send me Stefan, Danaus said. He didn’t sound happy, but at least he was willing to come get me out of my prison.

I looked up at Rowe to find him watching me expectantly. “Almost got the troops rallied,” I said, then turned my attention to Stefan. He was a bit more pliable than Danaus. He didn’t care about Sofia, only where I was and how he was going to set me free. While he preferred to come get me directly, he at last agreed to fetch Danaus before appearing at Veyron’s place.

“Help is on the way,” I said, finally turning my full attention back to the naturi watching me.

“So I would hope. Are they going to break us out of here?”

I walked over to the massive steel door and frowned. “They are going to act as support. I was hoping we could get out of here on our own.”

“And then what?” he asked, not moving from where he stood against the wall. “You’ve summoned up your little soldiers, but there are no other naturi in Budapest to assist me. How far does this truce extend? The cell door? The front door?”

I held onto the tiny bars in the windows and stared down at the rough concrete ground. “I should kill you now for what you did to Valerio,” I muttered, but then shook my head. “But you could have killed me while I slept and you didn’t. That earns you a free ticket out of this house. However, if you strike at me or mine even once while we’re on the property of this house, I won’t hesitate to kill you. The truce extends as long as you behave. That goes for me and mine.”

“Agreed.”

I turned my focus to the door in front of me and the string of problems I had yet to face. I wasn’t ready to contemplate the fact that I had just struck a deal with the worst of my enemies. I’d face that nightmare some night when I was home safe, away from the naturi and the coven.