Chapter 148: Discovery
The dark retreated a little, at least from my consciousness. But when I tried to open my eyes, there was no light. I felt something in my mind tighten around my thoughts and hold me still and quiet. It was almost as if I had been shunted aside to observe as the protective spell keeping me latent took an active part.
I heard strange voices whispering around me, but couldn't make out individual words. I remembered being in the back yard with Jared, Pain showing up, chasing after her before seeing the shadow of the man from my dream. And, finally the blow to my head knocking me out.
But who would have kidnapped me? The protective spell whispered a name and flashed a face. Rosetta. But why?
That answer came with the woman's own whisper, now clear in my ears. "I've brought the unclean one to the master."
Unclean one. What was she talking about? Cogs clicked and moved in my head as I tried to connect the dots. I'd heard that term before from someone. Unclean. Then it hit me. Could it be? Was Rosetta one of the Chosen? Had I fallen into the very hands of the ones I'd been looking for all along?
I couldn't be that lucky.
A second voice, this one male, hissed back at her. "You should never have brought her here. He will be furious."
"But she is evil still," Rosetta said with so much heat I knew she must have witnessed my conversation with Galleytrot. "She consorts with demons and plots to destroy the world." Suspicion confirmed.
"She is powerless and has been since our leader stripped her of her demon magic." Demetrius obviously spun the story to his advantage. "Take her back where you found her before she wakes and ruins everything."
I felt something touch me, a power I didn't recognize. I was shocked at first to feel anything until it registered the protective spell controlled everything, including keeping my awake mind shielded from the sorcerer.
"You're fortunate no harm has been done," he hissed at Rosetta. "Return to your duties and never return here again."
"I must see the master." Rosetta's voice grew louder, no longer whispering. I could feel the Chosen member's panic.
"If you trouble Master Strong with this, he will punish both of us." His voice shook and I wondered what kind of punishment was the norm in the Chosen ranks.
Rosetta's breath hissed out. "Very well, I will do as you say." I felt myself man-handled into the back of a vehicle and the door closed behind me. As the car roared to life and drove away, the spell protecting me reached out and flashed one image of my surroundings to me, almost like a snapshot, before slamming closed again.
I knew where she was. My demon. I knew how to find her now. The massive stone mansion sprawled in the forest, but I could locate it, I was sure. Not only that, I could share the image with Sunny who could find it by air if necessary.
Perfect. All I had to do now was reach her or Quaid.
I was shocked at how far we had to go before the car stopped. Not because it was a great distance, but because Rosetta drove for maybe ten minutes before coming to a halt. My demon was that close for that long and I had no idea? I wanted to scream.
I held still as she jerked open the door and grunted as she pulled me out of the back of the car by my legs, dumping me on the grass before getting back into her car and driving off.
I lay there for a full minute before sitting up. My stomach did a slow roll over from the pain lancing through my brain, but after a moment of deep breathing it went away. I touched the goose egg sized bump on the back of my head and was grateful the stupid woman hadn't cracked my skull.
My knees supported me, and my balance came back. The sun was just rising as I stumbled up the driveway toward the house with only one thought on my mind.
I was about to be whole again and I couldn't wait.
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