Chapter 500: Kidnapped
I should have been expecting an attack. After what Theridialis told me about the hostile environment above, not to mention my previous experience on Demonicon, an attempt on my life was an obvious thing, wasn't it? But, like a doofus, I wasted a precious moment on "huh?" while the three Guards, the closed cell door now shutting out the rest of the world, gathered their power and pounced.
Not for the first time and certainly not for the last, I was grateful for the presence and vigilance of the other powers living with me. Without them, I know my life, as invincible as I might have been, would have likely ended that night.
As it was, my vampire threw out a shining silver shield only just in time to block the first blast of golden fire even as Shaylee's earth magic dove deep under the rock and burst forth, turning the ground beneath the hulking Guards to rubble, driving them to their knees. My demon reacted next, a massive lash of magic whipping through the trio as they howled in pain.
The door clanged open again, impacting one of the Guards in the head, the sound not quite as dramatic as when it struck stone, but infinitely more satisfying as his eyes rolled to white and he collapsed to the ruined floor. The other two Guards, still writhing in agony from the lash my demon delivered, toppled in turn as a pair of masked demons hurtled their own balls of fire. My vampire shield, now reinforced with demon, witch and Sidhe magic, was more than enough to protect me from the flashover, but I winced anyway, brightness of the flames flaring to painful.
I eyed the pair of demons through the sparkling stars dancing in my vision. They stood in my doorway, black masks disguising their features while the three Guards lay suddenly silent at my feet. I wasn't sure if I should be grateful, considering if my two masked visitors were there to rescue me I'd already had the whole thing well in hand.
"Nice timing," I said, not even trying to keep the sarcasm from my voice as I nudged a fallen Guard with one toe. "Now who sent you?"
Neither spoke, just exchanged a look before the first, tall and broad-shouldered, raised his hand to me. Wait a second. His hand wasn't empty. What was he pointing-
A tiny silver projectile sliced through my shields, flaring with magic as it did. Before I could try to muster some kind of defense, the prick of its sting made me wince and brush at it with numb fingers.
Very numb. Hands, too. Arms like lead. I lifted my head, certain it weighed a hundred tons and took a staggering step forward, pulling in my magic as everything slid sideways into darkness.
***
"-supposed to take her with us." A male voice punctured the black, echoing in my head as I blinked a few times.
Sydlynn, my vampire whispered. Be silent.
Silent? Okie dokie. I could do silent. If only the pounding in my head knew what silent meant. Tiny jackhammers of pain worked their way across my skull and settled behind my eyes.
Not a sound, she sent, soothing my pain with spirit power. Listen.
I ran my tongue around my parched mouth. You got it. The need to giggle was so powerful I bit my lower lip to stop myself. The pain of my teeth clamped on my swollen mouth nearly drew a gasp from me, but it was enough to shatter the edge of the funny fog and bring me the rest of the way into consciousness.
"I don't care what he said," a second voice spoke, slightly higher pitched, though also male, and a little whiny in my opinion. And I knew whiny. Been there, done that, irritated the hell out of myself in the process.
Sydlynn. The vampire sighed. I know it's hard, but you have to focus.
Focus. Where was I? A moment of panic told me all of my powers were with me, though Shaylee and my demon remained out of it.
Let them sleep, my vampire sent. Especially our demon. She will react badly, and we need to pay attention before she wakes and does something unfortunate.
Yeah. That was a tactful word. I'm here, I sent back, sluggish, lethargic and still on the verge of giggles. Where are we?
In some kind of transport, she sent. We're fleeing Ostrogotho, from what I've gleaned.
Leaving the Seat? But the tribunal. Dad! Only my vampire's calm collective held me still.
We've been kidnapped, she sent. But you notice the pain and pressure from Ahbi's geas has gone?
She was right, it had. So we're heading in the right direction.
Perhaps, she sent. We're moving at least. It may be all the oath requires to still its needs.
For now. I opened one eye a crack, light pulling my gaze from the dull gray of what had to be a seat to the rim of a shield bubble. Definitely a transport. I'd had some experience with them before, been on a small one with my grandmother when she gave Meira and I a tour of the Planes the last time we were here. Who are our two friends? Or were there more than two?
I reached out ever so carefully with my spirit power, tied to my vampire for stability, as I continued to waffle between the need to laugh at nothing in total hysteria and squeezing my aching head in agony.
Only two, she sent. And young. Some kind of resistance fighters? They've been whispering and I've only just been able to overhear them.
Fair enough. There was a resistance building against Ahbi's rule, I sent as the ghostly thread of spirit whispered over the first demon, giving me the barest visual, like the flashed afterimage of an underdeveloped photograph. But it was enough to fill in the blanks we needed to make a plan.
I lay on a bench, formed from the material of the transport through magic, my back turned to the front of the vehicle. Another long bench separated me from my kidnappers. This transport was obviously designed for larger numbers of demons or even cargo. My abductors sat at the front, the one on the left managing some kind of control board while the demon on the right sat half-turned toward him.
"-disappointed in your lack of conviction." Hang on. I knew that first voice, even kept low and soft. Where had I heard it before?
"He isn't here with us, is he?" The second demon grew more sniveling by the second, voice louder, and I could only imagine he turned his head to look at me. "Smuggling the most wanted demon on any plane out of Ostrogotho?"
"You joined us for a reason," the first voice snapped while I gnawed at my recognition in irritation. I was too young to have such a terrible memory. All those blows to the head and druggings were catching up with me, for sure.
"I'm not a traitor to the cause," number two snapped back. "But no one said anything about this level of risk."
The first laughed, a deep sound vibrating through my muscles and bones as the transport banked softly. "You do realize just being a member of the resistance makes you a traitor to the Seat? That you can be stripped and killed for your choice?"
The other didn't say anything, silent as his partner in crime went on.
"This isn't some tame farmer's perinathon ride, Ahmose. Some cause you can dabble in."
"How dare you." The second demon's anger rippled over me as his magic escaped his control.
"Don't be a fool," the first said. "You're no match for me. And we have a job to do. You want to challenge me, Ahmoselurem, you wait until we're on the ground and safe with Leader. Then I'll be happy to tear your pathetic heart out."
Silence reined a moment. This could go badly, my vampire sent. If they can't keep their tempers in check.
You think? Just what I needed, kidnappers who hated each other's guts.
"She's a liability." The pitch and level of whine increased in demon number two. "You know it. Let's just kill her and dump the body. Her death will serve as well as her captivity."
"No," the first said. "She's our best hope. Now shut up and let me focus. We're coming to the border and I won't have you screwing this up."
The border of the city? Had to be.
If we're going to act, I sent, we should do it before we cross out of Ostrogotho.
Agreed, my vampire sent. But quietly.
Quietly. I could do quietly.
Would have managed it, certainly. If my demon hadn't chosen that exact moment to wake up.
Snorting, shaking her inner head, without a trace of the giddiness plaguing me. Nope, she was on the far side of the spectrum from laughter. About as far as she could get. As in Miss Cranky-Pants. Pissed off. Ready to tear someone-anyone-to shreds. My vampire and I both fought her, tried to calm her down as she took in the situation and the fact we'd been drugged. But the surge of rage she flooded my body with burned in an uncontrollable fire. Amber lit my vision as my body spun on the bench, my demon bringing us into a crouch, a ball of flaming magic balanced in either hand.
Both demons turned with shock in their faces. "I thought you said she was out for hours!" I paired number two's voice with the image of him, wide through the chest, but weak in the chin, just as my demon roared her unhappiness from my gaping mouth and threw her weapons forward.
The driver dodged to the left, shields absorbing the explosion of magic, but his partner didn't deal with the attack quite so well. His hastily raised protections didn't draw in the power impacting them, but instead sent them on a ricochet, the burning mass of magic blowing a massive hole in the front of the transport as demon number one leaped backward with a cry of fear.
The transport shuddered, nose falling away, taking the control panel with it.
"Are you insane?" The first demon spun on me, his face now connecting to the voice I'd heard, the handsome merchant boy I'd met on my first visit, expression nowhere near the one of wicked attraction I remembered now twisted into anger and terror.
"You kidnapped me," I snarled, my demon speaking through my mouth, but with my permission.
"And you've killed us," he snapped back. "Without the magic controls to stabilize this vessel, we're going to crash."
***
