Tainted: Book Three - Enslaved

12. Tornado of Power

Gemma

When I woke up the second time, I knew I'd been asleep for a while. The taste in my mouth said at least a day, anyway.

Slightly less exhausted than before, I looked around, but it was too dark to see much. There were no windows, only a door to my left, and its outline provided the only light. I was lying on a soft mattress with a nest of blankets and pillows around me. I didn't have my shoes on, but I was pretty sure I still wore the same clothing I'd had on since the ambush in the mountains. While I was grateful to still have clothes, and even more grateful to still be wearing them, I would have given just about anything for a pair of fresh panties.

The door opened. At the sight of the tall, lean figure standing there, I felt hope burst inside me.

"Kerry?" I whispered.

Then he flicked overhead lights on, and my heart fell.

The guy looked about Kerry's age and height, but that was the end of the similarities. He had black hair, toast-brown skin, and midnight black eyes. Seeing me awake, the man's thick eyebrows drew together as he came the rest of the way in the room.

I scuttled away from him until my back was against the headboard. Forcing my chin up, I reminded myself that I was strong and could use my power to knock him out if he tried anything.

"Who are you?" I swallowed, trying to get some moisture in my dry throat. "Why am I here?"

Instead of answering, he held out a phone.

"Who is this?" he demanded. "Tell me his name!"

Taking my eyes off him, I looked at the small screen and gasped. I recognized that tornado of power. I'd stood inside a smaller one myself.

Bolts of lightning shot out from the tornado and each one wrapped around a man who looked very much like my captor. The lightning carried him back into the tornado, and I realized Kerry had built a trap of some kind.

Oh, my sweet boy. What's happened to hurt you this much?

"Who is he?" The man raised his voice this time, making me flinch.

I didn't know why he wanted to know, but I figured it wouldn't be for anything good. I kept my eyes fixed on the phone and ignored him. Whoever was filming zoomed in and, from the look on his face, my boy was gone. All that was left was the tiger, and it was bent on destroying everything in its path.

"Oh, Kerry," I breathed without meaning to.

"Kerry? The one you called for?"

I pinched my lips together. On the screen, the storm crashed down into Kerry's hands, where he formed it into a giant ball. Then he started yelling. Unfortunately, my captor had the video on mute.

"What's he saying?" I tried to read his lips.

The man jerked the phone away.

"Kerry who? Where can I find him?"

"Don't worry," I assured him with a dark chuckle. "If you keep me your prisoner, he'll find you soon enough."

"Why would he butcher my brothers like this?"

"Is that who he was capturing? Was it at City of the Future?"

"Yes. Our master commanded my brothers to attack. As I was not present to hear the order, I was free from it and made my own choice."

"And that choice was to kidnap me?" I filled in the blanks. "Well, if you took me away from him right as he found me, then yes. That is the reaction I'd expect him to have."

"This was brutality beyond necessity. It will take my brothers weeks to restore themselves. He could have banished them in seconds, but he chose to strip them down to their essences. Why?"

I kept quiet, and the man leaned close enough for me to see each red line in his bloodshot eyes.

"I know why everyone else, including my master, wants you so badly. A prince of Hell has offered an indulgence for you. But who are you to this man? This Kerry?" he spat.

The news shocked me. Amanda and I sure didn't see this coming when she put the illusion on me. My lungs went into overdrive. My heart went wild and tried to break free of my rib cage. No matter how hard I fought them, hot tears welled up in my eyes.

I'm dead. Not even Kerry can fight a prince of Hell. What should I do? What CAN Ido?!

"You didn't know about the indulgence?" He moved back a step and narrowed his eyes at me.

I shook my head, which made the tears escape down my cheeks.

"I'm sorry," he murmured. "My master does not know I have you. If he finds out I do, he will order me to take you to him so that he can claim the indulgence."

"You said you have a master. Does that mean you're a slave?" My tears stopped as my fear for myself turned into pity for this man.

"Yes. My brothers and I were trapped by an old enemy and bound to a ring. So long as it exists, we will always have a master."

"Have you tried destroying it?"

"That is not possible. Another can, but not us. If we so much as touch it, we are drawn into it."

"Have you ever tried to get someone else to destroy it?"

"Many times. Either we were betrayed or our master discovered our conspirator or he or she was too weak to complete the task."

"How long—"

"Millennia."

Wow. Poor guy. Poor brothers.

"What's your name?" I asked him.

"Darius."

"I'm Gemma. Gemma Shepherd. Look, you asked who I was to Kerry." Sucking in a shuddering breath, I sat up as straight as I could. "I am his heart. His conscience. His moral compass. Without me, he will proceed without mercy. The longer I am kept from him, the more others will suffer what your brothers have."

He grumbled in another language, one that sounded like none I'd ever heard before.

"Despite being slaves, we have tried to keep our honor intact, and it is honorless to keep an innocent, young girl prisoner." Darius shook his head. "However, I cannot release you, for you are the key to our freedom."

Anger shot through me.

"Oh? Do you plan to hand me over the demon prince and claim the indulgence for yourself? How much honor is in that?" I spat.

"Of course I would do no such thing!" he spat back. "However, if I can get an intermediary to trade you to my master for the ring—"

"Oh, yes, so much more honorable. You'd trade me for the ring while knowing he'd pass me right off to the demon prince?"

"I'm still working out the details. I will save you if I can." He plowed one hand through his hair.

"Sure you will." I huffed and crossed my arms over my chest. "Look, you'd be better off contacting Kerry and striking up a deal with him than your master or an intermediary. He'd do anything to get me back, including cutting the ring off your master's finger."

Darius stared at me for several minutes.

"I will think on your suggestion."

He nodded his head, then pivoted on his heel and left the room. The sound of him locking me in was loud in the silence.