Abducting Abby: Dragon Lords of Valdier Book 1

Chapter 19

                   

Abby shivered as she slowly regained consciousness. She was disoriented, and her head felt funny, as if full of cotton. Shaking her head in an effort to clear it, Abby tried to sit up, but couldn't move her arms and legs. She pulled frantically and realized she was strapped down on some type of bedding on a hard surface. Abby looked wildly around as she tried to determine what had happened. She remembered Zoran being shot and collapsing.

"Zoran!" Abby cried out, tears filling her eyes at the thought of anything harming him.

"So, the Valdier's little pet has awakened," a voice said out of the darkness.

"Where am I? Where is Zoran? What have you done to him?" Abby forced the questions through a dry, scratchy throat. "Why are you doing this?"

Ben'qumain knelt down next to Zoran Reykill's delicious mate. Picking up a strand of her long dark hair, he pulled it toward him to sniff. "Beautiful. You are truly exquisite. I enjoyed the sounds you made the other night. Perhaps, I will keep you so you can 'sing' for me. Along with other enjoyments, of course."

Abby shook harder, gritting her teeth; she stared defiantly into the cold eyes looking down at her. "When hell freezes over! Now, let me go!"

Ben'qumain laughed out loud. "You have much fire. I am going to enjoy tasting it."

Abby screamed as Ben'qumain grabbed the front of her shift and ripped it down the front. She fought against the restraints as he ran his hands down over her breasts to cup her between her legs. Recoiling against the touch of another man, Abby cried out frantically for Zoran as she twisted, trying to get away. Ben'qumain stood up slowly with a laugh and began pulling his clothes off.

*.*.*

"What the hell do you mean, Raffvin is behind this?" Zoran asked, running his hands through his hair. All he could think about was Abby. "Raffvin was killed years ago, along with our father."

All four men sat around the conference table inside a Valdier freighter that had been modified into a small warship. The room was smaller than on the V'ager but still comfortable. In the center of the table was a holovid projecting a still image of Ben'qumain. Creon often used the disguised warship when he was working on assignments when he didn't want anyone to know what he was doing. The crew of the freighter consisted of handpicked warriors Creon trusted with his life. Zoran was surprised at the mixed number of warriors consisting of both Valdier and Curizan.

"No, he made it appear he had been killed. In truth, he killed father and staged his own death. He had always been jealous of father," Creon said softly. "I had doubts when we could not find his body."

"It was during the same time my own father was killed in an 'accident,'" Ha'ven joined in. "That seemed very unlikely shortly after Ben'qumain appeared, claiming to be a product of my father and a servant's mating.

"My father was supposedly killed while on a hunt. There was little left of his body by the time we found it. I became very suspicious as Ben'qumain had been a member of the hunting party and was the only one to have seen the supposed attack of a pack of gumbas. My father was too experienced a hunter to have fallen prey so easily.

"After two more serious injuries involving two of my younger brothers, my brothers and I became extremely leery of the sudden 'accidents' that seemed to be plaguing our family. What my brothers and I have learned since is that Ben'qumain has gathered a small following of rebels in the hopes of killing us and taking over the ruling house of Curizan. He has joined forces with your Uncle Raffvin, who wants control of your kingdom."

"How do you know all this? How do you know Raffvin is involved?" Zoran asked coolly. He still could not believe that his uncle, who had been like a second father to him as a boy, would do such a thing.

Creon nodded to Ha'ven who turned on a holovid. "This was taken by an informant who is working for us. We both have men who have put their lives at stake to gain the information we have," Ha'ven said.

The holovid showed Ben'qumain talking to a group of men at what looked to be a military camp of some sort. The view was very narrow as whoever was taking it seemed to be at attention. Out of the corner of the holovid came another figure; as he came closer, his image became clearer. It was their Uncle Raffvin shaking hands with Ben'qumain.

"Greetings. You have set in motion your part of the plan?" Ben'qumain asked.

"Yes, but there is a problem. Zoran has survived. He is returning as we speak," Raffvin said sharply. "You were supposed to kill him!"

Ben'qumain gave an ugly laugh. "Yes, and you were supposed to give me the information I requested."

"I told you, only the ruler of the Valdier has access to the information you seek. It is written in the Chronicles of Valdier. Only the ruling king's symbiot has the ability to access the information. You were supposed to get the information on his symbiot so you could use it. No other symbiot has access to it!"

"He was being stubborn. He would not reveal where his symbiot was hidden and refused to call it to him, no matter how much we tortured him. There has to be another way," Ben'qumain growled impatiently. "It will do me no good if he is dead!"

Raffvin's face curved into a cruel smile. "My informants have given me information that may be useful. Zoran has found his true mate. There is one of two ways to get the information you seek. Capture his mate, and he will be forced to give it to you, or if it is true and the female is his true mate, wait until he gives her the protection of his symbiot. It will not leave her unprotected once he has given it to her. The problem with that is she will be stronger, and it will be more difficult to control her with the symbiot's protection. It would be better to take her beforehand."

Ben'qumain looked thoughtfully for a moment before replying. "A true mate, you say?"

"A very lovely one from what my informant tells me. She could bring you much pleasure as well for all your troubles." Raffvin chuckled as he and Ben'qumain moved too far away for the holovid to capture any more.

Zoran swore softly under his breath as he stared at the still images in the holovid. He felt sick at the thought of what Abby must be going through. He had had a taste of Ben'qumain's torture. So help him, if Ben'qumain touched Abby, he would tear him apart limb by limb.