The Otherkind Book One:Heart

~*~ 49 ~*~

~*~ 49 ~*~

"So—-" he looked down at me. "You must have be Laurel then as well, if I am not mistaken. Is this true?"

I was afraid to answer him.

"Makes no matter. I will come to my own conclusions if you will not help me. I am only trying to be nice. After all, I've waited a very long time to finally get to meet my sister-in-law."

Travis sputtered and said something ugly under his breath about being too nice to me while struggling to sit up.

"If I were you little man, I would scurry back home before your Master decides to come looking for you himself. Seems the old crone is up to something and he needs your" he looked over at him contemptuously "ability." Victor waved his hand dismissing Travis. "Go Toad, before I take you back to him myself and then we'll see what happens."

Travis stood up and took one more look at me. "I'll get you yet sister. You're mine!" he ducked out the back door of the barn heading west.

"We are in a bit of a predicament now you and I." he leaned against the wall looking at me. "Whatever are we going to do?"

I was under no illusion, I had gone from the frying pan into the fire for all his deceptive pleasantries. I was a liability to my friends and family and a pawn in a high stakes game that I was only beginning to learn the rules to.

Sighing he pulled me closer to him. "Let me see those cuts of yours." Woodenly I stood before him, like a rabbit in the sight of a fox before it takes off running scared for its life.

Turning me around to look at my shoulder as well "Nothing serious. You don't even need a healer. I will have to give some credit to Travis for not losing his cool and doing some serious damage. Impressive for a half-breed with a bag of magic tricks."

He turned me around to face him again. "So" he ran a finger along my chin tipping my face up to look at his "what are we going to do now?"

I shook my head numbly. I didn't have the foggiest. "Well, seems Travis there really did have a good idea. You could call my brother and then I can leave with him. That would be the end of it that is if you trusted me enough to do just that. I wouldn't blame you if you didn't, but I really have no interest in you little sister beyond a mild curiosity." He appeared to be thinking. "But if I took you back with me," he looked at me intently. "Where is my erstwhile brother now?"

"Meromi Nol." I answered honestly knowing it wouldn't help him find Grayson.

"Where, that's a very big place." That I didn't know and looked at him spreading my hands out. "I wouldn't know."

"No, I suppose you wouldn't." he closed his eyes for a moment. Then he smiled. "How about this. I will let you chose." he acted magnanimous "You either call for Grayson now, here, so I can take him back with me, and I promise to leave you here unscathed. Let me restate that, relatively unscathed after that bumbling toad got a hold of you.

Or, I will take you back with me and we will go find him together you and I." he smiled down on me "Tick-tock. The choice is yours Rowan but I will not stand here cooling my heels for a mere slip of a human girl very much longer."

I made a bolt for the front door of the barn tripping over a heap of wood and slamming a plank into my collar bone. I felt something crack, ignoring the searing pain I got up and lunged for the door. Victor laughed uproariously. "Oh this is too rich! Your choice has been made." He used angel speed and caught up to me flashing us out of there.

And then I was standing in a darkened large room that resembled a warehouse "Rafil!" Victor's voice boomed out echoing in the very large room.

"Over here, just a moment!" And then a thin dark skinned man with horrible dread locks lithely threaded his way around shrouded box-like shapes. He reminded me instantly of a rat. He was sniffing the air as if testing it, and something about the way he moved. "Yes Captain Vic? It has been much too long since you've come to visit me."