Exciti

Chapter 5 (Adam)

A large, rough hand muffled Adam's scream, and a strong arm circled around his torso. He was lifted off the ground and hauled back to the space behind the door. He kicked and struggled with all his might, wrestling with the stranger.

The struggle lasted only until the back of the emergency door swung violently toward them, stopping an inch short from smashing Adam in the face. Both Adam and his captor froze, and watched his two pursuers burst through the door and run down the stairs without looking back.

"I work with Tamara at the store. Come with me, and be quiet!" a man whispered in his ear. Adam stopped struggling. He still didn't trust the stranger one bit, but he doubted his muffled yelling would be heard over the blaring alarm anyway.

His kidnapper's arms kept an iron hold on his midsection as he hauled Adam up the stairs, bounding two and three steps at a time. The alarm was still going off by the time they reached the roof, but it was much quieter once they got out into the cold night. The sight of the sky intensified Adam's panic, and he kicked his kidnapper again.

This time, he was unceremoniously dropped to the floor.  He scrambled away on all four for a few yards before turning to face the stranger, gasping for air. The man was tall and very muscular, dressed in a white t-shirt and black combat pants and boots. His black hair was in dozens of very neat braids tied into a ponytail down his back.

He looked at Adam with an apologetic expression on his chestnut colored face, his green eyes concerned.

"Hi," the man said in a deep, baritone voice. He held his hands in front of him in a calming gesture, as if dealing with a deranged animal. Adam clamped down on the hysterical urge to laugh, like he was the dangerous one here!

His stunned silence seemed to worry the stranger. "Listen, I know you are startled. I'm very sorry for carrying you up here like that. Please don't freak out, we were just trying to protect you."

Adam decided to act braver than he felt. "We?" He was proud of himself; he did not squeak the word.

"Are you sure he is Tamara's brother? He looks like a wimp." A slight girl about Adam's age with short wavy red hair and big brown eyes stepped from behind Adam to the man's side.

Adam was too overwhelmed to be offended. "You know Tam? You know where she is?" he demanded.

"Aaaand a dimwit," finished the girl, waving a long, ornate sword in his direction, an empty scabbard in her other hand.

The man gave her a chastising look, then looked at Adam. "Listen, Adam. There is no time, you need to come with us. Your sister worked...works, with us..." he began.

"In the knickknack store?" inquired Adam in an incredulous tone, making a point of looking at the bulky muscles on the man's arms. He then shook his head, "No, forget about that. Where is my sister?"

"Great!" groaned the girl. "We came all the way here, and he doesn't know either..."

The tall man turned to her, "And it is well that we did, someone is after him. I'm guessing it is the same people who took Tamara." Adam heard a hint of a reprimand in his tone.

The girl, however, seemed oblivious to the chiding. She pointed at Adam with the sword without even looking his way, giving him a good look at the disturbing, pale doll that dangled from the sword's golden hilt, "But he doesn't know anything, so why ..."

Adam's temper flared. He took his eyes off the doll and glared at the two. "Hey, I'm still right here!"

"Sorry, let me introduce myself...again" apologized the tall man. "I'm Dr. little, the owner of Mercury antiques. This is Lucy Ellington, my apprentice."

"Dr. Little? As in Tamara's..." Adam began.

"Ah, here you are! May I join?" said a hollow metallic voice from behind him. Adam froze, his breath trapped in his chest. He didn't need to look behind him to see who put Lucy and the doctor on guard.

Eiserne was on the roof.