Chapter Twenty-Five
As the woman’s image faded from his mind, the prisoner’s eyes fluttered open. Raising his hand, he gingerly touched his battered face. The Master had never hurt him like this before. What had caused this strange shift in the Master’s behaviour? He tried to clear his fuzzy thoughts. He had no idea how or why he was able to interact with the woman. It seemed his subconscious was able to connect with her on some psychic level. He crawled slowly toward his bed and collapsed onto the mattress, carefully raising his head he looked around the barren room. The Master had taken his drawings…all of them. He stared at the bare stone walls. Years of his life spent sketching the only person who’d provided a connection to the outside world and it was all gone.
Closing his eyes he conjured up the woman’s face, replaying her parting words. She’d promised to come for him, to free him. He didn’t know how she planned to accomplish this feat, but for some reason he believed her. They were connected, and he knew that she felt it too. He only prayed that she would find a way to set him free before the Master decided to kill him, for it seemed his life no longer held any value. It was a strange sensation...wanting to live...
The prisoner curled his pained body into a ball. He closed his eyes and tried to will himself to sleep. Perhaps in dreams the pain that wracked him would be muted and he could see his champion again.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Katia heard the snick of the dead bolt as the front door of the apartment was unlocked. Seconds later, the door opened and Amir stepped in. He was alone. Katia waved hello. “Where’s Luc?”
Amir turned to re-lock the door behind him. “He’s with B and Gadreel. They're checking to see if Sergei's magic still works now that he’s a vamp. He should be back in a little bit.”
Katia nodded and looked down at her hands that were clasped in her lap. Amir walked over and sat down next to her on the couch, clearly concerned. “Is everything okay?”
Taking a deep breath, she looked into Amir’s yellow eyes, searching for something. After a moment she nodded. “I need your advice on something.”
“Shoot.”
“You and Luc seem to be pretty close and I don’t want to worry him, so I hope you can keep this between us.”
Katia saw wariness creep into Amir’s expression. “I don’t want to get in the middle of something between the two of you.”
Katia nodded. “I understand, but this isn’t about Luc and me. This is about my brother. You know as much about this world as Luc does and I need to get some impartial advice. I hope I can count on you for that.”
Amir nodded. “Go ahead.”
Taking a deep breath, Katia started, “I’m not sure if Luc’s said anything to you, but I’ve been seeing my brother…in the mirrors.”
Amir nodded. “He mentioned something like that.”
“I saw him again today. Someone’s hurt him badly. I need to save him; I need to get him out of there. He told me where he’s being held.”
Amir’s eyebrow raised. “Really? That’s great! We can get a crew together and go after him for you.”
Katia sighed. “It’s not that simple. He’s being held at Halja...unless you know another place that’s surrounded by a lake of blood.”
“Shit.” Amir dropped his head into his hands. “Let me guess, you want to go in after him.”
Katia stood and threw her hands up in the air. “I can’t just leave him there. He’s my brother and he’s being tortured!”
Amir stood and began to pace the length of the living room, his agitation obvious in the length of his stride. Stopping abruptly he turned to face Katia. “Luc will do anything in his power to keep you out of Halja. I can’t get into the dungeon area without tripping a zillion alarms the second I open a dimensional rift. The rest of the guys have no hope of getting in and out without being caught.”
“I know. That’s why I want to go myself.”
“No way. Not a chance in Sheol. Luc would lose his shit if you went in there alone.” Amir shook his head and resumed pacing the room.
“I know, and I don’t want to hurt him, but I’m the only one who has any chance of getting in and out without being killed. Satan obviously wants me alive, so it wouldn’t do him any good to hurt me. If you could drop me as close to the dungeon as possible, I’ll get Keir and then we can leave.”
“He may not hurt you, but you’ll end up his prisoner for the rest of your natural life, which is forever might I remind you” Amir said pointedly.
Katia rose from her spot and walked slowly toward him, twisting her hands together as she went. “I know that and I don’t want to leave Luc. But I can’t just leave him there and go on with my life. I need to be able to look myself in the mirror every morning. What kind of person would I be if I sacrificed his life and freedom for my own safety?”
“Fuck.” Amir ran his hands over his face. “Just…Fuck.” With a sigh, he walked back over to the couch and dropped down, defeated.
Moving quickly, Katia sat down beside him and clasped one of his hands in her
