After stopping at the small encampment to update Ignacio on what had happened, Senka spent the next few hours flashing to the edge of the Vanterian border camp. Perched atop a sand dune, she now stared down into the small tent filled camp that reminded her a lot of the Northern camp, only about half the size. That being said, it had security the likes of which she had never seen.
Counting at least a dozen guards alone on the side she could see, not to mention another half dozen patrolling the narrow paths behind them, Senka couldn’t help but wonder why a camp this size would need so much security. It almost made it seem like they were expecting an attack at any moment. Kind of made her wonder if the Vanterians were as dangerous as rumors would have you believe. With no time to give the issue much thought, Senka wrapped herself in the shadow of her umbrella and flashed to one of the anchor points Chloe had shown her back at Lobos.
When the darkness peeled away, Senka found herself standing in the concealed corner of a massive red tent. Of all the places Chloe had shown her, this one in particular had stood out to her the most as being man made. Hoping that meant her father stayed somewhere nearby, she tucked away her umbrella and decided to explore for any clues that might point her in his direction.
Creeping carefully toward the edge of the divider, she paused and listened for any sounds while pulling one of her few remaining knives. After a few seconds of listening, in which the only sounds that could be heard came from the people casually chatting outside the canvas walls, Senka slowly continued around the edge and stopped dead in her tracks.
“What the hell?” she muttered as her eyes took in a rack full of chains, whips and various other torture devices. “Seriously Pa?” she grumbled as she shifted her gaze between the restraint table in the center of the room to the iron cell in the corner. Rounding to the other side of the rectangular table, she grimaced at the sight of the massive blood stains coating the floor beneath it. Furrowing her brow she knelt down and studied the circular pattern in the center, as if something, probably a bucket, had been set there to catch the blood as it drained from whoever had the unfortunate experience of being tied to it last. “When did you start doing this kind of work?”
“When assassins started huntin’ assassins.”
The familiar thick accented voice caught her off guard. Gasping she spun to face him, but instead found herself abruptly pinned, face first, against the cold metal bars of the cage. “Now ya wanna be tellin’ me who ya are and why ya be snoopin’ around in here?”
“I’m looking for Marchand de Mort.” Senka bit out.
“And why would ya be wantin’ that bastard fer?”
Though his voice had a jovial tone, the sound of him pulling a knife did not escape her notice. “Because I thought the asshole would like to know one of his daughters has been kidnapped and is being held hostage by a Shifter named Vincent.”
“What?” he gasped, his hold faltering.
Taking advantage of the momentary reprieve, Senka elbowed him in the gut. A rush of air expelled from his lungs as he dropped his knife and doubled over. He still had no idea who she was, but Senka didn’t care. Years of struggling alone in the forest, too young to care for herself, let alone her sister, years of struggling to survive as bounty hunters tracked them through the woods, filled her with pain and rage the likes of which she had never felt before.
“Yeah and he wants your head in exchange for her life you fucking asshole!” Still doubled over in front of her, she kneed him in the face knocking him on his ass just as a group of the camp’s men came rushing into the tent. “And personally, I think it’s a pretty fair fucking trade.” Jerking her knife from its sheath she charged forward but to her frustration was caught and restrained by the men still pouring in from outside.
“Don’t ya hurt her.” Her father groaned, as a few of the men helped him to his feet.
Gesturing to her still struggling against the hold of her captors, a dark haired man arched his brows. “Seriously? She just tried to kill you!”
“And she be havin’ every right to do so.” Shaking loose of the men holding him up, he pinched his nostrils together to stop the river of blood pouring forth from his nose. Then, with a pained expression, he approached her. “Senka, dat really you?”
Relief, pain, and betrayal clenched her chest and brought her to tears as she stared into a pair of eyes identical to her own. “Pa.” she sobbed, unable to hold it back any more.
He looked exactly the same as the last time she saw him. A muscular but deceivingly slender build that had always made his enemies underestimate him. Long brown hair slicked back in a ponytail, he wore more jewelry than a man should probably wear, but not so much that it took away from his masculinity, and was dressed in vibrantly colored, clashing clothing that was indicative of certain Wanderer tribes.
“Why…” She sobbed, though it was more from anger than of sadness. “Why did you abandon us when we needed you the most?”
“Criston, what the hell is going on here?” one of the men asked uncomfortably as they all watched her physically and emotionally break down in front of them. “Do you know this girl?”
“Aye, she’d be me daughter.”
Mouths gaping, every pair of eyes in the room fell upon her.
“Yeah, one of the two he abandoned in the middle of the night without so much as a goodbye.”
Pinching the bridge of his nose between his eyes, he sighed. “Could ya fellas excuse us a moment?”
“Are you sure that’s safe?” A dark haired man asked as he stared at her questioningly. “She still looks pretty pissed.”
“Aye,” He nodded weakly. “We got some catchin’ up to do.”
“If you say so boss.”
Cautiously, as if afraid she would attack them when they let her go, the men released her from their grasp and slowly made their way from the tent. Feeling slightly light headed and unsteady from not only the confrontation but the rapid flashing session it took to get her here, Senka leaned against the cell and closed her eyes.
“Why did you leave us Pa?” she asked quietly, feeling his eyes watching her.
“To keep ya safe child.”
She couldn’t help it, she huffed out a laugh. “Oh well that worked out well.”
“Senka, I wish there be a better way of explainin’ why a did what I did… but there be none. Every year da bounty on me blasted head went up, as did da number of hunters lookin’ fer me. So in a moment of panic I ran, hopin’ I’d lead dem away from you gurls.”
Motioning for her to have a seat at a small table in the corner of the room, he sat down across from her. “Now, tell me what happened to yer sister. How did that asshole find ya’ll and get me daughter?”
“Vincent doesn’t know she is your daughter.”
That threw him off. “Then why’d he take her?”
Inhaling deeply, Senka began to narrate the events of the last few days. He listened intently, paying close attention to every word. By the time she came to the part where she listened in on the conversation between Duncan and Vincent, and found out the truth of who Duncan really was, she began to sob. “I swear Pa, I didn’t know… he deceived me and I fell for it like the fool he wanted me to be.”
“Don’t blame yerself” he soothed, though he was obviously not very happy himself. “Sometimes our hearts see what they want to see and choose to ignore everythin’ else. Now forget this fool and let’s figure a way to get yer sister out of that damn place.”
“I don’t know Pa.” Senka sniffed, wiping away a stray tear. “That place is a fortress and the only way in or out is through the main entrance door. And even if we do manage to get inside, there is the issue of those damn shadowless lights that I have no doubt he will turn on the second I go inside.”
“Yeah, that could be a problem.” He agreed, “But first thin’ first. We need a distraction, somethin’ to lure them guards away from the door.”
“Like what?”
Scratching his chin, he frowned. “Tell me, how da Shifters feel about what is happenin’ in their town?”
“They’re not happy about it, especially since he has apparently been kidnapping local girls whose families can’t pay their debt to Vincent.”
“Think you can convince them to rally ‘gainst him?”
“I don’t know Pa, they are pretty afraid.”
“See what you can do, we gonna need da numbers.”
“Why don’t you ask us?”
Turning toward the sound of the voice behind her, Senka spotted a tall gentleman standing in the doorway. Like her father, he was dressed in vibrantly patterned clothing and had long dark brown hair, only his had been shaved off on the sides. Upon seeing him her father grinned. “Senka, dis be Jericho, the leader of the camp.”
Senka rose to her feet to greet him as he stepped the rest of the way inside. Smiling widely, Jericho bent down and gently kissed the top of her hand. “My pleasure.” He then turned his attention back to her father. “There is a group of men preparing to go as we speak.”
“Jericho, I don’t be wantin’ anyone to feel obligated to do dis. Most da Shifters here be havin’ active warrants in Zerdanda and any non-Shifter who goes could potentially git arrested for trespassin’.”
“We all know the risk friend.” Jericho said easily. “Besides, it seems many of our Shifters have their own beef to settle with this Vincent fellow. And let’s not forget the fact your daughters are Wanderers. Which means this asshole took one of our own, and you know how we feel about that.”
“And da Vanterians?”
That question caught Senka’s attention.
“What about them.” Jericho shrugged. “It should be many days still till they return and Jaron gave me his word the village would be safe. If the queen wants revenge for what we did to her, it is me she will seek and me she will get.” With a half-smile Jericho placed his hand on Criston’s shoulder. “Besides, I’d much rather be out there causing trouble than sitting here waiting for the queen to come for me.”
Her father smiled. “And trouble we will be causin’. But first, I need to stop by Devero’s tent and see if our friendly neighborhood Caster got anythin’ we can use to help with dem shadowless lights.” Scrunching his mouth, he stared back at Senka. “I also need to figure out how to keep her from gettin’ hurt when she returns to Vincent without me head as and offerin’.”
“She doesn’t have to” Grinning wickedly, Jericho threw his arms over both her and her father’s shoulders and led them toward the flap. “If it’s a head Vincent wants, then it is a head we shall give him.”
* * *
Just a little after dusk, Senka stood on the edge of the forest, staring blankly into the darkness. After spending most of the afternoon coming up with a plan they actually thought they could pull off, Senka, her father, and Jericho, who apparently was a very powerful Jumper, spent the rest of the afternoon flashing, or jumping, the men from the camp to the outpost. Those numbers, combined with the reinforcements Ignacio had already secured from their camp, made up the rag tag team of volunteers consisting of just about every race in the Council’s territory, plus even a few who weren’t.
“I’m going with you.” A deep voice stated as it approached her from behind. “And I don’t give a fuck what you or those other two fellas back there think about it.”
Senka huffed out a laugh, “Hi to you too Ignacio.”
Ignoring her, Ignacio stopped beside her, pulled out a cigarette, and lit it. “I mean it Senka. I don’t give a shit if you’re mad at Duncan or not, you and I both know if I let you do this by yourself he would kill me.”
At the mention of his name, Senka’s chest tightened painfully. Peaking over her shoulder at the markings on his arm, she couldn’t help but wonder if any of those possibly belonged to Night Stalkers. “Ignacio, can I ask you something.”
Silence fell between them as Ignacio took a drag off his cigarette. “Shoot.” He said on the exhale.
“Did you ever kill Night Stalkers?”
When his jaw clenched, Senka immediately regretted asking the question. She now understood completely why Wanderers had a no questions asked policy. Sometimes it was just better not to know.
“You know what, never mind, I don’t want to know.” With a sigh, she turned to head back to the camp and make her final preparations. “Just forget I asked, it was wrong of me.”
His large hand on her arm stopped her retreat. “Only once.” He answered staring down at her with a stoic expression. “But it wasn’t because he was a Night Stalker. Hell I didn’t even know what he was actually, just knew he been hired to kill me, so I killed him instead. It wasn’t until later when I overheard a conversation between a couple of older Shifters that I figured out what he was.”
Senka exhaled, relieved somewhat by his answer. “I’ll see you later Ignacio.”
Walking away, she only made it a few steps before his voiced called to her. “Can I say somethin’ real quick like?” She paused and stared back at him. “I know I don’t know all the details of what Duncan did or why he did it, but I do know a good man when I meet one. And Duncan is damn sure one of the best men I ever met Senka.”
Inhaling one last drag on his cigarette, he tossed it on the ground and extinguished it with the toe of his boot. He then walked to stand in front of her once more. “I know he’s a good man, because I’m not one, yet he took a risk on me when no one else would.”
Senka furrowed her brow. “Ignacio…”
“Do you know what my marks represent?” he asked, cutting her off.
Eyes darting to the numerous lines covering his arms, Senka nodded. “I saw the men fighting in Rio. Watched as one killed the other and earned a mark.”
“That’s right.” He nodded, seeming impressed by her familiarity with his sport. “I didn’t hunt for profit or use weapons to take down my enemies swiftly and quietly. Instead I earned my marks inside a steel cage every night, sometimes multiple times a night, beating some poor sap to death with my bare hands or, if it was a beast match, letting my wolf rip him to pieces with his fangs.”
Reaching in his pocket, Ignacio pulled out another cigarette and lit it up. “And it was never quick. Sometimes it could take hours to wear a good fighter down, other times the organizer would want you to drag it out as long as possible so they could get the bets up higher.” Inhaling deeply, Ignacio blew out a huge plume of smoke. “And you know what?” Glancing down at her, Ignacio grinned widely. “I loved every minute of it. The adrenaline, the cheering, the infamy, and of course” Pausing he waggled his brows, “The women. Hell, I would actually still be doing it they hadn’t run me off.”
“Why did they run you off?” The question slipped out before she could stop it.
Ignacio huffed out a laugh, “Because I was too good.” Placing his cigarette between his lips he let it dangle there as he reached for the bottom of his shirt. “You see every time you win they mark you so the crowd knows your record.” Pulling up his shirt, he exposed his muscular torso.
“Dear stars.” She gasped as she stared at more dark markings than she could count.
Every single inch of his body was covered. They even seemed to disappear around his side and into his pants. “How many are there?” she gasped.
“Not sure, I stopped counting after it hit two fifty.” Dropping his shirt, he shrugged, “But that isn’t the point. The point is, unlike me, Duncan chose to give up that lifestyle years ago.” He said, accentuating the word chose. “And while I don’t know what it was that made him become a bounty hunter to begin with, whether it be money, protection, or whatever, he left it all and his family behind to try and start over again.”
“That doesn’t change what he did or the fact that he lied to me.” She choked out. “He made me believe that he had feelings for me Ignacio. But how could he? How could he possibly have feelings for a member of a race he spent most of his life trying to eradicate?”
“I can’t answer that Senka”
“Of course you can’t.” she huffed. “Because it isn’t possible to hate a race so much and then fall in love with one, which means he used me. Which would have been fine, all he had to do was tell me what he wanted up front. But instead, he lied. He told me he had feelings for me, and worst still, he made me have feelings for him.”
Ignacio dropped his gaze for a moment. “I don’t believe that Senka. Everyone in the camp knows how Duncan feels for you.”
“What?”
“Yeah. I mean, we’ve all been watching the two of you for years. I am honestly surprised it took him as long as it did to finally tell you.” Sighing he dropped his cigarette to the ground and mashed it out. “I guess it just took the thought of losing you to make him realize just how much he cared.”
And with that said, he turned and headed back toward the camp, leaving her there to ponder everything he had said. Could he be right? Had Duncan really had feelings for her all this time and she had just ignored the signs? Turning back to face the trees she sighed.
You love her don’t you? Vincent’s words echoed in her mind. Was it true? Did he really love her? If so, why hadn’t he told her? Why wait until they were about to walk into a situation that one or both of them may never escape from before he even bothered to confess that he actually had feelings for her?
Because he didn’t plan on making it back out.
That lone thought sobered her instantly.
“No.” she whispered under her breath. But the more she thought about it the more it made sense. He had given her instructions, that once he got Vincent to show him where the girls were kept, she would flash in and rescue them all one by one. He told her to flash them back to the outpost and he would meet up with her there.
“He never intended to come back.” She whispered under her breath.
Rage ignited every inch of her body. Spinning around, she shouted after Ignacio. “You knew didn’t you? That he left with the intention of never coming back! Duncan wanted me to hear that conversation! He wanted me to get mad enough that I wouldn’t go back for him.”
Spinning back with a smirk, Ignacio shrugged. “I told him you would figure it out, and that when you did you would be pissed.”
“Oh, I am so beyond pissed.” She seethed, “Get your things together I am leaving in ten minutes with or without you.”
“Be back in five.”
“Oh, and Ignacio?” he paused, turning to face her once more. “Don’t forget to get my father’s head,” she grinned. “We wouldn’t want to disappoint Vincent by showing up without a gift.”