Fourteen
Caught
Ten years to the day that she left, Tirah tried to hurry through the portal, but it had its own unique brand of magic, along with its own timeline. Impatient and anxious to find out what had happened to Mihel, she slipped and fell, then swore when she cut herself on a sharp, jagged sapphire rock. She brought her finger to her mouth and sucked on the wound. Bloody hell. I am so done with this crap. Happy Birthday to me. Ten years of running, hiding, and watching over my shoulder is enough. I’m twenty-eight, it would be nice to have a place I didn’t have to leave every few months. Maybe even start a family.
Yeah, right. She’d have to find a man to do that, and she was no longer trusting enough to let anyone into her life. With a sigh, Tirah tried to let her anger go, knowing it wasn’t helping her. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. One thing she’d noticed, as she fled through the various portals to other worlds, was that the magical corridors fed on intense emotion.
Up until now, this one was like wading through thick sludge and made moving excruciatingly slow. But with her unwitting blood sacrifice, she could feel the portal shifting, as if it were awakening. A high, keening wail sounded off in the distance, and her skin prickled. Chilled to the bone and clothing sticking to her skin as if wet, Tirah picked up her pace, glad to finally be able to do so. She was nearing the exit when a loud crack sounded, making her jump. She began to run as a few long, sharp ruby shards fell to the ground and shattered. Yeah, time to get out of here.
Tirah gulped in the fresh air when she emerged from the portal under Tartaria’s noonday sky. Whew. That was close. Too close. She’d heard of others getting caught in portals for weeks, while some never made it out.
She raised her face to the three suns, and though still pissed off, let the warmth of the heat calm her. Then an overwhelming sensation of excitement bubbled up inside. I did it! The invigorating aroma of spring flowers tickled her nose, making her smile. I’m here, I’m home, finally after all this time.
Tirah inhaled another deep breath of fresh country air and gazed all around. No matter the different realms, Tartaria would always hold a special place in her heart. It won’t for long if you don’t find Mihel and get the hell off this planet. Suddenly melancholy, her excitement died. This could never be her home again. Not as long as Casin, her father, or a certain sexy, blue-eyed dragon shifter lived.
For the first few years, worry and fear had been her constant companion, then anger set in. She hadn’t asked for this life or what happened to her. The anger had helped, made her stronger, and she stopped letting others push her around. She shuddered as she remembered her first job.
It was bad enough that as a waitress, men constantly propositioned her, but to have to fend off her employer as well had been a constant chore. A dirty old man with thinning hair combed over, liver spots, and breath that stank of fish, he continually tried to corner her, touch her. She was usually able to slip away, and tried to stay near the other employees, but one evening she wasn’t so lucky.
“Tirah, I need you to help me with something,” he had said to her as she was about to leave.
Tirah had hesitated, but he had waved the other wait staff away and indicated they talk in his office.
Tirah swallowed and met the worried gaze of another waitress. She debated ignoring her boss but needed her next paycheck. “I’ll be okay,” she mouthed, and her friend nodded.
Tirah closed the door and faced the empty dining room. Then she squared her shoulders and made her way to her boss’s office.
“Come in. Close the door,” he said, with a smile. Tirah’s stomach churned, but she didn’t say a word, just did as she’d been told.
“So, you’ve been avoiding me, but no longer. I want you,” he said, leering at her.
Tirah felt sick inside. She needed this job, needed the money, but the thought of letting this creep put his hands on her made her want to throw up. “Sir, I’m sorry, I have a mate.”
“You lie. Do not lie to me. I know you live alone in a one-room hovel.” Then his voice softened. “I have lots of money and a nice home, all that can be yours. I would dress you in the finest clothing, shower you in jewels, and treat you like a queen, if you come live with me.”
His whore, more like. She’d heard the rumors from her fellow coworkers of how he picked the female he fancied, and then made her his sex slave. She sighed in resignation. For someone like her, who was on the run, his offer wasn’t really that bad, and some of his past fancies had willingly chose to take him up on his offer. She’d been told he had indeed showered them with riches, until he tired of them.
Tirah shuddered. No, she couldn’t do it. She hadn’t killed her superior and run from her life, to just lay down and accept someone else controlling her. “That is very kind of you, but I must decline, I am sorry.”
Her boss’s watery hazel eyes grew cold. “You can accept my offer, or you are fired.”
Her hands trembled. She had no idea how she would pay her rent. Tirah peeled off her apron. “Then I’m fired.”
“If you walk out of here, you will not get paid,” he said.
Tirah had left and was immediately evicted, but what had hurt the most, was leaving her new friends.
After that she learned to scrape and save every coin. Yet no matter what job she held or where she lived, there was always someone wanting to get in her pants. Over time, Tirah’s ability to deal with them grew, along with her anger. She learned to keep to herself, didn’t make friends, and didn’t let others run all over her. Still, while it made her stronger, it was a lonely way to live.
Her last job had been good. So good, she overstayed the time she set for herself until she felt the presence of the dragon who hunted her. It was time to go. Again.
With her yearly meeting with Mihel coming up, she took different day jobs as she made her way to their designated spot. But then Mihel didn’t show. It was the first time in ten years that he failed to appear.
Tirah waited for four weeks and her worry began to build. Where was he? Sometimes he was a week or so late, but he always showed. Deep down she knew something happened, and the idea that he was hurt, or worse dead, sent her into a panic. She didn’t know what she’d do if he was no longer in her life. She craved her yearly get-together with him, and the news of her mother and younger brother helped carry her through until the next year. It didn’t matter that Wren didn’t really know her, and there was no telling what Casin might have said or done to her younger brother, she still loved him.
After four weeks had passed, she couldn’t wait anymore. She needed to know what happened.
It was a good thing they had a backup plan for this kind of scenario. If he ever missed a meeting, he’d send someone with a message to a small grocer in a town they both knew. Mostly Humans, Elvren, Shifters, Nightwalkers, and Daywalkers—along with a smattering of Tartaria’s other supernatural beings—populated the area. Though there always seemed to be some Ilyium around.
Keeping an eye on her surroundings, an instinct that was now second nature, Tirah began to walk briskly. No more time for sightseeing. She had over a day’s trek to the town where she hoped her brother had managed to leave her a message. Plus, she still had to find a place to sleep that night.