“I’m sorry.”
Those were the last words Duncan spoke to her just before his body went limp and they dragged him down the stairs. Torn between her desire to rush to his rescue and leaving him to his just punishment, she watched as he disappeared from her sight.
“What are you going to do with him?” she asked, swallowing back her tears.
“Don’t you worry your pretty little head about him.” Vincent remarked. “He’s going to get exactly what he deserves.” Tightening his hold on her waist, he pulled her snug against his firm body. “I’d much rather discuss what it is you are going to do for me.”
Returning her attention to Vincent, Senka stared up into his handsomely beautiful features. Unlike Duncan, whose thick beard acted like a mask for his emotions, Vincent was cleanly shaven leaving all the lines and hardened edges of his jaw line on clear display. Combine that with the prominent cheek bones, blond hair, and icy blue eyes, and she had to admit he had a dangerous charm about him that was somewhat alluring.
Seeming to read her mind, Vincent smiled knowingly down at her. “So what do you say? Shall we go to my room and work out a deal to get you your sister back?”
As his smile widened, his eyes narrowed. She could almost see the wheels of his mind turning, no doubt planning all the vile ways he could use her body. Yeah, that was not happening. Handsome or not, the man radiated a vibe so evil it could make a demon shudder from across the room. No, this was not a man you should turn your back on… and it definitely wasn’t a man she wanted to be locked alone in a room with.
“I think we can negotiate just fine out here.”
“Have it your way.” Vincent chuckled. In a move that took her completely by surprise, he kicked her feet out from under her and pinned her to the floor. Grimacing as her umbrella and quiver pressed painfully into her back, she tried to push herself up, only to be forcefully shoved back down again.
“If you don’t mind an audience, I damn sure don’t.” Straddling her, he grabbed a hold of her shirt at her neck and ripped it apart, sending buttons flying in every which direction. Looking perturbed by the fact she was wearing her tank underneath, he reached for the thin straps and was about to pull them off her shoulders when he froze.
“I think you might have gotten the wrong idea.” Senka said calmly as she pressed a knife against the bulge in his pants. “Now let go of my shirt and get the hell off of me.”
A snarl pulled up the edges of Vincent’s mouth as he reluctantly followed her orders. Following him back to her feet, Senka kept the knife firmly in place. “Good, now pay close attention you sick pervert. You will stand there quietly and listen to my offer and not do anything stupid… that is unless you would like to use the bathroom in the seated position for the rest of your life.” Pressing a bit harder on the blade she accentuated her point, “Understand, sweetness?”
Vincent’s men moved to intervene behind her. “No, no, no fellas.” Senka tsked, I promise, I will do it.” A few of them hesitated, but the majority of them inched forward a little more, testing her resolve. Shrugging, she pushed the tip of the blade through the thin fabric of Vincent’s dress pants. Vincent’s eyes widened.
“Do as she said and stand down you assholes.”
Reluctantly the men backed off. “That’s better isn’t it.” She smirked, easing off his manhood a bit. “Now it’s my understanding that there is a Night Stalker that has been giving you problems.” Senka paused, as if struggling to recall the name she knew all too well. “What was it? March… Mor… March de Mort?”
“Marchand de Mort.” Vincent corrected, his voice betraying his anger.
“Oh, yes. That was it.” Staring Vincent square in the eyes, she narrowed her gaze. “So here is my deal. You agree to release my sister and her friend, and I’ll get rid of your assassin problem for you.”
“Will you now?” With a tilt of his head, he crossed his arms over his chest and regarded her doubtfully. “And what makes you think you can accomplish what a dozen of my finest men, including Duncan, were unable to?”
“I think that should be obvious.” Senka scoffed, but Vincent wasn’t so easily swayed. Rolling her eyes as if she was bored by the entire conversation, she continued. “Who better to get close to a Night Stalker, than another Night Stalker? As you yourself said, our numbers are few, so he won’t be expecting one of his own to come after him.”
“Have you done this sort of thing before?”
“No, I just carry a small arsenal of knives on me for all the chopping I do in the kitchen.” She spat sarcastically, earning her a glare from Vincent. Figuring it was best not to push him too hard, she quickly changed the subject. “But the issue is going to be finding him. I will need time to hunt him down… unless you already know where he is?”
“He lives with a tribe of Wanderers near the Vanterian border.”
Well that hurt. All this time searching for her father and he was living less than a week’s travel from her in a fellow Wanderer village. “Good. Once I see my sister is alright I can be on my way.” Senka continued, maintaining a calm exterior despite the rage burning inside her. I bet the asshole has known where we have been this whole time and never bothered to come check on us.
“I don’t think so sweetness.”
“You want this done or not? Because the Vanterian tribe is located in the middle of a desert and the sun will be up pretty soon, which will make flashing considerably more difficult. So unless you know someone else who can use their photographic memory to show me a point I can safely flash into, then I will need to see my sister.”
Silence descended as Vincent rubbed his smooth chin. “Your sister can do that?”
“Yes, she’s a Seer with a photographic memory. She can remember every detail of every place she’s either seen in person or through the eyes of someone she has read.” The words spilled out before she could stop them. Mentally slapping herself, she prayed she hadn’t just made a huge mistake.
Vincent’s silence was deafening. Fully expecting him to deny her, she had all but given up hope when, to her surprise, he waved at one of the men behind her. “Go get the blonde and bring her here.”
Senka’s heart raced as she heard the man descend the metal stairs. Meanwhile, Vincent stood there casually, arms over his chest, staring down at her in a look that made her more than uncomfortable. A few minutes later, the sound of Chloe’s voice greeted her ears.
“Unhand me you giant ape.” She yelled as sounds of a struggle rose from the stairs.
Concerned, Senka mistakenly turned to check on her sister. In that split second, Vincent yanked the knife from her hands, spun her around, and pressed it to her throat.
“You’ll have to do better than that if you want to kill the assassin.” He growled, pressing the blade hard enough against her throat to draw blood. “Now let’s get back to our negotiation shall we?” Running his free hand underneath her tank, he painfully squeezed her breast.
“Senka!” Having finally spotted her in the hands of the monster, Chloe halted her own struggles with the towering male. “Let my sister go! I’ll do whatever you want, just let her go!”
Vincent’s eyes lifted to hers. “Will you now?” Behind her she could feel his growing erection press into her back as his eyes racked over her sister’s body.
“Shut up Chloe!” She snapped, before addressing Vincent once more. “Leave her alone, please. You can have me, I won’t fight you, just don’t touch my sister.”
“Well, well, well.” Vincent purred. Like literally purred, causing Senka to frown. “I have two sisters both willing to throw themselves at me to save the other one.”
Releasing her breast, he lifted her shirt exposing her to all the men in the room and proceeded to knead each one in turn. “Tell me Senka, do you like to gamble?” Biting back her fear and rage, Senka remained silent and still as he continued to grope her in slow steady movements while his men watched on with hungry grins smeared across their faces. “Because I do. And I would like to make a little wager with you.”
In front of her, Chloe broke down in tears watching what was playing out in front of her. “Senka,” she squeaked, covering her mouth with her hands. “I’m so sorry Senka.”
Ignoring her, Vincent continued. “So here’s my offer. If you succeed in killing and bringing me back the head of Marchand de Mort…” Recognizing their father’s name, Chloe’s eyes shot wide. Thankfully she remained silent and did nothing to give away their secret. “I will release not only your sister and the girl from your camp, but I will release Winston’s daughter as well. I might even be persuaded to let you have Duncan back… that is if you want him.”
“And if I fail?” she asked, trying to suppress a cringe as his warm breath moistened her ear.
“Duncan dies and the three of you become my personal harem to do with as I wish.” Leaning down, he ran his tongue up the side of her neck and dropped his hand to aggressively cup her between her legs. “So what do you say? Do we have a deal?”
“Do I have a choice?”
“Not really.”
“Then I guess we have a deal.” She growled. “Now if you would kindly get your hands off me and let me get the information I need from my sister, I can be on my way.”
“Don’t act like you don’t like it.” Vincent chuckled as he lowered the knife.
“About as much as a person enjoys having their finger nails pulled off.” She remarked, attempting to pull herself free of his wandering hands.
Quickly the hand that had been groping her, encircled her neck and squeezed. “Careful who you piss of little girl.” He growled, tightening until he cut off her air. “For that little remark you now only have until tomorrow night to get the job done.” Releasing her, Vincent shoved her roughly to the floor.
“That’s impossible.”
“Not my problem,” Vincent huffed, “Should have thought of that before you pissed me off. And know this sweetness, if you so much as think about double crossing me or running away, be assured your sister and her friend are the ones who are going to suffer my wrath.”
Pulling herself back to her feet, Senka straightened her clothes. With her head held high she pushed her way through the wall of sneering men to retrieve her bow from the floor before making her way to Chloe. Glaring up at the giant man, who did very much resemble an ape, she pulled her sister from his grasp.
“I need you to find me at least 5 landmarks between here and the desert tribe camp that’s near the Vanterian border.” She said once they had put some distance between them and the men. “And an anchor I can use when I get there. Do you think you can do that?”
“I-I think so,” Chloe sniffled. Closing her eyes, Chloe held out her hand for Senka to take. Within seconds the entire journey to the camp flashed before her eyes as well as the complete layout of the camp.
Picking out a few locations that looked promising, Senka nodded and broke the connection. “Thank you, Chloe.”
“Senka are you really going to…”
“I will do whatever I have to do to get you out of here.” Senka cut her off with a warning glare. Using her eyes she gestured to all the Shifters standing around them, knowing they were listening to every word being said.
Taking the hint Chloe nodded and sniffled again.
“Ok, I have to go now.” She soothed, running her fingers through her sister’s tangled locks. “But I’ll be back soon and then we can all go home, alright.”
Chloe bit her lip to stop her tears, “Please hurry.”
“I will.”
It broke Senka’s heart to have to leave her behind, but she had no choice. Taking in her sister one last time, she exhaled and turned for the stairs.
“I love you, Senka.” Chloe’s voice called as she stepped onto the first of the metal stairs. Hesitating, she looked back at her crying sibling.
“I love you too Chloe.” And with that, she turned her back on her sister and disappeared into the crowd below.