and had to stop by. So we’ll just say mum’s the word all around.”
In
the back room where they had met the night before, she retrieved his comm-de
from the clutches of the couch and handed it to him.
“In
fact,” he added as he clipped the unit to his belt. “I won’t even mention I
lost this thing when I return to my clan. I’ll just say I didn’t hear my alarm
go off and that’s why I’m running late. Then nothing can get back to him.”
“Yep,”
she agreed. “I never saw you. You were never here.”
“Thanks.”
He waved his hand, and in a split second of bright light, he was gone.
She
rushed to her room. Granted, Brant did say Buzz was away for a while so there
really was no need to hurry, but the sooner she got out, the further away she
could get. Throwing a couple shirts and skirts into a bag, she decided to
ransack the house to make it appear broken into. Then she’d get out to the
road, hitch a ride…
If
that’s even possible in this bizarre place.
Can’t
go back to my parents’ house. That’d be the first place he’d look .
Do
I need money ?
She
had no clue and didn’t want to waste time thinking about it.
To
top off the fake break in, she went to the door of Buzz’s office and rammed it
with her shoulder. It took several attempts, but the wood gave way to her abuse.
Hope lurched into the room when it did. She threw an arm out, catching herself
on a cabinet and stopping her forward momentum. After steadying herself, she
looked up. Both hands flew to her mouth to stifle a scream.
Drawn
on each wall, and also above and below her, were large black pentagrams. Chains
hung from the ceiling, making the room look like a tack shop or barn. The
opposite wall displayed leather straps with pointed studs, metal loops and
locks. Next to those, long braided leather whips dangled from hooks. More
leather straps with balls and dildos attached in the middle lay on a shelf
nearby.
She
stepped with caution toward the grand mahogany desk and looked into a small
glass case perched there. In it lay a pearl-handled dagger with strange symbols
and words engraved upon it. Her heart skipped a beat. Hope tore her gaze away
from the weapon. Behind the desk on either side of the window sat a couple curio
cabinets filled with jars of liquid and canisters of herbs.
Close by her stood a large,
antique wooden music stand. She peered down upon it into an old book with yellowed pages—propped open to a
spell and recipe for claiming dominance over another.
Bile
surged in a hot acidic stream up her throat. Fighting off rising hysteria, she
backed out of the room. To add to the break-in façade, she pulled some books
from the cabinet she had grabbed earlier and let them fall to the floor.
She
ran to the back room, tossed the cushions off the couch and overturned a couple
of tables trying to rid herself of the fright she’d
experienced. Catching her breath, she stared at her feet. Out of the corner of
her eye, she noticed some papers peeking out from under one of the tables. A
corner of the top piece read ‘map.’ She picked it up, unfolded it and tried to
figure out where she was.
Come on, where’s the nearest
road?
Fingering
the colored lines did her no good. She couldn’t tell where she was, or where
she needed to go.
She
feared getting lost. Nevertheless, she had to run. She had to find a safe place
and contact Alden to warn him, alert him that whoever Buzz and his gang really were, they were on to him.
Too bad I can’t just wave my hand
and transport to somewhere safe, like a neutral spot down town .
On
a whim, Hope closed her eyes, pictured a quiet area of downtown and twirled her
hand in the air.
PART
FIVE
Revelations
Chapter Eleven
Tavis
stepped out of what used to be a modern-art dinner theater and stopped under
the damaged marquee to answer his vibrating communication device.
“Hey,
bud,” Alden’s voice fought through some hisses and pops. “Hold on a sec. Let me
g…
In
the back room where they had met the night before, she retrieved his comm-de
from the clutches of the couch and handed it to him.
“In
fact,” he added as he clipped the unit to his belt. “I won’t even mention I
lost this thing when I return to my clan. I’ll just say I didn’t hear my alarm
go off and that’s why I’m running late. Then nothing can get back to him.”
“Yep,”
she agreed. “I never saw you. You were never here.”
“Thanks.”
He waved his hand, and in a split second of bright light, he was gone.
She
rushed to her room. Granted, Brant did say Buzz was away for a while so there
really was no need to hurry, but the sooner she got out, the further away she
could get. Throwing a couple shirts and skirts into a bag, she decided to
ransack the house to make it appear broken into. Then she’d get out to the
road, hitch a ride…
If
that’s even possible in this bizarre place.
Can’t
go back to my parents’ house. That’d be the first place he’d look .
Do
I need money ?
She
had no clue and didn’t want to waste time thinking about it.
To
top off the fake break in, she went to the door of Buzz’s office and rammed it
with her shoulder. It took several attempts, but the wood gave way to her abuse.
Hope lurched into the room when it did. She threw an arm out, catching herself
on a cabinet and stopping her forward momentum. After steadying herself, she
looked up. Both hands flew to her mouth to stifle a scream.
Drawn
on each wall, and also above and below her, were large black pentagrams. Chains
hung from the ceiling, making the room look like a tack shop or barn. The
opposite wall displayed leather straps with pointed studs, metal loops and
locks. Next to those, long braided leather whips dangled from hooks. More
leather straps with balls and dildos attached in the middle lay on a shelf
nearby.
She
stepped with caution toward the grand mahogany desk and looked into a small
glass case perched there. In it lay a pearl-handled dagger with strange symbols
and words engraved upon it. Her heart skipped a beat. Hope tore her gaze away
from the weapon. Behind the desk on either side of the window sat a couple curio
cabinets filled with jars of liquid and canisters of herbs.
Close by her stood a large,
antique wooden music stand. She peered down upon it into an old book with yellowed pages—propped open to a
spell and recipe for claiming dominance over another.
Bile
surged in a hot acidic stream up her throat. Fighting off rising hysteria, she
backed out of the room. To add to the break-in façade, she pulled some books
from the cabinet she had grabbed earlier and let them fall to the floor.
She
ran to the back room, tossed the cushions off the couch and overturned a couple
of tables trying to rid herself of the fright she’d
experienced. Catching her breath, she stared at her feet. Out of the corner of
her eye, she noticed some papers peeking out from under one of the tables. A
corner of the top piece read ‘map.’ She picked it up, unfolded it and tried to
figure out where she was.
Come on, where’s the nearest
road?
Fingering
the colored lines did her no good. She couldn’t tell where she was, or where
she needed to go.
She
feared getting lost. Nevertheless, she had to run. She had to find a safe place
and contact Alden to warn him, alert him that whoever Buzz and his gang really were, they were on to him.
Too bad I can’t just wave my hand
and transport to somewhere safe, like a neutral spot down town .
On
a whim, Hope closed her eyes, pictured a quiet area of downtown and twirled her
hand in the air.
PART
FIVE
Revelations
Chapter Eleven
Tavis
stepped out of what used to be a modern-art dinner theater and stopped under
the damaged marquee to answer his vibrating communication device.
“Hey,
bud,” Alden’s voice fought through some hisses and pops. “Hold on a sec. Let me
g…
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