Black Orchid (17 page)

When
they reached the location Sheila had indicated, Zara stood waiting. Nate,
Desmond, and Sheila kept quiet, still undetectable, and spent a little time
looking around, making sure an ambush wasn’t waiting close by. Once satisfied,
Desmond released his hold on Nate – and only Nate, lifting the cloak of
invisibility.

Zara
gasped and took a step back. Then she grinned and waved at the empty air around
her. “Hello, Desmond,” she said.

Nate’s
eyebrows winged up in surprise, and she shrugged. “I grew up with the Vyusher,
remember. But I didn’t have to be brainwashed to come with Maddox. So I still
remember everything.”

He
nodded. “So how can you help us?”

Zara
sobered. “I can’t get us out of here. But I have information I can share.”

“Do
you know where other Vyusher are that we could try to take with us?” Nate
asked.

“Only
one or two. Most of them are fully brainwashed and bonded to Maddox’s pack
now.”

“How
are they doing that?”

“Melanie.”

Nate
almost smacked himself in the head.
Of course. Melanie.
That answer was
so simple it should’ve been obvious. “She does more to their minds while
they’re asleep?”

Zara
nodded. “Only to the susceptible ones. She’s able to strip their memories and
make them think they’ve been with Maddox all along, that the Vyusher are the
enemy, and so forth. It worked even better when Karin was here and could force
them to turn into wolf shifters too, because then the bond to the pack would
solidify things.”

“And
if they’re not susceptible to Melanie’s brainwashing?”

Zara
shrugged. “She keeps them asleep. They don’t die, they don’t wake up, they
don’t even need to eat or anything. A form of stasis.”

“Like
Talia when she first came to us?” Desmond’s voice floated to them.

Zara’s
scanned the air where the sound had originated. “Yeah. If Melanie’s not around
to renew it every so often, they’ll wake up eventually, depending on how long
they’ve been under.”

“But
why not just kill them?”

Zara
pulled her lips back in an ugly smile. “Leverage.”

“Do
you know where Maggie is being held?” Desmond asked.

“Ah.
Now it’s starting to make sense. The attack tonight, huh?”

“Just
tell us,” Desmond’s voice growled.

Zara
grinned. “Well,
that
I do happen to know. She’s been taken to one of the
chambers where Melanie will work on her. As far as I know, Melanie hasn’t tried
yet since Maggie was just brought in tonight. But Maddox plans to hold her as
leverage over Sheila.”

“What?”
Sheila’s voice broke in.

“Ah,
there you are. I thought you might be hiding somewhere, sweetie.”

“What
leverage?” Nate asked.

Her
gaze flickered to his and then back in Sheila’s general direction. “Maddox
suspects that Sheila is starting to question things. But she’s too valuable to
lose. Haven’t you felt a new pull on your wolf link? The urge to stay? That’s
not just the lockdown.” This last part she directed to Sheila. “So Maggie is—”

“A
form of control. We get it,” Sheila snapped. “Can you take us her room?”

Zara
looked as though she was going to tease them a little with the information.
Nate grabbed her arm. “We don’t have to take you with us, you know. I can knock
you out and stuff you in a closet. We’ll be long gone before you wake up.”

She
glared but then rolled her eyes with a huff. “Yes. I can take you to her. But
how are we getting out of here?”

“Leave
that to us,” Nate said. He didn’t want to admit that they hadn’t figured that
part out yet. He was hoping Sheila might be able to get them out of there. At
the worst he figured he could bring them out a few at a time the same way he’d
gotten Desmond in.

“Whatever,”
Zara said. “Follow me then.”

“Wait,”
Sheila said. Zara turned back to face them. “Is she in one of the rooms up in
the labs?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay,
I’ll get us up there. Once we’re in the hall, you take over and show us where.”

Zara
shrugged. “You’re the boss.”

Desmond
took Nate by the shoulder again, and the choking sensation slipped over him
along with the cloak of invisibility. They followed Zara, who, to be fair, went
along with all of Sheila’s whispered directions. Without incident they made
their way up to the hallway where the labs were located.

“Okay,
stop,” Sheila said.

Zara
looked over her shoulder, eyebrows raised in question.

“We
need to be invisible until we get off this floor. Desmond, you up for it?”

“I’m
fine,” he said. But Nate heard the strain in his voice.

“We’re
going to have to break into the room,” Zara warned.

“That’ll
trigger security. The faster we can get out of this area, the better chance we
have of getting out of the base before we’re found.”

“Zara,
is there anyone else we could be trying to find and take with us?” Sheila
asked.

“Not
really. I didn’t hear if they got anyone else tonight.”

“They
didn’t,” Desmond’s grim voice informed them.

“Okay,
so just Maggie. Let’s do this,” Nate said.

Under
Desmond’s cover of invisibility, they all moved as one down the hall until Zara
stopped them at a solid metal door. “In here,” she whispered.

“Are
you sure?” Nate asked. Once that door was open, there was no turning back.

“I’m
sure. I followed them here when Maddox came down to see her.”

Nate
tried the handle on the off chance that it’d been left unlocked. No such luck.
A sense of deja vu came over him… a random memory of helping Ramsey get Lila
out of a similar situation.

“When
the door is open, move fast,” he said. “They have guards who’ll be here in
minutes if I recall correctly.”

“Got
it,” Desmond said.

They
shifted around so that Nate could take up a position in front. “On three, let
go of me Desmond. One… Two… Three.”

In
the same instant that his body became visible, the door slammed inward and
across the room, taking parts of the frame and wall with it. Nate heard a woman
scream. Sticking his head inside the door, he saw Maggie strapped to a table
with Melanie bent over her.

In
an instant, Nate was filled with an all-consuming black rage. This woman had so
much to answer for. So much pain, so much evil. He’d be damned if she’d ever do
this to another person again. Not when he could do something about it.

Without
another thought he used his speed to be at her side before she could do more
than gasp. Taking her head between his hands, Nate twisted sharply. He felt her
neck snap with a sickening crunch. He let go, and her limp body flopped to the
floor, her head lolling at an awkward angle.

Nate
stepped over Melanie’s body to where Maggie was strapped down on a metal table,
still out cold. He ripped off her restraints, then moved back to the doorway to
guard the entrance to the hall, ignoring the looks of incredulity from now
visible Desmond, Sheila, and Zara.

“Wow.
Rage much?” Zara muttered.

He
ignored her too, watching as Desmond gently lifted Maggie into his arms.

“You’ll
have to hold onto me,” Desmond said.

Zara
and Sheila both took
an
arm. In a blink
they disappeared. Nate scooted further into the hallway to give them room to
pass.

“Nate?”

His
heart slammed into his ribs at the sound of Talia’s voice. He looked down the
hall to find her standing at the end with six guards grouped behind her.

“Go,”
he whispered to the others, taking care to move his lips as little as possible.

“Not
without you,” Desmond whispered back.

“Get
them out of here. I’ll buy you time.”

“We’ll
come back for you, mate.”

Nate
breathed a silent sigh of relief, knowing that at least his friends had
escaped. He turned his focus on Talia and the guards. He just needed to hold
them off long enough for the others to get far away from here.

 Adelaide
awoke from a fitful sleep with a gasp. Frantically she searched the room until
she realized that she was in the Vyusher castle. Not at home in Australia with
Nate downstairs asleep on the couch.

“Nate,”
she whispered.

Something
was horribly, terribly wrong. Closing her eyes, she forced herself to recall
the dream out of which she’d just been jarringly pulled.

She’d
been walking through the field in Colorado where she and Ellie had practiced
sometimes. But it was daylight. Sun had warmed her skin as she’d wandered in
silence. She could hear the rustle and flutter of pine needles and aspen leaves
as the wind wound its way through the trees. Everything was fresh and fragrant,
the field blanketed in green grass and wildflowers in an abundance of bright
colors.

“Adelaide!”
Nate’s voice had thundered through the air, and she’d felt the vibrations
throughout her body.

She’d
spun in a circle looking for him, only to see nothing. And then, suddenly,
clouds had streamed through the sky, like watching days of movement in fast
forward. The sunlight dimmed and was gone. The wind whipped her hair around her
face, and all the color had faded to greys.

“Adelaide,”
Nate’s voice had called her again. Only this time it sounded as though he’d
groaned it.

“I’m
here,” she’d called out. Desperate. Frantic.

“Adelaide.”
His voice growing fainter.

Adelaide
had caught a flash of something in the woods. Without a thought she’d run
toward it. “I’m here. I’m here, Nate!” she’d called as she sprinted across the
field. The tall grass had scraped and scratched against her legs, but she
didn’t care.

She’d
stopped at the edge of the trees, searching. And then she’d seen him. Nate
stood in the darkness, pale as a ghost.

“Nate,”
she’d called, more softly.

He’d
looked in her direction but kept scanning the area with his eyes as though he
couldn’t see her standing right in front of him. “I hear you,” he’d whispered.

“I’m
here. Right beside you.”

He
kept searching, but his gaze had passed over her.

I’m
here. See me,
she’d silently urged him.

“Don’t
leave me,” he’d choked out.

“I
won’t. I’m right here. God, what’s happening?”

“Talia.
She’s the one—”

“What?”
Adelaide’s heart had felt as though it had stopped beating altogether. This
couldn’t be happening.

“She’s
trying to take you away from me again,” he’d said. And in that instant, her
heart came smashing back to life.

“Fight
it!”

“I’m
trying. Don’t leave me!”

“I
won’t. I’m right here.” Adelaide had felt the wet tracks of the tears sliding
down her cheeks.

His
hectic gaze suddenly stilled, and he gave her a soft smile. “There you are.” He
reached out for her.

She
took a deep breath and returned his smile. Adelaide reached to touch his hand,
but she was too far away. She tried to step closer but found that she was
paralyzed.

“I
can’t move. What’s going on?”

The
dense fog started rolling around them, like the mist from a witch’s cauldron.
Adelaide felt forces pulling her away from Nate.

“Don’t
leave me!” he shouted.

“Don’t
forget me,” she yelled back. She started fighting, thrashing to get free of
whatever was carrying her away. “I’ll find you. Just hold on.”

And
then she’d come back to her body with a rush. Now she shuddered, convinced it
hadn’t been just any dream. Adelaide threw the covers aside and bolted out the
door.

She
went straight to Selene’s room, pausing only to knock perfunctorily before
entering. Griffin’s head popped up from where he lay on the bed beside his
te’sorthene
.
He gave a little warning growl that cut off abruptly.

“Adelaide?”

“Something’s
wrong. I think they’ve caught Nate.”

Selene,
who’d been sitting up groggily, jumped out of the bed, with Griffin right
behind her. “Why do you say that?”

“A
dream I just had. Talia’s got him. She’s trying to make him leave me again.”

“Again?”
Griffin
asked.

Adelaide
ignored the question. “Please. We have to do something.”

“Are
you sure it wasn’t just—”

“I’m
sure. Maybe I’ve picked up your ability to enter people’s dreams. But I know
without a doubt that he’s in trouble.”

“It
could be Maddox controlling your dream,” Selene pointed out.

Adelaide
clamped her mouth tight to keep from swearing at her friend. “I. Am. Sure,” she
said through clenched teeth.

“What
can we do, though? We sent Desmond with Nate to get information, but we still
don’t know where Nate took him. Even if we did, we’re not prepared to go in.”

Adelaide
turned to Griffin. “What about Desmond? Can you hear him at all?”

He
shook his head.
“I lost him when he and Nate were picked up by Maddox’s teleporter.”

Adelaide
had never felt so helpless, or useless, in all her life. The trembling started
inside her. She doubled over, hoping to keep her beast at bay.

“Adelaide?
Are you okay?”

With
sheer force of will, she pushed the dragon back down deep where it couldn’t
break free. Once she’d regained control, she stood upright. But before she
could say more, another knock sounded at the door.

“Enter,”
Selene called.

A
plump, motherly looking woman entered. “Angelica?” Selene questioned.

“Ma’am.
I thought you’d want to know right away. Your parents…”

“Yes?”

“They’ve
woken up, My Lady.”

Selene
paled. “When?”

“Just
now.”

“I’ll
be there directly.”

Angelica
nodded and scurried from the room.

Adelaide
watched Selene closely. Her friend had thought for decades that by removing her
parents’ powers, she’d driven them insane and that they’d eventually taken
their own lives. But then, miraculously, they’d been discovered at one of
Maddox’s bases after a battle. Unfortunately, they were in a stasis similar to
the one that Talia and others had been in. Until now.

Selene
turned to Griffin. “Get our family first, and then have Oren—” She choked off
the word as she remembered. She took a steadying breath. “Contact Xavier. Have
him gather the High Council immediately.”

“What
about Nate?” Adelaide asked.

Selene
frowned. “I doubt it’s a coincidence that my parents would wake at the same
time that you had this dream. We’ll try to find him, but we don’t have a clear
path there yet. My parents are the more immediate concern.”

Adelaide
opened her mouth to protest but closed it on a slow exhale. She wanted to
scream and rail and go running out into the night to find Nate. But Selene was
right.

“What
can I do?” she asked.