Illicit Desire: Outlawed Realm, Book 2 (25 page)

Or were Vakar and the guards closing in?

Huddling against Lukan, she whispered, “What is it?”

“The light.”

From Nikoli? He’d found them?

Again, Arez squinted, searching the area in front of her and Lukan, hoping to see what he did.

There was nothing but darkness. She blinked repeatedly to sharpen her vision. It did no good. “Where? I don’t see it.”

“To the right.” He sounded excited. “There’s a faint glow.”

Concentrating on that area, Arez spotted a slight difference in the otherwise uniform blackness. “Is it coming from Nikoli? Has he found us?”

“Yes. We have to hurry before the portal closes.” Lukan pulled her forward, moving so quickly Arez could barely keep up.

The closer they came to the light, the more it intensified, eating away the darkness, replacing it with a soft golden glow.

Arez stopped smiling. She recalled Lukan’s earlier words when he’d described the portal Nikoli would create.

The light within it is so intense it hurts to keep your eyes open.

This light wasn’t anything like that. It was the same as what they’d seen in the jungle.

The way his steps slowed, then stopped told Arez that Lukan was thinking the same. Something wasn’t right.

She whispered, “Why does it look different from what you told me about? If Nikoli didn’t cause it, where’s it coming from?”

“The portal. It has to be.”

“Lukan, stop.” She tugged his arm, trying to keep him from moving toward the glow. “Something’s wrong. We have to go back.”

“No. What if it is Nikoli and the thickness of the cave caused the light to be less intense? He can only keep the portal open for a short time. If we miss going into it, we’ll die here.”

Lukan yanked her with him, panting as he spoke. “It has to be Nikoli. He’s found us, Arez. He’s going to help us to—”

His words stalled and so did his steps as they reached the end of the narrow passage.

Arez’s mouth hung open at what she saw.

Before them was a circular opening within the cave, the area’s height and width as enormous as anything she’d seen in the Palace. Hanging from the top of it were odd formations, looking like rocks but narrowed to points. Water dripped from their tips. Below them, other formations protruded from the ground, reaching upward as though to touch what hung overhead. Light glittered off the beads of moisture that trickled over the strange shapes.

Never had Arez seen anything as amazing or beautiful, but also as deadly.

Gauzy beams rained down from an opening above, revealing what else the area held…scores of bones. Some of the larger ones looked to be from animals and subhumans. The smaller ones were most likely from slaves who’d made it this far but perished. Either from the predators or hunger and thirst.

She pressed closer to Lukan.

He continued to stare at the light from above. Lifting her face, she saw a bit of the golden sky and the vegetation’s yellowish leaves. The rain had stopped, but water still streamed through the opening into this space. Beneath its splashing sounds, she heard a distant whirr that matched no sound she’d ever heard, then leaves rustling, something moving through them.

“What is that?” she asked.

Lukan squeezed her fingers. “Vakar’s men. They’re in vehicles they use to cross the jungle. It’s a trap. We need to go into another tunnel.”

He pulled her past the odd formations on the left. Beyond them and within the shadows, Arez saw an opening similar in size to the tunnel they’d just left. Lukan led her into it, then stopped. A short distance ahead, a pile of rocks cut off the passage.

“We can’t go back,” she cried when Lukan turned to do so.

“We have no choice. We need to get to the tunnel we came down.”

They were too far from it, vulnerable and exposed in the circular area, when something blocked the overhead light. Lukan pushed Arez behind one of the formations, shielding her with his body. Gripping the clammy rock, she gaped at two guards standing at the edge of the opening, staring down. From behind them, leaves parted. More guards appeared, clearing the way for Vakar. Rage or the thrill of the hunt colored his face.

“There,” one of the guards said, pointing at her and Lukan.

She bit her lip to keep from crying out. She tried to turn in Lukan’s arms so she could shield him.

“Get them,” Vakar ordered his men, his manner arrogant and composed. “Bring the slaves to me.”

Several of the guard threw ropes through the opening, dropping them into the space. The moment the ends hit the damp ground, they began to lower themselves inside.

Vakar smiled.

Lukan yanked Arez from the formation, pushing her behind himself. Crying, she fought him, wanting to give her life for his. It was all she could offer. He wouldn’t allow it. He kept her back with one arm, then lifted his other, pointing his stun gun at the guards.

There were too many, each armed with crossbows or small weapons no bigger than the palms of their hands. Intent on surrounding him and her, some moved to the right, others to the left, while the rest stayed in front.

Lukan stepped back, forcing Arez to do the same. She could see what he wanted—to escape back into the tunnel they’d come down. They’d never make it. The guards would either stop them or follow. At the end of it, other predators waited.

She gasped as the guard nearest them took aim and fired his small weapon. A dart flew from it, sailing past her and Lukan. They continued to back away. Another guard came from around one of the formations and fired. This dart pierced Lukan’s shoulder. He stiffened with its impact.

A scream of agony and rage tore from Arez. She knew what was coming, having seen these darts used when one of the slaves became unruly in her chamber. The tip contained something that caused a man to sleep, making him helpless, unable to fight.

Reducing him to a slave once more.

Not Lukan. She wouldn’t allow it. Gritting her teeth, Arez slipped her arm around his waist, supporting his body with hers. Already, his movements were sluggish, his head hanging down. She snatched the stun gun before he dropped it, holding it out as he did, intending to use it on as many guards as she could.

Arez wanted them to attack her, to do whatever they or Vakar wanted so they’d leave Lukan alone.

Two of the men came from around a particularly large formation, their weapons lowered, their attention moving from her to Lukan.

“Look at their clothing,” one of them said. “Where did they get it?”

“What’s she holding in her hand?” the other asked.

Arez’s arm shook so badly, the stun gun jerked from one man to the other.

They stepped closer. “Stupid slave,” the one on the left said, “you think you can fight us?”

A tear ran down Arez’s cheek, but she wouldn’t lower the stun gun. With all of her strength, she held on to Lukan. He kept staggering back, trying to right himself, fighting the effects of whatever was inside him.

“Shoot her too,” a guard in the back of their group said. In the past, he’d taken her repeatedly, not caring how he used or harmed her, enjoying her subjugation more than the sex. “Let’s be done with this.”

“Why, when we can play a bit first?” another guard challenged. “We’ll give our leader a show for what these two have put him through. We’ll let him savor her fear.” Smiling, he edged closer while bringing up his crossbow, aiming the arrow at her chest. “Stupid slave, don’t you want to put down whatever you’re holding? Can’t you see there’s nowhere for you to run? We’re going to let you and the male live. We’re going to bring you and him back to the Palace. We’re going to make certain neither of you ever escape again.”

Arez pictured Lukan shackled to the wall, beaten with whips until he begged for mercy, which the rulers and the guards would never give. She saw him weak with hunger, pleading for a morsel of food, his hand held out.

He shouldn’t have come back for her. Arez didn’t want him to die. She didn’t want to face what she knew would come next. As punishment, they were going to make Lukan suffer and force her to watch.

All the blood drained from her face, leaving her dizzy and cold. Never had she felt as chilled. Suddenly, she couldn’t stop trembling. What was happening to her? Had one of the guards hit her with a dart and in her panic she hadn’t noticed?

“Come here as I say,” the guard who wanted to play ordered, “or it’ll go even worse for you.”

“And him,” another said, meaning Lukan.

His body was getting heavier against hers, the cold worse. Arez’s teeth chattered.

“Step back,” Lukan said, his voice thick, almost unrecognizable.

She stumbled with him, her grip tightened on his waist, trying to keep him upright.

“Back,” Lukan urged, forcing her.

Where did he think they were going? Already, they’d hit the rock wall, its iciness bringing a new shiver to Arez. The tunnel they’d come down was so far away they would never had made it even if he hadn’t been hit by the dart.

The guards laughed at how she angled her body in front of Lukan, holding out the stun gun, her last chance to protect him.

“Enough,” one of the men said. “It stinks in here. Let’s finish this.” He lifted his weapon, aiming it at her.

A low growl cut through the space. Startled at the sound, the guard turned. Another man shouted at the flash of fur leaping from the tunnel. Arez saw its pointed ears, elongated mouth, gray eyes. The werewolf landed on the guard’s shoulder, knocking him to the ground, its teeth tearing into his flesh.

He bellowed in agony. Arez gaped at the creature’s bloody claws. Had they made those clicking sounds in the tunnel? Was the werewolf what she’d heard following her and Lukan?

One of the guards fired his crossbow, hitting the creature in its hind leg. The thing let out an unholy howl that echoed through the chamber. More werewolves heeded the call, dashing from the tunnel, attacking the guard who’d fired and his companions. Animal growls mixed with human shrieks and screams of terror.

Beneath it, Lukan said, “Arez, back.”

“No,” Vakar shouted from above. “Stop them.”

With what seemed to be the last of his strength, Lukan pushed his weight into her, shoving Arez through the stone wall that stretched, then liquefied around their bodies, allowing them to pass from the cave into an area so brightly lit she had to squeeze her eyes tight to keep them from hurting.

They were in the void between the dimensions, just as he’d promised. Away from their captors, heading toward Regina’s plane.

Lukan’s eyes throbbed from the piercing light. He had to use all of his will to keep his lids partially open to make certain Arez was all right.

Icy wind pulled at her hair and clothing but made no noise. She trembled from the chill and fear at what she saw on the other side of the portal. Her mouth opened on a scream that produced no sound. What Lukan heard from her was in his mind.

With great effort, he turned, seeing what she did.

More guards dropped into the cavern, shooting their crossbows at the werewolves, hitting one in its side. The thing howled loudly, its snout and incisors dripping blood. While some of the men battled the creatures, trying to drive them back into the tunnel, others ran to the cave wall that Lukan and Arez had just passed through.

“Follow them,” Vakar ordered. He’d lowered himself into the cavern moments before and now strode forward, flanked and protected by his men. “Go.”

Lukan blinked repeatedly, trying to clear the fog in his brain put there by the tranquilizer on the dart. His tongue felt too thick to move, his mouth slack. He struggled to speak. “Move back,” he told Arez. “Don’t stop. Keep moving.”

She stared at him, confusion sweeping her features at how his mouth formed words that she heard in her mind.

“Do as I say!” he managed to shout.

Arez flinched. With her arm still tightly around him, she helped him back.

“They’re getting away,” Vakar yelled from the other side. “Follow them.”

Rather than advancing, the guards exchanged glances. Tentatively, one of them touched the rock wall with his fingertips. Shock registered on his face as his hand went through what had once been solid stone.

“Fire,” the man next to him said. “We’ll hit them first and then we’ll go inside and drag them out.”

Several guards lifted their crossbows, taking aim at what they couldn’t yet see, their clothing bloodied from the werewolves and the fallen men.

Arez whimpered, struggling to move Lukan back.

The sedative continued to sap his strength, keeping his arms and legs sluggish, inefficient. His mind was so muddled it was an effort to think. He wanted only to sleep. To close his eyes and nestle close to Arez, to smell her scent, feel her heat.

Back,
his thoughts insisted, cutting through the fog in his brain.
Close the portal,
he willed Nikoli.

With fitful steps, Arez lumbered deeper into the void, Lukan’s weight keeping her from making much progress. She heaved in a breath, then stopped moving. On their side, the portal was turning cloudy, then partially opaque as it began to seal.