Nolan's Evolution (21 page)

She tentatively reached out and touched him just to make sure that she wasn't dreaming. "How?"

"Immortal," he said gently. "I have other ways of showing you without hurting myself but I thought this would be most effective. I'm sorry if I upset you but you were freaking out on me and I needed you to believe me."

She looked like a child who had been given a great gift! “Show me something else,” she insisted.

He grinned. “Go into the living room…the farthest corner. Whisper in your softest whisper one word, and I will.”

She hurried to obey, and then returned moments later.

His green eyes rolled. “You called me Than-a-whatever-tos.”

Emily shook her head and looked at him. She smiled slightly rolled her eyes and blew out a breath. "Do you know how many questions this answers?”

He gave a nod.

“My poor Raina! I thought she was going nuts. I thought she was going psychotic or something! There were so many lies and so much sneaking around. I had no idea she was keeping such a fantastic secret!" She reached for his hand, again examining it for any trickery. She squeezed his hand. “You’re a miracle!”

“Or a curse,” he said softly. “It depends on who you ask.”

Emily shook her head. "You know how much more lovable this makes you? I can see where your arrogance comes from now," she teased, and then grabbed the counter top to keep from falling over when a dizzy spell came over her. Giggling, she held a hand to her stomach. She still felt as though she were in shock.

He reached out to steady her.

“I’m okay, just overwhelmed,” she laughed.

"And now you know," he sighed. "And you have to keep this a secret. I just needed to tell you because I know out of everyone in Raina's life you would cause me the most trouble," he said with a laugh. "And Melinda convinced me that you deserve to know the truth."

Emily smiled at this. "She did?"

He gave a nod. "She'd be the best person for you to call right now if you have any questions. She has more patience than me."

Emily bit the inside of her cheek. She had so many questions. "I guess I'll leave you to your work then. I'll definitely be giving Melinda a call and I'll be praying for all of you, and especially my Raina."

He nodded. “I expect you will be part of our search, now that you know. You could be very helpful to our cause. If even just for the prayers.

She still had not let go of his hand, and she squeezed it hard. "Thank you, Thanatos, for giving me this. I know it cost you a lot. You and I have not always got along but knowing your story… I respect you so much more. I hope you know that."

He gave a nod once more.

"Now get out there and find my best friend. And you tell that Nolan the same thing!" She wagged her finger at him and then went for her phone.

Thanatos took that as his cue to leave. Grabbing his coat, he gave her a slight wave, seeing she was dialing Melinda's phone number. As he headed for his truck, he felt a weight lifting off his shoulders. He knew that if anyone could convince God to help someone like him it would be Emily…and they were going to need all the help they could get to make it through this.

Chapter 9 Prisoner

              Raina slowly opened her eyes but couldn't seem to get them to focus. She was being jostled from side to side and a wave of dizziness came over her, causing her to close her eyes tightly. She was being carried, that much she could tell, slung over the shoulder of someone terribly strong. She attempted opening her eyes just a smidge, so as not to cause the dizziness to come upon her again. The stone floor moved beneath the feet of the one who carried her. Equally stony walls were to her left and right.

She felt a shiver take over her both from fear and from the damp cold. It was dark too and smelled of mildew and stagnated water.

She wanted to say something, to shout something, but her throat was dry and hoarse and it hurt to swallow. She shivered again and a moan did escape her lips this time.

"So, she awakes," a gravelly voice sneered at her. "Just taking you to your new room, darling."

Raina's head was now throbbing and she recognize the feeling. She devil headache! Part of this, maybe not all that this, had to do with Elenora. Even thinking hurt at the moment and she very much wanted to think. She wanted to try to remember all that it happened. Her last memory was there on her back porch and it had been snowing. She had not even had a chance to feel panic, which she knew Thanatos would have felt. So whoever held her captive now knew of the bond.

"Richard," Raina groaned. Even that one spoken word felt like shards of glass had penetrated her skull.

"Oh he’ll be in to see you later," the man carrying her growled. "But first I need to make sure that you’re nice and comfy." He adjusted her on his shoulder. "Ah, hear we are," he grunted as he dug into the pocket of his pants. He pulled out a set of keys.

What Raina could see of the door told her that it was a very old lock that was about to be open. The clink of metal and the jarring sound of the lock surrendering to the key, confirmed her theory. If that hadn’t done so the squeal of the metal door opening would have.

The squeal scrambled her thinking for a moment. She groaned, and wanted to beat the man that chuckled.

“Elenora is a crafty little pain inducer,” he said proudly.

Raina bit her tongue against a retort.

The man stepped over the threshold and they moved into the room. The floor here was also stone and it was equally cold. The heavy metal door was shut behind him and it clanged loudly.

Raina turned her head slightly to get a view of the door. It looked like it had once been barred like a jail cell… a really old jail cell. The bars were still there but on the outside a strong metal sheet of some kind prevented the view either in or out of the room.

She felt a stirring of dizziness again as she was flipped off of his shoulder and onto a mattress. It was a bunk…a metal bunk with a rather thin mattress. The pillow now under her head was lumpy and smelled of the mildew that clung to the air.

The “jailer” leaned over her now, and viewed her with careless eyes.

“Where am I?” she whispered, wincing. At this juncture of her headache, she would gladly swallow down Thanatos’ nasty remedy. “Please tell me.”

He shook his head. "Now you are going to be a good girl. I'm going to lock you in here," he continued, taking her wrist and cuffing it. In turn he wound the other half of the handcuff through the metal bunk frame at her head and cuffed the other wrist. "Richard will be in to see you shortly." He threw scratchy blanket over her in a semblance of care to keep her from freezing to death.

Raina panicked a bit as he went to the door. Even if he had taken her to this place and she had no reason to trust him, she didn't want to be left alone. "Don't leave me alone," she whispered.

"You're not alone, darling. The rats will keep you company." He laughed a sinister laugh as he opened the door and slammed it behind him.

Raina winced with pain at the sound of the metal slam. She didn't open her eyes for quite some time as the pain throbbed through her head. Every inch of her body throbbed with pain. She had not been beaten, she knew this. She had endured the full mental assault that was Elenora. Nolan and Thanatos had not been there to lessen it.

Tears trickled down her cheeks. They were not just tears of pain but tears of fear and worry. Where was she? Why was she here? And where were her protectors?

She had always felt that even if Thanatos couldn't be there for her, Nolan would be there instead. She knew now what it felt like to be completely alone for the first time in a very long time.

Her eyes wandered her new room and she heard the scattering of tiny rodent feet, which proved her jailer’s words truthful. Her eyes focused against the pain and she studied the room that she was now imprisoned in. The walls were indeed stone or more of a stone cement mix. There was a lone window which had glass but was also barred on the inside as if the old cell had been modernized. It was still cold and obviously still infested with rodents. Who would go through all the trouble to modernize something so antiquated? There was a blind that was now drawn and she could see that it was daytime. She had no idea how long she'd been out.

She closed her eyes against the brightness of the sun. It was causing her more of a headache.

She drew in another breath, trying to calm herself and prevent a full on panic attack. She'd never been one who enjoyed restraint. She liked to be in control of everything around her. And she so was not in control here.

"Oh God," she whispered. "Please let them find me. Please don't let them hurt me." More tears seeped down her face. "More importantly, don't let them be hurt." Her heart leapt at the thought of Nolan being hurt. No, she would like to die first than to have that happen. And Thanatos?

“Please, God,” she pleaded.

She thought of Thanatos and knew that he must be going crazy at this moment. Her poor green eyed friend would be in a frenzy to find her. She knew that he would be blaming himself because it was just his way. She hoped that his nature would not get in his way and cause him to act rashly. She never wanted to see him hurt on her behalf.

Not like she had seen Nolan be hurt on her behalf.

Nolan! What he must be feeling right now? Was he making plans that would also cause him to be harmed? She had seen just how far he would go to protect her and knew he cared very little what it cost him. Her silver eyed savior would not leave her here. This both gave her joy and grief.

What she wouldn't give right now to be with him. She wanted nothing more than to be surrounded by Nolan. She tugged against her restraints and growled.

There was a clicking sound at the door. The same clicking that had occurred when they’d entered the room. Someone was coming in.

She forced her eyes to stay open, even if the pain did tear through her. She wondered if this pain would ever leave. But she did not want her captor to see the pain. Weakness was not something she was willing to admit to.

Richard entered. His very appearance caused her blood run cold. She had forgotten how intimidating he truly was. Her last encounter with him had been tainted by her fear for Nolan.

He closed the door slowly behind him only allowing the slight clink of metal to metal. He was being considerate, obviously knowing what she was going through. It seemed misplaced, seeing as how she was handcuffed to a metal bunk in the middle of God only knew where. She would never understand this crazy man.

He stood tall and he stood still for a moment just gazing down on her. His dark eyes bored into her. They held neither malice nor kindness. They were very curious though. He ran a hand over his dark beard which was cut neatly and in a fashionable style.

Raina had to admit he was quite striking. She thought of Elenora and Jonathan. They did favor Richard. She found herself wondering what their mother might have looked like. She hated herself for thinking he was handsome.

"Hello little sun," Richard said softly.

Raina shivered at the sound of his voice. She lifted her chin stubbornly, not wanting to say hello back. He didn't deserve such niceties. She wished she could turn her back, but the cuffs prevented it.

"I suppose you have questions for me. That's understandable. I'm not about to give many answers. Just know this, you are here for a reason and no amount of answers will change that."

Raina glared at him. "Even if I did ask the questions, I never would expect a truthful answer from you." Her blue eyes snapped to him and her jaw tightened stubbornly. "I don't expect that I will be here very long."

Richard chuckled cruelly. "If by that you mean, you expect to be rescued by the two immortals who fancy themselves your protector's, I'm quite in agreement with you. Actually I'm counting on them attempting such."

She shook her head at him. "You didn't need me to get to them."

Richard moved across the room and sat on a matching metal bunk just five feet away. He tilted his head at her. "As long as you were safe and sound in your home under the protection of that worthless Thanatos, I didn't have a foot to stand on. Now that I have you, I have Nolan's full attention.

Raina frowned at him.

He nodded. “He foolishly believed that I would want to follow the law," he sneered. "He believes a contract would keep me at bay. He should've known better. He knows I have no regard for the law and that contracts have never been something I was loyal to. The only protection he ever had was that I knew better than to blatantly come against Our Sovereignty. I had to go about it a different way."