The Fabled (30 page)

He smiled. “I want us, Sunshine. I know it
can’t be like it was but I want it however I can take it.”

“I want us too. Understand that doesn’t mean
you’re going to be able to boss me around and expect me to do
whatever you say but I don’t mind setting you straight every now
and then.”

“Set me straight?”

I smiled at him. “Yeah. You know, like last
night when I bounced your head off the wall and kicked you in the
ribs. How are those by the way?”

I smiled devilishly. “Perhaps you should show
them your utmost attention. I believe they may even need to be
kissed to make them better.”

I smiled back. “You are a bad man.”

“And you are a good woman.”

I laughed evilly before pushing him down on
the bed.

“I’m going back to my house to change. I’ll
meet you at the club tonight.”

“I would offer to accompany you but I have to
meet with my sister about a business transaction.”

“You know I don’t like your so called sister.
Right?”

He smiled at me before kissing my nose. “You
should know that you have nothing to worry about. Despite her
attentions she is my sister and she will never be anything more
than my sister.”

“So you’re saying you’ve never hit that?”

He bent his head and rubbed his forehead with
one hand. After a moment he looked at me. “I don’t think I’ve ever
hit a woman before for your knowledge but I know what you meant and
the answer is no. I have not.”

“Excellent answer. I guess if you’ve managed
to thwart her evil plan to get you into her bed all this time then
you should be safe for now. But, just for your knowledge, now that
we’re together again, if she goes rubbing up on you the next time
I’m with you, it won’t be pretty. You might want to give her a
warning.”

“I think the best course of action would be
to avoid my sister for a time.”

“That sounds like a marvelous idea.”

“Except for today. I already told her this
morning that I would meet with her today.”

I pretended to pout. Did I mention I hate his
sister? He ran his thumb over my bottom lip.

“I will see you this evening at the club.
Would you like me to send Charles over to pick you up?”

“No. I’m perfectly capable of driving thank
you.”

He kissed my forehead. “It was merely a
suggestion.”

“As long as you keep them to suggestions
we’ll be good.”

“Duly noted. Be careful, Sunshine.”

“Me? I’m always careful. Hell, it’s
practically my middle name.”

He didn’t bother to respond to that so I left
the room and made my way to the lobby to have my car pulled around.
By the time I got there a valet was already waiting with the keys.
I tipped him before starting for my car. Sometimes Roman was really
thoughtful. Sometimes.

I drove to my house and jumped in the shower.
When I got out I called K and got her voicemail which is to be
expected since she’s on her honeymoon. I left her a message telling
her I was sorry I didn’t tell her goodbye last night and that I
hope she has the best honeymoon in the history of honeymoons.

Afterward I took my time picking out my
outfit for the evening. There were still a couple Lizzy had picked
out for me so I chose one of them. It seemed odd. I have been
dressing up and going to the club for over a week now but tonight I
actually felt nervous. No, not nervous. Anxious. I was anxious to
see Roman. Wow. It’s amazing what a night of good sex could do to a
girl. If I were truly honest with myself, I would say that these
feelings have been steadily growing since I first laid eyes on him
again but I’m not that honest.

I was about to grab my purse to leave when
the intercom at the gate buzzed. I checked the screen to see
Charles in the car before I hit the button to open the gate. I
grabbed my purse and checked my makeup as he pulled up to the front
of the house. He met me at the bottom of the steps.

“He just couldn’t take no for an answer.”

“It’s nice to see you too, Sunny.”

I sighed. “Well let’s get this show on the
road.”

I noticed the passenger door of the car
opening and a Vampere stepped out. I looked at Charles and he
smiled.

“He didn’t send me.”

I turned back to look at the other Vampere.
He was the one that had taken Tristan from his home. That’s when
Charles struck me with a syringe. I reached for his arm and began
pulling in his magic but it was slow in coming and after a second I
couldn’t use my magic anymore. He smiled at me.

“A little serum the doctors mixed up. You’ll
be sleeping like a babe in a minute.”

I could hear another vehicle approaching and
the other Vamp walked around to stand beside Charles.

“Why? You’re in league with the Humans?”

“Me? No, I’m just a spy for my mistress. She
is the one who has partnered with the Humans. Now she wants you out
of the way. Why did you have to give in to him? I was able to
convince her you didn’t want him and your relationship was a
charade to try to catch the Humans. She believed it until he told
her this morning you were together. His happiness will mean your
death.”

Everything was beginning to spin. I leaned
against the side of his car.

“Desiree. She wants Roman unhappy?”

He leaned in closer. “No, you silly girl. She
wants Roman to be hers. You should have stayed away. It was the
only thing that kept you alive. Now it’s too late.”

There were hands on me and I could do nothing
to stop it. They were wearing masks over their faces but I knew
they were Human. They loaded me in the back of a van and I was
unconscious before we ever left my estate.

“
Everything you need except someone to
talk to”

There was the brightest light in existence
shining into my face. I tried to cover my eyes but the constant
pounding made it impossible to go back to sleep.

“Would ya keep it down? I’m tryin’ to sleep.”
Ah! It hurt to talk. My head was what was pounding. I tried opening
my eyes and it only made the pain more intense. I licked my lips
and realized I was super thirsty. How long had I been out? My
memories came rushing back to me. Charles was a spy for that bitch
Desiree. Oh, I am going to have so much fun killing that sad excuse
for a Vampere. Roman probably won’t like it but he has the same
pants to get glad in as he does to get mad in and that bitch
deserves it.

First, I have to move. I tried to sit up and
about threw up as a result. I heard someone walk into the room
before a nasally male voice spoke.

“Sorry for the headache. I’m afraid it’s an
unavoidable side effect of the drug you were given.”

“I’m sorry too. Because your death is going
to be an unavoidable side effect of pissing me off.”

“My, you are a feisty one.” He moved closer
until he was practically whispering in my ear. “Let’s see how long
it takes to break that spirit.”

I opened my eyes as I reached up and grabbed
his throat before throwing him to the ground with me on top of him.
I slammed my fist into his face, pulled back, and slammed it
forward again.

Then I was lying on the floor convulsing from
the electrical pulse coursing through my body. My muscles were
locked up while it felt like I was being punched over and over.

After several seconds it blessedly ended and
I laid where I had landed on the floor. As I laid there I heard
another male voice reprimanding the first. I opened my eyes and
everything was slow to come into focus.

“I told you not to antagonize the patients.
How many times must you be told? This is experimentation not
torture.”

“She attacked me. I did nothing but try to
bring her lunch.”

“I don’t need your lies.”

A hand came into view and I took it. I tried
to send my magic out to take this Human’s energy but it was gone. I
looked inside myself and it wasn’t where I could normally feel it.
There was a nothingness. A hole where my magic used to be. I also
noticed a small bandage on my forearm in the place my chip was
inserted. They obviously knew what they were doing to remove the
one thing that would allow my location to be found.

“What did you do to me?”

The hand belonged to a man who looked to be
in his late forties. He was dressed in an expensive suit that was
tailored to fit him perfectly.

“You are referring to your magic. It is this
entire facility. You will not be able to access magic here.”

“Why not?”

“Now, I can’t reveal all my secrets. Don’t
worry as long as you behave yourself your stay here doesn’t have to
be an unpleasant one.”

“Why am I here then? If you’re not planning
on killing me like the Vamps, why bring me here.”

He looked at me and smiled. “You’re special.
Not some run of the mill Vampere. You are unlike any other Fabled.
That makes you valuable indeed. Come, I’ll show you to your living
quarters.”

“Cell.”

“I’m sorry?”

“You said living quarters. When you’re being
held captive the room you’re kept in is a cell. All prisons have
them. Look it up.”

His smiled remained. “I like you Sunny. I
think we will have a long lucrative relationship.” He opened a door
and motioned for me to step inside.

“Lucrative for me or you?”

He just shut the door and locked it.

“They do not care about us. We will be here
until death takes us.”

I turned to see a woman with bright orange
hair sitting on one of the two cots in the room.

“You are Fabled too?”

I wish I could read her magic but it seems
even that is gone from me now. Or maybe it’s because her magic has
been taken too.

“I am Phaedra. I was Fabled once but no
more.”

I moved closer to the cot. “They took your
magic.”

“No. No one can take all of someone’s magic.”
She eyed me. “Not without killing them. It is only suppressed deep
within us. No access. I will die in here and, without my magic, I
will not be reborn.”

Reborn? I took a good look at her. Her hazel
eyes seemed to see right through me while her long hair flowed
around her like a mane. If I squinted my eyes just right it almost
looked like flames. Flames. Reborn.

“A Phoenix. I thought there were no more of
your kind.”

“I fear I am the last. The end of a great
line. All will be lost soon enough.”

I knelt down so I was right in front of her.
“Bullshit! I refuse to believe we will die here. I’m a fighter and
I need you to be one too.”

“I was once. It has been so long ago.”

“Well, it’s time to get your backbone
reproportioned because we will be leaving here soon and I’m going
to need you to fly.”

She closed her eyes. “Flying. The Gods, I
miss it.”

“I need you to tell me everything you know
about this facility. If you know its location or any determining
factors.”

Her eyes popped open and she looked
mischievous. “I almost escaped once.”

“You did? How?”

“I stabbed a guard and ran. There were many
stairs to climb but when I reached the top I felt renewed. I flew.
For the first time in so long, I flew.”

“What did you see? Tell me in detail.”

She closed her eyes again. “There were fields
everywhere I looked. Nothing but fields as far as I could see
except windmills. Windmills and wheat fields. Except. There was one
road off in the distance. It was busy.”

“You mean like an interstate?”

She looked confused. “Many lines and lots of
moving carts. More than I have seen in my lifetime.”

“Was there anything else? Any signs?”

“They shot me down. I fell and much was
broken. When they brought me back we passed through a large gate.
There was a sign on the gate. It said LabTech Pharmaceuticals.
There was a small building with lots of windows but they brought me
back down here. That is all I remember.”

“That is enough. If I can get in touch with
the right people, they will be able to find us.”

“They will be captured too.”

I laughed. “You don’t know the people I do.
Do you know what keeps our magic suppressed?”

She shrugged. “Doc said it was the wind that
kept us from our magic.

The wind? Wait. She said there were
windmills. She probably thought they were for grinding the wheat
but I know they aren’t used for that anymore. Windmills are for
creating energy to power things. More than likely they are what is
powering the facility and whatever is suppressing our magic. Great.
Now I have all the pieces to the puzzle but I have no way of
telling anyone else. I’ll just have to escape so I can bring these
assholes to their knees. They picked the wrong girl this time.

Several hours later a guard came to get me
and I realized I recognized him. He was the Human hiding behind a
dumpster when the Vampere from Roman’s club was stolen. He was
holding a taser and I didn’t doubt he would use it. He motioned for
me to leave the room and I did without a word. There was a time and
place for everything and I was sure he would get his.

There was a hallway with several doors on
each side but the guard led me to an intersecting corridor and I
went in the direction he pointed. He stopped me outside a door and
knocked. There was a voice from inside directing him to come in. He
led me into the room and sat me at a chair facing a large desk. The
man I had spoken to earlier was sitting behind it. He nodded at the
guard who nodded once before leaving.

After the guard left he looked me over.

“Perhaps you can answer some questions for me
since it looks as though I’m going to be here a while.” I figured
we might as well cut the pleasantries. My head was still hurting
and I really didn’t feel like playing.

He smiled. “I don’t think you are in the
position to ask the questions.”

I continued as though he hadn’t spoken. “Why
would a billionaire give a rat’s ass about Vamps? I mean sure
there’s the whole living off of blood thing but really that’s about
it. Are you trying to be like them? Is that it Mr. Niobe? You try
to get a Vamp to turn you and he shot you down. Can’t say I blame
him really. I mean, who would want to be stuck with some middle
aged man with a perpetual stick up his ass for the next century or
more.”