The Wolf Prince (28 page)

Chinktah stood and jumped to the floor.
Good enough?

Very well done,
Surlock told his guide.

Then find your soul mate so we can leave this planet. I tire of people who refuse to accept anything they cannot see or touch. Besides, you were quite depressing when you thought she was lost forever.

The fog began to roll in again. Surlock felt the change taking place.

The fog began to dissipate. He blinked. He was always a little confused when he returned.

“You’re naked,” Mr. Spencer said.

Surlock rose to his feet, casually reaching for his clothes. “On my planet, we don’t perceive the naked body as something embarrassing or shameful.”

“You are what you say you are,” he mumbled as if he were still digesting everything.

“I am, and now I need to find Darcy. She is with one of the rogues.”

Mr. Spencer’s face drained of color. “The ones who kill people like my daughter.”

Surlock grimaced. “Yes.”

He reached for the phone. “I have to call the FBI.”

Surlock grabbed Mr. Spencer’s hand. “No, it will only give the rogue more reason to kill her.”

“But how can you find her by yourself?”

Surlock’s smile was grim. “I’m not alone.” He took the small device Kristor had given him and pushed the button. It would lead his siblings to him. “Help will soon arrive. Then we will find her.”

Mr. Spencer wearily rubbed his forehead. “Darcy, my baby girl, is part alien.”

“That’s one way to look at it,” Surlock said. “If you came to New Symtaria, you would be the alien.”

The door to the office opened and Ms. Abernathy poked her head inside. “You’d better come quick. We have company.”

“I think my brothers and sister have arrived,” Surlock said as he hurried out of the room.

“I should’ve known,” Ms. Abernathy said. “They look as handsome as you.”

He followed Ms. Abernathy out back.

His sister was holding Ralph’s gun, examining it actually.

“Careful, sister.”

“It’s very antiquated,” she said, looking up.

“But it will still kill.”

She handed it back to Ralph, who took it with a grateful sigh.

“You summoned us?” Rogar said.

“Darcy may still be alive. The rogue who has her asked for ransom money.” He nodded toward Mr. Spencer. “This is her father.”

“I found a warehouse not far from here,” Kristor said, nodding toward the east. “There were signs of rogues, and a female.”

“That warehouse has been vacant for years,” Mr. Spencer said. “You didn’t find Darcy, though?”

Kristor shook his head. “No, I’m sorry, she’s been moved. The rogue who has Darcy probably guessed we would eventually find out Darcy was alive and come looking for her. They must have left in a car because I lost the trail quickly.”

Mr. Spencer’s shoulders drooped. “Then she could be anywhere.”

“We’ll find her,” Surlock said.

“Our animal guides can find her easier,” Rogar spoke quietly so only Surlock and his other siblings heard.

Surlock turned back to Mr. Spencer. “Do you have something of Darcy’s?”

He stuck his hand down in his pocket and brought out a necklace with a silver heart. “She wears this a lot. I thought if I kept it close she would be okay.”

Kristor took the necklace, then looked between Mr. Spencer and Ralph. Ms. Abernathy had also joined them outside. “We’ll find her and bring her home, but we need a private place to … change. You can understand our need for privacy.”

Mr. Spencer nodded. “The guest house. You can leave through the back,” he said quietly. Then he said louder, “Ralph, give me that gun and go inside. Ms. Abernathy, do you think we could have some of that coffee now?”

“Yes, of course.” She hurried inside.

Surlock quickly led his brothers and sister inside the guest house, then looked at each one of them. “We have to find her. Do you think you could give us a little magic, sister?”

He handed Karinthia the necklace. She closed her eyes, holding it close, then passed it to Rogar. He did the same, then Kristor,
before he gave it back to Surlock. Surlock placed it in the center of their circle.

“I’ll do my best.” Karinthia took Surlock’s hand, then Rogar’s. Kristor clasped his brothers’ hands and the circle was joined. “Spirit of the goddess, go with us as we search for Darcy.” The sound of thunder roared around them even though the sun shone brightly outside.

They each called their animal guide. The fog rolled in, thick and heavy as the four shifted. When it cleared, a hawk, a jaguar, a wolf and a unicorn stood in a circle. They each left in different directions as they began their quest to find Darcy.

And heaven help the rogue if Darcy was harmed, Surlock thought. Maybe he would break his father’s law after all.

Surlock had to believe she still lived, though. She was his life, his love, and soon they would be together.

D
arcy was definitely going to kill Excoria. After the pretty swirling lights had gone away, she was left with a headache the size of Texas, and a damned humming in her ears that could have vibrated the walls.

Where the hell was Surlock? He should have saved her by now. She sniffed. If he was still alive, that is. Oh, Lord, he had to be alive. She loved him.

What if he didn’t love her?

She didn’t care. Well, she did, but it would be enough to know he was alive.

“I hate tears,” Excoria snarled. “You’re not going to start crying, are you?”

“No, I’m not going to cry.” Darcy sniffed. She’d be damned if she’d let the bitch see one tear slip from her eyes.

“Good.” She flipped open her cell phone and punched in a number. Then waited. “Have you got the money?” she asked the person on the other end. Excoria gripped the phone tighter, her mouth turning down. “Your daughter might not have a few more hours.”

Darcy’s heart skipped a beat. Excoria was talking to her dad. At least, she hoped Excoria was talking to her father and not her mother. She groaned. Her mother would probably know what was going on, though. She would be hysterical. No, she would
be beyond that by now. Her mom would have taken to her bed, trying to escape her worst nightmare. Maybe the doctor had given her a shot to knock her out.

Great, her mother would never let Darcy become a P.I. now. That is, if Darcy lived through all this, because she wasn’t quite so sure Excoria would keep her end of the bargain. She might take the ransom money and still kill Darcy. That way, her crazy cohorts wouldn’t come after her. Excoria could truthfully tell the terrorists she had done away with the impure. Sheesh, it sounded like something out of one of her dad’s James Bond movies.

Excoria suddenly turned to Darcy. She’d had the decency to help her back into the chair. Only after Darcy had whined a lot, though.

“He wants to speak to you.” Excoria held the phone up to Darcy’s ear.

“Dad?”

“Oh, God, you’re alive. I was so afraid.”

Her heart began to break. “I’m fine, Dad. I—”

Excoria moved the phone. “There, are you satisfied?” She paused. “She’ll only be fine for one more hour. If I don’t have the money by then, she won’t be fine.” She snapped the phone closed.

“I hate you,” Darcy said.

“So what else is new?”

“You’re going to regret ever taking me captive when Surlock finds me.”

Excoria’s hands trembled. That was the only sign she was paying attention. “But he won’t find you,” she finally said.

“Are you so sure about that?”

Excoria straightened. “By the time he discovers your body, it will be too late for him to do anything. I’ll be long gone and I’ll make sure he never finds me.”

The room began to spin around Darcy and she could barely breathe. “You never planned to let me go.”

Excoria shrugged. “Sorry. I can’t take that chance.”

Oh, God, her parents would be devastated when Excoria didn’t
deliver their daughter. They would never stop looking for her. Not until they discovered her lifeless body.

Surlock would be furious. She knew him well enough to know that he would find Excoria, and God help her when he did. No, Darcy didn’t want God or anyone else helping the bitch. She wanted her to rot in hell.

Excoria seemed quite unconcerned she was about to end someone’s life. What kind of a monster was she? Darcy was glad when the other woman left the room. If she had to be around her much longer, Darcy was afraid she might say something to anger her even more. There was no guarantee that Excoria might not go ahead and kill her at any time.

Damn it, Darcy wasn’t ready to die. She hadn’t lived her dream. Hell, she hadn’t lived. She’d always been too afraid to take a chance. Her mother had only been an excuse. She could have talked her mom into letting her get a job if she’d tried hard enough. No, Darcy had been too afraid of failing to push the issue.

She finally saw how really dumb that was. She might have succeeded as a P.I., too. Not that she had done such a great job discovering Surlock’s identity. He might be a prince or he might not be. Although right now she was pretty much leaning toward believing he was a prince. Why else would terrorists take him prisoner so they could trade him for their leader?

Excoria, of course, had already lost her mind. The terrorists probably dealt in illegal drugs, and she had inhaled more than she should have. Her brain was already fried. She was not an alien. But that still didn’t change the fact she was evil and planned to kill Darcy.

She wiggled her wrists—again. The ropes were too damned tight. She’d only managed to rub her wrists bloody.

She looked around the room for a weapon. The lamp was too heavy to lift. There was a candy dish of sorts on the coffee table. Could she hop over to it, and get back without falling down? Maybe her ballet lessons would finally pay off. It was worth a
try. But when she tried to stand, nothing happened. She frowned. Her legs were still numb from the tranquilizer.

She tried rocking her body to a standing position, but she had no strength. Now what was she going to do?

Excoria strolled back into the room. “Good news!”

“You’re going to let me go?”

She frowned. “No, your father has the money. I told him where to take it. I said that as soon as I had it, I’d call and tell him where you are.”

Hope rose inside her. “You’re going to let me go after all?”

Excoria shook her head. “No, I just told him that.”

“And that’s your good news?”

“Well, yeah.” Confusion wrinkled her brow.

God, could she be
that
stupid? “You can’t just kill me!”

“Yes, I can.” She held up the small gun. “I’ll just load up the gun with enough of the drug to kill you. It won’t hurt. I’m not that cruel. Just think of it like this, you’ll be going to sleep … forever.”

She went to a black box that was sitting beside the sofa and began going through the pellets.

“Please don’t kill me,” Darcy begged. She hated begging, but it was her last hope.

“You know what I look like. You’d tell everyone. I’ve watched enough of your television and that’s what they do. The victim tells the captor she won’t say anything, but the minute the captor lets her go, bam, she runs to anyone who will listen. Then the poor captor is locked away when all the kidnapper was trying to do was make a decent living.”

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me?” Darcy said, staring at her.

“No, I’m not. I saw it on television.” She stood and raised the gun, pointing it at Darcy.

“Yes, but did you see the
CSI
episode where they capture the kidnapper?”

“CSI
?”

“Oh, yeah, that’s the show to watch. You’ve got to be careful of the evidence you leave behind. Pfftt, they could have you in custody within a few minutes after getting the ransom money. You wouldn’t want that to happen.”

Excoria glared at her.

“You’ll tell me everything you know about this evidence,” Excoria said.

“Or what? You’ll kill me?”

“I can remove the sleep agent and exchange it for something that will make you scream in pain for hours before you finally die.”

“You can do that?”

“I can do many things.”

“I’ll tell you everything I know,” Darcy said and wondered how many investigative procedures she could come up with before Excoria felt she knew enough, and then killed her anyway. It didn’t matter. Darcy would suck up every last second she could get.

Ten minutes later, Darcy knew she was quickly running out of time. Excoria’s eyes were glazing over. Hell, Darcy’s brain was glazing over.

“You’ll need to get some booties to wear on your feet,” Darcy said. Yes, she was inventing stuff now. “That way they won’t be able to trace the tread of your shoes. And a surgical mask.”

“Why would I need a mask?”

Mask? Why would she need a mask? Think! She drew in a deep breath. “So they won’t pick up your scent.” Okay, that was really lame.

Excoria nodded. “You’re right.”

“I am?” She cleared her throat. “I mean, of course, I am. I told you I could get you through this.”

“I have plenty of information.” Excoria looked sad. “Now I must say good-bye.”

She
looked sad? Ha, she wasn’t the one about to sleep forever.

“You don’t have to kill me. Just leave me tied up. At least give
me that much. We’re practically friends now. I swear I won’t tell a soul.”

Excoria shook her head and Darcy knew this was it. Her mother and father might never know what had happened to her.

“I’m truly sorry.”

“At least let my parents know I’m”—she cleared her throat—“dead. Give me that at least.”

Excoria nodded, tears filling her eyes. “I will send them a letter.”

Darcy sighed with relief, then closed her eyes and braced herself.

Something crashed through the window in the other room.

Darcy’s eyes flew open. “I’m saved!”

Excoria jumped and screamed. The gun went off, the pellet thudding into Darcy’s chest.

Well, hell!

She glanced down at her chest. “Great, someone crashes through the window to save me and it’s too damned late.” She blinked, wondering if it was the drug that was making her see a wolf. It was crouched in attack mode, teeth bared, hair standing up on its back.