Demon's Web (6 page)

Trinity was intrigued at his fortitude. She had to admit he was the sweetest bit of man-candy she had ever seen, though her experience at seeing others who weren’t hundreds or thousands of years older than herself were far and few between and could be counted on one hand. One finger even. She wasn’t sure if she should talk to him or not. He seemed as wary of her as she was of him.

Once his hands were free, he stood and began pacing, testing the parameters of his cage, trying to find a weakness. He kept one eye on her as he did so, as if skeptical she was actually a prisoner and not in on his capture.

“Who are you?” he growled at her after pacing and examining the enclosure he was now confined in.

“Trinity,” she answered simply. “You?”

“Nathan,” he gruffly responded.

“Do you know who is doing this? Who has captured us? Or why?”

Nathan peered over at her as if she suddenly grew three heads. “You don’t know?”

She shook her head. “No. I only know I was captured by some odd-looking creature with the head of a wolf and the scaly body of a biped reptile. I had never seen one before. I was rendered unconscious and when I came to, I was in this cage. I’ve seen or spoken to no one. The creature has brought me food, but other than that I have been alone.”

“How long?”

She thought about it for a couple of minutes. “I’m not sure how long I was out, but I think I have been here for about a week. Maybe?”

Nathan gave one quick nod of acknowledgement then sat on the bed, crossing his arms across his broad chest.

Again, she asked him, her desperate need to know evident in her tone, “Do you know who took us? Or why? Is it for ransom? Please, tell me if you know.”

Nathan frowned at her. “I don’t know. Only one I saw was the Rougarou.”

“Rougarou? Is that what the creature is?”

“Yes. Half wolf, half gator-man, lives in the swamplands. I know what he wants with me, but what he wants with you, I don’t have a clue.”

“What does he want with you?”

“He wants to know some information I have. But I won’t tell him and I won’t tell you. I will die first.”

“I don’t want to know whatever the information is. I don’t know anything. I just want to go home,” Trinity cried and turned away to put her back to him as she sat on her own bed.

Nathan was quiet for a few moments, watching her. “Hey. Trinity. Look. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it. I’m sure you’re scared. I am, too. We will get out of this. I swear. You have to just cooperate and, I bet, he will let you go back home soon. Maybe he is just waiting to get paid by your parents. Then you can be free. I don’t know, but it will be okay.”

“How can you promise that? You are stuck here too.”

“Because you are not alone anymore. I am here. Besides, if they wanted to do you any harm, they already would have. You said you’ve been here for maybe a week. More than enough time to do something nasty if they were going to. Which means, you are valuable. If you don’t know anything, then it’s probably a ransom and as soon as the deal is made you can go home. Easy peasy.”

“I hope you’re right, Nathan. Gods, I hope you’re right.”

Chapter 5

Logan wandered the swamps, sinking into the mud. At times, the mud reached his knees and others, his hips. The pungent order of decay permeated the air about him. After he and his parents searched for hours, they decided to split up and cover more ground. He watched his mother shift into a white wolf, trying to use her olfactory perception to uncover Trinity’s scent. However, the land was too porous and the odors from the rotting vegetation too strong, covering any discernible redolence which might otherwise be detected.

As Clarissa sniffed around as best she could under the circumstances, Mel turned to his son, placing a hand on his arm to hold him back. He lowered her voice so the wolf would not hear them, even with her exceptional hearing.

“What are you hiding, Logan?”

Logan appeared surprised, then resigned and almost relieved. “I was going to mention it sooner, but, I wanted to be sure first.” He didn’t add Shara thought it best to keep the information from them for the time being.

Clarissa moved out of sight as she continued her search, leaving father and son the opportunity to talk in private as they walked.

“This isn’t a time for caution, Logan. The life of your sister is at stake. Even if you don’t think it important or consequential. Sometimes we are not the best judge of what information could be useful.” Mel moved in such a way as to face Logan. “Whatever secret you are keeping, I will not judge or scold you for it now.”

Logan hesitated a moment more, checking to see if his mother was still nearby in case she might overhear them. “There is a woman who comes to the gardens every couple of weeks. Today was her day to come, but she told me the last time she was here, she would be running late and could not get away as easily as usual. She has always said no one could know she came to the garden, because her life would be in danger if anyone knew. She never said who was after her or why.”

“Who is she? How long has she been visiting? Why does she come?”

“Her name is Jasmine, but I really don’t know much about her. She came to see mother’s roses, and then kept coming to visit them and me. She has been arriving in the garden for about ten years now.”

“Ten years! You have been meeting this woman in the garden for ten years?”

Logan lowered his head, slightly ashamed it had gone on so long without them knowing. “Yes. Ten years. I was fourteen when I first saw her trying to find the entrance into our garden.”

“And you have been meeting her there ever since.” It was a statement not a question. Mel peered closely at his son, a penetrating look Logan had detested but knew it meant he was looking deep into the man’s soul. “You are in love with her.” Again, another statement.

Logan had not thought about it, but with the words there between them he could not refute it either. “Yes. I am.”

Mel gave a solitary nod then turned back towards the way Clarissa had taken off.

“I suggest you don’t let your mother know this at the moment. She will feel like she is losing you and she is already distraught over Trinity.” He started walking again. “As for Jasmine, she may or may not be the reason Trinity was abducted. Regardless, she obviously needs someone to protect her as well if she has been fearful enough after all this time to still hide her identity from you or the reason she is being hunted. Whatever her secret might be, it deserves your attention. When we find your sister, you should consider finding a way to be with Jasmine.”

Logan was stunned speechless for several moments. His father had always been fair and diplomatic when it came to his children, but he had not believed he could be this generous. Although both of his parents had been training him for several years, he had always assumed he would never be able to leave the Nether Realm except on excursions. Yet, now his father was telling him to go protect the woman he had cared deeply for.

Azamel seemed to understand his son’s quietness. “When I fell in love with your mother, I was told we couldn’t be together. It tore me up inside, but I did as I was commanded, because I had to. I don’t want that for you. If you love someone, nothing should prevent you from being together. However, son, do understand, you need to know about her and why she is running. You can’t protect her if you don’t know about her, no matter how much you love her. You need the knowledge to safeguard her appropriately, or you could lose her forever because you didn’t have the adequate information you needed to assist her.”

“When we find my sister, I will go to her, Dad. I will get all the answers to keep her safe.”

Trinity looked up when the Rougarou came into the room, heading straight for Nathan’s cage and Nathan himself. The young man tried to escape past the monster, but he was caught quickly and held immobile by the massive beast. Without a second thought, Nathan’s throat was slit.

A scream resounded throughout the room and it was only her throat crying out in protest. She realized she was the one making the shrill sound. She stopped screaming by putting her hand over her mouth, trying desperately not to gag as the sanguine liquid flowed from the slice along his jugular. Trinity had never seen or experienced anything such as someone being killed in front of her. She had never seen anyone die and she felt so sickened by the act, as well as helpless. She was only sixteen, for gods’ sake. Why would she be exposed to something like that? Why was she being exposed now?

She grabbed the bars in front of her. Her mouth opened again, but this time silent as she gaped in stunned surprised. She couldn’t understand why the creature, the Rougarou, just killed Nathan. No word, no explanation, no remorse.

Had he outlived his usefulness? Had he given them what they wanted? Or did they realize he would never betray whatever secret he carried which they clamored for?

Over the past few weeks, she had come to know Nathan. They had developed a bond of sorts. Mutual prisoners who have come to share in the experience and supported the other. In truth, he calmed her fears more than she did for him. He was the one who reassured her when she cried at night, missing her family. He was the one who got her talking about life in the Nether Realm with her family. She was careful, or at least she hoped she was, in making sure there was no relevant confidential information disclosed during their conversations. She hoped nothing she said could be used against her or her family, although she had never been in such a situation before, nor away from home, so she had no clue if what she was saying was harmful to her family or not. She could only hope.

Seeing Nathan be murdered in front of her was, therefore, a huge shock as well as loss. Her only companion, her only friend in this predicament she had been forced into, was suddenly taken from her.

The Rougarou turned to her and gave Trinity an evil smirk. He was holding the blade aloft, dripping with blood. He stood facing her, holding the slumped body of the youthful man with the other hand, as if waiting for her to say something, enjoying her reactions. She didn’t expect Nathan’s eyes to suddenly snap open, immediately trying to regain his footing. She hadn’t noticed moments prior: the blood flow had stopped and his wound had healed. So, Nathan was an immortal.

In one instant, she was happy, relieved Nathan would be okay. In the next, horrified as the Rougarou sliced his throat again, repeating the previous motion.

Trinity cried out, “No! No! Nathan! Stop it!”

Thrice more Nathan awoke momentarily, only to be immediately killed again and again. After the fifth time, the guard moved closer to her, dragging the still form of Nathan with him as if he were nothing more than a rag doll.

“Do you want this to end?”

“Yes. Gods, yes. Please, stop hurting him.”

“Will you be willing to do anything to prevent his continued, repeated death?” As if to make his point, he sliced Nathan’s throat just as he was becoming awake once more.

“Stop! Yes. Anything. Just stop. Please!” Trinity pleaded, her arms outstretched through the bars as if reaching for him to pull him to safety, despite that she was too far away to touch him.

Nodding, the wolfman snarled. “Know I’ll continue doing this if you go back on your word.”

“I won’t. I promise. What do you want? Just tell me what you want from me to stop hurting him!”

The Rougarou came over, his jowls were dripping with saliva, his fangs bared. His elongated black snout glistened with Nathan’s splattered blood.

“You will find it.”

Trinity was baffled. “Find what?”

“What your mother protected and thought destroyed. Somewhere, a small spark exists. He feels it. Not often, not strongly, but it’s there and with it, with just the small piece, he might find more. But even a small piece will be enough for him to succeed in his plans. He needs it and he needs you to find it.”

“I have no idea who or what you are talking about. I don’t know anything about what my mother might or might not have protected or what might or might not have been destroyed. Regardless, whatever it was or is, how would I even find it?”