The Sacrifice (31 page)

Riana fought the tears blurring her
vision. She started reading aloud, pretending to still be reading to Lily. The
words tumbled out, but her mind rehearsed what she would tell the guard on his
next pass through the garden. With each passing moment Lily was getting farther
away and that was all that mattered.

Forty
minutes later, the sound of heavy footsteps grew louder on the pebbled path.
Riana
’
s nerves jumped beneath her skin when the
footsteps stopped. She glanced toward the guard and suspicious eyes glared back
at her. Since the outside guards during the day were human, she tried to enter
his mind and compel him to believe Lily was still with her. Panic set-in when
she met resistance. She pushed hard to plant the suggestion, but knew she
’
d
failed when he blinked and gave his head a quick shake.

What
has that paranoid prick done to these humans?
She noticed a
solid black band circling his neck and wondered if it contained some type of
blocking mechanism.

“Where is the child?” he spat the
words like an order. From his heavy Italian accent, she should have known they
were somewhere in Italy before Iggy ever told her.

“She went inside the palace to use
the…facilities,” Riana told him.

“I did not see her go inside.”

“Well,
that
’
s where she went. Go see for yourself if you don
’
t
believe me,” she said nonchalantly. She hoped if she didn
’
t
act suspicious, he would at least finish his rounds before checking. She
pretended to start reading again. After several seconds, he continued on the
same path.

Riana
listened to his footsteps, relieved he didn
’
t head straight
inside, but it would more than likely be short lived. Vind
’
s
guards always kept close watch outside his palace. Aware if they messed up, it
would mean their life.

I
am not going to feel sorry for them. They shouldn
’
t be working for a murdering maniac.

Riana
glanced at her watch. It
’
d been almost an hour since Lily left. If she
could stall them for an hour longer, it would give Iggy enough time to hide
Lily and make the call for help.

Fifteen minutes passed before she
heard footsteps approaching again. The guard walked to where she sat propped
against a tree. “Madam, come with me,” he ordered.

“Can
you not see that I
’
m reading?” Riana said between clenched teeth.

“I have searched the grounds, and the
girl is not here. Nor did she go past the guard at the door.”

“Maybe she went through a different
door.”

“No, she did not. The other doors are
locked.”

Riana
stood.
“It does
not
take a genius to figure out that if she
’
s not inside, she
’
s
somewhere on the grounds. I
’
ll look for her. Sometimes she likes to play hide
and seek.” Riana led the guard throughout the garden, behind every shrub and
around every tree. When she had wasted every minute possible, she turned to the
guard. “You must be wrong, Lily has to be inside,” she said with feigned
exasperation.

Riana turned, pushed past the guard
and headed toward the castle with him tight on her heels.

As she went through the front door and
entered the foyer, the guard said, “I must report this to the commander.”

Riana
stopped and regarded him for a moment. “Hold off and let me search upstairs.
She
’
s probably in her room. Besides, are you really
that anxious to let him know that you
’
ve lost a child?” The
guard
’
s mouth opened and then closed. She turned and
climbed the massive staircase. His heavy footsteps close behind her echoed
against the marble steps.

Fifteen
more minutes, that
’
s all I need, and Lily will be someplace safe.

Once
upstairs, Riana went through the rooms, pretending to continue her search. The
guard waited at the end of the hall. When she came out of Lily
’
s
room, he shouted, “Madam, you will come with me,
now.”

The
guard approached Riana, circled her upper arm with his beefy hand and pushed
her forward. She glared at him with the threat of violence and jerked from his
grip. “Keep your filthy hands off me.” The guard was human, and Riana had no
doubt about her ability to take him down. But she wouldn
’
t
resort to violence. Not when he had plenty coming his way when Vind found out
Lily was gone.

They
reached Vind
’
s office and the guard knocked.

Riana
jumped as Vind
’s harsh voice rang
out.
“
Come in.
”

As
they entered, Vind leaned back in an overly plush chair, behind an equally over
the top desk. There wasn
’
t an inch of wood without intricate carvings. “I
suppose this means you have not found the child,” he said to the guard.

“No, sir. The men searched the grounds
thoroughly.”

As Vind narrowed his gaze on Riana,
she straightened, increasing her height.

“You could avoid all this and tell me
where she is. And do not insult my intelligence by denying that you know.”

She raised her chin. “I do not know
where
she is.”

The
phone on Vind
’
s desk rang. After he answered, his eyes shifted
to Riana, his face reddened, and the vein in his forehead began to pulse. He
slammed the phone onto the desk. “The guards found a hole leading under the
fence, close to where you and she were sitting. I do not like being lied to,
Riana,” he seethed. “You will pay for defying me, in more ways than one.”

“You
’
re
only mad that you no longer have her to hold over my head. I don
’
t
care what you do to me. Lily
’
s safety is all that matters.”

A
wickedly, evil smile crossed Vind
’s
lips.
“Oh, she is
far
from safe. She is dead one way or the other. I will issue an order to terminate
her on sight. Although it will be a race as to which happens first—my men
killing her, or her being eaten by a wild animal. Regardless, she
’
s
dead. A child her size cannot make it out of these mountains alive.”

Riana
couldn
’
t hide the fact that his words frightened her,
because they did. It was his intention. Even though she didn
’
t
send Lily into the mountains alone and totally defenseless, she did put her in
a dangerous situation. Whatever the odds, Lily had a better chance of surviving
out there than in this place.

Riana
’
s
heart raced as Vind rose from the desk and stalked toward her, a threatening
glare fixed on his face. Harsh fingers gouged into her flesh as he grabbed her
upper arms and jerked her to him. “Where is the child?” he growled, his face
only inches from hers.

“
I don’
t know!” Riana stared into his black eyes with her own nasty glare.

Vind turned her arms loose and stepped
back. A second later, pain erupted on one side of her face. Her head wrenched
to the side, and a high pitched ringing took up residence in her ears.

That
asshole hit me!

“Do not lie to me, Riana. Now, where
is the girl?” he shouted.

A
rush of anger flashed through her, pushing out the fear. “Go. Fuck. Yourself,”
she said through clenched teeth. She braced for the second blow as Vind
’
s
hand came at her face.

The blow was even harder than the
first. She raised her hand and wiped blood trickling from the corner of her
mouth.

Vind
’
s
head snapped toward the guard standing next to the door. “Get her out of here,”
he ordered. “Take her to her room and lock the door. I will deal with her
later.” He turned back and looked at her. “You will not get out of that room
this time.”

Riana glared at Vind with bitter
disgust as the guard led her from his office.

Once
inside her room Riana went to the bathroom and stared at her throbbing face in
the mirror. The right side glowed like a red neon light in the shape of a large
hand. Tinges of blue had already surfaced around the edges. She soaked a
finger-towel with cold water and applied it to her aching face. The pain was a
small price to pay for Lily
’
s safety. She lay across the bed and prayed Cy and
Kyra reached Lily before Vind
’
s men.

Riana sat up and tossed the towel on
the floor as someone rattled keys outside her door. When it opened Ms. Rizzo
entered with a scowl across her ugly face. “Madam, I was instructed to take you
to the courtyard for a demonstration.”

Riana
slung her legs off the bed and stood to match the woman
’
s
height. “I
’
m not going to watch any demonstration your
psychotic boss has in mind.”

The woman curled her lip. “He said you
might resist. If you did, he would come to get you himself.” She tilted her
head and almost smiled. “Unless you want a matching pair of red cheeks, I
suggest you come along.”

Riana sighed, slipped on her shoes and
followed the old hag.

Outside
the castle entrance was a paved circular drive. A large grassy area inside the
circle held a huge three tier fountain with lights that made the water appear
as if it changed colors with each spray into the air. She followed Ms. Rizzo to
the right of the fountain where Vind waited. A skinny young man dressed in
saggy jeans and a dingy T-shirt stood between Vind and a bald feeder as large
as a mountain. Disgust covered Riana
’
s face as she
realized he was the one who had killed Iggy
’
s brother—the same
one Vind had promised Lily to.

As
she approached, Vind turned and glared at her with hard, black eyes. “You
’
re
about to witness exactly how I feel about people who betray those they
’
ve
swore fealty to. This is Neil Connors. Although he betrayed my enemy with his
request to join my army, he can
’
t be trusted not to betray me.”

Riana
’
s
gaze jumped to the young man. Fear consumed his features and his frail body
shook like a leaf in a wind storm. He was the boy who
’
d
delivered her flowers at the compound.

Stupid,
stupid boy!
What made him
think Vind could be trusted to keep his word? Even though he
’
d
betrayed the Protectors, her heart ached for him.

“You
don
’
t have to do this, Vind.”

“Yes,
I do, and you
’
re going to watch. He
’
s
proven betrayal is in his nature. It
’
s only a matter of
time before he would betray me. You on the other hand
have
betrayed me
by helping the child  escape. His punishment is
your
first and
final warning. The next time it happens, you will suffer the same fate, heir or
no heir.”