Reaching Retribution (The Prophesized Series) (20 page)

I gape at him. “You can’t be serious.”

“I’m completely serious.”

“I’m not going to fight for you. I’m not on your
team
, Dravin. You are a little messed up if you think that I’m going be your “secret weapon,” and you have another thing coming if you think I’m going to let you have any bit of my magic in any shape or form. I’m not some pawn that you can just lock away until you need me.”

Dravin takes a step closer to me.
Out of habit, I step backward and hit the wall behind me. “If you want to see that soulmate of yours again, I’d do as you’re told, Ryanne.”

“I’ve already accepted that I probably won’t get to see him again, so why get my hopes up? I know that you don’t plan on letting me leave here alive. You may have fooled Adam and Jedrek with that idea, but you haven’t fooled me. I’m not stupid Dravin. I know you.
You’re a pathological liar. You get pleasure out of deceiving people. You’re smart and cunning, but easily angered—especially right now, when your perfect plan is slowly unraveling. You need my cooperation, but I’m not going to give it to you which means you’re either going to resort to physical violence or tricky mind games. Either way, I’m prepared, so try your worst.” Dravin narrows his eyes at me. Instead of reacting, he grabs my elbow again and pulls me down the hallway. “Where are you taking me?”

Wouldn’t you like to
know? You think you’re so smart. Figure this out.
I try to yank my arm away from him, but he tightens his grip. I stumble forward. We pass a couple Gadramicks in the hall, who step aside and let Dravin pass. Each gives me an evil glare as we make our way further into the compound. I recognize a few of them as men that Dravin tried to make me fight earlier. He stops in front of a set of doors and grabs the key ring out of his pocket. This door looks nothing like any of the other doors in the compound. Instead of the heavy metal gray doors, this one was is mahogany. Deep black swirling accents decorate its exterior.

“Dravin, what’s going on?”
Again, my attempts to get free are futile. His grip is too strong and while I could use my magic, there’s no way I’d be able to get out of this compound alive on my own.

Instea
d of answering me, he thrusts an old key into the lock and turns. I try to move away, but Dravin is physically stronger than me. He forcefully pulls me forward and continues maneuvering through the compound. This section looks much older than where we previously were. Instead of electric lighting, the room is lit by candles. This was where I was when I rescued Larkin from Dravin. This is the hall from my nightmares. My airways constrict the further we go down the halls from the lack of fresh air.

Dravin’s grip on my arm tightens. I bite my tongue to keep from crying out. I know that I’ll have a bruise from this later.
Just another bruise to add to my collection, I guess. Dravin stops in front of a door and knocks once.

“Dravin!” I yell at him. He turns and looks at me. I shake my arm out of his hand. He grabs my wrist to ke
ep me from running away. “What is going on? Where are we?”

“Come in,” a deep voice yells from the opposite side of the door. Dravin grabs the faded brass handle and
pushes open the door.

I
f this were a movie, eerie organ music would be playing in the background setting the ominous scene. I can’t see anything in the room in front of me for it is pitch black. I look back at Dravin. I have no idea what he’s trying to do here. Dravin throws me inside the room and quickly closes the door. I fall to the floor, surrounded by darkness.

I cry out from the impact of the fall. My arms and legs start burning from scraping the hard flooring.
I pause for a moment to collect my breath and let my other senses take over. Getting on my hands and knees, I feel the ground around me. “Really?” I mumble as I crawl forward…or what I think is forward.

I can’t feel anything around me. The floor is rough. Old wood? Dirty concrete? I can’t tell
based on texture alone.

“You’re get
ting closer,” the deep voice warns. I instantly stop moving and turn to the right—toward the sound of the voice.

“Who’s there?” I ask.

The room is suddenly flooded with light. Small flames from hundreds of candles light the room. How did that happen? I look away from the candles and look toward the right corner. A tall man, around Bragden’s size is standing there, smirking at me. Without taking my eyes off him, I push myself up and stand.

Black hair, so dark the night is envious, is pulled back into a ponytail at the base of his neck. A long scar runs across his jaw line and down his neck, disappearing beneath his shirt collar. Dark brooding eyes watch me as I assess him. He’s wearing a fitted black shirt and dark cargo pants. The tight shirt and the crosse
d arms accentuate his muscular physique. Involuntarily, I take a step back. This man could snap me like a twig if he wanted to.

“It’s nice to finally meet you, Ryanne. I’ve hear
d so much about you,” he tells me with a fake smile. I take another step backward when he pushes away from the wall and saunters toward me.

“You must be Zahtri.”

I duck the punch Travis throws and firmly plant my feet on the ground. When his arm stops its forward motion, I jump up and thrust my fist into his gut. He grunts, but doesn’t stop fighting. If a simple punch stopped him, I’d be concerned.

I hear the sounds of the others training around me. Bragden and Incendia are working on their magic. Streams of fire are soaring over our heads, as they work on their directional commands. Larkin and Kyril are sparring together, seriously this time. Usually Larkin transports to random spots through the training room and scares
everyone instead of actually training. Logan and Lily are training together, while bickering like a married couple. They still won’t acknowledge their feelings for each other. If they don’t act soon, James will intervene. I’ve noticed him watching them more often lately. His “Cupid” senses must be tingling.

I turn my attention back to Travis. I bring my left arm up to block hi
s swing as I thrust my other fist forward. Travis easily dodges my hit. My head starts to feel fuzzy. I can see Travis’s arm coming toward me, but I can’t bring my arm up to block his move. They fall to my side limp. My arms and legs feel like lead. No matter how hard I mentally demand them to move, they remain frozen at my sides. Travis’s arm connects with my shoulder sending me backward.

Before I hit the gr
ound, I’m already gone.

“Colton,” a familiar voice calls out. I blink and look around. I’m standing in the middle of a cement cell, similar to one that Dravin held Liam and me in. Speaking of Liam…

“What’s going on?” I ask him.

“Are you guys still planning on coming?” he asks. I can hear the urgency in his voice.

“Yeah, tomorrow.”

“
Can you come any sooner?”

“Liam, what happened?”

He starts pacing the cell. When he grabs the back of his neck, I tense. Like me, Liam does that when he’s in a situation he doesn’t want to be in. “Dravin took Ryanne,” he finally says.

“Took her where?”
This can’t be good. Last time I heard, Dravin was treating Ryanne decently…as decent as a prisoner could be kept, but I knew that wouldn’t stay that way for long.

“I don’t know for sure. Adam and I were trying to get Ryanne to eat something, because she hasn’t eaten in days, but she refused.
She started feeling everyone’s emotions again, so she was trying to stay away from us, but she ended up passing out from the pain. Dravin came into the room and said that he needed Ryanne to come with him. He grabbed her and pulled her into the hallway. Adam left the cell at the same time.

“
I could hear Dravin yelling at her. I couldn’t make out what he was saying specifically, but Adam hid behind the corner and listened. He wants Ryanne to fight for the Gadramicks—to be their secret weapon. Well, being Ryanne, she insulted him, which he didn’t like.

“He forcefully dragged her down the hallway. Adam followed them from a safe distance until Dravin disappeared behind an old wooden door. He tried to go further, but the door was locked
,” Liam pauses and looks straight at me. “Colton, he took her to Zahtri.”

“
Are you positive?”

“Where would you hide a powerful mage that no one has ever seen before? It’s not easy to hide someone in a compound full of Gadramicks. People would find out.
There’s no other possible scenario. This is Dravin we’re talking about. They’re finally putting their plan into motion.”

“Shit,” I grab the back of my neck and look around. Ryanne has been in a cell
like this for far too long. This needs to end. “I’ll talk with Tom and Colin. If she’s with Zahtri, she’s in danger.”

“Ryanne’s powerful, but she won’t use her magic to protect herself and you know that.
She doesn’t think there’s a way out of this for her. She’s in a lot of danger. Way more than we know.”

I blink and I’m back in
the woods behind the hotel. Everyone is huddled around me. “Colton, are you okay?” Tom asks as he puts a hand out. I grab it and stand up.

“No, we need to go now.”

“Where?”

“To Dravin’s compound. Ryanne’s in danger. Liam pulled me into a dream; that’s how serious it is. Dravin took her to Zahtri.”

Larkin and Kyril cuss and push through everyone. “He took her to Zahtri?”

I nod.
“Apparently. Adam followed Dravin and Ryanne to an old wooden door. He couldn’t go any farther because the door was locked.”

“I’ve been back there befo
re. I’ve never seen Zahtri, but I could feel a difference in the air down there. It felt electric. I couldn’t sense his magic specifically, but I knew that there was something there. Something powerful. Dravin never lets anyone down there. I’m probably one of two people who have ever been on the other side of that door. If he took Ryanne down there, he’s very serious,” Larkin says.

We can’t afford to w
ait until tomorrow. Who we have now will have to do. Ryanne and Liam’s life depend on it. It’s now or never. Tom’s eyes move from me as he looks at all the people around us. They’re all nodding; they understand the direness of this situation.

“Okay, t
onight. Tonight, we’ll go and rescue them. I’ll go get everyone together. You all get ready. We’ll head out in an hour.”

“This is it,” Natalie says as she walks over to me. “We’re finally going to end this.”

“I just hope we’re not too late.”

*****

“I see my reputation
precedes me,” Zahtri says as he steps forward.

I take a deep breath. My heart is pounding a mile a minute and my
palms feel very clammy. I really want to turn around and bang on the old wooden door, screaming for help, but I know that no one will come. I’m all alone.

With Zahtri.

My body really wants to step back, but I remain still as Zahtri steps toward me. I know he can sense my fear, just like I can sense his amusement. He’s basically laughing at me right now, but I need to remain as calm as possible. Anything else could get me killed.

“You don’t talk much,” he says as he circles around me. I cringe when he trails his hand lightly across my shoulder. “That’s fine. It’
s probably better that way.”
Pretty face. Nice body. Lots of magic. She’ll definitely do.

“What do y
ou want?” I hesitantly ask him.

“Wouldn’t you like to know, darli
ng.” Why is everyone always calling me darling? “Because it suits you.”

“You can read my mind,” I state.
It’s not a question. I know he’s powerful, so it shouldn’t surprise me he has that ability too.

“Oh, I’m more powerful than even you can imagine.” He stops in front of me. “You have a lot of magic in
you too. I can understand why the Gadramicks have been having a difficult time with you, but you don’t have enough. You don’t stand a chance against me.”

“The Gadramick
s? It sounds like you’re not a part of them.”

He takes a step forward and grabs the end of my hair.
I bite my lip to keep from saying anything, but now that I know that he can read my thoughts, the idea seems pointless. “I’m not, darling. They’re weak. All of them. Those of us with power aren’t meant to work amongst others. We’re meant to rule over them.”

“We’re not mean
t to rule over anyone, Zahtri.”

“
That’s where you’re wrong.”

“No, that’s where you’re wrong.” I grab my hair and pull it away from him. He easily lets it go
. His amusement crashes into me. I don’t want to be amusing. I need to change my approach here.

“That won’t work.”

“Stop reading my mind!” I yell at him. Yelling at this man probably isn’t a good idea, but I can’t help it. All the anger in this compound is starting to affect me.

“You’re ab
le to read my mind. If you wouldn’t suppress your magic as much, you’d be much stronger. I know that you recently started unleashing more and more magic, but it’s still not enough. I’ve seen your blood results. You’re magic is embedded in your blood. Only you can release it.”

“I’ve already done that.”

“You didn’t release it all. You have to dig deeper than that. Break down those barriers you’ve erected. You’re a vessel for magic, but you’re too afraid to use it—to harness it. That’s your weakness. If you embraced your magic, you’d be able to stand up to me instead of cowering in front of me.”

“
Cowering in front of you? I’ve been stuck in this compound for days. I couldn’t leave my cell for fear of being attacked. I had to have a body guard walk me to the bathroom. I’ve been bombarded with everyone’s emotions. Do you know what that’s like? To have hundreds of people’s anger and hatred move through your body? How would you react to that?”

“I didn’t say you weren’t strong. I can see the strength in you. I’m just saying you’re not strong
enough
.”

I narrow my eyes and look up at him.
A little on the short side though.

“Why are you judging me?” I place my hands on my hips and glare at him. “What are you planning?”

Ahh, Dravin mentioned that she was smart.
Zahtri takes another step toward me. My eyes flicker around the room. The only thing that could be used as a weapon is a stinking candle. “You won’t find anything in here. I don’t believe in using weapons.”

Neither
do I. It’s easier to use magic.

“See
, we do have something in common,” Zahtri says. “I like you, Ryanne, so this can go one of two ways. Tonight, is going to be my big unveiling. It’s time to step into the spotlight.” He stops in front of me and smiles. “Now, the first scenario is that you come with me and stand by my side. We can work together and be unstoppable. No one would dare to go against us. You won’t like the second one as much.”

“I don’t like the first one.”

“Then, you’ll hate this one. The other one is that I bring you in front of all the Gadramicks and kill you. Once they see you dead, they’ll follow me. You’ve been a nuisance to them. You’re the only person standing in their way. Dravin’s been building up your ruthless reputation. If they were to watch your die on stage…they’d instantly pledge their allegiance to me. I took out their biggest threat.”

“Is there a third option?”

“No. Now you can pick or I’ll pick for you. You have potential, so I’d rather not kill you.”

“Aww, that’s so sweet of you.”

“But I will if it comes to it. You’re small. Like you said earlier, I could snap you like a twig.”

“
I don’t get any other options? Stand next to you or die?”

“
I think that’s pretty generous. I know which I’d pick if I were you.”

“Well, you’re not me. I’d rather die than work for you.” I take a step forward and glare at him. “The second option. I pick number two.”

“If that’s how it’s going to be,” Zahtri says. He brings his hand back and slaps me across the cheek. The force sends me flying backward into the wall. When my head connects with the dark surface, I slump to the ground and the room around me starts spinning. Zahtri’s laughter is all I hear as I slowly lose consciousness.