Called by Midnight, page 9
“That was easier than I expected,” the woman said, “save for one annoying bot.” She shot a glance at Windy, who was wrapped in chains of his own. “Next time, I’ll be sure to short out your circuitry and make it look like an accident.” Then she paused, a feral smile appearing behind the lace. “Wait a minute. There won’t be a next time for you, will there?”
“Who are you?” Windy demanded with more courage than Hollie was feeling. “What is the meaning of this imprisonment?”
“That’s enough out of you,” she replied, then waved a hand at the robot. He shook, but no sounds came from him. “That’s better.” Nev turned her attention back to Hollie, taking a few steps closer. “Now that we’re finished with the interruptions, you and I can have that conversation I was hoping for.”
“Conversation?” Hollie summoned every ounce of bravado she had, attempting to keep the tremble out of her voice. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. And I’m not sure why you think I would cooperate, now that you’ve chained us up and silenced my friend.”
“Friend?” Nev laughed. “You’re talking about a mindless automaton. Besides, people like you don’t deserve friends, do you?”
“People like me? What are you talking about? You don’t know me. We’ve never met before.” Confusion clobbered her. What have I gotten mixed up in now? All because of my stupid stomach and my need for escape. Out of the frying pan and into the dungeon, I guess.
“We may not have met, but I know enough about you to know you’re the one I’m looking for.” The well-dressed lady reached into her pocket, pulling something out and holding it up for Hollie’s inspection. “Look familiar?”
Hollie squinted to see what it was she was holding. When she realized it was a single red hair, her eyebrows rose. What in the heck is going on here?
“I asked you earlier about your travels, and you failed to mention one in particular, the one I was hoping to hear about.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Hollie said, completely dumbfounded. “Is that my hair?”
“Why don’t you tell me?” the woman said, putting the hair away and leaning in with a toothy grin. “Perhaps you can recall your trip to a little pocket dimension? One that didn’t belong to you?”
Hollie shook her head, not sure what Nev was driving at. “I’ve only been to a handful of realms. This one. The Fae Realm. Valantia. Ahriman-abad.”
“Is that so?” Nev steepled her hands. “You’ve been to Ahriman-abad? It seems the picture is becoming clearer.”
“What picture? I didn’t choose to go there, just like I didn’t choose any of the other realms, including this one. I was on the run from a vampire, and an imp captured me and brought me here.”
“Sounds like quite an adventure, and I can’t wait to hear all about it. First, let’s talk about your time in the pocket dimension. Who admitted you to that realm?”
“Admitted me to what realm?” Hollie’s brain felt sluggish, fear messing with the firing of her brain’s synapses.
“The pocket dimension,” Nev replied tartly. “You know, the one you smashed up? Unless you regularly run around laying waste to other people’s property?”
Hollie’s eyes widened as she suddenly realized what the woman was talking about. The memory of the hours spent alone with Maz, trapped in what they’d taken to calling their bubble, hit her with the force of a blow.
It was her pocket realm, she understood in that moment, and she’s here for revenge. “I think I can recall the realm in question,” Hollie said quietly.
“And can you recall how you came to be there? That realm was protected by every kind of hex, curse, and hiding spell in existence. So how is it that an unskilled human was able to penetrate the shield that a god might fail to?”
“That I can’t tell you,” Hollie admitted. “The nearest we can figure, there was some sort of magical malfunctions. Spells were flying around, and they got mixed up somehow and without warning, I ended up in your pocket dimension.”
For now, she made the decision to keep Maz’s presence there a secret. There was no reason to drag the vampire into this if she could avoid it. The scrap of metal on stone drew their attention, and Hollie felt a stab of sadness at the state of the little robot, who was continuing to struggle against the chains.
Nev dismissed him and returned her attention to her human captive. “A magical malfunction, huh? A likely story. Was a malfunction also responsible for the state of things after you were done? Or was there another reason you smashed my things?”
“I didn’t intend to make a mess,” Hollie said sheepishly. “I was just trying to find my way out of there.” She felt foolish, out of her depth. “If you’d like to file a report with your insurance company, I’m happy to make a statement.”
The woman stared at her coldly, shaking her head. “It’s not that I’m without a sense of humor,” she said after a moment. “I appreciate a joke just like anyone, but it tends not to be so funny when you’re talking about a threat against myself and my family.”
“I’m not a threat,” Hollie insisted. “It was pure coincidence that I ended up in your realm, and I swear to you that I mean neither you nor your family any harm.”
“Excuse me if I don’t exactly believe you,” Nev replied, hands on her hips. “You haven’t been the most forthcoming, have you? And you destroyed my little dimension without so much as a note of apology.”
Hollie knew that last bit was a sarcastic dig, but it did prompt her as intended. “I’m sorry. Dreadfully sorry about the state I left your property in. If there is some way I can make it up to you, you only have to ask.”
“Oh, you’re going to make it up to me, don’t worry,” her captor said, rubbing her hands together. “In flesh, and bone, and blood. You will make it up to me with screams, begging, and pleading.”
Nev took a step closer, close enough for Hollie to see the crazed look in her dark eyes. “You will pay for your trespass until there are no screams left.”
Chapter Twelve
“I HOPE YOU HAVE LEARNED by now to answer me truthfully, and without delay.” Nev tapped her chin with her index finger, studying the woman splayed before her. “I will know if you lie to me, so don’t bother trying.”
“I won’t lie,” Hollie insisted, even as she wracked her brain to think of a way to convince the dark lady that this was all some sort of misunderstanding. “I promise you that I mean you no harm. I don’t even know who you are!”
“What were you doing in my realm?” Nev asked again. “Answer me true, or face my wrath.”
“I told you, I ended up there by mistake, and all I was trying to do was find a way out. That is the truth.”
A sudden shock went through her, making her muscles twitch. It was reminiscent of the shock she’d get when she walked across the carpet in her fuzzy socks then touched something metal. More surprising than painful. But it wasn’t to stay that way.
“Who are you working for?”
“No one,” Hollie said. “I’m self-employed.”
It was the truth, but Hollie realized it might come off as a smarmy joke. Nev, however, wasn’t smiling. She shook her head, and a sudden shock went through Hollie, this one stronger than before.
Hollie gritted her teeth, riding it out, then let out a heavy breath, going limp against the chains. She wasn’t sure how many more questions she could survive, and she had a feeling they were only getting started. “Who told you about my realm?” was the next question, and she wasn’t surprised to receive yet another shock, this one a little harder, when she replied with the truth. No one told me about the realm, just like no one told me who you are, or why you’re filled with rage.
“I’m sorry I messed up your pocket dimension,” she croaked. “If you transport me there now, I’d be happy to clean up and return everything to rights. I didn’t have a chance to because my exit was as sudden as my entry.”
Nev stared at her. “How did you get out of the pocket dimension?”
“A witch rescued me. I’m not sure how she located me because I have no idea how magic works, but she managed to pierce the mirror walls, something I wasn’t able to do on my own. She pulled me out.”
“A witch?” Hollie held her breath, expecting a shock, but none came. “What witch?”
“A witch I had hired to help protect me from my vampire stalker. We made a deal for her to cast a spell, but something went wrong, and we had to flee. The vampire found us again, and that’s when the magical mishap happened that landed me in your realm.”
Nev tilted her head, fixing Hollie with a look of interest. “You seem to lead a charmed life for a human. Vampires. Witches. Flitting from realm to realm like a butterfly going from flower to flower. What makes you so special?”
“I wish I knew,” Hollie answered honestly, but it earned her a shock, this one twice as hard as before. She grimaced, then answered in anger. “My mother used to say I was special because I could pat my head and rub my stomach at the same time.”
One corner of Nev’s lip turned up, and a shock with double the intensity ripped through Hollie, leaving her limp against the chains. The shocks hurt her body, but the question hurt her pride. What makes me so special? How did I end up embroiled in all of this trouble? All because one mixed-up vampire thinks I’m his mate?
“Answer me,” the dark lady said, her patience starting to wear thin.
“I’m not special,” Hollie spat. “Ahriman said it himself.” She was thinking about his dismissal of her before Dallon shared that she was Maz’s alleged mate.
“Ah yes, Ahriman. You mentioned visiting Ahriman-abad earlier. How exactly do you know the Prince of Darkness?” The question was asked in a deceptively calm tone, but she could tell that Nev was carefully observing her, hanging on to her every word.
“I don’t, not really. He’s got something to do with the vampire stalking me. The imp seems to think Ahriman wants me for his collection, and he’s planning to take me to him to spite the vamp. He tried before, took me all the way to Ahriman-abad, then lost me in a game of chance. This is his second attempt to trade me to the prince.”
The shock that hit her this time was enough to make her teeth snap together, and she was relieved, when she could think again, that she hadn’t bitten her own tongue off. “I’m not lying,” she cried, her limbs trembling with the aftershocks of the electricity.
“Vampires and imps and the Princes of Darkness, all revolving around some simpering human female? Tell me another one.”
“What do you want me to say?” Hollie knew she was reaching the limit of her strength to resist the level of shocks she was receiving. “Just tell me what to say, and I’ll say it, since you’re clearly not interested in the truth.”
“I’m just supposed to trust your word with no corroboration? I’m sorry, but I’m not in the habit of believing humans and their tall tales. You’re little more than ants to me, selfish, brutish little ants obsessed with your own little ant hills, never realizing there’s a much larger world out there, with much more powerful beings who could squash you and not even realize it.”
“Windy knows!” Hollie said suddenly. “Let him speak, and he can tell you what he knows.”
“So now the robot is your witness? Why should I believe him?”
“Aren’t robots not allowed to lie? Check his protocols. Please!” Hollie was starting to dread the next shock. She’d manage to bear them thus far, but the next one was bound to be fierce enough to make her hair stand on end.
Nev let out an annoyed breath, but she waved a hand at Windy nonetheless. “Limit your speaking to things that are relevant to the interrogation,” she warned him. “None of your whining and petulance about how this place can’t exist and I’m not supposed to be here.” Nev gestured in Hollie’s direction. “Is what the human is saying true?”
“I can only speak to the pieces I have seen or heard with my own faculties,” Windy croaked, his voice sounding stilted. “I have seen the imp she is talking about on multiple occasions, the latest being a few hours ago when he contacted Ahriman and requested a trade, the human for his freedom.”
Hollie saw a raven eyebrow arch under the lace veil. “Why would Ahriman want this human?”
“To add to his collection, I believe. She is said to belong to a vampire who is a lieutenant under the Angel of Death.”
“Samael,” Nev hissed, her disdain for the prince broadcasting as if she’d screamed it through a megaphone.
“Correct,” Windy stated. “They’ve set up an exchange. The imp hands off the human, and the prince frees him from the curse that bonds him to Samael.”
Nev’s eyes narrowed. “So you’re backing up every word that she’s said.” She moved toward the bot and leaned over, looking closely at him. “How am I to know you aren’t telling me as many lies as she is?”
“I am not prone to lying,” Windy replied stiffly, as if his character were being impugned.
“Have any protocols or subroutines been installed to prevent you from bending the truth, bot?”
Hollie held her breath as she waited for Windy to answer the question. Surely Gresh has written a protocol for that. He can’t have his mechanical servants running around telling bald-faced lies, can he?
“No.” The word hung in the air between them, and Hollie’s face fell. Well, there goes that. She braced herself for the next shock.
“The two of you must think yourselves very clever, coming up with this convoluted story about leeches and imps. What’s next? Did a dragon fly you to the stars so you could collect them like berries from a tree?”
“It’s the truth,” Hollie said, trying to keep the pleading out of her voice. “You can see for yourself. Take us back to the workshop. Ask Gresh. He will back up our story.”
“Gresh is a dirty old man who’s known for cheating those he considers more stupid than himself. I would trust him about as far as, well, as I trust the pair of you.”
Nev straightened her veil and took a deep breath. “We’ll start from the beginning again. This is your last chance to get it right. You will tell me the truth, or you will beg me for death before we’re finished.”
“Please, you don’t have to do this,” Hollie begged, but Nev ignored her.
“How did you find my pocket dimension?”
Letting out a sigh, Hollie hung her head. “I didn’t find it. I was trapped there by mistake when some magical spells went wrong.”
The strength of the shock made her back arch off the wall, and she strained against her chains. It was agony, the rush of electricity making her feel like her nerve endings were on fire. I’m not sure how much more I can take.
“What were you looking for in my realm?”
“A way out,” Hollie replied, then flopped against the current that seemed to invade every cell of her body. Her eyes rolled back in her head, tongue lolling out of her mouth.
“Why did you tear the place apart?”
“I thought if we could find a clue as to what the place was, maybe we could find a way out.”
The shock this time had her on the verge of passing out. One more and I might be done for.
“Why are you so interested in my twins?”
Hollie’s eyes blinked open, and she focused her blurry gaze on the dark lady. “Your twins?” The hazy recollection of the images of twin boys they’d uncovered in the bubble rose in her mind. “Wait, I remember now. We thought they might be some sort of clue, but we didn’t know what they meant.”
“Why do you insist on lying?” There was an edge in Nev’s voice that terrified her. “There is no profit in it. I’m going to kill you either way, but it’s up to you how long you suffer before the end.”
“Please,” Hollie said, her voice weak. “I mean you no harm. I mean your children no harm. I just want to go home.”
“You’re never going home,” Nev said. “No one violates the sanctity of my realm and lives.”
Frustration filled her. From the look in Nev’s eyes, she knew it was only a moment before the woman shocked her again. Again and again, until her body gave out at last. Hollie screamed then, in fear of what was to come, in defiance of the fate promised her.
Her scream ended, and in the distance, she heard an answering roar. She had a second to realize that the roar sounded familiar before the shock hit her.
Exhausted, she succumbed to the unconsciousness it brought her, relieved to finally find an escape, even if it was in death.
Chapter Thirteen
SHE AWOKE SUDDENLY at the sensation of her body hitting the ground. Hollie’s eyes flew open, and she was greeted with pandemonium occurring all around her. She attempted to lift herself, to come to her feet, but the chains were still twisted around her.
It took a moment for her mind to process what was happening, so much was going on around her. A burst of sparks hit the wall beside her head, and Hollie ducked, tracing the burst back to its source.
Cass! The witch stood there, her face tinged with green, her expression saying she’d rather be anywhere else in the world, but still sparks flew from her fingertips in the direction of the dark lady. And the witch wasn’t alone. Tayla and Phaedra were on either side of her, lashing out at Nev with twin whips made of vine.
The chamber filled with acrid smoke without warning, and Hollie coughed, her eyes starting to water. She could no longer see the melee taking place, but when a familiar roar shook the room, a smile came to her lips. Her vampire was here.
My vampire? she thought in a daze. When did I start thinking of him as mine?
The smoke cleared as suddenly as it came, and Hollie blinked away tears to find Tayla and Phaedra hacking at their own vines which had encircled them and laid them low. Cass was pounding against some invisible wall that had her trapped behind it, a frantic expression on her face.
Maz, however, was still untouched. He flitted in and out of sight, teleporting every half second to a new location around the room, trying to keep from being pinpointed by their adversary. The trick seemed to work for a few moments before Nev started making shapes with her hands to weave an electrified net that swept through the room, catching the vampire up and shocking him fiercely.
