Daybreak Ch. 09

"Nadia, calm down," Andrae comforted, "It was an accident." She wasn't listening to him; Nadia shook her head furiously and clung to him as if desperate for a solid anchor. He looked at his brothers, who were understandably impatient to get going. Charisma stood off to the side, ready to take over when he left. "We need to go get Jameson, now."

Nadia nodded quietly as she pulled herself together. She accepted the kiss Andrae placed on her lips and nodded to Alexis and Slade. "I want all of you to come back this time."

"Will do."

Charisma watched as the men left the room with a heavy heart. She hadn't realized how much she'd come to care for the brothers as well. Her feelings for them were nowhere near what she felt for Jameson, but the thought of any of them getting hurt made her feel sick. "Everything's going to be fine," she said to no one in particular, "They are going to get Jameson, they'll all come back, and everything will be fine.

* * * * *

Jameson didn't know if he should be excited or pissed off that he found himself in such a ridiculous position. What on earth possessed him to allow himself to be captured? Yes, there was the matter of keeping Zaide away from Charisma, but that could have easily been done without his imprisonment. There was also the fact that allowing this to happen gave him an opportunity to get insight on how Zaide ran his operation. Operation? This wasn't the mafia; it was demon idiocy.

But this idiocy would have a chance if he and his brothers did nothing to act. The church was the perfect base for Zaide; it was obvious that the Mordecai had taken considerable time to redecorate the former house of worship to his particular tastes. The first five rows of pews had been torn out, most likely to create a mock stage for whatever sick and sadistic games Zaide wanted to play. Directly beneath the large cross at the head of the church was a portentous chair. A throne, no doubt. Zaide always did think more of himself than he should have. What should have been stained glass windows were painted black to keep the sunlight from destroying the demons. They really were idiots for thinking that he did not need to be blindfolded. Jameson took in every aspect of his surroundings, making sure to memorize the number and locations of the exits; his brothers would need that information.

His attention became focused on a group of people being rushed towards the rectory. Jameson easily recognized the hostages; they were shackled as if they were animals and were abused if they did not move fast enough to suit the guards. Though anger washed over him, it was better he kept his cool and waited for the perfect moment to strike. He withstood the taunts and blows he received as he was led toward another room in the back of the church. Jameson made sure to look at the face of every single guard in the church; they were his second priority, after he took care of Zaide. They were the same demons who were stupid enough to believe they took him down and brought him unwillingly to their leader.

The small hallway was dimly lit; there wasn't enough light for him to adequately assess his surroundings. But Jameson looked anyway, making sure to take in as many details as possible. Not one of the religious figures has been removed from the church; in fact, they'd all been moved to different locations that kept them from becoming damaged. That was interesting. Why would a demon care about religious relics?

Jameson grunted in frustration when he was roughly shoved into one of the back rooms. This room, he knew, was made specifically for Zaide's sick and sadistic games. There was no furniture in the stale and hot room, save the lone electric chair that had obviously been pilfered from a prison. It was not hooked up to a generator, which only meant that its main purpose was to retrain the lucky victim who sat in it. One lone light fixture illuminated the black walls and windows. If it wasn't for his disgust, Jameson would have been impressed by the rough and intimidating atmosphere.

Zaide materialized in the far corner of the room. The demon leader looked both pleasantly surprised and minutely disappointed by Jameson's presence. "When I was told that one of The Brethren was captured, I thought for sure that it would have been the healer or the oracle."

"You mean one without an active power," Jameson replied. He was only mildly surprised by Zaide's pristine attire; black slacks and a matching black dress shirt gave the demon a sophisticated look while at the same time highlighting the blonde's evil qualities. It was funny; Jameson expected him to have a wardrobe that consisted of leather and chain links.

"Yes, which tells me that you weren't actually captured like you led my men to believe." Zaide stared at his new captive and had a good mind to kill every single one of his guards. There wasn't a scratch on the demigod and if anything, he looked completely bored.

Jameson shrugged as he said, "I simply tagged along for the ride."

"Which will be more fun for me, and not your precious brothers when they come to find you." Zaide held up a hand and within moments, Jameson was strapped into the chair. "Didn't expect that, now did you?"

Jameson said nothing. Euan was right about him taking the powers within himself. Not one of them could have anticipated the fact that Zaide already had abilities of his own. He had a good mind to blast the son of a bitch, and moved his hand to do just that. Only, nothing happened.

Zaide smiled cruelly as he said, "It would have been easier to have a brother without an active power. But a brother with one, is so much more fun." He turned to his guards and within seconds he was left alone with his enemy. "I invite you to try to use your powers with me around. It'll keep me entertained."

Jameson narrowed his eyes at the demon as he stopped his struggles. So much for his brilliant plan. "Like I'd really do anything that made you happy."

"Is that why you took away my precious human?" The demigod's lopsided grin ignited a spark of anger within him. "I don't like it when people get in my way."

"I guess we're kind of on the same page then, because I don't like it when soulless scum gets in mine."

"And what am I in the way of?"

"Simple: my killing you."

Zaide laughed loudly as he stepped away from his captive. "It's going to take a hell of a lot more than you to kill me, flame boy."

Jameson remained silent as he mentally filed away the information he'd just received. He stared at Zaide, at the demon's cold blue eyes and uncharacteristically bronzed skin and realized that Zaide was just as powerful as he and his brothers were. Finding his weakness would be as easy as finding a glass needle in a haystack.

Zaide diligently rolled up the sleeves to his shirt as he said, "Because I'm such a nice demon, I'll make you a deal. You let me have the woman, and you and I can forget that we each exist." The demigod said nothing to his offer, which frustrated Zaide. "All I want is the ability to take over the underworld." He lifted a hand and used his powers to create a deep gash in his captive's thigh. The demigod didn't scream, but he did grunt and groan in agony. Those only made Zaide want nothing more than to hear the tortured cries. He aimed for the other thigh as he said, "I'm still up for negotiation. So when you're ready to talk, I'll be prepared to make your death easy. And a lot less messy."