Haunted Prey Ch. 07

Raedyn sat still as she looked from her sister to the man she'd assumed was a hallucination. "He's... You're real?"

Lindsay gently pushed her down as he said, "Very much so. Why don't you get some rest?"

"But you're too... Big to be real."

"He's real," Alauria said on a laugh.

Lindsay nodded quietly when the teenager looked at him again. The intense flush that took over her skin made him lift his brows in thought. "I've never seen someone with a fever blush before."

"I'm really sorry, I thought you weren't real." Raedyn was horrified by the way she blatantly stared at the large man. Her sister didn't look upset but her eyes were focused on the man. "Is he your boyfriend?" she blurted out. Her flush intensified at the shocked look her sister shot her. Damn, she'd done the wrong thing again. "I mean, duh, he's your friend, and he's a boy -- a man, really," she stuttered, "But it just looked like he was. I mean I could be wrong..." She stopped to take a frustrated breath. "I'm sorry."

Alauria sensed her sister's unease and decided to change the subject. "Did they do the transplant yet?"

Raedyn nodded as she said, "A couple nights ago, and then the fever came. Just my luck."

"Look at it this way; more days off from school."

Raedyn smiled at Lindsay's interjection but did not look at him; she was still mortified. "How are you?" she asked Alauria.

"I'm fine. I just wanted to see how you were doing." Alauria took a step toward the pair, unsure of why she envied Lindsay's hovering. "I'm going out of town for a bit."

"And you wanted to say goodbye?"

The hopeful light in Raedyn's eyes made Alauria nod. She felt uncomfortable again and shifted her attention to Lindsay. "We should get going."

"But you just got here."

Lindsay agreed but said nothing. He walked to Alauria's side and placed a hand on her lower back before stepping out of the room o five the women a moment of privacy. He knew it would take time for them to be comfortable enough to speak freely. Raedyn seemed eager to know her sister and was genuinely disappointed by the fact that they had to leave. It was obvious that Alauria was still conflicted, the very reason for their early departure. Good thing she was going out of town; she'd have time to think.

Inside Alauria paused for a moment before taking a step back. "Feel better."

"I'll be out of the hospital when you get back."

"Yes."

Raedyn nodded solemnly. This was it; her sister would leave and they'd never see each other again. "It was nice to meet you."

The sadness in Raedyn's eyes pulled at Alauria's heart. "Listen; I have a piano studio on Jones Street. Come by and visit sometime."

"Really?"

Alauria smiled at her enthusiasm. "Really. I should get going."

"See you."

"See you." Alauria quickly ducked out of the room and didn't bother to look for Lindsay as she headed for the elevators. She immediately felt Lindsay's presence behind her but did nothing to acknowledge his presence. She immediately felt stifled, as if she couldn't breathe. It wasn't anxiety due to what she was running from; it was more the fact that she found herself growing closer to Raedyn. The slowly tighten bond didn't so much bother her as frighten her. Getting closer to Raedyn meant that she'd have to let their father back into her life on some level. She wasn't sure she could hadn't that; Alauria was still getting used to the fact that he'd left. There was also the fact that her new sister was a constant reminder of what she and her mother never had. How was that supposed to make her feel?

"She's a sweet young woman."

Alauria only nodded at Lindsay's question as she stared ahead. She didn't see anything; her mind remained focused on the dangers she had to adjust to. New sister. Forced reconciliation with her father to continue relationship with new sister. Death by deranged demon. Escape to unknown location. The list went on and on. And she only had five minutes because she couldn't be sure if she'd make it to the next. Not with demons on her ass.

"Are you sure you don't want to say goodbye to your mother?"

She shook her head slowly. Goodbye sounded so... Final. Like she'd never see her mother again. That was a thought she couldn't bear. "The less she knows, the better."

Lindsay understood her reasoning. His lifted wasn't made for human, the very reason he and his brother kept their true identities secret. The more humans that knew about them, the more danger there was. Demons depended on their vulnerability, their breakability. It was why humans needed to be protected, why she should have stayed away from Alauria in the first place. She didn't deserve this. He didn't deserve her. She was right to end things with him. "After I finish-"

"Where are we?"

Lindsay looked over at Alauria's confused face as he said, "On the way to someplace safe."

Alauria looked out at the nearby deserted road as she trued to remember what happened between the time they'd left the hospital and now. "I don't remember."

"You've been thinking for a long time. We both have."

She nodded as she stared out of the window, wishing she could find some solace in the guard rails that paved the way to safety. "Why are there no other cars on this road?" A finished highway should have been littered with traffic, especially considering it was just after rush-hour. She didn't like seeing the barren pavement in front of her.

"It's marked as unfinished on all maps."

"Is it?"

"Yes."

"How do you know that?"

Because he and he brothers paid a lot f money to ensure the highway remained incomplete. "I just do." The manor that served as a central hub for The Brethren rested near the end point for the road. While that endpoint rested nearly two thousand miles from where they were, it was imperative that the manor remain concealed. Magical cloaks prevented strangers from coming a thousand yards from the property. Those who did immediately fell asleep. Considering the road would have run parallel to the manor at nine hundred, ninety-eight yards from the manor, immeasurable danger presented itself. No one could afford that risk.

The sounds of distant motorcycles had Lindsay looking to the rearview mirror. "Fuck." There were five of them, each ridden by large Prygorian demons that worshipped Raife. They were coming fast, and it was quite clear who they were after.

"Oh, Jesus!" Alauria gripped the seat when she saw the ten motorcycles that went against Lindsay's direction of traffic. Large fearsome Prygorian demons rode the motorcycles and based on the way they increased their speed, they had no intention of stopping. "Lindsay-"

"I see them. Hold on." Lindsay accelerated, trying to think of a way to evade the oncoming demons, he swerved left. There were two demons prepared for the move and he'd counted on that. He slammed his foot down on the gas, going full speed and didn't bother to look at Alauria as he commanded, "Hold on!" He plowed into the two demons and winced as their heavy bodies dented his car. He looked over at Alauria and quickly noted that she covered her face with her hands. Good. She shouldn't have to see this.

Plowing through the two demons gave him the room he needed to bypass the other eight. Lindsay continued to drive, wanted to take the fight as far away from town as possible. There could be no witnesses for this. The demons chased mercilessly, throwing small power bolts at the car. One narrowly missed the rear left tire, forcing him to swerve right to avoid the hit. "You're fine, baby."

Alauria wished she had enough control over herself to agree. All she was aware of was the fact that they were going over a hundred miles an hour while being chased by demons. She'd made the mistake of uncovering her eyes just as he'd swerved; the action only served to make her scream. They were going to die. No; he was a half god; it would take more than fifteen demons to take him down. She was going to die. "Lindsay-" Alauria stopped at the loud popping noises that shook the car and took out the rear window of the car. Shards of glass rained over the back of her head and she ignored the small cuts that marred her neck, shoulders and arms.

"Sons of bitches harpooned my car!" It was bad enough that they'd attacked Alauria; they had to damage his sweet, precious car on top of it? Muttering an oath, he took Alauria's hand and placed it on the steering wheel. "Take the wheel."

"What?!?"

"Just for a second." He shifted in his seat and made her to keep his foot on the gas pedal. "Try to keep it straight." Focusing on the two demons that acted as the lead to the demented gang, he threw his hands out and shot bolts of electricity at them. They were too far away to launch a constant stream that would turn them into dust, so he had to result in continuous bursts. It took ten consecutive bursts to get rid of the two leaders, but the others retaliated by increasing the energy bolts focused on them. One managed to hit the back tire, forcing Alauria to scram in fear. He spun around and slammed down on the brakes. "Don't get out of this car," He commanded as he jumped out to face his adversaries. Anger coursed through his veins as the demons leapt off of the motorcycles to attack. Lindsay launched a defensive attack by allowing a powerful surge of electricity to fry one of the demons to dust. From there, he had to launch into hand-to-hand combat as they were too close to fend off with his powers. They thought to split up; six rushed at him while the rest headed for the car.

They absolutely could not get to Alauria. Lindsay felt his head whip to the side from the punch he was given while he snapped the neck of the demons restrained in his harms. The move wouldn't kill the Prygorian, but it would incapacitate it long enough from him to take care of the rest of them. He cursed at the harsh blow that brought him down to his knees and felt the volts kick up in his system. He distantly heard the grown of the car's engine; Alauria was trying to drive away. Good; less for him to worry about. Lindsay grunted as the five demons beat down on his back. He allowed the energy to well from within his chest and shoot out from the surface of his skin. The white, burning light instantaneously turned the five demons into dust. He coughed as the dust washed over him and gained his feet. The two demons he'd taken down with the car caught up to the action and Lindsay wasted no time throwing out the bolts of electricity he'd itched to before. Their tortured screams did nothing to sate him; he still had the four demons chasing after Alauria to deal with. The second the two he concentrated on turned to dust, he took off running after the car that, to his disappointment, had been stopped by the four demons chasing it. One pulled Alauria out of the care while the other three attached him. Lindsay blocked each one of their blows and kicked one back, making sure to add an electrical bolt to the blow. With only two to face, he grabbed the closest one and quickly snapped its neck so that he could backhand the demon that rushed him. The moved was followed by a roundhouse kick that sent the demon flying into the back of his car. This one was relentless; it quickly regained its feet and rushed him, letting out a menacing hiss as it moved. Lindsay wasn't quick enough to block the tack and ad to shake his head to clear his thoughts. The demon wasted no time punching his midsection and banging his head against the rough concrete. Impatience and anger allowed him to well up another powerful surge of energy that radiated from his center. This was stronger than the last and was powerful enough to touch the demon that held onto Alauria. Both she and the demon cried out in pain. The Prygorian on tip of Lindsay charred to dust, making him cough once more. But there wasn't time to recover.

Alauria had gone limp from the electrical surge; he'd probably inadvertently stopped her heart. The remaining demons struggled to stay upright as it held onto her. Lindsay stalked forward, his eyes narrowed, and his body poised for the kill. "Drop the woman." The Prygorian shook its head, creating a scraping sound as it struggled to remain upright. Lindsay didn't want to kill the demon so close to Alauria, but he would do it if he had to. "Put her down." The demon faltered and managed to drop her on the hood of the car. Lindsay wasted no time; he ran forward and kicked the demon back right before he blasted it with a ferocious bolt of energy. The demon burst into dust in seconds. Lindsay then ran to Alauria and pulled her to the ground. There was a heart beat; she'd just fainted again. Relief washed over him as he checked her over for broken bones. Luckily there weren't but there were minor cuts from the broken glass and a few bruises from the demons. Those he could deal with. Those types of injuries didn't scare him.

Lindsay took a moment to retrieve his cellular phone from the glove compartment of his car before returning to Alauria's side. He pushed the speed dial for Alexis' phone and hoped that his semi-reclusive brother did not leave the device off.

"I'll be there in ten minutes," Alexis said after picking up on the second ring.

"How did you-"

"Oracle, remember?"

"But that rarely ever works with those of your blood," Lindsay replied with a confused frown.

"Today's your lucky day. Be there soon."

Lindsay pocketed the phone as he watched Alauria slowly come awake. He was there in an instant, cradling her in his arms. "Baby? Baby, it's ok. I'm here."

Alauria groaned as she tried to focus on what was happening. "What? Lindsay?" She sighed when his hand caressed her skin and leaned into his touch.

And then the spark from his hand made her wince.

Instantly, she was pushing him away, desperate to get somewhere safe. "Get away from me!"

Lindsay sighed when he realized that their moment of peace was over. "Alauria, calm down."

"Calm down?" She stood up and stumbled backward. "Calm down? Lindsay, we were just attacked by demons! They tried to kidnap me again! There is no way in hell I am going to calm down!"

"I took care of it."

"Oh, yeah, you sure did." Alauria took another step back as she tried to control her outrage. "I thought I was supposed to be safe with you."

She was. This unprecedented Prygorian attack wasn't supposed to happen. "You are."

"Bull." She turned and began to walk away from him, determined to fix her life on her own. As long as she stayed wit him, she was a target. "Get out of my way," she said when he blocked her path.

Christ, he hadn't fought this much or this hard since... No, now was not the time to think about that. "Look, my brother-"

"I don't care!" She shoved him hard, desperate to have him away from her. Of course, he didn't budge this time; the man was like rock. "I'm going away. By myself."

"You'll never last on your own." He refused to admit that her words felt like acid being poured on him. The fact that her anger and fear motivated her words didn't make him feel better, but the emotions did help him understand her point of view.

"Like I've been do so well with you so far."

Lindsay gritted his teeth in frustration. How he wanted to yell at her, to shake some common sense into her. "Just wait for my brother."

"So that the demons he has treaties with can come and try to kill me too? No thanks."

"Why are you being so difficult?"

"I'm not sure if you noticed, but I was almost kidnapped. Again. By the same demons that work for your 'let's make a deal' demon. Excuse me if I think it's a better idea if I stay away from the reason the demons are after me in the first place."

As much as he hated to admit it, she had a point. "I'll keep you safe."

"Yeah, and I'll turn blue and fly out of here in a minute."

"For Christ's sake, Rachel-" Lindsay stopped when he realized that he said a name that wasn't Alauria's. They both stared at each other for a tense minute, she because she was confused, and he, because he did not know what to say. Certain things were never meant to be mentioned and it seemed as if he'd forgotten that fact.

"Who is Rachel?" The flush that took over his skin did not sit well with her. Obviously, this Rachel person was someone that struck a chord with him. "Who is Rachel, Lindsay?"

"Someone I used to know."

The slow, despaired tone of his voice told her that things with Rachel didn't end well. She stared at him, annoyed that he refused to make eye contact. Who was the woman and what did she mean to him? Being called another name did not sit well with Alauria, especially when it was him making the mistake. It... hurt. Yes, they were not on the best terms, but she would never think to call him someone else's name. Ever.

The black BMW X5 xDrive35d that barreled down the road would have scared her had Lindsay not muttered his brother's name. Alauria looked from the approaching car to Lindsay's slightly relieved face and felt her eyes narrow suspiciously. Something was going on with him and as usual, he wasn't filling her in. "Let's hope he knows how to keep me safe," she muttered as she walked toward the car. Alexis had stopped about a hundred feet away but didn't bother to get out of the vehicle. It was just as well; she wasn't in the mood to be cordial. Alauria shook off the hand Lindsay placed on her shoulder before moving to follow him. It was a long and silent walk to the car, and each step made her shrink more into herself. Her life was no longer her own, it seemed.

But she could make one thing clear. "For future reference, my name is Alauria."

* * * * *

Raife was not pleased when only two demons walked into the hotel room empty handed. Obviously, they'd failed miserably, but were smart enough to report their failure themselves instead of running. Raife wasn't in the mood to chase down inconsequential demons, not when there was too much to get done. "You're empty handed."

The two demons looked at each other uneasily before staring at their seemingly indifferent leader. They stood on the carpeted steps, unsure if they were to relay the events of their botched mission or remain silent until they were punished. One could never be sure about Raife's moods; one minute the fickle leader was as forgiving as a saint then the next, as merciless as... well, a demon.

Raife paced slowly in front of the blazing fireplace, its hands steepled beneath its hard chin. "He protected her."

"Yes, my liege."

"Where did you find them?"

"They were on the four-oh-nine headed west when Pondouras tracked them down."

Which mean that he'd managed to get the woman to the safety of The Brethren. Their fortress was impenetrable, the very reason Lindsay took the piano instructor there. Perfect. Absolutely perfect. "Fifteen of you, and not one could get your hands on one lowly human woman?" If this was the best his minions could do, and the top line of demons had been sent, then everything planned would crumble.

"Pondouras did manage to get her, but he was killed before he could manifest a portal to bring her here."

"And what were you two busy doing?"

"He snapped our necks."

Raife used that moment to stop pacing long enough to look at the two demons standing on the steps. This should have been an angering situation, but for reason the demon could only laugh. The general misconception was that others knew nothing about the move that would neutralize a Prygorian demon. Of course Lindsay remembered; he'd been wary of Raife's camp for nearly a century. He had to keep his head above water to prevent situations like this. The fact that the nearly elusive member of The Brethren went to such lengths to remain a step ahead enraged Raife. He wasn't supposed to win. Not after so much had been done to maintain the terms of the treaty.

"My liege?"

Raife refocused on the two idiot demons before saying, "I'm in a giving mood. You have one more opportunity to bring the woman to me before I decide you are no longer needed to my cause. I don't care what you do or how." The tall, sinewy redheaded woman who walked into the room made Raife pause. As was her preference, she was nude, and the gentle sway of her generous bosom was mouthwatering. Her predatory and penetrating gaze was enough to make the demon insane with lust. Piercing yellow eyes were focused on Raife as the lithe woman sauntered to him. Rich auburn curls brushed over hard ceramic skin and made the demon leader growl with need. She did not care that there were two other demons present as she ran her slowly extending nails over the rough protective skin. "You should be resting."