Chapter 3.
He cried shamelessly as they drove back to Thierry's mansion in Las Vegas. He didn't care that Quinn and Rashel would be judging him over it, or that if they ever saw Keller again they would tease him mercilessly about it. He didn't care the sympathetic looks Eric was giving him, or the arm around his shoulders that he supposed was supposed to be comforting; it wasn't, the only arm that would comfort him was Keller's, and this one belonged to Thea. They all tried to comfort him, but it was okay for them – they all had their soulmates next to them, except Elle Panter of course. She remained silent.
They'd had to leave, they'd waited hours while all four of the other Daybreakers tried desperately to convince Galen not to go back into the hospital – Circle Daybreak couldn't afford to lose one soldier, never mind two.
He had to hope that she'd gotten out and just assumed that they'd follow her orders and had left, therefore sneaking out of the back and running back to Las Vegas in panther form.
Why did that scenario not seem very likely to him?
For the first time since they set off, Elle Panter spoke, "my daughter, oh god, they'll have killed her!"
Thea took her arm from around Galen's shoulders and frowned, reaching for the woman's hands, "your daughter? Was she inside the hospital too?"
"My daughter," Elle repeated, "you mean you don't know?"
Galen couldn't care less about this woman or her daughter. Only Keller mattered to him, but out of the corner of his eye he saw Quinn and Rashel share confused looks. Which was dangerous, since Rashel was driving and had been known to have little…accidents…from time to time which generally involved them having no car by the time they got back to the mansion.
Thea shook her head, and the woman laughed bitterly, "my daughter: Rashka Panter…or Keller…whatever she wants to call herself now."
Keller awoke, if she had thought she had died before and gone to heaven, she definitely didn't think that now. If she were in heaven, why would she be sitting in the back of a van tied to a rack? Maybe this was hell…
Her body ached from the top of her head to her toes, and parts of it she couldn't feel, she knew she should be dead right now, but she didn't have to wonder for long why the Night Worlder's had kept her alive.
Torture. They'd be disappointed, because they sure as hell weren't getting anything from her. She would die happy knowing she hadn't betrayed Galen or any of her friends.
She looked down to make sure none of her bodily parts that she might need in the future, if she ever escaped, had disappeared. What she saw made her shriek out, her jumpsuit was ripped in a few places, the whole of her left thigh downwards was left bare, a scratch of it had been ripped from her chest, and her midriff was showing. Every bit of skin she could see was cut and bleeding, turning white milky skin bright red as though she'd been staying out in the sun a little too often.
"Not winning any beauty competitions now, are you Rashka Keller?" a snide voice came from the right of her, and she turned to see an immaculate looking vampire with hair as red as flame and silvery eyes. The girl reminded her of Jezebel Redfern, which probably meant they were related.
Not a good thing, not when Keller knew how tough Jez could be. Keller didn't say anything.
"Not talking to me, are you not, Keller?" the girl sulked, "it's okay. You'll have company soon. The Draches' are already at…where we're going."
The Draches? Keller closed her eyes; they couldn't have got Galen. She'd planned it so well, made sure they couldn't possibly have gotten Galen. He was Prince of the Shape shifters, Circle Daybreak couldn't afford to lose him. Rashel and Quinn knew this, would have protected him with every last breath in their body… so if they had him…
Oh Goddess, Keller could hardly comprehend the thought. Galen would be gone, but so would Rashel and Quinn, and – unless they could drive quick enough to outrun the vampires – Thea and Eric and her mother. And Elle Panter was apparently needed.
Circle Daybreak was going to lose.
"You have…Galen?" she asked, rasping the words out, doubting that the vampire would tell her the truth anyway, to her surprise, she looked down at the floor.
"Not yet, Rashka Keller, but don't worry. We know you're more than his fiancée, you're his soulmate, he'll be running to save you, we'll get him." She was talking as though she and Keller were on the same side against a common enemy, as though she expected Keller to be pleased that they were going to capture Galen.
"Why were you after Elle Panter?" Keller asked stiltedly.
The vampire looked up again and smiled, "I see no harm in telling you. You're not going anywhere. We know she's your mother; we wanted to draw you out to her, and bring your fiancée with you. Unfortunately, we only got one of you…the other will follow."
"But why?" Keller cried out, kicking herself for being so foolish.
"Politics, Rashka, just politics."
Stunned silence followed the revelation, but Galen couldn't now look at the woman without feeling a sense of disgust; she had destroyed Keller, made her think nothing was important other than fighting, and she thought she had the right to refer to her as her daughter? Maybe in blood, but in no other way.
Galen couldn't forget the note.
Lord Thierry and Lady Hannah were waiting for them at the mansion, along with a mass of guards, including all three Wild Powers, it was a foolish risk to have them out in the open like that. Apparently it was needed. Rashel and Galen got out first, leaving the others in the back for a while.
"where's Keller?" Thierry asked, without even greeting them, his eyes were clouded over and he seemed to be having trouble breathing.
"we don't know. We had to leave," Rashel said in her perfectly controlled voice, "she might still be fighting, or be one her way back."
It was obvious what she wasn't mentioning, that she didn't want it said in front of Galen. There was bile in his throat, he swallowed it, then spoke, "or she could be dead."
"Captured is more likely," Thierry frowned, looking to his soulmate, there seemed to be a question between them because she nodded, and he turned to Galen, "we had a traitor in Circle Daybreak, he has been dealt with, but the Night World were never actually after Elle Panter – who I have just found out was Keller's mother – Galen, they were after you and Keller. They devised this mission as a way to get Keller and you away from my mansion and out into the open. We have news that your family have also been captured, although we have no clue as to where they might be being held. The traitor wouldn't tell us, no matter what we…tried…" he seemed ashamed of himself even thinking about torturing information out of this person, but obviously saw it as a necessary evil.
"Why?" Galen gasped out. This was too much to comprehend, his family and his soulmate gone in one day?
"We did manage to find that from him." Dully, Galen was aware that the others had gotten out of the van and were standing beside him, offering words of condolence: useless. "they've been awakening dragons. Not the really powerful ones, I don't think they have that power. Fortunately for us, the shape shifters wont follow the dragons anymore, not now that you and Keller are the next step in the hierarchy, and she's a blood sister of the witch child," he shrugged, "they want the whole Drache family dead, and then they think the whole of the shape shifters will follow the dragons. I'm sure they're planning for you to go looking for Keller and your family so that they can capture you."
"what are we going to do?" Rashel asked, it was a good job she did. Galen wanted to know the answer, but couldn't trust himself to speak.
"That's up to Galen," Hannah said in her soft voice, "but we'd advise that he rule his people from here, where he's so well protected," at the shocked glances, she asked, "what? Galen's the substitute king right now. In the meantime," she looked at Thierry, and there was the feeling of unspoken question between them again, "we'll get a team together to look for the missing Draches and Keller." she touched his shoulder gently, smiled softly, "they wont hurt her, not while they still want you."
