Chapter 82

As Kahlan climbed the stairs to the fourth floor where the akka was supposed to be, she reached up and keyed the small com device she had in her ear. Cameron and Chuck also had one, but she knew Chuck would know she was talking to him. "Make sure you let the immortals enter first. We don't know what this goddess bitch can do."

"Roger that," Chuck replied. Duh! Of course, I'm going to let them take the brunt of any attack she might unleash, they can take a hell of a lot more than we can!

She turned to the man who had changed her husband. "She's a goddess of the underworld?" He nodded. "As in hell, so she's like a demon?"

"There's a lot more to the world than what Christian doctrine says."

She inhaled through her nose. "So more like someone from Hades' underworld or the Elysium Fields?" He raised shocked brows as he studied her, and she huffed. "What? I read!"

He smiled. "Not exactly like the Greeks say, either, but yes."

"I don't have to worry about her possessing anyone?"

He chuckled. "No, but they are known for having control over men. We will make sure she doesn't do anything to any of them, though."

She nodded her thanks as she kept climbing.

Christian pulled on Rossi's arm to slow him down a little. They were already at the rear of the group going up the stairs, but the ancient vampire wanted a little more space between them and the woman leading the charge at the top.

Rossi frowned but let the man get on the same stair as him.

Christian looked at him and then leaned in close. "Is Kahlan always this scary?"

Rossi chuckled. "She can be, but when someone is coming between her and Aaron, she's a force to be reckoned with, that's for sure."

Christian inhaled deeply. "So she's ferocious when it comes to her mate?"

Rossi stopped and locked eyes with the man. "Exactly why are you asking?"

Christian took a step back and held up his hands. "I meant nothing, I assure you. I was just trying to figure her out." He ducked his head a little. "And I have to admit that she scares me, and not many things do when you're my age."

Rossi laughed. "Join the club." He grabbed the man's arm. "Now come on, before she charges in there without seasoned back-up."

"Seasoned? That's a nice way of saying old."

Rossi chuckled again and took the steps two at a time to catch up with the others.

When they got to the landing, Kahlan fixed them with a look. "If you two are done chatting, maybe we can get in there and get this over with."

Christian swallowed hard and tried to melt into the wall and Rossi smiled and leaned over to him. "She has really good hearing, too."

"I suggest you let us go in first," Sebastian offered after giving his friend a stern look.

Kahlan gestured to the door. "Be my guest."

Sebastian nodded and then moved to the door as Jenny and Christian joined him. Within a flash, the door was flung open and they were gone. The sound of breaking glass signaled the vampires on the fire escape had also entered, and furniture being flung out of the way and a couple of screams escaped the apartment causing Rossi to cringe.

He pushed Kahlan toward the door. "Let's join the party and shut that door before all of the neighbors come out to see what's going on." Then he looked at Reid and Mack. "You two stay out here and contain the scene if anyone does come out to investigate."

"Sure thing," Reid agreed with a smile.

Mack knew, though, that Rossi didn't want the youngest team members to be in danger because they didn't know anything about the akka. "Go, the little ones will watch the benign hallway."

Rossi tussled her hair and then jumped to follow Kahlan before Mack could hit him. He took in the scene that had grown as silent as a graveyard. The akka was standing with her back up against the wall and holding a sheet in front of her obvious naked body, the man was holding his briefs in font of himself to cover up his nakedness as he cowered in the opposite corner, the vampires had a semi-circle around the whole room and they were all in full vampire mode, Chuck and Morgan were half in, half out of the massive window, and Kahlan was standing at the center of it all staring at the akka as her right hand gripped a knife while her left gripped her pistol.

Kahlan moved first. She grabbed the man's clothes and threw them at him. "You may not realize it, but we just saved your life. Now get the hell out of here!" she yelled as she pointed to the door.

He didn't have to be told twice, and he scrambled to stand while gathering up his clothes and ran for the door.

Kahlan looked at the vampires and when it was obvious none of them were going to move, she sighed. "You think one of you might go and make sure he forgets all this before he says anything to anyone?"

Willie changed back into his human form and then smiled at her. "I got it," he assured her and then was gone.

"What the hell is going on here? That was my boyfriend!" the akka screamed.

Kahlan smiled. "Not anymore." She took a step closer to her, and she could tell the akka was afraid of the vampires so she felt she could push the woman. "We need some information, and you're going to give it to us."

"I don't know anything!" she asserted as she looked at the people filling her apartment.

Kahlan watched her eyes land on Chuck, and when Chuck stepped into the room completely, Kahlan half growled and moved to be in front of him. "Charles!"

Chuck brought up his hand to push by her as he raised his pistol.

Within a heartbeat, though, Chuck's pistol was gone and Michael had his arms pinned behind his back. "She's got him. I knew we should have done this without the humans!"

Kahlan fixed him with a hard look. "Let him go!" she demanded in a sinister whisper.

"But she'll make him. . ."

"Let him go. I got him."

Michael looked at his maker and Sebastian nodded, so he let Chuck go.

He immediately tried to go to the goddess, but Kahlan stopped him with a hand on his chest. "Look at me, Charles!" When Chuck tried to push her away again, Kahlan grabbed his arm and twisted it freezing him on the spot as pain spread across his face. She then reached up and smacked him across the face, hard. "Charles!"

He shook his head, and finally looked at his best friend. "Sorry."

"You good?"

He nodded. "Yeah, thanks."

She let him go but didn't move out from in front of him. "What the hell was she doing to you?"

He ran a hand down his face. "I'm not sure, but I wanted to throw her onto the bed right here in front of everyone," he admitted sheepishly as his cheeks heated. "And I think I would have done anything to make that happen."

Kahlan cringed. "While I'm sure none of us want to see that, I don't think Vinnie would have appreciated it, either."

"No," he agreed as he shook his whole body as if trying to rid himself of the feeling. "I think I'll go make sure Reid and Mack are alright."

"Yeah, I think that's best," she agreed and shoved him towards the door and then looked at Morgan.

He instantly held up his hands. "I haven't even looked her in the face."

She nodded and then turned to Rossi. He shrugged. "Maybe I'm too old."

Kahlan giggled. "Or maybe your womanizing powers protect you."

His smile went from ear to ear. "What? I can't help it if every woman wants an Italian teddy bear of their own."

She shook her head and turned back to the akka. Then she moved and picked up a shirt that was thrown over a chair. "Did you hurt yourself last night?" The akka hadn't even bothered to wash the blood out of it yet.

The woman looked around at the vampires and tried to sink back against the wall even more. "That's what this is about?"

Kahlan dropped the shirt and advanced even closer to her. "Did you know the man was a vampire when you attacked him?"

She threw down the sheet and stood up tall. "I did not attack him!"

Kahlan turned to Sebastian. "You know what? Let's make this quick. Compel her to tell us what happened."

"They can't compel me! I'm a goddess!"

Kahlan got right up in her face. "Living in this rat hole, attacking people to rob them. . . Some goddess you are. You're no better than the crack whore down on the corner!"

The akka huffed. "I made a hell of a lot more money than what he had in his wallet!"

Kahlan grabbed her by the throat. "So you were paid to do it? By whom, and why?" she demanded to know and the threat in her tone even had the vampires sharing concerned looks. When the woman didn't start talking, Kahlan squeezed hard enough to stop any chance of breathing. She wasn't sure if the goddess even had to breathe like a normal person, but she knew by the look on the woman's face that it was causing her pain. "Either tell me, or so help me I will send you right back to the fucking underworld where you belong!"

"He was just a mark," the woman cried.

Kahlan threw her to the bed and then threw the sheet to her so she could cover up. "Tell us everything, or I'll have the bloodsuckers rip you limb from limb. While that may not kill you with you being a goddess an all, I bet it will hurt like hell!"

"And we'll hide your limbs throughout the world, so you'll never be whole again!" Jenny put in as she moved to be by Kahlan's side.

Kahlan gave her a quick grin and then turned back to the goddess who had grown wide eyed. "She won't need her limbs, Jen; not if I put her head in a steal box and drop her into the deepest part of the ocean!"

The scared woman raised her hands. "Alright! I'll tell you anything you want to know." She sighed and then looked up at Kahlan. "You don't have to be so violent."

Kahlan huffed. "You don't know the meaning of the word."

The woman swallowed. "Every now and then Danny and his buddies show up in town, and when they do. . ."

"Danny? Does Danny have a last name?" Rossi asked as he joined the interrogation.

The woman shrugged. "I only know them by their first names."

"Who else travels with Danny?" Jenny asked.

"There's Riley, Reese, and Lilly. Sometimes, George is with them, but he wasn't this time."

"And what are these people?" Kahlan asked.

"Human, just like you."

"And why would these human's pay you to help them get vampires?"

The woman shifted and looked like she wasn't going to answer, and Kahlan tensed, but Jenny grabbed her by the arm and snatched her up before Kahlan could move. "Are they hunters?"

"Yes," she squeaked, and Jenny wrenched her arm so strongly that both of the bones in her forearm snapped causing her to scream as the female vampire bent the arm in an unnatural angle.

"Jennifer!" Sebastian yelled and pulled the akka out of her grip and shoved Jenny away from her. "She can't tell us anything if she can't speak!"

"She'll heal!" Jenny defended herself.

The akka's face scrunched up in pain as she pulled on her arm, but it straightened as she healed herself, and she blew out a breath and looked at the female vampire. "Yes, I heal, but it hurts me unlike you!"

"I'll show you hurt," Jenny started as she lunged at the woman, but Sebastian held her back. "Either behave, Jennifer, or I will send you home!"

Morgan hit Michael on the chest. "I guess the whole red-head, hot-temper thing is true, huh?"

Michael huffed. "And being a vampire makes it all that much worse."

"Why would a nonhuman help hunters?" Rossi asked as he tried to ignore the vampires.

She shrugged. "They attacked me a while ago, but Danny, he's the head guy, he liked me and told me he'd let me go if I helped them get others."

Kahlan snorted and then moved away from her as her mind raced to make sense of it all.

"They would have killed me!"

"I'm going to kill you if you don't tell me what they did to my husband!" Kahlan roared as she advanced to the woman and grabbed her by the throat again.

The akka started turning blue, so Rossi put a gentle hand on Kahlan's shoulder. "Ah, Kiddo, she can't tell you if she can't breathe."

"She sold Aaron to hunters!"

"I know, but we need to know more if we are going to have a chance of finding him."

"And they haven't killed him yet," Sebastian put in. "But we are going to need every minute we can get if we are to find him before they do."

A growl escaped Kahlan, but she shoved the woman down onto the bed and moved to the other side of the room to try and reign back in her emotions.

"Husband? But he's a vampire," the akka gushed as she sat back up and rubbed her throat.

"And?" Rossi asked as he fixed the goddess with a deadly look. "You need to tell us what they did to him, or I will let them all take turns hurting you."

She took a deep breath. "I don't know what they did. I played my part and drew him in, they paid me, and I left."

"You played your part? Did they know he was a vampire or were you all just trying to get anyone?" JJ asked her.

"They knew what he was. Danny acted like he attacked me knowing my blood would lure him into the alley."

"How could they possibly know? They had to have seen you guys out together," Rossi offered as he looked at Sebastian.

Sebastian's eyes found Kahlan's and his pleaded with her to forgive him. "I'm so sorry, Kahlan. I truly thought it was safe."

Kahlan shook her head. "It's not your fault, but this bitch. . . she's responsible!"

"I didn't know he was anyone's husband! He's a vampire!"

Christian moved close to her. "Every being you have helped them capture could have been someone's husband, wife, father, mother, sister, brother, lover. . . very few people are ever completely alone! How would you like it if someone did that to one of your sisters?"

She wilted even further. "I never thought about that. I'm sorry," she tried as she teared up. "I can tell you that they put him in a blue van."

"Yeah, we know that. Where did they take him?" Rossi demanded.

"I don't know. I've never asked."

Kahlan tensed again, but Rossi held her back by holding up his hand. "How do they get in touch with you?"

"Danny calls me," she admitted as she grabbed her phone off the nightstand. "You can have it."

Rossi took the phone and then looked to Sebastian. "I think the lady needs help packing some things."

"Packing? What?!"

Rossi glanced at Kahlan and then back to the goddess. "I think for your own safety, it would be wise for you to leave town."

Jenny nodded her agreement. "Mike and I will make sure she gets as far away from here as possible."

Kahlan moved to the door and Rossi followed her. She shook her head. "So we basically got nothing!"

He put a tender hand on her shoulder. "We have their phone number. You know the dynamic technical duo can work wonders with that." He pulled her into a hug. "We'll find him."

She pulled back and looked him in the eyes. "I hope you're right."

XXXXX

Hotch had just dozed off out of boredom when he heard footsteps in the hall getting closer to him. He took as deep a breath as he could and then blew it out. And here we go.

The door unlocked, opened, and then a light came on causing him to shut his eyes. "Wakey, wakey," Danny yelled as he and the two men who had helped capture Hotch came into the room.

They moved in and grabbed Hotch and brought him to his feet. "How you feeling, bloodsucker?"

"What are you going to do to me now?" Hotch asked them.

Danny smiled. "It's time to meet the boss."

Hotch mentally cringed. Oh shit! I'm not really sure I'm ready to do that.