Chapter 112

In the van, Cam's eyes shot to the vampires'. "What's does 'pet trade' mean?"

Sebastian shook his head. "I have no idea."

Christian's look told him he didn't know, either.

Rossi cringed. While he wasn't sure what it meant exactly, he had a pretty good idea; and he didn't like it one bit.

XXXXX

Chuck's eyes snapped to Kahlan's, and he mentally cringed at the anger he could see growing in hers.

Kahlan's hand tightened into a fist. Pet trade? What the fuck is the pet trade?

The harvester nodded. "Yeah, I can think of a few women who would like to get him as a new pet."

"How the hell can anyone keep a vampire as a pet? Even in spelled chains these beasts are vicious!" Chuck tried.

The man sighed. "Not that kind of pet." He took a breath. "Women like these beasts for a certain kind of company, if you know what I mean." He grabbed Willie's manhood through his jeans for a second and then nodded. "Yeah, they'd want him."

Chuck heard Kahlan's neck crack, and he mentally braced himself for her to attack.

XXXXX

Cam gasped. "Oh shit."

"What?" Sebastian asked.

"The kiddo is about ready to lose it," Rossi explained, and he could understand it because he felt the same way.

Christian looked at Sebastian, but he shrugged. Since neither one of them knew about Hotch's past, they didn't understand exactly why Kahlan would be so upset with that news, but they opened the van's door and prepared to rush in if needed.

XXXXX

"Of course, as young and fit as he looks, others may just want him for a slave," the man went on as he turned Willie over. "I'll open the auction up to all bidders, but," he added as he gave Chuck a grin, "I bet it's the ladies who get into a bidding war over him."

"I still don't understand how anyone could ever get one of these monsters to do anything. It's like having a hellhound on a leash," Chuck put in. He wasn't sure what Kahlan was going to do, so he was rambling as he reached over and gave her wrist a tight squeeze.

The man smiled. "A little compliance potion mixed in with their food works wonders, boy, and it has really addictive qualities to it, so even once they figure out what's happening, they want it so badly that they can't not drink it," he explained and then finally noticed Kahlan's look. "What? You don't like that idea, do you?"

Chuck mentally winced. Oh shit, here it comes.

Kahlan snorted as she shrugged. "I could give a shit less what you do with this fucker, but. . ." she told him and then smiled, "I was thinking, though, that if he's really that special, then maybe he's worth more."

XXXXX

Cam let out the breath he'd been holding. "That was close."

The vampires still didn't understand, but they sat back down when Rossi relaxed, too.

XXXXX

The harvester wilted and then huffed through his nose. "Why did I tell you any of that?"

Chuck smiled. "I don't know, but since you did. . ."

The man cussed under his breath. "Fine. I guess instead of the going ten, I can give you 18, but that's as high as I can go!"

Chuck looked at Kahlan; she shrugged, so he nodded to the guy. "That'll work."

The man sighed and shook his head. After a second he looked at them. "You want even more? Bring me a female," he told them with a grin. "But she's gotta be a looker, not one of those crack addict looking things that are so strung out on blood that they don't even look human."

Kahlan huffed. "We'll keep that in mind."

The man laughed and then looked at Chuck. "But since I'm paying you more, you can carry him to the cooler."

Chuck licked his smile away before the man could see it. "No problem."

XXXXX

"Yes!" Cam yelled in excitement.

"Bloody hell! That's amazing!" Christian agreed. With Cam's questioning look, he shrugged. "I didn't think they would actually succeed this quickly."

Sebastian shook his head.

Rossi laughed. "You will learn that when around these three, shit just gets done."

Cam beamed with the comment and then went back to watching his screens.

XXXXX

Before Chuck could pick Willie up, though, the harvester pulled down Willie's shirt and whistled. "That's some powerful dead man's." He looked at them. "Where'd you get that?"

"Off a guy in Hawaii," Kahlan told him.

"Damn. As dark and long as these streaks are, where the hell did he get it, outta some dead pope or something?"

Kahlan shrugged. "No idea, but we were very happy with the results."

The man nodded and then smiled. "Any chance you'd be willing to sell some?"

She smiled. "I'm sure we could work something out."

He smiled and stuck out his hand. "Name's Brian, by the way."

Kahlan took his hand and then leaned in close to him. "The palmed silver's a good trick," she uttered and then showed him her unharmed hand. "Any other tests you want to perform?"

He laughed as he came out from behind the counter. "Nah, y'ins are alright."

Chuck shook his head and then grabbed the vampire and headed to the door.

"Where you taking him?" Brian asked.

Chuck turned back with confusion etched on his face. "I thought you wanted me to take him some place for you."

The man nodded. "Yeah, the cooler, but it's downstairs."

"Oh," Chuck offered as he wilted. "Sorry."

"Come on," Brian said as he started for a door to what Kahlan had assumed was a restroom as it was tiny and in the back corner.

She motioned to Chuck to follow the man as she took a deep breath. And here we go.

XXXXX

As Hotch stared at the blue orbs, he wasn't sure if it was the triterrortops or not; it was too dark to be sure of anything. When the orbs moved, and he heard the jingling of metal, though, he was pretty sure it was, and he thought about ducking back into the passageway he'd just come out of.

Before he moved, he frowned. Can it even see me?

When the beast sniffed, Hotch cringed. Oh shit! He glanced at his shoulder and the still open wound that was there and decided it didn't matter if the beast could see him or not because he knew it could smell him; he took off running back the way he'd come.

With a roar, the demented dinosaur took off after him.

Hotch took the first connecting passage he came to thinking that the beast wouldn't be able to corner as well as he could and hoping that it would get him a decent lead.

The huge monster couldn't corner, but it didn't really matter to it; it just barreled through the end of the walls as it roared some more.

After another couple turns and the beast still gaining, Hotch tried to dig in and go a little faster. His bare feet screamed in pain as the rough rocks below him tore them up, but he just winced and kept going.

The beast smelled the fresh blood and sped up even more.

Hotch took a second to glance back. Shit! He could actually feel the ground beneath his feet rumbling with the vibrations the heavy creature's feet were causing.

Seeing another turn coming up, Hotch prepared to use his hands on the wall to make the turn even faster. He stuck out his hand as he shifted his weight to his right hip and then basically pulled himself around the sharp turn.

And he ran head first into a low wall which knocked him on his ass. What the hell? He shook his head and tried to figure out what happened, but he noticed the beast getting even closer. He scrambled to his hands and knees and started into the tunnel not really caring where it led. As he crawled, he tried to blink the blood out of his eyes, but it didn't help much, and he didn't want to take the time to wipe it away as the beast's roar blared through the tunnel signaling its arrival.

Hotch crawled faster, and the beast roared in anger. Hotch thought that he was safe, but then the beast started to smash his way into the tunnel. Son of a bitch!

If that wasn't bad enough, the ground suddenly tilted downward, and the loose soil and rocks basically turned it into a slide and Hotch started slipping. He tried to grab the walls thinking he could brace himself to stop his momentum, but the chain between his shackles wasn't long enough for both hands to touch the wall at the time.

Thinking quickly, Hotch moved to sit down and actually pushed off the walls which allowed him to slide even faster, and he finally tumbled out of the chute and impacted the opposite wall. Once he was still, a breath of relief escaped him, but when his eyes finally cleared enough to focus, he noticed where he'd landed. Fuck! That was close!

Inches away from his face was a tripwire, and it led to a pin that held back a massive, round piece of wood that had several foot-long spikes in it. He swallowed and then backed away from the wire very slowly.

A landslide of rocks and soil announced the arrival of the triterrortops in the chute, and Hotch looked for his escape, but there wasn't one. There was even a solid ceiling on that room. Shit!

Not wanting the huge beast to come barreling out and smashing him, Hotch moved to the side of the chute thinking he could try to get back up it once the beast was out of it. He took a deep breath and waited. . . and waited.

After a few moments, he released his breath. Did the damn thing get stuck? He really wanted to look into the chute, but he really didn't want to come face to face with the monster, so he waited some more.

After a few more minutes of silence, he blew a breath out. If it's stuck, then so am I. Shit! He wiped the blood out of his eyes again.

When he finally got to the point of not being able to wait anymore, he shook his head. You're going to regret this, Hotchner, and you know it. He huffed. Yes, but you have to know, so. . . He peeked around the corner of the chute as he cringed, but there wasn't anything to see. The chute was pitch black, and Hotch frowned. Did he back out of it, or is he so stuck that he's blocking all light?

He shook his head. He would have thought that if it got stuck on it's way down, then he would be able to at least see the thing's glowing eyes. He rubbed the back of his neck. But if it's not in the chute, it's probably waiting at the top for me.

He took a deep breath. How long will it wait, though? Should I take a little break and see if it'll get bored?

The adrenaline that had filled him as he ran was starting to dwindle away, and he was hurting from his wounds and exhaustion. He nodded. A break it is.

After carefully feeling the wall behind him and finding it safe, he sat down and leaned up against it. What the hell else are you going to face in this damn maze?

XXXXX

Brian opened the normal looking door to reveal a gate; he slid it up.

"A freight elevator? Really?" Chuck said more for the benefit of those listening in the van than anything else.

The man nodded. "Yeah, after I lost part of my leg to a damned werewolf, I don't do stairs real well," he told them as he pulled up his left pant leg to reveal a prosthetic leg.

"Werewolf? What'd it do rip it off?" Kahlan asked him as she frowned.

He chuckled. "Nah, son of a bitch bit my ankle, but my partner's quick thinking got him to chop the damn thing off at my knee before it could infect me."

"You used to be a hunter," Chuck said causing Kahlan to roll her eyes.

The man laughed. "Yep, until this, so I came to work for our harvester. Once she retired, I took over." He smiled as he gestured into the elevator. "And let me tell you, not only is it safer, it pays a hell of a lot more, too!"

"I bet," Kahlan offered she moved to back to give Chuck enough room with Willie, and Brian shut the gate and started them down.