Chapter 12

Carissa!

There was no response and the twins were frantic. Samuel immediately converted to mist and streamed out the window. Pierce called out after to him, but he didn't care. He raced out into the sky…just as the sun began to emerge.

Samuel! His twin's voice was urgent. Come back right now! We are out of time.

Never.

Pierce cursed and went after his twin. The sunlight hit him hard, his own mist form weakening. Samuel…we cannot help her if we are dead. His own pain resonated with that of what his twin was feeling. The sunlight became twice the amount of agony from their separate forms with their combined soul.

We cannot leave her. Samuel's voice was strangled.

I feel the same. But I also feel she is still alive. We will find her. Pierce dove downward, seeking the coolness of the ground. Reluctantly, Samuel followed and both went to ground, the earth giving them relief from the sun.

Both hissed with frustration at their limited abilities while the sun was high. In unison, they called out to Graham and Lucy, desperately hoping their human friends could help to find her.

Carissa was in serious pain when she woke. Her head hurt and she vaguely remembered being pulled from the cab. At first she thought it had been someone from an ambulance helping her. But she was shocked as she was roughly placed into the back seat of a limousine. Across from her, a tall thin man was casually cleaning his glasses. He had very short brown hair and a long nose. He was wearing a cream color suit, with a matching fedora hat.

"Good morning, Ms. Brooks."

Before she could ask who he was, Carissa heard the other passenger door open and Todd was shoved into the seat next to her. He groaned and it was then she saw his arm was severely bleeding. "Oh God!" she exclaimed. "Are you okay?"

"What do you think?" he asked through gritted teeth. "Are we on a way to a hospital? What happened?"

The tall man across from them calmly put on his glasses. "Well, the car that hit your cab caused some serious injuries. But I'm afraid a hospital is out of the question."

"What?" demanded Carissa, "but he's bleeding!"

"So are you, my dear. You have quite a gash on that pretty little head, I'm afraid. Hopefully that won't block out any information we need from you."

She felt her forehead and was alarmed to find blood on her fingers. Afraid, she attempted to call out to Pierce but pain sliced through her head. Carissa whimpered and fell back against the seat.

"Now, now," soothed the man as the car started moving, "I hope you aren't trying to use those psychic powers just yet. Our research indicates that head injuries tend to cause a lot of pain when attempting to utilize such abilities. Well, not to mention some of the drugs we've given you to ensure that mind is kept under control."

"Who the hell are you?" snapped Todd.

"Actually, I was going to ask you the same question. All we really wanted was her, but you happened to be in the cab with her."

Carissa continued to hold her head. "You…called me. The other night."

"Indeed."

"What do you want with me?"

The man chuckled. "All things in due time. For now, we need to get you back to the lab so you can be healed."

"Healed?" hissed Todd in a loud voice that made Carissa wince. "We don't need a lab, we need a hospital!"

The man's eyes narrowed. "I said we'd heal Ms. Brooks. I never said anything about you. You haven't even told me who you are and why you're with her."

"I just met her!"

Carissa moaned. "My friend, Kylie…"

"We were chasing after her," said Todd in a harsh voice.

The man smiled. "You mean you were falling for the trap we set."

"What?" asked Carissa as her heart began to beat hard. Pain sliced through her head again and she felt something trying to break through her mind. It was probably Pierce but her head hurt to bad to concentrate enough to hear him. Breathing hard, she looked at the man. "You have…Kylie?"

"We've been watching you for some time. Your friend gave us the perfect opportunity. It was quite easy once we saw both of you there at the bar. A simple call to a few powerful authorities to keep the bar open. And one of our handsome agents to lure her away in the bar once she'd had too much to drink. Of course we hadn't planned on this fellow to follow you and hail a cab. So we had to take other actions and make sure one of our cars set out on a collision course."

"Where's the cab driver?" asked Todd.

"If you're hoping he survived the crash so he could tell someone about you, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. He's dead, of course."

Todd hit his good fist against the window. "Son of a bitch! Let us go, right now!" When the thin man only continued to smile, Todd made a move to attack him. But the man moved fast and hit Todd so hard across his face, he fell back on the seat unconscious.

"Todd!" screamed Carissa.

"Todd? Well, you may have just met, but already you're on a first name basis, I see." He shook his head. "I don't think Mr. Falkland will be too happy about that."

Carissa looked at him in bewilderment. "How do you know about Pierce?"

"Haven't you been listening? Oh, right. You do have that nasty blow to your head, so I'll be patient. I said we've been watching you for some time. Mr. Falkland appears to be a recent acquaintance, yet the two of you seem very…serious. Why is that?"

"That's none of your business!"

"Oh, I think it is. And you'll find I take my business very seriously."

"Where is Kylie? What have you done with her?"

"If you cooperate, she'll live. If not…well, let's just say she is still useful in other ways."

The car slowed and Carissa tried to look out the window when she realized they were darkened. When the car stopped, the passenger door opened and a large man who looked like some body builder pulled her out of the limo. She was too weak to stop him. In fact, she wasn't strong enough to walk. The large man cursed and swept her up into his arms.

"Carry the other one inside too," she heard the thin man order. Carissa tried to look and see where she was but nothing was recognizable as were going down a long alley. A dingy, green door in a wall was opened, and Carissa was carried inside. She gasped.

It was an enormous laboratory. Bright light shone on rows and rows of equipment on tables. Several people in lab coats stopped whatever they were working on and looked at her. She was beginning to become as limp as a rag doll, her arms and legs dangling as the man carried her to another door. Kicking it open, the man took her down a stairwell that seemed endless. There was hardly any light as only a few lanterns hung from the walls. Carissa shivered as the air grew cold.

"Gentle now," said the thin man behind them. She was taken into a room and braced herself as she was lowered onto a cold, stone floor. The body builder sat her up against the wall and Carissa was shocked to have her wrists bound in chains. She could still freely move her arms, but she couldn't get far, as the chains were attached to a brick wall.

Her eyes stung with tears even though she tried not to cry. "Why?" she choked.

"Now, now," said the thin man as he stood over her. He had a cane that he tapped on the floor. "We may move you to another floor later but this is the only way to ensure you heal at a quick pace."

"How is being down in damp, dark basement going to heal me?" she asked as her teeth began to chatter.

He laughed. "The cold is not as a result from this basement, my dear. It's because of him." The cane gestured to a dark corner of the room. "Tyrell, do come forward."

Carissa gasped again as a monster of a man silently emerged from the shadows. He was absolutely horrifying, with pasty white skin. This Tyrell was also huge, probably well over six and a half feet tall. His face was ravaged, as if he'd been alive, or more like dead, for years. His jet black eyes looked down at her.

And then Tyrell smiled.

Carissa screamed as he revealed yellow teeth with incisors that grew long. She backed up against the wall, the chains rattling as she struggled to move away from the monster.

The thin man tapped his can again and then pointed it at Tyrell. "Where are your manners? You think to scare her to death?"

The monster hissed. "The sun is high."

"Oh please," said the thin man rolling his eyes, "we gave you just enough of the serum that you should be strong enough."

"I need more." Carissa cringed as Tyrell's voice was a low, horrible graveled tone that hurt her ears.

"Do you really think to lie in order to try and get more? Have I not proven to you time and time again that I'm the one in control?"

"You wish," sneered the monster as he began to walk toward him.

The thin man laughed. "Oh, I see. You don't want to appear weak in front of her, is that it? She is rather special, isn't she? Why, could she even be the one for you? Do you think?"

Tyrell slowed, but then growled. "You're right. I have just enough serum to kill you!" He began to lunge at the thin man but the body builder moved in front of him. The muscled man held up a test tube filled with some type of gleaming minerals. She heard him shout something and then Tyrell fell to the ground, appearing to writhe in agony.

The thin man shook his head. "No matter how many times I punish you, it doesn't matter. Vampires are extremely addicted to hatred." He looked down at Carissa. "Never forget that, my dear. No matter how charming the ever appear."

"Charming?" choked Carissa.

"Oh yes, they can play quite the tricks when they control themselves long enough." He kicked Tyrell. "Ready to cooperate? Or shall we go even longer in this state?"

The vampire hissed, but it was apparent he was in extreme pain. The thin man nodded at the body builder who put away the test tube and stepped aside. Tyrell was now breathing heavily, his massive body still shaking from small convulsions.

"Get up," commanded the thin man.

Tyrell struggled and then finally staggered to his feet.

"Thank you. Now, heal her."

Carissa began to shake. "No…"

The vampire shakily looked down at her, then back at the thin man. "I could just take her life."

"Ah, but you won't. You cannot help that basic instinct to survive. You know she is special and for some reason, you desire her. I haven't figured it out yet, of course. But these psychics are of particular interest to your species. Now, heal her and maybe I'll keep her alive longer than the others. You never got a chance to even taste their blood. Maybe this one I will experiment with in watching you with her."

Tyrell growled again, but to Carissa's surprise, he suddenly turned…beautiful. In fact, he was breath taking. He had blonde hair and blue eyes with healthy skin. He was dressed in clean clothes; a silk shirt and dress trousers.

The thin man smiled. "You see, my dear? How deceiving they can be?"

Oh God, her mind swirled with confusion. This wasn't what Pierce really was like, was it? Was he truly Carpathian or was he a vampire who played tricks? Her gut said Pierce was nothing like this monster before her.

As Tyrell came toward her, Carissa clung to that bit of hope in her mind that Pierce was her true lifemate. Because now, more than ever, she needed him to find her.

Author's note: Boy, I'm terrible with cliffs, aren't I? Of course, readers from The Sultan's Favorite already know this too well. (sigh) Some habits never change... -Anne