Fear swelled in Nox’s chest.
Luca’s fear.
Pain threatened to choke him.
Luca’s pain.
Nox roared as he rushed through the living room, tracking Luca’s scent to the woods outside. A fresh deluge of rain washed away the tracks, but Nox had the pull of Luca’s presence and his scattering of particles too small to be disrupted by water droplets.
The darker streaks breaking up Luca’s trail told Nox his abductor was human.
At least for now.
*****
Luca entered the first bedroom he came to, shut the door and locked it. The large window on the outer wall overlooked the front yard. He pressed his cheek to the glass.
Lightning revealed the world in momentary bursts while the torrential rain tried to erase it.
Nox stood a few feet in front of the porch. Three Anubis stalked closer. Luca was so focused on what was outside, he almost missed the foot falls pounding against the stairs.
He ducked beside the bed. The knob rattled, then the doorframe groaned and splintered.
Luca slid under the bed. Bare feet passed through the space under the footboard, circling the room. Luca slid to the other side, slipping out from under the bed and dove for the open door hanging from the buckled frame. He made it to the top step before an arm wrapped around his waist and lifted him up.
“Let go of me.” Luca clawed at the man’s face, carving bloody red lines over his eyelids. Luca’s attacker didn’t yell as much as he snarled. But he opened his grip, and Luca hit the floor. His hip hit the banister and gravity yanked him downward. Each impact on the following steps hammering his spine. He came to a rolling stop at the first landing. A burn near his temple accompanied the dull throb. Crimson check-marked the wooden picket closest to his head.
Luca rolled onto his knees but was scooped up again before he could crawl far. He kicked and swung his fist. The man staggered, and Luca twisted, slipping free of the man’s hold. Luca ran, his tennis shoes squeaking against the hardwood. He made it to the french doors at the back of the house and was jerked off his feet. The man twisted his grip in Luca’s hair, and he went to his knees. The impact shot up his legs, and at the same moment, pain exploded across Luca’s face. He fell back and his head bounced against the floor, adding a second drum to the one smashing against his skull.
The man licked the smear of blood on the back of his hand. “You try that again, and I will break your fucking legs.”
Luca was towed to his feet. The world dipped and his stomach lurched. Luca wretched but there was nothing for him to expel except the mouthful of saliva and blood. The man dragged Luca through the french doors at the rear of the house. Rain slapped him in the face and sucked the warmth from his skin.
Luca’s knees folded, and the man heaved him up and over his shoulder as he took up a run. Every jostling step a hot stab to Luca’s face. Lead filled his arms and legs as he fought to keep his head up. Light from the windows of Dr. Markus’s house faded behind the trees and shrubs. Then the woods closed around him, plunging him into darkness.
Leaves and branches rustled. Thunder broke apart the hush of water dripping through the canopy. A void of nothing sucked Luca in and out of consciousness. Momentary pauses between his struggle to breathe without choking on the blood from his broken nose.
He had no idea how far the man had carried him. But when he slowed to a walk, Luca’s abused muscles cramped, and his joints screamed.
The ground sloped upward, and the man carrying him stopped. He shifted his weight and Luca slid from his shoulders. Mud splashed up, and rocks stabbed Luca’s lower back.
He rolled over and tried to stand. Another chest crushing gag blinded him with bright flowers in his vision, and his serrated heartbeat crawled into his face.
Flashes of lightning carved out the opening of the cave. Dark returned and fabric rustled, joining the fall of rain. There was a digital beep, and the screen of a cell phone lit up, throwing out a halo of blue. It cast the stranger’s face with hard lines leaving his eyes glittering pools.
“I’ve got him. The others are down. I need the rest of you to cover my back. Meet me at the dam.” The man put away the phone.
A cool breeze kissed Luca’s fevered skin, and he crawled toward the source, startling when a hand gripped his arm and dragged him to his feet.
“This will all be over soon,” the man said.
What? Luca’s life?
The next roll of thunder rose up, shaking the air, vibrating through Luca’s bone. But there was no crash, no flash of light following up the rumble.
The man holding Luca yanked him to the side and spun him around, locking his forearm across Luca’s neck.
“Back off, Nash.”