Page 3 of Frost and Fate
“Darren!” one of his friends yelled as he bolted across the club. He couldn’t stop. A mindless fury had rooted itself within him. How dare they touch her. How dare they put their hands on her smooth skin. Reaching the hallway, Darren pushed forward into the darkness. His wolf’s eyes adjusted quickly. There was the girl at the end of the hall, seized by a large man. Before he could get closer, the two vanished into thin air. He looked for the rest of the white-eyed figures, and with his enhanced senses was able to locate a single person, slinking along the wall toward the end of the dark hall, nearing the emergency exit. With three quick strides, Darren reached the man, grasping the front of his shirt and slamming him into the wall.
“Where did they take her?” he growled out. The pale figure chuckled. Beneath the shadows of the hall Darren found himself staring at a decrepit-looking being. The face appeared youthful, though dark magic had taken its toll on the body. Exposed skin and decay mottled the man’s skull-like face. When he didn’t respond, Darren connected his fist with the creature’s brittle jaw. “Where did they take her?”
Blood ran down the man’s sickly flesh. The deep crimson was a stark contrast to his chalky complexion. Another chuckle escaped his thin lips. A paper-thin voice whispered so softly, that without Darren’s enhanced senses, he would have missed it. “We are the Collectors and she is the Chosen.”
Footsteps echoed from behind, as the rest of his group burst into the hall. A growl unfurled from Darren’s chest and he thrust a large hand around the man’s throat.
“I will crush your windpipe and close your throat in on itself. I’ll stare down at you as you die a slow, agonizing death.” Darren tilted his head at the seemingly unaffected man. “Or maybe I’ll let my wolf out. I’m sure he’d love to eat all the fat around your organs while you still breathe. That’s the trick to keeping your prey fresh. It means you’ll still be awake and aware as he consumes your body and slowly eats you alive.”
The man’s stoic façade finally cracked. “There’s a warehouse in the old district. Off of Seventh and Palmer,” he choked out.
Darren tightened his grip. “Why do they want her?” He pressed so hard on the man’s neck that the skin turned a deep shade of blue.
“She is a Chosen. She must be tested.” Milky eyes grew wide with panic. It was as if the man had just said something that was meant to be kept secret. He spoke a few quick words in a language Darren had never heard. With a gurgle and a sigh, the cryptic man’s eyes became lifeless, and rolled back in his skull. He was dead, though it hadn’t been by Darren’s hands. The man had simply given up. No doubt some sort of failsafe the Collectors had put in place.
“Dammit!” Darren roared. He dropped the limp body in frustration. It hit the floor with a heavy thud that was quickly swallowed up by the club’s thumping music. The other assailants had vanished, leaving him no additional clues.
Without the ability to teleport, they would have to make it to the warehouse the old-fashioned way. Darren prayed to the moon they would make it in time.
ChapterFour
Nova dropped to her knees as the room reappeared around her. She clutched at her chest as her lungs struggled to refill themselves.
“Teleportation can be difficult on the body, but there’s no more efficient way to travel.” An eerie voice brought her attention up from the ground. They seemed to be in some kind of vast old factory. Concrete floors rubbed against her knees and high metal ceilings loomed above her. There were signs this had been some sort of manufacturing plant, though the building had long since been in use. There were no visible windows and only a single door in the far corner of the room. At least seven figures were present around the space. Which one of them had spoken?
“I wouldn’t bother planning an escape,” the same eerie voice croaked. “We’ve worked hard to find you, and we will not leave empty-handed this evening.”
The owner of the ghostly voice seemed to be occupying the large boxed overhang at the far end of the room. Through the glass, she could just make out the shape of a man, but couldn’t see his face clearly enough to note any identifying features. The air crackled around her. He was talking through a PA system, broadcasting it throughout the warehouse.
Nova glared at the shrouded figure. “I don’t know who you psychos are, but you better let me the fuck out of here!” She tried to muster enough conviction to make a point, though her wavering voice betrayed her.
The man cackled out a laugh. “Oh, my naive child. You won’t be leaving here tonight. You are a Chosen, and you have been Collected.”
“What do you want from me?” Her heart was racing and she was nauseous and dizzy. This couldn’t be happening to her. She had to find a way out. The hidden man continued.
“On this glorious night, you will be tested. The power within you hides beneath a fragile human shell. In order for your full potential to be reached, that shell must be broken.”
Nova’s head felt fuzzy as confusion mixed with desperation. “I don’t understand!” she cried out.
The man let out a low chuckle. “Oh, but you will.” His words were slow, and echoed. She swore she could hear a smile in his cold voice. It was enough to make her shudder. “It is time to begin,” he finished.
As if on command, a large figure moved forward from the group. Removing his hoodie, Nova got her first look at the mountain of a man. He had to be close to seven feet tall, covered in knotted muscle and deep scars. The most obvious of these was a large scar that ran from his left ear to just below his right eye. Another scar marred his mouth. Yellow teeth shone through the space where his upper lip should have been. Only a piece of flimsy, scarred flesh hung across the last third of his mouth. Long, greasy brown hair couldn’t quite hide the lifeless mangled eye left behind from whatever event had created the scar in the first place.
As he approached her, Nova’s pulse thrummed wildly. She stumbled backward a step, realizing there was no place to run to. “Wait!” she pleaded. “I don’t—”
A crack resounded across the walls as a meaty fist connected with the left side of her jaw. Nova was slammed to the ground, the force causing her to momentarily black out. As she shook her head to collect her thoughts, the warm, metallic taste of blood began to fill her mouth. She willed her eyes to stay open.
The imposing man was hovering over her and moving in again. Nova scrambled backward in an attempt to crawl away. She didn’t make it far. All the air left her body as a large booted foot sent a forceful kick straight into her rib cage. Her head spun when she heard the sharp crack of several ribs breaking under the impact. The pain was unbearable. Breathing became a struggle as the shattered rib bones buried themselves deep into her soft flesh. A surge of adrenaline coursed through her panicked veins. She somehow got to her feet, turning to face her attacker.
Nova took in her surroundings just in time to see a large well-muscled forearm push up from beneath her line of sight. The moment his elbow connected with the underside of her chin, she saw stars and felt the sickening splintering of several crushed teeth and struggled not to choke on the pieces. Tears streamed down her face mixing with the blood pouring down her lips.
This can’t be happening.She clawed her way across the floor. Everything was moving in slow motion. Using all her strength, she forced herself onto her hands and knees. A vise grip enveloped her left ankle and dragged her back across the floor. A desperate scream filled the air as concrete ripped away bits of her jeans, knees, and palms. She rolled over and pulled her leg toward her body in an attempt to free herself from his hold.
“The pain is not enough,” an irritated voice chided from above. “Perhaps a different tactic, to push her over the edge.” The huge man smiled. The look of that mangled, rotting mouth caused Nova to vomit. A mixture of vodka, blood, and teeth pooled on the dirty floor. The man was still pushing closer. He dropped to the floor, his body continuing to tower over hers.
Nova couldn’t have imagined what he was going to do next. As he began to rip at her shirt and jeans, a sickening horror overtook her. He was going to…No. She flailed violently and pushed his hands away, trying to salvage what was left of the clothing covering her broken body. Her head throbbed, and the pain from her injuries was overwhelming. Shimmering black slowly closed in on her field of vision. Nova fought to stay conscious, fought to keep him away, even as he firmly planted himself between her bleeding knees.
As more and more of her skin became exposed to the damp warehouse air, a savage desperation clawed its way out from someplace within. She wasn’t sure what happened next. It had begun as a tingle inside, a blue light that burned its way out of her. An electric sensation that was both foreign and familiar. Her heaving breaths came out in cold clouds, as the temperature around her plummeted.
