Thicker than Blood - Book One (Watty Awards 2012)

Chapter Forty

Hey readers!

Only two or three more chapters left after this one. So enjoy it!

Thanks everyone for fanning and commenting and voting.

Love, Robin

I woke to the sound of pacing footsteps but they were distant and when I slowly opened my eyes I knew immediately that I was alone. I was lying in a very big, soft bed; surrounded by a very familiar smell. It made me feel safe.

Then I frowned; unable to sense Nathaniel.

Someone was still shielding me, blocking me from sensing the people I'd by now become so familiar with. Finding comfort in the tenuous connections between our minds. Even my bond with Tlanextic was now shielded.

I could tell the bonds were there though, unlike before. Whoever was doing this had stopped hiding it from me; using the energy instead to make the shield stronger. I tried in vain to find my way around it, anxious to see if I could reach Hayden.

Was it Devon and was he really that powerful?

In moments the rest of my memories came rushing back and I was overwhelmed by a sense of despair. Hayden gone, two of my best friends gravely injured and more of Nathaniel's people dead. How had this been allowed to happen? How was this even possible?

Did Nathaniel really leave Hayden so unprotected? With only a handful of warriors and Missy who wasn't the strongest fighter and Elliot; a witch more capable of teleportation than combat. Anger surged through me at that thought. Could he really have been so stupid?

Sitting up I became aware of the pain in my throat, a moment long the room spun around me. Then I managed to focus and I realized I didn't know where I was. This was not our bedroom. Yet it was clearly Nathaniel's.

It was visible in the choice of furniture and the energy of the room. The colors chosen for the walls could only remind me of him and his scent clung to the sheets around me.

Whoever was pacing outside the room however hadn't stopped doing so but hadn't come in either. Did that mean they were unaware that I woke up? Was it Nathaniel?

I stiffly climbed out of the bed and threw open the old, heavy wardrobe situated in the corner. It was filled with my own clothes, someone had taken the care to fold and hang them in neat order. Clearly we would be staying here now on a more permanent basis. I didn't have to guess to know that these were Nathaniel's rooms in his so called stronghold.

I quickly selected a pair of practical jeans and a long-sleeved shirt in a dark, warm brown color that matched my eyes. Getting dressed and washed in the en suite bathroom. I was in a hurry, anxious to get started on the search for Hayden. It was the only thing on my mind now, there wasn't even place to worry about poor Elliot's arm.

I was sure that Nathaniel was also focused with single-minded determination on finding him. In fact he'd probably blame himself for it in the first place. I wanted to go to him and at least reassure him that I knew it wasn't his fault yet somewhere I wasn't sure. If he really hadn't left enough people to guard Hayden...

We'd both known that it was something in Hayden, a talent, that the Demon desired.

I was just making my way to the door, ready to barge down whoever was pacing in front of it and force my way into the search. A sharp pain shot through my body, radiating out from my heart. For a moment I thought I was having a heart attack. Then the pains subsided and I became aware of another sensation.

How did this happen? Only one thing came to mind.

Devon.

It was him that had taken Hayden and it was him that shielded me from the others. I could suddenly feel the simmering anger that had followed the pain, beating and pulsing through my head.