Talia grunted in protest as she was jostled along the rain soaked street by the rough hands of her captors. She tried to scream for Alec but the ragged cloth that they had gagged her with rendered speech virtually impossible. The bag over her head made it impossible to know where they were taking her and though she tried to listen out for any sounds that might give her a clue as to her whereabouts, her fear of what was going to happen to her made it hard to focus on anything but the three men that drove her onwards.
"Boss! Someone up ahead!" one of the men hissed.
Talia screamed with all her might as she dragged sideways and thrown against a wall. She tried to struggle but fell instantly still as she felt the cold edge of a knife against her throat.
"I'd keep quiet if I were you, slut," snarled the man from the bar, close enough that she could smell his foul, alcohol tainted breath.
She whimpered, her heart racing as she heard several people hurry past, her hopes of rescue fading as the splashes of their footsteps grew more distant. After a while she felt one of the thugs grip her arm and drag her back out onto the street, pushing her onwards through the driving rain. She shivered, her dress already soaked through, her wrists aching where they had been bound too tightly behind her back. Tears rolled slowly down her cheeks as she forced down a sob, desperate not to show any kind of weakness if she could help it. Alec would come for her, she told herself. He just had to.
A short while later they turned down another street. She heard the sound of something heavy, a gate perhaps, creaking open before one of the thugs scooped her onto his shoulder and carried her forwards. She tried to struggle, kicking and thrashing in his grip until she received a backhanded slap that was delivered with enough force to leave her momentarily dazed. She groaned as she shook off the blow, vaguely recognising the clanking sound of the thugs boots and his irregular movement to mean that they were descending a ladder. She wrinkled her nose as a foul smell filled the air and thought that maybe they had entered the city's sewers. The splash of the thug's boots as he climbed off the ladder seemed to confirm her theory. They walked for about another ten minutes, the thug carrying her over his shoulder the entire way. The sewer stank but at least they were out of the rain.
"Who goes there?" someone shouted ahead.
"Vargus!" the man from the bar called back.
The caller snorted. "You've got some nerve coming back here, Varg. Y'know the boss ain't happy with you!"
"She will be when she sees what I've got!" Vargus snapped. "Now you gonna let us in or what?"
"Fine, fine. Quit yellin' at me!"
Talia heard stone grinding against stone and a moment later they were out of sewer and inside somewhere warm and slightly less smelly. The thug sat her down and once again resorted to shoving her forwards. She could hear people talking and laughing, fires crackling and the sound of weapons clashing.
"Get her in the corner!" Vargus ordered.
Talia cried out as the thug shoved her onto the floor, her knees blistering painfully as they struck the hard stone floor. Someone approached her and she winced as the bag was yanked off of her head, the light of the room momentarily blinding her after the darkness of the bag. Vargus stood over her, grinning a gap-toothed smile down at her. Behind him was a large hall that looked as though it might have once been a kind of store room. Tents and scruffy lean-to shelters were scattered around the hall whilst ragged black banners daubed with red handprints hung from the ceiling. Talia's eyes widened at the sight of the banners, her blood turning to ice in her veins as she realised where she was.
"That's right, bitch," Vargus said triumphantly. "Welcome to the Red Hand's headquarters!"
She whimpered softly to herself. The Red Hands were a syndicate of criminals, cut throats and gangsters that had plagued Everdale for centuries. It was said that every illegal act, every clandestine murder and smuggled cache of drugs was orchestrated by the syndicate in one way or another. Her father had spent years fighting them and had had some success, but the syndicate was vast and its leadership cunning. Like a cancer it had reared its head time and time again, never once striking in the same place.
"Yes, not so brave without your boyfriend around, are you?" Vargus sneered, crouching down in front of her. He held his knife in his hand, the cold steel glinting dangerously in the light. "That prick made a big mistake in the Rose that night. No one, I mean no one, makes a fool out of Vargus!"
She swallowed, nervously, realising that Vargus must not realise who she was. He was so concerned with his tarnished reputation that he didn't realise the girl he had taken hostage was in fact the Princess of Everdale!
"See, whatever voodoo shit he pulled made folks forget what they saw but not everything. Word got out that I'd been sent crying back home by some rich fuck and I can't have that. I've got a rep to uphold. People are scared of me and here's the best part..." His eyes twinkled darkly as he touched the tip of his knife to her lips. "I remember everything. I know what that bloodsucking freak is."
Talia's eye's widened. He knew. He knew Alec was a vampire.
Vargus snorted, rocking back on his heels. "That's right," he hissed. "That fanged freak has a death sentence on his head. I wonder how much the King'll give me when I turn him in in exchange for your pretty head? Vargus, Vampire Slayer. Has a nice ring to it, don'tcha think?"
Talia shook her head, tears stinging her eyes.
"I'm gonna bring him here. And if he doesn't want your pretty brains dashed over the floor then he'll hand himself over to me and everyone will respect me again! But first..." he looked down at her, licking his lips as a dark and dangerous look filled his eyes. "I think I've earned myself a reward."
Talia shrieked and tried to lash out as he reached for her, lust in his gaze, when suddenly a sharp voice stopped him in his tracks.
"Vargus! What the hell are you doing?"
Vargus' expression turned to disdain, his fingers, only an inch or so from her tits, curling into a fist as he turned to look at the woman who had approached behind him. She was incredibly striking, her dark skin adorned with gold jewellery that shone in the light of the hall. Her black hair was shot through with strands of mint green colouring and was shaved close to her scalp on the left side of her head, whilst it tumbled over her right shoulder to her chest. She wore a black halter neck top cropped above her naval and tight fitting leather pants and boots. Fingerless gloves rose just above her elbows and Talia noted that she had around half a dozen knives strapped to various parts of her body.
"Zeedra!" Vargus exclaimed. "I was expecting to see you so soon."
"I came as soon as I heard you were back," the woman said, her voice clipped. "I thought I told you not to show your face here again?"
"Yeah but I've got us a score, Zee!" Vargus protested. "Just hear me out, boss!"
"Shut up!" Zeedra snapped. "You come crawling back here with an unsanctioned hostage and expect everything to be alright?"
"Just listen, Zee!" Vargus begged. "This'll be massive. I promise ya!"
"Out of the way!" Zeedra snarled, shoving Vargus aside. She turned to Talia and the Princess thought she saw the colour drain from the other woman's face.
"Vargus," Zeedra said, her voice low and dangerous. "What have you done?"
"She's good, Zee," he replied, still oblivious to Talia's true self. "Her boyfriend's rich."
Zeedra rounded on Vargus, seizing him by the throat and slamming him against the wall. His two thugs attempted to intercede but Zeedra stopped them with a look. "You're a fucking idiot," she hissed. "Look at her! Use that thick brain of yours and actually look at her."
