The Empath : The Alterealm Series Book 3

Daxx dropped to the sofa with a dramatic flair. “I’ve been benched. I can’t believe it.”

Crissy perched on the arm beside her. “I don’t mind the bench, there’s no blood.”

They both looked at me. I shrugged. “Don’t look at me, I’ve never had a team before.” I motioned to our office. “We could go see if we can find an address for the women we’ve located.”

“Oh,” Crissy jumped up. “I think I found a third one.”

“I got up after too little sleep to go kick some ass.” Daxx sighed and stood up. “I guess finding people is better than sitting here planning how I’m going to punish my mate for leaving me behind.”

I gave her a sympathetic smile. “You can’t be too upset they’re trying to keep you safe.”

She snorted. “In case you didn’t notice, you’re here with us and under guard as well.”

I looked over to where Sith stood with the other two guards. “Might as well get comfortable.” I told him.

He gave me an abrupt nod and went toward the table with the puzzle.

“I may have to get a new puzzle soon.” I said to no one in particular.

An hour later, we stood there looking at the computer screen.

“All three live at the same location? Daxx repeated.

“Safety in numbers?” I offered.

“I guess.” She leaned against the table. “I wasn’t expecting it to be that easy.”

I wrote down the address and went over to my laptop. “I doubt it will be this easy every time.”

“I’m worried.” Crissy glanced from Daxx to me. “If we found them this fast…”

“Team bad can too.” Daxx finished.

Crissy nodded, an apprehensive expression on her face.

I entered the address into the map screen and waited to see where it was. “It’s an apartment complex about fifteen minutes from here, a decent neighborhood.”

“We’re going there?” Crissy’s eyes were wide.

Daxx’s face lit up. “The guys won’t like it.”

I glanced at the door. “I could request a van, and we could take our shadows with us.”

Daxx chewed on her bottom lip for a moment. “It’s within our orders of confinement. We were told no wandering around.” She shrugged, “we’ll be in a van and then at an apartment building. That’s not wandering.”

“What do we do when we get there?” Crissy fidgeted with a small red rubber ball. “I don’t know what we do.” She frowned. “We never talked about what comes after.”

Both looked at me. “I suppose we’ll have to figure that out according to what we discover, after speaking to them.

“How old are they again?” Daxx looked down at the print outs.

“One is fifty and the other two a little younger.” Crissy nodded.

“So they already know they’re not normal humans, or should right? They won’t be aging and should already be displaying,” she shrugged, “feeding preference?” Daxx said with a look of contemplation on her face.

I nodded. “I guess that’s where my expertise comes in.” I said as I motioned to the door. “You can explain to our guards we’re going on an outing.”

“Are we telling the kings?” Daxx asked, pausing in the door.

“Won’t they almost be to the location they were checking?” Crissy asked with a concerned tone.

“She has a point.” I agreed. “Pausing mid-battle to answer their phone may not be advisable.”

Daxx nodded. “We’ll tell them after then.” She smirked, “they’ll yell less that way.”

“Better to ask forgiveness.” I said with a grin.

“Exactly.” She laughed and walked out.

The driver kept checking in the mirror ever few seconds, probably the first time his van taxi had men this large crammed into it. I focused hard so I didn’t pick up his feelings. I glanced to Sith again, if his expression was any indication he wasn’t happy we were doing this. I leaned in and offered him a smile. “We’ll go right back to my place when we’re finished.”

He made a non-committal grunt.

“Once we are certain they are safe, we’ll call the others and see how to proceed. Does that work for you?”

He nodded, but I could tell he really wasn’t placated.

“What could go wrong? We have you guys with us.” Daxx offered.

“Famous last words, huntress.” Tim said quietly.

“Oh, we’re here.” Crissy almost didn’t wait for the van to stop before she had the door open.

Handing the driver a large tip, I got out and closed the door.

“Looks like a nice place.” Daxx mused and she wasted no time walking to the door.

I was just about to inquire what we were going to say to gain entry into the building when a couple came out, and Daxx hurried the last few feet to grab the door.

“We’re taking the stairs.” Bronx said in a tone that left no room for argument. Whether for a tactical reason or from fear of elevators, I wasn’t sure, but they allowed us this adventure, so I wasn’t going to complain.

By the time we reached the door to the apartment, the guards were standing so close I felt crowded. I looked at the men. “Perhaps you should stand to the side, so you won’t frighten them?” They moved to stand off to the side.

My stomach was knotted with anticipation, but there was something else. As I was trying to sort through the emotions, a feeling flooded me. I held up my hand so Daxx wouldn’t knock while I examined the sensations closer. It was fear. Stark terror, and something darker. “Something isn’t right in there.” I whispered, “They’re terrified.”

Our guards moved closer to the door while still remaining out of sight.

Daxx checked everyone’s position and then knocked on the door. There were muffled voices on the other side.

It opened a few inches. A small woman of Asian descent looked out.

I offered my most polite smile. “Hello. We’re looking for Alyssa, Brittany and Kristin, we’re from the neighborhood welcoming committee.” It was the first reason I could come up with. More than once in my life I’d had such committees on my doorstep.

“I-I’m Brittany.”

I didn’t need to rely on my empathic abilities to know this woman was afraid. She barely looked at me, and kept glancing to what or whomever was beside her. “Wonderful. We have the right address.” I patted Crissy’s backpack. “We have so many wonderful offers and welcome gifts for you.”

“I-I…”

“Are the others home as well?” I interrupted.

Daxx silently motioned for the woman to step out of the way, her other hand was behind her back gripping the blade she always wore.

“Yes.” The woman said hesitantly.

Crissy moved back out of her guard’s way. I stepped over to give Sith access to the door while trying to decide if I needed my dagger or not.

As soon as the woman moved, Bronx kicked the door open and rushed in. Sith and Tim were right behind him, followed by Daxx. Crissy and I hurried through at the same moment, she shut the door and leaned on it.

Two large men came rushing into the room. Bronx was wrestling with one. Huddled in the corner was the woman who had answered the door, and two others beside her.

Crissy yelped, I turned to see her ducking out of the way as Tim tossed one of the men against the wall. “Go watch the women.” I told her but didn’t stand there to watch if she listened.

Bronx and Sith were struggling to get one very large male to the floor while Daxx was dancing around trying to avoid a blade the other man had. She stepped on the sofa and jumped at him. He caught her mid-air and flung her. I cringed as her head hit the wall. Deciding she needed my assistance more than the men, I skirted around the others and went to help her. Sliding down, I swung my leg out and tried to knock his footing out from under him. He stumbled, but didn’t go down. If I’d known I would encounter giants, I may have trained differently.

He turned and jabbed at me with the blade. I felt a burn on across my arm and kicked out to knock him out of reach.

“Where’s my damn zapper when I need it.” Daxx grunted as she tried again to knock him down.

Glancing at my arm, I saw the blood. That was enough motivation to try harder. Stepping back, to give me the distance I needed, I crouched slightly and then sprung up. Landing a two-footed kick against his chest, he hit the floor, flat on his back a moment later.

Daxx knelt on his chest, her curved blade at his throat. “Don’t even breathe heavily.” She huffed out a breath. “Crissy find me something to tie him up with.”

I glanced over my shoulder to see the guards had the other two pinned to the floor as well. I could feel the blood running down my arm, and held it out to see a gash down the side of my arm.

Crissy came rushing over with what looked like scarves to tie up the men. She stopped and looked at my arm and handed me one of them. Taking it, I awkwardly wrapped it around my arm to slow the bleeding as I went over to the women huddled in the corner.

“That wasn’t quite the introduction we wanted.” I glanced at the one with curly black hair to see oven mitts taped to her hands. “Are you all right?”

She nodded and turned as the petite blonde woman started taking the tape off.

Their fear was almost smothering me. “You’re safe now.” I allowed my eyes to turn red and looked at them until I was certain all three had noted their color. “You’re among friends now.”

The fear was immediately replaced with relief. “How did you find us?” The one that had opened the door asked.

“It wasn’t easy, but once we did we knew we had to come,” I motioned to the man Sith was all but sitting on, “Just in case they found you before we did.”

“We need to get them to the cells.” Daxx came over rubbing her hand over the side of her head.

“Are you all right?” I turned to check on Crissy.

“I’ll have a headache later, but as fights go, that’s nothing.” She chuckled. “Troy is going to be pissed though.”

“Huntress the devices aren’t working.” Tim pulled the man he’d tied to his feet.

Daxx frowned and looked to Bronx who was shaking his head. She looked to the women. “Are any of you mages?” They shook their head.

“They had someone here that did some kind of block or spell or something to the apartment.” The short blonde said quietly.

“That’s annoying.” Daxx mumbled. She pointed to the hall. “Tim take him and see if you can transport in the hall.

He shook his head. “I’m not leaving without you.”

She rolled her eyes. “I’m fine… now. These guys need to get back to the cells. Get a hold of Arius so he can find out what they were doing here.”

Pressing my hand on my arm, I turned to look at Sith. “Go and get them where they can’t hurt anyone.”

“My king…”

“Will be quite upset if he finds out you’re dallying with them here where we are.” I told him.

“She has a point.” Bronx said as he dragged the man to the door. “You come right behind me Crissy.”

She nodded. “Okay. I will. With Daxx and Alona.”

Bronx dragged the man out the door. He looked down the hall and then opened the device on his arm. Both he and the man vanished.

“Oh my god.” One of the women gasped.

I turned back to them. “It is something to see, the first dozen or so times.”

“Watch him.” Sith growled and shoved the man against the wall beside Tim. He stomped over to me and gingerly held up my arm. “My king is going to have my heart for this.”

“It’s fine. Go. Get him back and I will be along in a moment.”

He frowned, the indecision clear on his face.

“Go. I-I order you.” I said, even though the hesitation in my tone told him I was only going through the motions, and not ordering him at all.

“Be right behind me, please.” He said with worry and then went and grabbed the man whose hands were tied with a neon pink scarf out the door.

After the guards and men were gone, I went over and slid down the wall to sit.

The women with curly black hair came over. “I’m Alyssa.” She knelt and pulled the scarf off my arm.

“Alona.” I glanced to see Daxx sitting on the floor on the other side of the room wincing as she touched her head. “You ladies need to pack anything you want to take with you. I have a safe place you can go.”

“I’ll help you pack if you like.” Crissy offered.

“I’m dizzy.” Daxx said. “Do you have your transporter on, Alona?”

I shook my head. “No. I didn’t think to put it on, we were with the guards who all wear them and you…”

“I don’t think I can focus enough to take us back.” Crissy came rushing back into the room with the woman that had opened the door. “Criss, do you have your transporter on?”

She bit her lip. “No. Victor didn’t want me disappearing on my own, so I took it off.”

“Lovely.” I mumbled knowing what that meant. “Can the guys come to us?”

“Not if some kind of blocking spell has been put on here, and we can’t exactly go wandering without the guards.” She slid further down the wall and gave me a look I understood well enough. She didn’t want to call the men either.

I motioned to the hallway, so Alyssa would go. “Go pack.” She got up and rushed down the hall.

Crissy came over and looked at my arm. “Chase isn’t going to be happy.”

Daxx snorted and then winced. “That’s putting it mildly, he’s going to freak right out. After this Troy is going to lock me in our room.”

Getting up, Crissy went over and examined Daxx’s scalp. “It’s not bleeding, but it’s not good either.” She sat down. “I don’t want to call Victor for help—again. He’ll get that look.”

“I’ll make the call.” I didn’t want to, but the amount of blood coming from my arm wasn’t going to get better if we sat here debating. “How mad can they be? We rescued three women and found three more team bad members.”

Crissy and Daxx both gave me a blank look.

“Okay, wishful thinking. I’m going to message first and make certain they’re not mid-battle.” Getting my phone out of my purse, I quickly sent. Is this a bad time to call?

The phone rang before I could exit the screen. I answered it.

“Duchess anytime is a good time for you to call me.”

“I wasn’t sure if you would be beating on people. I wouldn’t want to interrupt that.”

He chuckled. “I would beat them one handed if you felt inclined to talk. We just found another deserted location, so I have time to spare.” I could hear several voices in the background. “Alona, why is Victor ranting about killing the three guards that are supposed to be with you and my brothers’ mates?” Gone was his playful tone.

“I was just going to get to that.”

“In the future, perhaps you should lead with that and save the trivial banter for later.”

“Noted.” Both Crissy and Daxx watched me intently.

“Before Victor snaps my neck, maybe you could shed some light on the situation.”

I could hear the voices behind him go silent. “Short version?”

He cleared his throat in the way he did when he was annoyed. “Fastest version.”

“We found three women.” I offered, while trying to explain the end result of such.

“Excellent… and?”

“They were being held by three men, from Alterealm, I am guessing by their sheer size,” Daxx wasn’t looking well at all. “Our guards have taken them to the cells, but we’ve hit a slight snag in transporting back.”

I could hear someone speaking, they must have been standing right beside him. “What sort of snag, and I’m warning you now, my patience are almost gone.”

“We are still at the apartment, but neither Crissy nor I have out devices on and we sent…”

“Your guards back with prisoners.”

I nodded. “Yes, but Daxx hurt her head and can’t seem to focus and devices don’t work here regardless, so we’re not even sure she could transport us, there is some sort of block placed on this apartment…”

“Stop. Hurt her head?” There were muffled voices. “Troy can’t trace her, where are you? Are you all right?”

I looked down at my arm and then over to Daxx and Crissy. “I have a small cut on my arm. Criss is fine.” Crissy nodded at me.

I could hear him blowing out a loud breath, probably trying not to say what he wanted to. “We are going to meet the guards so they can bring us to you.” He said it in a quiet precise way. I knew he was trying to stay calm, but I could hear the rage beneath the surface.

“I have the women packing. Could you have Michael get in touch with Anthony so he can come and pick them up and take them somewhere safe? I haven’t had time to set up another safe house…”

“Alona?”

“Yes?”

“I’m going to hang up now. I will call you back once we are on that side.”

“Okay, Chase.”

The line went dead. Hanging up, I looked at the screen of the phone and then to the girls.

“We’re in deep shit, aren’t we?” Daxx asked.

I nodded. “I believe we may be.”

“Awesome.” She said and then closed her eyes. “This is so going to suck.”

Crissy got up. “I’m going to help them, so they’re ready when the guys get here, because I don’t think we’ll be staying longer than that.”

My arm was starting to throb more. “I believe you’re correct in that assessment.”