He pulled her into his arms and gave her a scorching kiss.This time, it was a slow and sensuous exploration of each other’s bodies.When they finished this time, they fell asleep for several hours.She woke and saw that it was dawn.It was a little early for her, but Carlos was usually awake by now.Cally looked in his direction and saw he was awake.
“Playing possum?”She asked.
“I was just waiting to see what you were going to do.Are you ready for breakfast?”
“No, I’m ready for a shower.”
She hurried to beat him to the nearest one.He must have gone to one of the other showers, and she met him in the dining room, where other people were already eating.As far as she knew, all their guests would be leaving except possibly Harry.Cally still felt well-being and happiness.It wouldn’t last, but she would enjoy it for now.They would have today off, and tomorrow it was back to work as usual.
Breakfast went well as many of her family and friends said their goodbyes and gave them well wishes.They continued to enjoy their time off when they got a call around lunchtime.Their eyes locked, and they were both worried that all hell was about to break loose.Carlos answered the phone and put it on speaker.
“This is Harry, and Ben has disappeared.He went into the house and told me to wait fifteen minutes, but I didn't even wait the full fifteen because, you know, I'm impatient.When I finally went into the house, it was empty, and Ben was gone.I thought it was no big deal.I'd try a finding spell, but when I went where the spill was, all I found were signs that he had been there at some time.Again, he was gone.I'm not sure what to do, and I worry about what might be happening to him.”Harry admitted.
“Maybe they heard that you were going to be helping us, and they set this up to freak you out.Was there a way in the back of the house that they could drive away?”Cally asked.
“Yes, there were two ways into the house.Unfortunately, by the time I went to look for him, they were long gone.My only hope was the finding spell, and I was one step behind.Any idea what to do now?”Harry asked.
“Yes, flashback here so you can eat and build your strength back up.We need to think of a witch who's available and have her come here so that she can do another finding spell.”
She wasn't even through talking, and Harry appeared.“It will be alright.We'll find him.He might even escape.While you're eating, just think about who we might be able to get to come that will help.”
Cally fixed Harry a huge plate and set it in front of her.“Fill up on some good food and think about what we should do next.Stay calm, and we will get this dealt with.”
Sometimes it was hard to think of Harry as young, because she had a lot of experience that most people didn't have.That didn't change the fact that she was young and easily excited, especially when a friend was in danger.Harry and Ben had always gotten along well, and she was very upset.These guys had made a terrible mistake, and there was no telling what Harry might do to them when she found them, especially if they had caused any damage to Ben.
Harry's plate was about halfway finished when she stopped and looked up.“I think I should take something that Ben owns to grandmother and have her see if she can find him.”
“Finish your food so you'll be recharged, and then you can go.Come back here as quickly as you can, and we will have a plate of food waiting for you.Once you recharge again, you can take us with you.”
Cally was worried, and it was obvious that Harry was too.This was a well-planned kidnapping.Their paranormal powers were very strong and had to have been hard to take down.Had they enlisted a witch or other magic user?That would make sense, but she hoped it was not what had happened.An evil paranormal would be much harder to fight than this group of humans.This made her wish, and not for the first time, that she had magic.
She knew that magic was a two-sided sword.It could help in times like these, but it could also hurt in other times.Harry was often regarded with fear and suspicion because she was a witch.Wolves had a hard time dealing with witches or other magic users.Her mate was a wolf, and even though he was taking Harry well, she wasn't his mate, and he didn't have to live with her.It was just as well that she wasn't magical in that sense.Wolves often didn't think about the magic they had to be able to change forms.Many didn't even consider that magic at all; it was just something that was there.Ben was a vampire, and they dealt with witches more often and more easily.He'd probably have been better off taking Harry in with him, but they had counted on him not doing that.
It was obvious they were getting information from someone or from a bug planted in my bed.They had to find the information leak and stop it.That is what they would do as soon as they got Ben back.Grandmother was a powerful witch, and if Harry could talk her into helping, Cally was sure she could find Ben.Once she found him, they would be able to go after him and break him loose.Heads would roll, and they would regret taking one of their people.She only hoped that they wouldn't all die because Harry was angry.She had to admit that she was pretty angry herself.
They waited patiently and snacked.She knew it was possible that Harry would have to eat at grandmother's before she could come back.Earlier, she had explained to Carlos about Harry's need to eat for fuel to do her magic.Some people found it hard to believe, but a paranormal should understand it.When energy is expended, something must replace it.Most witches must rest and eat to get their magic back.Many were jealous of Harry because she could eat enough so that she could get her magic back.When your magic was gone, it was hard to protect yourself.
They were both surprised when Harry came back in an hour.“Let’s go.”She declared.
Harry grabbed them both, and they flashed away.What in the world was going on?Something must be happening to Ben that worried her because she wanted to get there as quickly as possible.This was an odd place that they had come to.It looked like a shopping mall that had gone out of business.It wasn't a particularly large one, but there were several stores, and none of them were open.They would have to go in slowly and with great caution, or they could cause more problems than they solved.
Cally could scent a vampire.She assumed that it was Ben, so she and Carlos headed that way, and Harry followed behind.“We need to hurry because he's low on energy, and he was fine this morning, so they must be doing something to him.”
He was close.She could sense him, and she recognized that he was in pain.That made her believe that they were torturing him.Cally might believe in mercy, but they had taken things too far, and she would not recommend any for these people.As she peered around the corner into the building, she could see that they had strung Ben up and they were bleeding him.Did they know that he was a vampire?Or were they just doing that because it would cause anyone to weaken?She couldn't say, but she knew that this was taking things too far.
Carlos had told her that he believed that this group would kill, and what they were doing to Ben would kill him before much longer.As far as she could tell, there were only two guys in there, and one was watching, and one was bleeding him and asking questions.Once Harry saw what was happening, there was no holding her back.Both guys disappeared, and they ran in to cut Ben down, and Harry offered him her vein.
It was necessary, and Harry was the best one to do it since she was not mated at this point.Ben had good control because he drank some and then stopped.She was sure that the rich, magical blood was tempting because, normally, most vampires drank their blood out of a bag.She could immediately see the improvement.
“What did you do to the two guys who were in here?”Carlos asked.
“I sent them to Cage with a sign saying that they were torturers.He'll know exactly what to do with them.Those are the kind of people that deserve the worst possible treatment that the council prison can give them.”
“Cage is the warden and Damon's brother, right?”
“Exactly, and he deals with these kinds of things all the time.I'll go by there to see him after a while and answer any questions he might have.At least you won't have to deal with the prisoner.”Harry concluded.
She grabbed Ben and flashed him away.There was no doubt that the vampire would need to recover from what he had been through today.One problem was that these people were still out there because there were more than two in this group.Losing two of their numbers might slow them down a little bit, but she was sure they would get right back to it.More needed to be done, but she wasn't sure when they would get Ben back or whether Harry would come back at all.What was clear was that Harry was upset about what had happened, and that was unusual.Cally would have expected Harry to get mad and go after these guys until she caught every one of them.
