CAPTURED BY THE ENEMY

CHAPTER3

THESE TWO HAVE TRIED TO KILL ME MORE THAN ONCE.

"NO MORE FIGHTING NOW THAT WE'RE ON THE SAME TEAM," JAKE SAID. " SCOUTS HONOR."

"LIKE YOU WERE EVER A BOY SCOUT." ELIJAH'S SMILE WAS THERE AND GONE IN LESS THAN A SECOND. "BESIDES, SHE JUST TRIED TO RIP MY THROAT OUT! "ELIJAH." JONAH SPARED HIM A STERN GLANCE. ELIJAH'S HOSTILITY OFFERED ME MORE REASSURANCE THAN JONAH'S PROMISES OR JAKE'S JIBES; AT LEAST ELIJAH'S THREATS MADE SENSE. ELIJAH AND JAKE WERE VAMPIRES AND I WAS A WOLF. WHAT COULD WE OFFER EACH OTHER BESIDES BLOODSHED?

"AMELIA," MONROE SAID. "OUR WORLDS ARE CHANGING FASTER THAN YOU COULD IMAGINE. FORGET WHAT YOU THINK YOU KNOW ABOUT THEM.WE CAN HELP EACH OTHER. WE ALL WANT THE SAME THINGS."

I DIDN'T RESPOND, WONDERING WHAT EXACTLY HE THOUGHT I WANTED. "WILL YOU COME WITH US?" HE ASKED. "WILL YOU HEAR WHAT I HAVE TO SAY?"

PULLING MY EYES OFF HIM, I LOOKED UP AND DOWN THE CURVING HALL. NOTHING WAS FAMILIAR. IF I RAN, I IWOULDN'T KNOW WHERE I WAS GOING. AT LEAST I COULD KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR AN ESCAPE ROUTE WHILE I WAS FOLLOWING JONAH AROUND.

"FINE," I SAID.

"FANTASTIC!" CONNER LAUGHED. "NO MORE FIGHTING! I GUESS THAT MEANS WE'RE BFF'S NOW? VERY NICE."

"SHE IS A WOLF," ELIJAH SNAPPED. "THAT'S TWISTED."

"NOT AT THE MOMENT," JAKE SAID, NOT MOVING HIS GAZE AND TAKING A FEW STEPS CLOSER. AS HE CAME CLOSER, I SMELLED THE SCENT OF CEDAR AND VIOLET TINGED WITH THE AROMA OF COFFEE. THE MIXTURE WAS FAMILIAR...ONE I'D BEEN CLOSE TO BEFORE. I SNARLED AND JUMPED BACK, SJAKING AWAY A NEW CLOUD OF MEMORIES FORMING IN MY MIND.

"ARE YOU SURE SHE'S AN ALPHA?" JAKE ASKED, HOLDING ME AGAINST HIS CHEST WHEN I STIRRED. "SHE DOESN'T LOOK THAT TOUGH."

"YOU HAVE A SELECTIVE MEMORY, MORON," ELIJAH SNAPPED. "JUST BECAUSE SHE IS A PRETTY BLONDE NOW DOESN'T MEAN THE WOLF IS GONE." "SILVER LINING, MAN." JAKE LAUGHED. "GOTTA LIVE IN THE MOMENT, AND IN THIS MOMENT, THERE IS ONE FINE-LOOKING GIRL IN MY ARMS."

"THAT'S ENOUGH," JONAH SAID, "WE'RE ALMOST AT THE RENDEZVOUS POINT." THERE IS THE PORTAL. JUST GO."

I TRIED TO MOVE AGAIN, SQUINTING TO SEE MORE OF MY SURROUNDINGS. THE AIR SEEMED TO SPARKLE; COLD GAVE WAY TO WARMTH. JAKE'S ARMS TIGHTENED AROUND ME AS I SLIPPED OFF INTO UNCONSCIOUSNESS AGAIN.

STARING AT CONNER'S PUCKISH SMILE, I KNEW I'D SEEN IT BEFORE, EVEN IF THE MEMORY WAS A BIT FUZZY. HE RETURNED MY GAZE, EYESSPARKLING WITH MISCHIEF. I BALLED MY FIST, GUAGING WHETHER I'D GET THE MOST SATISFACTION OUT OF HITTING HIM IN THE GUT OR JUST A BIT LOWER. IF HE WANTED TO AVOIOD A FIGHT, HE'D NEED TO BITE HIS TONGUE AROUND ME.

MONROE GOT THERE BEFORE I COULD CARRY OUT THE BLOW. "BACK OFF JAKE. SHE COULD USE A LITTLE ADJUSTMENT BEFORE SHE HAS TO DEAL WITH YOUR SENSE OF HUMOR."

"SIR, YES, SIR!" JAKE STOOD AT ATTENTION, BUT HE WAS LAUGHING.

I WAS BACK TO BEING CONFUSED. ELIJAH GRUNTED, STILL EYEING ME WARILY, BUT HE DIDN'T MAKE A MOVE. APPARENTLY, THEY WEREN'T LOOKING FOR A FIGHT. HAVING ENCOUNTERED THESE MEN ONLY WHEN I WAS TRYING TO KILL THEM, I COULDN'T MAKE HEADS OR TAILS OF THEIR STRANGE, CASUAL BANTER. WHO WERE THESE PEOPLE?

"JANE'S EXPECTING US IN TACTICAL," JONAH SAID, NOT QUITE MASKING HIS OWN LAUGH WITH A CLEARING OF HIS THROAT. HE TURNED AWAY AND HEADED DOWN THE HALL. "LET'S GO."

I PRACTICALLY HAD TO TROT TO KEEP UP WITH HIM. I STILL WASN'T COMFORTABLE WITH JAKE AND ELIJAH AT MY BACK. IT TOOK A LOT OF WILL POWER TO KEEP FROM LOOKING OVER MY SHOULDER AT THEM, IF ONLY TO BARE MY TEETH IN WARNING.

THE FARTHER WE WALKED, THE MORE CONFUSED I BECAME. THE HALLWAY CURVED CONSTANTLY; WE PASSED MANY DOORS, BUT NO CORNERS OR TURNS. WHATEVER THIS PLACE WAS, IT SEEMED TO BE CIRCULAR, ALL OF IT FLOODED WITH SUNLIGHT, BRIGHTENING EVERY MINUTE AS MORNING BLOSSOMED INTO DAY. I HAD TO BLINK AGAINST THE LIGHT, WHICH GLIMMERED IN THE AIR. EVEN THE WALLS WERE SPARKLING. TINY VEINS OF MULTI-HUED RAN THROUGH THE MARBLED FLOORS AND WALLS, SLICING THROUGH THE SURFACES IN RIVERS OF COLOR THAT JOINED WITH SUNBEAMS TO FILL THE SPACE WITH GHOSTLY RAINBOWS. THE HYPNOTIC PATTERNS OF LIGHT HELD MY FOCUS, SO WHEN JONAH CAME TO AN ABRUPT STOP, I JUST BARELY AVOIDED SMACKING INTO HIIM.

WE'D REACHED THE POINT WHERE THE CURVING HALLWAY WAS INTERRUPTED BY A BROAD OPEN CHAMBER WITH NEW PATHS THAT LED OFF TO OUR LEFT AND RIGHT. THE PATH TO OUR LEFT, WHICH HEADED OFF INTO WHAT MUST'VE BEEN THE CENTER OF THE BUILDING, WASN'T A HALL, BUT GLASS DOORS THAT OPENED ONTO A BRIDGE OF THE SAME MARBLE. MY EYES FOLLOWED THE CARVED STONE WALKWAY AND I LOST MY BREATH AT WHAT I SAW. THE WALLS DROPPED AWAY TO REVEAL AN IMMENSE COURTYARD BELOW. IT MUST'VE BEEN FIFTY, OR MAYBE EVEN SIXTY FEET TO THE GROUND. THE COURTYARD WAS FILLED WITH... GLASS HOUSES AND GARDENS? THEY LOOKED LIKE GARDENS, BUT THERE WEREN'T ANY GROWING PLANTS. THEN AGAIN IT IS ALMOST WINTER. OR WAS IT? HOW LONG HAD I BEEN HERE?

I LOOKED UP AND SAW THAT UNLIKE THE HALLWAY WE'D FOLLOWED TO THIS POINT, THE COURTYARD OPENED UP TO THE SKY ITSELF. ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE GLASS DOORS, THIN FLAKES OF SNOW DRIFTED LAZILY TO THE DARK EARTH BELOW.

A HAND TOUCHED MY SHOULDER AND I JUMPED. "BUSINESS FIRST." JONAH WAS SMILING. "I PROMISE YOU'LL HAVE A TOUR LATER."

"RIGHT," I SAID, FOLLWING HIM DOWN THE HALL TO OUR RIGHT. A BLUSH BIT INTO MY CHEEKS, AND I'D HOPED I HADN'T LOOKED TO DUMBSTRUCK WHEN I'D BEEN OGLING THE BUILDING.

THIS NEW HALL WAS MUCH WIDER THAN THE ONE WE'D COME FROM, AND UNLIKE THE FIRST HALL THIS ONE WAS STRAIGHT. THERE WERE DOORS ON MY LEFT AND RIGHT AND TWO SOLID ONES DIRECTLY AHEAD OF US. WHEN WE REACHED THEM, I GASPED. CARVED IN EACH TALL SURFACE WAS THE ALCHEMICAL SYMBOL FOR EARTH, THE SAME TRIANGLE THAT HAD MARKED HADES CAVERN ON THE PAGES OF THE WAR OF ALL AGAINST ALL.

"SHE'S DONE HER HOMEWORK," JAKE SAID. " COREY WILL BE THRILLED."