Bound to Shadows (Riley Jenson Guardian 8)

"On it. " I spun around and headed back into the house. The kitchen was at the back, and it was huge. But the counters were full of crap and the sink was littered with unwashed dishes. Obviously, neither of them was worried about mice or ants, because there were crumbs all over the floor and ants were currently enjoying the leftovers on several plates.

All of which was just more evidence they didn't intend to be here long, because surely any lengthy stay would have required a bit of hygiene. The wolf, at least, would have been driven to distraction by the smell - it was bad enough already.

Although that could have just been the aroma of cabbage and boiling meat that was coming from the pot on the stove.

Nose twitching, I hunted around for keys but failed to find anything except stacks of newspapers and betting slips. I guess they had to do something to fill up the days - and they couldn't harass Lyndal twenty-four seven if they wanted to keep her alive.

I turned around and walked back up the stairs. The first room was a bedroom that had been converted into a living area. There was a TV in one corner, several lounge chairs, and a coffee table set against the side walls. To the left of the door was a bank of wires and monitors.

I stepped inside. Four monitors showed slowly panning views of the sides of the house and the immediate surrounds. One was fixed on the front gate, another swept the rear garden, a third appeared to be scanning a bathroom, and the last one was in a bedroom.

I watched the pan of the camera. Saw the bed, the TV, and the bucket, and felt fury sweep through me. The bastards hadn't even offered her decent toilet facilities. I should have smacked that vampire a little bit harder.

The camera finally panned around far enough to reveal Lyndal. She was standing near the window, her face pressed up against the barred glass, as if desperate to see around the corner of the house and figure out what was going on. She was naked, her skin bruised but otherwise clean, meaning that while they'd not given her proper toilet facilities, they'd at least allowed her to shower. It didn't ease the anger burning through me, though.

I spun around and headed into the next room. This one was set up as a bedroom, with two single beds and a battered pine coffee table squeezed in between them. On this sat wallets, coins, cash, and keys - two sets of car keys and another ring holding five other keys. I swept them up, spun around, and ran for the padlocked room.

"Lyndal," I said as I sorted through the keys trying to find the right one. "It's Riley Jenson from the Directorate. I'm here to rescue you. "

One of the keys finally slipped into the lock and it snapped open. I unlatched the door and pressed it open. A bucket came flying at me, its stinking contents splattering through the air.

"Whoa," I said, jumping out of the way. "Easy, Lyndal. I really am here to rescue you. "

"Riley Jenson is up in Dunedan, not down here in Melbourne. "

So the men had told her what Evin was doing and who he was minding - which was only more evidence to the fact that they never intended for any of us to live.

She stepped into my line of sight, her fists clenched and fury etching her features. Her face was unmarked, green eyes spitting fire, but her limbs were as bruised as her back and there were ugly welts around her wrists and ankles. She'd been tied with silver more than once.

Even her gently rounded belly had bruises, and for the second time in a matter of minutes, I wished I'd hit the vampire harder.

"What fucking game are you lot playing now?" she added furiously.

"No game, I promise you. " I reached into my pocket and

withdrew the phone. "You can ring Evin, if you like. "

I pressed the appropriate number, made sure it was ringing, then tossed her the phone. Her expression was still a mix of defiance and disbelief, but she nevertheless held the phone to her ear and waited.

Evin answered, and her face just about crumbled. "Oh god," she said, "It is you. "

I don't know what Evin said, because it didn't exactly sound coherent from where I was standing. Quinn, we need to get these two back together ASAP. Any chance of your plane coming to the rescue again?

I'll have to get another pilot, but yeah, we can do it.

Fantastic. I stepped over the puddle of urine and fecal matter and into the room.

Lyndal's gaze jumped to mine and she backed away a step. "What does she look like?"

I paused, waiting. Her gaze slipped down my body, and the tension riding her eased. She closed her eyes briefly and said, "Yeah, it's her. "

I held out a hand. She hesitated, then handed me the phone. "Evin - "

I didn't get any further, because he was all but crying "Thank you, thank you, thank you" over and over.

"Evin," I said sharply, even though my heart ached for him. "We've got to go. You need to listen. "

He took a deep, shuddering breath. "Okay. "