"There is a wide, yawning black infinity. In every direction, the extension is endless; the sensation of depth is overwhelming. And the darkness is immortal. Where light exists, it is pure, blazing, fierce; but light exists almost nowhere, and the blackness itself is also pure and blazing and fierce."
Carl Sagan
Davros didn't wake up until the sun was well into it's journey across the sky. He pushed the blanket off his legs and looked around for Em. She wasn't curled up in the bed. He saw that the washroom door was closed and waited a few minutes, sitting on the edge of the bed stretching his neck by tilting his head in several directions. When she didn't come out after five minutes he got up to knock on the door.
There was no answer so he went inside. She wasn't there. His eyes narrowed as he looked around. Not immediately seeing anything suspicious he brushed his teeth to get rid of the cotton mouth he'd woken up with, then took a quick shower, and pulled shorts and a t-shirt from the dresser. It was late morning, Em was probably in the lower level.
After getting dressed he left his room to make his way down the hall. He stopped at Em's door, there was no answer when he knocked. She wasn't inside when he opened the door to check. His head tilted slightly as he took in the state of the room. At first glance nothing appeared out of place really. But the doors to the armoire were slightly ajar and the bottom drawer in the dresser was open an inch.
He turned away to go down stairs. James was sitting at the island, a steaming cup of coffee sitting near his hand as he flipped through a magazine. He looked up as Davros entered the room.
"Has Em been done for breakfast?" Davros asked as he went to the coffee maker to pour himself a cup.
"No sir," James said as he got up from his seat. "I haven't seen her."
"At all?" Davros lifted the mug to his lips and took a mouthful of bitter black coffee.
"No sir. I assumed she was sleeping late." Davros nodded slightly then set the mug down. "Would you like breakfast?" James made to move to the fridge but Davros was already on his way out the door.
Davros hurried down the stairs to the lower level. No music blasted from the gym, all the rooms were dark. He strode past the gym toward the storerooms, a sinking feeling in his stomach. The door to the room where he'd been keeping Balthazar banged against the wall as he entered. The chair was empty, the chain that had secured the vampire was in a pile next to it. Davros stepped closer with a growl. There were drops of dried blood scattered around the space in front of the chair. Of course she would have fed him.
He turned away and ran back upstairs. His runners squealed against the stone tiles of the foyer as he came to a stop. His head swivelled as he looked around. They wouldn't have gone through the front door. He took off toward the kitchen, passed that doorway, and entered the mud room.
The beast roared as it caught Balthazar's scent near the door. Davros yanked the door open and stepped out into the sunshine. The scents mingled together in the doorway then veered off across the lawn. He followed the trail to the trees, through them to the fence. He leapt over the barrier and landed in a crouch. His hands yanked his clothes off to pile them next to a fence post as the beast pushed it's way to the surface. Within seconds he was in his wolf form, chasing the trail up to the peak of the mountain and then down the other side. The descent took him a quarter of the time it had taken the couple.
He skidded to a stop just before entering the yard at the bottom of the valley. There was a man on the porch of the cottage. He was on a cell phone speaking with a frustrated tone.
"Well of course the keys were in it. Everyone does that." He was quiet for a minute. "How the hell was I supposed to know last night would be the one time a stranger was going to wander into my yard." He let out an angry sigh while running his free hand through his curly white hair.
Davros prowled along the edge of the trees till he was out of the man's sight line then made his way around the house. The man's voice got muffled by the walls as he went inside. Davros padded over to the lone vehicle next to the little house, his nose skimming the ground.
Em and Balthazar had stolen that man's vehicle. The wolf bared his teeth in the semblance of a human smile. She had spirit but all the spirit in the world would not save her from the beast.
The wolf inched toward the front of the house and, after not seeing the man, padded toward the road at the end of the driveway. He followed Balthazar's scent as it turned onto the road, heading west. After a few feet he stopped and turned back to the trees.
The man looked out the window just then and watched a massive grey wolf streak across his yard and leap into the trees. He kept his eyes on the spot it had vanished into for a second then turned to pull a shotgun down from a rack over the fireplace. He felt a little more comfortable after it was set down next to the front door.
Davros was already a quarter of the way up the mountain by the time the man had put his weapon in place. The wolf's body made the climb easily, dodging fallen trees, swerving around bushes, the beast's fury giving it an added boost of speed.
When he reached the fence to his property he skidded into it, banging against the wood slats sideways before coming to a complete stop. He groaned as he shifted back into his vampire form. Once it was complete he yanked his clothes on and reached into the pocket of his shorts to pull out his phone. Crimson answered on the second ring.
"They're gone," Davros growled.
Crimson was silent for a moment. Davros surmised he was swallowing a laugh. In the background a man pleaded with Crimson to let him go. Crimson pulled the phone away and yelled, "Shut up. You can see I'm busy can't you?" The pleading faded into loud sobbing. "Let me finish up here and I'll be back."
"No," Davros said. He paused as he leapt over the fence. "Go to her place."
"You think they'll go back there?"
"Unlikely. Compulsion will only get them so far and with his contacts burned by his fuck up with the queen they'll need help from another source." He strode out of the trees. "She must have someone she'd go to."
"I'll find out everything there is to know about your little toy." There was a wet snap in the background. "Christ sakes, shut up!" The man wailed for a second then it quieted into a whimper. Davros smiled. He knew that in spite of his bluster his brother enjoyed his work. "I'll call you when I get there." The line disconnected.
The beast settled back for the moment. She may have escaped for now but Balthazar was no match for Crimson and with Davros joining the hunt they had no chance what so ever. He chuckled as he entered the house. "You can run and you can hide but we will find you."
YOU ARE READING
Devil Mine (Walk Through Shadows Book Two)
Fantasy"You're uncomfortable." "For being paid for sex?" She looked up at him. "Why would that make me uncomfortable?" "The money is for the time you spent on your hair, makeup, and then posing. Not for the rest of it." He took her hand and put the envelop...
