Alek

I don't remember the tranquilizer dart hitting me. By the time it did, I was too numb realize it, the reality of what was transpiring forcing me to rush through the stages of grief until dazed acceptance set in.

And then... an unknown length of time passed, during which, Flora and I were transported to where we both sat now, tied with coarse rope to metal chairs in what looked to be a small office in an older building—my guess was a residence rather than an office building. An oak desk sat in front of our chairs, backed by a towering, overcrowded shelf, dusty books piled haphazardly and jutting out at angles that suggested a strong breeze might be all it would take to knock them to the floor. A curtainless window to my right let in gentle early morning light.

Straining my neck in the opposite direction, I glimpsed an old couch with freighted grey fabric, and a closed door to its side.

"You're up, finally." Flora said in a scratchy voice. "I kept trying to wake you but not even calling you a fucking asshole over and over again did the trick."

"I got hit with a tranquilizer powerful enough to drop a werewolf," I said. "Just like you. One doesn't bounce back from that easily. Or are you going to try to convince me you aren't experiencing the worst hangover of your life." My head throbbed like someone was hitting it with a mallet every two seconds. I struggled to keep my eyes open and the bile in my throat down.

Flora groaned. "I wouldn't wish this headache on my worst enemy. Not even you." She cleared her voice. "Did you see what happened to Verity?"

"She got hit too. I passed out soon after she did." I craned my neck again, one way and then the other, hoping I'd spot a sign of her. "I don't know where she is but she's not here."

"I know," Flora said before bursting into tears. "Do you think they... what would they have done with her?"

Several possibilities ran through my mind, none of which I cared to share. "First things first." I twisted my wrists, trying to loosen the binds. "We find a way to free ourselves, get out of here, and then we can figure out where Verity was taken."

"How are we going to accomplish any of that?"

I had a few tricks up my sleeve from my years of treasure hunt adventuring, but I was no Houdini. "This is going to take me a few minutes."

A few minutes ended up being longer than we had. Not thirty seconds later, wrists still bound, a click of a bolt being turned, and the creek of an opening door dashed my hopes of having the use of my arms before someone entered the room.

Norvin marched in, taking a seat on the opposite side of the desk, serving up a smile with a generous side of smugness.

"Not this guy," Flora mumbled, though I don't know who else she expected it to be.

"Where's Verity?" I asked him.

"Not here," he answered. "Though if she was, I doubt she'd want to see you anyways."

"What's that supposed to mean," asked Flora. "Is there a new reason she should be mad at you, Alek?"

"No. It's just more of his mind games," I answered her.

"Games? I suppose you could say that." Norvin leaned back in his chair. "You always were inclined towards solving puzzles. I hope you enjoyed the one that brought you here."

"We hated it," Flora spat at him.

"Maybe you did," he said. "Alek, on the other hand, never could resist a good mystery. I expect that's why he was so drawn to Verity. Well, that and the obvious."

Anger welled up. "I'm going to repeat my question, Norvin. And I expect a straight answer—no games, no puzzles, and no bullshit. Where is Verity?"

"You aren't asking the correct question if you want a direct, simple answer, kid. The question should be, 'is the world safe from Verity now?' The answer, you might be interested to hear, is 'yes and you're welcome.'"

I stood up, forgetting I was still tied to the chair. Stumbling forward, I used the chair's weight to propel myself at Norvin, who calmly pushed himself out of my reach. He pressed a button on the side of the desk and two burly men I'd never seen before entered the room. They shoved me and my chair down and held me in place.

"What are you doing, Alek? You are smarter than this," he said. "You've given me what I wanted and honestly, I don't see why you're make a fuss about it. You're going to hurt yourself for no good reason."

"What did you do to her, Norvin?"

"Who's playing games now? Why pretend you didn't know all of this was going to happen? You brought her to me, didn't you?"

"Your circus werewolves and your Aurum Venari minions did that themselves, actually," Flora said. "He's a jerk, but he's not that much of a jerk."

Norvin chuckled. "You know, Miss Marquez, I expected you to be a lot less gullible, given who your mother is. Alek knew exactly what he was doing."

Flora scoffed. "He's as upset about this as I am. Clearly, he didn't know you intended to kidnap all of us."

"Is he truly as upset?" Norvin leaned in, one eyebrow raised. "And, for that matter, why are you? Didn't Alek explain to you what the deal was?"

Flora sucked in air like it was the last breath she'd ever be allowed to make. "No, he did not." She turned to me. "What deal is he talking about? And don't you dare lie to me!"

"I'm the deal." Flora's mom walked into the room. I knew this was coming, but seeing her looking healthy and well rested, and without restraints still shocked me.

"Mom?"

Val bent over Flora's chair to give her an awkward hug. "Is this really necessary Norvin?" She pointed to our bound wrists.

"I suppose not. Cut them loose if you want." Norvin stood up and walked towards the door, motioning his guards to follow him. "I'm not one for emotional reunions, so I'll leave you to it."

Val opened up a pocket knife and cut through the rope tying her daughter to the chair. Once free, Flora embraced her mother again. "Are you saying Alek agreed to exchange you for Verity?"

"That's what I was told."

She slid the knife in between my wrists and a few seconds later, I was free, just in time to turn around and see Flora's horrified face.

"Alek, I'm glad to have my mom back, but... how could you?"

"Don't look at me like that. There's more going on here than you know."

"Enlighten me, then." Flora stomped her foot. "Was there truly no other way? You really had to betray Verity—someone who loves you, by the way, and you were out of all other options?"

Someone who loves you.

I swallowed hard. This was not the time to take in the significance of those words.

"Like I said, there's more to the story, and if you could—"

"No," she raised a hand, palm towards me. "I don't want to hear it. It's not possible that Verity was the price that had to be paid for my mom's freedom."

"Freedom?" Val cocked her head. Her brown eyes searched her daughters. "Sweetie, here's what I need you to understand. It's going to be hard to accept, as it was for me at one time. But hopefully, you will eventually. I work for Norvin. I've worked for him—for Aurum Venari, ever since you were little. And despite what you may have assumed, no one forced me to come here. I've always been free."

____

Author's Note: So... it doesn't look like Flora's mom was Norvin's prisoner, does it. What's the story there? How is she involved? 

And WHERE IS VERITY?

This story is not over yet, but we are well into the final act. If you are interested in reading another of my works, I'm participating in Open Novella Contest this year. Check out my new thriller, 18.98.