Post 4: Kidnapped

The air around her was cold. Crisp wind tendrils wrapped around her arms and chilled her to the bone. For some reason, it felt like winter time. Despite it being New York, she was sure it would be warm for a May night. Reaching blinding to pull the covers of the bed up over her bare shoulders, Adrian felt a shock of pain as the muscles of her right wrist stretched above her head. Opening her eyes would probably be a bad idea. She’d thought that last night was a dream and the only explanation for lying in a bed having both of her arms tied above her head is that it wasn’t. She knew what she’d find. She’d probably open her eyes to a dark and gloomy room, probably in someone’s basement. It actually smelled clean, though. At the feel of it, the bed was really comfortable but it could also just be worn. The walls would be empty and the furniture scarce. She’d seen enough of Criminal Minds to know when someone’s been kidnapped.


Opening her eyes anyway, Adrian gasped at the vast contrast the room had to her thoughts. High ceilings stretched gloriously to the sky. The walls were covered in what looked like 19th century tapestry. The dark colors reminded her of strength and masculinity. Although the room was neat it looked quite lived in. A man’s light brown jacket hung over the back of one claw footed chair and a pair of worn gym shoes sat neatly underneath it. Adrian couldn’t see any other sign that a man lived there, or anyone for that matter. The drawers were pushed in, their tops clean of any toiletries. The closet, she assumed it was a closet, was cracked open but from where she lay, she couldn’t tell if there were clothes hanging inside. Pushing at the ties on her wrist, Adrian pulled herself up in the bed just moments before realizing she was naked beneath the covers; it was no wonder she’d been freezing in her sleep. Confusion covered her. Did they mean to keep her as a sex slave?
“I will not be a sex slave to anyone.” Adrian huffed as she tried to shimmy back under the covers.


“No one said you were going to be.” A deep voice spoke from across the room. A handsome dark haired man sat in the chair that held the brown jacket.


“How? I just looked over there and I didn’t see you!” Adrian gasped.
“You didn’t see me because I told your mind you couldn’t. It’s one of my abilities.” The man stood and came over to the edge of the bed. Adrian flinched as he grabbed the sheet. She relaxed slowly as she realized he was just pulling it up over her breast to tuck it beneath her arms, covering her.


“You wouldn’t have to do that if you would just untie me and if you gave me my clothes.” Adrian’s voice sounded strong but she wanted to plead with the man to let her go. “And I don’t mean make me believe that I’ve been let go.” Hearing her words the man laughed at her.


“You catch on quick, Adrian. Don’t be afraid. We actually just want to protect ourselves, from you.” He sat on the edge of the bed where her feet were. She hadn’t noticed until he sat there that her feet had been bound together, perhaps to let her sleep more comfortably. “What you did to our transporter was…something none of us had ever experienced before.” He shook his head as he leaned forward to tuck the covers in around her legs. “You look cold.”


“Protection from me? What do you mean your transporter?” Adrian felt her body began to relax around the man. He seemed to be harmless but she wasn’t sure why. The events of the night before came crashing to her; the gaps in her memory startled her. She gasped aloud, startling him. “How did I get here?”


“Vectio transported you. You put Hunter to sleep and we weren’t sure if you’d poisoned him or what not so we had you transported to the dungeon. Waited for you to wake up, to tell us what you did.” The man stood up off the bed, remembering she couldn’t be trusted.


“I understand what you’re saying but at the same time I don’t. Is this your dungeon?”


“No. Tristan had him transport you up here when we returned to the safe house. He figured until we decided exactly how dangerous you are we’ll bring you up here, he said something about innocent until proven guilty.” His face scrunched as he said the last part. It was a human law, an American law that he didn’t quite agree with. If it were up to him, it’d be ‘guilty until proven innocent’ because he’d come to realize, being a warrior, they often were guilty anyway.


“Guilty of what? And why am I naked?” Adrian’s voice became strained as she tried to ignore the mention of Hunter, the man who tried to protect her the night before, she supposed. He’d made her feel weird things inside and she wasn’t at all sure why.


“Vectio can transport any one and anything to anyplace, it’s his ability. Well, he can transport almost everything. For some reason when he transported you here from the dungeon, your clothes didn’t come with you. I wonder why that is?” The man looked genuinely perplexed by the situation but shook his head as if it didn’t matter. “I’m positive that when he appeared here and realized you were naked he bundled you up in the sheets and tied you to the bed. He doesn’t talk much, that one, but for some reason he said more words to you, last night, than he’s said to all of us this past month.” The man laughed and sat back down on the bed.


“Who are you?” Adrian titled her head to the side as she’d listened to him ramble on. He seemed comfortable in his own skin with a really laid back personality. If she wasn’t tied to the bed and obviously a prisoner, she’d have thought he would make a great friend. His smile was inviting but on the other hand it set off a warning in her head. If he could convince her that she hadn’t seen him sitting in the chair, what else was he lying to her about? She took a quick look around the room wondering if there was anyone else standing there with them.


“My name is Mendax Andana, some call me Storyteller.” He smiled at her as her eyebrows drew together. “Basically, I’m a liar, it’s my ability, and I make up stories. Wordless stories. I can make you believe anything I want, make you see anything.” His face suddenly grew serious. “You can trust this as you see it, though. Here, in this room, I have left everything as it was except for the stunt earlier, when you didn’t notice me.” He turned to go after glancing at his watch and seeing the time. He had some business to take care of with Tristan and as interesting as it was to talk to the pretty prisoner, he had to leave. Just as he stepped towards the door he turned back to her, a stoic look covering his face.


“I am surprised you haven’t really asked me anything about the man you put to sleep.” Mendax was sure to tread carefully.
“Is he alright?” She spoke quietly, trying to keep the concern out of her voice. The man had made her melt on the inside, she felt towards him in a way she’d never felt towards any man. Just thinking of him changed her view on being kidnapped, maybe it wasn’t so bad. How this was, she couldn’t say but she felt a small amount of joy inside just thinking of his name and knowing he might be in this very house.


“Yes, he’s fine. Do you know what you did to him? How you did it? And the pain that you caused Vectio, how did you do that?” Her next words would be crucial. He was the storyteller and could tell when being lied to. He could almost sense the lie in his blood, see it in the eyes or even smell it in the words. Her next words would decide everything. They would be important as to tell them the next steps they were to take. He didn’t want to hurt her, especially since she was Hunter’s mate but he would to protect his team.


“No. I swear I have never done that before. I wouldn’t ever hurt anyone. Especially…” Hunter. His name hung at the end of the sentence even though she didn’t speak it. Her lips closed firmly and she averted her eyes. Mendax knew she felt the connection to Hunter just as he did to her and that it confused her just as Hunter was confused. What he didn’t know was that if she didn’t know exactly how she welded those powers, how did she get them?



"The only way to be a writer is to write, write and write. The only way...is to write." -Irma Jemison