Rada: Between Heaven and Hell, #2

Chapter One

Moxie adjusted the visor as the sun came in at a different angle. She was keeping an eye on the blue car that stayed behind two others. They, her, and the other cars were all on the highway, but the other car never passed hers. Sometimes it was far enough away that she could only catch a glimpse of it, but it was following her. Why? Because her father died several weeks ago. That meant no one had anything they could hold over her head. If she were smart enough, fast enough, she’d be free. The person or people following her didn’t want that to happen.

She dreamed of freedom from the moment she realized she and her father were slaves. She wasn’t treated too badly initially, mainly because she didn’t know the men in the room holding guns were there to kill her if her father refused to do as ordered.

When she got older, became more aware, they were moved out of their nice house to a monitored place. That’s when she learned somebody had to pay the price. If her dad said no, then she was beaten and threatened with rape. He learned quickly, not wanting to put her life in danger. The physical beatings stopped, but the mental torture ramped up. She never told him about that. He was doing the best he could to make her life easy, and she did the same for him.

Now he was gone. Wrong place, wrong time, or so the cops said. She didn’t believe it. Her father was still great at what he did. It was a set-up; the evil that controlled him wanted to move onto a younger, more lethal model, her.

Her dad taught her everything he knew about putting a bullet in a person’s brain. ‘Always go for the kill shot, Baby, or don’t pick up a gun.’ Yeah, she learned from the best. She also learned to endure mental torture from the best. Most of the time, physical agony stopped but not mental torture. It was always there banging at the back and even the front of your mind, demanding to be let in. It haunted you even when you were laughing with friends. Not that she knew what having friends was like.  It would send you to your room paranoid that someone or something was out to get you.

Unfortunately, her paranoia was real. There were people and things out to get her. One of them was in the car that was still following her.

It was time to do what she did best. She pulled over into the empty lane looking for the next exit. When she found it, she saw a hill the was backed up by cars. She merged onto it, knowing her stalkers would follow. She drove until a thicket of trees appeared on the right side of the road. She pulled over, leaving the emergency blinking lights on before she got out. There was a black case in her hand. She never left home without it.

The trees were beckoning to her. She slid between them, doing her best not to disturb any of the leaves. When she found a sturdy tree she could climb, she took the time to assemble her custom-made VSS vintorez high-powered rifle with the built-in silencer before climbing the tree. She might hate the people who tried to control her, but they provided pretty and expensive toys for her to play with. This was one of her favorites. The range wasn’t as long as she liked, but she had always been able to compensate for that. She had a pistol strapped to her waist, too, just for emergency use.

She laid flat on the branch, trying to blend in with her surroundings. Come to mama, she sent out her mental distress call. Two men came crashing through the woods. She almost wanted to laugh. Hadn’t anyone taught them to be stealthy? No, of course not. They believed that she was owned heart and soul. There was no need to be quiet. She would come like a dog when called kneeling at her master’s feet demanding a head rub or a treat.

In all fairness to them, they were almost right. While her father lived, she toed the line. They said beg, and she did. When the master said present, she did. When he said suck my cock and enjoy it, she did. Okay, she didn’t enjoy it, but she was good at faking it. Why? Because her dad’s life depended on it. She was thirty-one years old and had lived in hell since she was five. When she got the message her father was dead, she hadn’t run. She fell to her knees and lost her shit. Then she buried him. After that, everyone was watching her, waiting for her to make a break for it. She didn’t. Grief was a powerful emotion, and it took time to work through it.

Finally, her father’s message, the one he would whisper to her at night as a child surfaced. ‘When you get a chance, you run and keep running. They don’t want your life; they want your soul.’ She never knew if he sold his to keep her safe, but hers wasn’t up for grabs.

They were getting closer; she looked through the scope. When she sighted the first one, she pulled the trigger. There was no remorse or second-guessing. The second one screamed and ducked. She waited patiently for him to reemerge. She could wing him, but she wanted a kill shot. Leaving anyone alive to report on where she was or what direction she was heading was nothing but a death wish.

He was much quieter now as he came through the underbrush, but she still caught the small noises he made. A flash of his shirt alerted her to how close he was. She flung her rifle over her shoulder and shimmied up the tree wanting a better vantage point. Had he realized she was up high when she shot his companion? He didn’t seem to be looking at the tree line, but she wouldn’t put anything past him. Quickly she changed her bullets, not believing for a moment her stalker was human.

When he came into view, he was frothing at the mouth, with wickedly sharp teeth showing. There was nothing human in the eyes that searched for her. When he looked up, she almost froze. Red eyes rimmed in black caught hers. They tried to mesmerize her. She knew that look. He was commanding her to come to him. They promised pain that he was more than able to provide. Her insides melted along with her will. She wanted to give up, to allow her master, the one who controlled her, owned her, to call her to heel.

She breathed through her desire to capitulate even as he let out a high pitch sound that drilled into her ears and festered inside her brain. She needed to take the shot before she couldn’t resist any longer. With shaky hands, she pulled the trigger. Her bullet was off trajectory. It was going to miss; she could see it like it already played out. She coached the bullet to change course with a strength of will she didn’t consciously know she possessed.

It jerked, slowing down, not giving her the velocity she needed before coming to land in his neck. She wanted a headshot. He roared, but she already sent a second bullet at him. This time her hands weren’t shaking. She hit him dead center before almost falling out of the tree as she climbed down.

Her hands were shaking again. It was taking too long to tear down her rifle and pack it away. When you killed something that wasn’t human, there was no guarantee it would stay dead. She took the long way around the two dead men to make it back to her car.

Once inside, she merged into traffic, looking for the first detour she could take that would get her far away from where she was. She traveled for several hours before she saw it. There was a small dirt road that seemed to break off from the main highway.

The small sign read welcome to Between Heaven and Hell population three thousand three hundred and fifty-four.

She smiled; they would never look for her in such a small place. She never saw the sign change to read three thousand three hundred and fifty-five.

_____

Rada and Asa sat on the top steps outside their house as Puck, the cat that wasn’t a cat, paced the sidewalk in front of them. Until recently, they had both been stuck in their hell beast form along with Lael, their other brother. The curse that kept them from changing into humanoid form seemed to temporarily be thwarted.

I don’t like it.

Rada didn’t reply. Asa was the oldest and didn’t seem to like much. Although he could have agreed with him. The way Puck was stalking the ground in front of the steps sent a shiver down his back. Things had been silent since Rose, the mate of their youngest brother, Lael, had defeated the evil she brought their way. Not that evil wasn’t already coming for them. That’s why Rose fit right in. It just got here a little sooner than they anticipated.

He’s just a cat. The words almost got stuck in his throat as he said them. The look Asa threw his way was enough to make him laugh. Yeah, Puck was so much more than a cat. They owed him one.

They both watched as Puck walked around in circles before flopping to the ground in the sun; he went to sleep. A sleeping Puck made Rada feel much better.

What do you think? Rada asked his brother. His job was not speaking cat.

Someone is coming.

Someone or something? The last time someone had come, it was Rose. That worked out for his brother since he was now mated to her. What would happen if they returned to their hell beast form and couldn’t shift anymore? What would happen if their town became one with the Mist again, losing all contact with the earthly plane? What would happen to Lael and Rose? Rada didn’t know, and selfishly he was glad. To lose touch with the other half of your soul sounded like a fate worse than death.

He was also a little jealous. The way Lael took care of his mate. The look in her eyes when she thought no one was watching her. He never believed and still didn’t believe a female could care that way for him. He was right where he was meant to be, trapped within the borders of their small town. Love and freedom were never meant to be his.

Someone, Asa said, answering his earlier question. Do we have a room?

We do. He had seen it earlier. Silas, their mage, took care of the house. Which meant that parts of the house took care of itself. A suite that was normally closed opened this morning. He should have taken that as a sign.

Asa nodded; someone was coming.

Rada fought the need to get up and walk away. They were obviously the welcoming committee without realizing it. With them both being on the steps, unable to leave, he wasn’t worried that a female was coming. That allowed the tension to melt from his shoulders.

One male had invaded their small town; he was not as bad as they thought he would be. Were they going to get another warrior to help them fight against the evil? If that happened, maybe they could defeat the curse, never having to meld with the Mist again.

It could happen even if he didn’t believe it would.

Chapter Two

Moxie drove through what looked like miles of land that could be used to pasture animals, but there weren’t any around. Then she hit the woods. They were made of tall trees that seemed to repel the sunlight. When the trees gave way and the town appeared, all she could do was stop on the edge with her car idling while she stared in shock. It was like the past met the present and melded together to make the future. Everything from grass huts to modern buildings to futuristic buildings looking like it was made from crystal stretched as far as she could see.

None of it made sense, and yet together, it was in perfect symmetry. This really was someplace Between Heaven and Hell. She cruised down the mostly empty streets. Where was everyone? A woman was standing on the sidewalk. She slowed down to ask her some questions. When Moxie pulled close, the woman walked away, leaving behind a young boy.

I’ve been waiting for you. He smiled, showing the gap in his teeth.

She didn’t say anything. How was she supposed to respond to such a ridiculous statement from a child?

The boy shook his head in disgust then gave her another bright smile before speaking. I have to continually remind myself that humans are slower to understand.

Her mouth was open; the worry about a fly thinking it was a nice dark place to hide was real.

Close your mouth. The things around here are worse than flies; you don’t want to invite them in.

Her mouth closed so fast her teeth rattled.

You need to go to the house of the beast. They will be waiting for you.

Before she could form a question, the boy was back with his mother. She put the car in drive, wondering how she would find the house of the beast. After what felt like lots of wrong turns, she sat facing a grand house. The nicest one she had seen, modern but somehow nicer than the futuristic ones along the way. It could have been an old mansion or a fancy bed and breakfast. Whatever it was, she liked the looks of it.

On either side of the wide stairs was a statue of a beast. Her eyes slid off one, but the other grabbed hold of her, not letting go. She thought she saw it move. Taking the heels of both hands, she rubbed her eyes. The statue was staring at her holding her in thrall. There was no way for her to open the car door. Had she even put it in park? When the eyes blinked for a minute, she could get a