Chapter Thirteen

Vera smirked as she caught the sulking look on Amias's face. For some reason Amias had been unable to locate Kareem, (she assumed it was because he was carrying around lots of iron), and instead he was stuck possessing some heavy-set businessman with a handlebar mustache. If the situation had been less dire, she might have laughed.

However, all her amusement fled as they approached her front door. This was it - her last chance to be free of him. If things didn't go how she planned Vera was pretty sure she wouldn't get away this time.

Amias's hand wrapped around her forearm, Vera cringed and fought the urge to jerk away.

"Remember, you're only here to see your father and butler. As soon as you've seen that they are well you have to uphold your half of the bargain," he reminded her.

She took a deep breath and held it in an effort to keep from saying something insulting. After she felt in control of her anger, she nodded and attempted to extract her arm from his grip, but he refused to let go.

"Fine, but until then I would appreciate some personal space!" she snapped.

He glared at her in response, but didn't try to stop her from jerking her arm away.

As she walked through the door about to call out to her father, Vera noticed the house was dark and quiet, with no sign anyone was home. She immediately turned around to Amias demanding, "Where are they?"

The surprise and anger on his face showed that he obviously had nothing to do with their disappearance. She felt equally relieved and anxious at the same time. If Amias hadn't taken them from the house, then where could they be?

Without warning he turned on her, his eyes as red as blood and fury radiating from every word as he shouted, "Did you have something to do with this? Is that why you made that deal? Because you knew they wouldn't be here when we returned?"

She grinned, shaking her head. "No, but I'm grateful to whoever thought it up."

Amias roared in anger and punched his fist through the wall next to her face, making her jump and cringe away.

Leaning in close to her face he hissed through clenched teeth, "We will find them, and when we do I'm going to make you pay for being so disrespectful."

Vera swallowed hard and tried to put on a brave face. So far things were going her way, but she had to stay sharp and keep alert, as Halsten would say.

Amias seemed to forget all about her request for personal space, and as they left the house he kept a tight grip on her wrist, only allowing her to be about a foot away from him at all times. She tried pulling away, but only got a growl in response.

Occasionally he would stop walking and go completely still. Each time it happened the air around them would appear to shift and glow for a few seconds and Vera assumed he was using magic to try and locate her father and Halsten. If his level of rage was anything to go by, he was repeatedly unsuccessful.

After walking several miles and listening to Amias mutter death threats under his breath, Vera needed a break. Since he had refused to listen to anything she said, Vera merely plopped down on the ground where she had been standing. The momentum from the action caused Amias to stumble and fall face first in the road and she snickered under her breath.

"Vera!" a voice called from her left, drawing her attention away from the fat businessman's bum stuck up in the air.

Her eyes widened in anxiety as looked up and saw Kareem, Halsten, and her father standing at the end of the street.

Amias rose from the ground and brushed off his clothes, looking positively gleeful and arrogant.

"Well, you've seen them," he said. "There they are, all alive and well – even Kareem."

Vera began to panic. This wasn't playing out at all like she had hoped.

"Can I say goodbye?" she asked in a whisper.

He looked at her in disbelief. "And give you an opportunity to escape? I think not."

She shook her head, making her eyes round and blinking up at him innocently. "You have my word, I won't run away. I just want to say goodbye. Please?"

The innocent look almost always got her what she wanted, and it was no different this time because Amias eventually relented and gave an almost imperceptible nod of his head.

"I will allow you to say goodbye, but I will be within earshot, so don't try to make any elaborate plans to escape," he said, staying close behind her as she walked toward them.

"What are you doing here, Vera?" Kareem asked her as she approached. "You're supposed to be in Oman."

She gave him a weak smile and replied, "Sorry, Kareem. I didn't quite make it."

Her father wrapped his arms around her protectively and said, "It doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is that you are alright."

Halsten had yet to say a word, but she saw him eyeing Amias suspiciously.

"What's happened?" Kareem inquired again.

"I made a deal," she told him, squirming as his eyes widened in horror. "To keep you and everyone safe."

Halsten's eyes immediately snapped to hers. "What sort of deal?" he asked.

"Amias gave me his word that he would take me home and prove to me that you and father were still alive and he agreed never to harm or attack anyone else ever again. If he breaks his word our deal is off and he agreed to let me go," she recited, putting emphasis on the points she hoped Halsten would pick up on.

He was quiet for several seconds before saying, "I see."

She certainly hoped he did. Her entire plan revolved around the fact Halsten knew her better than anyone and could probably guess what she was thinking. Well, that and Amias's inability to control himself when he was angry. Her father, on the other hand, was completely clueless. He kept looking between her and Halsten like he expected them to tell him what he had missed.

"So this is him?" Halsten asked, inclining his head toward Amias. "He's possessing this man?"

Vera nodded once, and before she could even blink Halsten had drawn his pistol and fired straight at Amias's chest. The bullet hit him right above his left lung, and Amias sank to his knees in shock and pain. Just as the body hit the ground Vera noticed the air shifting and glowing indicating he was doing magic again.

"He isn't dead," she whispered to them. "Be prepared for anything."

Suddenly she was engulfed in darkness so black and suffocating it felt like she had been buried alive. She could hear screams of people around her, but couldn't make a move to help them. The sound of bones being broken and pistol shots being fired made her feel sick.

Her plan had worked, but it had worked too well. Although Amias had broken his word and she was now free, Vera had to deal with the dread of knowing the people she cared about could be hurt and the guilt of causing it.

...

This chapter is unedited and quite a bit rough. I plan to go back and fix some things later, but I thought I would post it for you guys anyway. Please comment and vote if you get a minute! I appreciate the feedback.