“No matter what happens, you do not strike, do you understand me?” Lucian asked in a low, terse voice.
Ronan eyed him before giving a single, swift nod.
Lucian paused in front of the door, ears straining for any hint of movement behind it. If it was a proper cell, it would have bars instead of wood, but this room was never intended to be anything more than a bedroom.
His eyes dropped to the twisted mound of metal that had once been the doorknob. It was the best he could do without a lock. Holding his hand just above it, he released his power only long enough to transform it back.
If Ronan was impressed by the act, he gave no indication of it.
Eyes closing briefly, Lucian sucked in a final breath. If he believed in the Mother, he might ask her for strength, but he’d lived too long, and seen too many die in the name of a god or goddess that cared nothing of them. Instead, he sent his fervent prayer to the one person he did believe in.
Her.
Fight as long as you can, fledgling. I won’t give up until one or both of us is dead, and I have no intention of dying. You know I’m a stubborn bastard. Not even this will keep me from you now that I have found you. Don’t give up on me.
Eyes blazing with bronze fire, Lucian opened the door. He scanned the room, eyebrows knitting together in confusion when he didn’t immediately see her. Surprise had his power flaring out. Had she managed to escape? He moved further into the room, eyes sweeping the ground for a sign of her.
His mistake.
He never should have let his guard down.
An inhuman shriek echoed around the mostly empty room as a feral creature launched herself at him. Caught unaware, Lucian staggered to the side as he caught the weight and tried to pry it off of him.
“Miss me, Guardian?” she crooned, licking up the side of his face before trying to sink her teeth into his neck.
Lucian jerked his head back, and shoved her face away from his, holding it there. “Can’t say that I have,” he lied.
Behind him, Ronan gasped in shock. “Effie? Sweet Mother have mercy.”
“Not the time for praying, Shield.”
“H-how?” Ronan stuttered.
“Not . . . the . . . time . . .,” Lucian grunted as the thrashing creature in his arms started landing kicks that narrowly missed his groin. “A little help, please?”
Stunned, Ronan shuffled into the room, his hands stretched out before him like he wasn’t sure what to do with them.
“Grab her, damnit,” Lucian ordered over his shoulder, still attempting to fully dislodge himself from Effie’s hold while also not causing more physical harm than necessary.
Had it been any other creature, he would have tossed it against the far wall and dismembered it by now. But this was still Effie. Or at least he had to believe it was. That required a level of finesse he rarely, if ever, employed during battle. Usually he opted for a kill first, ask questions later model.
“Don’t let her bite you,” Lucian warned as Ronan moved into position behind her.
Ronan froze when the creature met his eyes.
“What’s wrong? Don’t you love me anymore?”
A visible shudder worked itself down Ronan’s body at her guttural rasp.
“Ronan. Get your shit together.”
Steeling his shoulders, Ronan’s eyes slid to look away from Effie’s monstrous visage. “What do you want me to do?”
“We need to immobilize her for travel. That will require bindings.”
Effie let out a savage cry at his words, trying to twist her head to snap at his fingers.
Lucian spoke over her, giving her face another shove to avoid her snapping teeth. “I need you to help hold her still while I work. We’ll start with her mouth since it’s the most dangerous.”
Effie smiled then, a crazed sort of grin that had his stomach dropping to his feet. He felt her slipping further away from him as he watched, the madness overtaking her piece by piece. Soon there would be nothing left to save.
“I thought you loved my mouth, Guardian.”
He could hardly bear to look at her. Although Effie had always been fierce, the being before him was a separate thing entirely. A rabid savage more akin to a wild animal than a human woman. Her face had already taken on a gaunt cast, her cheekbones more pronounced than they’d been even the night prior. Even her body, which had always been softened with feminine curves, had started to change. The lines in her eyes slithered obscenely, and Lucian shuddered.
“Shut up,” he snarled, hating himself for letting the monster get to him even as the words left his mouth. He was stronger than this.
Effie raked her nails down his arms, drawing blood. She closed her eyes on a deep inhale and let out a groan that sounded entirely too sexual in its pleasure. “Delicious,” she rasped.
Ronan moved fast, seizing Effie by the arms and yanking them back. One hand easily held both wrists in its grasp. He banded his other arm about her waist and pulled her free from Lucian’s hold. The move might not have worked if she wasn’t so distracted by the scent of Lucian’s blood.
“Go. I’ve got her.”
Lucian cast his eyes around the room, searching for the weathered blanket he’d seen when he’d been here last. He found the dirty garment crumpled on the floor, and held out a hand, using his power to weave it into something new.
In less time than it took to draw a breath, Lucian lifted heavy chains from the ground. In his other hand, he held up the last remaining scrap of fabric. Hefting the chains over his shoulder, he raised the makeshift gag and stepped back to the squirming woman.
“Don’t you dare,” the creature spat.
Lucian clenched his jaw.
“You wouldn’t do this to someone you claim to love, would you?”
He felt the pain of her words rip through him, a part of Lucian in agony at the thought of having to do this to her. It’s not Effie, he reminded himself.
She went wild, thrashing in Ronan’s arms as Lucian moved in. Ronan grunted when she smashed her foot into him, but otherwise remained still, his hold on her unbroken. She reared back, lifting both her legs in an attempt to slam them into Lucian’s chest. He moved fast, catching her before the blow landed by banding an arm around both her calves. Between him holding her legs, and Ronan at her back, Effie was trapped. The knowledge didn’t faze her. She continued writhing like a worm on a hook.
Chaining her was going to be difficult if they both had to hold her still. Exchanging a look with Ronan over Effie’s head, Lucian inwardly sighed. She wasn’t making this easy. Not that Effie ever did. Instead of another wave of grief, the thought bolstered him. If that much of her true nature was still intact, all could not be lost.
Tucking the scrap of fabric into his belt, Lucian went to work wrapping the first of the metal chains around her feet. Since she needed to be able to walk, that required him to wind the links around each of her ankles, leaving enough slack to allow some movement.
When the chains were looped, albeit loosely, Lucian tapped into his power once more, transforming the links into tight bands that fit perfectly around the creature’s slender ankles. And even though it was a Shadow-touched he was binding, since it was Effie, he ensured that the insides of the metal cuffs were lined with the softest suede to minimize any chafing. It was the least he could do.
She squirmed in earnest as Lucian lowered her feet to the ground, the clinking of chains somewhat of a relief, even though it made her howl with rage.