Free Return of the Matka-Zem (The Sorain Chronicles) by Deborah Chanley Page B

lingered as she tried to remember her own Branda. Yet, as far as she could recall, she had had none. Why was she so different? Was she the only one with this power inside her? Was the power the reason to hide her in a place away from her own world? And was her power the reason she was marked for death?
    Jane mumbled a curse at the realization that Thane was the only one who could answer the many questions forming in her mind. The thought of the man brought his image clearly into her consciousness. The feeling that he was likely awake and not happy about her flight brought a small smile to her lips. For some reason, she took pleasure in his irritation.
    " Wait for me ," Thane's soothing baritone voice echoed in her brain as if he had just whispered in her ear. With a shake of her head, she pushed the image of the man out of her thoughts and wondered if she was going insane.
    ***
    Sam woke with a start to find himself bound hands and feet. He was sitting on the bed with his back propped against the headboard. Helen lay beside him, naked, and hogtied. Her small mouth was gagged with a dirty dishcloth. Her eyes were wide in fright, darting from side to side until she saw him looking at her.
    " What's going on?" he whispered to her, but she only shook her head. The last thing he remembered was preparing for bed while his wife took her shower. He had no clue why someone would treat them so.
    " Ah, you're finally awake." A plump woman came into view. She wore a dirty chef outfit, and greying hair had been pulled back into an unkempt bun. Her crooked teeth showed yellow as she gave him an evil grin. "Where is Princess Valencia?" The bed dipped as she sat by his feet.
    " Who...?" Sam frowned in confusion "I don't know any princess." The woman lost her smile and gave him a backhanded slap. Blood pooled in his mouth as his head swam from the blow.
    " The red-haired girl!" spat the woman. She stood and slowly walked around the bed to his wife's side. "Tell me where she is!"
    " I don't know where she is." Sam was afraid. He'd had the feeling the young woman was running away from something, but he never imagined she was royalty and in serious trouble. "Liar!" The plump woman withdrew a small knife from her chef shirt and stabbed it into Helen's left breast. His wife twisted in agony, her scream muffled by the rag. The woman left the knife protruding from Helen's breast. "Tell me where she is."
    " Tell her go and I will tell you," Sam tried to bargain with the plump woman.
    " Tell me now!" The woman began to cut Helen's breast from her body. His wife's muffled screams echoed around the tiny bedroom. Blood flowed over her chest and soaked the bed beneath her.
    " For God's sake stop," cried Sam and, to his relief, the woman pulled the bloody blade from his wife. He helplessly watched as Helen collapsed with a sob. Her eyes remained closed from pain and terror. "Tell me," the woman ordered with an insane smile and the wide eyes of the deranged.
    " We dropped her off in Vancouver." Sam hated himself for giving the woman the information about the girl, but he had no choice.
    " Where was she heading?" The woman came around the bed to face him. The evil in her dark eyes frightened him more than the knife in her hand.
    " She was . . ." Sam stumbled over his words, "was heading to San Francisco."
    " Why?" The woman continued to stare at Sam with her insane glare.
    " I don't know." The crazed woman quickly stabbed the knife into his thigh. When the spurt of blood sprayed onto his face, he knew the woman had hit the femoral artery and he would bleed out in a matter of minutes. "I don't know! She never told us!" Sam yelled, hoping one of the other campers could hear his cry. "I told you all I know. Please let us go."
    " Oh, I'll release you, my dear," the woman said with such an incongruently sweet tone that Sam shuttered in fear. She walked back to Helen and removed the gag. "Sweet dreams." All was quiet when the woman left the bedroom. Sam swung his