Amanda Bonilla - When Shadows Call

The sound of a scuffle floated to my ears on the morning breeze, and I turned my attention to the source. I narrowed my eyes, concentrated my preternatural senses and zeroed in on the ruckus that came not from around the block, but further away––closer to the waterfront.

It wouldn’t be long before the sun crested the eastern horizon. The gray hour was upon me, and I used the last minutes of darkness to speed through the city streets past Pike Place Market into the warehouse district. I knew the area all too well. I’d learned some very valuable lessons on this pier fifteen years ago: that I was stronger than I could have ever imagined, and that mercy was a weakness I couldn’t afford.

A woman’s enraged shriek brought me out of my reverie, and I followed the sound from Belltown all the way to Colman Dock. Four men, dressed in ragged sweaters and caps pulled low over their heads, struggled with a slight but furious girl who kicked and scratched at them as they tried to shove her into the baggage room.

Something inside me snapped. It had been almost two decades since I’d been a victim in any form, but I knew the fear this woman felt. I entered the fray, even though mere minutes would see me trapped in my corporeal form. I was substantially stronger than a human man. I could have broken one’s neck, long ago. I didn’t need any other proof than that memory to solidify the belief that I could—and would—end a life before the sun rose if need be.

“Ah! God damn it, she bit me!” One of the men shouted, and a loud crack resounded in the vast covered dock as he rounded on the girl and slapped her.

A snarl tore from my throat as I grabbed the bastard by the shoulder and threw him a good ten feet away. Wood splintered as he crashed into a crate, and his grunt of pain gave me a perverse sense of satisfaction. I kicked at attacker number two, glad I’d worn the pants Azriel bought me tonight. The range of motion was wonderful. I would be hard pressed to go out in a dress ever again. I’d managed to stop two out of the four men, and rather than continue on my violent rampage, I centered my attention on the girl who slapped and kicked and tried her hardest to escape the iron grip of the men who still had a hold of her.

I wrenched her free with no effort whatsoever and sent her stumbling toward the dock exit. “Run!” I shouted. “Get out of here!”

She didn’t need to be told twice. As quick as a rabbit she scuttled out of sight, her shoes echoing into silence as she fled. I didn’t have time to congratulate myself on a job well done, however, because I’d failed to consider my next move, once I’d managed to rescue the girl. My strength was indeed impressive, but I hadn’t managed to incapacitate any of the men. And now that I’d stripped them of their fun, they focused their combined energy on a new target.

I cursed my foolishness that I hadn’t paid better attention to my surroundings. They came at me from all sides, two in front and two behind. The two men behind me were angrier, considering I’d roughed them up a bit. I reached for the shadows, desperate to join their company. A ray of early morning sunlight filtered in through the roof and my heart stuttered in my chest. Too late. Something swooshed behind me and I spun. The heavy length of chain rushed at my face so fast I didn’t have time to react. It smashed against my head, and a bright white light of pain exploded in my skull moments before darkness swallowed me whole.

* * *

“Do what you want. I’m not taking a woman while she’s knocked out. Where’s the fun in that?” a muffled voice poked through the dark haze of my brain, pulling me from a state of nothingness.

“The way she tossed you around, Pete, it might be best to take her that way. Wonder why she’s dressed like a man,” another voice said.

“Who cares why? All that matters is what’s underneath her clothes.”

“She could be someone important,” a third voice entered the conversation. “Might be a bad idea to mess with her if we can make a buck off of her.”

“Ransom?” the first voice, Pete, asked.

Silence fell and I assumed the men were all contemplating the situation. It appeared that perhaps money meant more to them than the possibility of rape. Good for me, I supposed. Though at present, my situation could be considered anything but good. I couldn’t discern my surroundings, though I knew they’d moved me from Colman Dock. And though I couldn’t see the sky, the fact that I was confined to corporeality was proof enough that I hadn’t been unconscious for long.

My captors weren’t taking any chances with me. Heavy chain had been wound around my body several times, anchoring me to a post as big around as a large tree. My confidence that I could easily escape faltered. Though certain I could break even a thick rope, I didn’t think I could break through this much chain. I smelled the briny tang of the inlet and heard the gentle lap of water somewhere below me . . . no longer at Colman Dock, but we had to be close to the waterfront still.

Azriel had to be awake by now. I tried to push my worry to the back of my mind. Would he think I’d left him? God, I had to get back to him. I couldn’t let him think that he meant so little to me that I would simply sneak away while he slept.

“She’s not worth anything to us unless we figure out who she is.” The men began their plotting again, as they talked about me as if I were nothing but a fine piece of merchandise.

I refused to sit and wait to hear my fate decided by these imbeciles. They’d been out looking for sport, and when I’d ruined their good time, I became the consolation prize. I’d played the victim once, and it was not a role I planned to reprise. “I’m no one you want to tangle with. That’s all you need to know about who I am.”

All four of them turned to gawk. It’s not like they’d gagged me, so I wasn’t quite sure why they looked so shocked to hear me speak. “Guess we shouldn’t be surprised to see you up and talkin’.” I recognized the voice as belonging to Pete, the one who actually had a problem with raping an unconscious woman. If I had to guess, I’d say he was the “honorable” one in the group. “The way Sam here smacked you with that chain . . . you should be bruised to hell. Or worse. But there’s not a scratch on your pretty face. Why’s that?”

Well, well. Pete had the honor and the brains. Azriel had told me once that it was important that we keep to ourselves. Most humans didn’t pay enough attention to recognize that part of us that was other. But, every once in a while, a person took the time to really look. It was just my luck that Pete happened to be astute. “Maybe Sam overestimates his strength?” I suggested in an innocent tone.

One of the men stepped forward. He scrubbed a dirty hand over the stubble growing on his face and smiled. His gray-blue eyes narrowed as he looked me over from head to toe. “I’ve got strength enough,” he said and then grabbed at his groin through his pants. “Right here. How ’bout I show you?”

“How about you go to hell?”

That earned a few snickers from my captors. I suppose that I didn’t sound very tough, or threatening. I made a mental note to improve on that. But tough-sounding or not, bound or free, I had to believe that I still had the upper hand on these men. They couldn’t kill me, not without a magic blade, and I doubted any of them had such a thing. And though I was wrapped in chains and bound to my corporeal form, I was still stronger. If they planned to rape me, they’d have to take the chains off. When that happened, I’d kill every last one of them with my bare hands if I had to.

“Look,” Pete said as he held his hands out as if to calm me down. I’d thrown him a good ten feet before his friend had knocked me out, and I sensed that he wasn’t going to take my soft, feminine appearance for granted. “Nobody’s going to hurt you if you don’t give us a reason to. We just want to know who you are, is all.”