Angel groaned as the trance spell finally wore off, only to be replaced by a pounding migraine. His throat was dry as a desert and rough as sandpaper, his ears felt clogged, and his eyes stung. As the mental fog started to lift and his awareness returned, he tried to focus on his surroundings.
He sat in the middle of three seats, with a port window to his right. The cabin was long, with a ceiling that curved down to the floor on each side. The bright overhead lights overwhelmed him, forcing him to squeeze his eyes shut, which only made the throbbing pain in his head worse. But he'd seen enough to know he was on an aircraft already in flight.
A low voice cut through the pain, and he opened one eye to see a tall, lanky, brown-skinned man shuffling down the short aisle with a bottle of water in his wrinkled hand. It had to be the Vodou priest, Samedi, and Angel's face unconsciously tightened in anger, his thoughts filled with the knowledge of the evil things the monster had done.
The man paid no heed to his glare, placing the bottle in the cup holder of Angel's seat before taking a chair opposite him. "This will help clear your head." Samedi motioned to the bottle.
Angel glared at him, then glanced at the water bottle and knew he needed to clear his mind, despite the strong desire not to give Samedi the satisfaction of showing weakness.
When he reached for it, it occurred to him that he was unrestrained. Unscrewing the cap, he took a small sip, savoring the soothing coldness at the back of his throat, and his senses began to clear up immediately.
Steepling his fingers, Samedi spoke. "I'm pleased the spell worked as well as it did. I was worried about the possible side effects."
"Side effects?" Angel narrowed his eyes. "What side effects?"
"Oh, nothing all that bad." He smiled. "Stiff joints, muscle locks, loss of bladder control. Simple stuff."
"Simple?" Angel glowered. "I find nothing simple about magic."
"I suppose, for someone like you, that's true." The Vodou priest shrugged. "Nevertheless, you're in one piece, which is exactly what we wanted."
Sarcasm iced Angel's tone. "Didn't seem that way last night."
With a shrug, Samedi lamented, "Our plans have changed. Though I have to say, I'm very much impressed by your sister's ability to heal you. I know many magics, but Earth and healing, I've never much cared to learn. I may have to up my studies after this. Nevertheless, I'm glad to see you're well enough to travel."
"So glad I could accommodate you." Angel sneered with a roll of his eyes.
"Yes, well, I'm sure you were properly motivated," Samedi smirked.
"Amanda!" He remembered exactly why he'd allowed himself to be taken. "Where is she?"
"Oh, Rygen didn't tell you?"
The smirk turned sinister, which answered his question in a way he unconsciously already knew. Angel bowed his head, defeated. "She's dead."
"Quite dead." He chuckled.
Outraged, he lunged at Samedi with the singular intent to snap his neck. Before he could rise more than a few inches out of his seat, powerful clawlike hands grabbed him by the shoulders and forcefully pulled him back into his seat. He looked up to see Rygen's terrifying face, mouth open, with saliva dripping onto his cheek.
"Stay!" The demon commanded with a hungry smile.
"Fuck you!" Angel hissed, earning a wince as the claws dug into his shoulders, though they did not break the skin.
"Enough!" Samedi shouted. "Release him, pet!"
Rygen growled, but did as ordered, then turned his eyes toward Angel and changed into Amanda Sims. 'She' gave him a sexy smile. "You'll be a good boy for me, won't you, sweetie?"
Angel averted his eyes, swearing, "I am going to kill you."
"I'm sure you'd like to." Amanda's voice drifted between the seats.
Shifting his glare to Samedi, his heart already broken, he asked with a choked voice, "Why Davis?"
Rygen, still as Amanda, answered instead. "Wrong place. Wrong time. But you should be grateful. If your sister had been in the shop—"
Snapping, Angel burst from his seat, lunged over it, and grabbed a surprised Rygen by the throat. Samedi laughed heartily as Rygen shifted from Amanda into his male human form, struggling for breath under the sheer force of Angel's grip. With the power of Samedi's control over him, he could not physically harm Angel and only growled. "Get this fucker off me!"
Motioning to two guards sitting a few rows away, Samedi signaled them to separate the two. They moved quickly, pulling Angel away from the demon and shoving him back into his seat. One of the guards took out a pair of military-issued zip ties and secured him in place.
"Now, now. Since you can't sit still, we have to resort to this. A pity. I really wanted to offer you some hospitality." Reaching forward, Samedi picked up the water bottle. He made a show of unscrewing the cap. After taking a long drink, he sighed contentedly. He placed the bottle in his cup holder. "But now, you'll just have to sit, relax, and wait until we land."
Angel spat at him in reply.
With a sigh, he pulled his pocket handkerchief out and dabbed the moisture away. "Such a child. Nonetheless, I commend you for disrupting our meticulous plans over the past few months."
"Glad of it!" Angel hissed.
"I am, as well. I've never seen Bible so emotional, and it revealed his weakness."
"Who is he?"
"You'll see soon enough. It is the demon princess that I am eager to meet. When she arrives, she will trade herself for you. I cannot wait to bind her and make her my slave."
"Don't you fucking dare!"
"Oh, I will, and maybe I'll fuck her, too." Samedi laughed at the idea. "After all, bound demons have to do everything they're told to do. Isn't that right, my pet?"
Rygen glowered as he rubbed his bruised neck and answered honestly, despite wanting to curse his master. "We must. Your little bitch won't have any choice."
"Exactly. However, Angel, you will once again be with your little princess when she dismembers you and shares with Rygen a meal of your flesh."
"Now that I look forward to!" Angel's voice came from Rygen's mouth as he stood up and moved to sit next to Samedi, now imitating their captor. "And maybe I will taste her too, wearing this face."
Samedi laughed again. "My pet knows theatrics. I love it. I think it would even be fun to watch him fuck her in this form, too. Don't you think, my pet?"
"If it is commanded of me," Rygen affirmed, yet the tone of his voice had shifted to something different, something wary.
Angel struggled against the restraints; the plastic zip ties cut into his wrists, but he didn't notice. He yearned to see these two dead. "You'll never bind her!"
They just shared a laugh at his struggles. "Oh, I will," Samedi promised. "And with her, I will kill Bible and take control of his operations. No longer will I bow to anyone. The world will be my oyster, and the Princess of Hell will be my pearl!"
The threat in his voice sent shivers down Angel's spine. His heart ached for Charlie. He knew she would come for him, and he could only see one future for her—bound to the Vodou priest sitting across from him. Just like that day in Libya, he watched his world crumble around him.