| Chapter 8 Lucky and Nikolas walked around the compound and talked for a long time. Nikolas couldn't felt compelled to help keep his half brother safe from his grandmother. It sickened Nikolas to think that anyone could want to sleep with someone as young as Lucky. Helena was in fact old enough to be Lucky's grandmother and that should mean something to her. Shouldn't it? "Lucky, I don't know what I can do but I'll try to help," Nikolas told him. "Just don't leave me alone with her. Maybe she will not try anything with you around," Lucky said, grateful to have any help in keeping Helena at bay. "No, problem," Nikolas laughed, "You know, we are talking and not fighting. This is different." "Yeah, it is kind of weird. We have to get kidnapped by a sick pervert before we treat each other with respect," Lucky said and he couldn't help but look around for Helena. She really had him going at the moment. It felt like he was being watched all the time and it was really starting to get to him. "Lucky, she isn't around," Nikolas told him. "I know. How about let's go see what over there," Lucky said hoping the further they got from the house, the better he was going to feel. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~` Finally after walking around the entire compound or as far as Helena's men let them, Lucky and Nikolas were both taken back to their rooms. Lucky did notice that the cameras he had thrown on the bed were gone. He hoped for good. Deciding that since there was nothing else to do, Lucky thought maybe he could get some sleep. So, he started to get undressed but then stopped. He looked up and saw another camera. This one was hidden better than the last one, but it was still there. "Lady, don't you ever give up?" Lucky yelled and he reached up to pull this one down but this time it didn't move. Lucky tried several times more, to no avail. So, instead of pulling it down, Lucky put one a shirt over the lens. He had to do the same thing in the bathroom. Helena's game was growing old and it was really starting to get to Lucky. He was really worried about how far she was going to take this. Lucky dropped down on the bed exhausted from the lack of sleep he had the night before. He really didn't bother getting undressed and at least this way, If Helena did show up, he wouldn't feel so exposed to her. It didn't take Lucky long to fall asleep and he did manage to sleep at least four hours that night undisturbed. Lucky felt something wasn't quiet right and he woke up to find himself under the covers and in pajamas. Lucky tried to get up but a weight was holding him down and that was when he realized that he was in bed with Helena. She was lying beside him with an arm over his chest. Lucky swallowed hard and tried to slip out but Helena's voice stopped him cold. "Lucas, where are you going?" Helena asked in a sleepy voice and pulled Lucky even closer to him. "Helena let me go," Lucky pleaded. He was close to really loosing it. Having the wicked witch this close to him scared Lucky like nothing ever had before. He wanted to run and hide in a place where she couldn't touch him or ever get near him, but there was no place to hide. She controlled everything around her, even him. "Go back sleep. No one is going to hurt you," Helena said and with those words said she lay her head on top of his chest and went to sleep. Lucky didn't sleep. He stayed awake the entire night looking around the room and tried to figure out how she got him to her bedroom without waking him up. He was also hoping that sleeping with him was the only thing she wanted to with him. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~' Luke and Stefan arrived at Helena's compound in Italy and Luke wasn't too surprised to find that Helena and the boys were never there. The two men looked all over the compound to see if Helena left a clue about where she had taken the boys. They were standing in Mikkos' private office when a picture caught Luke's attention. He walked over and picked it up. "You said this was Mikkos' office?" Luke asked Stefan. "Yes, this was one of my father's many homes. Why?" Stefan asked. "Because I think I know where we should go next," Luke said and he showed Stefan the picture. It was a picture of him and Helena in front of a small cottage in Greece. The two men left then and headed for Greece. Luke got a feeling that Helena was playing some kind of sick game with them but with Lucky in her clutches, Luke was willing to jump through fire to make sure that he was returned home safely and unharmed. As the jet headed on to Greece, Luke and Stefan sat in back, lost in their own thoughts. Luke caught Stefan looking at him every once in awhile and it was starting to get to him until finally he couldn't take anymore of it. "What?" Luke snapped. "I was just trying to picture you as a teenager under Helena's spell," Stefan said. Luke growled at this remark. "We all mess up count. My big fuck up was with Helena," Luke told him finally. "You can say that. You know what normally happens to her lovers when she is done with them, don't you?" Stefan asked him and Luke couldn't help but notice the smug smile on his face as he said it. "Yes, I know what she does to the cast offs, but I thought I was smarter than they were," Luke told him. "Maybe you were. You did live," Stefan said. "I lived because I left before she got rid of me. Why she never came after me, I can't tell you, but I am grateful that she didn't. I know for a fact that she would have killed both Ruby and Bobbie along with me," Luke said, as he turned to look out the window and to think about the reason he left Helena that night, and what she had done to that poor woman. "Yes, she would have done that but what I don't understand is why she didn't? Mother never let anyone walk way like you did," Stefan told him. "I know and when we find her you can ask her because I don't have your answer," Luke said and with that he leaned back in his chair and went to sleep. He had a feeling that this might be the only rest he got for the rest of this trip. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~' Stefan and Luke arrived in Greece in the early hours of the morning. The small cottage that Helena had led them to turned out to be deserted but it was clear from how the place looked that someone had been there. They started their search in Helena's office and at first they found nothing, but it didn't take them long to find Helena's next message. Stefan was sitting at her desk and trying to get into her computer when suddenly a thick barrier fell across the windows and the door, cutting off any escape. The door that was once standing opened slammed shut and was barred, as well. Luke glared at Stefan and snapped, "What did you do?" "I didn't do anything!" Stefan said looking around the room with a look of fear. He didn't like being trapped in a room that his mother had rigged up. He knew that normally meant that they didn't have long to live. Luke was looking for a way out when a screen behind Stefan was slowly lowered and standing before them as big as life was the Helena herself. "Hello, Luke. Oh, Stefan, you made the trip as well. Good, this is going to be even better," Helena said as she greeted the two men. "What do you want?" Luke asked her. He had a feeling this was a live feed and that meant the old hag couldn't be too far from the cabin or that is what he was hoping. "I want you," Helena said smugly to Luke, "but first I want to know how badly you want your son." "Helena, why play games? I'm here. So, come and get me and let Lucky and Nikolas go," Luke said. He knew that she wasn't going to go for it but he had to offer just in case. He was willing to trade his own life just to make sure that his son was safe. "No, Luke. You are not calling the shots this time around. I am. You will do what I tell you. If not, you die and I get 'Lucky'," Helena said and she put enough emphasis on Lucky's name that Luke knew exactly what she meant. "You get near him and you're dead. I don't give a damn that you are a woman. I'll rip you apart," Luke said his words were full of hate but Stefan also saw true fear in Luke's face. He also read into Helena's meaning and that scared him, because he knew she would do it and that is one thing Stefan wouldn't wish on anyone. "Mother, you keep your hands off that boy," Stefan said. "Jealous, Stefan?" Helena said with an evil smile on her face, "and I thought you hated our special times together." Luke watched as Stefan took a step back as if he had been hit right in the gut. The count's tight control over his emotions came loose and he charged for her. Luke grabbed him and held on tight. "Don't. She wants that. She wants to watch you lose control," Luke said trying to get him to calm down. "I want her dead," Stefan said his words were filled with anger and hate toward Helena. "She will be, but the boys come first," Luke said and then he turned his attention to Helena. Who was watching the two of them with a very pleased look on her face. "Helena, I'm coming for you and not to bed you but to kill you." "Come on then and find me, but first open the box that sits on my desk," Helena said and she motioned her hand in the box's direction. Luke hesitated for a few moments and the slowly he reached for the box and opened it. Inside the box were a pair of handcuffs and a set of directions. "What's this?" Luke asked her. "We are playing a game. The prize of this game is me. You figure out the clues right and they will lead right to me, but if you don't, you will find death. The cuffs are to make sure that you two work together. So, put them on," she said. "Forget it," Luke snapped at her. "Then die now," and with those words a timer was shown on the screen and Helena's image vanished and it was replaced with Helena lying beside a sleeping Lucky as she slowly ran a hand up and down his body. Luke quickly reached out grabbed the cuffs and place one on his wrist and the other on a very stunned Stefan. "Helena!" Luke yelled after it was done, "I'll play it your way. Just don't hurt him." The clock stopped and Helena's image soon came back. "That was taken last night. Your son has the softest skin and I am looking forward to exploring more of him." "Leave him be," Luke said as he placed both hands on the desk and flipped it over. Stefan was almost jerked off his feet and it felt like his arm had been pulled from its socket. He tried to get Luke to realize that they were connected but Luke was so angry that he couldn't hear anyone but Helena. "Don't worry Luke. The night I take Lucky to bed will be the night you are dead," Helena said and she vanished. As soon as the connection was broken, the doors and windows were opened and the men were free to go. Luke walked over to where the papers landed and picked them up. "Spencer?" Stefan said hoping that Luke could hear him this time. "What?" Luke asked in a tight voice. "We better go. The sooner we find the boys the sooner she dies," Stefan said. Luke looked at Stefan with a surprised look on his face. "You really want her dead?" Luke asked him. "I always wanted her dead. I spent years hating her for what she did to me. I should have killed her when she was had her stroke but I couldn't. I knew that is what she would do and I didn't want to stoop the her level," Stefan admitted to Luke. "So, we were both hurt by her. Now she has our sons and if you think she will stop at Lucky. You are out of your mind," Luke told him. "I am hoping that Nikolas is safe. He is now eighteen and mother likes her prey young. She likes to train them and mold them to her standards," Stefan said in a tight voice. "If he hasn't been with a woman then the boy is in danger. So, let's get going," Luke said and the two men headed back to the car. At the car, Luke got into the driver's seat and started the car. Stefan looked down at him and said, "Luke, move over." Luke looked over at Stefan and then cursed himself. He had placed the cuffs on the wrong wrist and he was now forced to sit the passenger seat. Stefan was grateful for this because Luke's driving scared the hell out of him. The man didn't know how to us a brake and he sure didn't know what the speed limit was on these roads. Stefan drove and Luke tried to read Helena's next instructions. It was more like a trip down memory lane and it took him awhile to figure out where they were suppose to go. "You know a grove about ten miles down the road?" Luke asked Stefan. "Yes, it has barn and is part of our land. Why?" Stefan asked him. "That is our next stop," Luke said. Stefan nodded and he headed the car into the direction that Luke pointed to. Luke started to wonder if the two of them could work together long enough to save Lucky and Nikolas. He knew that if they didn't then the boys most probably would end up staying with Helena forever. Chapter 9 Back to Luke's Secret Past |