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His nostrils flared and he narrowed his eyes at me. “What are you doing? You smell like you’re up to something.” Shit. How could I smell like I was up to something? I asked him another question to distract him from the metaphysical siphon I had just installed.
“So you’re going to gut me like those girls in the photos then?” I asked, and he shrugged.
“That remains to be seen.” He answered, still eyeing me suspiciously. “You’re worth a shitload of money right now, Kitten.” He said, leaning back in his chair. “I was thinking; now that I have you…contained, I would open up the bidding floor for the other courts. I know the Court of Greed would pay a pretty penny for you.” Power started trickling down the line connecting us, and I felt my muscles immediately react to the raw energy. I hoped Rycon wouldn’t notice, but his nostrils flared again.
“I know you’re up to something, Kitten.” He frowned and checked my restraints. “It’s just a matter of figuring out what…” My heart was thudding against my chest, likely giving me away even more. I hoped he chalked it up to me being understandably terrified. I just had to keep him distracted until I had enough power to break free.
“You don’t think Ash Nevra will be pissed off that you’re selling me to someone else? From what I’ve been told she doesn’t seem like someone you would want to double cross.” Realistically, being sold to another court was probably in my best interest.
He paused from his work tightening my restraints and leaned in as if he were going to tell me a secret. “You see, I still have a tiny bit of my father’s blood from when he died.” He pulled at a black cord that was tied around his neck and a glass vial full of blood tumbled out from inside his white cotton t-shirt. Gross.
“I mixed his with my own when I signed the blood oath with Ash Nevra. It gives me a little bit of wiggle room. Normally blood oaths are bound by magick and the participants are physically unable to break them. She won’t be expecting me to screw her over until it’s too late. By then you’ll be sold, I’ll be a great deal richer, and I can spend the rest of my life happily on the run.” He said it as if the idea of living his life running from a daemon hell-queen was his idea of a grand old time.
“I see,” I said doubtfully. “So if no one offers you enough money you’re still going to kill me?” Rycon leaned back and made a ‘this is awkward’ face.
“Well... yeah,” he folded the stack of papers over and stood up. “Speaking of which, I should check and see if we have any offers.” He winked at me before ambling back over to the laptop. The invisible line of power connecting us followed him to the computer.
Despite my situation, I was starting to feel fantastic. The throbbing in my head was quickly disappearing and I was able to see much more clearly in the dimly lit room. My hearing and sense of smell seemed to be heightened as well. I could hear well enough to know we were in an old, abandoned building. There wasn’t another person for miles. I could scream and scream and no one would hear me.
I continued to draw energy from Rycon as he busied himself on the laptop. Using my newly adopted capabilities, I explored my surroundings. I could see things more clearly than I ever had in my life. I could almost see each tiny movement my captor made before he made it. I could hear earthworms wriggling in the dirt beneath the floor and the mice scurrying through the walls.
Along with my new powers, I also had this primal instinct to hunt. I was beginning to understand Rycon’s shameless demeanor towards me. I was prey and he was a predator. I was food. I was meant to be hunted and eventually killed. That was the way things were.
Rycon was not human. As much as he resembled one, I would need to remember that he was not. Begging would never work on him. He craved violence. It was in his nature to kill. The cat does not feel remorse for the death of the mouse.
As more and more of his energy slid through the siphon, I stretched and flexed against the restraints. The bedposts groaned with the effort and a small smile bloomed on my face. It wouldn’t be much longer now. I watched as Rycon shook his head sharply. He put a hand to his forehead and turned away from the computer. His eyes crushed closed and he looked pale. My smile widened. Finally, his eyes snapped open and he looked at me, realization dawning across his face.
“I knew you were up to something,” he snarled. I shrugged innocently. Shit. It was too early to be discovered. I needed more power. I opened my little black hole wider and he staggered as more energy burst from him and flowed down the line toward me. “You little bitch!” He roared and moved to take a step in my direction. I pulled at my hands a little harder and reveled in the sound of the bedposts splintering.
Suddenly a chill rolled through the room, and we both froze. We simultaneously looked to the door as a scraping sound met our ears. It was as if someone or something was dragging their nails down the wood of the motel door on the other side.
‘What the hell?' I asked into his mind, not daring to breathe a word out loud. He glanced at me, then back to the door, his fists clenching and unclenching at his side.
‘We have company.’ He responded and frowned. ‘I don’t think either one of us is going to like it.’
23
Rycon grabbed his knife off the desk next to the laptop, just as a childlike giggle sounded from the other side of the door. The sound made the tiny hairs on my arms stand on end.
“Rycon cut me loose,” I demanded, my voice low. He looked conflicted for a moment, as if it might be a good idea to have me fight whatever it was with him, especially in his weakened state.
“Knock, knock.” The sickly sweet voice said through the wood. “Rycon, my pet. Do not leave me in the cold.” The thing dragged its nails down the wood again. Then the voice changed to something deeper, darker, more sinister. “I will not ask again.” It echoed through the room and I jerked as the door exploded into a million tiny splinters of wood, revealing what stood behind it.
The thing looked like a little girl, but it was not. Where the whites of its eyes should have been, there was only black, black as deep as the dark hair that fell in strings to the creature’s shoulders. It wore a white nightgown, and its feet were bare. The most disturbing part of the creature was its hands. Whereas the rest of it was proportionate and shaped like a human girl, its fingers were so long that the tips of them nearly grazed the floor. It seemed to have extra joints and the spindly appendages were bent like spider’s legs. I stared, a scream frozen in my throat. I pulled more at the restraints and thrashed, fracturing the wood, but was still unable to break completely free.
‘RYCON!’ I bellowed into his mind. ‘LET ME GO!’ Some basic instinct told me I did not want the monster in the doorway to touch me. Rycon glanced at me but did not respond. I could see the wheels turning in his head, planning, trying to figure out what to do and why this creature was here.
He leaned casually against the desk, tossing the knife into the air and catching it again, much the same way he had done in my kitchen.
“Hello, widowmaker.” He drawled, and the creature slowly turned and fixed its all-black eyes on him. It smiled, and what looked like black ink shined in its mouth, staining its teeth. The monster took a step forward, its nails scraping against the carpet as it walked. Every single cell in my body was screaming for me to run. I thrashed again but quickly stopped as the creature turned its face towards me at the sound. Thankfully, it turned its attention back to Rycon.
“You have been a bad, bad kitty.” It said. Its voice was small, feminine, and childish once again. “Mistress says you signed a bad deal.”
It cocked its head to the side and raised one of those long, bone-white fingers toward him. He casually sidestepped the finger, moving closer to the bed. Closer to me . Rycon shrugged.
“A male has gotta look out for himself,” was all he said. He pushed his thoughts down the line of power that I still had attached to him. ‘You’re going to have to kill it, Kitten.’ He thought to me, and I gaped at him.
‘Are you crazy? I don’t know how to fight that…that thing.’ I felt his rage bubble at that comment.
