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Chapter Fourteen
They tortured Elizabeth well into the early morning hours. It wasn’t until I heard her door slam and the slow retreat of heavy footsteps did I sigh a breath of relief. I’d been hunkered against the door of my cell, waiting for it to end. She hadn’t made a groan throughout the entire ordeal. No shouts or pleas for them to stop. Despite the brutal beating, she’d remained cold and indifferent to Silvia’s demands for information. Not a word passed her lips.
Not until they left.
“Lizzy...”
Her voice pulled me from my sleepy delirium.
I sat up straight, grasping the wall for support. “Hello?”
“Get ready.”
It was as if she were speaking on the other side of my door. I shuffled back, suddenly aware of the eerie darkness of the night. Monsters and boogeymen had never really frightened me. When I was a kid, I knew there were real demons just beyond my windowpane, scouring the forest. I’d braved them often enough on my forbidden hikes, so the monster under my bed didn’t scare me. But this was different.
This demon was here, in my home. And she wanted me.
“Stay away.” My voice cracked as I stared into the darkness. There was a noise at the door, a dull kind of thud. I grabbed onto my knees. “Stay away from me.”
In the shadowy darkness of the room, I could still see the door begin to open. It slid across the floor slowly and without a sound. Chills ran up and down my back.
They’d left me alone with a demon. And she was in my room. There was no telling what she’d do to me now that I’d refused her twice.
The air began to crackle with energy. Light bulbs burst overheard, causing me to cry out and cover my face against falling glass. Peering through my fingers, I saw a strange red glow begin to build. It illuminated a figure, revealing her features slowly.
Elizabeth had come for me.
“I won’t go with you.” Pushing myself off the ground, I jumped into a battle-ready position, just as Gabe had taught me. I’d fight if I had to—she wouldn’t take me.
“So strong,” she cooed, drifting closer. Her eyes shone red, but the rest of her remained cloaked in darkness. “So stubborn. Everything you should be.”
She stood only inches away now. In the eerie darkness, I could see a serene smile light up her face.
“Don’t make me hurt you,” I warned, my voice breaking.
The intensity of the fear coursing through my body presented as muscle tremors down my thighs and in my arms. I shook like a leaf in a summer storm, clinging to the back wall of my cell. The air began to shimmer around me and I knew I was about to lose control. Light shone through my skin, burning like the hot touch of a firing brand. I tried to scream, but couldn’t manage to make a sound.
“Be still, my child.” Elizabeth reached out with her hand, placing it on my forehead.
I was surprised to find her fingers icy cold against my skin. Like a balm, they put out the heat and immediately the pain subsided. Elizabeth remained standing with her hand upon my head, the other grasping my elbow.
“Sleep,” she whispered.
Suddenly, my eyelids became heavy. My knees buckled and the room tilted. She gently led me to the floor where I curled into a ball on my side. Dark, heavy clouds filled my head, making it impossible to stay awake. Like a sleeping potion, somehow she’d drugged me into submission. I lifted my weary head and ran a tongue over my dry lips.
“Please...don’t...”
“Shhhh.” She stood over me, like an animal over her prey. Bending down, she brushed the hair from my face and smiled. “Sleep now.”
?
A cool breeze tickled the back of my neck as I struggled to wake. Somewhere above me, an owl hooted and a cricket sang. The crunch of leaves and pine needles beside me indicated that I wasn’t alone. A hand closed gently around my arm, pulling me up into a sitting position.
“Come.” Elizabeth swept the dirt off my shirt. “It’s time to wake up.”
I peered through heavy eyelids at her. The darkness of the forest told me it was still very late. A sliver of a moon hung above. Somehow, this five-foot-one woman had carried my limp body into the Black Hills Forest without getting caught. I grasped my sides, thankful to still be alive. For a moment there, I thought she was going to kill me. I was no use to her, anyway.
“I’m not going to kill you,” she said, pulling me up to my feet. “That has never been the plan.”
