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“Encore!” the crowd shouts.
I just stand, breathing heavily, shocked by the audience's reaction, until eventually the lights go out and I run from the stage.
Straight into a hard chest.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
No.
“Jakub?” I ask, peering up at him in the dim half light as he grabs hold of my upper arm tightly. “What are you doing back here?”
“You’ve caused quite a stir, Nothing. Disobeying us like this. Do you want to be punished?”
“Let me go!” I demand, but Jakub shakes his head.
“It seems that you’ve caught the eye of the Baron. He has a thing for redheads. Apparently you remind him of his daughter.”
“What?” I say, swallowing hard as Jakub backs me into a darkened alcove, the rest of the Numbers getting ready for the next portion of the show behind us. My back hits the wall and Jakub presses his chest against mine, resting his forearm beside my head. He’s wearing his black mask again, accompanied with a black suit and shirt. He's every inch the shadowed man of my visions.
A predator.
A monster.
A Mask.
“He’s willing to pay a very, very handsome amount of money for you. Enough to make me question just how much you really are ours. Money makes the world go round, after all.”
“You’re not suggesting…” My throat dries out, my pulse thumping erratically.
“Yes, I am. The Baron wants to fuck you because he can’t fuck his own daughter. The question is, am I willing to let him?”
“No! Don’t you dare!” I push against Jakub’s chest but he just grasps my wrists and pins them above my head, leaning in closer so that his whisky breath feathers over my skin.
“Why shouldn’t I? You tried to kill me yesterday, youbeatLeon. You disobey us at every fucking turn. You’re a problem.”
“It’s no more than you deserve!”
“You’re a liability.”
“And you’re a monster!”
“I don’t deny it. I never have. So what do you think? Should I let the Baron take your virginity? Should I let him fuck you whilst he thinks about his child as he does it?”
“I would rather die first,” I hiss.
“I thought you might say that. Which is why I’m giving you a choice, Nothing.” Gripping both wrists with one hand, Jakub reaches into his jacket pocket and brings out two tiny vials.
“What are they?” I ask, staring at the two bottles, one labelled A, the other B.
“They’re elixirs. Two of Thirteen’s most potent. One will render your body useless, unfeeling, whilst your mind stays intact. If you choose this option you won’t feel a thing, but you will remember every minute detail. The other elixir will shut your mind down completely, you won’t remember anything, but your body will remain awake. It will bear the marks of your ordeal and you'll be tormented with the knowledge that you’ll never know what happened.”
“That isn’t a choice.”
“It is the only one you have.”
“And the Baron? How does choosing one of these bottles have anything to do with him?”
“Oh it doesn’t. When we say you are ours, we mean it. He won’t touch you.”
