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I don’t understand what he means, but I know that I need to get Malia out of here before anyone else tries to come after her.
With a final plunge of his blade, he leaves the knife embedded in my shoulder and takes off for the stairs.
“No!” I try to yell, but the sound comes out weak and feeble. The darkness is coming for me, and I have no strength left to fight it.Malia, I’m sorry. I’ve failed you.
An almighty crash awakens me. My heart thunders as I strain to listen, but all I can hear is my own fear pounding in my ears.
Creeping out of bed, I grab my phone off the nightstand and dial Cove. A scream startles me, and I accidentally cut the call. Instinct tells me to run and check on him, but I know he’d expect me to run and hide.
Torn, I waver at the top of the stairs. What should I do? My mind races as I try to decide on the best course of action. I know Bhodi is a grown man who can take care of himself, but the sound of that crash was unmistakable. What if he’s hurt? What if he needs my help?
I can’t just do nothing. I begin to descend the stairs, my heart still pounding.
As I reach the bottom step, another sound – a low rumbling – seems to be coming from the living room. Could it be an intruder? Is Bhodi simply watching a movie at a high volume?
I tiptoe down the remaining steps, trying to remain quiet as I approach the living room. As I peek around the corner, my heart leaps into my throat. There, in the centre of the room, stands a vaguely familiar face, a blazing blue blade in his hand. I look around for Bhodi but can’t see any sign of him. Shit. Maybe he’s on the floor, hurt, and I just can’t see him past the couch.
My gaze flicks to the kitchen and then the front door. I wonder if I can make a run for it. Out the door, or to the kitchen for a weapon? Maybe I should retreat and try to hide after all. I eye up the door to the library room the professor took me to earlier. The door is slightly ajar. It would be stupid to hide in a room with only one exit.
No. I should return upstairs. Maybe I can use the balcony in Cove’s room to escape. Maybe the rest of the guys aren’t far. It’s late, they should be on their way back from wherever by now, right?
Turning on the spot slowly so as to blend in with the shadows, I make my way back up the stairs. My mind is racing with a mixture of fear and confusion. Who was that person in the living room? Where is Bhodi? And why did he leave me alone in the middle of the night?
As I approach the top of the stairs, a faint creak comes from Cove’s room. My heart leaps with hope that maybe Bhodi is okay. I rush toward the room, my hand reaching out to push open the door. But before I can even touch the knob, a strong arm wraps around my waist, pulling me back into the darkness.
I scream, lashing out with my fists and feet, but my attacker is too strong. Sharp pain radiates around my head as something hard strikes me, and then everything goes black.
* * *
When I come to, I’m lying on the floor of a dimly lit room, my hands and feet tied with thick ropes. I try to move, but the ropes cut into my skin, leaving me breathless with pain.
“There’s no use in struggling, sweetheart,” a man’s deep voice says. I shrink back and shudder as his silhouette walks toward me.
What is going on? I don’t recognise this place. I’m clearly inside a house of some sort, the walls and the floor built of stone. But there are no windows, nothing but the strange, greenish light peeking through the slits where the walls join. It casts an eerie, rippling light throughout the room and if it wasn’t crazy, I’d almost think we were underwater somewhere.
“Where am I?” I ask, my voice weak and strained. My head is pounding to the point that I feel like I’m going to be sick. How hard did he hit me? How long was I out?
“That’s not important right now,” he says, crouching on the floor before me. “What is important is that you’re here with me. Finally.”
I try to back away from him, but there’s nowhere to go. I’m trapped, completely at his mercy. His eyes, a fathomless black, lock onto mine and I shiver in fear.
“You’re the one who was assigned as my lawyer at the station,” I realise, my voice coming out shaky.
What did the professor call him again? Tam-something? Tan? I can’t remember. I should have paid more attention. Though knowing his name probably wouldn’t improve my situation right now anyway.
He laughs, a deep rumble that bounces off the stone walls and sets my teeth on edge. “Yes, and my plan would have been completed much sooner if it weren’t for Omo interfering.”
I don’t know who thisOmois, or even what language he just spoke, but I get the feeling he’s talking about the professor. I don’t know why, it’s just a gut feeling.
“Are you the one that’s been stalking me? Saying those…evil things about killing.”
“Stalking? No, my dear. I’ve been waiting for you. Watching you from afar, yes, but not stalking. That’s such a dirty word. ”
“Then what do you call it?” I snap, my anger overriding my fear.
“I call it fate,” he says, leaning in so close that I can feel his hot, rancid breath on my neck. “The others are so stupid, the elders too. They think you’re the key to saving the universe, but I know the truth. You’re the catalyst that will destroy everything. Our paths were meant to align, you and I. And now, finally, we can finish this.”
My heart races as I try to pull away from him. This man is insane. I need to get out of here, but it’s not like I can escape him, tied up like this.
