That statement could be taken more than one way, but Goon Number Two’s comment narrowed the options. “We’re not supposed to feed off her. She belongs to him.”
I wondered who they talked about, Dan or Tristan? It didn’t matter. The answer to either was the same. “I don’t belong to anyone.”
The goons closed in on me, and I decided to take my leave. I visualized the police station’s homicide office and went for it. The library blurred slightly and solidified again. Goons One and Two laughed when I remained in place.
Oh crap. I tried again and got the same result. The men kept coming at me, and I slowly backed away until they trapped me in a corner. Books filling the shelves poked my back, and I looked frantically for a big, heavy coffee table tome to bash the malicious beasts with who now stood over me. All I saw were slim books. What I wouldn’t have given for a Webster’s unabridged dictionary right then.
Goon Two sneered at me. “You’re not going anywhere, girlie.”
At the sound of footsteps, they glanced over their shoulders then returned their attention to me. “About time you showed up, Erica.”
The witch’s too pale face peered over their shoulders. “I can’t just pop in and out, you know.” She smiled sweetly, a blatant lie of kindness in the soft light. “Why don’t you come along quietly, Brandilynn? It won’t hurt as much.”
My fists clenched. I might go down. Heck, who was I kidding? I would go down with the strength of the Goons pitted against me. They’d get a fight though. If I suffered, I’d give them their share as well, plus extra. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”
Erica seemed amused at my show of ferocity. “Yes you are.” She tossed another handful of green mist at me in a light overhand throw.
With nowhere for me to go, it hit me. I didn’t feel the substance pelt against my skin like I expected. It seemed to pass right through my body. Yet in the next instant, I felt a tug in my belly, like I’d been hooked and some sadistic angler reeled me in. It grew painful fast.
Over my startled gasp, Erica said, “Let’s go before her boyfriend shows up.”
The men stepped apart, and Erica walked away. The power that snagged my guts yanked at me until I felt ripped in half. I found myself pulled after the witch. I screamed and jerked back. The pain got worse by about a million times, letting up only when I staggered a few steps after Erica. I made myself halt and the feeling of being torn apart increased. I shrieked again.
“What have you done to me?”
Erica paused, turning to face me with a happy smile. She’d landed her fish and was extremely pleased with herself. “I’ve got you on a leash, so to speak. Come on, Brandilynn. It’s almost dark and your master is expecting you.” She turned towards the main doors again.
I didn’t want her to hurt me more than she had. I sure didn’t want to go with her even more. Stalling for time despite being bent almost double in agony, I gasped, “What master?”
Erica stopped again, turning that smile on me again. I so didn’t like seeing her happy at this point. I would have loved to punch that little girl’s grin off her too-white face. And when I heard her answer, I wanted to really pound on her.
“The one who killed you, you silly slut. The one who is going to make sure you keep your pretty mouth shut for all eternity.”
Goons One and Two howled behind me, and not in laughter. I heard torment in those cries. I caught a glimpse of Erica’s smile falling off her face, replaced by cartoonish shock as I turned to see what was happening. Dan stood behind the Goons, his hands on their shoulders. As I stared, the two men faded before my eyes, becoming insubstantial wisps of gauzy forms. They screamed, horrible hellish wails filled with pain. Dan drew on their essence, making them wraith before my dismayed eyes.
Dan let them go and rushed at me. The next thing I knew, he tossed me over his shoulder. I bounced in his grip as he ran for the door. The pull of Erica’s ‘leash’ eased considerably as he carried me past her then grew again as he put distance between us.
“No!” she screamed, and I screamed too while the pain doubled, quadrupled, million-dupled as we hit the door. The agony became so intense I felt sure bloody insides would burst from my gut.
Dan vaulted down the library steps, and at the foot of them through my tears, I saw wards scratched into the sidewalk. The moment Dan carried me over them, the terrible pain vanished.
The darkness of the buried city blurred and froze, and I clung to Dan as he transported us away from Erica and her pet goons.
We landed in the King George’s lobby amid the well-dressed dead. No one seemed to pay us much mind when we materialized beneath the grand chandelier. The unseen band played ‘In the Mood’.