“You will think I am crazy if I do.”
He smiled, but all she could catch was a small twist of the lips. “Tell me anyway.”
“His eyes turned yellow and they glowed like an animal’s caught in the headlights of a car.” He had been shrouded in shadows, but those eyes had been vivid.
“Did you see anything else?”
She told him about the claws and the drawing sense of terror she felt when she saw his nails grow and his hand change, becoming an animal, one she couldn’t pinpoint.
“Did he touch you, kitten?”
Silent tears ran down her face and her body shook in fear.
“I need to know what he did. Please tell me.”
Niko’s voice had become soft, the kind of voice you could lose yourself in. His voice said trust me, I will never betray you. She found herself inching a little closer to him. She wanted the warmth his voice promised. She needed to touch the burning inferno. She needed to touch him to drive away the coldness of the memories.
“He walked towards me silently. He should have been right in front of me, but I couldn’t see him. All I could see was the shadow of that creature on the wall.”
‘Do you want to know what hell is?’ He whispered that in my ear and still I couldn’t see him. I wanted to reach out and defend myself, but I was helpless. He ran the tip of one long, sharp claw over my shoulder.”
‘I could cut you,’ then he laughed as if it was a private joke. Then he said, ‘I will cut you. Do you wonder where I will do it?’
“He ran his claws over me. Down the front of my shirt, making sure he touched my breasts, pinching and pulling at them. He even ran his hands up and down my legs. When he was done he laughed.” Her body had been ice cold, she had frozen in place. Fear that a sudden move from her would cause him to kill her ensured that she would be motionless. ‘The back of your neck at the base of your skull. That’s where I will cut you.’
“He took one of his claws and cut me there deeply. I thought I was dead or at least paralyzed for the rest of my life. He watched the blood flowing and laughed. He called the base of the skull the doorway to the mind for his people. Then I saw his tongue come out. It was long and thin and moved like a snake. He bent his head to me and licked the wound, groaning at the taste of my blood.”
She raised her tear stained face to him. The tears flowed harder as she gave herself permission to finish.
‘You’re infected now. Death, when it finally comes, will be a relief. Don’t worry, insanity will find you long before then.’
“I could feel it, whatever it was invading my body. It wanted to take me over, to make me into something else. My brain burned, but I fought back as impossible as that sounds. Finally I passed out. When I woke up, I was with Rena’s boss Mr. Harris and he was looking at me with sad eyes. You know the rest.”
“I know the rest.”
He moved over, closing in the last bit of space that separated them. He took her in his arms.
“Sleep kitten and rest.”
Chapter Ten
She stretched, feeling something hard holding her down. She shook her head in quick denial. There was no way she had fallen asleep in some man’s bed. She opened one eye just a crack and everything rushed back in.
She hadn’t fallen asleep in some man’s bed. She had fallen asleep in Niko’s arms. Where’s a random stranger when you needed one?
“I know you’re awake,” Niko said.
“Am not.”
“Not only are you awake, but you’re alive and unravished. I guess Rena won’t be crying over your coffin after all.”
The man had no compassion. If he did, he wouldn’t be reminding her of last night.
“Didn’t your mother teach you compassion?” She used her sharp tone of voice on him, trying to hide her embarrassment.
“No, she didn’t. I never met my mother. None of us ever did.”
Why must she always say the wrong thing? She closed her eyes, wishing for a do over or a wall to bang her head against.
“Forgive me, Niko. I was being rude. I guess I was trying to save face.”
“How would you know, kitten? It’s not something I ever told you. I was thinking about breakfast. Do you cook?”
“Not really. I don’t eat a lot.”
“I know and now you eat even less. So I will see what I can make for breakfast.”
“I am not hungry. I will skip it.”
“No, you won’t”
“Yes, I will. I said I am not hungry.”
“Go take a good look at yourself, kitten. You’re nothing but skin and bones. You keep this up, Rena will be crying over your sealed coffin.”
The fact that he said Rena and not himself was like a kick in the gut and she wasn’t appreciating it.