Pursued(134)

“No.” Elise closed her eyes tightly. Pressing her palms to her temples, she pushed as hard as she could, squeezing her skull between her hands, as though if she pressed hard enough she could get rid of the awful memories. The rotting ghouls that flooded her mind with horror and filth. What he did to me, how he touched me, the way he did it over and over and over…

“Elise, please,” Merrick whispered. “Please, talk to me.”

“I can’t. I won’t. Leave me alone…leave me alone.” Elise pressed her skull harder, digging her fingers into her scalp, trying to drive out the pain. Inside her head she heard her stepfather whispering, telling her what he was going to do next, how much he was going to enjoy it, enjoy hurting her again…

It was too much. Too horrible. And this time Elise knew she’d never be able to forget again—the vault was broken beyond repair. She would live the rest of her life with this horror, this agony, this pain and shame and despair.

I’d rather die, she thought, and then it was as though her brain overloaded. Somewhere inside, a fuse blew and everything went into fast-forward—Charles and Buck and the awful weekend ran and smeared together in a loop that wouldn’t stop. Elise opened her mouth in a silent scream…and then knew no more.





Chapter Thirty-two




“There is a healing hut a level down from here. Can you carry her in the dark?” Mother-Healer asked, when Merrick emerged from the Elder’s hut carrying Elise’s limp form.

He nodded shortly. “Lead the way.”

“Come, then.”

Merrick followed the old woman, holding Elise carefully in one arm and negotiating the climbing vines with the other. It was full dark now, and he was glad of his Kindred night vision. One wrong move would send them both plunging from the top of the grandfather tree to the jungle floor below.

But it wasn’t the dangerous nighttime journey he was worried about—it was Elise. Gods, what she’d been through in the past hour, reliving her horrible past…it was enough to make him feel sick to his stomach. Her fear and pain and anguish had all transmitted clearly through their bond—Merrick had even been able to catch some of her thoughts as the awful scene unfolded. It had been hard to take, but he knew it was a thousand times worse for Elise, who had lived it.

Merrick cursed himself for not stopping it sooner, for not offering himself in her stead. But she had pricked her finger before he could stop her, and the poison of the pain vine worked so quickly…

Over and over again he heard her screams, saw the hungry, predatory gleam in her stepfather’s eyes as he pushed Elise down and took her. Rage rose in Merrick's throat like a hot and bitter bile. Goddess, he prayed as he stepped off the tree trunk and his feet found a solid branch to stand on. I don’t know if you care to hear me—if you care about me at all. But grant me this one request—let me kill the male who wronged Elise. Even though I could not save her, let me avenge her pain once and for all…

“Lay her down here.” Mother-Healer’s voice interrupted his prayer and he realized they were inside another leafy hut and she was indicating a low bed platform. He settled Elise gently on the bed and was disturbed to see that her eyes were open but she was completely unresponsive.

“What’s wrong with her?” he demanded, snapping his fingers in front of Elise’s face. “Why doesn’t she respond?”

“She is trapped in the past.” The old woman’s voice was grim. “Sometimes, when the memories are too strong, the pain vine will not release its victim.”

“What?” Merrick roared. “You mean she’s still reliving it? Over and fucking over again?”

“She will not be for long. Let me administer the cure.” Quickly she unwrapped something from her blue robes and Merrick saw that it was the skrillix branch Elise had taken—the one the Elders had insisted she buy with her pain. He hated the sight of it now, but he knew they still needed it—which was why he was concerned when the old woman pulled off one of the crimson berries. “Only one,” she said, seeing Merrick’s worried look. “That which harms can also heal.”

Gently, she pried open Elise’s mouth and squeezed the berry until its blood-red juice ran between her lips. At first there was no reaction. Then, to Merrick’s immense relief, Elise coughed and blinked her eyes. She looked up at him. “Merrick?”

“Hey, baby.” He reached down to cup her cheek but she ducked away from his touch.

“Don’t.”

“Why not?” Merrick’s heart ached. “Are you afraid of me again? Because of what you remembered?”