Eventually, Odette had relaxed enough to doze off. She felt weightless as she floated off until everything around her quieted down. It didn’t last very long.
Odette’s eyes shot open, met with the endless blackness of the room. It took a couple of seconds until her eyes did adjust to everything. Around her, the girls slept on. She needed to get up, she was thirsty.
The girl took care to not make much noise when she got up, maneuvering carefully around the girls’ overnight bags and other trinkets of Greer’s. Greer’s door wasn’t shut all the way and Odette was lucky that it didn’t make a loud creaking noise.
Odette peered into the hallway and looked both ways. She had no idea where the kitchen was and there was no way she would wake up the girls just to ask.
Maybe I can find a bathroom and just drink out of the faucet, Odette thought.
She padded down the hallway and squinted. Every now and then, she could make something out from the light of the moon but she found it difficult to even locate another room. Maybe it was because she was still so sleepy.
The hallway seemed to change with each step she took. Then, she ran into a wall.
Odette landed not-so-gracefully on her back. Where had the wall come from?
Maybe I wasn’t paying attention. She sighed, pushing herself back up to her feet. She was ready to go back to Greer’s room when she paused. To her right, was a door. Finally.
Odette turned the handle, hoping that it would be a bathroom. It wasn’t. Instead, she had stumbled upon a dimly lit stairwell. It was narrow and steep with no railings, and might have been a servant’s stairwell at one point. If it had been, then it should lead to the kitchen.
Despite her overwhelming desire to go down there, Odette hesitated. It was creepy and she didn’t like the horror vibes she was getting from the house. Normally, this voice would have stopped her. Normally.
Hesitation gone, Odette held onto the wall for support and descended the stairwell. She took her time with each step and made sure that she wouldn’t trip and fall to her death. The further down she went, the more sounds greeted her ears. Noises from someone. She stepped off the last stair when a loud scream caused her to let out a yelp. She pressed her hands to her chest and poked her head through the opening of the arch way. There was no light in the chamber. What light had spilled into it revealed a cement wall, far from the glamorous interior upstairs.
The noises, however, were much clearer now. Someone was whimpering like a child. A sniffle here and a hiccup there, but mainly a soft whining sound.
“He-hello?” Odette whispered. Great, now I’m that person in the horror movie. “Are you hurt?” she asked a little louder.
Whoever had been making noises suddenly stopped. A warning bell went off in her head but her feet moved without her thinking about it. She had now abandoned the safety of the light but was thankful that her eyes adjusted once more. The wall to her right, the one that had only just been illuminated, had spaces and breaks in them. It was like a prison.
Something shuffled inside the bars and Odette walked towards it. “Hello?”
“Y-you-you sh-shouldn’t be here,” the voice warbled, thick with tears.
She tilted her head but didn’t get close to the bars. Something was shining inside the “cage.” It wasn’t blue, so it wasn’t Grayson and it obviously wasn’t Greer as she was asleep upstairs. The more Odette squinted, the more she could see—she could now figure out the small window just above whoever was in the cage.
“I’m sorry. I was looking for the kitchen. Are you hurt?” She knelt down, the cold cement floor pressing uncomfortably to her bare knees.
The person jerked farther inside the cage. “You n-ne-need to g-g-oo!” The person, probably male, started crying again.
“Why are you in bars? Has someone hurt you?” She inched closer slowly.
“Please!” he whined.
Why would the Mages’ have someone in a cage? Did he put himself in there deliberately? Did he hurt himself? Did they hurt him? Why would they hurt him? Was this some kind of trap?
“Please m-m-miss, you need to-to lea-leave now!” he hiccupped.
Odette frowned. “What’s your name?”
He was quiet.
If he wouldn’t answer, she might as well tell him something to make him more comfortable. “I’m Odette Sinclair, I just moved to town.”
“I-I need you to leave! Why won’t you leave?!”
“Did someone here hurt you?” she asked quietly again.
“STOP!”
Odette gasped. A strange energy surrounded her and several invisible bonds wrapped around her wrists, ankles, and neck. It threw her backwards with a force so strong that she hit the wall behind her almost instantly. Her head connected with it hard, and the next thing she knew she was sprawled out on the floor. Spots danced in her vision as she gasped for air. Her skin burned from where she was bound but she didn’t worry about that. She couldn’t really think of much aside from the throbbing pain in her skull.
“I-I didn’t … didn’t mean to-to do that!” he wailed, his breath labored.
Odette pushed herself upright, everything moving in slow motion. Her limbs were shaking with extra effort and her head spun. “Hm?”
“I’m-I’m so sorry! I got scared and … and angry and I hu-hurt you, I didn’t mean to!” The man or boy was shaking with fear. Despite his exclamations, he was whispering so to not attract attention.
Odette didn’t respond. She wasn’t sure if she was going to throw up yet or not. Whatever had caused her to hit the wall, that brute force, it burned her flesh. Her head ached from the impact and everything in her mind was moving slowly around her, her limbs feeling like jelly.
There was more shuffling and scuffing going on in the cage. She turned her head, despite her body screaming in pain, and came face-to-face with a man with silver hair. She had met him the last time she was here.
“Thorn?”
Seeing his face in the dim light sufficiently horrified her. His face was pale but some areas were more grey and black, which she pieced together as blood. Only one dark bluish black bruised eye was visible through his shining hair. His cheek marred with old scars, some more fresh than others.
Her daze had melted away with the harsh reality. Her trembling hand came up to cup her mouth, she didn’t know whether it was to scream or to keep the horrid stench out. “Oh my God, what happened to you?”
Thorn’s lip trembled and he covered his face with his hand. “N-nothing.”
Odette crawled forward and grabbed his shirt, holding him from escaping. The man whimpered and flinched, still trying to tug away from her.
“This is not ‘nothing,’ Thorn. This is … sadistic.”
“Please miss, y-you need to leave be-before you g-get hurt-hurt too.” He tore himself from her grasp and scrambled back into the shadows.
Odette’s hand remained outstretched through the prison bars, maybe hoping he’d come back so that she could examine his face again. She slowly let it drop and pressed her face to the bars. “By ‘leave’ … you don’t just mean this room, do you?”
Thorn didn’t speak again. He didn’t have the chance to. The room lit up as glowing silver chains appeared on Thorn’s neck, arms, and legs. He cried out in pain. A sharp hissing sound met her ears, accompanied by the scent of burning hair. She could only assume in was coming from those horrid chains.
“You shouldn’t be here, princess.”
Odette whipped her head around and pressed herself up against the metal bars. Grayson stood directly behind her, his face void of emotion. The jewel was held tightly in his hand and, with every squeeze, Thorn screamed louder.
Now she felt even sicker. How could he be acting so calm?
“You’re a monster,” Odette whispered, her voice thick with fear.
Grayson quirked an eyebrow but his face remained as passive as ever. “Am I? Has this good-for-nothing been poisoning your mind with his lies?”
Thorn’s screams
no longer sounded human but like a wounded animal. It gurgled and pierced her ears like millions of knives. He seemed to be trying to speak but his words were warped and incomplete.
“You’re the real monster here,” Odette spat, scooting away from Grayson. “You’re certifiable!”
Grayson humorlessly laughed and yanked Odette up by her hair. He slammed her up against the prison bars and held her by her throat. He didn’t actually choke her but he squeezed lightly letting her know that he could at any second. He was displaying the power he had over her.
“Oh Odette, you know nothing. You’re so innocent and naive, it’s adorable.” He leaned down and ran his nose along the junction of her neck and shoulder in a faux loving manner. “That’s why I’m going to keep you. You’re mine, princess! My princess.”
And then he was kissing her. He practically head-butted her into the bars and tore at her lips with his teeth. Odette thrashed around, kicking and shoving, but nothing loosened his grip.
The amulet around his throat pulsed. She could feel a power lodge itself in her throat. The taste of iron filled her mouth but she didn’t have time to place where it came from. Grayson slammed her head against the bars again, silencing her cries, and all the fight drained out of her. There was no use now.
Then, she woke up.
VII
Odette shot up from where she laid, clutching her blanket to her chest. She panted heavily, looking around the completely purple room. There were three pairs of eyes on her, all in varying degrees of concern. She wasn’t hurt, nor was she bleeding, but she was terrified.
“Odette? Are you okay?” Greer asked. She slid away from her nest of pillows and laid a hand on her shoulder.
Odette jerked away, fear in her eyes. “I …” she began. “I think I need to leave.”
She gave no further explanation. She gathered her belongings and sprinted out of the room. She found the stairs with ease and flew down the steps, threw the front door open, and ran down the path to the road.
It didn’t matter that she was still in her pajamas or that she had on flats over her fuzzy socks. It didn’t matter if the whole thing had been a dream. It didn’t matter that she felt a fainting spell coming, that didn’t stop her from how fast she was running. And it most certainly didn’t matter that it was seven o’clock in the morning, five hours before her mom said she would pick her up.
Her hair slashed at her face as the wind picked up. Every knot in a tree had eyes. Every bird was chirping her name tauntingly. The clouds were dark and angry looking. Odette glanced over her shoulder, nothing was behind her. Nothing she could see.
Paranoia chewed at her. She wouldn’t be safe until she was home. Odette pounded on the front door, knowing that, if her parents weren’t already up, they would be now. The house came alive, lights turned on, and she heard the panicked talk of her mother and father.
Her breathing was frantic and silent tears fell from her eyes. She couldn’t turn them off or stop them even if she wanted to. She spun around, making sure that she wasn’t followed, before she beat on her front door again.
The door swung open and Odette looked up to see that it was her father, dressed and ready for work. “Det? What’s wrong?”
Odette opened her mouth but a small voice spoke inside her head. Don’t tell them about the dream. They will think you’re crazy.
They’re going to think I’m crazy anyway, Odette though in reply.
The alarm on her heart monitor was blaring. Again, she opened her mouth, only to fall down in an unconscious heap on her front porch.
Odette was certain that she had been dreaming of something when she woke up but she couldn’t think of what it was. No, it wasn’t that terrifying nightmare she had at Greer’s. She could still recall bits and pieces of that dream but even those were fading. This one was different but she couldn’t figure out how.
Eventually, she gave up trying to remember and busied herself with something else. She glanced down at her portable monitor. There was a little heart pulsing on the upper right hand corner along with her actual heart rate displayed in large print beside it. She was stable for the moment as it stayed at eighty-four beats per minute.
Odette placed the ice pack beside her and sat up. Her joints protested against this and her head throbbed. It was going to be a bad day.
The TV was on downstairs. Her mother was probably watching her comedy movies, which she did when something went wrong with Odette’s health. It took her mind off of the horrid reality that she lived in. Odette didn’t mind, she would watch them with her to make her mother happy.
Right now, Odette didn’t feel like facing her parents and their endless barrage of questions. Instead, she walked around her room and picked up different things that might amuse her. No book caught her attention and she had no energy to doodle and she didn’t even want to look at her phone. She had no doubt that the twins had messaged her, asking what was wrong.
Nothing was wrong—she was fine.
Lightning flashed and illuminated the window seat in the hallway. Odette took that as a sign and followed her gut. When she came to the old window seat, she gently lifted the lid and pulled out the journal she found, along with some other photographs and loose-leaf papers. They seemed to be pretty ordinary but there was something thrilling about looking into someone else’s life. She settled back on her bed and flipped the journal open to the second entry and began to read.
“The logging company is laying off workers. Might be next. Ava says I’m too important, but that’s what every wife says to her husband.
R. met another boy today. Didn’t like him.
She’s too young for boys. Ava doesn’t agree. She says fifteen-year-old girls need dating experience. I was a fifteen-year-old boy once. Don’t want them anywhere near her.
Boys are giving their mother grief about going to see this magic show. It was advertised the other day. Twins. Not much younger than R. Trying to find a day to take them. Looks like fun.”
Odette skimmed the next few pages of the man’s journal. It was mostly him talking about average, everyday things with very short descriptions. A handful of them mention this “R.’s” dating habits and teenage mood swings. There were some things taped up inside, like business cards and a Sunwick Grove postcard.
She flipped a few more pages and came across ticket stubs for the Mages’ magic show. Odette ran her finger over them and turned her attention to the writing beside the tickets.
“Took the kids to see the magic show. I was impressed. They were very good for being twelve. R. was called up to be an assistant. The boy flirted with her. I laughed. He’s too young for her.
They put R. in a box and shoved swords in it. I didn’t like it. The trick could have gone wrong and killed her. When they opened the box, R. was gone. The crowd was really excited. The girl closed the door and reopened it, and R. came stumbling out. She didn’t look like herself.
When she came back, I asked if she was okay.
She didn’t answer. I’m worried.”
The next entry was much shorter.
“R. went out and got a job. The Tent of Mystery. The boy walked her home.”
A photograph of a girl had been hastily taped inside the book. It was blurry and there was a finger blocking the top half corner, which covered her face. She wore a purple button up and a pair of black ripped jeans along with a little black tie.
On the next page, there was a photo of the girl, “R.,” in a booth, serving food. She looked furious as she handed an unknown customer a bag of popcorn. Her hair was tied into a loose ponytail and her shirt had wrinkles in it.
“That boy follows R. everywhere she goes. Still walks her home. Sometimes walks her to the Tent. Found her diary and saw his name mentioned, so I read it. Says that he hardly leaves her alone and only leaves when he has to. Told her multiple times that he’s going to get her a new position inside the Tent as a tech person or something. She thinks he has a crush on her. I don’t like him. Not just a dad thing
. He’s dangerous. I can feel it. Too smug and flirtatious for a normal twelve-year-old boy.
We were invited to their house for dinner. Wanted to refuse. Ava accepted. That boy was smirking.
Update: Turns out they live down the street. Didn’t know that. R. was quiet all day and locked herself in her room. Worried. Dinner was fine. The grandfather seemed just as shady. The girl was nice. The boy seemed too nice. Must know I don’t like him. R. chatted with him and his sister, nothing else happens. When we were leaving, the boy kissed R.’s hand.”
Odette pursed her lips. This family, presumably the ones who lived there first, was connected to the Mages twins. An ugly nauseous feeling twisted in her gut but she forced herself to keeping reading.
When she flipped the page, the date read that it was the next month. That was a large jump in time for this guy. Taped inside was a picture of the inside of a journal. She had to bring the book close to her to make out the words on the page.
“He won’t leave me alone. I’m really scared, to be honest. He’s … everywhere. I’ve been moved inside and promoted to ‘backstage manager’ even though all I do is stand there with a headset and a clipboard with copy paper. I doodle during most of the shows.
Grays is a nice boy. He was a nice boy. Maybe he still is. He is always watching EVEN during the show, which is totally weird. I’ve been telling my friends about it. Ian thinks that he’s just having his first crush and not to worry. Kalum is weary of him. Bree is on Kalum’s side, especially since our sleepover. I didn’t tell Mom and Dad about what happened.
When I go to sleep at night, I dream of these eyes watching me. They’re his eyes. I don’t know. Maybe I just need to tell him I’m not into him like that.
Anyway, Westley is taking me out tomorrow. I think I’m going to–”
The photo didn’t show the rest of the sentence but the father’s journal picked up right after.
“I knew it. I KNEW that kid was messing with her. She’s paranoid now. Doesn’t help that she’s keeping more things from us now. Ava is starting to worry as well. R. really isn’t herself. Very jumpy. Won’t watch scary movies anymore. Happy she’s found friends her own age. Going to keep a closer eye on this boy.”
Violent Delights Page 7