Dark Matter

by Christie Rich

  I hid my smile around a gulp of milk. Here she stood, nearly six feet tall with muscles most linebackers would envy. She didn’t dress daintily, either. She was wearing shorts that probably were supposed to hit mid-thigh, but on her, they were more like daisy dukes, only emphasizing how sculpted her legs were. She didn’t bring to mind innocence as her name inferred. She was more like black leather and fishnet stockings.

  She shifted a defiant hip. “Yeah, I know. My name doesn’t fit, but it was the one I was given.”

  I frowned at her. “Why don’t you change it if it bugs you so much?”

  She shrugged. “It’s the only thing I have to remind me of my mom.”

  I knew exactly how she felt. “You know what? I like it. It suits you just fine.”

  She gave me a half-hearted smile and plopped on the mattress beside me. “You’re nice. You shouldn’t be. It won’t get you anywhere in here.”

  I pointed at my plate and tilted my head in a silent question.

  “That’s nothing. I have my reasons for wanting to make sure you are strong.”

  “What’s that?”

  She looked around the room as though self-conscious or paranoid and shrugged. “You up for a little walk?”

  I shoved a forkful of eggs into my mouth and grabbed the only portable food on the plate before I attempted to stand up. The blackness returned to the edges of my vision, and I swayed on my feet, but I was able to stabilize myself after a few seconds. I looked her in the eyes. “Let’s go.”

  She led me down the bland hall and out into the bright daylight. If I didn’t know better I might have thought I was back in Faeresia. The air was humid and hugged my skin in a thin layer.

  Several women sat in a circle under the shade of a large tree chit-chatting the day away as if they were friends escaping the drudgery of everyday life. One girl glanced up and saw us coming. She jumped to her feet and raced over to us. The rest were quick to follow. Before I knew it, I was surrounded by a group of smiling faces.

  Lacey clapped her arm around my shoulders. “We might not be much to look at, but we are yours to command.”

  I glanced around, my jaw clenching tight. “Great,” I said. “Get me out of here.”

  They responded with a low hum of chuckles. Lacey laughed too, “See, girls. What did I tell you?”

  The group swarmed in around me and began speaking to one another, loudly. I fought the urge to cover my ears. Lacey bent nearer. “We can’t really talk right now. Too many ears are listening.”

  “How can anyone hear anything over this buzz?”

  “You’d be surprised.”

  The noise just stopped and the girls dispersed in separate directions. Fingers clamped around my arm, and I was spun so fast I felt dizzy. Roger pulled me away from Lacey quicker than I had time to say a word.

  I pushed at his fingers and tried to dig in my heels, but I might as well have been fighting against a bull. He dragged me over to the side yard.

  He let go of me, but his eyes pinned me where I stood. “What do you think you are doing?”

  I gave him a level expression. “Meeting the locals. What’s it to you?”

  “It isn’t anything to me, but I’m not who you need to worry about.”

  I glanced at the red mark on my arm. “Could have fooled me.”

  “Rayla, you need to be very careful in here. You can’t trust anyone.”

  “What makes you think I would?”

  “It’s just that I thought…” He pressed his lips together and glanced behind us. “Then what were you just doing?”

  I gave him a disgusted eye-roll with an elongated sigh. It felt good to do it. “Look. I just got out here. In case you didn’t notice, I wasn’t exactly the one controlling the conversation.”

  He glanced around then shook his head. “You need to stay away from those girls. They can’t help you. None of us can.”

  I hadn’t missed his implication, but I had to be mistaken. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  He turned away from me and raised his shirt. “I tried to stop them.” Oozing red welts in a crisscross pattern covered his entire back.

  I gasped, moving closer. “Doesn’t it hurt?”

  He whirled around before I could touch him. “Of course it does.”

  I had no idea what to say at that point. I couldn’t bring myself to tell him I was sorry. How could I have stopped them from whipping him? I was unconscious for pities sake. Besides, he hadn’t exactly been pleasant to be around. I finally came up with, “Thanks.”

  A confused expression skittered across his eyes before he narrowed them at me. “Well, don’t get too distraught over the whole thing.”

  “This has nothing to do with me!”

  “That’s where you’re wrong. Everything that has happened from the moment you stepped a pretty little foot on this island has all been about you.”

  “What is that supposed to mean?” I was getting tired of asking that question. It was starting to sound like my catch phrase.

  He lifted his gaze away from me momentarily. I followed his line of sight. Lacey was walking away from us. The other girls were gone. Roger’s jaw clenched before he looked back at me. “Everything has changed since you got here.”

  “I’m not about to marry you, if that is what you’re worried about.”

  He laughed then, loud and angry. “You are nothing but a fool.” I opened my mouth to protest, but he cut me off. “Save your bluster. We need to go.”

  I shook my head at him. “I don’t bluster.”

  “Yeah, I know. Come on.” He reached for my arm, but I pulled away before he could grab me.

  “I can walk fine without your assistance.”

  “Fine by me.” He started off the way Lacey had gone.

  I looked behind me, scanning for a way out of this place.

  “Don’t even think about it, Rayla. I’m aching for a reason to come after you.”

  When I turned to look at him, he was right by me. I recoiled away from him, but he didn’t move toward me.

  He was scary. I hadn’t heard anything other than the wind.

  I glared at him before I started down the path. I could feel him behind me watching me, but I couldn’t hear him at all.

  After a few minutes, he walked beside me. We didn’t say a word to each other. At first all I could focus on was how much of a freak he was, but after a while I realized I needed to pay attention to where he was taking me. Somewhere in this compound were the two reasons I had come here in the first place. I began scanning the area, trying to figure out what the buildings were used for. They were all centered around a large four story building that didn’t really look like much if you asked me.

  It was made of faded tan brick with rows of dirty windows that looked oddly placed as if they weren’t at eye level. How was it that the richest organization on the planet was holed up in less than average digs? Somehow I had expected opulent palaces filled with the worlds lost treasures.

  I glanced up at Roger who was staring straight ahead with a blank look on his face. I actually found myself feeling sorry for the louse. He’d never really had a chance to be a decent person. I still didn’t understand how the order functioned, but I could just imagine the sort of grooming they used to turn boys into good little soldiers who wouldn’t question the absurdity of the life they lived.

  He led me up the front stairs of the big building and through the glass doors. The inside was even more dilapidated than the exterior with peeling paint and worn out carpet that looked as if it had been there since the beginning of the previous century.

  We walked down the hall in silence. I was just fine with that. I had no desire to develop any sort of relationship with him. For all I knew he was trying to get me to trust him or, worse yet, make me fall in love with him and his offended display earlier was just part of his act.

  He pushed the right side of a double door open then ushered me into an enormous room that looked like the assembly hall at my old high
school. An excited hum that could only come from the shrill voices of young women assaulted me. Roger guided me ahead of him and silence followed us down the aisle.

  Gazes attached to me like invisible leeches, but I tried to ignore the rising panic tightening my insides. I had been greeted with unmistakable awe in the fae realm. Not so here. These girls were looking at me with hate filled eyes, not even bothering to hide their contempt.

  I was relieved when Roger motioned for me to take the stairs up to the stage. I kept my gaze glued to the fraying velvet curtains and took the seat he pointed to. That was before I realized I had an unobstructed view of the women that loathed me. That was okay. Now was a great time to pick the grime out from under my fingernails.

  The spaced filled once again with voices, but this time the tone was lower and hushed to the point of being absurd. The doors at the back of the room burst open. The two burley men who seemed to have no names entered the space. The one I’d christened Frick gave me a long once over. Frack just laughed at my shudder. I was really beginning to dislike those guys. Ainessa was the next to enter the room. She had her hand draped over Mr. Lambert’s elbow, leaning in towards him as if they were lovers. In fact, that was exactly what they acted like.

  I felt my face flush with the heat of hate as I stared at the two of them. How could he do that to his wife? Amy Lambert was the sweetest person on the planet. The sharp sound of vigorous applause snapped me to attention.

  I was horrified to see the reaction the previously hostile crowd was giving them. Why would Elementals treat these two like royalty? The only thing I could come up with was they had to have been brainwashed from the day they were born. These girls probably had no idea they were nothing more than strung up puppets. I scanned the group looking for any sign of dissention. Lacey was in the front row clapping louder than anyone else. At first I thought she was seriously gone like the rest of them, but the hard-set line of her shoulders told me it was just an act. At least I hoped it was.

  I recognized a few of the girls from earlier, but I couldn’t tell if they were as crazy as the majority who were now on their feet.

  Mr. Lambert took his place at the podium and grinned. I could only see his profile, but he was giving these women his charming smile. He had used it on me a few times after I turned eighteen and even though I would never admit this to Cassie, it had made my knees a little weak and my stomach churn at the thought of being attracted to my best friend’s dad.

  No amount of schmooze filled grins could make me feel that way again. He was corrupt and the worst sort of man, hiding his evilness deep inside him.

  Every eye was trained on his movements as if he was Elvis reincarnated. What was wrong with these people?

  Ainessa took the chair next to me. When she sat, her leg brushed mine. I snapped my gaze up to meet hers. She gave me a content expression and then rested her gaze on Mr. Lambert.

  He raised his hand high in the air and a hush filled the auditorium. “Today marks the first great stride the Order has made in the war to claim our planet.” He looked over his shoulder at me, and I flinched when his gaze rested on mine. He smiled, big and sure. “Come here, Rayla.”

  I stayed where I was until the two guards leaned toward me. I slunk from my chair and stood three feet away from him.

  He laughed, reaching out to pull me closer. He side hugged my shoulders as if he and I were besties then laughed. “She is a little shy. Has been since the day I met her.”

  The crowd gave an obligatory laugh, but not one mouth twitched into a real smile. I might as well have been standing in front of a lion filled arena. They all looked as if I was going to be their next meal. He let go of me, and I made a hasty retreat to my chair.

  “Sisters, this is indeed a glorious day. Soon you will not have to bear the burden of slavery.” He glanced at Ainessa. “With the help of our new friend, we will all be free to live the way God intended.”

  Blasphemy was all I could think. That man didn’t know a thing about God.

  I swear I had to listen to that rubbish for three hours. Mr. Lambert didn’t actually say anything important. He just went on and on about how the Elementals would soon be free all thanks to our new friend.

  Ainessa gave me a nod before Frick and Frack came to escort me to my cell. I tried to ignore them completely, but just about lost it when Frack slid a hand down my arm. I glared at him until I realized there was nothing stopping these men from assaulting me.

  Frick shoved me through my door then slammed it shut. If I had known what would happen next, I would have begged him to kill me.

  I was on my cot, staring at the ceiling imagining the water-spots were clouds. I hadn’t been outside in over ten days, and I was beginning to really feel it.

  Keys jangled in the hall. I knew who it was before she peeked through the door. Lacey was the only one that gave me any warning that she was coming.

  I smiled at her. I had hoped she would be the one to come get me today. I had given up trying to escape weeks ago. Every time I had, I had been punished. At first it was small things like refusing to feed me for a day but it soon morphed into a horrible beating.

  I would have been fine if I had been the one to feel the sting of the whip, but they didn’t want to disrupt my fragile state. Instead, they picked a random girl to beat within an inch of her life. She had faced it bravely. I watched her the entire time flinching with every blow. To make matters worse, it was an Elemental that inflicted the punishment.

  Her name was May. Even if she hadn’t told me in no uncertain terms that she wished I was dead, I would have known she hated me. It wasn’t the outright glaring that she did whenever she saw me. It was more in the way her fingers would curl at the sight of me as if she was just counting the days until she could get them around my throat.

  It had only taken one beating for me to do as I was told. I couldn’t bear to think I was the cause of someone else’s pain.

  Lacey set my tray on the side table and watched amusedly as I dug in. I was beginning to wonder if Gibbit’s cure for being fae-nipped was only temporary. I couldn’t get enough to eat lately.

  “Better slow down. You’re going to make yourself sick.”

  I smiled. “Maybe this time I’ll get lucky and hit my target.”

  She didn’t laugh. She never did. I could see the light of amusement in her eyes, but if I hadn’t been directly in front of her I would have never known. I had begun wondering if the room was bugged.

  “We have a few minutes. Good luck today, by the way.”

  Her tone belied her expression. She had said it like she meant it, but looking at her now, she was worried.

  “Thanks,” I said to play along.

  I had listened to Mr. Lambert’s rhetoric without so much as one eye-roll even though I was aching for a good one. I had pretended to consider everything I was told when in reality I was seething inside.

  Luke had been right. The Order had been stealing the strongest Elementals for decades. The experiments never stopped like Zach thought they had either. Ten girls at the compound were pregnant with enhanced embryos. I’d been told they had more at other facilities. They never kept all the Elementals in one place just in case the fae found one of the compounds. They had developed a small army of soldiers. Progress was slow though because most often the fetus would die at around six months. They were hoping to make a true male Elemental and not just a super human now that they had me to use as a guinea pig.

  I had been astounded to learn that Roger was one of them. He was impervious to illness and most injuries. The only way to kill a hybrid—my term—was decapitation. Even an armor-piercing bullet through the heart wouldn’t stop him. His tissues would regenerate before any real damage could be done. At this point they were guessing that his kind would live thousands of years, no problem. They also would never look old.

  Hybrid cells didn’t degenerate. I was beginning to wonder if they had managed to create an immortal, but I would likely never know.

&nbs
p; “Hey,” said Lacey, bringing me out of my contemplation. “Roger said you’d be released tonight if it didn’t take.”

  My heart fluttered at the thought. Even being able to walk around the compound sounded great after having been locked up for so long. I was moments away from finding out if I was pregnant. I still couldn’t believe it was possible. I hadn’t been conscious during any of the procedures so it didn’t exactly seem real. I was determined to keep a good attitude. “Will you come find me and show me around after…?” I couldn’t make myself finish the sentence.

  Frick poked his head through the doorway. I still didn’t know his name because I had never cared to ask. He gave a glare to Lacey who scurried out of the room with a “Later,” shot over her shoulder. So much for having her support.

  Chapter Twenty

  I rose to my feet and followed him down the hall. I stepped to the side of him because I couldn’t stand smelling his BO. I was convinced he had never even heard of deodorant.

  Although, to be honest, I probably didn’t smell much better. They hadn’t given me anything but soap to wash with. And all I had was the little sink in my cell. I’d done the best with what I had to work with, but I couldn’t really get all that clean. They were trying to break me, but it hadn’t worked yet.

  My muscles were stiff and I had a hard time keeping up with him, but I managed. He wasn’t much of a talker. He mostly just did his job. I couldn’t say the same thing about Frack. He was horrible. More than once I had had to deal with him accidentally touching me in places he shouldn’t. I had complained to Ainessa who only laughed at me.

  The more I thought about her, the more anger stalled in my throat. I couldn’t believe how evil that woman was. Forget about what she was doing to me. I meant nothing to her, but she was letting some faceless monster devour Zach’s energy on a regular basis and seemed more than happy to do it.

  The only thing roaming around my mind right now was a big fat—why. Zach had told me that he refused to do something she wanted him to do, but that hardly seemed to justify this sort of punishment. Even if Gibbit was right and Zach threw away a chance at the fae throne, it was no reason to torture him like that. I had only been exposed to that creature for a few minutes at most, and I felt as though my body had been beaten afterward.