“What do you want Scarlet?” Milo asked.
“You know what we want.”
“You can’t have her,” Milo growled.
“You’ve groomed her long enough, don’t you think Milo?” Scarlet hissed. “I think it’s time she comes with us.”
Milo clenched his jaw. What the hell was Scarlet talking about?
“I’m not giving her up,” Milo replied. He put on a pair of black leather gloves and pulled out two daggers exactly like Alva’s with black crystal blades.
“Now Milo, you know what happens to traitors.” Scarlet clicked her tongue. “If I were you, I’d put the obsidian daggers away and give her to me. You don’t want her blood on your conscious, do you?”
Milo’s nose flared deep in thought. He kept the blades in his hands weighing his options. Alva took one look outside the window and saw they were outnumbered.
“Just do as she says,” Alva advised Milo even though her face was uncertain.
Milo shook his head.
“Milo there are too many of them. We can’t take them on. We’ll get killed,” Alva pleaded.
“They are not taking my daughter!” My mother yelled. She vanished into her room then came out wielding a rifle with Killer behind.
“Don’t go out there!” I cried, but she wouldn’t listen. “Get out of my way!” She pointed the gun at Milo.
Milo raised his hands, “that’s not a good idea. Put the gun down.”
“Move, or I’ll shoot you.” Hesitantly, Milo moved. My mother opened the front door and pointed the gun straight at Scarlet’s head. Scarlet took a step back.
“Get the hell out of my house!” My mother shouted at Scarlet, but she didn’t move. She sauntered toward my mother. “I mean it!” My mother shouted again.
Scarlet crept closer when my mother pulled the trigger. Scarlet’s hand moved so fast; we didn’t see where the bullet went. Then Scarlet’s lip rose to an evil grin. She raised a hand. The bullet was in between her fingers. Scarlet picked up Killer, who ran out of the house growling and barking and biting her feet. She opened her mouth to reveal a mouth full of jagged sharp teeth and two long fangs. Scarlet sank her teeth into Killer’s little neck. Killer yelped as his blood dripped down Scarlet’s mouth. After she sucked him dry, Scarlet tossed Killer’s lifeless body to the grass like a rag doll. My body went icy with terror. I couldn’t believe my eyes.
Bloodsucking angels with fangs.
“When did they get fangs?” I swallowed, my lip quivering. The curse, I thought. The angels were cursed to crave the flesh of humans. They’re going to skin us alive and use our faces as masks for Halloween.
My mother—utterly white in the face—ran back inside the house and locked the door behind her. I’d never seen my mother so scared before. Milo didn’t mention this the day of the lake. Probably because he knew I’d run the other way and never look back.
Dylan kicked the door in, it fell to the ground with a loud bang. Milo blocked the entrance.
“What’s it gonna be Milo? Will you rise with us or fall with them?” Dylan asked.
Milo turned his head back, his cold calculating stare burned into my eyes. He remained stoic, poker-faced. If he felt anything at all, he didn’t show it. Then, in a flick of a second, I could have sworn I saw an apologetic look cross Milo’s face.
Milo moved out of the way. I nearly fainted at Milo’s betrayal. I felt a sharp jab in my stomach almost like I’d been stabbed with a knife. I screamed louder than I’d ever screamed before. Dylan grabbed my arm, but I fought back with tooth and nails. That’s when I felt a hot searing, stinging pain on the side of my head followed by an intense dull ache. It wasn’t long before my world turned black.
CHAPTER
27
My brain went in and out of consciousness as I attempted to open my eyes. My vision blurred, and a throbbing pain pulsated from the back of my head. I slowly managed to sit up straight and massaged my neck to ease the pain but only made it worse. I cried out in pain. I was in a strange empty room with only a queen-size bed barren of sheets or pillows. A bedside lamp sitting on the floor provided the only light. There wasn’t a window, just a door. When I looked down to examine the mattress, I noticed brown stains all over and the disgusting smell of urine. The stench filled my nose and permeated my senses, I thought I was going to gag.
Glancing around, I couldn’t tell if it was day or night. I had no recollection of how I got there. The last thing I remembered was standing at the entry of my house when Dylan kicked the door in. I began to panic once the memories began to trickle in. I’d been kidnapped by Dylan and Scarlet.
I could be anywhere. Fear prickled down my spine at the thought. I ran for the door but found no doorknob. My heart sank. There wasn’t a way out. My body slowly crumbled to the ground as I let out a shaky sigh and curled my arms over my head. The feelings of desperation and hopelessness engulfed my body.
What did I get myself into? I was knee deep in shit, and there was no way I was getting out of this one. I hugged my body in self-pity and buried my head in my knees. I sobbed like a little baby. I wanted to go home, but the thought of home made me cry even harder. This was my fault. How could I have been so stupid to trust Milo? Even after Scarlet’s warning at Stone Mountain?
The sound of footsteps nearing startled me. I sat back in the bed like an obedient child when I heard the deadbolt unlocked with two loud clicks. A girl, around my age, dressed in tight shorts and purple tank-top was escorted into the room by an angel wearing gloves and a black uniform with the symbol of the sun on the shoulder. On his holster, he carried the same dagger with the black crystal blade Milo had. Obsidian blades, Scarlet had called them.
The girl walked towards me carrying a mesh tote full of makeup and shower items on her arm. The angel guard closed the door and stood by.
“I’m Skye. I’m here to help you get ready,” she said in a tone hard to decipher. She sounded annoyed she was chosen for the task, but there was a hint of fear in her voice. I stuck my hands between my legs and kept my vision low.
Skye sat next to me and asked, “what’s your name?”
My lips remained sealed shut. I turned away from her.
“It’s easier if you cooperate. If you don’t, they’ll do things…awful things.” The tension in her voice told me she was petrified.
My body trembled. Hot tears suddenly escaped my eyes. “Where am I?” I asked in a shaky voice.
“You’re in a place for girls.” Skye grabbed a brush from the bag and combed my hair. I flinched then pulled away from her. “This will be your new home from now on.”
My new home? I cried again, this time a little harder.
Annoyed by my tears, as if she’d seen the exact same reaction many times before, Skye rolled her eyes.
“Come on,” she said dryly. “I have to give you a tour.”
I followed Skye out of the door into a cold, wet and dimly lit passageway carved through rock. Water slowly dripped onto a small basin surrounded by stalagmite pillars of different shapes and sizes. I was inside a cave.
“Watch your step,” Skye warned. “It’s slippery in some areas.”
“Where am I?” I asked.
“Does it matter?” Skye responded curtly.
I followed Skye closely, the angel guard remained glued to both us, until we reached a large opening that had green lockers on one side of the wall, on the opposite, vanity mirrors with globe lights around each one. A group of girls, a few of them around my age, stood in front of the mirrors applying makeup and wore paper-thin outfits paired with high heels. The red lipstick made the younger ones resemble mature Lolitas.
My stomach clenched. I was inside a brothel. I hugged my body, as if to shield myself from the horrific lives the girls led.
“This is where you will get dressed every night before you leave,” she mentioned.
“Leave? Where?”
“Your sole purpose is to make money. If you don’t, they’ll beat you,” she said in a
God-fearing tone as if she’d experienced it before. I noticed a scar on her neck like she’d been burned— no—branded in the shape of the sun. When Skye saw me staring at the scar, she draped her hair over it.
A tear escaped my eye.
Skye wiped the tear away, leaned into my ear and whispered, “don’t let them see you cry. It’s a sign of weakness. They devour the weak.” She pulled away and placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder. “It’s going to be okay. As long as you behave”—her lip curled slightly— “you’ll be left alone.”
☩
The bathroom smelled of disinfectant and sweat, not even the vapor coming from the hot water could hide the stink. I placed my forehead against the shower tile, grout yellowed with age, as the hot water burned my skin red. I’d been in the shower for a few minutes, but time felt like an eternity.
Skye stood outside with the angel guard, both vigilantly watching my every move.
“Time’s up,” Skye said from the other side of the shower curtain. “You’re eating up all the hot water.”
Skye opened the shower curtain catching me off guard. I covered whatever I could with my arms, but Skye kept her focus on my face.
“You have nothing I haven’t seen before,” she said and tossed me a towel.
After I got dressed in the clothes Skye had for me—a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt, I was escorted into a large room similar to the dressing rooms except instead of mirrors there where several round tables and many new faces. In the corner, there was a rectangular table full of biscuits wrapped in yellow paper near a microwave and water bottles. I didn’t see any of the girls who were getting dressed earlier. I wasn’t met with curious stares. Other than the few hushed conversations, the girls mainly kept to themselves as they ate in silence.
“I’m not hungry,” I told Skye timidly.
“Eat,” she said in an irritated voice. “You need the energy.”
Skye grabbed two biscuits and two bottled waters. I followed her to an empty table where I sat down and kept my head low. Skye placed the food in front of me, but I couldn’t eat it. How could anyone eat in a situation like this? Just thinking about food while they forced the girls do God-knows-what, made my stomach churn.
Scanning the room, I noticed another angel guard standing by the door tentatively watching the girls eat, watching for disobedience. He wore the same black uniform with the symbol of the sun on the shoulder, same gloves, the same obsidian daggers as the angel who escorted Skye and me. The weapon must be very powerful if all the angels carried it, and because they wore gloves, the angels couldn’t touch it.
After a long, dreaded silence, I asked Skye, “how did you end up here?”
“It’s a long story,” she said.
“He convinced her to prostitute herself,” said a girl with short coal hair and bangs up to her hairline. She sat down at our table. Her skin was pale, and she had dark circles under her eyes like she hadn’t slept in days. “You must be one of the new ones. I’m Ruby.”
“He didn’t convince me—” Skye tried to defend herself.
“He did. You’re part of the quill lovers who were dumb enough to come here on your own will. And for what? Love?” Ruby narrowed her eyes at Skye. I could feel the hostility between the two girls. A short glance at Skye told me Ruby was telling the truth. Skye bent her posture as she stared at her food, her nostrils flared a little.
“What about you, new girl?” Ruby asked me. “What’s your story? Which angel did you stupidly fall in love with?”
“I was taken from my house in front of…in front of my mother,” I said my throat dry. I opened the water bottle and took a long sip like I hadn’t drank in days.
“Damn. That’s pretty ballsy of the angels. You must have tried their patience if they just took you. Kidnapping is not their thing. It ruins their reputation, even though they have done it before. They don’t like the parents sniffing around looking for their daughters. That’s why they make us call home once a month to check-in.” Ruby took one bite of her biscuit.
I lifted my eyebrows. Priscilla was here. Somewhere.
“So, which angel was it?” Ruby asked again.
“Uh, Scarlet and—”
“No.” She cut me off. “Which angel pursued you?”
My eyes dropped. I always wondered Milo’s motive the entire time he pursued me. What could a handsome angel like Milo find so damn interesting about a seventeen-year-old high school girl? And now that I knew the truth, it shattered my spirit even more. Everything Milo told me was a lie.
My eyes watered, I turned away unwilling to continue any further with the conversation. I thought about telling Ruby his name, but I was afraid of the answer. I didn’t want to hear about the other girls he lured. Ruby exhaled, a look of pity in her eyes as she continued with information.
“It’s what they do. They groom you. They lie and tell you, you are the most beautiful girl that’s ever lived…treat you like a princess”—a tear escaped my eye, but I quickly wiped it away— “buy you lavish gifts. Once you’re hooked, they ask you to run away. Then they bring you here.”
I kept my face hidden from Ruby and the others. I couldn’t let them see me cry.
“They also have recruiters. Young girls who swear allegiance to them.”
Savannah.
“That’s enough, Ruby,” Skye said.
“What?” Ruby said in a defensive tone. “You don’t think she has a right to know?”
“Do you want her to kill herself?” Sky asked then turned to me. “Ruby likes to stir shit. Last month two new girls committed suicide because of her. They couldn’t handle the truth.”
“It’s not my fault they were weak,” Ruby said flicking a piece of biscuit bread off the table. “Weak little sheep.”
I didn’t want to hear the truth either, but I felt compelled to hear more. “I can handle it,” I said with a nod of approval for Ruby to continue.
“The angels target girls who come from a strictly religious upbringing. They like to shake their family’s faith and put a thorn in their belief system. I was in Catholic school all my life. Wasn’t allowed to talk to any boys or touch my private parts because it was a sin. Cosmo magazine was forbidden in my house. I didn’t lose my virginity until I was twenty-two to the angel fucker who took me. Today, I’m the best lay in ATL. Ironic, isn’t it?”
Up until that moment, everything Ruby told me made sense, except the religious part. Yes, Milo definitely groomed me, he told me I was beautiful, bought me lavish gifts, but what didn’t make sense—my family wasn’t religious. We went to church to keep up appearances, but behind closed doors, my mother practiced witchcraft. Maybe Milo got confused?
“What are you forced to do?” I asked once my tears dried.
“Everything and anything,” Ruby answered. “How experienced are you?”
“Experienced?”
Ruby’s eyes narrowed then widened. “You’re a virgin?”
“Ruby just stop,” Skye warned her again.
Ruby cackled like a psychopath. In that moment, I decided I hated Ruby. “They sell virgins around here to high bidders.”
“What?” I shuddered.
“Old dirty men love virgins,” Ruby egged on.
My body grew rigid with panic. I was going to be sold like cattle? There was no way in hell I was going to allow them. I had to figure out a way to escape.
Once I calmed down, I asked, “where are we?”
“One-thousand feet beneath Stone Mountain. The only way in and out of here is one elevator,” Ruby replied raising one finger.
“Time to go!” yelled one of the guards.
I walked behind Skye as we exited the room eyeing every inch of the space. There had to be another way out other than the elevator Ruby mentioned. As we passed the angel guard who escorted us, I caught a glimpse of Skye’s exchange with him, she slightly curled her lip, her feelings for him passing over her face; she was in love with him. In return, the angel guard quickly grazed his fingers
over hers. Even though it happened so fast no one else noticed, I watched the exchange with great interest and curiosity.
The guard was the angel who groomed Skye.
CHAPTER
28
I didn’t recognize the girl staring back at me. Her long brown hair had been curled and caked with hairspray, blood red lipstick stained her plump lips, fake lashes canopied her eyes, and the gold flecks in her hazel eyes were now dull, and lifeless.
Skye applied another layer of blush to my cheeks as I stared at my reflection. A sheer white lace floor-length gown with a nude bathing suit bottom underneath covered my body. And a floral design was embroidered across the chest covering enough to leave little to the imagination. The off-the-shoulder neckline showed more of me than I’d ever revealed in my lifetime. The dress was beautiful. It was the type you saw on celebrities walking the red carpet. But it wasn’t me. This was the fantasy of whoever was sick enough to bid on an inexperienced underage girl.
A fire alarm echoed throughout the caverns, the girls in the dressing room lined up. Skye snapped her attention to the noise and pulled me toward the end of the line then we were escorted by two-armed angel guards down a cavernous tunnel. We walked until we reached the elevator. I squeezed in the tight space as the girls huddled together. When we reached the top, the doors opened onto a rock platform surrounded by fire torches. The moonlight slightly illuminated the navy sky. It was almost dawn.
Pine trees circled a field where there were hundreds of angels waiting beneath the platform, laughing and talking. I looked up at the sky where more angels were flying around like crows circling the carcass of an animal before they landed. I recognized this place, only this time there wasn’t a DJ playing music. I was on the foot of Stone Mountain. The angel guards on patrol wore black, they all carried the same obsidian daggers as Milo and Alva, same gloves.
The guards lined the girls into two rows then led them onto the stone bleachers elevated above the rock platform where all the angels were in view.
THE TRAGIC + DIVINE, Book 1 Page 24