by Bea Paige
“HELP!” I scream. “SOMEBODY, HELP ME!” I cry, tears coming in earnest now.
A door flings open violently, and I am blinded by the sudden artificial light that pours into the room. It takes a while for my eyes to adjust before I recognise my captor. Roland.
“What are you screaming about, Accacia? You really need to calm down, you’ll only strain your voice,” he says, flicking on the light switch and shutting the door behind him.
The light hurts my eyes and I close them, the outline of Roland’s shadow imprinted on the back of my eyelids. I hate the fact I’m crying, that he can see how afraid I am. I flinch as he pulls up a chair next to me. It’s an office chair, much like the ones in our laboratory. “Accacia, there’s no need for tears, my love,” he coos, wiping them away with his fingers. I turn my head away from his touch but he grabs my chin, squeezing it painfully. “Don’t do that, Accacia. Look at me when I’m talking to you!” he shouts, all pretence gone.
I do as he says.
“That’s better. You know, you really shouldn’t disobey me, it will only make this harder.”
“Make what harder?” I say, trying to get a hold of the fear I feel.
“You’ll see,” he says, lowering his lips to mine. I so desperately want to push him away but I’m trapped in his hold. He lays a wet kiss on me and pushes his tongue into my mouth, making me gag. He pulls away quickly and slaps me so hard across the face that my head rings from the force of it.
“You were much more willing with those men earlier,” he sneers. “I should have taken you while I had the opportunity, but I wanted you to be conscious, not some rag doll.”
My eyes widen at his confession, his intentions clear. “Roland, what are you doing? You can’t keep me here like this, it’s wrong.” My voice quavers and I see him smile.
“Wrong? You refusing to be my friend is wrong, so hoity toity all the time. Looking down your nose at me, just like all the others. I thought you, at least, would be different. You spend so many hours alone holed up in that house of yours, I thought you’d be glad of my company. But you’re just like all the rest.”
“Roland, I’m nothing like anyone else. We can be friends. Please, just untie me,” I say, desperately trying to appeal to his better nature.
He laughs manically. “Of course, you’ll say that now, but I saw how you were in the club. You weren’t so disgusted by those men with their dirty hands all over you. In fact, you appeared to be enjoying it a bit too much for my liking, especially from that one who decided to turn my face into a patchwork quilt. Look at my fucking face!”
I want to say he’s hideous without the bruises, but don’t. Instead, I plead with him. “I don’t know what came over me, Roland. I’m not like that normally.”
Roland looks at me thoughtfully. “Perhaps I put too much Rohypnol in your drink? I should have considered that…”
“You drugged me?” That explains an awful lot, the missing memories, the strange way I feel, the banging headache and the fact he has managed to tie me to this goddamn table.
“Oh, don’t look so shocked. How else was I going to get you back here? You weren’t going to come of your own accord. Besides, it was a happy coincidence you were there. I had my sights on someone else until you turned up. Now I have you all to myself.”
“Where are we exactly?” I say, looking about the room, trying to avoid the very real fear that Roland has finally gone insane and something horrific is about to happen to me, something I will never recover from. The room is small, cramped and filthy. Boxes are stacked up in the corner and there are pipes everywhere. The ceiling is so low that Roland has to dip his head slightly as he walks away from me.
“The last place they’ll ever look for you,” Roland mutters, and I realise then he has no intention of ever letting me leave this room. I swallow a sob. Tears are not going to help now. I have to think logically. I have to make him believe that I want him, it may be my only chance of survival.
“Roland, I’m sorry if I made you feel unwanted. I never intended to hurt you. I do like you… it’s just my life is complicated.”
He leans against the concrete wall on the far side of the room and crosses his arms. “So complicated you have not one but three lovers! Don’t make me laugh, Accacia,” he says.
“It’s not like that. I don’t know those men. I think they mean to hurt me, Roland, why else did that man turn up when he did? He must have been following me. I’m afraid of them. They took advantage of me.” It isn’t a complete lie, they do scare me, just not quite in the same way as Roland.
Roland frowns. “You did look pretty scared when he turned up the other night.”
“I was. I drove off because he frightened me. It wasn’t you, Roland. I shouldn’t have left you to face him alone.”
“But the dancing. They were touching you and you seemed to be enjoying it,” he repeated, his eyes darkening with jealousy.
“The Rohypnol, Roland. I didn’t know what I was doing…” I leave that thought with him, hoping it’s enough to convince him.
He shakes his head. “No, no! You’ve always disliked me. You’ve been thwarting my advances for months now. This is the only way.” I watch as he picks up a syringe and a small vial of medicine. He is going to drug me again.
“Wait! Please, Roland. Let me explain.” I turn my head to him, a single tear leaking from my eye. He hesitates. “Roland, I need to tell you something.”
“More lies, Accacia?” But his interest in what I am about to say is enough to stay his hand. For now.
“I have a genetic condition which means I cannot go out in the sunlight or I will burn,” I say in a rush, hoping that if I give him a little truth, then the lie won’t be so easy to spot.
“So, you’ve got fair skin, what’s that got to do with anything?”
“It’s not a simple as that, Roland. I’m afraid to get close to a person in case they find out the full extent of my condition. I push people away, keep them at arm’s length because of it.”
“What are you saying?” Rolands places the syringe and vial of liquid back on the table, and returns to my side.
He looks at me with hopeful eyes and I try not to let my disgust show. Instead, I reach for his hand as best I can whilst still strapped to the table. He takes hold of it. “I pushed you away because I was afraid you wouldn’t want me once you found out.”
Roland’s mouth pops open and his eyes light up with hope. “Wouldn’t want you? Why?”
“When I go out into the sun, my skin is so sensitive it erupts in blisters and sores the moment any sunlight touches it. I am left hideous because of it. Why do you think I spend all day in the lab, why I don’t socialise? I can’t go out in daylight, Roland.”
“I didn’t know…” His voice trails off and a look of genuine concern crosses his face. “You refused me because you were afraid I wouldn’t understand, wouldn’t love you?”
“Yes,” I lie.
“Oh, darling,” he says, reaching for the straps that are holding my legs down. He unties them, and a huge sense of relief floods through me. “No wonder you pushed me away. It makes sense now. All those hours we spent working together. All that time you wanted me like I wanted you. I knew you loved me, I just knew it.” I don’t say anything, fearing that I won’t be able to hide my disgust. I need to be free from these straps if I want to have any chance of getting away from him.
He unhooks the strap that is holding my arms and chest down and pulls me upright. I can see now that I am lying on a hospital bed. “Are we beneath the hospital?” I ask, trying to keep the conversation going so I can find the right moment to get out of this room.
“Yes,” he says, shrugging. “A friend of mine is one of the cleaners. He and I have been helping each other out. I use this room to… work in, and he gets a steady supply of drugs.
“I see,” I say. Now that I am sitting up I can see more strange objects in the room. In the corner, hanging on a coat stand, are several worrying items. I see
a pair of handcuffs, what looks like a face mask of some sort and, worst of all, some kind of bondage contraption. There are whips, paddles and sharp silver objects. I dread to think what he does with them. Swallowing a mouthful of bile, I turn to face him. “Do you think we could get out of here? I don’t feel all that well.”
Roland narrows his eyes at me. “Don’t you like this room, Accacia? I mean, I’ve got it set up just how I like it.” He places his hands on my thighs and a cold dread spreads through me.
“No, it’s not that. I just think we’ll be more comfortable at my place, you know?”
“Well, considering how nice I’ve been, untying you and everything, I think I need something in return before we leave.” Roland circles his hands around my lower back and pulls me towards him so that my legs are resting between his parted legs. I know what he wants, and I have to fight the sudden urge to run. I have one shot at getting away.
“What’s that?” I ask softly, trying my hardest to stop my hands from shaking.
He lays one hand on my breast and squeezes it hard. I bite down on my scream. “Just a kiss, Accacia. You can tell so much by a kiss, don’t you think?”
“Yes,” I whisper, only because otherwise I’ll scream.
He leans forward, still painfully squeezing my breast, and kisses me, his tongue darting into my mouth. I let out an involuntary cry, but he takes it as a sign of passion and smothers me with his mouth. It’s now or never. I knee him as hard as I can in the groin, then push against him. He stumbles backwards, grabbing a hold of himself. Then I run for the door. Pulling it open, I find myself in another room like the one I was just in but three times as large. It’s stacked high with boxes, mops, buckets and floor cleaning machinery all cluttering the place. I glance about trying to find the exit but panic sets in.
“You BITCH!” I hear Roland call behind me.
Realising I’ve run off in the wrong direction I creep behind a tower of toilet rolls and hold my breath, hoping he thinks I’ve managed to get out of the room.
“The door’s locked. You didn’t think I’d be stupid enough to leave it open, did you?” My heart pounds in my chest as I hear Roland approach.
“All those things you said to me, they were all bullshit lies. I should’ve known. You were just trying to get away, just like all the rest, and now you’re going to pay for it.”
I look up to see Roland staring down at me. His face is as red as his hair, and an angry vein bulges on his forehead.
“Please, don’t,” I beg, all self-respect gone. Begging is all I have left.
“Please, don’t,” he mimics, leaning over and yanking my arm so that I stumble forward. Out of the corner of my eye I see a mop handle and I lunge for it. Roland stops me before I have a chance to grab hold of it.
“Don’t even think about it,” he seethes, and I can see the hate he has for me. But that isn’t what scares me, what scares me is how much he seems to be enjoying this.
My fight-or-flight response kicks in and I push at him, scratch his face, kick, punch, scream, trying anything I can to be free of him and what he has in store. But somehow he manages to overpower me, and I am pressed to the floor, with him straddling my body.
I scream in rage, in anger, in fear. He punches me hard, and I feel my cheekbone shatter. The pain is like a firework going off in my head and stars appear behind my eyes. Then he wraps his hands around my throat and squeezes. Tiny black spots blur my vision as I gasp for breath, struggling against his hold. Through the haze I can see his face turn purple with the effort.
“No, not yet,” he says, getting off me. “First, we are going to have some fun.” I am too dazed to do anything other than struggle against his hold as he drags me across the room by my hair.
Chapter Twelve
One moment I am being pulled along the floor by Roland, the next I am being lifted in the air by two strong arms.
“Cia,” Rhain says, his voice cracking.
I throw myself into his arms, gripping on to him as though my life depends on it. The relief I feel is overwhelming. “You’re here,” I sob, burying my head into his shoulder.
Rhain holds me just for a moment before checking my injuries. His finger is gentle against my broken cheekbone, his thumb soft against my neck. “What has he done to you?” His words are laced with barely contained anger, yet he is exceedingly gentle with me. I don’t answer, distracted by the sound of bones cracking and the yells of Roland behind me.
“Please, no, I wasn’t going to hurt her,” Roland says, the lie as pathetic as he now looks.
“We know exactly what you were going to do to Accacia and now you’re going to pay for it,” Devin says, throwing another punch. Roland’s head snaps back at the force and I see blood spilling from his nose.
“Accacia, tell them to stop,” he says, pleading with me.
I look into the room that I escaped from, at the hospital bed and the straps, the needle and vial of medicine. Lastly my eyes fall on the sadistic paraphernalia tucked away in the corner of the room. There is no doubt what he meant to do to me. Who knew how many other victims there have been.
“Take me home,” I say to Rhain.
“It would be my pleasure,” Rhain says, guiding me out of the room.
Half an hour later we enter my house just as the sun is beginning to rise. I am beyond exhausted; my face is swollen and painful, my windpipe feels as though it has been crushed. Mr Tickle comes running towards me as I enter the kitchen, immediately sensing my distress. I pick him up and press my face into his soft, white fur. Then the tears that I’ve been holding back pour from me in great wracking sobs as I hold on to him.
“Cia,” Rhain says, taking Mr Tickle from me and placing him on the floor, “come here.” He opens his arms to me and I don’t think about it, I walk into them. It seems beyond ridiculous that I have just escaped one monster but am blindly walking into the arms of another, and yet Rhain doesn’t seem like a monster to me. He should, I know he should, but he doesn’t.
“I blame myself. For whatever reason, my persuasive gifts had no effect on him. I should have listened to my gut and killed him the moment he laid hands on you.” Rhain crushes me to his chest and I let out a small whimper at the pain it causes me.
“Cia, I’m so sorry,” he says, and I know his apology is for more than squeezing me too tight.
I breathe in the smell of him, steadying myself, then pull away slightly.
“Why didn’t it work?” I ask, and my question comes out as an accusation, even though I don’t mean it to.
Rhain scrapes a hand across his face. “I don’t know. Back in Ever Vale I can make the common folk forget if I choose, or I can make them believe something different happened. It makes it easier for them, and for me, when I take their blood. This didn’t happen with Roland. Perhaps my skills do not work in the same way here?” His eyes trace over my face and they are mixed with a multitude of emotions, varying from guilt to anger to desire and something else I can’t quite understand.
“What about the girl you drank from? If she remembers, I’m not sure what will happen.” I can’t help but feel jealous at the intimacy they had shared and scared for Rhain all at the same time. My head is so messed up right now.
Rhain sighs. “When I finished, she didn’t appear to be afraid or upset. In fact, I think the opposite was true. She very much wanted me to stay.” His voice trails off at the look I give him.
“I see,” I say abruptly, untangling myself from Rhain’s arms. I’m angry suddenly at Rhain, at Devin and Ezra, at the girls who got their attention, at this curse that hangs over us, but most of all at Roland for what he tried to do to me. “I need to get some painkillers. My face hurts.” Rhain follows as I walk into the kitchen in search of some.
“I would help but…” Rhain says, his eyes igniting with desire once again.
“I know, the Claiming, right?” He shrugs his shoulders helplessly, and sits on the sofa whilst I hunt in the cupboard for my medical supplies.
“Was that girl’s blood not enough?” I ask. I don’t know why I want the answer to be no, but I do.
“It has taken the edge away. I can fight my desire for you better now. Though I will need to feed again tonight, otherwise that could change.”
“What would happen if I took your blood?” My cheeks heat at the thought. I have a pretty good idea, going on how I behaved with Ezra, but I want to hear Rhain say it.
“If I gave you my blood now, I would lose all control, Cia. I can’t, I won’t do that to you,” he says, gripping the edge of the sofa.
I look at him for a long moment, at his barely held control, and despite all that I’ve gone through this past couple of hours I feel my own desire building. It’s unsettling, like I’m a stranger in my own body.
Noticing my unease, Rhain says, “No matter how much it pains me to sit here and not hold you in my arms, no matter the desire I have for you and the desperate need for your touch, I will never force you to do something you do not wish to do. I am nothing like Roland.”
“I hope I can trust you to keep your word,” I say.
“On my honour and on all that is Light, you can trust me, Cia.”
“Sure,” I say, turning away from the heat of his gaze. Opening the kitchen drawer, I find what I am looking for and pop a couple of painkillers, swallowing them with some water. There’s a small mirror there too, and I pull it out to look at the damage. The right side of my face is a swollen, purple mess. It hurts, but the adrenaline my body is producing is doing a good job at keeping the pain levels at a manageable level.
“As soon as Ezra is back, you must take his blood, Accacia. You will heal quickly and you won’t be in any pain.”
“That’s going to be a long while off, so I’m going to go and get some sleep. It’s daylight, will Ezra and Devin be okay?”