One of the guys said, “Do it, Max. Hit that slut again.”
Max, the greasy black-haired leader gripped the sandy-brown-headed guy by the shirt. Looking him dead in the eyes and in his sick tone he said, “Shut the hell up, Jack. Ya retard. We don’t need to let her know our names, we’re—” He stopped in midsentence and shoved Jack backwards. He looked down at me. Curling his lips in an evil smile he added. “Well, I guess it’ll be OK seeing that she’s not gonna make it through the night.” They all cackled. The leader leaned down to pull my hair back. I looked into his cold black eyes and wanted to cry, but I tried hard not to. He grinned and whispered something that terrified me so much that I almost passed out with fright. “We’re gonna make ya scream so bad. Darling, ya’ll wish ya were dead.”
Max gripped my shoulder and pushed my face down onto the road, scraping the side of my cheek. It sent a sharp pain through my neck and shoulder blade. I screamed from the agonizing pain shooting through my upper body. It felt like there were thousands of big surgical needles piercing me at once. Max grabbed a hand full of hair and yanked my head back so he could look at me. Max licked his lips and brought my arm up to his mouth smiling he bit down hard on my forearm, breaking the skin. Blood flowed down to my wrist. Max licked his lips and started laughing as I threw up yet again.
Saying a silent prayer to make it out of this alive, I looked up into sick twisted eyes—dark eyes, evil eyes. I was trying to find some glimmer of hope—trying to see if one of them had some kindness or humanity and would stand up to Max, the leader of this party. As they stood there amused, taunting, leering, and making obscene gestures, I knew there was no humanity in them. Tears welled up in my eyes. I didn’t want to cry. I didn’t want to give them that kind of satisfaction, but I couldn’t stop myself from feeling there was no hope. Oh, my God, was I going to die? I was going to die in a very bad and painful way. The sick gut-wrenching leader Max told the other two men to grab my hands and legs. I struggled to fight them off. Yet, all that training Jace had taught me was useless when dealing with three grown men. I kicked and punched them, but all it seemed to be doing was hurting me in the proses.
Max stepped back to see his handiwork: me spread eagle before him. He looked me over and said, “Oh, pretty girl. Now that I have you primed, it’s time for some real fun.”
Max ordered one to grip my hands. He pulled them up above my head and the other one gripped my legs. I kicked, pulled, and screamed, but I was too weak. They grunted and guffawed as they dug their fingernails down into my skin hard enough to break through. Max knelt down and slowly rubbed my face. He traced his thumb over my lips, moving his fingers down the side of my face slowly. He moved his hands over my body until they rested on my hips. He traced around the side of my leg hungrily. I was shaking and I felt sick. Max smiled as he parted my legs and traced one hand up my inner thigh. I tried to close my legs, but it was useless. So I did the next best thing: I closed my eyes instead. I was blocking out the look on his face! I wanted to sleep. Just sleep. I wanted this to be a nightmare and not reality. Max’s rough hand slid over the top of my panties. My breath hitched. He traced the outer part of them slowly. I squeezed my eyes. Oh, God. Oh, God.
“Ah, come on, sweet girl, open them pretty eyes. Ya know ya like it,” Max said as he ripped the top half of my dress. I heard a click. Reluctantly I opened my eyes to see what that noise was. Max held a blade in his hand. My eyes went wide with shock. He moved the blade down my body, gliding it along my dress and then I felt the cold bite of its edge on my skin. I gasped and trembled with fear. You know how they say your life flashes before your eyes? Well, they’re wrong. The only thing I saw that flashed before my eyes, was that the sharp knife Max was holding. I grimaced as he straddled me.
Leaning in, he whispered, “This is the fun part, darling. You don’t want to miss one moment of this. So keep your eyes open, OK, sweetie, and oh, please scream for me. I like it when you scream.”
I wanted to say something, but it seemed like all the fight and bravado was drained out of me. Max’s lips were still beside my ear. He stuck his tongue out and curled it around my earlobe. He sucked my ear in his mouth. I wanted to throw up. I felt disgusting. Max bit down hard on my earlobe. However, before I had time to react he lifted the knife and sliced my abdomen clean through. I watched in horror as blood poured out of my stomach. Max grinned wickedly.
In a low sick tone, he said, “Oh, baby.” Max moaned, “I like that. Do ya like that? It feels good, don’t it?” He rocked his hips against my body. I screamed in agony. “You’re so hot when you scream. I wanna hear ya scream some more.” I felt the bulge in his pants press against my stomach. He closed his eyes and groaned saying softly, “Damn, darling you feel so good. I don’t know if I want to go ahead and have my way with you now or before I slice into your sweet flesh! What do you think?”
I shook my head weekly. “Screw you!”
“Oh, don’t worry. You will get your chance to screw me!” Max sneered saying, “Ready to scream for me, c’mon now, scream for me, little girl.”
I wasn’t going to scream, but blinding pain seared my stomach. Max cut me again. So I screamed, “Stop it. Please. Stop, please.”
“No can do, darling. This is getting to good for me to stop now.” He sneered.
I shook my head and looked down at my once-white beautiful-dress. Now it was nothing but a crimson red tragedy. Blood flowed from me freely, staining the ground and my once-white dress. I felt myself get weaker and weaker. The darkness that was around me looked like it was closing in on my vision. I thought about my mom and dad and how much I was going to miss them—how much I loved them and wished I could tell them that just one more time. I thought about my friends. I hadn’t known them long, but all the same I wished I could say goodbye. I thought about Tru, wonderful Tru. I thought about Jace, wonderful Jace. Even now looking death in the eyes, I still had feelings for both of them and still, in what looked to be my last moments, I couldn’t choose between them.
Max’s sick laughter chimed out in the night, stopping my thoughts. I looked into his eyes as he smiled. Slowly, Max brought his hand up the side of my rib’s then across my chest. I shivered with disgust. Max grinned. It was a nasty grin. He picked up the blade and I knew what was coming next. Max was going to cut another swipe along my body. Abruptly, I got angry at myself for not trying, for giving up. Then something strange happened. A humming noise started in my head, and my body felt hot like it did when I was arguing with my parents over Tru and that dark feeling I’d been getting lately spread along my skin. What the hell?
Before I could figure it out, and just before Max stab me, he stopped as one of the guys said, “Hey, Max?”
“What,” Max protested. “Don’t ya see I’m having some fun?”
“Sorry, but look over there in the road. There’s someone over there,” the redhead replied.
“Well, Bob,” Max sounded aggravated. “Ya and Jack go see who it is and dispose of them.”
“What if it’s the cops,” Red whispered. “Maybe we should just kill the girl and leave . . . now,” he demanded.
“Maybe ya should shut it,” Max hissed. “Now go look.”
“Max, If we do that, then who will hold the girl for you?” One of the guys asked.
“Forget it, ya’ll are useless. Just hold her, and I’ll go see who it is.” Max smiled down at me. “Maybe it’ll be another sweet girl for me to sample.”
I opened my mouth to call out to whoever they were talking about for help, except that’s when Max stopped me. He placed part of my ripped dress in my mouth, silencing me. I quivered from the pain as Max pushed himself up off me. He rocked my body back and forth as he did so. It was so painful, a suffering agony. I opened my eyes to see what was going on, knowing it was a mistake. I really didn’t want to look at him, let alone see what he was going to do to the other person who just so happened to come upon us. Please, God, don’t let it be another girl, or someone I know. Max stepped away fro
m me and walked over to the person in the street. As he left, I tried to pull away, but even the drunk guy was stronger than me now. Then that humming noise started up in my head again. It was like something was trying to get in, or out. Wild!
OK, so let’s take stock of my situation and what could possibly get me out of it:
I was trapped and I had three crazy guys planning on killing me.
They’d done some serious damage to my body that hurt like hell.
I had a humming noise in my head.
That dark feeling I had been getting was now spreading along my body and there was this burning sensation in the pit of my stomach.
Yeah, I think that pretty much covered it. So other than that, everything was effin’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’ peachy! Yet I still had no clue on how to save myself. Slowly the humming seemed to increase, and the heat felt like it was burning through my fingertips. The guys were breathing heavy, panting with the effort of holding me down. Then something strange happened. The humming noise stopped. The dark feeling stopped. All that was left was an eerie silence. Even the two guys holding me seemed to know something was up. What was going on? The two guys holding me started to shake. It caused them to loosen their hold. I was so relieved. Now maybe I could run. However, before I had a chance, two things happened at once. A bright light flashed above me, and the two guys holding me were thrown across the street. It was odd and wicked cool. The fire wracking my body burst out of my feet and hands. It was like my body exploded and then the guys were thrown from me. I tried to see what was happening, but when I lifted my head, everything went dizzy and pain shot through my body. I tried to open my eyes, but it was useless—I tried to call for help, but it, too, was useless. I tried to move, but my body protested.
And just when I thought I was alone, and maybe I would make it—maybe I would get out of this . . . I felt someone kneel down beside me. My heart started beating hard as I stopped moving and held my breath in terror. Hope flooded me for an instant. Maybe it was someone here to help me. God, please let it be someone here to help me. All too soon, though, doubt crept in my mind. A whimper slipped out of my lips. If I thought about trying to play dead, I had lost the advantage. I wouldn’t have to play dead. Now I was probably going to feel the real thing.
“Shh, Love, it is OK now. Do not worry, just sleep!” A guy said in a low, dark tone. As he spoke, I felt like I knew him or his voice.
I shook my head. “No.” I was not going to sleep. I could not sleep.
But there was something about his voice that was so compelling. I felt I needed to sleep. But I had to fight him. I told myself: If I do as he says, I might not wake up.
“It is OK, Love. Sleep. Go to sleep. Once you awaken, it will all be over.” The voice softly crooned.
Oh how good that sounded. When I woke up it would all be over. This nightmare would stop, and everything would go back the way it had been. But still, I had my doubts about sleeping. What if he was wrong? What if he was one of the bad, sick, twisted guys back to finish the job? I had to fight him. I could not trust that he was my friend.
“Sleep and forget until it is time. Love, it is all over. Now sleep.”
His breath brushed my cheek. Heat washed over me. He was overwhelming me completely. It was too much. His enchanting voice was too much for me to handle. I couldn’t resist anymore. I did as he said, and I fell asleep.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Crispin
He’d been watching her ever since he’d found her. It was his little obsession: Waiting, stalking, and planning the right time to steal her away from the mortal realm. It was Crispin’s little secret, one that he could not control—always lurking in the shadows—planning for the perfect moment. The moment he never seemed to seize. He was content to wait and that confused him. It was not his typical behavior. He did not push, nor did Crispin invade her dreams as much as he wanted. He did not understand why he was acting in such a way. Yet, he was happy to just watch her. He was excited to feel her near him. It was the thrill of the hunt, of course. And when he scared her . . . Gods! He loved the scent of her fear, but that was nothing compared to the taste of her need. That thought sent his body jerking with want.
However, when he came to her in a dream, it terrified her, yet it awakened his blood. He knew what she thought of him. She was intrigued to know who he was and if, as she would so bluntly put it, “If he is even real.” Nevertheless, Crispin was more real than she realized. His voice frightened her and aroused her at the same time, and that knowledge combined with the thought of her trembling in his hands while she wanted him—wanting that exhilarating high that only he could provide had Crispin’s body hardening in desire.
He could have had her: She was right there, stalking down a dark rode, alone, afraid, and mad. His plan had worked! His opportunity was there! He could have finally had her all to himself! Yet, Crispin did nothing, staying a mere 50 feet away from her.
“So close, but still so far away!”
There she was, the girl who didn’t even know what trouble she was in. She had a silent stalker, a predator slinking along the shadows behind her and three pathetic humans in front, while she was unaware of the danger to come.
Crispin was elated. “Oh, the fun was only starting for her.” He remembered.
Crispin read their minds before she saw them. One of the humans seemed to have a block on his mind. Crispin knew he could have read it if he tried, but he thought that task was not worth the power he would use. Although, he still knew what the human wanted, for they, too, watched her as he did. They, too, wanted the girl, but for different reasons. Three disgusting humans stumbled out ready to have their way with the girl, but he would not allow it. She was his.
“However,” Crispin smiled wickedly. “There was no harm in letting them have just a little fun with her,” he mused softly, thinking back on what happened.
He had planned on snatching her up then, but as the three humans approached, another plan quickly developed in his mind. Crispin would be her savior. That’s how he would receive her trust. That’s how he would claim her.
“As it should be!’”
But first he thought it was only right to let the humans have their fun. Yet, as he watched them touch her . . . hurt her . . . his blood chilled. At first it was amusing to watch, as his body stirred with anticipation. However, it grew difficult to do nothing but watch. He did not understand why this disturbed him, yet it did. He was not going to let them kill her—that was his job, but it should not concern him what the humans were doing to her. Crispin was mystified by this peculiar feeling he was having, but he just assumed that it was because he thought of her as his toy . . . his play thing.
“I never let anyone play with my things!” He laughed.
Crispin read their minds, and again he had to probe the one human’s mind with a little more force. Whatever the man was hiding—he had to give him credit—it was blocked very well. However, Crispin just wanted to know the humans’ fear, and once he knew what he-they were most afraid of, he was ready. With a little magic, he conjured up their worst nightmares. He grinned, recalling exactly what they were afraid of.
One of the men was terrified of snakes.
One was terrified of dogs.
And one was terrified of alligators.
Crispin thought it very entertaining that they all were frightened by animals, when they acted as such things. However, he was what they should have been terrified of—he, the one they call Sorcerer-Wizard-Mage. He, the Traveler of knowledge! Yes, they should not have been scared of ordinary things. No, what they should’ve been scared of was what they had no clue of. They should have been scared of him, because Crispin destroyed them with their nightmares except for their leader. The leader somehow had escaped, and Crispin still didn’t know how that was possible. He remembered how their fear excited him. He felt
like a God holding their pathetic lives in his powerful hands.
He chuckled as he searched for the girl. Once he saw her, he knelt down and cradled her almost-lifeless body in his hands, pouring heeling energy into her soul and murmuring unusual words into her ear. Words he has never said aloud. That, was the second time he has called her Love, and he thought with a weary sigh that it would not be his last. However, he wasn’t going to let her weaken him. Soon he would take what was rightfully his and be done with this softness he was growing to resent.
But not just yet—he could not still her essences yet—she did not have all of her powers. Yes, they were at the surface. And, yes, he saw a little of her magic tonight by helping her pull it out, but it wasn’t time. She was not ready, nor powerful enough to leave this plane of existence. Not yet.
“But soon!” He smiled.
Chapter Twenty–Seven
It Must Be the Meds
Someone was running with me in their arms. I opened my eyes to see Nikko. He had me? What happened?
“No. No.” I stiffened.
But then I closed my eyes and felt peace wash over me in waves. I didn’t know why I felt this, because I really couldn’t remember. All I knew was that everything was going to be all right now. Nikko had me. He was here, and everything would be fine. I was suddenly overcome with joy, and yet I had no idea why I felt this way. I curled into him and cried. Finally. My mind told me to let out the tears I held back. Why? Why was I relieved that I could finally cry? I sobbed with pain, as I was overcome with happiness and still I didn’t understand why I felt this way. I shut my eyes as my world went black from the pain and relief I felt. I opened my eyes a couple of seconds later to see Nikko. He was holding me close to his chest. We were running? Why were we running? What was going on? I should know why, right? I swallowed down the sudden panic. Oh, God, I’d forgot what happened. I felt a sharp pain slash through my shoulder. I screamed in agony, but had no clue why I was in pain. I couldn’t remember. However, I realized that whatever I forgot that happened . . . well it was bad.
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