Chapter 9: The Puppet Master
BURNING AIR SWIRLED around me as light as butterflies. Naked, I stood with my arms spread wide as the flames licked my skin as a lover might. First nipping sharply, playfully, but then warm and tender, the flames caressed me. I welcomed them with a soft smile. The flames brought pleasure…and power. My skin glowed like phosphorous as I rose above the firestorm. White hot incandescence, powerful…my saol blazed towards the heavens. The winds howled with the sons of Hell calling my name. They called to me in supplication, in worship. They stoked the fires that grew hotter around the pillar that was me. My eyes blazed with white fire as I turned them on my servants. Come to me, I called them. Come to me!
Rough hands yanked my arm and a searing pain raced up my shoulder to my chest. I cried out in protest and then sank into blackness.
And still the fires raged.
The fire changed me, ruined me, my skin melted and oozed away. My human body was gone. Cut open down the middle, there were no organs or bones…only a core of molten saol. It raced through my veins rushing to strengthen, to heal, to save my life. But the demons’ fires were melting me…they were too hot. I didn’t have time to heal. The gentle life force boiled under my skin…it was cooking me from the inside and I screamed as my skin melted off in sheets. Golden sheets, light as parchment, floated to the floor until nothing but the thick molten saol of my essence, my soul, remained. My human shell was destroyed. Slowly, my soul overflowed the table I lay on and dripped to the floor.
Suddenly a great cold wave washed over me and the searing pain stopped. Shaking with cold, I thrashed and moaned. Teeth chattering, I bit my lip and tasted blood. I was freezing now, no longer burning. Voices murmured from a great distance, but I heard them through the haze of unconsciousness.
“Bring the bitch around. Do it now!”
“I’m trying! I can’t just bring her out of it. Her brain will shut down.”
“No one gives a fuck about her brain. Wake her up!”
“Don’t you want her to answer questions? If you do, you need to give me some more time to bring her around. I’ve got to get these drugs out of her system or you’ll have nothing but a pretty little vegetable.”
I heard them clearly now but decided that discretion really was the better part of valor. Not sure if this was the bravest soldier move or not, I played dead. One of the men leaned into my face. I nearly gagged on his rancid breath. He reeked of old cigarettes, rotten teeth, and a lack of soap. Laughing meanly, he shoved a pillow over my face and raked his nails up my leg. My eyes watered instantly.
“I’ll be back later. Hurry up. The boss is waiting for her.” Footsteps echoed and disappeared up what sounded like metal stairs. The clank of a gate banged above me.
“Asshole!” the other man said quietly. He moved the pillow and paused. I tried to look comatose. Sighing, he commented, “I don’t know what you know, little girl, but you’d be better off dead.”
After an eternity of rustling papers and clanking glass, the man finally left me alone in the dimly lit room. After the gate clanged shut, I waited for several minutes before cracking open an eye. I knew the room was empty but I didn’t want to sit up too quickly. What the hell was going on? Barely lifting my head sent daggers of pain down the back of my skull. Red light erupted behind my eyes like fire. Shit. Gasping, I lay back against the pillow and willed the fireworks to stop going off inside my eyes. I was going to puke. Taking slow deep breaths, I ignored the pain and looked around. I was in a small concrete room. There were circuit breakers on one wall and pipes crisscrossing the ceiling. It was damp and smelled like sewage. Where was I? Warehouse? Subway? I couldn’t tell. It was damp and smelly so my guess was underground. But where?
I counted down the seconds and no one came back. Leaving me alone was a dumb idea, an amateur move. Don’t they know who I am? I’m so outta here! Intending to slide off the table and make a sneaky exit, I swung my legs to the side and moved a whole half an inch. Alarmed, I looked down at my legs and saw harnesses holding me to the table. My arms were strapped as well.
Well, this was not good.
I closed my eyes and blinked back tears. Okay, I was still alive so there was time to find a way out of this. The gate opened and heavy footsteps pounded down the stairs followed by lighter ones.
“Well? How much more time?” Bad Breath Boy was impatient. He nudged my leg.
“Another hour? Two? That’s probably it. Check back then.”
“You better be right.” He stomped back up the stairs. In the silence that followed, the clock ticked loudly from the makeshift desk.
“I know you’re awake. You can open your eyes if you want.” His voice was soft, nasal. “I won’t hurt you.”
Startled, I flinched and he turned my wrist to take my pulse. “Your heart is racing and with good reason.” He leaned over me and added, “Come on, it’ll be easier if I don’t have to give you more drugs. You won’t like the side effects.”
My eyes snapped open to see a pair of clear green eyes looking down at me. Heavy lashes surrounded them but a large purple bruise kept them from being pretty. I blinked and the man stepped back. His nose had been recently broken and was swollen and slightly off center. He made a face that wasn’t quite a smile, and glanced up at the stairwell. Eyes warning me to be quiet, he spoke loudly to me as if I was still asleep.
“Okay, enough games. This oughta bring you around.” In a whisper, he added, “The door’s open.”
Frantic, I hissed, “Untie me!”
He shook his head, “Are you crazy? They’ll kill me!”
Furious, I growled at him. He backed away from me. “Coward!” I jerked on the restraints but they just cut into my skin. My toes were already numb and I didn’t want to lose them. I’d need them to escape. The doctor, if that’s what he was, came over and pulled the sheet back across my chest. Oh God! I was naked! Cringing at the idea that any of these…criminals…stripped me while I was unconscious, I snapped, “Pervert!”
With another nervous look at the stairway, he hissed in my ear, “There are worse things than being naked, believe me.”
A phone buzzed and he answered it. “Yes, she’s awake. I’ll have her ready. Yes, I do understand. Five minutes.”
My heart froze in my chest when he turned around, his face ghostly white. Twin spots of anger stood out on his cheeks. He stood clenching and unclenching his fists before turning to a small box. I blanched and tried to squirm away when he filled a small syringe.
“No! Please, don’t!” My eyes were pleading as I tried to scoot out of the restraints.
Without hesitation, he slid the needle into my arm. “This will help. Trust me.”
Heavy boots crashed down the stairs, and he tucked the syringe into his lab coat. Two big men came to escort me. Feeling oddly detached as the drugs kicked in, I waited as they stalked over to me. One of them threw a robe at me and told me to put it on. Doctor Green Eyes released the restraints and I sat up and rubbed feeling back into my ankles. My head felt light and I closed my eyes to stop the dizziness. An odd humming distracted me and I paused to listen. It was a pretty sound…like angels singing.
“Hurry up, bitch!” He backhanded me out of my daze.
“Piss off!” I spit blood on him and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand.
Grabbing me by the hair, he pulled my head back and pressed a razor against my throat. “I’m gonna skin you alive, you stupid bitch!”
His partner snickered at him and grabbed his arm. “Later! She’s got an appointment. Let’s go.”
Half dragging me between them, they pulled me up the stairs and into the hallway. My shins banged painfully on the top step, and I bit my lip to keep from yelping out loud. These guys were getting on my nerves. The hallway was only barely lit with dying emergency lighting that was twitching with its last life. Brick? Interesting, that. There weren’t too many underground places that had brick walls. Good clue. The trip down the hallway didn’t take long and I was s
hoved into a wooden chair in the middle of an empty room and left alone. Lone chair? Empty room? This was so clichéd I almost laughed. I started to until I saw the tiny red LED light near the ceiling.
Instead of laughing, I rubbed my hands together and tightened the belt on my robe. I felt naked sitting here. Keeping my face blank, my thoughts ricocheted around my brain. I was having a hard time forming complete thoughts. I tried to fight the haze of drugs but it was hard. What was I doing here? Who snatched me? What was that pretty music? Why were the walls moving? Minutes ticked by and my butt went numb. Cautiously, I stood and stretched. I studiously avoided looking directly at the camera but I felt the eyes on me. My head still felt strange and light. The humming continued on and off. My legs were heavy and I was having a hard time moving around without stumbling. No way was I going to make a run for it. Damn it. Why couldn’t I travel like the Primani?
The door burst open and bounced off the nearest wall. I froze and slowly turned around. My heart stopped for a minute as I looked into the face of nightmares. He looked like a human, but the skin wasn’t quite right. His face writhed slowly like it was alive under the thin brown skin. A webbing of white scars stood out in sharp relief across the right side of his face. His right eye drooped as the scar pulled it downward. His other eye gleamed brightly with anticipation as he stalked into the room. It was all I could do to stand still and not back away.
Sean’s words came back to me and echoed in my head.
Demons feed on fear, Mica.
He stopped so close that the material of his shirt brushed against my chest. The acrid stench of sulfur watered my eyes and sent me into a coughing fit. Satisfied, he nodded at the camera. The LED light blinked out and the door closed behind him. We were alone. He stepped closer and every instinct screamed at me to move away.
Demons feed on fear.
I could feel whatever was pulsing inside of him crawling against my arms as he leaned into me. It felt like hundreds of snakes struggling to break out of a sack. Sweat ran down my back, and I stared straight ahead. Inside my head, I was chanting I can’t see you, I can’t see you. Staring through him, I focused on breathing, in and out, in and out...
He smiled then, an ugly approximation of a human smile, and said silkily, “Nice try, pretty human.”
He lifted a hand, and I flew backwards into the wall and collapsed on my knees. Groaning, I pushed myself into a sitting position and glared up at him.
“Son of a--“
He flicked a finger and, like a puppet, my arms lifted above my head and I was pulled upright. Horrified, I tried to resist but I had no control. In the blink of an eye, he stood pressed against me again. My arms were stretched painfully above me forcing my back to arch and my breasts to thrust forward. The belt of my robe was gone and the material hung away from me leaving me naked to his eyes. He took one hand and raised it to my chin. Unable to refuse, I looked at him and saw Sean instead. It was Sean’s strong beautiful face that swam in front of me now. It was his hand that caressed my body and pulled me against him. Every voice in my head screamed in denial as he lowered his mouth and kissed me savagely. His hands groped me even as he forced my head back into the wall. Unable to push him away, I retreated into my head and closed my mind.
I can’t see you. I can’t hear you.
A brutal slap snapped my brain back to reality. The demon was back. Blood ran down my nose and I reached for it. Surprised I could move on my own, I flicked my eyes to the demon and pinched my nose to stop the bleeding. My chest was still bare and now covered with bright red blood. I dragged the robe around me and tied it tightly. Not that that would help…
“What do you want, demon?” I snarled at him, using the rest of my bravado. My brain was mush and I just wanted to sleep.
He didn’t bother to answer me. Instead, he smiled again and snapped his fingers. My robe was gone. Stunned, I gaped at him.
“You are in my world now.” He snapped his fingers again and my robe was wrapped around me. He glanced up at the camera and nodded. The LED light blinked to life.
“Sit down. We have much to discuss.” He waved a hand towards the chair and waited politely.
Stiffly, I staggered over and sat down. No sense in antagonizing him…
Demons feed on fear…
I was terrified.
Oh God, Sean! Where are you? Primly, I crossed my legs and tucked the robe around me and faced him with an expression of polite interest.
“So, what’s on your mind?
“Wake up! Come on!” a voice whispered harshly in my ear. “You can’t be dead!”
Hands shook me and the frantic whispering continued until I finally opened my eyes. Well, one eye. The other one was glued shut by caked blood. Waking up was a bad idea as the pain registered. Everything hurt. I moaned and even that hurt. I squinted and saw Doctor Green Eyes hovering above me looking worried.
“Who are you?” I croaked.
“Not now. You’re a mess and they’ll be back.” He paused. “I can’t believe you’re still alive.” Heavy footsteps sounded on the ceiling above us. Panicking, he injected me with something and a warm feeling of oblivion washed over me.
The dream swirled into the blackness of my mind, and I was blinded by its light. Squinting into the dream, I saw a white shape take form. Gradually it became clear. The farmhouse! Inside, Sean and Killian were arguing. I couldn’t hear the words, but they were nose to nose and pushing at each other. Faces white with anger, they shouted at each other. A pale light glowed briefly and Dec appeared to shove them apart. His face was thin and dark circles stood out in sharp contrast to his pale skin. His eyes were bleak as he pleaded with his brothers. Sean stalked back a step and pointed a finger at Killian.
“This is your fault!”
“My fault? Really? You’re the one sleeping with her,” he said between his teeth.
Sean exploded and threw Killian into the nearest wall. They moved so fast I couldn’t see everything clearly. It was a violent, ugly fight. They were trying to tear each other apart, and Dec was yelling at them both. The dream began to fade and I struggled to hold it.
“Sean! Sean! I’m here! Please…please…Killian! Wait!”
Staring up at the swaying camera, I trembled and bit my cheek to steady myself. I was back in the room again. I lost track of how many days I’d been here. Five? Ten? Between the doctor’s drug cocktails and the savage beatings that left me unconscious, I hadn’t been able to escape or call for help. During one fleeting moment of lucidity, I’d tried to yell for Dec but I had no audio…guess they figured that out and put me on mute.
My hair was hanging in front of my eyes and hurting my cheek. The gash was deep and puckered. Red and swollen too, it itched with infection. It was making me nuts, but I was too weak to move my hair and it hurt to shake my head. I could barely lift my hand, but I didn’t need to move. The demon moved me when he wanted me to do something. That was good, I supposed, since I wasn’t cooperating. I closed my eyes and tried to remember my middle name. Did I have a middle name? I’d lost huge chunks of my life…I was terrified I would slip into a coma and never wake up. Whenever I was even a little lucid, I’d been playing little games inside my head, forcing my brain to stay awake…trying to remember things about my life or lyrics to my favorite songs. Lately though, I’d been losing the memories and the will to keep playing the game. I prayed it was just the drugs.
Come on! Let’s just get it over with! Making me wait was part of their game. It increased fear, my fear. It was the same thing each time; the same questions. I had no answers and my resistance was crumbling. I resisted by blocking him out of my mind. I simply closed the doors to those memories. It worked to keep them from getting information about the Primani, but wasn’t healthy for me. Every time I retreated inside my head, the demon beat me…and worse.
Demons feed on fear…
Yes, Sean. They do.
But they enjoy pain more.
Broken, I let a tear run down my face. I was
exhausted. I hadn’t eaten. They didn’t offer me food. I would starve to death soon.
“Shall we try again, human?” The silky voice was back.
Very deliberately, I raised my face and struggled for some emotion, any emotion at all, when I looked into the scarred face. The room wavered like it was underwater. His face swam in and out of focus. The grin stretched into a rictus. I flipped him off.
He just sighed and lifted his hand. Expecting to be thrown into the wall again, I stiffened. This time, though, was different. He pulled me upright like his own personal puppet.
Angry today, he circled me. “You don’t respond to me. How are you resisting me? What is your magic?” His eyes burned in his face and his skin crawled restlessly. He studied me with an expression of concentration. “Not Primani…I would know it. There is something…”
With a wave of his hand, the blood-stained robe was gone and I hung naked like a broken mannequin. My matted hair hid my face. It was a shield of sorts, and I tried to retreat behind it. He was different today: more intense and angry. He paced like a caged animal. Something was wrong and my stomach clenched in dread.
There were worse things than being naked.
Suddenly he yanked my head up and shoved a long thin dagger against my throat. My eyes dimmed as I retreated again.
“Oh, no you don’t! Not this time!” He grabbed a fistful of my hair and hacked it off. Working up to a hellish rage, he snapped his fingers and flung me to the floor. My knees were already raw and scabbed and pain shot through them when I landed.
Pulling me up, he switched faces. Oh, God, no. Not again. I couldn’t resist him when he changed into Sean. Frantic, I backed away on my hands.
“No, no!” I pleaded, vision dimming to a pinpoint.
The Lost Soul Trilogy (Primani Book 5) Page 36