“Anyway … I hope you enjoy!”
She stays put for a while as I stare at her, wondering if she’s going to leave or stay or do something else that’ll require me to stay on guard.
She frowns and leans in to scoot the plate closer to me with a big smile on her face. “Go on.”
We look at each other for a few more seconds. As I pick up the fork, her eyes follow the trail until I’ve picked up a piece of the chicken potpie and transferred it into my mouth.
“And?” she asks, clutching her serving tray close to her chest.
I swallow it with disdain. “Good. The cooks did their best to impress you.”
“Thanks,” I say as I don’t want to hurt their feelings. But all of this feels so duplicitous. “So is this the norm?”
“What? This chicken potpie? No, they make different stuff every day.”
I take another bite. “No, I mean, you bringing it here. Shouldn’t I be eating with Eli?”
She shakes her head. “I’ll be bringing you breakfast, lunch, and dinner on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.”
I stop chewing. “What about Wednesday?”
“Oh, that’s the day Eli requests that you eat with him.”
Okay … that’s odd. “Why Wednesday?”
She shrugs. “Those are the rules. I don’t make them. Besides, he’s far too busy to entertain one girl every single day.”
I narrow my eyes and put down my fork. “Who … else eats with him on the other days?”
She cocks her head as a wicked smile spreads on her lips. “Well, the other guests, of course! Who else?”
Chapter 16
Eli
Three new girls wait for me in the hallway. I walk down the steps and study each of them. One girl shifts on her feet as her eyes bore into mine. The other looks down at her feet, her body trembling. The third … unmoving, absent, as though she’s in another world.
I wish I understood what it felt like to be new to this place, but unfortunately, I’ve never had that privilege. They must be scared, worried, anxious to know what is coming. But I am not here to calm their nerves.
“Ladies …” I say as I take the final step down the stairs and open my arms. “My name is Eli. Welcome to the House of Sin.”
The first girl’s brows furrow. “House of Sin?” She clutches her modest dress as though it makes her feel safe.
One of my aides steps out from the shadows, but I hold up my hand. “No need to intervene.”
The aide nods at me before stepping away again, but the girls noticed him, and that’s the only thing that matters.
I focus my attention back on them. “This is your new home now.”
“Home?” the middle girl murmurs. “But I already have one. Where is my grandpa?”
“Perhaps you only thought you had a home,” I answer, gazing at her with a fire burning in my eyes.
It is not her grandfather she should be crying for. After all, he is the one who sent her here.
I start pacing up and down the hallway in front of them. “Any of you know why you’re here?” When no one answers, I continue. “You’re here because your parents, grandparents, or the one in charge of your upbringing or education didn’t think you were capable of being saved. You’ve messed up so badly that they looked at me and begged me to fix you.”
“Fix me? But I’m not broken,” the middle girl murmurs, shaking her head. “I didn’t do anything.”
“Your grandparents sent you off, didn’t they? After a big fight when you destroyed their most prized … possessions,” I say. When her eyes widen, I smile deviously. It’s a metaphor, but she knows what I mean. “Yes, I know all about your misbehavior.”
“So what is this place then?” the same girl asks.
I rub my lips together. “Think of this place as a sort of moment of re-education.”
“Re-education?” The first girl in the modest dress balks. “What kind of nonsense—”
“Silence!” one of my guards growls at her, and his anger immediately makes her shut her mouth again.
She has spirit, but it’s definitely been broken already. Just not hard enough.
“You’re the one who came from the Family, didn’t you?” I narrow my eyes at her when her pupils dilate. “Thought so.”
That must be the one they couldn’t find a husband for.
“I had a life before that cult,” she says, scrunching up her face in dismay.
“I know you did,” I say, looking her straight in the eyes. “But your time there is over. What matters is the here and now, and you need to learn how to control yourself, so you can live a fulfilling life.”
“What will happen to me after then? Will you ship me off too?” she spits.
I cock my head. “I guess that depends on your behavior and what you manage to learn during your time here.”
She makes a tsk sound and looks away with folded arms, but not before taking a deep breath. She knows not to taunt me. She’s learned that much from the Family that she belonged to for quite some time. Keep your head down and don’t talk back too much, or you might get hurt.
“So what is this then? Are you a part of that Family cult too?” she asks.
“Not a part, no,” I reply with a gentle smile. “More an extension.”
“I don’t understand any of this,” the middle girl mutters, her body quaking even more when I approach her.
I grab her chin and force her to look up at me. “You’ll understand soon enough.”
When I release her, she goes right back into her shell as though it’s the perfect way to stay out of trouble. But this is not submission. This is fear.
Fear can be useful … sometimes.
But this House isn’t about abject fear. It’s about control.
To change the world, one must be willing to sacrifice one’s morals and ethics for the greater good. And that’s exactly what we do.
I take in a breath. “You will all be staying here for the time being.”
“Why?” the girl on the left asks. “Why was I brought here? Am I going to be forced to marry here too?” Her defiance strikes me as odd for someone who came from the Family. Then again, maybe that’s exactly why they sent her to me in the first place.
Some of them don’t blend in well, and they’re given to me as a last resort.
I smile at her. “You ended up here because there was no other choice. This is the last stop. For all of you.” I look at all the girls, even the one who’s completely distant. “This is where your sins stop.”
“Sins?” the middle girl mutters.
I pause, focusing my attention on her. As I stand before her and lean in, she cowers before me. “No one is without sin.”
I myself dabble in and out of sin regularly. But it is not without reason, and I too will be punished for my sins one day.
Their day of reckoning just came sooner than mine.
Amelia
After hours on end of not seeing or hearing a thing, a loud thud wakes me from my dreamless sleep. It’s the middle of the night, and I can barely see a thing. I turn on the light next to my bed and throw off the blanket, listening to the sounds.
Another loud thud has me jolting up and down in the bed.
More banging ensues. Someone’s door is slammed shut, but it isn’t mine.
A woman’s voice echoes through the hallways.
It isn’t Mary.
There is someone else here too.
Which means I’m definitely not alone anymore.
I jump out of bed in my short black nightgown and throw on the bathrobe lying on the floor before walking to the door. I lay my ear against it and listen. Footsteps move away from the hallway and march down the stairs. Another loud bang makes me pull away, but it’s not my door that’s banged.
It’s the one next to mine.
My eyes widen, and I step back to stare at the wall next to the door. Covered in lavish tapestries, it has a huge cabinet and a big lounge chair in fron
t of it. With all my strength, I shove aside the chair and cabinet, throwing all my weight into moving them. When they’re finally gone from the wall, I blow out a huge breath, then slam my fists against the wall … and wait.
Nothing.
So I pound on it again, and again, and again.
A knock makes me stop.
My heartbeat is pounding in my throat.
Another knock.
Violent thoughts of escaping this place rush through my veins, exploding into a tortured smile. Tears cascade down my face. I am not alone anymore, and that is both a blissful and agonizing reality to face.
“Hello?” I yell, hoping they can hear me.
But there’s no response, and now I’m starting to worry. Will I ever be able to communicate with my fellow prisoner? Assuming this is even someone like me. What if it’s one of them? It could be Tobias or Soren. Someone mad enough to throw stuff around and slam a door shut. And maybe they only responded to me pounding the wall to amuse themselves.
I sigh and sink to the floor, not caring about the spider webs that appeared from behind the cabinet, and I place a hand on the wall. I refuse to believe it. There’s no way one of those three would have a room right next to mine. It would make more sense that they have their own wing in this giant house.
I have to believe another captive is in here—someone who needs me as much as I need them—and there has to be a way we can communicate.
But what do I do?
I look to my left and my right, but the only thing still covering the wall is a part of the long drapes in front of the windows. So I crawl over there across the dust and shove aside the curtains. Excitement warms my chest so much that it makes me want to burst into screams. Near the corner is a vent, smaller than a hand but large enough to peek through. But better yet, the cameras can’t reach this spot.
I lie down on my back and turn my head to have a look. There’s a small airflow tube behind it, probably to ventilate the rooms, which isn’t covered by anything, so I can see straight into the other room. It’s like a peephole for mice.
The thought of them crawling across my floor makes my skin crawl. But there’s no point in dawdling on tiny details when something much more important is on hand.
I knock on the wall again, this time right next to the vent, in the hopes that whoever is on the other side of this wall will go to her knees and look. She knocks too, but she’s not even close.
“Down here,” I say.
There’s some shuffling, and a wardrobe is moved. Maybe it was blocking the vent.
Then two eyes with beautiful copper irises appear out of nowhere. They stare right back at me as the pupils dilate.
“It’s you,” I mutter.
“Who are you?” It’s definitely a girl, judging by the voice.
“I’m a prisoner, just like you,” I say. “My name is Amelia. What’s yours?”
“Anna,” she replies. “What is this place?”
Wait, so she doesn’t know either? I thought I could ask her. Damn.
“I don’t know. All I know is that this man brought me here. His name is Eli.”
Her eyes widen. “I know that name. That’s the guy who told us why we were here.”
My heart races. “What did he say?”
“Um … something about us needing re-education for our sins or something,” she mutters.
Sins? So he’s attempting to do the same thing to her too now.
She groans. “It’s all a bit fuzzy. It all went so fast.”
They must’ve drugged her too. “Are you nauseous?” I ask.
“No, just … confused. That’s all.” She sighs. “But I don’t get it. I don’t understand why they sent me here.”
I frown. “Who did?”
“My grandparents.”
I don’t see her eyes anymore, but her face is still visible, along with the tears rolling down her cheeks. I touch the wall, wishing I could get closer, so I could give her a warm hug.
“I’m sorry,” I murmur.
“It’s not fair,” she says. “I just had a big fight with them, that’s all. And now I’m stuck here.”
“How old are you?” I ask.
“Eighteen,” she replies.
Oh, my God. That’s so young … especially to be thrown into a prison like this.
“You?” she asks.
“Twenty-three,” I reply, and I clear my throat. “And you’re sure you’re not nauseous?”
“No, why do you ask?”
I swallow, wondering if I should answer because it might only scare her more. “Nothing.”
“All I know is that one minute I was at home making a cup of tea while texting my grandparents, and the next, I was in this guy’s car, and they blindfolded me until I came here. I don’t even know where we are or how far away I am from home.” She sniffles some more, and it breaks my heart.
“I’m sorry,” I mutter.
“How did you get here?” she asks. “Did your parents or grandparents give you to Eli too?”
“No …” I suck in a breath. “I …” I can’t even say the words out loud.
Who would choose this?
She would curse me.
Hell, I’ve cursed myself over it.
How could I ever admit that I asked him to do this to me?
“I don’t remember,” I reply, and I look away before she decides to look at me through the peephole.
“What is he going to do with us?” she asks.
“I don’t know,” I reply.
“But you’ve been here longer than me. Don’t you know what’s going on?”
“I’ve only been here a few days, I think.” Actually, now that I think of it, I don’t even know how long exactly. With every hour I spend here, I feel as though time is slipping away from me, and the days have turned into numbers on a clock ticking away.
“All I know is that Eli doesn’t take no for an answer,” I reply.
She gulps. “What did he do to you?”
“He …” I don’t dare say it out loud. Not to a girl this age. “A bunch of dirty things.”
She sniffles again. “Is he going to do that to me too?”
“I know as much as you do, Anna,” I answer. “There’s no telling what he or any of his buddies are going to do to either of us.”
“Is it going to hurt?” Her voice sounds strained. “Oh, God …” She sounds like she’s panicking when a muffled whimper follows.
“Anna, don’t,” I say. “Don’t panic. It won’t do you any good.”
“But I can’t be here. I don’t belong here. Why would my grandparents send me here? To these men?” she says between sniveling and wiping her nose.
“What was the fight about, if I might ask?”
“I … I …” she stutters. “Fell for a boy I shouldn’t have.”
A boy? That’s why they sent her here? That doesn’t make any sense … unless your grandparents are cruel as hell.
“I never thought they’d put me here …” she says. “I don’t deserve this.”
“Aw, I wish I could hug you right now,” I say.
She smiles gently against the opening before showing me her teary eyes again. “Thanks. I’m more worried about the others, though. They don’t have a girl like you to talk to.”
“The others?” My jaw drops as I gasp. “So there are more.”
“Two other girls came with me. But when I was pushed into this room, I could hear two more voices coming from the rooms we passed that weren’t from those other two girls.”
“Six in total,” I mutter to myself, trying to understand what it means.
I look up at the door and the half-eaten food still on the cabinet.
That’s when it hits me.
I was only invited to eat with Eli, Soren, and Tobias one day of the week.
The rest of the seven days are meant for them.
The only question is … who and where is number seven?
Chapter 17
Eli
&nbs
p; “YARGGHH!” The voice shrieks, and all the hairs on the back of my neck stand up straight.
I throw the palms of my hands up against my ears and grumble to myself. The instruction manual on my lap is of no use if I cannot read it in peace and quiet.
When the yelps have stopped again, I sigh out loud and lower my hands so I can continue reading. There’s much work to be done, and I will need my father's teachings to know what to do.
Another scream has me sitting straight up in the chair. The book tumbles from my hand onto the floor.
“Soren!” I yell.
My eyes roll into the back of my head. The painful howls of the man are too hard to ignore, so I get up and march out of my study and head straight into the dungeon just beyond the corridors behind the stairs.
It’s dark and damp in this place with only light bulb fixtures to illuminate the brick walls and ceilings, and I’d barely find my way around if it wasn’t for those incessant cries of pain guiding my way.
When I finally get to the chamber I’m looking for, I fish my key from my pocket and ram it into the lock, kicking the door open as fast as I can.
Soren’s whip stops midair, splattering blood across the wall. His body blocks my view, but I know exactly what he’s doing.
“Can you please stop the noise?” I growl. “I’m trying to read.”
Soren merely replies with a grunt.
“Thanks,” I reply, and as I close the door again, another THWACK sound follows, but no more cries.
Good. I don’t like being interrupted, especially not when I’m trying to figure out what to do.
Because no one else before me has done what I’ve done. No man has ever contemplated, let alone tried, to bring in a sinner who wasn’t sent to us.
But I did. And now I don’t know what to do with her.
The answer seems simple, but it never really is. Because for a sinner to be redeemed, there must be one to judge. There must be forgiveness. But who am I to forgive her for a sin she did not commit against me?
The other girls … they have family who sent them here. Parents. Grandparents. Aunts. Friends. Foes. Someone who thought they needed this in order to redeem themselves.
Dark Wish (A Dark Romance) Page 11