by Rose Pressey
“Because that’s what you want and I can’t have you getting anything you want.”
“You have real issues, you know that?” I said.
“No one else seems to mind my wonderful personality.” She studied her fingernails.
“Whatever you want to believe,” I said.
I peered back to find my mother and Annabelle. I was sure they were freaking out. When I looked at the spot where they had been just moments earlier they were gone. I looked all around and didn’t see them.
“What are you doing with my mother and Annabelle?” I asked. “If you hurt them I swear to you that you will pay.”
“Stop talking. I’m sick of listening to your voice,” she said.
The man started the car and pulled away from the curb. We headed out of town and I knew the ride all too well. As we grew closer, I realized where we were probably going. I didn’t say anything though because it would be pointless. A few moments later, we pulled up to the manor. The man pushed in a security code and the gates opened.
She glanced over at me and said, “Nice touch, right?”
I had no comment for her smarmy remark. Okay, maybe I had one comment. “I didn’t need gates because my door was always open for the other Underworld members.”
“Yes, and because of that your book is gone—both of them now—and I’m the leader. Wish you’d done things differently, right?”
“I wish I’d done one thing differently. Namely, I wish I’d kicked you out of my house.”
If I’d only known.
We pulled around the circle drive and parked in front of the manor.
“What are we doing here?” I asked.
“This is where I live, remember?” she asked.
“Yes, but why did you bring me here? I don’t live here anymore, remember?” I smirked.
“No, I’ll never forget.”
The driver had gotten out of the car. He opened my door for me and motioned for me to get out. I did as he instructed. I figured he would just pull me out anyway. I didn’t need any more bruises.
She pointed for me to walk up the steps to the front door. All of a sudden it didn’t feel like home anymore. It was scary and I was terrified to find out what she was going to do to me. What was waiting for me on the other side of that door? The tree branches blew even harder than they ever had before, as if they were warning me.
The man opened the door and motioned for me to step inside. She had changed so much about the house that I almost didn’t recognize it. Except for the intricate wood and ornate moldings—they remained the same. I had sweet memories every time I looked at each spot: the parties we’d had here, the laughter and the good times. Everything that I’d shared with my family and friends. Monique might possess the home, but the memories would always be mine in my heart. She would never be able to take that away from me.
A strange sensation circled me. I knew she had some kind of magic cooked up. She grabbed my hand. I tried to yank it away, but she had a tight grip and wouldn’t let go. The men stood behind me, as if guarding the door in case I wanted to run.
“Come with me. I want to show you something,” she said as she pulled on my arm.
“What, a torture chamber?” I asked.
“You’re so witty,” she said.
That was something she hated about me, among everything else that I was sure she detested.
“As you can see, I did a bit of renovation.” She waved her arm through the air. “It was just so hideous with the décor.”
She really was pushing me with the insults. It was as if she was trying to get me to do something to her so she would have an excuse to use some really bad magic on me. I wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction. She looked over at me for my reaction. I remained calm and acted as if everything was just peachy.
Chapter 24
I was being escorted through the house, but what was in store for me next, I had no idea. We moved through the library and headed toward the parlor. I still couldn’t get over how weird it felt to be in the house now that I wasn’t the one living here. I didn’t like her being in the house. It was mine and I didn’t think she should be touching anything, or using my kitchen, my cauldron… nothing. She knew that too and she made it even worse by rubbing it in.
As soon as we stepped into the room, I saw them. My stomach dropped and instantly tears filled my eyes. Nicolas and Liam were tied with rope to two chairs. They had tape over their mouths. The magic in the room was so thick that I could hardly breathe through whatever spell she had cast on this place. I assumed it was to keep them from being able to break free from the restraints.
I hated seeing them like this, but I was just overjoyed that they were safe. I didn’t want to say that I’d given up hope, but it would have been hard not to have had some negative thoughts when it had been so long without them. I rushed forward to hug Nicolas, but the man grabbed my arms and stopped abruptly. Nicolas wiggled in the chair.
“Sorry, no touching,” Monique said.
If I got a hold of her, I’d show her no touching. She deserved a sucker punch in the face. I tried to break free from the hold, but as usual I couldn’t escape that man’s grip. Next thing I knew, they had more rope and were tying it around my wrists.
“What do you think you’re doing?” I asked.
“It should be pretty obvious, shouldn’t it?” she asked in a mocking tone.
“I know what you’re doing, but why are you doing this?” I snapped.
“Don’t you worry about it. You just let me handle all of this, okay? At least the Underworld now has a competent leader.”
I tried to break free again so that I could punch her, but no luck. She laughed at my failed attempt.
After tying my hands, they shoved me down into a chair, then tied my feet together. Next they secured my hands to the chair and pulled out the tape. I knew what was happening next.
“Is it really necessary to cover my mouth? I mean, who am I going to talk to? There’s so much magic around this place blocking everything that nobody will ever find us.”
“That’s true, Nicolas and Liam have been here all along and you never had a clue, but alas, I want to tape your mouth shut because I don’t want to hear you yapping.”
“You are such a…” The next thing I knew my mouth had been taped, cutting off my words. I was pretty sure she knew what I’d been about to call her though and the title was rightfully deserved.
“Now that’s much better. You all have fun and I’ll be back later.” She tossed her hand up in a wave and sashayed out of the room.
Now I was alone with Nicolas and Liam, but unable to communicate with them. We looked at each other. It was so hard to deal with looking at their sad eyes. Now what would we do? Nicolas motioned across the room with a tilt of his head, trying to alert me with his eyes. When I looked across the room, at first I didn’t see anything, but then I finally realized what he was trying to show me.
She’d left the books on the table across the room. How could I get them? I so wanted to get my hands on them, but how when my hands were tied? I wiggled my hands to see if there was any way I could loosen the grip, but nothing happened other than a burning sensation from the rope.
It wasn’t like I could do magic either. She had such a spell on this place, it was all bound up. Who was I kidding? Even without her casting a spell on this place I wouldn’t have been able to do any witchcraft without the help of that book. I wondered if Nicolas and Liam had tried to do magic since they’d been here? I was pretty sure they had. They looked as if they were exhausted. They’d probably been using all of their energy to try magic to break free from this spell.
I tried to remain calm so that I could figure out a way to untie the ropes, not to mention they were hurting my wrists. And the tape across my mouth was very unpleasant as well. I wiggled my wrists back and forth again, thinking that I would loosen something. The only thing I would probably loosen was my joints. I’d had no idea anyone could tie a rope that tight.
It was probably breaking through my skin. Nicolas and Liam were watching me as if they couldn’t believe I was trying to break free.
I supposed they had tried to do that many times over the past week. I jumped in the chair and it actually moved a little bit, although noisy, but not too bad. Maybe if I took it slow I would be able to scoot myself across the floor. Though I had no idea what I would do when I got there since my hands would still be tied.
I jumped in the chair again and it moved a little further. Nicolas and Liam shook their heads. I wasn’t sure if they were just laughing at what I was doing or telling me not to do it. I had never been any good at taking hints anyway.
Now I was right beside the book. It was too good to be true though. I stopped to listen to the noise. Was Monique coming back? It definitely sounded like someone was coming close. If they caught me trying to get those books I would be in trouble. I didn’t want to inflict any more pain on Nicolas and Liam because of my carelessness. I had gotten them into this mess to begin. How did I keep making so many mistakes?
The noise sounded again. Now I had to contemplate what to do next. My anxiety increased at the thought of someone coming back into the room and catching me.
I had no choice but to go back. I scooted in the chair as fast as I could without making too much noise. My heart thumped faster and my anxiety was at an all-time high. I just didn’t want to get caught. There would be really no way to explain what I was doing. They would take the book away, spoiling my chances of me ever getting it again. Finally, after a lot of work, I made it to the other side. I was totally out of breath.
I tried to make sure I was in the same position as when they’d left me. I wasn’t sure if I’d accomplished that, but there was no time to change the position of the chair now.
Monique walked back into the room. She stared at me suspiciously and then looked at Liam and Nicolas. I figured she was suspicious, but apparently she had no way to prove that I had moved the chair across the room. In this day and age she could have set up a simple app to watch us. So much for her being so smart.
I wanted to ask her what she was doing back in here. Why didn’t she just leave us alone?
“Are you all up to something?” she asked.
I shook my head and tried to convince her with my eyes. Finally, she came over and ripped the tape from my mouth. I screamed out in pain.
“What did you say? I couldn’t hear you.” She laughed.
“I said we’re not up to anything. What are you doing?”
“You know, I didn’t know that they would give you the second book too.”
How did she know about the second book and what did she mean by ‘they’?
“But just the same, I have them both now anyway,” she said.
She pulled out the roll of tape and took off a small piece and secured it across my mouth again.
“Enough from you for right now.” She wiped her hands as if it had been a dirty job. “Now I have to get back to work. You all be very good boys and girls, okay?”
The more she talked the more I couldn’t stand her. I tried to talk again, but it all came out as just grunts and moans through the thick tape. She looked irritated that I was still trying to talk.
“I don’t know what you’re trying to say, but shut up because I’m not going to take the tape off again. It’s a whole big ordeal. My fingers get that sticky stuff all over them and I just don’t like it.”
Oh, she didn’t like it? I was so sorry to be such a burden to her when she’d had me kidnapped and tied up. Poor little leader of the Underworld. I wished I could really let her have it.
“Now be quiet. I don’t want to have to come back in here. No funny business,” she said with a wave of her hand and then she walked away.
If anyone needed to shut up it was definitely her. Just when I thought she was gone, she popped her head back around the corner of the room unexpectedly.
“Just remember, I’m watching you,” she said with that stupid smirk on her face.
Now I didn’t know how long I had to wait until I could try to get across the room again. If I could just touch the book a little bit, maybe with my face, then I could get some of the energy from it. Enough to cast a spell against her. Maybe a spell that would break the one she had on this room. Nicolas and Liam would have enough magic to get us out of this.
A couple of minutes had passed and I had to try to get back over there again. If I got caught, then so be it. I would just have to take my chances. What other option did I have? She was going to do something awful to us anyway. I might as well do it now and get it over with. I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t at least try to get us out of this mess.
I moved my body so that the chair would skip again across the floor. This time I must have been getting better because it made even less noise.
I had successfully made it across the room and was now in front of the books. Now what would I do? Still I couldn’t break my wrists free. My hands were tied, so it wasn’t like I could use my legs to get the book. Like I said, maybe all that was needed was just to simply touch the book to get some energy. I leaned down and pressed my face against the book. I immediately felt some tingling and I assumed that the magic was working. I hadn’t had this much hope in a long time.
All of a sudden Monique screamed out. “I told you not to move. You didn’t listen to me.”
I immediately moved my head. I knew I had a panicked look on my face. I was completely busted. There would be no explaining away this one, and she would take the book away forever. I couldn’t believe she’d left it there in the first place. Maybe she’d wanted me to attempt something like this so she would have a reason to do something to me.
Monique immediately stomped over to me and slapped me across the face.
Chapter 25
Now that she had caught me, I’d probably made things a whole lot worse for all of us. I should have known that was the way things would turn out, but I’d done it anyway. What could I do about it now? I had to suffer the consequences. She motioned for the men to come over to me and they started to untie me. I knew this wasn’t so that we could now become best friends. After untying my legs from the chair and my hands, they lifted me up from the chair.
They still hadn’t taken the tape off of my mouth though. They’d left the tape on my hands still behind my back, but left my feet free. I supposed that this meant we were going for a walk.
She motioned with a wave of her hand. “You’re coming with me.”
Unfortunately, she didn’t tell me where we were going. The men grabbed me up to escort me out, as if I couldn’t walk on my own. Did they seriously have to be so rough? I was sure they got pleasure out of that.
As they walked me toward the door, I turned back to look at Nicolas and Liam. I didn’t want to leave them here. It felt as if I was abandoning them again. I hadn’t been able to hug Nicolas or Liam. I hadn’t been able to kiss Nicolas or tell him I loved him. I also wanted to tell Liam I loved him too, although that might cause mixed emotions. That was why I’d never told him my feelings for him. It was probably too late to do that now. They shoved me into the car.
“Now that you’re in the car, I have something to show you,” Monique said.
What, the owner’s manual? What was she going to tell me?
She turned around in the chair and put the phone in front of my face. “I want you to watch this video.”
I wasn’t liking where this was headed. I was pretty sure she wasn’t showing me cute cat videos. Was this some sort of video on what she was planning to do to all of us? I didn’t even want to think about if it was a video of my mother and Annabelle. Fear raced through my body.
“Look at this.”
It looked as if I had no choice. The video played and it was in fact Annabelle and my mother. They were tied to chairs just as I had been. I saw the fear in their eyes, but I also saw their strength. I knew that they would hold on as long as they could. I just had to get Monique to release them. What
ever she wanted from me I would do as long as they were safe.
“Now they won’t be hurt if you do what I want you to do,” Monique said.
“What is it that you want?” I asked.
“I want the dress. The one that was in the trunk. I know you have it, so don’t even pretend like you don’t know what I’m talking about.”
What was so special about the dress that would make her want it? And I’d thought it was the trunk that she was interested in. But a wedding dress? I’d never felt as sad as I did now while pulling away from the manor. We made this short drive back to town and eventually made it to my mother’s street. I was running out of time to think of something to get out of this.
I supposed if a wedding dress was all she wanted, then she could have it. “I want a guarantee that my mother and Annabelle will be okay. Plus that you’ll release them.”
“Of course I will release them unharmed, as long as I get the dress.”
I wasn’t quite sure if I believed her. The man pulled the car up in front of my mother’s place and shoved it into park.
“All right, we’re going inside and you’re going to get the dress as quickly as possible. We don’t have a lot of time,” she said.
Did she mean we didn’t have a lot of time left before she got rid of us for good, or that she had somewhere else to be? It was a scary thought either way. We got out of the car and they led me over to the house. I wondered if anyone would notice that I was tied up. Even if the neighbors did notice, they probably wouldn’t say anything. Especially if they knew the new leader. She had power over everyone, it seemed.
“All right. Now where is it? Find it now.”
Why was she so completely pushy?
“There’s the trunk,” the man said, pointing.
I just looked at them for a moment, wondering if I could get away with just giving them the trunk since the dress was no longer in there. Would they find out?
She walked over and quickly opened it. “It’s empty, of course. Where’s the dress?”
