“That was amazing!” Christian said and tossed his head back, laughing. “When did you become such a wild cat?” He attempted to grope me, but I squirmed away.
“Now let May go,” I said.
“I will just as soon as—”
“Christian!”
He turned toward the door. A Vyken’s tall and muscular frame overwhelmed the doorway. “I have to talk to you right now.”
“I’m sort of in the middle of something, Creed,” Christian said.
“It involves Llona.”
This got his attention but not mine. Jackson was dead, and May had almost died. All because of Christian. I stumbled toward May while Christian was distracted. No one stopped me.
“What’s this about, Creed?” Christian was saying behind me.
“Are you okay?” I asked. As carefully as I could, I peeled back the covering on her mouth.
“I’m so sorry,” she said, tears running over red skin where the tape had been.
I smoothed her hair back, grimacing when I saw how deep the cut above her eye really was. “Shh. Don’t talk.”
“I just wanted to get to know my father,” she said through a sob, “and I thought I could help the Auras in the process. At least that’s what I told myself.”
“But I saw the car explode!” Christian was saying. “The witch is dead!”
“I’m going to get you out of here, May. I promise.” I glanced over my shoulder. Christian was getting increasingly upset.
“Llona tricked you,” a Vyken said. “They all did.”
Christian picked up a nearby chair and tossed it across the room. It broke into several pieces; one of them nearly hit me.
“Cyrus wants her punished,” Creed said.
Christian looked at me. “Oh, she will be.”
“Not by you.”
May was whimpering. I tried calming her down. “Everything’s going to be okay,” I said, but I wondered if it were true.
“But I already broke her leg!” Christian said. “That should prove to Cyrus that I won’t go soft on her.”
“Sorry, C. You’re out.” Creed motioned for the others to grab him.
Christian swung at the first two, but in a matter of seconds they had him contained. “I’ll kill whoever touches her!” he yelled as they dragged him from the room. The door closed behind him, leaving just Creed and the other Vyken. I clung to May with my bound hands, more frightened than I had ever been in my life. Never had I felt so powerless.
Creed came over to me and easily lifted me by my neck with one hand. “This is going to hurt a little.”
TWENTY-SIX
Darkness enveloped me into a suffocating cocoon, making it difficult to breathe, and I wondered if that’s how a caterpillar felt just before it broke free from its hard prison. I had a feeling, though, that whatever I was trapped in wasn’t going to spit me out into a beautiful butterfly. I wanted to get out from within its smothering grip, but I was in too much pain to move. Even Light had abandoned me. Where was I?
There was a sound in the distance. A voice, gentle, yet threatening. I focused on it, trying to gain my bearings. The voice cut in and out like a radio with bad reception. I told my mouth to speak, to call for help, anything. I’m not sure it responded. Because I couldn’t do much of anything else, I submitted to the darkness, floating along on an endless sea of black.
Time passed, but I didn’t know how much. Soon I was able to hear words, the voice slightly distorted. It spoke apologies, professed love, promised things it should never promise. I wanted to cry but didn’t think I was capable of it anymore. Too many tears had already been shed.
Vykens had done terrible things to me. I didn’t want to think about it. Ever. Instead, I focused on the voice. Eventually it grounded me, and I opened my eyes, one of them anyway.
“You’re awake!” Christian said. He was kneeling by my bedside, a bloodied cloth in his hand. He patted it on my forehead. At least it looked like he did. I couldn’t feel if the cloth had actually made contact.
“I’m so sorry, Llona. I wouldn’t have hurt you this bad. I swear I tried to get away, but they wouldn’t let me. Cyrus has these strict rules, you see, and if you go against him it’s like going against everyone. I wasn’t sure . . .”
He went on like this for some time. I didn’t care what he said anymore; I just wanted to get away.
“Don’t worry,” he said. “I’m going to take care of you. I’ll be here every step of your recovery.”
“Untie me,” I whispered. Even breath passing over my lips stung.
“What was that?” he asked and leaned closer.
I swallowed, tasting blood, and gathered the strength to speak again. “Untie me so I can heal myself.” If I could be rid of the rope, it wouldn’t be too long before my Light at least made breathing not hurt so much.
Christian was quiet for a moment, like he was considering my request, but then he said, “Right. Well, I wish I could, but then I wouldn’t be able to take care of you as long as I’d like. And the more time we spend together, the better.”
I wanted to turn away from him and tried to, too, but my bones were grinding together in all the wrong places. I whimpered.
“Don’t move, Llona. Please? And don’t look at me like that. I want to help you, believe me I do, but if I don’t do this then I’m going to forget all about my love for you. It’s like every day a piece of you disappears from my heart.” He pounded his chest. “I don’t want to lose you, and I especially don’t want to hate you. You’re all I have left of my former self.”
“You’re already dead,” I whispered.
His jaw flexed in anger, but a second later he relaxed. “Things will get better. You’ll see.” He stood up and went to the door. “I may not be able to untie you, but I do have a surprise for you. Maybe then you won’t see me as a monster.”
I wish I could’ve answered with a sarcastic retort, but I was just sad. Plus it hurt to talk.
With Christian gone, I tried harder to move. I rocked a little until I was flat on my back. A few ribs were definitely broken. It was impossible to take a deep breath. Now to move my legs. I attempted to bend them. An electrical jolt raced up my right one, and I cried out. The left one, however, came up a little. I took a few quick breaths and lifted my head. It didn’t hurt as bad as I expected, but when I looked down at my legs, and saw how my jeans were shredded, along with my skin, I blacked out.
“Llona?”
I opened my eyes and moaned, remembering how badly I’d been beaten. The amount of blood and exposed flesh made me dizzy again.
Christian was looking down at me. “I have your surprise.”
I didn’t want any surprise of his. I tried to tell him as much, but he was already at the door. I closed my eyes again.
“Llona?” The voice was soft. Gentle.
My eyelids flew open. “Sophie?”
She rushed over to me and knelt at my side. “Oh, my poor child! What did they do to you?” Her hand barely caressed the top of my head.
Tears I didn’t think I had left rolled from my eyes, and I sobbed like I never had before. She leaned over me, holding me tight. She still smelled like cinnamon.
“It’s okay. Everything will be all right.”
After a while her soothing words relaxed me, and I leaned back and cleared my throat. “How about you? Did Cyrus hurt you?”
She looked surprisingly clean for someone held captive for so long. The sleeve on her shirt, however, was torn.
“Don’t you worry about me. You need to focus on getting well.”
I looked toward the ceiling. “I don’t think I can. Christian put these ropes around me. It’s blocking my Light.”
“They did the same to me.”
Just over her shoulder, Christian stood in the doorway, watching us with great interest. My hate for him grew every second I saw him.
“Look at me, Llona,” Sophie said. I did as she asked and waited for her to say something, but instead she lowered
her eyes. It took me a moment, but after a couple more of her stares down, I followed her gaze. In her hand she clutched a small knife. I looked up at her, my eyes wide. She slipped it beneath the blanket I was lying on and smiled.
“Christian,” she said, “Llona needs water. Would you get her some?”
“Like I’d leave you alone with her.” He turned and yelled at someone down the hall.
While he asked for the water, Sophie leaned over and whispered in my ear quickly. “Follow the sounds of the water and you’ll find your way out. Then come back with help.”
I wanted to ask questions, but just then Christian came back into the room holding a glass of water. “Time’s up, Sophie.”
“Just a minute longer?”
“Another time. I need to help Llona get better.”
A Vyken came into the room and took hold of Sophie.
“No! Please, let her stay!” I begged.
“Not now.” Christian’s voice was hard, and I knew there was no arguing.
“I’ll see you soon, Llona,” Sophie said, giving me a knowing look.
I nodded once and relaxed into the bed. Despite the pain, Sophie’s visit had given me strength. That and knowing I had a knife hidden beneath me.
Christian sat on the mattress next to me; it groaned under his weight. “I hope that showed how much I care about you.”
“True love, for sure,” I said, keeping my gaze upward.
“Can I tell you about the first time you spoke to me?”
“No.”
“It was that day at the assembly.”
“I don’t care.”
“You fell backward, and I caught you.”
“I don’t think so.”
“You looked amazing.”
“No, I didn’t.”
He swore and smashed his fist against the mattress next to my head. After a few deep breaths, he stood up and went to the door. “I can’t talk to you when you’re like this. Get some rest. I’ll come back later.” He slammed the door.
I waited a few minutes until I no longer heard his footsteps. Then I began to move.
It was a slow process. Like turtle slow. I’d move a part of me, pause as I waited for the pain to pass, then continue moving until I was fully upright, my legs swung over the bed.
I wiped sweat from my forehead, to keep it from running into my eyes, and willed my body to stop shaking. Focus on getting out. That was my only thought. I visualized it, imagined it until I knew that was exactly what was going to happen.
I reached under my blanket and felt for the knife. As soon as my fingers touched it, I gripped it tightly. It was awkward, trying to cut the rope with my hands bound, but eventually I was successful. The ropes fell to the ground.
After rubbing my red wrists, I produced a ball of Light into my palm. The process was harder than I expected, probably because my body was so damaged. This worried me. Would I have enough to heal me, or even enough to contact Liam? And even if I did, I couldn’t have him rushing into the warehouse with the few numbers we had, especially if the Shadow was here, which could easily be the case even though I had yet to see it. They wouldn’t stand a chance. Maybe if we had more time. But I couldn’t wait for that.
I placed my newly freed hands on the bed and pushed up. A sharp pain raced up my right leg as if a scorching hot poker had scraped my bone. I dropped back to the bed, shoving a fist in my mouth to keep from screaming. There was no way I was walking out of here. Not without some help.
I looked around the room, thinking hard. The picture above the bed caught my eye, specifically its large wooden frame.
Sliding toward the top of the bed, I reached up and took it down. As quietly as I could, I snapped the frame at the corners and inspected the four pieces. The wood was barely an inch thick, not enough to hold my weight. Unless . . .
I picked up the rope and began to wrap it around the sticks, extending the horizontal sections higher than the others. It took me a few times to get it right, but eventually I had a fragile cane.
This time when I stood, I could at least endure the pain, as long as I didn’t put too much weight on my right side. I hobbled to the door, taking my time. This was going to be the tricky part. I pressed on the plastic window, but I simply wasn’t strong enough to break through it.
Using the one hand that wasn’t clinging to my fragile cane, I ran my fingers over the thick wood, the hinges, and finally the doorknob, searching for a weakness. The door was solid. I rested my forehead against it. There had to be a way to get out. My distorted reflection in the brass knob stared back at me.
I thought of the first time I had used Light. Really used it. Because my uncle Jake was out of town, and I was terrified of the Vyken who was hunting me, Christian had slept over. He was sleeping in the living room while I practiced. It was late into the night when I eventually was able to create a tangible ball of Light. One that managed to put a hole in a wall. Since then I’d used it to cause a lot more damage than that, but explosive power couldn’t be used in this situation. Whatever I did, I had to be quiet about it.
I ran my fingers across the brass of the doorknob again and discovered a little hole, barely the size of a pinhead. A plan formulated in my mind. It might work.
I produced a small ball of Light in my hand and willed it into the doorknob. This was the hard part, because I had no visual of the insides. All I had was my connection to the Light. I focused on tightening it as hard as a bullet. As soon as I felt it was ready, I visualized it exploding. If I could destroy the inside workings, then I should be able to get out without making too much noise.
A popping sound, like metal clicking against metal, rattled the doorknob. I turned it, but it didn’t budge. I began the process all over again, each time tightening the Light inside, and then expanding it as quickly as possible. The metal rattled again, but still the door didn’t open. However, I did notice the handle was growing weaker. Just like I was.
Each time I detonated Light, my strength wavered. I wasn’t sure how much more I could take. Fortunately I didn’t need to use anymore. I turned the doorknob as hard as I could. The weakened inner workings snapped, and the door opened. I almost collapsed in joy.
I peeked outside. The hallway was empty. Using my sensitive hearing, I heard what sounded like a big sporting event going on upstairs. Probably more boxing matches.
In the rooms next to me, the sounds of steady breathing were a sharp contrast to my own. Was it Sophie? May? The other Auras? Part of me was torn. I wanted to free them now, but to what fate? No, I had to find the way out first. Get help. If Sophie was right, then we could sneak everyone out of here without any bloodshed.
Focusing my hearing, I limped with the cane toward the sounds of water. With every step, the fragile wood groaned, and I was afraid it would snap. Up ahead the hallway split in two directions. I turned left, the sound of water growing louder. I thought of Liam and hoped I’d be able to contact him.
Just then a door opened behind me at the other end of the hall. I turned around. A Vyken held the door open while he continued to talk to someone out of my sight. All he had to do was look left, and he’d see me.
I breathed in several times, filling my lungs with as much air as possible. Turn invisible. Do it. Right now! But Light wouldn’t come. If I couldn’t turn invisible then I’d have to fight, and I’d lose.
The Vyken was saying good-bye. He’d check in later.
Change! An image flashed in my mind. It was the night I killed Mr. Steele, the Vyken posing as my math teacher. The only way I was able to do it was by sucking the light from the auditorium and, combined with my own, it was enough. Since then, I hadn’t needed to do that. I had my own, and it was strong, but not right now, not without a few days’ rest.
I glanced up and concentrated on the lights. Their warmth pressed on my skin, and I sucked it into me. The Vyken closed the door.
Three things happened all at once. The light above me flickered off, I turned invisible, and the Vyken looke
d over.
I wanted to breathe a sigh of relief, but a burning heat shot through my body, preventing me from taking a breath. It felt similar to the first time I turned invisible. Borrowed light. It wasn’t meant to work this way.
“Who’s there?” the Vyken called.
I looked around, confused. He shouldn’t be able to see me.
The Vyken walked toward me, not in a threatening way, but as if he were curious about something. Eyes downcast, he searched the shadows I was hiding in. I followed his gaze . . . directly to my cane. He must still be able to see it, which meant I didn’t have enough Light to turn it invisible too. I let go of it and instead lifted my hand to steady myself against the wall. The taped-together wooden pieces clattered against the concrete floor. I slowly backed up, my head swimming and pain sucking my breath.
Before picking it up, the Vyken looked around, starting first with the burnt-out light. He stopped when his gaze focused on me as if he could sense something was off, but after a few tense seconds, he returned to the fallen cane and picked it up. He turned it over in his hands.
I hoped he wouldn’t take it. What a dumb hope. He walked away, carrying the one thing that made walking possible. As soon as he disappeared, I let go of the force making me invisible. My body collapsed into the wall, and I gasped for air.
Every part of me screamed in agony and a heavy darkness threatened to take over my mind. If I lost consciousness now, the girls could be trapped here forever, and I would most likely be killed.
I willed myself forward, but my bad leg simply wouldn’t hold my weight. A sound, like a twig snapping into pieces, cracked the air, and I collapsed to the floor. Tears stung my eyes.
I thought of May, Valerie, and Sophie, tortured and suffering at the hands of Cyrus and his Vyken followers. It had to end. These thoughts spurred me forward. Arm over arm, I pulled myself toward a door at the end of the hall. Granules of dirt and small pebbles made their way into the skin on my already bloodied arms. It was a welcome distraction from the pain in my leg.
Fractured Truth Page 20
