My Soul to Play (Games People Play Book 2)

by Robin Roseau

  "I don't know what would happen. There might be objections. Subtle influence is allowed, but I am careful to avoid it becoming too overt."

  Over dinner we made small talk with our table companions. Evaline was deeply charming, which didn't surprise me. But throughout she remained quite attentive to me. She buttered my bun and poured my wine. A few times she fed me from her own hand. When it was time for dessert, she asked me which were my favorites, requested one of my first two choices, and then we shared it.

  I was surprised by all of it. At one point I leaned and whispered into her ear, "Why are you treating me like this?"

  She whispered back, "You don't like it?"

  "I didn't say that."

  "Well, I enjoy it immensely. I like taking care of you, even in these small ways."

  I didn't have a clue what game she was playing. I was sure it was some sort of game, but I couldn't even hazard a guess.

  At the end of the meal there were a few speeches, thankfully short. Twenty minutes later found us in the ballroom.

  I'm not a good dancer, but Evaline made it easy.

  Eventually she steered me to the entrance. Her limousine was already waiting for us, and I wondered how she managed that. We sat together, side-by-side. She took my hand, and we leaned against each other. Neither of us spoke a word for the next ten minutes.

  But then she said, very gently, "It's time for the hood. Do you promise to behave?"

  I turned to her. My heart began to pound. I was scared. Evaline caressed my cheek. "I'm not going to hurt you, Teigan," she promised earnestly. "You'll be tired. That's all."

  "How do I get home afterwards?"

  "You don't. You'll be my guest tonight and probably tomorrow night. I might keep you Sunday night if I'm not pleased with your rate of recovery."

  "Are you going to-"

  She cut me off with fingers on my lips. "I'm going to take care of you," she said. "Nothing more, unless you ask for more."

  "All right," I said. What could I say? I'd agreed to this, as nervous as it made me.

  "Good," she said. She caressed my cheek again, her hand making it's way to the back of my neck as she did so. Then she pulled me towards her, and we were kissing.

  It was a nice kiss, a good kiss. Okay, it was an amazing kiss, and I found my arms wrapping around her.

  A part of my mind was asking me, "What are you doing?" But my body didn't care. My body didn't care at all. My body wanted this woman, and it didn't care what she was.

  She began to lower the hood over my head even before she finished kissing me.

  Rachel

  I couldn't have told you where we were. Evaline told me we were taking a roundabout route. We made several changes on the freeway and then several more once we were on the surface streets. I was utterly lost long before we slowed and then slowed further.

  Evaline held my hand the entire time. She murmured to me the entire time.

  Then from the echoes, I knew we were in an underground parking facility of some sort. We descended what felt like two levels before coming to a stop.

  "Bring my purse," I told Evaline. I sat quietly while she retrieved it. Then the door was opened. Evaline helped me climb from the limousine then took my arm. We climbed into an elevator, but she surprised me when we descended rather than ascended.

  I had a thought and laughed.

  "Do tell."

  "You don't find the irony that a demon is taking me deeper into the ground."

  "Into the pits of hell?" she asked. "Nothing so fanciful as that."

  "You understand this subterfuge is futile. I can find any property you own."

  She didn't say a word. Eventually the elevator came to a stop, the door opened, and she led me out.

  The floor was carpeted; that's all I could have told you.

  Evaline guided me through a door then brought me to a stop. She stepped in front of me, then I felt her fingers at the bottom of the hood. She lifted it slowly. I blinked my eyes as they adjusted to the light. The demon stood in front of me, and we looked at each other. Then I looked around the room.

  It appeared to be a basic sitting room. There were three separate groupings of high-quality furniture, one of which was clustered in front of a gas fireplace. There was art on the walls, and the room was comfortably lit with indirect lighting.

  It looked posh but comfortable at the same time.

  "This looks like a living room, if only there were windows." I narrowed my eyes. "I've never seen you in daylight."

  She laughed. "You will have to wait for a demonstration of my ability to enjoy the sunlight." She sobered. "Rachel is in the room through the door behind me."

  I looked over her shoulder then back into her eyes. "May I go to her?"

  "Did you have any further questions?"

  "I'm sure I'll have some in a few seconds."

  "She is not quite as you remember her."

  I narrowed my eyes. "In what way?"

  "I'll let you decide for yourself. Physically she is whole, although you will be somewhat shocked. I have not prettied the situation for her. How you will see her is how I have been treating her. The details change, of course, but those are only details."

  "Am I going to be angry with you?"

  "Probably."

  "Is this why you haven't returned my purse to me?"

  "I do not fear for myself," she replied. "You could not kill me with your gun, although you could hurt me. But I wouldn't want you to try. It wouldn't be good for you."

  I nodded. I had a pretty good idea just how not good it would be.

  "How long will you let me have?"

  "Long enough to satisfy yourself as to her condition. I would counsel you to think before you speak and to be very careful of any promises you make to her."

  "Fine. May I go?"

  The demon stepped aside, gesturing with a hand. I headed for the door, and she followed me. I stopped briefly with my hand on the door, then opened it.

  * * * *

  I have no idea what I was expecting to find, and so I don't know if I should say I was surprised.

  The room was a bedroom, a large, lavish bedroom. The main piece of furniture was the bed, far larger than any bed I'd ever seen. It looked extremely comfortable.

  But it wasn't the bed that drew my attention. It was the cage.

  Just below the foot of the bed, suspended from the ceiling, was a cage, large enough the woman it held was free to stand or lie down. It was constructed of metal bars, but there was padding on the floor, and I saw a pillow and even several blankets. The floor of the cage was about even with the height of the bed, so the bed's occupant could easily watch the woman in the cage.

  The woman herself was kneeling facing the bed, her head pressed to the cage floor. She wasn't naked, but she may as well have been, as poorly as what little clothing she wore covered her body. The cage was swaying very slightly, and I wondered if the woman had caused it to sway while assuming her kneeling position. I stared.

  Evaline stepped up behind me, not touching me. I looked over her shoulder. "You keep her in a cage."

  "Would a cell have been better?" she asked. "Or perhaps I should chain her to the wall. How did you expect I was keeping her?"

  "I-" I turned back to look at Rachel.

  She wasn't looking at us. She hadn't done so much as twitch since I opened the door. I moved closer, coming to a stop at the side of the cage. She still didn't move, but I could see she was breathing.

  "Rachel?"

  Still she didn't move.

  "Rachel?" I said it more loudly.

  Evaline stepped up next to me. "Good evening, my pet."

  At that, Rachel spoke, although she still didn't move. "Mistress! I've been a good girl!"

  "I know you have," Evaline said. "Kneel upright and look at us."

  Rachel moved immediately, sitting back on her heels and turning her head. She continued to kneel, her back straight, and when she looked at us, she didn't look into our eyes but perhaps som
ewhat lower.

  "Do you know who this is, my pet?" Evaline gestured to me.

  Rachel glanced briefly at my face then nodded slowly. "Yes, Mistress."

  "Tell me who this is."

  "Teigan St. Claire. She was my cousin's girlfriend. They had a fight." Then Rachel bowed her head and finished with, "Mistress."

  "That's right, my pet," Evaline said. "Can you guess why she's here?"

  "No, Mistress."

  "Try guessing anyway."

  Rachel glanced at me again but quickly averted her eyes. "She's a police detective. My cousin called her."

  "That's right," Evaline agreed. "Your family is worried about you. Tell Detective St. Claire why you are here."

  "Do I have to, Mistress?"

  "Yes."

  "I was evil." She said the last word in a whisper. "I tried to hurt my mistress."

  "You did more than try to hurt me, didn't you?"

  Slowly she nodded, and I saw a tear crawl down her face. "I tried to kill you. I must be punished."

  My heart was breaking. This wasn't remotely the woman I knew. Rachel had been alert and vivacious. She was passionate and very sweet. She wasn't this pitiful creature. I turned to glare at the demon.

  "Let her out. I'm taking her home."

  "Let her out yourself," was the reply. "But you aren't taking her anywhere. But go ahead. The doors aren't locked."

  She gestured to the cage. There was one door facing the bed and another on the opposite end. That one was easier, so I moved to it and studied it. The cage itself was quite sturdy, and if locked, I was convinced it would hold anyone stuffed inside. But there was a simple handle, and it could be reached from the inside. And I saw no lock of any sort.

  "Go ahead," the demon said. "Open it. Invite her out."

  I looked at her. "You had someone remove the locks before we arrived."

  "I haven't had this cage locked since her second week," Evaline replied. "Go head. Open it."

  And so, I did just that, swinging the door wide then steadying the cage to arrest the swinging.

  Rachel looked over her shoulder at me and began screaming. "Close it! Close it!" She turned to the demon and dropped her head to the floor of the cage, facing Evaline. "I didn't open it!" she screamed. "I didn't open it! I've been a good girl. She did it. I didn't open it!"

  Then she began to keen, punctuated by, "I'm a good girl", "I didn't open it", and imploring me to close the cage door.

  The demon looked at me and raised an eyebrow.

  "Rachel," I said. "No one is going to hurt me. Come out of there."

  "No!" she screamed. "Close it! Oh, please close it!"

  I stared at her then carefully closed the door. Rachel continued to keen, not moving from her place, and she didn't calm down until Evaline reached through the bars and began to caress her hair.

  "There, there," she said gently. "I know you've been a good girl. Shh. If you calm down, I'll allow you to kiss my hand."

  It took another minute, but Rachel finally calmed down, although her breathing was ragged.

  "Please, Mistress. May I kiss your hand?"

  "Yes, my pet, but only twice."

  Rachel lifted her head, gathered Evaline's hand with both of hers, and then gave the back of the hand two long, lingering kisses. Then she released the hand, lowered her head back to the floor of the cage, and whispered, "Thank you, Mistress. Thank you."

  I stared at all of this. Then in a voice barely loud enough to be heard, I asked, "What have you done to her? Why was she so terrified when I opened the door?"

  "She was afraid I would punish her," the demon said. "My pet, describe to Detective St. Claire how I punish you."

  "You leave me in my cage," she said. "And you ignore me." Her voice grew quieter. "Sometimes you make me watch when you feed from someone else instead of me."

  "Do I beat you?"

  "No."

  "Have I ever beaten you?"

  "No, Mistress. Never."

  "Other than the day you tried to kill me, have I ever physically abused you?"

  "No, Mistress. I'm sorry, Mistress. I'm sorry I tried to hurt you."

  "Let us not lie about it. You tried to kill me. Apologize properly."

  "I'm sorry I tried to kill you, Mistress. I'm so, so sorry."

  The demon looked at me and said, "My pet, I believe Detective St. Claire has additional questions for you. You will answer them honestly."

  "Yes, Mistress."

  I stared at the demon. I stared at Rachel. I was sickened by what I saw, absolutely sickened. I opened my mouth several times, but I couldn't think of anything to ask.

  "Let me help," the demon said eventually. "My pet, Detective St. Claire wants to take you home-"

  "No!" Rachel screamed. "Don't make me leave! Mistress, don't make me leave!" She moved forward in her cage, pressing her head against the bars but reaching through with her hands. "Please don't make me leave!"

  Evaline took her hands then knelt down so she was looking into Rachel's eyes. "Why not?"

  "I haven't been punished! You have to punish me. I was evil. You must punish me! And afterwards, I must atone. I must atone!"

  I closed my eyes, not wanting to watch anymore. I hissed my words. "I want to know what you did to her, demon."

  "My pet," said Evaline, still kneeling in front of Rachel. "I'm not going to feed from you tonight."

  "I was a good girl!" Rachel insisted. "I was a good girl!"

  "I know. But Detective St. Claire is going to feed me tonight." Rachel looked over her shoulder at me, and it was not a kind look. But then she looked back at Evaline. "Do you know why I am going to feed from Detective St. Claire?"

  "No. Are you punishing me?"

  "No, I am not punishing you. Detective St. Claire desperately wanted to speak with you, and so she came to an agreement with me. Allowing me to feed from her is a portion of our agreement."

  Rachel lifted her eyes to look more closely at Evaline then looked over at me. Then she looked back at Evaline. "Why would she do that?" She looked back at me. "You shouldn't have to feed her for me. I was evil."

  I didn't understand. A moment ago she wondered if not being a meal for the demon was punishment, but now she was worried that it would be horrible for me. I didn't understand.

  "She shouldn't have to do that," Rachel said. "Please, Mistress. Let her go."

  Evaline looked at me. "You're even more confused, aren't you?"

  "Yes."

  The demon looked back at Rachel. "Have I been taking care of you, my pet?"

  "Yes."

  "Tell Detective St. Claire how I take care of you."

  Rachel turned her head to look at me, but she didn't otherwise move from her place. "She feeds me healthy foods, and she makes me exercise. I must exercise three hours each day. Sometimes she watches me. Sometimes Mrs.-"

  "Silence!"

  Rachel shut her mouth.

  "Do not use the names of anyone Detective St. Claire may not know. You may continue."

  Rachel was quiet for a moment but then said, "Sometimes a woman comes to take me to exercise. Then I shower afterwards."

  "How else do I take care of you?"

  "You give me blankets," Rachel said. "And you sit and talk to me. I like when you talk to me."

  "Very good, my pet. Detective St. Claire and I are going away to talk now, and then she is going to call your cousin. Is there anything you wish her to tell your cousin?"

  Rachel looked over at me. "Tell them I'm sorry," she said in a small voice. "Tell them not to worry about me."

  They were the sanest words she'd spoken since I had arrived. I nodded. "I will, Rachel."

  "You came here to try to help me, didn't you?"

  "Yes."

  "You shouldn't have."

  "Why not, Rachel?"

  "I must be punished for what I tried to do."

  "Is there anything you would like before we go, Rachel?" the demon asked.

  "Will you give me a task, Mistress?"
/>   "All right," Evaline said. "You may first see to your needs then return to your cage. After that, I want you to write a letter to your family assuring them you are fine. You know what you can tell them and what you cannot."

  "Yes, Mistress."

  "After that, if you like, perhaps you will compose a poem for me."

  "Yes, Mistress."

  "A happy poem this time, Rachel."

  There was a pause before she said, "Yes, Mistress."

  Evaline reached through the bars and caressed Rachel. It was done tenderly, and Rachel leaned into the touch. I didn't have words.

  But then Evaline stepped back. "Come, Detective?" She turned and headed for the door. I followed her, but I heard the door of the cage open. I looked over my shoulder, and Rachel was climbing out. She looked over her shoulder at me, but then she headed towards one of the other exits from the room."

  "Come, Teigan," the demon ordered again, and I followed her into the other room.

  Explanations

  "What did you do to her?" I demanded as soon as the bedroom door closed behind us.

  "Not here," Evaline said. She sounded weary. She crossed halfway across the room and collected the hood then turned to face me. I stared at it.

  "No. I want answers."

  "You'll have them," she said. "We're not going far. Are you going to cooperate or not?"

  "Fine," I said in a huff. I stepped forward and didn't resist while the demon lowered the hood over my head. She did it gently then stepped to my side. She led me forward. A door opened, and she led me out of the room. The door closed, and she wrapped one arm around my waist. "Give me your left hand behind your back."

  I did what she said. She clasped my hand at the small of my back then took my right, holding it in front of herself. Then we turned in several circles until I was completely disoriented. "This way," she said.

  It was a short walk, perhaps a minute or so. Before entering the next room, she turned me in several more circles, and then we were through another door, and then another. We came to a stop, and the demon released my hands then gently removed the hood. I quickly stepped away from her.

  "What have you been doing to her?"

  "Let's sit," she said with a gesture. There were two easy chairs and between them a small table. Waiting for us was a steaming teapot and two cups. I didn't normally drink tea, but I took the seat, and when Evaline handed me a filled up, I took it from her.