by M. S. Willis
“Halt!” Walking slowly from the stage, Aaron’s father traversed the space until he stood next to Maddy. Aaron’s shoulders rolled back, his spine becoming a steel rod with his fury. Every muscle in his body tensed up with anticipation of what his father had planned next.
“Now what kind of entertainment is that?” His father reached down and took Maddy’s hair into his hands, pulled her up into a position where she could see the carnage of the executioner. “You are too quick to kill, my son. Moving at that pace, all of our preparation for today’s events would have been for nothing more than a show that lasted only a few seconds.” Looking down at Maddy, he smiled with a lascivious grin. Pulling against her hair with more force, his smile brightened when a cry escaped her lips. “Don’t you want to see what the man you call your Master is capable of doing? How very cruel he can be when taking someone’s life? You are to watch him, whore. Do not look away because if I see you so much as blink while he executes the slaves, I’ll request that you be strung up when he’s finished.”
Maddy looked into the steel grey eyes of the man she detested most in this world. Her heart was already breaking for the women whose lives were being ended for entertainment, who’d been enslaved the same she had. If not for the knowledge that the man holding her head would soon die, she would have fought against him, welcoming the death sentence he threatened. Turning her eyes to the stage, she locked them with Aaron’s, providing him strength with nothing more than her presence.
“I want them disemboweled, Aaron.” His father released Maddy’s hair to turn in the direction of the gallows while giving his instructions. “Let their entrails fall to your feet while the light dies in their eyes.”
Maddy shuddered, trying hard not to imagine the agony that would accompany such a death. That she was made to watch as Aaron was delivered into the darkness, forced into an act so cruel, that no man could be expected to come back from it — this was the final insult to the injuries inflicted upon her. She would watch, however, and remain steadfast in her role as Aaron’s slave.
Aaron turned his back to her and moved along to the next woman strung up on the gallows. She could only see that his arm moved, but the woman whom he slaughtered screamed out in terror and suffering. Maddy could only watch as the blood red organs from the woman’s body splashed across Aaron’s feet. Maddy had to hold back her tears as she was forced to watch Aaron move from one slave to the next. In his position as The Estate’s executioner, Aaron was required to commit these vile, horrible acts. She knew the darkness surrounded him — penetrated him — and pulled at his soul while he carried out his father’s orders. Maddy wondered if Aaron enjoyed these kills now like he had before she’d been abducted. She knew what he was, she knew the things he’d done — the things he continued to do — and she knew that those acts would one day destroy even the small spark of hope she’d seen come alive inside him during the time they’d spent together.
As Aaron moved from one woman to the next, he leaned into them pretending that a closer angle was necessary in order for him to carry out their execution; in reality, he was whispering an apology to them as they died. The stage was slick with their blood, their entrails kicked about as he moved across the wooden floor. Finally reaching Emily, he pulled the mask from her face before reaching up to turn her head so that she could see what had become of the other women. Her eyes widened with fear and her mouth suddenly sprang open as she vomited on his shoes. Aaron smiled, leaned into her as he did the others, but this time, it was not an apology that he gave.
“How does it feel to be a whore, Emily? I do hope you discovered that answer and I hope you enjoyed it.” His knife pierced her abdomen just below her ribs, he pulled down slowly, tearing at her flesh with the blade; he did not grant her the swiftness he’d given the other women. Once her belly was open, he pulled the organs loose, wiggling them free from the abdominal cavity in her body until they splashed down at his feet. He kept his eyes trained on hers as she screamed, locking his gaze with her eyes so he could watch the life leave her body.
Once the task had been completed, he turned to the audience. His shirt, once white, was now stained crimson from the blood of the slaves; his boots covered completely by bits of the organs he’d removed from their bodies. When his eyes found Madeleine, he saw the horror written across her features at having bore witness to how truly dark he could be. Had that been his father’s plan? Had this entire show been a ruse to make Madeleine fear him by showing her what he really was inside?
“Very good, Aaron. I’m pleased to see that you haven’t become so accustomed to death that you lack style in your method.” Settling himself back into his throne his father motioned for Aaron to return to his position in the center of the room. His steps across the room left dark crimson puddles, a trail of carnage from the stage to his place next to Maddy. She’d remained in the position his father had placed her, her eyes glued on the scene of the empty shells that had been made of the slaves hanging from the gallows. She appeared frozen in her horror, a place where the waking nightmare had taken her ability to move, to scream … to escape.
“Face to the floor, slave.” Aaron’s voice was terse as he ordered her to look away. Allowing the audience to believe that he cared nothing for the woman at his feet, he immediately granted Madeleine the ability to look down, to huddle over herself, to come to terms with the bloodbath she’d just witnessed. Returning his eyes to his father, he waited for the next command.
His father’s eyes were glued to Aaron’s as he spoke. “Xander, take Madeleine to the gallows please. She is to remove the entrails and place them aside to be fed to the dogs. Once that is done, I want the blood wiped clean from this room.”
Xander picked Maddy up, provided her with as much balance as he could while he led her to the gallows. Aaron didn’t allow his eyes to follow their path, instead he kept his gaze glued to the epitome of evil that sat in its throne.
When Xander and Maddy had gotten close enough to the gallows that she could see the remains of the women strewn about the floor up close, she got sick. Her body violently expelled the dinner she’d eaten earlier that night, the audible heaves of her contorting body filled the quiet room.
With a disgusted and bored tone, Aaron’s father ordered, “And make sure all that vomit is cleaned up as well. If she gets sick again, I will order her execution so that I do not have to hear it.”
Aaron waited for Maddy and Xander to reach the gallows before speaking again. “Is that all you require from the executioner?”
His father didn’t answer immediately, his eyes staring at Madeleine as she cleaned up the stage. As he took in the sight of Aaron’s slave, something within his eyes shifted before a smile creased his face. Turning back to Aaron, the smile was lost as he responded, “No … actually, I have a job you must do tonight as well. Emory will supply you with the information regarding your target and his location this evening when it is time for you to go.”
A warning rolled along Aaron’s spine as he nodded his assent, but he brushed it off as he turned to walk to the gallows. Taking a place by Xander’s side, he looked on as Maddy struggled to clean up what was left of the women. Her body retched with the vomit she couldn’t spill. Diligently she moved from one to the next, wiping up the blood and picking up the organs until at last the stage was clean. After finishing the floors of the ballroom they were excused to leave so that they could return to Aaron’s quarters.
As soon as they were inside the apartment, Aaron picked up Maddy and ran to the bathroom carrying her in his arms. Placing her in the tub, he pulled the nozzle out from the setting and washed the blood that covered her body. Violently, her body continued to retch as he cleaned her. Once the crimson stain had been erased from her skin, he filled up the tub with warm water, hoping the heat would help soothe Maddy’s tired and weak body. Pulling his own clothes from his body, he washed the stains off himself in the other shower before returning to pull her from the tub.
Walking into his roo
m, he laid Maddy down on the mattress of his bed, before climbing in beside her and pulling her tight against his chest. They lay in reticence for over an hour, the shock of what they’d just seen and done had frightened them enough that their words had been silenced. Every so often, Maddy would be reduced to tears, the violent sobs took control of her body. The cries that escaped her throat worked like a knife that twisted itself into the heart of the man that held her.
When she’d quieted, finally succumbed to the exhaustion left behind by witnessing such horror, Aaron finally spoke. “I will kill him, Madeleine, I swear to you, he will die.”
Maddy didn’t respond except to close her eyes and lose herself to sleep wrapped in the arms of a man who could commit the atrocious acts of an executioner.
~ ~ ~
A faint knock on the door woke Aaron. Opening his eyes, he watched as Xander entered the room, a piece of paper held in his hand. “Emory dropped off the information for your job this evening. It’s about an hour away from here. I’ll stay with Madeleine while your gone.”
Begrudgingly, Aaron removed his arms from around Maddy, slowly crept off the bed and covered her with a blanket once he was standing. Once Xander left the room, Aaron moved into the closet to quickly dress in black pants, a black shirt, and his black leather coat. Arming himself, he continued to look over to Maddy as she slept on the bed. Like an angel at rest, her dove white skin shimmered in the low light of the room. Her features were not quite at ease, but not locked into the look of horror she’d had since the ballroom. Aaron approached the side of the bed, leaned down to place a kiss on her cheek, before turning to exit the room.
Finding Xander in the living room, Aaron barked out his order. “While I am gone, I want you to contact the leader of each group in the alliance. The time to strike is now. My father has gone too far. The only hand he has left in this game is to take Maddy from me and I’ll die before I allow that to happen. I want him dead tonight, Xander.”
“I’ll start making the calls,” Xander replied.
Reaching for the door, Aaron turned back to his guard. “If anything happens, you are to contact me immediately.” With that Aaron swept out into the halls of the corridor on his way to take another human life.
After Aaron had left, Xander spent more than an hour coordinating the strike, each unit given a time and place to meet. Xander paced the living room floor waiting for Aaron’s return, his nerves on fire from the anticipation of the evening’s battle. When he heard boots outside the door he moved to open it expecting that Aaron would be on the other side. Once he had moved aside the large door, however, his eyes locked with those of Joseph Carmichael.
Mr. Carmichael didn’t bother with a greeting as he stepped into the apartment, followed closely by Emory and Vincent. He rotated slowly as he looked over the room, his eyes pausing every so often on a statue or other similar decoration. When he’d finally turned back to Xander, a grin stretched over his face. “Where’s the slave?”
Instantly tensing, Xander stood motionless as he tried to think of anyway he could refuse to answer. Finding none, he responded, “She’s sleeps.”
“Well, then, wake her and bring her to me. I have use for her tonight.” Mr. Carmichael’s words were slightly slurred, but still dripped with the malicious intent toward Maddy.
Xander paused. Wanting nothing more than to kill all three men where they stood, he realized his efforts would be wasted, he be killed before he could take them all. Recognizing that Aaron was the only man who could save her, Xander begrudgingly walked to the corridor, but stopped suddenly when Mr. Carmichael said, “Better yet, Emory and Vincent, why don’t you two escort him? I don’t have time for dillydallying tonight. I want my needs met sooner rather than later.”
Except for the sound of their steps, the corridor was quiet. Reaching Aaron’s bedroom, Xander let out a deep sigh and pushed the door open. Emory and Vincent came from behind him to wrench Maddy from her sleep. Xander stepped aside as they passed back out into the corridor, Maddy’s feet dragging behind her as she awoke and discovered that she was being removed from Aaron’s quarters. Mr. Carmichael and his guards left without another word and as soon as the doors closed, Xander was on the phone letting Aaron know that Maddy had been taken.
“Aaron …. your father … he just took Maddy.” Xander’s voice shook with the rage that was teeming inside him.
Almost wrecking his car when he heard Xander’s words, Aaron’s foot slammed into the gas pedal. His mind went blank with rage as he drove — except for one solitary thought: tonight, his father would die.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Madeleine regained full consciousness as she was being dragged down the halls toward the ballroom. The grips of the men who held her were so firm, she knew bruises would form easily beneath her pale skin. Joseph Carmichael walked quickly in front of them, ordered the doors to the ballroom be opened, but traveled through the large room to another set of doors on the other side. As she was dragged through the second set of doors, Maddy’s eyes took in her surroundings. She’d never been on this side of the house, had never seen the different corridors that led to the rooms where those loyal to Joseph stayed. The walls of the corridors were the same burgundy red as on the other side, but chains were attached at evenly spaced intervals. The walls beneath those chains were stained a darker red, almost black; handprints smeared along the paint, footprints smeared along the floors. Ominous and terrifying, it was apparent that an untold number of evil and bloody things had occurred in these halls.
Realization dawned on Maddy that she was being led to her rape and probable death. Aaron’s father had played his last hand, choosing to take the slave, not caring that Aaron would cast her aside as a result. There was no longer the need to maintain the façade she’d kept over the last few months, and she allowed herself to shed the tears that swelled in her eyes. Weakly she pulled against the men that held her, but she was too small to fight physically. The skin on her toes burned from being dragged against the stone floor, her stomach still had spasms from being sick earlier that day. When they reached a room at the end of the hall, Mr. Carmichael produced a key from his pocket, quickly unlocking and opening the door so that Emory and Vincent could drag her into the room. The loud click of the lock sliding into place made her jump, made her realize that her fate had been sealed.
Mr. Carmichael’s space was even larger and, at one time in the past, would have been more luxurious than Aaron’s. Littered among the books, fine statues, and other decorations that spoke of classical times and educated taste, however, his quarters housed tools used for torture, glasses still half full of liquor, and drug paraphernalia on every counter and table. Her eyes widening, Maddy glimpsed the lifestyle that led a powerful man into fits of insanity. His home displayed his fall into the abyss of the depraved. Blood pooled in different areas of the room, in others it was dry and like dust; it looked like the place hadn’t been cleaned in days or weeks. The three men who’d taken her didn’t seem to mind the filthy conditions of the home, they didn’t seem to notice that their environment had taken on the appearance of Hell itself. Almost every sin possible for a man to commit, every temptation that can lead a man to evil, was given its own space.
Terror flooded her system as she was dragged through a set of doors and down a long corridor that led to the back bedrooms. Glancing in each room as they passed, Maddy’s heartbeat sped up faster and faster, her breathing became more erratic when she saw the bodies — rotting and long dead — laid out across beds, on floors, and even chained to walls. Blood lay in dried pools, the putrid smell of decaying flesh assaulting her nose, causing bile to rise into her throat, the cramping in her stomach become unbearable as she attempted to hold back her need to retch. Even more horrifying was the way these men didn’t seem to notice the squalor and repugnance of the apartment: they walked passed the rooms without even a glance toward the outward manifestation of a man gone mad.
The door creaked loudly as they entered the room
at the end of the long hall; a room illuminated by dozens of blood red candles set in sconces on the walls. Every wall bore shackled chains. Crimson-stained whips and canes, ropes, and phallic-shaped objects littered the tables and floors. Mixed among them needles and mirrors, pills and white powders that reflected the scant traces of light in the room.
The large bed in the center of the room was raised up on a platform so high, steps were required to climb in. The posts at the four corners of the bed bore the scars of fingernails scratched down their lengths, ligature marks across their breadth; ugly white scars of exposed wood, evidence of the agony women had been put through at the hands of the man who now intended to take her. Chips of a pink fingernail polish were buried within those scars, the same color as the toes of a woman she’d seen in the ballroom many months before.
Climbing the steps of the platform, Mr. Carmichael sat on the edge of the mattress near a small round side table that held a large pile of white powder and the paraphernalia to match. Emory and Vincent dragged Madeleine up the stairs, their fingers digging into her skin and the muscle underneath from the strength of their grip. Pain shot through the fine bones of her feet as they hit against the sharp edges of the stairs. Reaching the top, she was thrown down on the mattress, Emory and Vincent took seated positions on either side of her. Their rough hands taking liberties with her body, vice grips on her breasts, fingers invading the flesh between her thighs, barely, but not fully forcing themselves inside. Vincent, becoming too caught up in his excitement, leaned down to bite the tip of her breast. Maddy cried out in pain, drawing the attention of the man for whom she was being restrained.
