Twenty-Two.
Bishop, Blood and Bliss
I don’t know how long I chewed on my knuckle as the pain washed over me in unforgiving waves of horror and regret. Bishop’s cries of agony plagued me. I knew a decent kneecapping didn’t take all that long; it was one of Darius’ favorite ways to keep his dealers in line. I wasn’t sure what else the Manas were doing to inflict judgment on Bishop to make him talk.
Only I had talked. I’d told them the truth, and none of it mattered. I hadn’t saved Bishop, and now my back was scarred most likely beyond repair. The knife had cut deep around the edges of my back, going long and wide to cover the span of me. I was afraid to move, hoping the gouges would start to scab so I could shift without my epidermis peeling off. My whole body was sticky with too much blood spilling over onto the concrete from all angles. I let myself break down in silent tears in the pitch black of the freezing basement. They’d taken my shirt and bra with them, and I couldn’t really move much without ripping the cuts even more. So I laid with my stomach to the angry cold of the concrete, embarrassed and wishing I could enact some sort of Biblical vengeance.
When Bishop was finally brought down, he was unconscious and drooling, beaten to the point of incapacitation. Serena came down with the women who deposited him, her smug smile too much for me to take. “If only I had salt to pour in your wounds,” she mused. “I guess I’ll just settle for this to give you a good taste of what’s to come tomorrow.” With that, she stomped her heavy boot on my shoulder where the incisions were still clotting, laughing at my bitten-off scream. “You’ll make for a delicious little treat when my boys come around tomorrow.” Then she bent down and spanked my butt before turning on her heels with the others to go upstairs and leave us in the dark.
“Bishop? Honey? Talk to me,” I whispered, afraid when he didn’t answer. “Bishop?”
“Ekeks,” he moaned, and I could tell he’d been hit in the mouth one too many times. “Ekeks are coming tomorrow. They won’t kill you, but you’ll wish you were dead after they get through with you.”
“What?”
“You’re a very pretty girl, and they take what they want.” Bishop left his implication in the air for me to fill in the gaps. He was a pile of limbs next to me, but he reached out and found my hand. “I need to bliss you out. I don’t want you awake through any of this, yeah?”
I swallowed, afraid to go to sleep and even more afraid to stay awake. “No way. I want to be with you. I won’t leave you alone down here. Talk to me. I’m here for you.”
Bishop’s voice had a note of kindness to it. “No. I won’t let you be in pain just to lessen mine. Have sweet dreams, little sister.”
I tried to remove my hand from his, but it was no use. My struggle was ineffectual as the dark world started to swirl with brushes of pinks and reds, taking me further down in its abyss.
Twenty-Three.
Kissing and Punching
I wasn’t in the basement, but was instead transported through space and time to a beautiful park that was decorated with leaves of every color of the rainbow. A handful of purple and pink leaves let go of their tree and dropped slowly, dancing on my skin as they brushed my arms with a delicate grace. I’d gone from terror to bliss in the span of a few heartbeats, and didn’t know what to make of it. I half expected Serena to fly out from behind one of the trees and carve up the rest of me. I looked down and saw that I wasn’t naked on top anymore, nor was my back burning. I had a cute white V-neck on with jeans that hugged my hips. I was barefoot, and had no qualms about stepping on anything sharp. This was my dream, and I owned all the rocks here.
“Boy, are you a sight for these bloody sore eyes.”
It was the best thing I could hear in my happy place, and when I turned, I was greeted by the most amazing sight. “Von!” I ran to him, unhampered by hunger, injuries or fear. I jumped up into his arms, wrapping all four of my limbs around him. I attacked his face with kisses to make sure we didn’t slip away from each other. “It’s you? It’s really you?”
Von laughed, and I nearly cried at the sound of his happiness. His blue and gold eyes danced with new life I hadn’t seen in him for days. “Of course it’s me. I’ve been asleep for hours, hanging around here and looking like a bum, begging for loose nickels. Where’ve you been? Where are you?”
I recited the string of numbers I was being held at. “I don’t know the name of the street, but it’s on a dead-end road. The house has pink shutters and a tilted mailbox. Took us about half an hour to get here flying east. Send an army, Von. There’re at least forty Manas I counted, and Ekeks are on the way. They might already be here, and Bishop’s barely alive.”
“Bishop’s alive?” Hope soared in Von’s voice as he squeezed me through a choked sob he muffled in the crook of my neck. He tore his face away and I saw moisture glassing his eyes. “We’ve been going mad trying to find his body. We knew they’d keep you alive, but we didn’t know about him.”
“He’s only barely alive. They’re torturing him to get information out of me. He needs a doctor, Von. I told them the truth about the stone, but they don’t believe me! They don’t think more than just me can touch it, so they’re hurting him over and over so I’ll give them the stone. You have to hurry!”
“We’ll find you. Now that we’re narrowed down a bit, we’ll be there in a couple hours.” Von kissed my lips, squeezing my butt before he set me down to get a good look at me. His hands ghosted over my shoulders, rubbing downward until his fingers linked through mine. “Beautiful. I’m just glad they haven’t hurt you.”
I shook my head, my eyes serious with warning. “You can’t be in the search party to come find me.”
His perfect lips soured. “I’d like to see anyone try and stop me. Mason and I are your Reapers. We’re leading the party with guns blazing. Real action hero-type stuff.”
“I know I look fine here, but I’m all ripped up in real life.” I swallowed the emotion down like a bitter pill the size of an elephant. I would not spend this time crying. I had Von at my fingertips.
Von spoke slowly, his chin turning to the side as he stared me down. “All ripped up? How do you mean?”
My voice broke as the reality of my dire situation acted as a fog around us, pushing out the beautiful colors I needed so I could draw a proper breath. Now the world was gray. Gray trees with gray leaves. “Serena pinned me down and carved up my back with a knife. I’ll live, but it’s bad. You can’t come find me because I’m a bloody mess. You’ll get a whiff of me and attack.”
“I can handle a little blood,” Von said, posturing. “I’ve been feeling far more in control since I got back.” He held up his hand. “Honest. When I’m not bled dry, it’s not as bad as it was, and I even bounced back from that in only a few hours. I don’t understand it, but I’ve only needed one blood bag all day, and I haven’t wanted to bite into Mariang at all. I promise, hani, I can handle a little blood.”
I paused, looking up into his eyes and wishing for an eternity of anything but this kind of talk. “It’s not a little blood, Von.”
A fierce protectiveness flared in Von’s eyes. His chest puffed anew as he pulled me in for a hug I only wanted more of. “How much blood?”
“Too much.”
“I’ll take care of it,” Von vowed, solemn in his devotion to me. “They won’t kill you, love. They need you alive.”
Von smelled like mints, his sweet cologne and cigar smoke. After the day I’d had, he was utter perfection. “I’m scared,” I admitted. “I need you to tell the others to come get me. Bishop’s not going to last much longer.”
Von squeezed me tight and nodded into my hair as he inhaled the scent of me. Slowly the colors around us came back. Gentle hues of blue and violet crept into the tips of the leaves, bleeding into the centers and brightening the whole world. That was the magic of Von. “You need to wake me up,” Von instructed.
“Um, I don’t know how to do that.”
Von bit his lip. “Um, m
aybe try hitting me? It might jerk me awake.”
“I can’t hit you.”
“What if I told you I sometimes tune out when you’re talking because I’m thinking about your breasts?”
I lightly shoved him. “I do the same thing. You’re all ‘Let’s talk about life,’ and I’m like, ‘Whatever gets you naked faster, buddy.’”
Von’s mouth dropped open. “Probably not a good time to tell you that’s the hottest thing you could’ve said just then.”
“Oh, it’s always a good time for that.”
Von kissed me, sucking on my lower lip. My heart leapt at the thing I didn’t think we were going to be doing. He’d wanted to cool things down, but we were all too good at heating things up. “You’re making it harder for me to anger you, love. Right now all I want is a repeat of our honeymoon.” He pulled me flush to him, making me gulp as I remembered all too well the details of our sheet-tangled tryst.
I pulled back and looked up to study his face, surprised at his phrasing. “Is that what we’re calling it?”
Von grimaced. “Oo, probably not. My mistake.”
He kissed me, and I couldn’t keep the two worlds straight. In one we’d been married and had a honeymoon. In real life, he wasn’t ready to be exclusive or call me his girlfriend. I pulled away. “I… we… um… You’re making things confusing on purpose. You’re not ready to be with me, so you probably shouldn’t jerk me around.”
“Right. I’m trying to get you to hit me, not hit on me. Distinction.” He tipped his head to me. He stepped back and rubbed his palms together. “Alright. Focus, Von. How about I tell you I thought about you naked the first day I met you?”
“I’d just call you a tool.”
Von looked up as if searching for something bad enough to get him punched. “I yelled at Ollie earlier. To be fair, he started yelling first. He’s got a temper. Turns out he doesn’t like being called Buttercup. Can’t figure out why. You seem to like it well enough.”
“Don’t piss Ollie off. I’m all he’s got, and I’m missing. Be nice.”
Von harrumphed. “Just hit me, Peach. It’s to help you. I can’t get to you if I don’t wake up in time. Take a swing for the greater good. Come on, love. It’s your one free shot.”
When I didn’t move fast enough, Von looked up, exasperated. He thought I was chickening out, but really I was just waiting for the element of surprise. As his chin lowered, I cocked my fist and took a swing, knocking him across the jaw.
I heard him cry out in shock and pain, and then he disappeared. I took a few breaths and tried to absolve myself of assaulting my boyfriend. I walked to the nearest tree, sitting down at the base and tangling my toes in the grass, trying to make the green rub off on my heels. There weren’t any germs in our special place, so I could relax while I waited out the clock for Von to find us.
Twenty-Four.
Chaos in the Kingdom
I had hoped to be jerked awake by Ezra or Mason, but instead it was Serena’s boot to my back that woke me screaming. My scabs ripped open and started bleeding afresh. “Good morning, Sunshine. How was your break? Did it loosen your tongue at all?”
“I already told you everything I know.”
“Aw, and that’s the wrong answer again.” She motioned to the women to grab Bishop, who reached for me I assume to bliss me out again, but he was jerked away from me before he made contact.
He cried out through gritted teeth, growling through his pain. He couldn’t walk, and they weren’t gentle as they dragged him up the steps, banging his busted kneecaps on each stair along the way. I sat up, scared of the ripping feeling on my back as I moved carefully. I covered my breasts and shouted, “I’m sorry, Bishop! I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!”
Serena seemed irritated, her fists clenched and her jaw set in a rigid line. “Maybe this time he’ll sing for us.” I could tell she wasn’t gracious when she didn’t get her way.
I tried to maintain some semblance of calm, knowing that the more worked up I got, the more she would need to punish me. I kept my head down and said, “He can’t give you information he doesn’t have. He’s not my Reaper or my boyfriend. We just met in person for the first time a few days ago.”
She let out a heavy sigh, her shoulders slumping now that it was just us. Serena cocked her head to the side and took in my anxiety. “You really are telling the truth, aren’t you?”
“Yes! Let him go.”
Serena clicked her tongue to scold me, turning vindictive instead of flying off the handle. I couldn’t decide which version of her was more dangerous. “And stop the fun? I don’t think so. I like to let the girls play every now and then. Sharpens their senses, gets the spirits up. Good all around for morale.”
“He’s done nothing to you. Let him go,” I said, keeping my desperation to a mere reprimand. I tried to speak to her like an adult, and not as if I was the hostage. “If you’re really going to rule, then this is beneath you.”
Since there was no one to posture for, Serena had a little less bravado. “You know nothing about Lumipad, or what it takes to lead a people.”
“I know that every time some dictator’s tried something like this in my world, it always blows up in their face. This is just lusting for violence. You can’t build a kingdom on that. Chaos, sure, but not a kingdom. What you need is loyalty.”
She scoffed, motioning to the upstairs as Bishop started howling. “I have an army of loyal soldiers.”
I tried not to panic, but rather strategize. “For now. What happens when one of them thinks they can do a better job? If it can happen to Sylvia, then it can sure as Sunday happen to you.” If I couldn’t get them to stop torturing Bishop, then I would at least plant the seed of paranoia in her mind. One way or another, crazy bat lady was going down. So much the better if it was by her own hands. “How many bruises did you order on Bishop, and how many more do you see? They’re getting carried away with their bloodlust. That’s the thing about stuff like this. They’ll only want more and more. They’re not stopping now when you’re in the house to ask how much you want done. They’re already going off-book, writing their own script.”
Serena looked up the steps with a hint of worry pushing her overly plucked eyebrows together. “No, I didn’t give specifics.”
“A loyal soldier doesn’t move without them.”
Bishop’s cries hit a new high, and I knew something had gone horribly wrong. Serena bolted up the steps and locked me in the basement, keeping me in the dark as she shouted incoherently to her vicious monsters. I was afraid to hope she’d put a stop to the beatings, afraid to hold on to the truth that the guys were coming, and we had only to keep ourselves alive until then.
When the door opened too many long minutes later, Bishop wasn’t dragged down the stairs, but rather carried down and laid before me like an offering. Serena ordered the others up the steps, and they seemed contrite, their bat wings drooping.
Serena’s voice was cold and precise. “It seems you were right on this one. They got carried away.” She pointed to Bishop’s bare chest that had blood blooming like a chocolate fountain. “I’ll do you the courtesy of saying goodbye to your boyfriend. Remember this kindness.”
Bishop’s breaths were choked, raspy and wet sounding, and I knew Serena was right; there was no fixing this. Even if I had all my tools with Doctor Brenden right there, we wouldn’t be able to save him. Agony shot through me at my own uselessness. I had a degree to help me heal people. I’d saved many an inmate who didn’t deserve to draw another breath. Bishop had done nothing but be a good man to me, and I was powerless to save him.
Bishop was trying to say something, so I lifted his upper half and pulled his torso onto my lap, not caring about our partial nudity as I cradled him in my arms, my tears falling as I tried to keep him calm. I couldn’t give him another day palling around with Boston. I couldn’t give him a friggin’ Tylenol. I couldn’t give him anything but me, and I’d lost myself a long time ago.
“I’m right h
ere, Bishop,” I cooed, my tears wetting his face. His nose was inches from mine, and as I rocked him gently, he gripped my hand as he tried to eke out his last words.
“Tell Boston…” He tried to suck in a wet breath, but there were precious few left. “Tell him to stay strong.” Then he let go of my hand and tapped his bloody chest with a shaking and rigid finger, indicating his heart.
“I’m so sorry,” I whispered, only noticing Serena had left by the complete darkness that encased us. Being deprived of any light somehow made every rasp of Bishop’s struggle to breathe that much more horribly audible, his pain palpable. I sobbed over him, holding his shivering body tight. “I’m so sorry, Bishop. What can I do?”
“Von,” he whispered. “Take care of Von. And don’t give up on Danny.”
I let loose a sob. “Stop being so damn unselfish! I need to help you, to do something for you!” I fished around in my brain, and the solution came to me like a letter from Heaven. “I can show you colors, Bish. Those beautiful paints that Von uses to make the pictures you love. Think about the paintings. Go to that happy place.” It was a decision I didn’t have time to debate. I lowered my face the few inches to his, muscling through the agony of a few scabs on my back ripping open again and bleeding afresh. Slowly and carefully, I kissed Bishop’s lips.
I couldn’t give him another day with his family, but I could fill his last moment with the beauty he needed. His lips kissed mine on reflex, and it was enough to pull both of us out of the basement, out of the dark and into a consciousness where there was no pain, and no more black. We were encased in swirling colors of pink and yellow that danced for us. He gasped into my mouth, and I tasted his blood.
We didn’t see visions of course, but as my breasts brushed against his sticky chest, we saw a beauty that gave Bishop peace as he breathed his last.
Treat (Terraway Book 5) Page 12
