“My mother was the last woman to send a man into the labyrinth, Grace Women used it as a form of torture, revenge, a means to an end for much longer than any of us could imagine. The last man she sent to his death was Delilah’s father when she found out that there was not only a baby coming, but that he knew too much about our family. I didn’t know until he had been sent down for a bottle of wine and I couldn’t go after him or I wouldn’t be here today. As a child I had witnessed her send many men into the hell and never come out. No one has ever come out.” Eris stood up with tears running over her face.
“You have always told us that you never really spent much time here though, Mom were you lying to us all these years, have you ever sent a man to hell?” Carna shook her head but wouldn’t look at Eris.
“We spent many years in this house, until your great grandmother crossed a line, well we thought she crossed a line until we knew the truth but it was too late and I lost a daughter. We left this house and swore we would never come back, but my mother vanished, some of us believe she walked into the basement herself unable to handle her grief, but no one really knows what happened to her.” Eris sat back down but wouldn’t look at anyone. Freya stood up and walked to the window, not looking back as she spoke.
“I thought that by leaving this house, leaving my mother and taking my daughters side would show her how much I loved her and she wouldn’t run, but then we found out the bigger reason why my mother did what she did.” Kali stood up to walk away, and Freya quickly put a hand out to her, throwing her back into her seat.
“Freya, don’t please don’t do this Mom, I’m begging you.” She was pleading, but Freya kept talking as Carna took her sisters hand.
“He had been sneaking around this house with for years waiting for the girls to be old enough, and one by one he would use a different name and shape that he knew they couldn’t resist. He would only come around at night, saying he would meet everyone else in time, knock up my girls and run. He tricked both Carna and Kali, and only came back a few years later because his plan was to have a baby with each of my daughters, he came from a very powerful family with dark powers and when he knocked up the last of my girls she felt that his kind of evil had to be banished, so she waited until the right moment to catch him sneaking out of the house, and tricked him into the basement.” Even I gasped at the anvil that Freya had just tossed on all of us. Eris and Selene looked at one another and I put my hands to my face, they were not my cousins at all, we were all sisters and the man that I met was evil. Freya looked at the girls and sat back down. “Your Aunt, Delilah’s mother believed that your mothers had known and kept it from her, that’s why she left us. She wasn’t against magic before this happened, she was a very powerful witch and she knew it. She would not believe any of us, she thought she was in love with him and nothing we said made it any easier for her. The truth is that none of your mothers knew they were under a spell, none of them knew what he was or what he was trying to do until it was too late.” The room was silent, even Selene couldn’t play it cool with this news. The girls looked at their mothers, crying and refusing eye contact. I couldn’t take much more of this wicked right now, this was the worst dream I had ever had. I walked over to my Aunts, I wished I could hug them right now I had barely bent down when my hand brushed Kali’s shoulder and she jumped out of her chair screaming.
“Ella is here! I just felt her; she found a way to us!” Kali turned and I thought she was looking at me; she smiled and closed her eyes. I suddenly felt a hand on my shoulder, I jumped and she stood behind me smiling.
“Oh Kali, it’s horrible!” I threw my arms around her and began sobbing and babbling. “It is so much worse than anything that we were told, and he is down there too, he told me he was my Dad and he knew about the curse. He also said there is a real man still alive down there, caught in some time rip from the curse. I am so scared; we have to find a way to get me out.” Kali held me and rubbed a hand over my hair before pushing my shoulders away to get a look at me, she took a deep breath and a tear fell down her cheek as her hands begin to shake holding my shoulders.
“Ella, honey I need to find a way in. The only way we can get you out is if we know what we are up against. If you can get out I should be able to get in, even if it’s only for a minute or two at a time.” She looked scared, and I didn’t blame her, she didn’t want to go to hell as much as I wanted out. She wrapped her arms around me. “Go back now honey, I will be with you soon and I am sorry but try to stay away from your father, he is pure evil and he will try to manipulate you to get his way and it could mean your death.” She let go of me and I jumped out of the bed I was laying on. I knew now that I had to stop thinking of things as real down here in hell. This was not my bed, not my room and he was not my Dad. I thought that staying put was the best for now; I had gone over the events in the house a million times unable to process the level of disgust and hatred I felt toward a man that I shared DNA with. What made it worse as I cried was knowing that my whole life I had imagined a great Dad, a man that would have taken me to Father, Daughter dances and scared boys before a date. Truth was a little much to swallow right now. I put my hair up in a messy bun and looked at the doorway, I had to stop being Delilah for a while, I started thinking, ‘what would Selene do’ and I walked out into the hall. Standing in the abandoned hell-way I screamed to let everyone know I was coming.
“FUCK YOU HELL, I WIN!” I started running with the spirit of a stallion and the courage of a lion; unfortunately I still had the grace of Ella and tripped over something landing directly onto my face. Thanked the heavens no one watching and picked myself up off the ground.
“Nice one, where did you learn that move?” I stopped moving, the voice behind me was too young to be my Dad, and was male leaving only one possibility. I couldn’t turn around as I slowly swallowed some vomit and stood up, back to him.
“To whom do I owe the honor?” I asked before I could stop myself.
“My name is Lukin, but you already knew that didn’t you?” My bloody knees were shaking under me, as my heart screamed not to move, my brain yelled back were not scared and against my hearts advice my feet began to move. I turned to reveal a half-naked, beautiful man before me. Dark hair, lots of hair and beautiful dark eyes peering at me like I was his lunch. I stopped breathing for a moment when I saw his face change and become sinister when he saw my face for the first time, suddenly realizing that maybe he didn’t want to nibble on me, but cut me up and eat me raw. I screamed and ran away having no idea where I was headed, knowing perfectly well he knew every inch of this hell we were both trapped in which explained why he never budged as I rounded the corner, and also why I heard laughter as my body collided with a dead end rock wall before me. My eyes got dark, and I felt like I was in a tunnel for a moment, I had really run into that wall, as I started to get my head clear I could hear slow smart-ass clapping coming closer to me, having nowhere to go I panicked and picked up a rock, arming myself and praying that my double vision corrected before he caught up to me. He started talking to me as he walked.
“You know, I have waited a long time for one of you to mess up and find yourself trapped in here with me, but I never expected it to be you. I can’t very well take all my anger and frustration out on the one that can save me now can I?” And then he was standing before me, and since my brain wasn’t working as quickly as it normally does I threw the rock as I realized what he had just said. The sound of the impact told me that not only my strength, but my aim was dead on today, I just prayed as I jumped up that he wasn’t dead. Blood poured from his head, and I put my hands on the cut as hard as I could.
“Please wake up; I am so sorry I didn’t realize you weren’t going to eat me. Please be ok.” His eyes opened and he smiled up at me.
“I am awake, but I haven’t been ok since my first day here. I really hope you are not another nightmare, I can’t take much more.” I sat down beside him and moved my hand from his head, covered in blood I wiped it on
my tank top and tried not to make eye contact with him. “Wait, did you say you weren’t sure if I would eat you or not?” I shrugged my shoulders, still not looking at him.
“Down here I am not sure of anything; I’ve been covered in spiders, had my hair catch fire and met my Dad so excuse me if I am a little less trusting than usual.” He ripped a chunk of his shirt at the shoulder to put on his head and gave me a nod.
“Are you hungry Delilah?” I had just realized that he knew my name, how could he know my name? And why was he being so nice to me after what my sperm donor of a parent told me I expected him to tear me apart. I stood up and took a deep breath before I spoke.
“Justin.” He flashed his eyes at me quickly before realizing he had responded. I screamed and smacked him. “You really are evil aren’t you? I don’t mean shit to you do I? I am scared and alone down here and you are going to shape shift into the one other human being that can save me just to trick me?” I pushed him out of the way, not feeling guilty anymore for bouncing that rock off his head and walked away as he spoke behind me, I never looked back.
“At least now you know who you are looking for! I will get out of here Delilah with or without your help!” I left him hoping that the spiders would eat him as I made my way down the hall I had just ran through, only this time I saw a new door.
“Ella, wait honey!” I turned to see Kali standing in the hall before me. I thought I would break down right there, was it really her or another one of Justin’s tricks? “I only have a minute; it’s trying to push me out so listen to me carefully.” I walked closer to her, wanting nothing more than to hug her, knowing that I couldn’t or it may send her away. “You need to find a way out, and release the souls trapped down here when you leave or something bad will happen honey. We are trying to find out what that is, Freya is going to come through, but you have to collect everyone and it won’t be easy to gain there trust. They must leave hell with you, even your father and I don’t know what that will do, but I don’t care as long as you are safe. I will be back, we all love you and were working hard honey, just keep moving.” I saw her fade and ran to her crying, as I reached out my hand she was gone and I fell to the floor in a heap. I was emotional but my fall was from something else. I looked down to see my legs, I screamed again. They were coiled up under me, no bones like pieces of cooked spaghetti. I fell back on the floor and began to laugh, I had to laugh knowing that this was supposed to scare me, but I knew this would happen at some point. I lay there looking up at the ceiling, still laughing when I heard a laugh behind me. I looked quickly to see Lukin again, I thought that I had made it clear to the sperm donor it wasn’t going to work and fell back to the floor, ignoring the evil laugh that crept closer.
“I have been waiting, years of torture and punishments have all been worth it now that I have found you.” The sound of his voice was different, it was dark and cold and I froze as I realized it was not Justin at all, this really was Lukin and I couldn’t run away.
FIFTEEN
“You don’t understand, I am not who you think I am. Please don’t hurt me.” He grabbed my hair and started to drag me across the floor as I screamed
“Shut up Witch, I know exactly who and what you are.” He dragged me into the doorway and a bright light felt warm on my face. I had to close my eyes from the sting. I swore I felt sunlight, he let go of me laughing. “By the looks of those legs I don’t have to worry about you running away right now, stop crying Bitch I haven’t even begun yet.” I opened my eyes and sure enough I saw the sun, I saw trees, and then I saw the Lechuza staring back at me beside him. I screamed and tried to get up from the ground, he laughed harder and walked toward me, bending down close to my ear. “I think you have met Cora already?” He grabbed my shoulder and propped me up next to a tree, I was being stared down by the very thing I had been determined to prove was good, and sitting here in hell with her I started having my doubts.
“How does she get in and out of here?” Lukin sat down beside the bird and ran his hand through his thick, dark hair.
“She can’t tell me, it’s all part of this hell we have been wrongfully sentenced into. She can’t transform into her human state in here so I can’t ask her. The only reason I know it’s her is because I was with her when she failed to break the curse and was turned into this.” I thought about what he said, if he was with her then that meant he was over a hundred years old, but didn’t look a day over his mid-twenties. A million creepy thoughts began to run through my head, one of which would make sense as to how he could survive down here without food, but the fact that we were now in direct sunlight put a wooden stake through that idea. I had no choice, I needed to be blunt and ask the scariest question of my life.
“Are you going to kill me, or torture me because I can’t take much more down here so just tell me and get it over with please I am begging you.” Lukin stood up and walked, barefoot standing in front of me and then he kicked his bare foot, moving my leg. I looked down and saw that my legs had returned to normal, I could run, I could get away. I just sat there by the tree staring at him.
“I think you know the answer to that or you would have tried to run, I am not happy about this arrangement at all, let me get one thing clear to you. I loathe the whole lot of you freaky Bitches and if it weren’t for you getting me the hell out of here I would have killed you in the hall, I am not looking for a friend or even a conversation, I will address you as Bitch and you will answer if you want my help. You make me sick because I know that deep down you are nothing but a Grace woman. Do I make myself clear to you Bitch?” I choked down the urge to start crying as his cold eyes burned a hole through me, I had never met a person so angry in my life, and in truth he had every reason to be pissed off so I nodded my head to agree to his terms.
“Is this some kind of crack in the spell?” Lukin sighed and ran his hands through his hair in frustration as he sat across from me on the ground.
“Do you really not know anything about this place?” I shook my head again, but he questioned my motives for being here. I couldn’t really blame his as his eyes burned through me, I felt such sorrow and pain for him, my heart ached, and the sky became dark and I heard the thunder roll in as a tear fell down my cheek.
“You have every right to hate me, but I swear to you I don’t know anything about this place or why it’s here other than stories that have been told to me in the past few weeks.” He lowered his head, I think he wanted to believe me as the rain began to pour down on us, but his anger fueled his heart and he picked his head back up to look at me with dead eyes.
“I am not falling for any of your tricks, now make it stop raining I know it’s because of you, it has never rained in here before.” I couldn’t help but smile inside as he spoke; if it had never rained then I could use my powers in here. I quickly began thinking of all that I could do, and how it could help us get out. He suddenly had my arm in his hand and dragged me onto my feet to stand next to him pointing at the sky. “Make it stop, make it stop right now!” I couldn’t make it stop, I had no control yet.
“I can’t, I mean I don’t know how. I am scared and sad and it just happens I don’t mean to do it.” He grabbed my face with his other hand and pulled it close to his with his fingers digging into my cheeks, staring through me with fire in his eyes he growled.
“Make it stop NOW!” I just cried, and it rained harder. As the snot poured from my nose the thunder shook the ground, I closed my eyes as I choked a little from the sobs and lightning took out a tree near us, making me scream and as he threw me to the ground with a hard hand I saw a look of fear wash over him. I backed up and wiped my face, taking deep breaths the rain fell softer and softer until it finally stopped. The sky stayed dark, the sun wouldn’t come back out for us because I was so scared. I sat, shaking inside from everything that had happened in the past weeks, it all struck me at once and I felt as though I couldn’t breathe, I had to stop it from taking over before we had an earthquake or a tornado. I was panicking
and I had to remember to breathe.
“I have only known I was a witch at all for the past few months since my mother died, you don’t have to believe me I honestly don’t really give a shit if you do or not, but neither of us will ever get out of here if we don’t help each other and you know that as well as I do, so if you want me to answer to Bitch than you will have to put up with a rainstorm time and again, understand?” He glared at me but didn’t speak as he walked to stand by Cora. I wished that Eris had been able to teach me how to talk to animals that would come in pretty handy right now. Realizing that I still had a chance to learn I jumped to my feet making Lukin jump out of his skin.
“Bitch, don’t move so fast!” I glared at him knowing that I held the ace for our next move, I wasn’t panicked anymore, I wasn’t scared of him, I was the chosen one and he was about to find out what that meant.
“You are going to stop calling me that if you want me to answer do I make myself clear?” He didn’t respond, I continued. “I have an idea to get us out of here, I need to project myself back into the house, when I come back we will be able to ask Cora for help.” He just looked through me, as I closed my eyes.
*
“She’s gone, we can’t help her now and no one has ever escaped before.” I could see everyone in the dining room as Selene was speaking, no one had the same clothes on and Xander had a sexy scruff on his face.
“Kali!” I screamed in excitement and fear as she turned and her face lit up.
“Ella, how did you do this?” Everyone turned and a mix of happiness and then pain as one by one they realized I wasn’t really here at all.
Precious Anathema Page 12
