Her feet hurt like hell from all the running she had been doing. The running she was still doing. The pain in her legs was glaring, even more than the rest of the pain was spread across her body from cut after cut inflicted by wayward branches and sticks. The dense treeline and fallen branches made her escape harder. She was not used to this terrain, so even the very land was against her. She planted her bare feet onto the ground and she slipped. She fell backwards, the left side of her chest crashing onto a log. She felt something break, most likely one or two of her ribs. She stifled the scream that wanted to burst from her lips.
She could not stop. Not when freedom was in her grasp. Not when she was so close. She bit the inside of her cheeks to stop the whimpers and groans that threatened to escape. She staggered forward, in more pain than before. All she had to do was reach the road, then it would be over. She would be free. She could go home. She could forget this ever happened. She could start over.
She had been going in the direction of the street lamps, they had seemed like barely recognizable fairy lights from so far away, now they looked like giant towers showering down light from above.
Her steps became hurried, why should she slow down now that the end was in such close reach. The white light graced her arms and her face but that was how far she got. Her feet refused to move. She twisted and pulled but nothing worked.
She felt them before she saw them, the hairs on her body stood on end and panic set in. Her attempts of breaking her feet free doubled.
‘Move. No. No. No.’ she rambled in her thoughts, tears trickling down her cheeks.
“Time's up Tre vit mal.” They whispered in her ears in unison. “A deal is a deal.” More tears ran down her face as the scream in her throat refused to come forward, frozen in its place and unwanted hands grabbed her body. More of her body froze and almost like a switch, went limp in their arms. Their dark chuckles made fun of her predicament as they took her away from the light she had fought so hard for and back into the darkness they called home.
Wind broke against her skin harshly for a few seconds and she knew that lights were once again out of her reach. Hot tears continued to spill at the helplessness and desperation of her situation.
“Make sure you make it clean.” She heard another voice say. And it was not a whisper like the other two. It was a strong clear voice. The depth of it told her he was male but the context of his words said he was anything but human. And it scared her more than the two who held onto her body.
“I do not want mine to know of this till it is time.” he ordered.
“Yes Master.” Her captors replied. Their responses held respect and submission. Something even in her most helpless state could recognize as well. Fear.
She could not see in the pitch dark but she could feel a new pair of eyes on her and if she could have, she would have squirmed or better yet, took off running. “Welcome to the family.” he greeted. A tremor went through her insides. Then without warning he was gone. And she was alone with them again.
“Now, where were we kitten?”
*******
There were more of them around. Demons. Rita had seen them. And she recognized a few. She had seen the one at the park and two from the receptionists table. And they had recognized her too. So they were with Sakaer all along. Figures.
Now she was inside Sakaer's own cabin after he had dragged her all the way up here. She had no idea that there was even another one around here aside from the one she held in. Compared to this one, that one was nothing but a tiny box. Less luxurious too. Sakaer was in the kitchen and she was in the living room, the door was not locked this time, she could run but now she knew there were other demons outside she had to choose which one she feared more. Being alone with Sakaer or being the only human in the woods surrounded by a legion of demons at night.
Common sense and the literal instinct of survival said she should stay indoors, at least in here she only had one demon to worry about.
The aroma hollered before Sakaer said anything. “Dinner is ready.” Sakaer announced.
‘Done already?’ Rita thought in panic. She did not know how long he had been in the kitchen but it could not have been that short. There was no clock, watch or calendar in this place. She was starting to go time crazy. Most times she felt like she was just floating aimlessly. When did she get here? She could hardly remember but she figured she had been in this place for three days.
Sakaer came out of the kitchen carrying a sizeable platter of food in each hand. Rita got the feeling that something was missing. He placed them on the dining table with a flourish while she watched from her seat in the living room. She looked at his face, his neck then his hands. That was it. He was not wearing his gloves.
Wait. When did he set the table?! The aroma of the food made her mouth water and stomach rumble. The sight of the said food made it double. Usually at this point, she would have already been at the table but she did not know if he had laced it with anything. He probably did. He said so himself that time with the porridge. And this afternoon with the food he had–again–force fed her. As if changing her while she slept was not bad enough. She felt skeptical about what was in it. It scared her and he knew it.
“Come sit. I made Skillet Lasagna and meat salad.” he said gesturing to the dinner table. The cotton baby blue shirt he was wearing did nothing to hide the bulging muscles on his arms. She knew there was strength in them, he had carried her all the way here. They looked tasty. He looked tasty. What the hell?! Where did that come from?! And what the heck was a meat salad?!
A symphony of aromas danced around her nose. Cheese, meat and BBQ sauce. Whatever it was smelt good but Rita remained where she was, not wanting to go anywhere near Sakaer irrespective of the wishes her stomach made or her warped mind. She half expected him to force whatever was in those bowls down her throat anyway.
For a long moment they stared at each other. Invitation against refusal. “There is nothing in it this time.” he stated and rounded his way to the living room. Rita got up and backed away.
This time? Yeah, right. She was not going to believe a word he said. He was going to kill her sooner or later and she would rather not go by food poisoning. If only she had a weapon, something to point at him that was not her gaze or her arms but there was nothing around that was not plastered down.
He wore no expression on his face and his eyes gave nothing away either which was unnerving. Just a second ago, he was wearing an accomplished smile on his face. “Lily deare–” he stopped himself short in order to reconstruct his words. “Rita, I promise I will not force-feed you. You can eat however little or much you like and I will not make you eat more than what you have already decided.”
Rita felt sincerity in his tone but she could not trust him. Or herself it seemed. Her sense of judgement was starting to slip. He was toying with her, nothing more nothing less. That was more than reason enough to keep her distance. Fuck his sincerity.
Rita maintained the distance from Sakaer and thankfully so did he. Although she did not know how long that would last.
He looked her in the eye, calculating. No other readable expression of his inner thoughts. He softened it before he spoke. “How about a deal Rita?”
“What kind of deal?” She asked.
He folded his arms and stroked his chin. The action emphasized the muscles there and she had to kick herself in the mind repeatedly. “If you eat at leas–” She cut him off. “No deal.” she interrupted.
“Why? You have not heard the rest of it.” Sakaer asked. Rita clamped down on her jaw, he looked like he was talking to a five year old throwing a tantrum. “This is all just about me eating that food and whatever damn thing you put in it.”
“There is nothing in it, I told you.” he insisted.
Her stomach grumbled. “Still a hard pass.” she voiced.
He threw in a small smile and all she wanted to do was wipe it off. “You have not even heard what I am offering.”
‘Bait.’ Rita thought–no, knew. Although she was struggling to confirm which one, his words or his lips. Rita shook her head, trying to get the invasive thought out of her mind. “Don't care. You won't give me what I want anyway, so there's no point.” she gritted out.
“What if I do.” he said. Rita stilled for a moment. Would he? No, he was still toying with her. But could he? Sakaer's smile remained in its place, his eyes twinkling. “Want to hear the rest of it?” he asked, gesturing with his hand.
Rita kept silent. This was a mistake but she nodded anyway.
“Eat at least half of what is on your plate and I will answer five questions you have.” he announced.
Rita internally groaned. “How does that–”
“Hold on, I am not done.” He interjected with a know it all look on his face. Rita was both are impressed and enraged at how he managed to look smug at the same time.
“I will answer five of your questions and you will answer five of mine. Of course, this pertains to how much you are willing to eat.” he explained, walking back to the table. Rita followed him with her eyes. “None of what you said has anything to what I really want.”
“No? Then first one to get the most correct answers out of twenty each gets something they truly want.” Sakaer continued. “For you that would be your freedom.”
“So basically, twenty questions?” she presumed.
“Of sorts, yes. But for every answer anyone gets wrong they have to take of a single piece of clothing.”
There was a catch and something terrible at the end of it. And she could tell it was not just about getting her naked. “And what's in it for you?” she asked.
Sakaer looked her dead in the eye. “You.” His eyes darkened. “If I win the game, I get you in every possible way.”
Utter silence came over them and Rita swallowed the growing lump in her throat. So that was his plan. Could this get any worse?
“Are you in?” he inquired. His voice had grown deeper. The sound of it made her jerk, made her burn too. What the actual fuck? She blinked several times before she could open her mouth. Probably looked like some weird blinky creature. Like that creepy cat her previous neighbours had.
“Yeah.” She answered. Her gut punching her for it.
“Wonderful.” he beamed. “Now come let us eat before the food gets cold.”
Sakaer smirked to himself once his back was turned. He knew everything about her, down to the smallest insignificant detail. There was no way he was going to lose. But it would be fun trying.
********
Samuel disregarded every speed limit on the deserted road to...To where now? Samuel could not tell, could not remember and could not care less. All he knew was there were no people and hardly any noise to piss him the fuck off. Even with his connections and his money he could not find anything, just here was that fucking demon? Where was Rita?
He did not think he had ever been this way for a woman. So worried. Anxious. Especially for one that hated a quite large percentage of his guts and one he had not even slept with in the last three years. And he would admit it now if it meant she would be with him now, he was scared. He had been through battles both in the literal and figurative sense. Nearly lost himself on several occasions but never had he been this afraid. This so damn helpless.
Something jumped in the middle of the road and he swerved to avoid it. The tires screeched
with the speed of the turn before the car continued down the road. ‘What the hell was that?’ Samuel thought. Then he caught a scent. The fangs in his mouth lengthened and he snarled. Demons. And not just one. Practically a damn horde!
He sped up, the gas pedal going all the way to the floor. Another demon appeared in the middle of the road but this time Samuel did not swerve. Samuel did not know if this particular demon was slow or stupid but before the demon could do anything, the car rammed into him. The body took a hard hit to the glass and then rolled over the car.
There were at least twelve behind him, which left who the hell knows how many in front. Why were they after him? It made no sense. Unless they were with Sakaer. The thought of him made Samuel's hands tighten around the steering wheel. There was only one way to find out.
He continued forward.