If I was going to live through this year—or eternity—then I needed my strength. Someone juicing my light would weaken me over time. I’d thought about complying with his demands and pretending to be the good prisoner, but that was before I found out how long he planned to keep me in chains. With my skills, I stood a good chance at fighting him off. As long as I kept him away from my core light, I’d have my strength. Maybe he’d eventually make a mistake.
If anything, it would give me a good workout.
When I raised my knee, he never saw it coming. I delivered a bone-crunching kick to his chest that knocked him right on his ass.
Chapter 20
Fletcher made good on his promise. He left the short chain on my wrists, forcing me to either stand or kneel for two days. I didn’t require sleep, but it hurt like a bitch and limited my positions.
Without food or water, the toilet became a nonissue. One perk about being a Mage is not having to worry about dying from dehydration. But while my core light kept me alive, the thirst never went away. I’d managed to fight him off until the third day. Weak from lack of food, I made a mistake, and he got the upper hand. Fletcher juiced my energy until I passed out, and only then did he switch my chain to the longer one. That first taste of my light put a blissful calm in his eyes I hadn’t seen in years—the look an addict gets on a high. It reminded me to fight harder next time, because Fletcher didn’t know how to control his light addiction. The longer chain allowed me to lie on the ground, which was probably where he wanted me in the first place. Fletcher couldn’t live out his domination fantasy with me standing at eye level.
Rachel entered the room every so often to change out the candles. For whatever reason, Fletcher wanted the candles out of reach. Did he think I was going to try to set him on fire with a puny little flame?
How long have I been here? One week? Two weeks?
I curled up in a ball, shivering from the cold. My breath fogged around me at night when the temperature dropped. I must have been in a basement near the outside door. Whenever he came down for his visits, I could smell the snow and feel the icy wind. Every so often, I heard muffled sounds above me. We could have been in an abandoned building, but office buildings have framework that makes it impossible to hear people above or below, so this was probably a rural house. If I escaped, either Fletcher needed to die, or I’d need enough energy to flash God knows how far. He probably had a vehicle, but searching for keys would be a dangerous waste of my time.
I could sense the time was now one in the morning. Rachel and Fletcher were outside in the hall, their voices low but not low enough.
“Are you sure?” he asked.
“He said he was an Enforcer for the Mageri, and he wanted to know where to find you. The security guard doesn’t let anyone down who isn’t authorized, so he must have been telling truth.”
“What did you tell him?”
“That we just work together and I don’t know where you live.”
“Good. Did he say why he was looking for me?”
“No.”
My brows furrowed. Rachel left the premises? She worked with him? He let her leave the house, and she willingly came back? Fletcher must have really done a number on her.
“If they come again, say nothing,” he said. “You’re my apprentice. That means if I work for them, you work for them. They don’t care if I hire an assistant so long as the job gets done. But if they return, I want to know. Don’t make up stories I’m on holiday, or they’ll grow suspicious. Tell them you work when I ask, but that’s all you know. Play dumb. You’re good at that.”
“Yes, sir.”
Hurried footsteps approached, and the door swung open.
“You mind explaining why the Mageri has Enforcers on my arse?” he boomed. Fletcher squatted in front of me, and I didn’t have to look up to see the ugly scowl on his face that made him look like an angry Viking.
“Maybe someone reported your sexual activities with the bodies.”
“You’re a million laughs. Was that auction a setup?”
I stared at a scuff mark on the toe of his brown shoe. The man had always been paranoid. “I thought you worked for them? Isn’t it normal for them to check up on you? Make sure you’re not stealing bodies and keeping slaves chained up in your basement?”
“You’re a proper fool. The only communication I have with the Mageri is a deposit into my bank account. I ring the cleaners when there’s a body to collect.”
“Not all the time.”
He sneered. “I want to know what you’ve been doing all these years, my pet. And what does that mark on your hip mean?”
Fletcher didn’t know about Keystone, and I planned to keep it that way. “In case you didn’t notice the Chitah bite, I found out ink covers up scars pretty well.”
His brows rose. “You were bit by a Chitah and lived to tell the tale?”
“Painful as hell, but I lived. Only two teeth,” I lied, not mentioning the Chitah had bitten me twice with his upper fangs, injecting what should have been a lethal dose of venom. The less Fletcher knew about all my gifts, the better.
I had several advantages this time around—one in particular. During my previous time in captivity, I’d known nothing about my Mage gifts. It was only later that I discovered I could pull core light from a Mage. Since Fletcher didn’t know that about me, it was imperative to plan my attack carefully. I couldn’t attempt it while he was stealing my light. I was still in chains, and he would sever the connection immediately. I needed to be astride him so he couldn’t escape, and I’d wait as long as it took for the right opportunity.
Fletcher smacked me hard on the thigh, leaving a red handprint. “Tell me where you’ve been! Why is the Mageri sniffing around my morgue? Why did they send an Enforcer? Those blokes don’t fuck around. They only show up when they have a search or arrest warrant, and they sure as bloody hell aren’t going to call me in advance to tell me they’re popping in.”
When he struck me the second time, I grimaced. It took everything in me not to asphyxiate him with my legs, but then where would I be? For all I knew, Rachel might kill me for taking her Creator’s life. She had no loyalty to me, and chances were that Fletcher had hidden the key to my shackles. Rachel would probably leave me here to die, too afraid to call anyone for help.
I remained motionless in a fetal position, my hands behind my neck and out of his reach.
He threaded my hair away from my face. Uncertainty flickered in his expression. “Was this part of a plan to steal my money? Have your partner report me and wait here until the Enforcers show up to free you? That’s why I brought you here, Raven.” He chuckled darkly. “I always wondered if you’d have the audacity to come after me. It’s why I moved—why I switched to a new hospital. I knew you’d never report me. They exterminate your kind, you know. Illegally made means you’re unstable—a risk to everything they’ve created.” He narrowed his eyes, hard lines forming on the outside edges. “Such a clever girl. I bet you’re teamed up with that Vamp who sold you, but I’m one step ahead. He might have my money, but you’ll never get your grubby little hands on it. You’re here for good, love. Forever and ever. Think he’ll bother to search for you? Nah. Blokes like him use weaklings like you to get what they want.”