“I should’ve listened to my gut, but I’m not a coward like some,” I spat.
“I’d rather be smart and live, than brave and die,” he leered.
“If you ask me there was no need for this mystery,” Thomas said. “We could’ve just taken her the moment she stepped foot in this place.” His energy made me nervous, like he would pounce at any moment.
“And you still wonder why we don’t ask you about much?” Ric mocked. Thomas swung his head around and snarled.
“Now, now, gentlemen, you must remember that regardless of the circumstances we are in the presence of a lady,” Stephan said. His voice was too gentle.
“Lady or not, she’ll be a corpse by the time the night’s out, just like everyone else,” Thomas scoffed.
“Who knew murderers were so charming?” I said to him sarcastically.
“There’s little need for charm when you control people through other means.” I swallowed my retaliation as I was shoved against the wall and pinned in place by his knee. He held a very sharp nail atop the bruise on my throat and I squirmed beneath him, praying he didn’t feel my dagger. “Fear is a better motivator.”
“Yes, yes, we all know.” Stephan clapped his hands together. “So what shall we do now? We have our prey.”
“It was Ric’s idea to toy with her first. Let him choose,” Thomas said, releasing me.
“We were lucky enough to get this far. Stephan almost blew it earlier with his impatience,” Ric scowled.
“I was growing tired of your rather convincing charade.” Stephan paced around him. “It was worrying seeing you together. Judging by the way you looked at her you might not have gone through with the plan after all.”
“I’m a good actor,” Ric spat.
“Yes, you are.” There was something curious about the way Stephan looked at him that made Ric sweat.
“Come now, you can’t blame a man for his desires,” Gabriel cut across them. “I can never resist the smell of fear on a woman.” He brushed his dirty fingers across my shoulder and his bloody, cracked finger nails scratched my skin. “You reek of it.” I tried not to shake under his hand.
“Restrain yourself. You can do whatever you want with her after we’ve all had our fun,” Stephan snapped. “What are our terms for this evening’s entertainment?”
“Long legs: she should be a good runner.”
“The look she’s giving us says she won’t go down without a fight.”
“It’ll be hard for her to run in a dress like this though.” Gabriel looked lazily over the layers of fabric covering my legs and motioned to Thomas, who grabbed my arms from behind. I struggled against him until my arms bent in horribly painful ways. Please don’t see the dagger. Please. Gabriel took the fabric in his hands and with one swift motion he tore it to my thigh. I let out an irrepressible gasp as he brushed his hand over my leg and smiled…and I snapped. Snarling, and before my brain could register what was happening, I used Thomas as a foundation and kicked Gabriel in the face as hard as I could. A moment of silence passed before the group burst into laughter.
“I take back what I said,” Gabriel said as he wiped the dirt from his cheek, “there’s definitely spirit there.”
“Shall we give her a five-minute head-start?” Stephan asked.
The others nodded, cracking their knuckles as they psyched themselves up for the chase. In no time they’d changed from being somewhat civilised to nothing more than dogs on a leash, snapping at one another if they ventured too close together. Adrenaline pumped through me. If it was a fox hunt they wanted I sure wasn’t going down without maiming a few dogs.
“Before I die, enlighten me,” I started, stamping my foot further into my boot. “Why me? Wrong place, wrong time?”
Stephan shook his head. “You made friends with the wrong person.”
“We told him the consequences if he ignored our warnings but the fool thought he could protect you.” Thomas shied under Stephan’s glare.
“You needn’t bore her to death,” he snapped before turning back to me. “We aren’t the kind of men who make empty threats. His ignorance has led to your death. Remember that when you see each other again in Gehn.”
Were they talking about Ethan?
“What difference does it make whether she knows or not? Let’s begin already.” Thomas’s rekindled energy was practically burning.
“Alright, on the count of three-”
Run.
“One-”
Fight.
“Two-”
Survive.
“Three,” I finished. This was my home, regardless of how disoriented I was, and I had the upper hand. Without a backward glance I ran as fast as I could back to the safety of the city.
CHAPTER NINE
THE STREETS WERE all identical. No matter where I ran, uninterrupted pockets of steam drifted around me and I realised I was lost. But how – Daeus – how could I get lost in my own city? Worse of all, from my count, my time was up.
“Come on.” I bit my lip.
I ran down the line of rotten houses and all around me the tainted laughter of those creatures echoed. A shadow loomed in the mist ahead of me and my feet slid to a stop across the wet ground, but as quickly as it came it dissipated. My heart pounded so fast I could barely think.
“Found you, little lamb,” Thomas whispered beside me.
I had no time to react before he was on me, laughing, clawing at my arms and snapping at my throat. I slammed my palm into his nose but it did nothing to stifle the feral need. He was too strong; too wild to keep him at a distance. He kicked out my legs from under me and pinned me to the ground, taking his time to watch me whimper and struggle. I cried out, pulling everything I had into wrenching my hands inwards and pushing my thumbs into his eyes. Thomas howled, yanking away from me, and I took my chance. I was on my feet, sprinting toward the nearest corner but I wasn’t fast enough.
Thomas was on my heels, half-blinded and enraged he drove his leg into my side and sent me crashing through the rotten wooden door of a house. The impact split across my side and forced the air from my lungs while the house moaned around me, its rotting beams barely holding. Thomas’s manic humour was long gone.
“Don’t worry. Death will be far more pleasant than that.”