TOXIC BLOODLINES: PARADISE - BOOK 2/4

A GAMBIT

ARIK

"KIM!" I exited the truck and ran toward her car parked in the driveway of the manor; the engine was still running and the door was open. "KIM!" I ran to her car.

She wasn't there.

Then, I noticed the front door had been blown off. "Kim are you in there!" I called out. All the lights were off. I got a sinking feeling in my stomach. It was too quiet.

Pulling out the gun Ian had given me, I walked inside.

I searched the bottom floor for any signs of her and possible struggle. Aside from the front door, there was nothing. One would think the dust-covered floors would give me some clues at least, but the only footprints were mine. "This makes no sense."

Where is she?

I continued my search upstairs, checking each room. Where are you? Then I heard a thud. The sound came from upstairs. "Kim!" I ran up to my dad's room.

"Kim?" I walked inside. "Kim, it's me," I called out to her. When she didn't answer, I flipped on the light switch. "Oh god." Bloody drag marks led to the closet. My heart sank. "Kim!" When I opened it, I found Mrs. Anne. She was gagged and tied up surrounded by red sand and candles. I broke the ring and freed her. "Did my mother do this?" I check Mrs. Anne for injuries.

"She took her!" Mrs. Anne cried. "She took her."

I felt cold. "Where? Where did she take her." Mrs. Anne coughed up blood, I saw a stab wound in her abdomen. "I'm gonna get you to the hospital," I covered the wound.

"There is no time Arik," Mrs. Anne placed both hands on my face. Her eyes glowed pale blue and the room shook. My chest tightened and I couldn't breathe. "Jahim," Mrs. Anne spoke.

SMASH!

Creatures crashed through the window and grabbed me. Their talons dug into my skin as they dragged me away, and then I was thrown out the window.

~~~

I woke with a gasp and sat up. "Huh?" Looking around the massive room, I realized I was somewhere else. "What the?" Climbing out of the large bed, I noticed my clothes were different. Heavy and ancient. I looked like some gladiator in gold. "Where the fuck am I?"

I searched for visual cues, but I could not find a single thing that gave me any information on where I was. The room gave no clues. The architecture was strikingly Babylonian, but it also wasn't. This place was much older.

Feeling the cool breeze from the balcony, I walked out. A dragon flew right past me. "What the fuck!" I fell over and crawled back inside. My heart felt as if it would burst from my chest. I paused. "That was a dragon. That was a fucking dragon." I walked back onto the balcony.

Rivers and lakes of fire. Creatures flying around in the dark volcanic clouds. The sounds of distant screams. Overwhelmed, I closed the drapes finally realizing where I could be.

"Good, you are awake," a hauntingly familiar voice spoke from the fireplace.

I froze at the smell of his cigar.

It can't be.

Slowly, I turned around hoping that I was hallucinating. But there he stood. In a black robe with golden patterns woven into it. His hair was slicked back; his mustache now upturned. Our eyes met from across the room. He looked exactly like how he did when he was younger. "Dad?" Suddenly, everything made sense. "Of course," I laughed to myself. "You've been alive the whole time? Why didn't you do anything! Why didn't you come back!" I had to stop myself from regressing into a child, fighting my tears as he walked toward me. "Where is Kim? Tell me where she is and how to get out of here. I'm not playing whatever game this is."