The Summoning

XXII - When The Party's Over

After about a block, I was trying to decide whether or not to give up on making Vessel put me down. I was exhausted from hitting him when it seemed it did nothing to stop him from carrying me over his shoulder. His hands were gripping my thighs as he strolled intently to the hotel across the highway. At one point, as we crossed the bridge, I gripped onto the back of his cloak as if he would carelessly toss me over the edge. It was certainly a long way down. 

He seemed to sense my sudden fear and veered away from the edge of the bridge as we crossed.

"I can walk!" I snarled, feeling dizzy and resting my head over my hands, which were folded over his back. 

He merely scoffed at this and trekked on. 

Even when we reached the hotel and stepped into the elevator with a mother and son, his grip remained locked over me. 

The boy stared up at me as the mother struggled and failed not to also stare. She pulled her boy closer upon seeing the way Vessel was dressed. 

I could feel Vessel trying to take in steady breaths below me, fingers digging into my leg. I almost smiled at the awkward air in the elevator as we all waited for our floor, soft music playing throughout the small space.

The mother and son got off on one of the middle floors and when the doors closed again, Vessel nearly punched the button for the top floor. Now the silence felt dark and foreboding.

Finally, the doors opened and Vessel waltzed to a set of doors near the middle of the hall. There were a lot less doors here and I assumed they had been able to get something close to penthouse suites up on the top floors. 

With no audience, and with renewed energy, I continued my attack while growling at him to put me down. 

Vessel didn't let me out of his arms until he had unlocked the suite's door and stepped in, tossing me unceremoniously onto a nicely made bed. 

"Where the hell have you been?" III looked between us.

"What happened?" II cut in at the same time.

I crawled back on the bed until I was sitting on the pillows, leaning against the headboard as I watched Vessel leave through a door to the right that seemed to be a bathroom.

I was panting and shaking, barely present while IV draped his leather jacket over my shoulders. A moment later, the sound of the shower started.

III and II sat on the end of each side of the bed, III furrowing his brow at the way I watched them all. 

"Tell me what he did." I spat, looking to II first, then to IV. I'd felt more betrayed by the both of them. But did they know what had happened to Elizabeth?

Looking back to III, he opened his mouth as if he had an answer, but he seemed even more confused. 

"What do you mean?" He asked slowly, trying to reach for my hand before I pulled it away.

"Elizabeth Davies!" I hissed, lips curling back as if I were cursing him. "Ring any bells?"

II and IV looked at each other as III curled his hands into fists.

"He killed her, didn't he?" My voice was hoarse, aching after screaming at Vessel all the way to the hotel. I'd called him every name in the book that I knew, even resorting to childish name calling when I ran out of things to say.

II took a step closer, face set in a grave mask of deep anger before asking slowly, "Where did you hear that?"

I wanted to cower, I wanted to run away from them.