My Darkest Shadow

Chapter 35

Blinding sunlight spilled into the small space. I strained to get my aching muscles to stand. Cuffs slid on my bruised wrists, clanging as I got to my knees.

"Well hello, darling. Rough night?"

Though I couldn't see Madeline, I recognized her sultry French accent. Goosebumps rose on my arms. I tried to speak, but my voice was gone. My throat was so dry that it hurt.

"This is her?" The man's voice was deep, heavily accented though I couldn't place it. Eastern European perhaps. "What would he want with that?"

Madeline snorted. "Who knows."

Once my eyes adjusted to the light, I could see her. In a tight red dress, she leaned against the opening and watched me. Dark hair fell on either side of her face. Beside her, a man shifted, popping every joint in his fingers with habitual rhythm. Large eyes bulged from his pale, bald head. He was shorter than Kael and substantially wider. Both his broad stance and solid form threatened, but nothing felt more lethal than the look in his eyes.

When our eyes met he stopped the incessant popping and stepped forward. A thin gold chain around his neck caught the light as he moved. Reaching down, he yanked me to my feet. As I stood, pale blue orbs never left me.

One of his hands grabbed my jawline. His fingers were huge, encasing and boring into the bones of my face. The smell of meat and sweat lingered on him. I tried to cower but he wouldn't let me go. Moving only hurt more, his grip steadfast.

Shaking my face a little, he asked, "Do you know what Arias wants with you?" He glanced back at Madeline. "Well? Does she know?"

My eyes met Madeline's dark ones. One side of her mouth twitched. "She probably does. But I couldn't get it out of her. I'll leave it to you."

My face must have betrayed my horror because she laughed. With a flip of her hand, she offered a mocking wave. "I'll be back shortly. See what you can get from her, Dahli."

As Madeline walked away, each step landed with a thud in my heart. Even though she was leaving, my outlook was bleak. She knew I had nothing to offer. Yet she'd left me, knowing he'd torture me for answers I didn't have. I began to tremble. I needed to think but couldn't. There was a grey fog in my mind, a paralyzing fear of what was about to happen to me.

Hand still holding my jaw, Dahli turned me to face him. Beads of sweat slid down his temples, glistening on his translucent skin. His eyes seemed even wider now, swallowing the better half of his face.

When his hand released me, my face throbbed. The pressure of his fingers stayed imprinted on my skin. His eyes travelled down my face, down my torso, and returned to my eyes.

"You tell me what you know."

I licked my lips, praying my voice would work, though both my tongue and mouth were a desert. "I-I don't know what he wants," I rasped. Desperately, I searched his eyes for some sense of humanity, for empathy. As I'd feared, his expression was cold and unforgiving.

He backed away. Again, he looked me up and down. My skin crawled. "You know what I do to little girls like you?" He asked. Shouting, "Do you have any idea what I do?"

My breath caught. He was convinced I was trying to make a fool of him. Though my nerves were shot, my sanity a thread from lost, I tried to think. What did Arias want with me? I hadn't seriously considered it before now. Inventing a reason took considerable imagination, but I had lost any shred of creativity in the last day.

Something I had, Arias wanted. Or something about me, he hated. No, perhaps I had information he wanted to hide.

My mind reeled with the possibilities, but nothing plausible came to mind. I saw the moment he decided he would hurt me. Something changed in his countenance.