46. Mastering the Game

forty-six

Mastering the Game

*FLORA*

I t doesn’t take ten minutes for me to hear noises coming from the other side of the door. I hear Cindy, but also Gary or Hank, or maybe both. It’s hard for me to distinguish their voices with Celeste’s powers being suppressed. But there are also new voices to be heard. Maybe two or three men.

When Cindy and Hank convinced me to go to my room, I did it to pander to them. But I knew it would be useless. Whoever had me kidnapped certainly wants to see me. They can’t hide me away from them. I know that Cindy, Hank and Gary aren’t really involved with my being abducted, and they were just manipulated into keeping me here.

I don’t know how it feels to have a sick child, but I am sure a loving parent would do almost everything to keep them alive.

When I can hear some rustling at my door, I put my plate aside and retreat to a further corner of my room. There is a plush teddy bear which I grab and hug tightly. It makes me look much more childlike. Let’s see if it works with these guys.

The door opens and a dark-haired man looks inside. Right behind him, is a second one, and a little further, I can see Gary, who looks nervous.

They immediately see me. “What a precious little cargo,” one of the men sneers.

Okay, so my innocent girl act didn’t work on them. Time for my second strategy – one of my favorites, that works with all ages and genders!

The nutcase!

I look at him, beaming. “My, thank you,” I exclaim, lifting the teddy bear into the air and twirling around with it. “I am sure they are precious too! What do you think, Mr. Softpaw? So-“ I tilt my head as if I am seriously pondering this question. “What type of cargo am I?” I hold the bear to my ear and giggle. “I agree.” Spinning around, I look at the man who just called me cargo. “You look like you could be liquid bulk. As for me, I don’t want to be a suitcase. I want to be something cute! Mr. Softpaw agrees.”

“Er…” the man glances at his comrade. “Liquid bulk?” He looks seriously surprised.

“Well, blood runs through your veins-“ I say, making sure to look at him with a creepy smile. “-and technically, it’s liquid, isn’t it?” I add, blinking innocently. “So, if your blood is the cargo, despite all the flesh around it, then-“

The guy looks disturbed, which is just hilarious. “Okay, okay, I got it!” he blurts out, before gazing at the second guy. “They didn’t say she was a lunatic.”

“She is just innocent,” Cindy blurts out, pushing past the guys. “You need to leave her alone, Robert.”

I am not sure if her words get through to them, but certainly, my weird antics did because they look more than a little weirded out. I wonder if that one dude is now imagining how I would drain him of his blood and then ship it off as cargo.

When they all leave me alone again, closing the door behind them, I let out a sigh of relief. I might have gotten rid of them for now, but this doesn’t solve my problem. I still don’t know what they want from me, and why I am even here. Is someone trying to use me to pressure Elden? Is it money? Cindy denied that whoever hired Robert is after Elden’s money, but I am not sure if she is really aware of what’s going on.

It could be money.

But if it’s not money, it’s something else, and I have no clue. Revenge maybe. But while I might have made enemies in school, Elden didn’t. The boys kissed the floor he walked on, and the girls crushed on him. He always remained respectful and distanced, not getting involved with anyone, which helped him maintain a mysterious air around him. They put him on a pedestal, and he never truly fell from it.

For me, it’s different; I am the weirdo who was mated to one of the most loved guys in school. But if they were out for revenge against me, why keep me here with Cindy? Why not hurt me or mess with me?

Alone with my thoughts, the minutes and hours seem to drag by. Cindy only visits me once, bringing me some more to eat, and whispering to me that their visitors are still here, but that she will let me out of my room once they are away.

I realize I am not so much worried about me, but about Cindy. I need to find a way to alert Elden. This can’t go on. I am sure they won’t harm me, by now I know I am here for a different reason than to be killed or trafficked or anything. I just don’t know their reason. What I know, though, is that Cindy is in danger. She is disposable to them, as are her husband and brother. They don’t care about them or their sick child.

I am still struggling with finding a way out of this mess, when my ears take up another voice, a new one. Someone else seems to have visited!

The voice instantly startles me, making me rush towards the door and try to open it, but it’s locked. No way! Pressing my ear against the door, I try to hear what’s being said, but it’s difficult to catch anything, aside from bits and pieces that don’t make any sense on their own.

That voice…

For the first time since I was captured, I can feel my heartbeat pick up its pace, almost racing against my chest, while anxiety settles in. What am I about to do? What!? I need to reach out to someone!

Why am I so useless?

Why-

My eyes meet my reflection in the mirror. It’s a small mirror, but yet something draws me in. I had raised my hand, brushing through my hair in anxiety when I gazed into it, spotting the amulet on my wrist. The gift my mother and grandmother gave me, the two goddesses! I am so stupid! How could I have forgotten that it was there? They told me in advance that it would not be possible for anyone to take it from me. It’s not visible to anyone but me.

Touching it slightly, I can feel warmth pulsating from it and filling my body. The cold fear I felt just a moment ago seems to be gone.

Don’t forget who you are, a voice whispers. It’s not Ersa, it’s the goddess herself. The binds on you only stop your lycan but not you.

The voice leaves me, but the warmth remains. It’s only then that it dawns on me that this warmth is part of me.

I am a lycan with royal blood. But I am also part deity. Ersa is my mother, Selene my grandmother. There are no binds in this world that can stop my powers. I am so stupid for having forgotten this part about myself. Reaching out towards my silver collar, I feel a sizzling pain against my skin as it burns my palms. I push the wolf side of me to the back of my mind, and instead allow the warmth I felt previously to fill me again. The sizzling subsides, my vision gets clearer again, and I can see the beings of light fluttering around me.

Well then, here goes nothing. I rip the collar off my neck in one swift movement. That was so easy. I almost want to laugh at how simple it was to free myself.

Now, first things first, even with Celeste still under the effect of the wolfsbane, I need to reach out to Elden.

*ELDEN*

It has started to rain. It’s early for a summer rain, but it does feel like one. Soft raindrops fall against the windows of Flora’s room where I have retreated to. I feel more comfortable here than at my own place. Here I have been sitting and staring at the wall, caught in my thoughts for I don’t know how long, until the slow, dripping sound of the rain pulls me out of them.

It feels like I have gone numb. Maybe it’s because I have overused my gift tonight, or because I have seen so much it just made my senses shut down.

I just don’t know what to think or feel. I only know one thing: I need Flora back. It’s all that matters. Everything else just turned meaningless. I try to think of my mother, wondering if things would be different if she were still here, and how they would be different.

“Elden?”

I look up staring right into Flora’s eyes. In my shock I jump up, almost stumbling over the carpet on the floor. “Am I hallucinating!?”

“No, you are not!” She smiles brightly at me.

She looks so real, standing in front of me, that I almost believe she is truly here.

“I am a dunce,” she says. “I forgot I am part deity, and don’t need to rely on my lycan side to reach out to you. Stupid, huh? But look at that! I can manifest in spirit form in front of you! Pretty cool, huh?”

I stare at her, as it slowly sinks in that she is truly here. “Wait a moment, this is real!”

“Yes, of course I am real!” She laughs; her usual laugh that sounds like soft bells in the wind. Most of all, I feel relief settle in.

“I am so glad you are well. So glad,” I say quietly.

For a moment, Flora just looks at me before her expression saddens. “You know, don’t you?” She steps forward, reaching out her arms as if to hug me. She can’t really do that, as it’s not her real form here, just a projection, but I can still feel her warmth. “How did you find out who was behind the kidnapping?”

“I used my gift.”

“You are getting really good with it,” she says quietly.

“Where are you, love?” I ask her. “Do you know? I am going to be there immediately!”

“Yes, I know where I am,” she says. “You remember that mountain village we passed by, that one time we went hiking? It’s that one. It’s the house with the red fence.”

New resolve settles in me. Having seen and talked to her was exactly what I needed to kick myself out of my depressive episode. No matter what happens, I always have Flora!

“Elden, the house belongs to a couple and the wife’s brother. They have been very kind. Their child is sick, so they were coerced into this. Don’t hurt them. Make sure Regis doesn’t!”

“Can you try to make them leave before we come?” I ask, not trusting Regis to keep his cool, and I am not so sure about staying cool myself. But I trust Flora’s judgment, and if she wants me to let these people get away, then so be it.

“I will try. There are three other human men here, though, maybe more. I will make sure to stop them, so that we can imprison them. I am pretty sure they are traffickers.”

“We need to ensure they never hurt anyone again,” I say firmly.

“And then…” Flora says wearily.

“I will deal with everything else, afterwards,” I say firmly. “Your safety comes first! Be careful, please!”

“I promise I will only play with them a little bit,” she says, her eyes darkening slightly. “I don’t take kindly to people who use and hurt others.”