Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Our captors plopped some of the meat on a few strips of wood bark they scavenged from the woods and moved over to us. The men knelt in front of us and untied our hands, but not our feet. They offered food to each of us, and we tried to chew on the bits of tough meat. I didn’t have an appetite, but I knew I had to keep up my strength so I managed to take a few bites.

One of the girls turned her nose up at the meal before she held the meat out in front of her, pinched as it was between two well-manicured fingers. “I can’t eat this.”

Blake glared at her. “What’s wrong with it?”

She scowled at him. “It’s meat . I don’t eat meat.”

Blake snatched the piece from her hand and shoved it into her mouth. “You do today.”

The woman let out a squeal of fury and surprise before she spat the contents of her mouth into the man’s face. Blake yelled and fell back onto his butt with bits of meat stuck to his nose and cheeks. “You. . .you bitch!” he snapped.

He lunged at her, but Saber intercepted him. Enna marched over to the brawling pair and smacked their heads. “Will you two knock it off?”

While they were distracted, I looked for a way out of this mess. I reached behind me and pressed my palms against the log at our backs. My fingers brushed over a sharp bit of branch, hardly more than a stub. Fortunately for me, however, it was a sturdy stub.

I quickly ate my meat and when the men came back around Blake grabbed my hands. “Time to tie you back up,” he cooed as he drew my arms behind my back.

He tied a tight knot around my hands, but the moment he moved away I began to rub the ropes on the sharp branch. My heart leapt as I felt my bindings loosen with each rub against the tree.

The other women finished their meals and our captors moved back to the warmth of the fire. For our part, most of us huddled against each other. All except me. I worked away at my ropes, and the minutes ticked into an hour. The black night grew darker, though the stars blinked brightly in the sky.

After ninety minutes I felt the ropes completely snap. The bindings dropped onto my legs and I held my breath, fearful the trio would have heard anything. They were engrossed in themselves, however, so I leaned down and untied my feet. In a moment I was completely free, and I scooted over to my nearest companion.

She turned to me and her eyes widened as she felt my hands work away at her ropes. I gave her a look of warning and she clamped her mouth shut.

“Hey!” My blood ran cold, and I whipped my head up. Enna had risen to her feet and her eyes were zeroed in on me. “What are you doing?”

The woman I was trying to help pushed her head into my chest. “Run! Get out of here!”

Indecision suffocated my reflexes, but the woman pushed up against me again. “Go on! You can help us by staying out there!”

Hope. That got me going, and I shot to my feet as our captors rushed over. I leapt over the log and they tried to follow, but the other women threw themselves in their path. The vegan even managed to bowl herself into Blake’s legs, tripping him up so he fell over the log.

I raced into the woods with no sense of where I was going. I only knew I needed to get as far away from that campfire as I could manage. After that, I’d figure out a way to go back and free the others, especially the one doomed to be the plaything of that fiend.

My heart pounded heavily in my chest and my arms pumped at my sides. I flew along the uneven terrain of fallen trees and brush. Just when I thought my heart would burst, the woods opened into a large clearing. A dirt road lay about fifty yards on my left and traveled ahead of me to the center of the glade. That was where the imperious manor stood, tall and wide and dark.

The style was more Tudor than cottage style, with thick beams between the floors and tucked between large whitewashed walls. There were two floors and a large attic, and the foundation was made of huge stones chiseled to perfect rectangles and placed side by side in four straight lines.

The tall paned windows were covered in shadows until I noticed a light behind one of the second-floor glass. My heart gave a flutter as hope was rekindled within it. Somebody was there! Maybe they would help me free the others!

I raced across the wide expanse of lawn that separated the forest from the home, and in a moment my feet pounded onto the stone porch. All was silent, and I couldn’t help but look over my shoulder at the woods. I was exposed in such a spot to my pursuers, but it was worth the risk as I pounded my fist hard against the wood.

“Somebody! Anybody!” I shouted. “I need help!”

The door hadn’t been latched properly and the portal swung open on creaky hinges. A large entrance hall presented itself to me, complete with a glistening wood floor and a staircase that curved up to a second-floor balcony. Doors on either side led into the wings, but they were shut to me.

I reluctantly stepped inside and my footsteps rang loud in the oppressive silence. “H-hello?”

The door slammed shut behind me.

I yelped and spun around where I threw myself at the portal. The door, however, wouldn’t budge even an inch, and there was no sign of a lock other than on the thick wooden handle.

That’s when I heard it. A soft groan from a floorboard above me. I spun around and pressed my back against the wall. My eyes flickered over every dark inch of the place, but I neither saw nor heard anything.

Still, time was of the essence. Midnight was fast approaching. I could feel it in my aching bones. The others needed my help before whatever would happen happened.

I crept forward and winced whenever my foot fell upon an old squeaky board. I’d seen the light in the upstairs right-hand wing, so that’s where I would look. All was dark as I eased myself up the stairs and took a right at the top. The corridor ran for the entire length of the house, but two perpendicular walls divided the upstairs just like the downstairs.

A hall was hidden behind the right-hand wall and ran from the front rooms of the house to the rear rooms, creating a cross of corridors. I had seen the light in one of the front rooms, so I crept forward toward the tall window at the end of the eastern hall. There were three doors on either side of me totaling six. I tiptoed up to the first and tried the knob. It was unlocked, so I opened the door and peeked my head inside.

What I found was a comfortable bedroom with a large four-post bed situated in the center against the exterior wall. A chimney to my left had a warm fire in its hearth, and the flames cast a soft light over everything. A dresser and vanity on the right finished off the furniture, while the floor was covered in elegant oriental rugs. The dresser was topped by a decanter set on a silver platter, and dark red liquid swam inside the glass.

Everything looked so clean and inviting, so I eased into the room. “Hello? Is anyone here?”

The door shut behind me, but it wasn’t the violent shut like the front door. I spun around to find myself staring at a handsome man slightly above average height. He wore a white shirt blouse and dark pants. His feet were bare, and his hair was short. He had chiseled good looks and a muscular frame, but not so hard as I was reminded of rocks.

What captured my complete attention, however, were the two gray horns that protruded from his forehead and stretched backward at an upward angle.