8. Strings & Carnies

Chapter 8

Strings we've been waiting all year long for this night. To purge our demons and play in the blood of the wicked. Don't get me wrong, my bloodlust is almost satiated, but with Alistair here taunting me, it doesn't sit well.

His stare digs deep within my veins, causing everything I fought so hard to hide, to creep to the surface. One command from him and he will unleash the monster that sits on the precipice of rage and bloodshed.

Holding on to Liam's hand a little tighter, I try to ground myself and remember happy things in my new life, not the tainted memories of the scared little girl I once was. The one they trained to be lethal, with no remorse; a killer without a conscience. I guess I'm not that different.

I kill once a year and collect eyeballs because that's what I do for a living. I study the eyes on a daily basis. Being an Optometrist has its perks, but the look on my coworker's faces when I bring my eyeball garlands in to hang around the office for different holidays, is priceless.

I'm sure they think I'm batshit crazy, but I don't care. I think it's funny as shit. They just don't understand my obsession, but it's cool. At least they are good people to hang around with all day.

Taking a deep breath, I feel more centered already, and my anxiety is simmering the longer I'm next to Liam, touching him. I don't know why I'm so worried; I know My Romeo would never let harm come to me. He'd die in my place, as I would do the same for him.

Putting on my charm, I lean my tits against his bicep, rubbing my nipples against him. He looks down at me and our eyes collide. Lust and love crackles between us as we stare at one another for a moment too long. I hope we never lose our fire together, even when we're old and gray.

"Hey Romeo, I need to use the bathroom. Meet me over at the Ferris Wheel." I say seductively, licking my lips, causing him to shake his head. He leans down, brushing my hair off my shoulder.

"You can never get enough of my cock, huh Tigerlily?" He whispers, licking the shell of my ear. I moan into his touch, gripping the bottom of his blood soaked tee.

"Never, baby. I'll just be a minute. I know how much you hate tasting yourself on me." I wink as he lets go of my hand. I spin as a lone tear leaves my eye. I fucking hate lying to him, but I have to do this. It's for his own protection.

Taking my mask off as I enter the empty bathroom, I place it on the sink and turn on the water, splashing myself in the face. How the fuck am I supposed to outrun the puppetmaster? Think Lily, think.

Turning off the water, I walk into the stall, sit down and do my thing. People come in and out as I continue to sit here, trying to devise a plan that will save us both, but Alistair's presence is causing me to not think straight.

Shaking out my already trembling hands, I take a deep breath and leave the stall, grabbing my mask and pulling it over my face as I exit the same way I came in. I walk around the attraction, avoiding the Ferris Wheel at all costs, knowing my husband is waiting for me. It won't be long that he will start panicking and leave to find me.

Walking into the House of Horrors, I'm immediately grabbed from behind, my mask ripped from my face as strong arms try to put me in a choke hold. But I move too quickly for them as I reach for my knives with both hands, sinking the metal into their sides, causing them to drop their arms from around my neck. I spin, flipping the knives in my hand and stabbing both right into his chest.

He stumbles back and I kick him to his knees, gripping his hair, forcing him to look up at me. "Where is he?" I growl, and the man smiles.

"You won't get away from him. You're in his sights. Time to come home." He grins.

"I only have one home, and his isn't it. Time to meet your maker, Lou. Should've come with me instead of being his little bitch." I growl and he laughs.

"I've missed you. Please come home." He pleads and I shake my head.

"You were fun just to pass the time. We had no one else in that place. I'm not the one for you. You chose wrong, Louis. Now you pay your penance." I say, but as my eyes collide with his, I'm thrusted into a memory I thought I kept buried so long ago.

"Little Wench, have you ever been kissed before?" He asks and my eyes widen. In all my eighteen years, I've never been touched in a sexual way by a boy I liked.

"Only by the men at the club who force me." I reply and his eyes narrow as his hands tighten in fists at his side.

"That's not what I mean, Lilyanna. Has anyone ever kissed you where butterflies swarm your stomach and electricity bursts through the air by a single touch?" He says and I laugh, shaking my head.

"You read too many of those romance novels Mrs. Piper is sneaking in for you." I say, but he cups my face, bringing his closer to mine.

"Can I be your first?" He asks as his soft lips brush against mine so tenderly, like a breeze fluttering against your cheek. I gasp as his tongue sweeps against my lips.

"Let me taste you, Lily." He whispers, gripping my hip with his free hand as the other caresses my cheek. I close my eyes and lean in, letting him have what he desires most. Our tongues glide against one another in a slow, sensual battle for more.

We both groan as he deepens the kiss, tasting each other as the oxygen expels from our lungs, causing us to break apart panting.

"Holy shit, Louis." I say, but he kisses me again, and we get lost for hours exploring one another until the puppetmaster rips us apart, throwing me in the room filled with mirrors as the song plays over and over again. A heavy blow to my head takes me out of the memory and back to the present.

My vision clears and I'm being held with my hands behind my back. I thrash in Louis's hold, feeling the blood seep from his chest.

"Shouldn't have let my pleading words distract you, Little Wench. You broke rule number one." He whispers against my neck as he trails kisses along my throat.

"Get off of me." I demand as I try to kick at his shins and headbutt him, but he's too tall to connect.

"Stop fighting. You aren't going to win. Now walk." He growls, but I don't stop fighting as he lifts me up with one hand around my chest and the other around my throat.

He walks over to the metal table that's used as a prop for the asylum part of the haunted house, and slams me so hard onto the table, it knocks the wind out of me. I gasp for air, but nothing comes as he straps me so tightly to the cold slab that I can longer move an inch.

A tear falls from my eye knowing there's not a thing I can do to save myself.

"Ahh, my Little Puppet. It's time to tighten your strings, Little One." Alistair says as he runs a finger from my feet, up my leg and over my whole body until he reaches my face.

"Please, just let me go." I beg, but he places that same finger over my shaky lips.

"Now, now, Little One, shh. This will only hurt for a moment." He says with a wicked glint as he lifts a scalpel, slicing lightly into my flesh.

"Louis, you know what to do. Sew the strings into her limbs. Make her into my Little Puppet again." He orders as Louis takes the strings, threading the needle, and slicing into my wrists. I scream as people walk by, not helping, but instead they laugh and point at my misery.

A belt is strapped around my face causing me to bite down on the leather as tears stream down my face and blood drips along my wrists. I close my eyes and think of Liam, praying he finds me and saves his Tigerlily.

Liam

Making my way to the Ferris Wheel, one of the carnies catches my attention with his whiney voice. "Come on, win your lady a prize." He coaxes, but the couple keeps walking past him. "How about you, freak?"

I cock my head to the side, looking at him through my mask. He tosses a ball in the air, catching it a moment later. "All you have to do is knock these three little bottles down." He holds the ball out to me, rolling it around his palm. "Five bucks gets you three shots."

Pulling my wallet from my back pocket, I hand him the cash and take the ball from his hand and he puts two more balls down on the counter in front of me. Taking a deep breath, I look between the bottles and the carny, trying to decide where to throw.

Once he takes a few steps to the side, I throw the ball and send the three bottles tumbling to the ground.

"Damn!" the carny shouts, "I've been doing this for ten years and you're only the third person to do that." He quickly resets the bottles and stands to the side again. Throwing the next ball, he screams again as the bottles topple to the ground.

"You're fucking good at this." He says, fixing my target once more. Glancing around me, I notice there's only one other person around; a small kid shoveling funnel cake into his mouth. When the kid turns his back to me, I make my move, hitting the carny in the temple with my last ball.

"GAH!" He winces, holding the side of his head. I quickly jump over the counter, taking him to the ground with me as I grab one of the balls from a basket.

"I. Am. Not. A. Fucking. Freak!" I seethe, slamming the ball into his forehead with every word. The little punk loses consciousness after the first few hits, but I don't stop. Each swing makes a satisfying crunch sound, and I relish the feel of his skull bursting apart beneath the weight of my blows.

I don't stop hitting him until his head looks like ground meat. Holy fuck, my arm is sore! Staying low to the ground so we're still hidden by the counter, I grab his arm, using it to slide as much of the tissue as possible out of the way before shoving his body under the counter and adjusting a few of the baskets to hide the body.

When I look up at the prizes, I see a big purple teddy bear with gigantic green eyes that match mine almost perfectly. Some of the prizes got covered in blood when I threw my temper tantrum, so I really need to get the fuck moving before someone spots me.

Glancing from behind the counter, I wait until the coast is clear to grab the bear and head toward the Ferris Wheel.

"Are you in line?" A small voice asks from behind me. When I turn to face the little girl, she smiles up at me. "How does your blood look so real?" She questions, "when mommy makes mine, you can tell it's fake. How can I scare off the mean boys with barbeque sauce?"

"How old are you?" I ask, tucking the bear under my arm and crouching down to look her in the eyes.

"I'm six already, I'm a big girl." She says proudly, putting her hands on her hips. "Those mean boys don't mess with me yet, but mommy says they'll start soon."

Bile rises up my throat as the meaning of her words sink in. "The mean boys mess with sissy. She's eleven, and those boys always make her bleed."

"Your mommy doesn't protect your sister from the mean boys?" I question, pulling my mask from my face.

"Wow. You're really sexy, mister." She smiles, and I arch a brow at her.

"Handsome is a better word," I tell her, putting together more pieces of this little mystery puzzle. "Does your mommy protect your sister?"

"No," she shakes her head sadly, "mommy's fancy doesn't like when she gets his boys into trouble."

"Are your mom and her fiance here with you?"

"Yep, over there." She points behind me, and I spin on my heel to see a man and woman with their tongues down each other's throat. "My name is Lillian." She chimes in, "Lillian Dale."

"It's nice to meet you, Lillian. That's such a pretty name." I face her once again, a smile spreading across my face. "My name is Jackson."

"That's a pretty name, too!" She says, fidgeting with the hem of her shirt. It's too fucking small for her, but judging by the sounds of things, clothing isn't very high on the priority list at home.

"Thank you." I nod my head toward her mom and fiance, quickly glancing over my shoulder at them. "Karo syrup makes some pretty good blood. You put some in a bowl and add a few drops of red food coloring. If you want it to look even better, add one or two drops of blue food coloring, but not too much, or it will turn purple."

"Thanks Jackson." She smiles again before running off to the line for the Ferris Wheel. I stand, pulling my mask back into place before staring at Lillian's mom, memorizing every detail of her and the scumbag fiance, while I wait for Lily.

It's been almost ten minutes already, she should be here by now. Looking around, I try to spot her, but have no luck. Sparing one last glance at the despicable couple, I turn and make my way toward the bathroom to find my Tigerlily.

I'll be back for the two of you.