Page 133 of The Harbinger

Her cheeks turned to the shade of a ripe tomato, her lips pressed into a thin pink line, defining the wrinkles around her mouth. My heart thundered as I looked at the door. Surely her machines would alert someone to her upset, and I’d be caught when they did. Her bony hand dropped away from my shirt, plopping onto the bed, and the beeping slowed, allowing me to exhale a bit of relief.

The woman’s chest rose slowly as if it took all the effort in the world just to suck in a lungful. Her heartbeat dipped, and so did mine.

Sixty.

Fifty-five.

“Lady?”

Her breathing slowed, and the machines alarmed.

Thirty.

Twenty.

Oh my God.

I covered my mouth as I stood with abject terror, my feet unable to move despite the adrenaline slipping through my veins.

She’s dying.

Red lights flashed and blared in the dark room, punctuated by a steady stream of urgent beeps. Her heart rate dropped to ten before abruptly flatlining. A heavy thud echoed through the room, and her lifeless eyes bore into me as her mouth hung open.

My own breaths came in rapid gasps, stabbing pain shooting through my chest. I staggered backward, my feet breaking free from their frozen position on the floor, when the door swung open with a violent creak.

For a moment, all was still. Then, with a suddenness that made my heart lurch, a figure materialized in the doorway. I tensed, ready for whatever came next.

Ivan stood there, his imposing size swallowing the escape and a woman I’d never seen before, dressed in scrubs behind him. She needled her way through, her eyes trained on me as she pulled the stethoscope over her head and fixed the earpieces in her ears.

“What are you doing up here?” Ivan said, reaching for me.

“I… I didn’t do it.” I dodged his hand, but he rounded with his other, snatching my elbow and wrenching me to my toes.

“I can’t wait to tell him how you killed his mama.”

Nausea pulled at my stomach, twisting and turning it until pain erupted like a bomb exploded inside me.

His mother?

The nurse standing over the now deceased woman pointed her finger towards the door and shouted.

Ivan moved me out of the room.

“Being a sacrifice is the least of your worries now.”

Sacrificed?

I yanked at his grip, desperation taking hold as his fingers dug into my flesh, sending a tingling sensation down my arm. My mind raced.

Was he really going to sacrifice me to his gods? Was this some twisted way offatteningme up for the slaughter?

But no, that couldn’t be it. Sacha had promised. He had vowed to keep me safe, to protect me from harm. Or had he? Doubt crept in like a poisonous vine twisting around my thoughts.

Ivan moved us towards the stairs, and my heart stuck in my throat as tears poured down my cheeks. Is that why he kept me around despite all the problems I’d caused?

What if he branded me so he could keep me to himself in the afterlife? His warped religious beliefs would allow him to sacrifice me on the altar and keep me as his plaything.

I shook my head at the absurdity.

---