Page 68 of Rawest Venom

While I’m distracted thinking of what needs to be done, he wins the round. “Ha!”

“Cal, seriously. What’s the plan?”

But instead of answering, he sticks his forefinger in my face. Then, he continues his annoying laugh until I pretend to bite the tip of it. He pulls away, taking me with him until we’re lying back on the couch. Attempting to fish out my lips with his own, I move my head out of his way so he can’t. His non-answer is giving me a bit of anxiety.

“Uh, come on, V. I got this. Don’t worry,” he says with a small twitch of his left eyebrow.That’scalculation, deviation. I can read something on him!

Pursing my lips at him, I try to contain my smile atlearning more about him. “So you already have a plan…”

“Of course.” His shoulders shrug.

“Are you going to let me in on it?”

With a flash of his beautiful white teeth, he says, “Nope. Just enjoy the ride.” Tucking my wrists behind my back, his neck strains up as his lips connect with mine forcefully. “Play with me.” Lifting his hips against my core, he shows me he’s already hard again.

“Don’t you get tired?”

“Not often. Aren’t you a lucky girl?”

A crackle, then robotic voice, interrupts the game sounds overhead as we both startle with a slight jump. “Mister Von Dovish? We’re about ten minutes away.”

“Thank you.” His green eyes find mine with a glint in them. “Come on, we got ten minutes.” He starts to undo his fly between us.

Sighing, I give in. I want it, too. And I’ll just leave the plan up to him. I trust him…I think?

Leesville is cold,with biting spring winds ripping through the open air. The ancient, dilapidated, and leaning barn sitting next to the concrete platform we wait on isn’t offering any protection from the weather. At least the stars and moonlight up the night like it’s daytime. We’ll see anyone coming from miles away. Very few trees obstruct our views, and the only thing that could cast a shadow is the leftover front door frame of the old house’s foundation, where the meeting is set totake place. Even the fireplace was left to a heap of stone rubble.

Just as I consider what could have caused it, I get a sense of being watched.

Cal monitors my feet shift and places a hand on my back. Softly, his voice warms my ear. “You okay?”

Whispering, I tell him, “I-I think someone’s here.”

Not more than one minute later, a figure in a hooded long cape approaches from a small copse of trees as if rising from the mists of the underworld, dense fog surrounding their feet. It’s taller than I, perhaps feminine, but it’s difficult to tell. On closer examination, the person wears an owl mask covering all of their features, and except for delicate alabaster skin on their hands exposed to the night’s light, no other parts are visible. Definitely more feminine looking than masculine now that she’s closer. Herodius are all women, so that would make sense.

She comes to stand three feet in front of us and ominously waits without talking.

Cal stands up straighter but maintains his contact on my shoulder before clearing his throat. “Hello, I’ve brought your sacrifice.” A thud interrupts my heartbeat. Is-is this part of his plan? I remain steady in case it is.

“She’s unbound.” A robotic voice echoes through the empty space between us. My hair picks up in a sudden breeze, billowing around my head, but I don’t make a move to contain it.

“She is.”

My stomach tightens at the silence that resonates from the figure in front of us. Twisting my fingerstogether, I try to shift my weight to be on guard without gaining attention. Cal wouldn’t hurt me…would he? It has to be part of his strategy. But…he has locked me up, forced me to use a diaper, tortured me with pleasure… And he’s also killed plenty of times. As subtly as possible, I take a deep breath in to calm my racing pulse. Cal is unpredictable. Has he fooled me?

The robotic voice finally rings out, interrupting my panic. “She is the sacrifice we require.”

Cal shuffles slightly on his feet. “I don’t understand.”

“Fox, you carry with you at all times two vials. One is a venom. One an anti-venom. We require you to use the venom to make your sacrifice here, on these sacred grounds.” With a wave of the cloak, the woman showcases a stained area of the concrete floor. Before, I would have thought it was just some leaves or debris, but now I realize, those must be burned or bloodstains on the surface.

My chest tightens. There’s no way Cal would do this to me, though. Right?

“You want me to sacrifice her, here, and then…what?”

Another pause before the mechanical voice rings through, its unearthly sounds causing my skin to crawl. “For the people of your West Side. To know the secrets of our organization. To stop a madman from his tirades.” Cal’s arms stop touching me, the frigid gap between us suddenly cavernous. This is all Cal has wanted.

Carefully, he responds, “For my people.”

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