Page 43 of Magic and Mayhem

But the words keep repeating, lulling me into a sleep where I no longer fear what happens to me. My arm aches with the need to be close to Eryx, and I wonder what this means for our deal.

Is something going to happen to him because he wasn’t able to protect me? Did he break our deal, or did I by being captured?

Suddenly the car stops, and the trunk pops open a moment later. I don’t even have the strength to fight, so I pretend to be asleep to see if I can pick up any information that could be useful.

Someone throws me over their shoulder, and I have to abandon my idea because all of my ribs ache as I scream out. Master takes me around the back of the house, opens up the cellar that leads to a basement I know all too well, and throws me down into the darkness.

My back collides with a stone wall, the dirt floor cold under me, and I groan in pain. My head is throbbing, and I have a feeling my eyes might burst from the pressure they seem to be under if I open them.

Master looks so blurry as he descends the steps that it takes me a minute to really see that it’s him. Then, my keeper follows behind, for once silent and not begging him for attention. She bends down in front of me and lifts the large sweatshirt before pressing on my ribs.

I shout in pain, and she seems to lessen the pressure but continues her exploration.

“A few broken ribs, but likely no internal bleeding.”

She stands quickly and that’s when the light of themoon shows the bruises on her flesh. She sneers down at me when she sees me noticing. The slight sympathy I thought I had for her disappears in an instant.

Master inches closer, pulling out a knife and making real fear coat my limbs.

“You thought you could kill me, you ignorant bitch, but I am far stronger than you. Your little stunt is going to cost you. I was planning a quick death for you, a noble sacrifice. Now, I think I will make it burn.”

His smile widens as I try to push myself away from him. Lucifer felt like darkness incarnate, but Master is a different kind of evil entirely. He gets joy from pain and suffering, and he unites others around him that feel the same way. Master kicks up dirt so that it covers my face and I wipe it away quickly, watching him as he climbs out of the small cellar he used to lock me in when I was younger.

He said it would build character and teach me not to question him, but it did the opposite. It made me more set on getting away from him, pushing his buttons to see how far I could get until he snapped.

Closing my eyes, I try to focus on my demon. I wish he would have taught me how to summon him, if that’s even a thing. The mark on my arm starts to flare with heat and I grab onto it, allowing the feeling to warm me from the inside out.

It works too, though it’s likely all in my head. But I could swear that every cool piece of my flesh was just heated. I’m in too much pain to move, so I stay there, lying on the floor and holding onto the mark of a monster who swore he would protect me.

Somehow, it brings me peace, and I feel that voice in my head trying to talk to me again. This time, I relax intothe feeling of its embrace and open my mind to what it's trying to say. Maybe it can help me.

‘Where are you, Ev? Tell me where he took you.’

I try to wade through my mind, thinking of all the places I passed to get to the Carnival before and how far I ran. Then, I picture the house I’m under and the small town I’m in. It isn’t much, but if this voice knows something, maybe this will help.

It should be impossible for Eryx to find me, but maybe this mark we have binds us in ways neither of us understands. It’s like it’s a living thing, and it seems to connect with that being inside my head that I have felt ever since I can remember.

The peace of that presence makes me feel weightless, as if I were floating on a cloud in a dream. My eyes drift closed, and all of a sudden, I’m sitting next to Eryx in a field of grass.

Wildflowers bend in the breeze, and the scent of the sea hangs in the air. I look out to the large cliffs as the sun wakes the world with its presence.

The warmth of it touches my skin, my face heating from its rays, making me sigh with contentment.

Eryx takes my hand and it all feels so real.

“I’m coming for you, Ev. But you have to promise me you will fight.”

I nod, assuming this is just a dream. One last moment to bathe in my monster’s sweetness and know he did everything to fight for me.

It just so happens I have more than one nightmare to be protected from. And even if Eryx can teleport, he cannot be in two places at once.

I hope he knows I don’t blame him. Even in death, I could never be upset with him. He gave me freedom,showed me a world I never knew existed, and did his best to keep me safe.

In learning about his world, it’s clear that destiny and the Fates do not care about our wishes. Sometimes, they just need balance and that requires sacrifice. And while I never wanted to be a sacrifice for the man who stripped me of my life, I think I can die knowing that I’m a sacrifice for destiny.

Eryx squeezes my hand, making me look at him.

“Why are you not speaking?”

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