Page 11 of Dark Shadow of Guilt

Chapter Four

Madeline awakened,bouncing on Praevus’s shoulder as he scurried through a door into a deserted alley. Once clear of the narrow passage, the monster took to the air, bat wings shooting from his spine, pounding up and down to lift off the ground. Maddy screamed, unable to hold back her shock and fear.

Holy shit. I’m gonna die.

When he shifted her in his arms, cradling her like a baby, she watched buildings get smaller and smaller until he leveled out and zoomed forward. They soared above a crumbling, shabby urban area, the air filthy, factories belching noxious exhaust through chimneys.

Abruptly, Praevus changed the angle of flight, eliciting a gasp from Maddy. He straightened the slant of his body, his wings pounding up and down. His boots touched the ground near one of the fume-spewing factories.

Setting Madeline on her feet, he maintained a firm grasp on her wrist. Though shaky, she attempted to peel off his fingers, but Praevus was too strong.

He looked both ways, then opened a metal door and shoved her inside. She fell to her knees. Another cavernous warehouse, dark and reeking of mold and mildew. She heard the snick of a switch.

Light.

Madeline fought Praevus as he bound her wrists and ankles with rope. He won easily and would have even if her arms and legs hadn’t been so weak.

Her gaze flicked from the monster to her surroundings. The concrete was filthy, with dark blotches of God knew what. But since she trembled from exhaustion, she flopped onto the floor with her back to the wall, her legs straight out in front of her. Maddy refused to think about what was under her, including any bugs or rats in residence.

New digs. Same problem. What did he want with her? What plan could she devise to escape? She couldn’t break free from the ropes, though she kept trying. Best thing was to stay alert. Wait for an opportunity. But if she got away, where would she go?

Focus. Don’t worry about that now. Devise an escape first.

To calm herself, she ignored Praevus and mentally shelved books in the library, using the Dewey Decimal System while she tugged on the restraints at her wrists. The result was to open fresh wounds on unhealed skin. Able to reach the bindings securing her ankles, she gave them a jerk. Not going anywhere.

When she lost focus, Madeline felt herself slipping into old, destructive patterns—watching someone else, waiting for them to act, being afraid they would, and losing control of her environment. She wanted to run or curl into a ball, duck her head, and hide. She shook off the disabling behavior.

No!

Once, her sisters had returned home to find her cowering in a closet, hiding from their drunken mother. After hugging her and telling her she was safe, they scolded her. Darya made her plan a different way to deal with the problem, one where she would be in control. Life was about control.

That’s what she needed now. Madeline drew in a calming breath through her nose, refusing to even blink. That tiny motion might be all it took to dissolve any sense of control, any sense of order and precision she might gain from the breath. Like when she’d been at the mercy of an alcoholic parent.

Interrupting her reminiscences, Praevus pulled a chair on wheels close to her and sat down, elbows on knees. He stared at her.

She held the monster’s fixed gaze. “What do you plan to do with me?”

Praevus straightened and smiled, but his grin was far more terrifying than his slumped posture and grim stare. He tilted his chin to one side. Then the other. He scratched his jaw. “I’m beginning now. Pay close attention because I am a master of my craft.”

Bending forward, he set a palm to each of her cheeks, squeezing her face between them. Pain shot through Maddy’s head, churning her stomach. Instead of barfing, she slammed her eyes shut tight while she concentrated on driving out the agonizing headache.

When the pain lessened, she reorganized her closet, putting the items in alphabetical order. Blouses, pants, t-shirts...

Praevus jumped to his feet and grabbed a fistful of her blonde hair. “Stop it,” he screamed. His white eyes blazed with anger.

Stop what?

Maybe it was her concentration on arranging her wardrobe. She chuckled. He didn’t like her itty-bitty OCD thoughts.

Screw him.

Though he continued to hold a chunk of her hair, he relaxed his grip. “I can see you will take time.”

She grouped the closet items by color. Blue, green, red... Then, by season and, finally, by length, creating a beautiful diagonal line of hanging clothes.

Eventually, Praevus stomped off, leveling her with an evil, melodramatic cackle. “You are so fun.”

When darkness swallowed an exhausted Madeline, her antagonist starred in her nightmares.

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