Page 4 of Kept to Kill
‘No, but you don’t understand. I can’t be touched.’ Lily tried again.
The girl let out a biting laugh and shook her head. ‘You haven’t heard a fucking word I’ve said. Good luck. You’re going to need it.’ And with that, she turned her back on her, not bothering with Lily anymore.
Lily looked over at the tent mistress. The woman was watching her, her gaze traveling over her. She was waiting for Lily to do something so that she could punish her. Lily looked away, staying where she was for the moment. She didn’t want to kill anyone else today if she could help it, if not for their sake, then for hers. Besides, her curse did not always work so fast. It could be hours before the person succumbed, and that was more than enough time for them to do her harm.
So she sat and she waited, hoping that a path would present itself.
Time passed and Lily noticed the other women in the tent getting twitchy. Some paced, others simply cried on their beds, and there were some who lookedexcited.
A gong rang and Susi sat up, unlaced her dress quickly and pulled it from her shoulders. She looked at Lily. ‘It’s starting now. It’ll end at dawn.’ She glanced at Lily’s gown. ‘You might want to take that off or there’ll be naught left of it by morning,’ she advised as the flaps at the back of the tent opened and men dressed in black streamed in. One of them made a beeline for her but stopped two beds away, grabbing the girl on the bed, who squealed – in fear or delight, Lily couldn’t say.
And then there was one in front of her, staring down at her.
‘You’re new.’ He leered and she shivered.
She didn’t like it when they looked at her like this, she decided. It wasn’t nice at all. He made a grab for her and she skittered away, throwing herself to the other side of the bed.
He laughed. ‘I’m going to enjoy breaking you, whore, but I don’t have time for a tussle just now.’
There was a gleam in his eye. He was going to hit her, she realized too late as his hand came hurtling at her face.
She felt it slam into her cheek and then she was falling, a man’s yell piercing the air.
Her body bounced painfully on the hard floor of the tent, and she lay there, stunned. A moment later, he fell in front of her, his face purple and bleeding from his orifices.
She was in a haze, listening to the screams of women and the yells of men as if they were far away. Someone picked her up by her dress and threw her onto the bed, anchoring her arms over her head, and then he gurgled and died just as quickly. He was hauled off her and she half expected another one to try. They weren’t the most intelligent bunch, these men.
It was like a joke. How many men would it take to understand that this woman couldn’t be touched? The tent was silent except for the sound of someone giggling – and as her head began to clear, she realized the laughter was coming from her. She tried to stop but she couldn’t. It was awful, yet she couldn’t forget the joke.
The zing of a knife or sword pulled from its scabbard drifted through the air to her ears. They were going to kill her now. They’d finally seen the monster and they’d stop her for good. She found she wasn’t afraid. Would she be free, she wondered? Would the curse be gone if she was dead? Would it leave her be in the afterlife?
A man stood over her, the one from the tower. The Commander of the Dark Army. He put the point of his knife to the middle of her chest. Still she laughed, but it was more of a chuckle now. Madness had finally taken her.
She stared into his eyes, and he into hers. He hadn’t seen her before in the tower; not really. Fucking seeing her now though, wasn’t he? It almost made the giggles start up again, but she made an effort to keep them at bay.
He was speaking to her, but she couldn’t hear him properly, couldn’t understand what he was asking her. He was handsome, she thought as the point of the sword pierced her skin. Her eyes closed and her lips curved up into a small smile.
* * *
Quin stareddown at the woman, seething.
He’d been called to one of the pleasure tents because one of the girls was killing Brothers. He’d thought it was a fucking jest, but here he was, looking down ather. The woman from the tower. The one who’d been in his thoughts all afternoon.
‘How did you do it, girl?’ he snapped. ‘Some potion? Herbs? How have you killed three of my men?’
She looked at him like she couldn’t understand him, staring at his moving lips with a puzzled little expression on her pretty face. Yes, she was pretty, he conceded, but she had killed three of his Brothers. How?
He looked over at the two on the floor. Blood pooled by their heads from their ears, noses, mouths, and eyes. What had she used?
‘How long did it take for them to die?’ he asked the nearest man.
‘Moments, Commander, just moments. I don’t know what the bitch did, but she did it quick.’
Quin nodded, his attention back on the girl. She hadn’t moved a muscle, not even to pull her dress down. He couldn’t help but glance at those creamy thighs. Perhaps, before he killed her, he’d punish her a little his own way.
That thought surprised him. How long had it been since he’d been interested in a woman enough to look at her twice? Before he’d made Commander, that was certain, and prior to that … well, there had been one a few weeks ago. She’d been … he didn’t want to torture himself thinking of her. Lana wasn’t his, she was Kane’s, and that was for the best. He wasn’t equipped for a woman, not in any way. He’d only just become the leader of the Dark Army, and that was a mountainous task in itself that left little time for anything else. The loss of Payn was still raw and his unit was still adjusting to Bastian, his new Brother, who … well, to say it was early days was the kindest thing at present.
She closed her eyes and smiled just as he realized the point of his knife was drawing blood. She thought he was going to kill her. She wanted him to. He smiled coldly. Oh, she’d wish for death all right after he was through with her.
