Page 9 of Lower World
“No kidding? I would’ve had no idea if you didn’t remind me every two minutes.” Alice spoke so sweetly I started struggling to open my eyes before they attacked each other. Just the thought of that damn breadknife spiked my heartbeat.
Still, I couldn’t unglue my eyelids.
A chattering sound grated on my nerves, and I hated that my arms and legs were being restricted. Unfortunately, just because my brain got online didn’t mean my body did, too. The only reprieve I had in my wrestle with consciousness was the fact both of them were alive, which meant Dominic shifted back and no more Syndicate minions attacked the house. And why in all the hells were we rocking? Last time I checked we were a dozen miles outside Chicago, and there was no water anywhere near us. Why were we on a boat?
“That smart mouth of yours will not get you far with me. I’m not Brooklyn. Just do as you are told,” Dominic snarled, and another sound penetrated my ears.
A low hum like a generator.
At first I thought it was the shifter growling deep in his chest, the same habit he used to intimidate everyone. Be it me or Alice, he thought sound effects were the answer to getting things his way. They weren’t, but neither one of us told him that. Who were we to poop on his parade, as Alice liked to say? But it wasn’t Dominic being his delightful self that was making the constant hum. I also felt vibrations that made my insides tremble.
A pained grunt and a shrill squeak made me jerk in my restraints.
Panic was overriding every other thought I had previously. Smells were registering that were foreign and familiar at the same time. Adrenaline surged through me as my trepidation grew to alarming levels. We must’ve been captured, and they were taking us to the Council. I redoubled my fight with coming fully awake, digging to the depths of my soul for strength. If the Syndicate took us into their territory, all three of us would wish we were dead.
“I think she’s coming around.” Alice spoke too close to my face, and I could feel her warm breath like a cloud of hot air over my icy skin.
Can someone stop whatever is making the chattering noise?I wanted to scream it, but my lips were frozen solid and no words came out.
“Brooklyn?” A shriek lodged in my throat when Dominic’s thick fingers wrapped around my shoulder and shook me gently.
I had no clue what was happening, but I felt like I was about to burst into flames and turn to ash if he didn’t remove his hand. A pathetic little whimper, which morphed into a moan, came from me when the contact was gone. A sharp pain in my mouth told me the chattering that was pissing me off were actually my teeth clinking together. I learned it the hard way by biting the side of my tongue and filling my mouth with blood.
“Turn her on the side.” Alice sounded alarmed. “It looks like she’s choking on her tongue. Hurry.”
That time I did scream when Dominic’s hands grabbed me, flipping me on my side like a ragdoll.
“Shit,” my human friend shouted. “I didn’t tell you to kill her, you jerk.”
“Keep that thing away from me,” Dominic snapped, his voice drenched in frustration.
Maybe the Syndicate didn’t take us if they were not worried of being overheard?Or maybe you like to tell yourself bullshit to feel better,a stupid little voice gibed in my head. Swallowing the mouthful of blood and locking my jaw so I didn’t repeat the tongue biting again, I finally cracked my eyes open. Tensed and expecting light to burn my retinas, I sagged in relief when blessed darkness greeted me.
Then Dominic moved back, and I squeezed my eyelids shut when the glare of the light stabbed my brain.
“Too bright,” I mumbled, my words barely a rasp.
There was the rustling of clothing, the thumping of feet, and through my closed eyelids, I could tell when the light was gone. Tentatively, I cracked them open for the second time, impatience gnawing at me. On a good note, the boat rocking stopped, so at least I wouldn’t vomit all over myself. When I thought of it, the humming was gone too. Weird.
“Is this better?” Dominic’s deep timbre popped goosebumps over my chilled skin. His knuckles grazed my cheek, and I bit back a shout.
“Why am I cold?” I asked, or I thought I asked. I couldn’t be sure that the questions weren’t only in my head. “Where are we?”
“You are safe, Brooklyn.” Alice leaned over me, her face coming upside down when I glanced up. “Unlike Dominic. He is lucky I haven’t stabbed him by now.” She snorted when the shifter muttered something unintelligible.
“Where are we? What is going on?” Now that I knew I was able to form a full sentence, I repeated my question, glancing down so I could see how I was restricted. And I blinked.
A water hose?
“Don’t worry, Brooklyn, we are safe for now.” Alice got animated, her head bobbing in excitement, while Dominic muttered profanities under his breath. Something about fucking insufferable humans, if I heard him correctly. “We are on a train, but it won’t be for long. If I judge it correctly, we are somewhere in Wisconsin by now, so we should be jumping off soon. You see, we weren’t sure that those baddies wouldn’t come back, so we bolted out of there. We will just lead them away so we can double back. Guess who’s idea that was?” She wiggled her eyebrows at me, grinning.
My lips twitched seeing her excited like that, but the words hit me the next second, so my simile dropped. Train? What damn train? Snaking around, I did my best to slither out of the stupid water hose they used to keep my arms and legs flush to my body. I bit the inside of my mouth so I didn’t scream from the pain shooting through me with every brush of my body on the floor. This explained the rocking and the vibrations I felt, along with the constant hum.
“Why am I tied up like a lamb ready to be sacrificed?” Grumbling through clenched teeth, I freed my arms and yanked the rest of the rubber hose off my legs, all while it felt like my skin would peel off my bones. “And where is Johnathan? I hope you didn’t leave him behind without anyone making sure he doesn’t escape.”
That last part was aimed at Dominic, and he narrowed his gaze on me. I felt like roadkill, my mouth tasted like sandpaper, and my head had a live concert with drums banging in my skull. I had no desire, nor energy for his bullshit, so I glared back. He didn’t answer but did stab the air, pointing at something in the corner resembling a pile of straw-woven sacks. At closer inspection, I noticed an outline of a body curled under them and released a sigh.
“He was going to leave him, but I think he dragged him with us just to shut me up,” Alice chirped, and Dominic growled in warning. “And you were having a seizure, I think, so we just wanted to make sure you didn’t hurt yourself. So we tied you up.”
