Page 16 of Loki
“You won’t get away with this,” I said although I wasn’t as sure as I sounded.
He chuckled, then bit my lip hard, causing me to hiss. He licked the blood from my lip, then pulled away from me, pushing me back down in the chair.
“I already have.”
The fear coursing through me was unimaginable at the confidence of his words. I had a sinking feeling this was what he wanted the outcome to be. That was why he hadn’t let anyone touch me. He wanted me for himself.
I had to get us out of here because if I didn’t, I would be trapped in this world forever, with no way out. I was determined not to let my life end this way. If I was going to get us all out of here it had to be soon.
Chapter Six
Dominique “Nikki” Honoré
The sound of thelock of the cage rattling jolted me awake, and I let out a groan as I struggled to lift myself from the hard, cold floor. The absence of windows made it challenging to distinguish between night and day in the room, which I believed was a part of their plan.
I swiped my hand down my face, feeling the exhaustion seep into my bones. Despite feeling physically and mentally drained, I knew I had to hang on. Hang on to the little hope I had to get out of this place. Even though I had no idea when the time for me to get out of this hell hole would come, I just had to hold on a little longer.
The other girls were wide awake too, their eyes filled with fear as they huddled together against the far wall of the cage, desperate to put as much distance as possible between themselves and the man who barked orders when they gave us the chance to shower.
As his eyes laser focused on me, I met his intense stare. Deep lines creased his forehead, while his lips curled in a look of disgust.
“Up!” he commanded, pointing at me.
As Lila grabbed my hand, I could feel her fingers trembling, but I responded with a reassuring smile. “I’ll be fine,” I said, my heart pounding in my chest as I forced a smile despite the fear racing through me.
I didn’t know if I was going to be fine, my heart pounded in uncertainty. So many girls had left out of this room and didn’t come back. I hoped that wasn’t my fate.
“I’ll be right back,” I said, trying to convince not only Lila but myself as well.
While I knew Lila didn’t believe me, she reluctantly released my hand, and I let out a deep breath as I rose from the floor.
When I reached the man, he grabbed me by my arm, his blunt nails digging into my skin, and pulled me out of the cage, then out of the room.
“Where are we going?” I asked, but he just looked back over his shoulder, glaring at me before turning his attention back to wherever he was dragging me to.
As I realized we were going in the opposite direction of the usual large open room where they done all their dirty shit, my panic intensified. However, I forced myself to try to stay calm, knowing that this was my opportunity to find a way to escape. I had to pay attention to where we were going and prayed that I saw a way out.
As he pulled me along, I strained to take in every detail of my surroundings. As we walked down the narrow hallway, the concrete floor remained unchanged beneath our feet. The walls were like stone, but that didn’t seem right. Something you’d see in a cellar.
Maybe I’m not in Louisiana anymore.
“Let go!” I yelled, struggling to free my arm from his grasp. “Where are you taking me?”
“Shut the fuck up before you get us both killed!” he sneered, his grip tightening with each passing moment.
When I stumbled, he slowed his steps some. As we ventured further down the hallway, the temperature dropped significantly. They had to be keeping us in a separate wing or an addition to where Owen Decker held his party because we never left the property.
We reached the end of the hallway, and we could either go right or left. He took a left, and the hallway narrowed even more. At the end of the hallway, there was only a solid wall with some type of dirty wall hanging featuring a very familiar symbol. A symbol I hadn’t seen since leaving New Orleans—Baron Samedi’svèvéadorned the heavy fabric. Also, with theIwa’sfondness for rum and tobacco, the numerous offerings placed at the base of the hanging illustrated someone’s use of this area as a place to do rituals.
The man kicked over then stepped on the offerings to Baron Samedi like they were nothing more than trash. I gasped and my heart stopped inside my chest.
This will not end well for him.
Being the daughter of a Louisiana Creole man and a Haitian mother with deep roots in Louisiana Voodoo and Haitian Vodou, I understood the significance of what he had just destroyed. And while I didn’t practice, I knew he fucked up.
I looked at the discarded offerings, asked for the protection of the ancestors, then met his gaze. “You shouldn’t have done that,” I mumbled knowing the consequences were going to be severe for him.
“I know who you are and why you’re here,” he whispered, ignoring my comment, and looking over his shoulder like someone might sneak up on us any minute. “I’m here to help.”
