Page 53 of The Outcast
“No.”
Keith held a spatula in his hands that he waved back and forth when he spoke. “I looked it up last night. She was so dedicated that when her father criticized her husband, she threw herself on a fire made in her husband’s honor.”
With a grimace on my face, I asked, “She killed herself?”
“Yes. And then she was reincarnated as a goddess called Parvati who married Shiva also. Nowthatis dedication. That’s the kind of wife I want. A devoted, loyal wife, not like my mom who left me with my father, that miserable old fucker.” The last sentence came out in a mutter.
“Keith, did your father abuse you?”
“Uh-huh. In every way.”
I tilted my head and asked softly. “Did he sexually abuse you?”
Keith took a long moment before he answered, “His wife left him. There weren’t other women around.”
“So, he abused you instead?” My heart bled for Keith when I understood some of the reason behind his insanity.
“When I was little, it hurt. Later, I learned to separate physical pleasure from the hatred. That’s why I know you’ll like it too.”
“What happened to your father, Keith?”
He answered without hesitation. “I killed him.”
“What makes you think I won’t do the same to you?”
Keith gave a small laugh and pointed at me with the spatula. “I always knew that one day I’d be bigger and stronger than my father and when that day came, I killed him. You’ll never be bigger or stronger than me. That’s how I know. I saw you fight Allan and he made the mistake of underestimating you. I know better.” His eyes went to the ropes I was tied up with.
“You can’t keep me tied down forever. And once I’m free, I’ll slit your throat,” I threatened him. That only made his smile evaporate and his tone turn prickly.
“You should be more like Sati and Parvati.”
“Throwing yourself on a fire isn’t loyalty, it’s insanity.” The expression in his eyes scared me because it was pure crazy, so I hurried to say, “You know that those stories are fictional, right? No woman ever threw herself on the fire for her husband, it was nothing but myths and legends.”
“That’s what you think, but before the Toxic War women did it to honor their dead husbands.”
“You’re lying. I’ve never heard about this before.”
“Have you heard of a place called India?”
“No – maybe – I’m not sure.” I pulled at the ropes. “Why?”
“That’s where the women were so loyal that they threw themselves into the flames of their husbands’ cremation fires.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“It was a way for them to make the transition smoother for their husbands and for them to be together for all time.”
“Then find a time machine and go back to find a wife from India or better yet, sign up for the Matching Program and find a Motlander who wants to be your wife. I don’t want to marry you today orever!”
Smacking his fist into the wooden doorframe, Keith hissed. “Stop shouting at me!” Instead of looking in my direction, he turned and stared into the wall, baring his teeth like an animal.
An uneasy feeling made me silent. It was as if I was dealing with several people in one body. Keith could be friendly and interested one second and then shift to a primitive and violent man in the next.
He stood seething for a long moment, scratching a spot on the wall while shifting his balance from one leg to the other, still not looking at me. I kept my breath, aware that he wasn’t rational.
When he grunted and left, the breath I’d held in came out in a tremor and tears ran down my cheeks again. It was a matter of hours before this crazy man would rape me and there was a good chance that he would snap when I refused to pretend to love him. I could be dead soon.
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