Page 5 of Deliver Us from Evil

I wasn't prepared for how long the drive was. Before I knew it, we were away from Salem and off on some dirt road after two hours. I had no idea where we were going, and Bal never said where even after I asked. In fact, he didn't say anything at all. His eyes were practically glued in front of him, not once turning in my direction. I didn't know how I felt about this cold demeanor of his, or why I started getting a bad feeling about this trip.

Get a grip, Antonia! It's just you and Bal. It's not like he's planning on murdering you in the middle of the woods.

That last part repeated itself in my mind, contemplating whether I should rethink if Bal had the capacity to kill me in cold blood. I brushed off the ridiculous notion. Balthazar St. James was a lot of things; an asshole, a breaker of promises, distant, and lacks affection, but he wasn't a murderer.

When we finally pulled up to the small log cabin, the first thing I noticed were the bars over the windows, making it look like a prison cell. "Uh, honey, what's with the bars?"

"There's wildlife out here that aren't the friendly kind. It's an extra set of protection to keep them from reaching inside," Bal said simply.

That made sense, I guess, but that creepy feeling in the pit of my stomach wasn't on board with his reply. Other than that, it looked cozy enough. It was small, but it was only the two of us for the weekend. Bal opened the trunk, pulling out our suitcases. I grabbed mine and followed him to the front where he unlocked the door and opened it. The interior looked as rustic and cozy as I thought. There wasn't much to it. There were only two rooms, one being the bathroom and the other being the bedroom. Everything was furnished and looked livable. There wasn't a dining room table, but there was a circular coffee table in between the maroon sofa and the fireplace. The stove operated on gas, which reminded me of my first apartment before meeting Bal.

"It's lovely in here," I said, feeling slightly more relaxed after seeing the bars.

"It is," Bal said with no emotion as he carried his suitcase into the room.

I sighed, not knowing how this weekend would go. He didn't seem like he wanted to be here, but this was his idea. If he didn't want to come here, then why did he announce that this was where we'd be for the weekend? Maybe he'd relax more once we unpacked and got comfortable. I hoped so. Keeping the hope for a pleasant weekend alive, I grabbed my suitcase and brought it into the bedroom. It only had a king-size bed, a dresser, and a nightstand. Bal took the top two drawers of the dresser, while I took the bottom two. Once we unpacked, I took one of my books to the living room with me.

"Honey, do you want to go out and explore the woods?" I asked, offering a suggestion that would get us to spend time together.

"Not right now," he muttered as he typed something on his phone. "Listen, I forgot to grab something at the office, so I'll be right back. I'll bring dinner on the way back. How does Chinese sound?"

We just got here and already he was going to go back to his office?

"Um, sure. Chinese sounds great." I wasn't sure how well I was able to mask the disappointment in my tone, but I didn't think it'd matter much. It wasn't as if he'd ever cared how I felt.

"Okay, I'll be back soon."

After he took off, I slumped onto the couch and opened my book. I couldn't keep doing this to myself. How many more times was I willing to keep getting hurt before I had enough? How many more days had to fly by before I found the courage to leave? I sighed, closing the book and slamming it on the coffee table. Leaning my head back, I rested an arm over my eyes, losing myself to the darkness. I thought back to the dream I had, of my shadowy friend who pleasured me in ways no man had pleasured me before. It had to have been a dream because a shadow being didn't exist... right? A part of me was starting to wish he was. Just thinking about the way he slid inside me, the way he touched me, the low rasp of his voice whispering in my ear, it had my legs rubbing together; feeling turned on and in need of another round.

"I'm a mess," I whispered.

Needing to relax, I got up from the couch and went into the bathroom. I took a long hot shower, then got into my silk robe. Stepping into the kitchen, I looked in the fridge to see if it was stocked. Relieved to see bottles of water, I pulled one out and curled back on the couch. I grabbed my book and lost myself in a world of magic, monsters that were too sexy for reality, and romance that was well out of my reach. I wasn't sure how much time passed before I fell asleep. A strange odor had my eyes opening and shooting up to a sitting position as I looked around, confused. The sun had already set, which meant it had to have been around six or seven in the evening.

"Bal?" I called out to see if he was in here and just didn't want to wake me, but nobody responded. I was still alone in the cabin.

Jesus, how long did it take to grab whatever he needed?

The smell that woke me up tickled my nostrils again. What was that? It smelled like something was burning. Confused and a little nervous, I got up and looked around. I thought maybe it had come from the stove, but when I got close to it and sniffed around, I didn't find any trace of smoke. The living room seemed fine as well. I then went to the bedroom and bathroom, also finding nothing. I began thinking my mind—or rather nose—was playing tricks on me, until I looked out the window. There it was: a trail of black smoke.

"Shit." I ran over to the window and looked out. I gasped when I saw a corner of the cabin on fire. I backed away, my heart frantically beating. Oh no. Oh no, no, no, this wasn't good. The cabin was on fire. I went around the bed to reach the nightstand where I left my phone charging, but when I got to it, my phone wasn't there. "What the hell?"

I looked around to see if it may have dropped somewhere, but there was no sign of it. This was ridiculous, I knew my phone was right there before I went to the living room. Where could it have gone? Looking towards the doorway, I froze when I saw a trail of smoke building from the kitchen. No, this couldn't be happening! I ran out the bedroom to see flames consuming the opposite side of the kitchen, consuming everything it touched. The smoke grew, making it hard for me to see and breath. Coughing, I used my robe to cover my nose and mouth. Fuck the phone, I needed to get out of here. I'm sure Bal would see me outside when he got back. Moving like my ass was also on fire, I went to the front door, gripping the knob and turning it, only for it to not budge.

My eyes widened as I turned and pulled on the knob, but it wouldn't budge. Locked. I ran my hand over the door to try to find the lock, but I didn't feel anything. There wasn't a lock on the inside. But there was a lock on the outside. I knew that because Bal unlocked it. What the fuck was going on? Panic overtook everything else I was feeling. I was locked in, and the cabin was being consumed in flames. I needed to get out of here, or else I was a dead woman. I tried slamming my body against the door, attempting to break it, but the only thing that resulted in was searing pain in my shoulder.

"Someone out there?" I shouted, banging my fist against the wooden door. "Help me! I'm tapped in here! Get me out! Let me out!"

I knew logically the odds of people being out there was zero, but I was running out of options and time. There was a crash coming from the bedroom as flames stretched out the doorway like a demonic hand. The heat and smoke were stinging my eyes, and I was running out of oxygen. It couldn't end like this. I didn't want to die, not like this. My consciousness was starting to get fuzzy, but I pushed it aside. I couldn't give up. I needed to find a way out of here. I ran to grab one of the chairs before the flames could get to it. The touch burned, but I pushed it aside as I lifted it up and slammed it against the door. Nothing. Cursing under my breath, I decided to try the window instead. I backed away as the glass shattered. Several shards fell inside the cabin. When I saw the bars, I screamed in frustration. Damn it, I forgot about those. Bal said it was supposed to keep wildlife out, but now it was keeping me inside to face my fiery demise. I stepped closer to it, crying out as I felt glass cutting at my bare feet, but I pushed through it. I reached for the bars and attempted to pull them loose. When they wouldn't budge, I began to cry.

"Let me out of here! I don't want to die!" I was starting to lose hope, but then I got on my tiptoes and looked outside. My eyes widened and my face paled at what I saw. There was a group of people in white robes staring at the burning cabin with contempt expressions. What was going on? Who were these people, and why did they look familiar to me?

"Help me!" I shouted to them. "I'm trapped in here. Get me out of here, please!"

The guy that stood at the center looked in my direction, his face devoid of all emotion as he regarded me like I wasn't mere seconds away from burning alive. That was when a horrible thought came to me, and a new sense of dread washed over me. It was them; they started the fire.

"Antonia DeLuna," the man barked out my name. "We the people have deemed you guilty of witchcraft and hereby sentence you to death by fire. Your days of poisoning this town with your sinful presence has come to an end, witch."

The words rang in my ears like alarm bells, but my brain wasn't registering the words fast enough. Witchcraft? Witch? They were doing this because they thought I was a witch? I knew that was what people thought of me for whatever reason, but to fucking burn me alive for this bullshit accusation.

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