“I expect an answer, Aariaani.”
The fact of the matter was that I would be sacrificed by tomorrow’s sunrise if I didn’t submit willingly. Well, that’s what my Uncle threatened if I didn’t follow his narrative, and I believed him.
I knew what he really was. What he was capable of.
My time was dwindling.
I needed a miracle.
I needed the man called Ghost.
Turning, I looked at my Uncle and said, “Go to hell.”
“So be it,” he said, taking off his coat. “Such a shame. You would have been a shining star in our community. Blessed and loved by all.”
“I would rather die than be your puppet. Someone you’d use to further your agenda. Lie all you want, Uncle, but not to me.”
The sting of the slap sent waves of pain through my head. I knew it was coming. I shouldn’t have said what I did. Maybe he would have been kinder. Not likely, but I could hope. Instead, the pain radiated over my face as I fell to the ground. Using the back of my hand, I wiped the blood from my lip. Looking back up at him, I grinned. “Is that all you’ve got?”
My answer came swiftly.
The sun was setting when I finally woke to my pain. My body ached all over. Gently turning to my side, I tried to take a deep breath, but the agony was so immense that it robbed me of air. Carefully, I crawled out of bed, only to fall to the floor in agonizing discomfort. If I thought things couldn’t get worse, they did. Why did I have to antagonize him? Why couldn’t I just stay silent? Crawling to the bathroom, I was exhausted by the time I pulled myself up to the tub. All I wanted was to be back in bed and sleep. I knew that wasn’t an option, though. Any sign of weakness infuriated my Uncle, not that I cared anymore.
Turning on the hot water, I did my best to remove my clothes and carefully climbed into the bathtub, sighing as the hot water surrounded me. Leaning back, I tried to relax and allow the steaming water to soothe my aches as I blamed myself for my outcome.
I shouldn’t have said anything.
I didn’t know where my courage came from, certainly not my father. It had to be my mother. My real mother. She was all fire and compassion from what I can remember of her. Which wasn’t much.
I missed her. I wished she were here. She would know what to do.
“Psst.”
Turning, I looked over my shoulder and saw nothing.
“Psst.”
Looking around, I couldn’t find who was making that noise. Forgetting about it, I lowered myself deeper into the tub.
“Up here.”
Looking up, I saw two eyes staring at me through the ventilation grate. Typically, I would have screamed, then demand he leave my presence, but I didn’t care anymore. I was going to die soon, so what did it matter.
“Go away.”
“Can’t do that,” he whispered.
“What do you want? More blood? Come take it,” I said, holding out my arm for him to break.
“I ain’t here to hurt you.”
“Then why are you here?”
“Is it safe to come out? I’m kind of cramped up here.”
Sighing, I shrugged my shoulders. “No one is here but me. Doesn’t matter if they find you. I’m dead anyway.”
“Cool,” the young man said, sliding the grate off. I watched as he dropped a small bag to the floor and then jumped down. I was face to face with a stranger, and I didn’t care. He wasn’t much older than me yet dressed funny. His hair was green and shaggy. I’d never seen a person with green hair before. His face was adorned with tiny pieces of metal, and his ears had holes in them. He was a strange person, but I could see the kindness in his eyes when he smiled. “Man, this place is locked up tighter than Fort Knox.”