It reached out toward Darrios, using its rail-thin arm in a quick, sweeping gesture with what looked more like a callused claw than a hand. I gasped, realizing this must be one of the viocomen.
Darrios studied it carefully, not making any sudden moves, never breaking eye-contact. It looked away from him just for a second...sizing me up. It licked its lips with its scaly tongue. I shuddered.
It was in that second that I saw Darrios draw his knife and drive it into the chest of the viocomen. I turned my head away, but I knew the sounds I heard were the sounds of flesh being ripped open, organs being torn apart, and finally, the death scream of the viocomen. I also knew those sounds would stay with me for a long, long time.
I didn’t look back again until I heard the thing hit the ground. Darrios wiped his knife off as he’d done before and put it back in its sheath. He came over to me, taking my chin in his hand. He turned my head up toward him, drawing my eyes to his.
“Are you with me? Maggie, listen to me. You’re safe now.”
I lifted my hand, staring blankly at my trembling fingers. I could feel the tears trying to well up in my eyes. Squeezing my eyes shut as tightly as I could, I took a deep breath.
Darrios took a step closer. He put his arms around me and held me, surprising me with the gesture. My eyes popped open and I gasped.
“It’s all right, Maggie. It’s gone. I told you I wouldn’t let anything hurt you. I’ll keep you safe. I promise,” he said soothingly.
Surprising myself, I returned his embrace, just hanging on. It felt so good to be comforted right then. Darrios seemed very open and genuine.
“This is a nice change,” I heard myself say...out loud.
“What’s that?” Darrios asked.
I stiffened. “Nothing...I just meant...it’s nice of you to be so pleasant...and so tolerant of me,” I lied.
He looked at me, puzzled, but released me and began walking again. What was wrong with me?
So Gregg was a thoughtless, lying prick. So he was guarded with his feelings and unaffectionate. That did not give me the right to compare him to a man I hardly knew. I mentally told myself to get a grip. We walked in silence until I couldn't tolerate the quiet anymore.
“So, I told you about my love life and let you point out all its shortcomings. What about you?” I asked.
“What about me?”
“Your love life?”
“Don't have one. Never did.”
“Oh, come on. It's not like you're a virgin.”
“I didn't say that. I said I didn't have a love life.”
“And you said you never did. That implies...”
“I've had sex plenty of times, Maggie. I've just never been in love. Big difference.”
“Oh.”
“There's nothing wrong with having sex just because you want to have sex. It's healthy. It feels good.” Pulling me right up against him, he whispered huskily, “Haven't you ever just fucked someone for fun?”
I sucked in a breath of air. “I...uh...I...no, I haven't. I couldn't.”
He released me, laughing. He’d done that on purpose, just to throw me off balance.
“You should try it sometime. It might loosen you up some, help you get over that tight-assed boyfriend and live a little.”
I would have thrown a rock at him if I could've found one.
“You were just messing with me,” I said, intending to sound indignant and not so shrill and girly. Damn him! Darrios chuckled again.
“I'm sorry, Maggie, but I couldn't help it. The look on your face? It was priceless.”
“You just surprised me a little, that's all.”
Still smirking, he asked, “Was it the word ‘fuck’ or the fact that I used it as a verb?”
Feeling flustered again, but determined not to show it, I boldly stretched the truth a little.
“I’ve heard the word
fuck
before...as a verb. I've even used it myself. I just wasn't expecting
you
to say it.”
I heard how lame that sounded as soon as it came out of my mouth.
He stepped toward me again. “Wow, now that is something I would love to have heard. Tell me what you said.”
“What?”
“Go ahead. How did you phrase it? Were you telling someone to get fucked or were you asking—”
“Can we please just change the subject?” I shrieked.
He chuckled again. God, he was infuriating. I knew he was trying to get under my skin, and damn him, it was working.
Getting into my personal space and using that smoky, seductive voice like that rattled me far more than I was comfortable with.
“I'm sorry, Maggie. I shouldn't have made fun of you. It's just you just don't seem the type of woman who uses that kind of language...especially in bed.”
I stopped, placing my hands on my hips, glaring at him.
“What's
that
supposed to mean?” I asked, not bothering to remove the snip from my voice.
“It was a compliment. I just meant you seem more refined than that. You're a lady, not a whore.”
“So, if a woman talks dirty in bed, you think that makes her a whore?”
“No, I didn't say that. I was generalizing.”
He came into my personal space again, giving me an entirely too sexy smile. “If you’d like to scream ‘fuck me’ in bed, I'd be delighted to listen, and I am certain you are anything but a whore.”
“I...I...”
Unfortunately, I had no comeback. That scene popped up in my head and words failed me. My face flushed. I looked away. Darrios snickered and started walking again.
“Guess I'll have to wait and see for myself,” he muttered.
I gasped at his arrogance, but told myself not to say anything. How dare he assume I would sleep with him? I did not want to argue nor have my words twisted, so I bit my tongue. I kept silent until I heard Darrios say under his breath, “Okay, Burgess...be there buddy.”
“Who’s Burgess?” I asked.
“He’s sort of the gatekeeper. He’s the one who lets us in and keeps the monsters out. Bernie introduced us. Burgess is another one who fell in. Bernie saved him too. He showed him around, helped him get settled, and even got him this job.”
“I guess he really is a fairy godmother,” I said.
“Apparently, Burgess had some crappy, demeaning freakshow job where he was being totally exploited by his boss before he got here. Now he’s well respected, admired even. People depend on him. He takes that very seriously. He runs a tight ship. We’ve been friends ever since I got here. See there?”
He pointed up ahead, but I didn’t see anything that stood out.
“That’s the entrance. Once we get through there, our worries are over!”
“And you’ll get me to Avascon,” I added.
Wrinkling his brow, he looked at me and chuckled. “You sure have a one track mind all of a sudden,” he commented.
“I’m sorry, I’m just anxious to get home.”
“To Gregg,” Darrios said dryly.
I did not feel like going another round about Gregg.
“That should make you happy. Once I’m gone, you can get back to your life,” I reminded him.
He sighed. “Yeah, you’re right,” he agreed somewhat sardonically. “It’ll be so great to get back to normal.”
****
As we got closer, I could see the spot where Darrios had been pointing. Heavy shrubbery, several lush, thick, leafy vines, and a couple of large rocks formed a natural tunnel. I targeted my sight onto the area between the rocks and the spot we were headed toward.
Darrios ran past me, hurrying over to what looked like a raised-up manhole cover. He crouched down, opened a small trap door on the side of it and shouted into it.
“Burgess, where are you? C’mon, it’s me, Darrios. Open up!”
I stood behind Darrios waiting for something to happen, but I didn’t know what. The manhole cover made a strange clicking sound. Then it popped open. Darrios turned to me, and then his expression turned from triumphant to terrified in a split second.
The next thing I knew, I heard that whipping sound again. Then I felt the creature’s breath on the back of my neck. I froze with fear. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t speak, let alone scream.
Darrios stood only about three feet away, facing me, but that moment, it felt like miles. Barely above a whisper, Darrios said, “Maggie, don’t make any sudden moves. Very, very slowly, start moving toward me.”
I edged, ever so carefully, toward him, watching his face for any indication of my impending demise. When I had inched about a foot closer, Darrios’ hand shot out, shoving the beast.
It took a swipe with its clawed hand, catching the back of my neck. White-hot pain seared through me as my flesh was torn away from my body. I finally found my voice.
I screamed at the same instant Darrios pulled out his knife and plunged it into the viocomen, fatally wounding it. I fell to my knees. My vision blurred. He stabbed the creature two more times and then I heard his panicked voice.
“Oh God, Maggie, your neck, let me see how bad it is.”
Darrios dropped down next to me, gently moving my hair out of the way so he could examine my injury. I couldn’t help but notice that his breath on my neck felt much nicer than the viocomen’s.
He dropped his fur and peeled his shirt off, exposing his perfectly chiseled chest again. He wadded his shirt up, placing it over my wound.
“I don’t think it’s that bad, but I’ll feel better when we get to Inland and Jezbah can take a look.”
I started to ask who Jezbah was when Darrios picked me up, as if I weighed nothing, and headed for the entrance opening. Just then, a second Viocomen blocked our way. So much for them not being stealthy.
Darrios slowly set me down, never taking his gaze from the foul creature. Squeezing my hand, he quietly said, “I’m going to run off to the left and lead this son of a bitch away from the entrance—”
I interrupted him. “No, Darrios, you can’t—”
“Maggie, it’s the only way. I cannot allow that thing to get into the tunnel. You’re hurt. You need to get inside. As soon as you make it through the opening, pull the door shut behind you. I’ll be there as soon as I lead the viocomen away. Just hold the latch down until I get back so nothing can get in and then you can let me in quickly.”
I looked at Darrios, pleading with my eyes. I grabbed his hand, squeezing it. “Please don’t,” I whispered.
“I
will
be back,” he promised.
He looked into my eyes and kissed me on the forehead. Dropping my hand, pushing me aside, he waved his arms and screamed at the viocomen. When the creature stepped toward him he bolted away, the vile beast right on his heels, its hideous screech echoing in my head.
I hurried through the opening and down into the hole. Grabbing the latch, I pulled as hard as I could. The door slammed down, plunging me into darkness.
The seconds ticked by at an agonizing pace. A suffocating silence enveloped me. My heart raced, pounding against my ribcage, threatening to burst right out of my chest. I felt like I couldn’t get any air into my lungs. My neck throbbed and my fear for Darrios rapidly turned to panic.
I didn’t know how much time had gone by, but it seemed like hours. I was sure something terrible had happened to Darrios. I mean, wouldn’t he have been back by now if he had beaten the viocomen? My terror started to loosen its grip, only to be replaced with a blanket of despair. A stifled cry escaped my lips. I held my breath, leaning up closer to the opening, desperate to hear something, anything that indicated Darrios was alive. There was only stillness and quiet. I’d never felt so alone. Just as my last streams of hope trickled away, I heard it. I gasped.
“Maggie, are you there?” Darrios called.
As if I had superhuman strength, I pushed that trapdoor open like it was made of paper. “Darrios, I’m here!”
“C’mon up, Maggie. It’s okay. They’re gone now. You’re safe.”
I scrambled up the ladder and out through the opening.
Throwing my arms around him, I burst into tears. “I thought...you...I was so scared!”
Darrios patted me on the back. “It’s okay, I’m fine,” he said stiffly.
Had I taken even one moment to think about this scenario as it unfolded, maybe it would have occurred to me that Darrios had called me out instead of joining me where he knew it was safe. Odd.
Perhaps I would have seen that he was noticeably heavier than just a little while ago or how rigidly he stood there. I might have caught that his fur was gone, replaced by a blanket that completely covered his right arm. But I didn’t notice any of those things.
I was so relieved he was back and in one piece, I neglected to think clearly at all, so I missed all of the little signs that would have alerted me to the danger I’d put myself in.
Darrios pointed at something behind me. When I turned to look, he covered my face with a wet cloth. Everything went black. I didn’t even get a chance to fight.
Chapter Three
The sound of a door opening and closing brought me to a state of semi-consciousness. I couldn’t remember what had happened or where I was. I shook my head trying to get the fog to clear.
Slowly, I opened my eyes, trying to acclimate. I attempted to rub my eyes, but I couldn’t. I blinked a couple of times and looked at my hands. I’d been bound to the iron headboard of a double-sized bed by my wrists.
Frantically, I tugged at my restraints to no avail.
Trying, once again, not to panic, I searched the room for my captor. If only I could remember what happened. A deep, wheezing chuckle from behind me caught my attention. As I strained to see who it was, a sharp pain knifed through my neck, stopping me. My neck...the viocomen...Darrios...
Heavy footsteps approached me. Suddenly a different sort of creature came into view. He wasn’t tall, but thick around the middle with several stacks of fleshy rolls over his belly. His neck revealed the same layered rolls. His greasy, thinning hair, scabby scalp, and yellow, rotting teeth repulsed me.
Scaly, calloused skin gave him a reptilian appearance, but his movements and features were human-like. His right arm was blackened and burned, the charred flesh peeling and crusted over. He had no hand, but rather a stump with thick, dirty, pointed, yellowish-gray fingernails coming out of it.