Chapter 16
CHAPTER 16
L ainey
The guard carrying Lainey laid her down on an examination table with a gentleness that seemed incongruous with her current situation. Guard number two grabbed her arms and forced them to her sides while the first guard strapped her to the table.
Her throbbing, most likely broken leg was the only thing keeping her from kicking them in the face and escaping. That was what she told herself, anyway. It was easier than admitting she was too scared to fight them. “Please let me go. I won’t tell anybody what happened, just please let me go.” She pulled against the leather restraints, but they barely moved.
Her guards left without saying another word to her. Moments later, a short, fat man with the most horrendous comb-over she’d ever seen waddled into the room. His smile was a little too bright, a little too sharp at the edges to put her at ease.
“You must be Lainey. I’ve heard so much about you. I’m Dr. Smythe. A little birdie told me you fell and bumped your leg?”
“It’s fine,” she answered with a scowl. “Just get me out of here!”
Dr. Smythe patted her foot, sending a jolt of pain all the way up to her hip. “Calm down. You’re not going anywhere, so no use getting yourself all worked up about it. Now, let’s see what’s going on with this leg of yours so we can get you fixed up.”
She flinched when he reached for her, but he didn’t touch her again. Holding his hands out over her injury, a soft, warm light appeared. Her skin began to warm, seconds before there came the most piercing, agonizing pain she’d ever felt. The pain ripped a scream from her throat. Any pretense of bravery fled. Nothing in her life had prepared her for this kind of pain. And just as quickly as it began, it ended, leaving her sweating and trembling on the examination table. “What…” She drew in a shaky breath. “What did you do to me?”
“I fixed your leg. You’re welcome,” he added with a satisfied smirk.
Lainey cautiously moved her foot, shocked when there was no flash of pain. “Holy shit,” she whispered.
Dr. Smythe waved his hand at her and waddled over to the intercom on the far wall. “That was nothing. You should have seen the guy they brought in before you. Poor man was at death’s door, but I managed to pull him back. Shame about his ear, though. Never could get the hang of regrowing body parts.” Before she could respond, he pressed a button on the wall. “She’s all better.”
“Doctor, please. You have to help me.” She tugged at the restraints again, but they still refused to give. Desperation welled up inside of her until it threatened to choke out every last bit of hope she had left. “Please, I don’t want to die.”
Dr. Smythe glanced back at her, one eyebrow raised. “Die? You’re not going to die.”
Shocked, she stopped pulling at the restraints. “I’m not?”
“No. Well.” The doctor shrugged and hit a button to open the invisible door so the guards could enter. “Not for a long time, at least. You’ve made quite the impression. I’m sure we’ll be keeping you around for a bit.”
“What? No, don’t touch me!” The last words she screamed at the guard unbuckling her restraints. As soon as her arm was free, she swung her fist up, but he countered and caught her fist in the palm of his gigantic hand.
“Calm down, girl. We have a surprise for you.”
Guard two chuckled and released the second restraint.
“The only surprise I’m interested in is you letting me the fuck out of here!”
Each guard gripped one of her arms and hauled her up off the exam table. Lainey went limp between them, hoping they’d stumble and let her go. But they never even broke their stride as they carried her out of the room and down the hall. To another room much like the first with high ceilings and a ring of windows. Dozens more men and women in white coats were crowded around the windows, and fear sat like a ball of ice in her belly. The guards shoved her inside and the opening in the wall whisked shut before she’d even turned around.
“Welcome back, Lainey! I trust you’ve recovered from your little tumble?”
It was the same cheerful voice from earlier. “Fuck you!” she screamed.
“Tsk Tsk. Such a dirty mouth for such a pretty girl. Don’t you want to know what we have planned next?”
At his words, the far end of the room lit up. An opening appeared and a young boy, no older than twelve, was shoved inside the room. He looked around, terror etched into his features.
“Miss?” The boy’s voice shook with fear. “What’s going on? Where am I?”
Lainey took a step forward, then hesitated. Was it a trick? Was he going to morph into some kind of monster as soon as she got close enough?
“Lainey, meet Ralphie. He’s your opponent for this evening’s test.”
Ralphie’s eyes went wide at the announcement and his head whipped back and forth frantically.
Lainey looked up at the observation deck. “I’m not fighting a child!”
“We thought you might say that. Lucky for us, we found some encouragement for you. He walked right into our backyard, as it were.”
Another opening in a wall appeared, revealing a wall of glass. A light behind the glass flipped on, knocking the air from Lainey’s lungs. “Daddy,” she whispered.
He was strapped to a metal cross, his bare chest shining under the harsh lights. But other than being half-naked and chained up, he didn’t look hurt. He looked pissed. And when his eyes met hers, the anger gave way to a mix of relief and terror.
“Lainey!” He fought against the restraints, screaming at their faceless captors. “Let her go, you sons of bitches!”
A bright, cheerful giggle filled the room. “I’m afraid we can’t do that, Donny-boy. The party’s just getting started!”
A man stepped out of the shadows behind Donovan and held up a large knife. Terror froze Lainey to the spot as the tip of the knife pushed into Donovan’s side.
“No!” The word was ripped from her throat on a scream. “Don’t hurt him, please!”
“We won’t. If you listen to our instructions. Now, fight.”
The bracelet on her wrist blinked back to green. A sudden rush of power made her head spin.
Focus. She needed to focus. Needed to focus so she could make a plan and get them all out of this place.
They wanted her to fight. Her attention shifted back to the boy. He’d taken a few steps closer to her and was watching her with an expression she couldn’t quite place.
“Lainey! Lainey stay away from —” Donovan’s warning was cut short when the guard rammed the knife into his gut.
The terror that had rendered her so helpless before now fueled the winds swirling around her. She let the fear fill her, alongside the anger and the hate. The room darkened, then lit up bright as day with the bolt of lightning she aimed at the glass.
The glass didn’t crack. There wasn’t so much as a scratch on it. But she wasn’t giving up so easily. She gathered her power again, letting it build until she couldn’t hold it any longer. Before she could release it, something slammed into her side. The force of it knocked her across the room. From the corner of her eyes, she saw him. The little boy she’d all but forgotten about.
Someone was screaming. It took her a moment to realize it was Donovan, screaming her name as he fought against the restraints binding him to the metal cross.
The boy was circling her now, a small, satisfied smile on his lips. Gone was the scared child she’d thought to protect. Before her stood a monster. He hadn’t changed physically, but she saw it in his eyes. Had he always been this way? Or had this place and these people used him and tortured him into this twisted version of himself?
“Lainey! Run!”
She turned her head back to the glass wall just as the guard slipped the knife between Donovan’s ribs. The wound knit itself closed almost as soon as the knife slid free, but she could see the pain in his eyes when their gazes locked.
Something else rose inside of her. An emotion stronger than the hate and the fear and the anger.
Love.
Love for the man who had rescued her, and punished her in the most intimate, painful, shameful ways. For the man who had taken her to heights of pleasure she’d never known and forced her to face the reality of her powers. It wasn’t the soft, sweet love of a girl finding solace in the arms of her protector. This was the raw, fierce love of a warrior princess bent on the destruction of those who’d dared to threaten her lover.
Instead of a rainbow, there was lightning. It lit up the room, bolts of power and electricity ricocheting off the walls. But it wasn’t just around her. It wasn’t even just inside of her anymore. She was the lightning. Bright. Powerful. Burning.
The boy was no longer looking at her with the eyes of a predator. He’d become prey, and the knowledge of it shimmered in his eyes. Lainey called the wind, knocking him back against the wall and pinning him there.
She focused her attention on Donovan again. Slow, deliberate steps carried her to the clear glass separating them. Lifting her hands, she pressed them to the glass. Cracks began to form, tiny little fissures running out from under her hands until the entire pane shattered.
“Stop right there!” The guard pressed the knife to Donovan’s throat with one hand, the other digging in his pocket. He pulled a small black disk from his pocket and held it up. “Don’t come any closer!”
Tilting her head to the side, she studied the guard. “Or what?”
The guard smirked and pressed the button. The bracelet on her wrist flickered red and green over and over, then went completely black.
It was her turn to smirk. “You can’t harness the lightning, asshole.” She held up a hand and the guard’s body jerked. His hair stood on end, and then he fell to the ground, every inch of him scorched and smoking.
“Lainey.” Donovan’s soft voice pulled her attention to him. “Lainey, we need to go, baby.”
It only took a touch for her to melt the cross he was bound to. Donovan reached for her, but she pulled away.
“We can go after I burn this place to the ground.”
“We can’t, sunshine. There are children here. Lainey, baby, you need to turn the lightning off now.”
“No!”
“Excuse me, little girl?” The softness in his voice vanished, replaced by a tone she knew all too well.
Despite her newfound power, her bottom still clenched at the steel in his voice. “I want to hurt them, like they hurt us.”
“I know. I do, too. But we can’t risk hurting innocent people. Innocent children. Turn it off, Lainey.”
She shook her head. “I can’t. They’ll hurt me.”
“No, they won’t.” This time when he reached for her, she let him pull her into his arms. His skin began to blacken, but he didn’t let go. “Daddy’s here, sunshine. I’ll never let anyone hurt you again.”
Closing her eyes, she let herself believe him. Even if it was just for now, she could believe he’d keep her safe. Bit by bit, the lightning dimmed until it finally went out completely.
“That’s my good girl,” he murmured.
“Daddy.” Her voice broke and she whimpered, pressing her face into his neck.
“I’m right here.” He pressed a kiss to her hair before nudging her back enough to look down at her. The skin she’d scorched was already healing. “I know you’re scared, but we need to go.”
Nodding, she managed a wobbly smile. “Okay, Daddy.”