Chapter 22 - Alisha
I try to struggle free of Paul’s grip, but his hands are like iron as he drags me through the forest, forcing me to walk ahead of him further and further away from the town.
“Paul,” I gasp, trying to get a decent breath of air into my lungs. “You don’t have to do this.”
“I know,” he says, his tone light and friendly. “I like to do it. I enjoy it.”
He shoves me forward, and I almost fall right on my face. The fact that he just let go of my hands makes me feel like I might have an opportunity to get away, but the way he shadows my steps suggests he wants me to run.
So he can chase me down, catch me, and rough me up a bit.
My legs start to tremble as I think about what he might do if he were really riled up. I know it’s only a matter of time until I find out exactly what horrors he has planned for me, and the looming dread saps the strength from my limbs.
“What are you doing, exactly?’ I ask, trying to get a few steps ahead of him.
“Maybe I shouldn’t tell you,” he answers, easily keeping pace with me. “You won’t like it, after all, and I do so love surprises.”
“I bet you only like it when they’re surprises for other people,” I mutter.
He laughs, and it’s a surprisingly gentle sound. “You’re right, babe. I don’t particularly like them when it’s me who gets the surprise. Still, it does make life interesting.”
His casual tone and comforting voice make me feel completely off balance. He sounds as casual as if we’re out on a date, just enjoying each other’s company like we used to. Part of me even feels like I could trust him, as if the situation isn’t threatening at all, and maybe I’m being irrational.
Jesus…fucking…Christ. I’m dealing with a complete psychopath!
I keep my head down for a bit, just watching my feet and the rough ground. A little way ahead, I see a wall of low bushes, and decide to make a beak for it when I get close.
I could go underneath it easily, but he wouldn’t fit; he’d have to go around. If I turned back towards town, I might make it. I just need to put some distance between us…
I stumble a little, hoping to throw him off guard. He follows behind me, whistling a little tune as if we’re just out for a nice stroll in the woods.
The second I get close enough, I leap over the small embankment, bolting towards the thick scrub. I pump my arms, gratefully thanking Paul for not tying my hands—and wondering why he didn’t.
Something hits me in the back, and I smash into the ground, all the breath slamming out of my lungs. Paul grabs me by the shoulder, turning me over and throwing himself on top of me.
“Naughty girl,” he says, waving a finger. “I thought you were going to be good—but now I have to punish you.”
“No, Paul,” I gasp. “Please, don’t. I won’t run away—”
“I know you won’t,” he says coldly. “Because I’m going to give you something to remember in case you even think about trying it again.”
He grabs my shoulders, pinning me to the ground, then leans down and kisses me. His lips are soft, and the kiss is sweet and gentle. I lay frozen under him, trying to accept the kiss even if I can’t reciprocate.
Maybe I could distract him like this, and—
Pain suddenly blasts through me, and I scream louder than I ever have in my life. I buck and squirm under the weight of Paul’s body, watching him sit up above me and laugh as he looks down on my face.
My left shoulder radiates with pain, so intense that it numbs my arm and floods through my every cell. At first, I’m not even sure what he did, but then I see the small knife in his hand.
“That one was just for fun,” he says, twirling the bloody knife in his hand. “Next time, I’ll hurt you properly. Do we understand each other?”
I nod, biting my lip to stop from screaming again. My focus has flipped from getting out of this to protecting my baby at all costs.
I can’t give him another excuse to hurt me. I have to play nice and just hope I get an opportunity to get away.
Paul gets off me, and I stand up slowly, watching him. His easy smile is back, and he flicks the knife closed, putting it back in his pocket without cleaning it.
That’s why he didn’t tie my hands. He can catch me whenever he wants!
I put my palm over the small puncture in my shoulder, feeling the warm blood leaking into my hand. My breath trembles in my chest, and I start walking ahead of Paul, trying to keep it together.
Paul follows behind, his step slow and casual, whistling his tune again. The sound grates on my nerves, and nausea rises in my guts as the blood flows down my arm, making me feel shaky and cold.
Every now and then, a branch bobs down and gently touches me on the head. I know I’m not running into them, because I carefully judge the distance before I walk through any overhanging branches.
The only explanation is that they are bending down to touch me on purpose.
I remember how I always felt guided when I was on the run, and even when things looked completely bleak, I managed to find food, water, and shelter. I know that nature is reaching out to me, trying to help me, but I have no idea how to use my powers in this situation.
I try focusing on the plants around me, but I’m too tired and in too much pain to pick up the vibrations.
Even if I could connect to them, what would I do? I can’t see a single way plants could help me in this situation.
“Paul,” I mutter, choking on my own fear. “What do you want? Did you come all this way just for me?”
“Actually, I kind of did,” he says in a jovial tone. “I was tracking you for a very long time—nice work staying ahead of me, by the way. It really threw me when you came into Eccles. The town line was magically blurred or something, and I lost the trail.”
“So why are you still here? Didn’t you push on, looking for me?”
“No way, babe. I’m smarter than that. I know your limits, and it would have been impossible for you to get too far ahead. I knew there had to be magic involved. Then, while I was prowling around in these mountains, I remembered some old tales Grandma used to tell.”
Oh no…
“Stories about a great and powerful spirit, grounded in the desert rock, that could grant incredible powers to an alpha wolf if he was pure and true.”
“Are you pure and true?” I almost scream, my disbelief making me forget about acting placid.
Paul chuckles. “There it is, princess. I know you’ve got real fire in you. God, it would be so good if you’d fight me. Like, really throw down.”
I press my lips together, determined not to give him that fight.
“To answer your question, I am pure and true. Pure evil, and true to my heart, my own cause. These fairytales are completely interpretable, didn’t you know that?”
“I suppose most people just interpret them as positive,” I remark.
“That’s their loss. Anyway, the pieces all started to click together. At one point, I picked up a hint of your trail to the north, but it faded fast.”
The time I ran away from Grace!
“I kept circling, and the magical shield actually did a really good job of showing me the town limits. All I had to do was wait for an opening.”
“So how did you get in?”
“It was the weirdest thing,” he says nonchalantly. “I saw this army guy just kind of materialize in front of me. I jumped him without thinking, and once I had him pinned, I could see inside the shield. We must have collided right at its edge. I thanked him for his help, of course.”
Feeling numb and sick as I imagine what he might have done, I refuse to ask.
“Don’t you want to know how I thanked him?”
“No.”
“Well. Alright, then. I won’t go into details. But I tell you, he was so excited, he just went to pieces.”
I swallow down my disgust, trying to stop thinking.
“So, I’m in, right? Finally in town. I’ve got your scent, and there’s a big thing going on towards the east—lots of interesting smells. But I can’t just go straight out there. I’ve got to stop in and pick you up first.”
“Why?” I cry, turning to look at him. “Surely the ancient spirit is more important than me?”
Paul stops, putting a hand on my shoulder to remind me of the wound and to make me stop. He gathers up some of my hair, yanking my face close to his, and cold fury takes over his features.
“You’re mine!” he hisses. “And you don’t fucking go anywhere without my say-so, got it? I’d never let you get away from me. And as it turns out, you’re actually going to be useful to me in a different way.”
“What?” I mumble, trembling in pain from his grip on my hair and injured shoulder. “What are you talking about?”
“Grandma told me a secret. She said that not many people knew this, but the ancient god couldn’t be summoned without a magic worker.
If a wolf even tried, he’d trigger a massive explosion—the energy of the spirit being released and then returning to its lair.
A witch has to guide the process. A wolf can’t do it alone. ”
“I’m not a witch!” I moan. “Please, Paul, I’m nobody, I don’t have any power!”
“Oh, really?” he says, glaring at me. “Then explain why all your plants grew twice as fast as they should have. How your tracks were covered by moss almost immediately after you passed through. The air itself would fill with the scent of jasmine, hiding your trail from me.”
I shake my head desperately, but he holds my hair tight so I can’t look away.
“You have magic, Alisha,” he says. “And you’re going to open that portal for me.”
“No,” I whisper. “I can’t. I don’t know how.”
“I’m sure you’ll figure it out,” he grins, pressing his thumb into my wound.
I shriek with pain, almost blacking out, but he pulls me to my feet and shoves me ahead of him.
We haven’t gone much further when I see light breaking through the trees ahead. We’re coming out of the forest into an open plain, and have been traveling roughly east, so I assume it’s the desert ahead of us.
Before we can break through into the open, Paul pulls me back and holds me in the shadows while he looks around. Open space rolls out in front of us, and the desert is beyond it—but right in front of us is a massive stone circle.
While Paul checks our surroundings, I examine the stone. It’s huge, maybe a hundred yards or more to the other side. I can’t see much, but it appears to have strange symbols and lines carved into it, almost like a maze.
Kind of like the silly mazes on placemats like we used to do on our dates…
Paul shakes me, and I fall hard onto my knees. He presses down on my injured shoulder, making me gasp with pain.
“Okay,” he says. “I have to go out and take care of these soldier boys and the white coats. You sit here and be a good girl now. I’ll be very cross if I have to hunt you down.”
“Okay,” I mutter, trying not to cry.
Paul digs his finger into my wound again, and I almost pass out. When the black wave settles, he’s right in front of me, glaring into my face.
“Remember what I said,” he hisses. “I almost want you to run away…to fight me. If I have to chase you down like prey, my bloodlust will be running hot, and I might have to delay my ascension for some entertainment of a more…base nature.”
The look in his eyes is terrifying, a cold, cruel light I’ve never seen before. I nod, my throat so tight I know I won’t be able to speak.
“Good girl. I’ll be back soon.”
He takes two steps away, tearing off his clothes to shift into his wolf form.
He doesn’t bother with stealth, just tears straight into the nearest man.
The soldier calls for help, and as the others run towards them, Paul swings the guy around, making the gun go off and mowing down half of the others with a spray of bullets.
Paul laughs as they fall, laughing even harder as the others try to flank him.
I have to do something!
All around me, small tendrils have curled from the bushes, gently stroking me. I can feel the energy rising around me, and I suddenly realize I might actually have some control over my powers, now that I’ve practiced a little.
I have no idea what to do, even if it works, but I have no other choice. I sit down as comfortably as I can and try to relax, focusing on the warm light inside and the answering green glow of the plants surrounding me.
Immediately, a warm glow of power begins to hum in my chest, and my pain fades as light sings in my veins.