Chapter 14

A finger?




I started laughing. Gordon joined me and the two of us laughed for about thirty seconds looking crazy eyed, confused and baffled. His whacky idea didn't really register at first. Then the realisation struck me hard and deep; he was perfectly serious. The laughs faded away and I stared back at him going over and over what he’d just said. Jasper was silent, not looking at me at all, like he didn't want to be part of whatever was just about to happen.
"Kill her?" I repeated in a barely audible voice. “I'll fight with her, use my magic if you want me to, but I'm not a killer."
Gordon shrugged sluggishly, shaking his head and laughing to himself.
"Then go and stop wasting my time. Your daddy will die and you’re going to be the one to blame," he shouted, losing his gentleness and turning back into the monster that was inside him.
Then Jasper snapped back to reality. "Gordon, your games aren’t fucking funny anymore. My girlfriend is not a murderer."
I exhaled and Gordon looked annoyed. That small detail about not being Jasper’s girlfriend wasn't important at the moment.
"Oh, you two are no fun," he muttered with a nasty smile.
"What did she do? Why is she here?" I asked, trying to change the subject about the murder.
"She was sent by another gang to spy on me. I liked her, but she disappointed me. Now, are you going to fight or talk? What’s it gonna be?"
The dhampir woman wasn't even looking at me. Her brown eyes were fixated on Gordon’s. Her wheezing breaths were breaking the silence that settled between us all. Questions started popping into my mind, but I was too afraid to say anything. I just had to go with what Gordon wanted.
All the paranormals in the room were waiting for me to do something. I took a few deep breaths, rubbed my palms over my trousers and summoned my magic. This would be easy; I just had to win the fight and hoped that my energy would obey me.
The filthy paranormal twitched and peered at me from under her long black eyelashes. She was brave, agreeing to go out and spy on Gordon. Her nails were black and bloody, her eyes were weak, like the spark had been taken from them by some sort of trauma. I couldn’t think about Gordon’s cruelty right now or the things that he’d done to this creature. I was his slave.
"Lillian, darling, this lady, here… she’s your ticket to freedom. If you kill her, you’re free to go," Gordon snarled.
Then, a few things happened all at once. One of the trolls started laughing, deep and hard. Jasper shouted to be careful and someone slammed into me, crushing me to the ground. I smelled blood and then saw intimidating blue eyes. Lillian was on me, banging my head against the floor; the pain came after I started seeing stars. For a split second I had no idea what was happening. Someone was cheering, others were laughing. I sucked in a breath, trying to move her weight off my body.
The tiny voice in my head told me to fight back and that’s exactly what I did.
I grabbed her shoulder and roared as I pushed her body away, then smashed my fist into her jaw. She punched back with strength I didn't expect. It felt like the bones in my cheek cracked. The punch hurt like hell, and I snarled in pain, tasting blood in my mouth. Jasper was right: I’d worked in an office, but I couldn’t let her batter me like that. I had no idea how long Gordon had been keeping her in the basement. She looked weak and exhausted. It was me who had the advantage.
She kept sending strong, unexpected punches into my gut. I was going down fast, so I concentrated on my magic, creating a bright red ball of light. A tingle started in my toes, then moved over to my stomach and chest. She got up, regaining her strength, this time ready to sink her sharp fangs in any exposed part of my body. I didn’t have time to summon enough power; she was on me before I knew it, biting my neck. My body went into shock as she began drinking my blood, taking large gulps at the same time. When Nathaniel drank from me, it was sexual and intimate; this was far from it. I felt frozen, paralysed by an unknown clenching power that floated inside the basement. Her aura began to change; thick and dark energy began swirling around me. The suffocating darkness began clenching its hands around my throat.
She continued to drink greedily, and my pulse slowed down. The room spun, and I knew if I didn’t do something fast things were looking bleak for me. Lillian started to choke, probably drinking too fast and too feisty. She pulled away, giving me a window of opportunity. Reacting late and without much strength, I roared at the top of my lungs and wrapped my legs around her body, twisting her around as hard as I could.
Blood was dripping from her face, but she’d fed, which meant she wasn't weak and exhausted anymore. Her skin changed colour; her eyes dilated with growing confidence. I flinched, charged with a voltage of fresh magic. I slapped her, my energy surged through me, and then out of nowhere the bright red light hit her in the chest.
I got up, breathing hard, pressing my finger to the wound in my neck. I glanced at Gordon, who looked like he’d caught the scent of my blood, because now he was licking his lips, and his fangs were extended again.
Lillian tried to stand, losing her balance several times. I wiped the sweat off my face, feeling like I was charged with new waves of magical current that could rip any living soul apart. My right hand was inflamed.
"I don’t want to fight with her anymore. That should be enough entertainment for tonight!" I shouted at Gordon, spitting blood. It looked like the dhampir woman was disagreeing with me. She licked the blood off her hands, her eyes shining with the desire to finish me off. I devoured my rush of sudden heat, ripping the power from the centre of my core. It crawled from my back moving down to my hands. Then goosebumps erupted on my skin.
She was coming for me again, but I was ready this time. Bursts of magic, pure and white, blazed from me, attacking her. Her screams echoed in the space, blood poured out of her, and she crashed to the ground. I looked back at my hands, not even realising I could do this. My head pounded with adrenaline. I couldn’t be sick right then, not in front of them.
Lillian was lying on her back. She wasn't moving, and deep down I desperately wanted her to live. Waves of sadness washed over me, because I didn’t want to be a killer. This wasn't the real me, but I fought with a tortured paranormal who had done nothing to me.
Someone started clapping, and then a knife was pushed towards me, small and sharp.
"I want you to cut off her finger, Julia, then bring it to me," Gordon said, looking like he was enjoying himself.
I parted my lips releasing a terrifying gasp. My neck, fingers and head throbbed with pain. I narrowed my eyes at him trying to catch my breath at the same time.
"Are you fucking kidding me?"
"You want the information, then cut off the bitch’s finger," he roared, pushing fear into me. It was deep and cold, reminding me of the moment when I stood in front of him all those months ago.
I looked at Jasper, whose face I couldn’t read. His cold eyes were focused on me. I was on my own.
I took a step towards the knife and the dhampir girl moaned. It looked like the knife was brand new. The lighting in the basement was poor, but the knife was shiny. My hands were trembling, drops of sweat gathered on the side of my head, and my shirt was soaked with cold sweat. It felt like small stones were cascading into my stomach and I didn’t want to think about blood or human flesh. Gordon was testing either me or Jasper.
I glanced at the dhampir girl, then at Gordon. It was time to make a decision. I cleared my throat and said, "Fine, I’ll cut off her finger if you let her go."
I had to help this paranormal somehow. She could live without a finger. This was much better than being dead.
"Little Chief of Police’s daughter likes to make deals with big bad guys. Well, well, well, I didn’t know you had it in you."
I wanted to tell him to go fuck himself, but I chose to keep my mouth shut. Maybe big scary Gordon just wanted to see how far I would go to save my father. A new bright smile appeared on his scarred face, telling me I was doubled screwed.
"Do it and I’ll let her go then give you what you want."
I swallowed again, feeling sick to my stomach. Lillian was still alive; her chest was rising and falling rapidly. Magic paralysed her and I thought this would’ve been so much easier if I didn’t know her name.
The tension in the basement rose again, everyone was waiting for me to obey. The dizziness hit me, but I squatted down and lifted the dhampir girl’s hand, whispering the formula under my breath. This was going to hurt her, so I had to be quick. I kept telling myself that this was better than death; the girl was going to be free. She didn’t even need her finger that much. The bile rose in my mouth and I closed my eyes. I whispered low enough to where only she could hear me, “I’m sorry, Lillian.”
A few deep breaths later, I lifted the knife and opened my eyes. I went for the smallest finger and then sliced it like I was cutting through raw meat, the blood started pouring out of her and she screamed but didn’t move. It was my own spells that kept her in place. The finger fell off, but Lillian kept screaming in agony, her voice ringing in my head. Her eyes opened, she stared at me with hatred and pain.
"Now bring it to me," the cold voice ordered, the one I knew so well.
I was going to throw up, but I had to keep it together being around Gordon and his pack. With shaking hands, I picked the dirty bloody finger up off the floor and approached him.
"Now, I want information," I said, looking straight into his eyes. "And you’ve agreed to let her go.”
He took the finger, looked at it, then tossed it away like a piece of trash.
"Malik, take the dhampir away and dump her somewhere. We don’t need her anymore. The rest of you morons can leave."
"No, take her to the hospital," I said, wiping a surge of sweat from my brow.
"Fine, whatever. Malik, just dump her outside the ER."
Gordon didn't shout or raise his voice, but his tone was controlled and calm. Malik went to the girl and lifted her away then began walking up the stairs. I truly hoped she was going to be all right. His people were leaving, one by one. No one looked at me.
"Julia deserves the information, Gordon. She’s done what you asked her to do," Jasper snarled, keeping his magic wand by his side.
Gordon spat on the ground and licked his lips again, staring at my neck. I was waiting, expecting him to just tell me what I needed to know.
"That was just a trial to see if she deserves to know. I need twenty thousand pounds in cash, then I’ll give you the address."
"What? You want money?" I asked in fury, ready to scratch his eyes out with my nails. I pretended that he didn’t say this.
"I found that you’re worth the information. It’s business, girl. If you want the address, then supply the cash. You got until the end of the week."
"Jasper?" I asked, looking at my ex-boyfriend with tears in my eyes.
"She’ll get you the money. Now if you’ll excuse us, we’re leaving."
I had no idea what was happening to me. Jasper took my hand. Gordon was saying something to me, but I wasn't listening. Jasper dragged me outside. A few teenagers were laughing somewhere nearby and I heard dogs barking in the background. As soon as the fresh air hit my lungs I ran and started throwing up until my stomach heaved. My breaths were shallow as Jasper helped me get on my feet.
"He wants money? After what I’ve done? I'm going to kill that bastard!" I yelled, feeling dizzy and sick, knowing that I’d hurt an innocent paranormal. My stomach revolted. Gordon enjoyed torturing me. In the end he was going to ask for money anyway.
Jasper pulled me closer to his body and hugged me. I breathed in and out clutching for some close affection. For a brief moment I wanted to feel normal again. I had no savings and all my parents’ money was tied into the house. I had no idea how I was going to get that kind of money together in less than a week.
When Jasper released me, I couldn’t breathe properly. The air was thick and crispy.
"I owe Gordon a small favour. He doesn't budge, and he wanted to punish me, so he used you. I should have seen it coming. I'm sorry, Julia."
He sounded genuine, but I didn’t know what to believe anymore.
"Even if I get that money from somewhere, what sort of guarantee do I have that he even knows where the white witch is?" I asked with a sharp hiss.
"You don’t have any other choice. Gordon is more powerful and intelligent than you think. He has no soul, but he’s built up connections with scumbags like him from all over the world."
"There has to be someone else who knows about the white witch."
Jasper looked at me like I had no idea what I was talking about. He shook his head.
"Probably, but you can’t waste any more time. Either find the money or accept that your dad is going to die."
I covered my face in my hands knowing that the only person who could lend me that sort of cash was Nathaniel and a week ago I’d rejected his help.