64: The Monster That I Somehow Created

A panic over takes me and I throw myself at the door. My fists go numb from pounding against the door, my throat raw from screaming after him, my soul crushed when he doesn’t come back. I’m not helpless. I’m a witch. I mutter any and every spell to try to get the door to unlock, open, fly off its hinges. Nothing.

And then I remember what room I’m in. A room meant to hold witches.

My feet shuffle the few steps it takes to get to the old mattress. I flop down and let my head bob from the force. The pain that rattles through my skull leaves me breathless, but I ignore it’s cry for help. It won’t stop anytime soon unless someone who has a beating heart with an ounce of sympathy gives a girl in pain some meds.

The quietness of the room is almost deafening. The gut punching, heart stopping feeling of being trapped and left and ignored ‘for my own good’ eats away at me. And then I hear it. The click, click, click of heels.

They stop right at my door. “I must say, it is very satisfactory to see you locked up here.” Brooklyn’s voice travels through the little window with perfect ease.

As if things needed to be made worse, the Wicked Bitch of the East has to show up. I don’t argue with her, instead I remain on the hard bed ignoring her. But Brooklyn isn’t one to be ignored.

Her laugh sends creepy chills down my spine. “I’m sure Gabriel rushed to your side the second he found out you were here. Nearly killed poor Tucker for being too aggressive with his precious witch.” She makes a gagging noise clearly sickened by Gabriel’s protectiveness for someone she deems unworthy. “But the look on your face when you thought that Gabriel was with me was...the greatest gift I could ever ask for.”

“You’re welcome. Can you leave now.” Her voice was causing my head to hurt even more than it already is. My hands squeeze and rub my face, trying to take the pain away.

“You’re no fun.” Silence. “Before I go though, I will say thank you.” She has difficulty saying the words. “ Even though it kills me to say it,” at least she admits it, “the ritual was a success because of you-not that any of us couldn’t have done it ourselves.” She quickly turns the compliment meant for me into one for herself.

“Did you change it? The ritual?” I hurriedly ask before she leaves. Curiosity getting the best of me.

“Change it? Why would I? Every word stayed the same except for the sacrifice...did Gabriel tell you about that?” There’s a little bit of intrigue in there, a little sing-song tone of ‘I know something you may not know’. “Evangeline was my friend and she died because of you.” The hate was back in her voice.

“Me?!” I bolt up from the bed and quickly regret it as the room starts to spin uncontrollably. My eyes have trouble focusing on any one point, so I say the words into the room instead of saying them to her face. “She was working with demons, setting you up to fail. She was going to make you the property of a soulless, fire bearing demon.” And none of this bothered her more than me causing her friend’s death. “She got herself into that predicament, not me.”

“Whatever. Your day will come.” She flashes me her signature bitchy smile before leaving. Her hackling laugh flows down the dungeon halls.

I couldn’t be more happy to be alone again. I was going crazy being left here...alone, but I’d rather be locked up and left for dead than be in the company of Brooklyn. I didn’t have anything to throw back in her face and I have too many things piled against me to make her hatred for me run deep.

There was no being friends with her, ever. There’s no being friends with anyone here.

I go back to the bed and close my eyes, willing myself to sleep my pain away. But apparently that’s not a retreat either.

*At first I don’t panic. It’s pitch black, quiet, almost peaceful...until I feel something crawl on my leg. Instantly, I twitch to shake it loose, but I knock my knee on something hard, hit my forehead on something wooden. I’m in my own grave again.

Even though I know this isn’t real it’s still hard to breathe, it still gets my heart pounding, my blood racing. It isn’t claustrophobia or being buried alive. It’s what’s to come. The falling, the hands.

My fists frantically pound against the lid of the crappy coffin and tiny pebbles of dirt sprinkle on my face yet again. An ear splitting scream rips from my mouth, careless of the dirt that falls onto my tongue. My mind has false thoughts of hope. Maybe this time around I’ll break out.

And then it happens, the flooring drops out from underneath me and I plunge down into the tunnel burrowed into the earth. I free fall into an abyss.

Except this time it’s not never ending, this time I crash land, breathless and battered onto a hard floor. Before I can catch my breath from the wind being knocked out of me, get my brain to clear the haze of pain from my burning back, people surround me...dead people.

One face sticks out. Jezmin. “The underneath, Hazel. Get me out.”*

I nearly fall out of bed as I wake from the nightmare, which is the last thing I need right now. “Sorry Jezmin, but I have other things to deal with first.”

“I see you’re making yourself comfortable. Having friends over and everything.” Gabriel says from the far corner of the room. When the hell did he get in here?

“No. She’s haunting me thanks to you and that stupid coven. That little sacrifice switcharoo dragged her and others to the underneath and she wants out.” I huff. “Don’t we all.”

“And I have a solution for that, well for you, not her, but...you still have to remain at the manor.” Gabriel offers.

“And what would that be? My word?”

“No.”

“Thought I would try.” If only it could be that easy. “So...what is it?”

“A drink.” There’s a conniving tone to his voice. This is everything he wants and more. Me to be helplessly incompasitated, unable to resist. He holds a vial filled with blood up for me to view.

A haughty laugh rips through my lips. “I think I’ll pass. I’m actually growing quite fond of this room and like you said, I have friends visiting. I’ll have other friends visiting soon too, real friends. Gretchen and Monty or Caleb will come looking for me. Can you just imagine that look on their faces when they find me locked up like some prisoner.”

“You don’t have to be locked up. You could be out, in your room upstairs within a few days. Not in pain anymore. Why are you being so stubborn?” He argues with me.

“Why are you being so stupid.” I yell back. Doesn’t he realize that the pain is the only thing keeping me on the right side of things.

“I’ll leave it here in case you change your mind.” He places the small vial on the table.

“Ewww, cold blood. Who do you take me for?” I suppress a laugh because it’ll only make the tension between us heavier, more unbearable. “Don’t answer that. I’m just gonna lay down and get some more rest on this ultra plush bed, because my head is pounding.”

“You know what? No.” He goes from one side of the room to being next to the bed in a blink of my eyes. His hand holding the already uncorked vial.

As my mouth opens to protest, he spills the contents inside. I nearly choke on it. He’s smarter than I give him credit for. He clasps his hand over my mouth forcing me to swallow it and only when he believes that I’ve ingested it, he lets go.

“I hate you.” I scream at him.

“You’ve said that before.” The corners of his lips quirk up to one side. “It didn’t last long. I told you I don’t give up easily. Apparently, I just have to be more assertive with you.” Another blink of an eye he’s at the door. “I’ll check on you later.” He slams it shut before I can get my stiff bones and aching head to propel my body off the bed.

Should I be scared? Yes. Am I? Kind of. He’s finally the monster I believed him to be, the monster that I somehow created. No matter how badly I don’t want to fall prey to Gabriel again, I’m not sure that’s an option anymore.