Total pages in book: 45
Estimated words: 40901 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 205(@200wpm)___ 164(@250wpm)___ 136(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 40901 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 205(@200wpm)___ 164(@250wpm)___ 136(@300wpm)
“So,” he says. “You finally have her.”
“Yes,” I agree, knife in hand. “I do.”
“You didn’t call for me,” he says.
“No,” I agree. “I did not.”
“You want to keep her for yourself.”
“I do.”
We are undergoing the formality of conversation, but it is unnecessary. He already knows my heart and my mind. He knows everything.
“I know how hard it can be for a hound to relinquish his prey after a long hunt,” he says. “But you do know she cannot ever truly belong to you. She belongs to another place.”
“I want her to be mine.”
“I know,” he says, taking a bite of the apple. “I’m just reminding you who you are. And who she is.”
I finish up plating the meal in silence. He’s there, watching me. Saying nothing. His presence is reminder enough of all I owe. I know that at any moment it could go for me the same way it went for poor Creed.
“I surrendered the flesh to you,” I remind him. “The woman is irrelevant in comparison.”
“Perhaps, yes. But you are now murdering your guards, firing your armies. This is supposed to be a prison, Starlight. But you are making it little more than a bunker. Need I remind you what happens to those who hide in bunkers?”
“What?”
“They die. By their own hand, or by the forces of those who come after them.”
I do not know if that is a threat, or if he is trying to merely warn me. Sometimes I think the dark man has some affection for me. I’m sure that’s a misapprehension.
“Katya has her own army. You know that. And yet tonight I find you here in this big facility, all alone, the blood of a good man on your hands, reheating roasted potatoes. You are on the verge of a very particular kind of madness, Starlight. Be careful what you do next.”
“What I am going to do next is have dinner.”
5
Katya
My captor has returned. I wondered what he was up to. I assumed it was something dark and terrible, but it appears to just have been dinner. He has just one plate and one fork. I imagine we will be sharing.
“Kneel,” he orders. “Open your mouth.”
Oh, I see. The food is another prop of control.
With my hands cuffed behind me, I lower myself toward the cage floor with an attempt at elegance.
Starlight offers me the contents of his fork through the bars of my cage. It smells delicious, roasted vegetables. I do not consume the flesh of anything. Well, besides plants. They seem much more relaxed about growing only to be consumed. They make special parts of themselves with the intention of having them consumed. Animals don’t do that. Animals try to keep all of themselves for themselves. It’s a selfishness that does not go well for them, but I try not to add to the suffering.
“Good girl,” he praises as I take the food and chew it delicately. I do not mind this, either, though I know it is another one of his little tricks to create a submissive and dependent mindset. It won’t work, because I am happy for this little vacation, this insight into the mind of my enemy. Starlight will forever be my enemy, of that I am certain, but there are freedoms in this predicament. I don’t have to worry about controlling the situation. I only need to wait and play along.
He feeds me, and I eat. The moon rises with a red glow, casting strange light into the room. This chamber is almost gothic in appearance. Black furnishings and red light make for an intense decor. I feel as though I am trapped in the guts of some greater monster. There is an air of helplessness here, and of force, and perhaps even of destiny.
“Blood moon,” I comment. “That is not in any almanac, is it.”
“There is a fatedness to our mutual predicament,” he replies.
Predicament.
What a strange word.
Is that what this is to him? A predicament? This seems to be his plan. His design. This seems to be what he wants, what he has always wanted. Me. Captive. At his mercy.
I want to ask him about it, but I do not want to draw his attention to the fact I noticed it. He feels compelled to do this for some reason. That’s fascinating. It might be the first fascinating thing about him. The first little splinter of personality that doesn’t seem like bigotry or a typical power play.
“Are you still hungry, angel? Or have you been satisfied for now?”
“I don’t need to eat any more, but no, Starlight. I am not satisfied by this weak and pedestrian gambit. Why don’t you show me something that would impress me. Why don’t you show me how you caught me. I was falling, Starlight. I was falling and I should have fallen back to the heavens. You caught me. You plucked me out of the sky, somehow. Tell me how.”