Total pages in book: 126
Estimated words: 123065 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 615(@200wpm)___ 492(@250wpm)___ 410(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 123065 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 615(@200wpm)___ 492(@250wpm)___ 410(@300wpm)
What?
There is no way.
I stumble out of bed, suddenly dying of thirst, but my legs don’t hold me, and I slump to the hard floor. The ringing of a small bell breaks the silence.
I slowly kneel, eyes trained on the door, before slowly bringing my attention to my right foot, where a small black and red string is wrapped around my ankle and dangling off it…
A bell.
My throat goes dry. I’m afraid to touch the bell, so I reach around the string and attempt to untie it.
But nothing works.
I tug the string, hoping to loosen it. Again, nothing happens.
“This is ridiculous.” The bell moves with each step I take to the bathroom, the sound is a light jingle that reminds me of Christmas—a holiday I despise because everyone always appears so happy and I’m always so lonely.
I shake the dark thoughts away and stomp my foot only to have the bell bang against my skin. I know I have scissors or at least nail clippers packed with my makeup.
After a few minutes of tirelessly searching, I find the scissors next to some cotton swabs and jerk them out of the black bag.
Fear washes over me when I lift my foot to the sink. I know it’s stupid. This isn’t real. This is just a normal vacation. I swear I remind myself that at least a dozen times before taking a deep breath and snip the anklet off. It was all a dream, right? Cyrus saying he was going to kill me, Cyrus claiming to be a god. Then again, how did I get into bed? All I remember is walking back to the house and Cyrus taking me to the warehouse.
Did we kiss?
I touch my lips with my free hand and look down as the anklet falls to the floor with one last annoying jingle.
“That was weird,” I say to myself as Bast looks over at me from the bed. “Do you know how I got to bed last night?” Wow, I really must be losing it if I’m talking to a cat and asking him questions he can’t even answer.”
He meows at me, then stretches. His meows and pats at the blankets before he does a slow circle on the bed and sits.
He’s so ugly—naked.
I take a step toward him and freeze as the sound of a bell rings again.
Hands shaking, I look down at my right foot and stumble backwards into the wall. The anklet’s back, like it somehow attached itself to me even after being broken.
Am I dreaming?
Is this a prank?
“Hello?” I call out. “Anyone in here?”
Bast tilts his head at me like I’m the crazy one. He jumps off the bed and roams around like a little soldier searching for a stowaway.
I never thought I’d be hoping that someone was watching me sleep, but the cat comes back and sits at my feet as if he hasn’t found anything.
And I’m still thirsty.
I want to blame Cyrus and the weird dream about the boat. He’s messing with my head.
What the hell happened yesterday?
I reach for my phone on the nightstand and notice I have a text.
Apep Kaos
You alive?
I type back right away.
Me
Sorry, I must have crashed after accidentally falling into the water last night. I need to tell Daggon and Kratos “thank you”.
Apep Kaos
Kratos already filled me in. Glad you’re okay. The water does tend to take a lot out of people. Don’t worry about it, just take it easy this morning.
I smile at the text.
Me
Thank you for being so kind.
Apep Kaos
Well, you’re new, it’s my job to be welcoming. I’ll stop by with some fresh food for your lunch later. Still researching Jake’s latest whereabouts, but I feel we are getting closer, hang in there.
Tears fill my eyes. At least Apep’s normal and actually treating me like a human and not running around kissing me or claiming to be a god.
Me
Thank you. Seriously.
He sends me an emoji back of a smiley face with a halo. I respond with a heart and throw myself onto the bed. “Ughhhh.”
The jingle from the anklet fills the tense quiet room like a ticking time bomb. I’m almost afraid to move. The ringing of the bell isn’t normal, it resonates weird, as if it echoes across a large sea, through the forests, and down Puget Sound; it’s not a normal bell. And if I was braver, I’d probably go downstairs, march right up to Cyrus and demand an explanation but right now I’m barely surviving trying to figure out the last twelve hours of my life.
Nothing makes sense anymore and I’ve only been here a few days.
Bast jumps up next to my head and sniffs my hair, then starts licking my arm.
Why does my skin feel so dry?
My stomach chooses that perfect moment to growl. I don’t know Cyrus’s morning routine. Every day has had its own nightmares and surprises, but maybe I’ll get lucky and he won’t be in the kitchen first thing. I don’t think I can deal with more dreams and revelations.