Chapter Two
Magic & Birds
Magic & Birds
Her eyes felt heavy, opening them felt like trying to pry open a closed elevator door. Kris tilted her head back and groaned. With a stretch, her back curled over the chair. Her muscles felt like jell-o underneath her skin. Stretching her fingers, she noticed something odd.
“What is this?” she croaked, looking at her tied hands. She was sitting on a chair with a rope tied to each of her wrists and ankles. “My god, what is this?” She whispered. Panic began spreading through her like wild fire as she tugged and pulled in a futile attempt to free herself. Looking around the room, she made out the place she was being held. It was a hotel room with a large front window and velvet curtains. The hotel room was all lit up but no one was there, the only sound came from the clock that hung above the TV. Her eyes followed the second hand as it ticked and tocked. It was late, 8:38pm which meant she had been out for more than four hours.
She looked back down and tugged, the rope burned over her skin. Why was she here? The last thing she remembered was talking to Lavira outside the hospital and then feeling drowsy. Did she really fall asleep? Did she perhaps leave her there sleeping? Did someone actually kidnap her?
No…it couldn’t be - how could someone do that? It had to be joke.
“Okay…you can come out now,” she whimpered. “Please let me go home now.” Her voice shook and her words came out sloppy, tripping over each other. She looked around the room for someone to jump out from behind the curtains or sofa, someone that will point a finger, laugh and say, “Gotcha!”
She took in deep breaths. But no one came out. She looked back down and struggled again with the ropes. She noticed the telephone that sat on the stand next to the couch. With a jump, the chair scratched against the wood taking her closer.
She figured she might take this time to call for help. What kind of kidnappers would even leave her alone with a telephone nearby, anyway? Sucking in a breath, she forced herself to jump again.
The leg of the chair hit her heel. With wide eyes she let out a yelp, hitting the floor with a loud thud. Her cheek smashed against the cool floor and laying there with her pathetic attempt at an escape made tears crawl out her eyes.
“Well, well, isn’t this just grand,” a rough voice said.
Her entire body froze.
The person gripped the back of the chair and pulled her upright. Hair fell over her face as she turned up to look at her kidnapper. Gentle fingers brushed her strands aside, clearing her vision. He was tall, not thin but had a slender appearance and wore a suit that looked like it belonged to someone from the 19th century. He seemed older than her, in his early twenties perhaps. Raven-like hair sat on his head in lazy curls and a pair of moonlight eyes bore down on her. He was attractive, that Kris had a difficult time taking her eyes off of him. Even with the fact that he had kidnapped her, her eyes drew towards him like a moth to a flame.
“W-who are you?” She could feel the sticky tears on the sides of her face.
“Is that the most important question right now?” He had a slight Irish accent when he spoke.
“Why am I here? Why did you kidnap me? What did I do wrong?” The questions buzzed through her head as fast as the blood pumped through her heart.
“Now that’s better. You’re here for a reason, don’t worry,” he said, taking a seat in front of her, “you weren’t some girl I decided to pick up off the streets to torture, in fact…I don’t really want to torture you at all.” A hint of a smile peeked on his lips for a millisecond.
She tilted her head and then looked down at her constraints. “Who are you?”
He smiled, shaking his head. “Wrong question, my dear. Shall we try that again?” This time, his hand came from under the table and he pulled out a silver knife. It had a dragon’s head as a handle and the shiny blade was lodged between the monster’s teeth.
Biting her lip, she pressed her back to the chair, wishing that she could just disappear. With a smile, he drew circles on the table, his eyes looking up at her with a smirk.
She felt like she was playing some sort of sick game but she asked another question anyway. “For what reason am I here for?” Her knuckles tightened around the arms of the chair. It hurt to use such formal words but perhaps being nice would get her out faster. The last thing she needed to do was provoke him.
Money, she thought. What other reason would anyone want to kidnap her for? Before he had the chance to answer she said, “If it’s money you want, my father has every dime. He’ll pay you whatever sum you need.” Her voice still shook in her throat.
This time, another voice answered her question. “Unfortunately, it’s not your money that we want,” she said.
Kris turned her head around to see Lavira walk in from the front door. She shook her red umbrella free of the raindrops while looking at her with a smile. Kris thought her smile looked most vulgar right then.
“You…” Kris said.
“Indeed, it was I that swept you off your feet.” She flipped her long dark hair and walked to the table. “I have a gift to tempt all sorts of people…and children. Oh, and…drug them,” she added with a shrug.
Kris’s heart felt like it had been stabbed. She even had thanked this woman before. If it were possible, she would have cut off her tongue for it.
“I’m sure you’re impressed with my work, Crosse,” she said, putting a hand on the back of his chair.
Crosse showed a pair of straight teeth. “You really did get her here in record time, Lavira. Impressive, I don’t think you really need an assistant.”
She scowled, stepping back and folding her arms. “You promised me some help. I know I’m the best but it’d be nice to have someone do the work I don’t want to do.”
Crosse turned back to Kris. “Don’t be spoiled,” he said to Lavira without looking at her.
Lavira rolled her eyes. “What is she anyway? I looked into her background and she’s as clean as whistle. I thought I went out to get ourselves another sinner but I can’t see anything really wrong with her . . . at all.” She looked at Kris and then back at Crosse. “What’s the deal?”
He leaned back in his chair, the smile still hovering on his rose-colored lips. “She’s not a sinner. She’s our dove.”
Lavira’s eyes widened. “Dove?” She thought for a moment and then her mouth dropped. “Her?” she asked, pointing to Kris.
Unfortunately, Kris had no idea what these people were talking about. What did she have to do with birds?
Before Crosse had the chance to answer, his phone vibrated in pocket. He reached in and pulled out an unlabeled touch-screen phone, putting it to his ear. “Hmm?”
Lavira rolled her eyes. “Wonderful choice of greeting.” She sat on the small table next to the couch, looking at her nails while Kris continued to silently struggle in her chair.
Crosse stood up and turned his back towards them. “Are you sure? Now?” he looked over his shoulder, giving Lavira a leer. “But you know how much I hate changing my plans. Alright, thank you for warning me.” He slipped the phone back into his pocket and faced Lavira. “You’re messy.”
“What?” She arched a brow.
“Did you properly hide our tracks? The pawns know where we are.”
“Impossible. I was extremely careful with my magic. There’s no way they could’ve traced us!”
Magic? Kris asked, were these people mentally stable or were they playing some kind of twisted game?
“Doesn’t matter.” Crosse rubbed the space between his eyes in thought.
A knock sounded on the front door, causing both of them to jump.
Nobody moved until another knock, which was louder, hit the door.
“Hide her,” Crosse said in a low voice. Lavira was frozen, her eyes shifted around room as if a thousand thoughts were bouncing around in her brain. “I said, hide her!” Cross hissed, his eyes keeping place on the door.
“Room service,” a male’s voice called.
“Just…room service?” Lavira let out a sigh of relief.
This was her chance. Sucking in a breath, before Lavira could touch her, she let out an ear bursting scream. Her lungs grew small as her stomach pressed in, forcing all the noise out of her body.
Cross’s eyes widened, his eyebrows drawing together in anger. “Shut her up!”
Lavira nodded. “Okay!” Her hand flew over Kris’s mouth in an attempt to silence her. Kris wasn’t going let this lady get her way again though. Like a shark, she bit the skin on Lavira’s palm, sending her shouting in pain.
“This little -- ” she snarled, holding her wounded hand.
Kris opened her mouth to release another savage cry. All she needed was the room service guy to question what was going on in this room.
Crosse pulled a handkerchief out of his front jacket pocket. He quickly leaned over and gagged her, the cloth biting the sides of her mouth. She tried to fuss but it was futile. She looked up, glaring at him as he tightened the knot on the back of her head.
Another knock echoed in the room, this time even louder than the last. “Is everything alright in there?” the voice called.
Lavira’s mouth twisted into annoyance then. She glanced at Crosse but he was beyond any room service assistance.
She pulled down the strap of her red dress and with one hand, ravished her hair. Throwing her shoes off, she headed towards the door. “I’ll send him off.”
Crosse walked around Kris’s chair and yanked the back down on the rear two heels of the chair. Her knees hit the table and a shock vibrated up her thighs, causing her to shut her eyes in pain.
From the back, she heard the door open. “You’re not room service,” Lavira said.
What? Kris asked, who was it? Was it one of their friends? Did she just cause uproar for nothing? Her heart sank into her chest alongside any hope of her getting out of this place.
Crosse, feeling no remorse for hurting her, dragged her to another door and set the chair in the middle of the dark room. She heard the door shut from behind and then there was only the beating of her own heart that was her companion.
Her eyes adjusted to darkness in the luxurious bedroom. There was a large bed off to the center and in front of the bed, next to her; there was a large table with a flat-screen TV. On her right side, there a closet door and one bathroom and other side of the bed there was a large window.
She froze.
A chilly breeze crawled up her spine and lifted every hair on her body. There was a woman inside the room. Her body was frail and she wore dirty clothes but had looked like she had taken a bath and never found something clean to change into. She was by the windowsill, in a chair with her hands and legs tied as well.
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