Threads

Chapter Seventeen: Part 1

Chapter Seventeen

Maya’s Story

            Once they were in the limousine Alice turned to Maya. 

            “Are you okay?”

            If she’d expected the girl to burst into tears and cry on her shoulder she had been wrong.  Maya just looked at Alice with huge, frightened brown eyes and nodded.

            For the first time Alice wondered if she’d made a mistake taking her.

            “Did you want to be in his harem? Because I…”

            “No!” The girl burst out, and then clamped a hand over her mouth in horror. Alice wasn’t sure what to make of her.

“You don’t have to be afraid to talk to me,” she said. “Say whatever you like. “

            Maya’s eyes darted back up the driveway in the direction of the house.

Realization dawned. “Oh, he can’t hear you. And no one will tell him anything you say.  It’s our own driver up front and none of us like Ambrose anyways.”

            The girl lowered her hand slightly. When she spoke her voice was only a little above a whisper, and Lacy and Tricia, who were on the far end, had to lean forward to hear her.

            “I hate it there. The other women…are horrible.

            “The others were all chosen. How did you get there?”

            “I was there first.” Maya dropped her head and stared at the floor. “My mother owed him drug money…and couldn’t pay…”

            Alice felt a wave of disgust. “That’s horrible. That’s human trafficking. You can’t just take someone away.”

            “He can.”

Maya shuddered.  Alice noticed her skin was pale, and there was a film of sweat on her brow.  The girl was shaking.

            “Are you cold?”

            She nodded.

            Gabriel pulled his jacket off and handed it to Alice who draped it over the girl’s knees, while Altair leaned forward and asked the driver to turn up the heat. The girl huddled in the corner and shut her eyes.

            Azura shot her a meaningful look, “It’s probably the effects of some spell he has on them.  Tonight won’t be fun for her.”

            “Will she detox in one night?”

            “Violently.”

            When they got back to the store, Alice took Maya upstairs. The girl was shivering and holding the borrowed coat shut in an effort to keep warm. Altair walked up the stairs behind her, making sure she didn’t stumble.

            “You’ll have to stay with her tonight,” Altair said quietly, as they reached the door.

Alice nodded reluctantly. She had never seen anyone go through withdrawal, not even with normal drugs, never mind some kind of magical detox.

            “I think I should stay with you, we can take shifts.”

            Alice thought about protesting, but she was nervous enough that it seemed like a good idea.