Dark Moon Rising

Chapter 8

Smiling to herself. Poor father can't hide anything from me. Then frowned. Except that blasted thing called the Dark Moon. Proceeding forward. Her muffled steps sounded loud. The door opened. Freezing in place, she looked slowly over her shoulder. It closed. What the fuck? Who just entered? The hairs on her arms and back of her neck stood on end. A door can't just open and close by itself. Rubbing them down. Don't panic. Remember what is at stake. Her mental-self reminded her.

Scanning her surroundings. Everything looks OK. She observed. Cautious, she started to retreat in another direction. Stopping. Shuddering, her yes darted nervously about the room. Am I being watched? Licking her parched lips. Blast the darkness, she thought. Her eye caught a blur of movement from the side. Air brushed her skin for the second time. A scream formed in her throat. I am leaving. Heading in the direction of the door.

Muffled voices in the passage stopped her. Turning, she bumped into something hard. Did father add another statue? Is this a new craze? Her hands explored upwards. "Shit!" She whispered when she touched a man's face. Fear clutched her heart. Instinctively she backed away. He reached for her. Opening her mouth to scream. A gloved hand clamped over it. He pulled her against him. Wriggling like a worm, she struggled in vain against his iron embrace.

"Shhh," he cautioned, "if you want to live."

Ice filled her veins. Movement was impossible; bands of steel wrapped tighter around her with every attempt to free herself. The voices came closer, her muscles tensed to the point they were going to shatter.

"Relax," he ordered, "they will hear you."

Frowning, she breathed heavily through her nose. Tried to open her mouth again, but he kept his hand firmly in place. With each passing second the voices grew louder as they kept moving in their direction. Her heart skipped three beats as he tightened his grip. His chest didn't rise or fall. Is he even breathing? Dizziness enveloped her. Moister formed at her temples as she recalled her father's anger from earlier in the day. The idea of him catching her red-handed in his study with a stranger terrified her. It seemed the voices were right outside now. The knob turned. Beads of sweat ran down the sides of her face, soaking her shirt.

"Hey, Erik," one guard called, "Shaun is looking for you."

The doorknob turned back and the voices moved on. Internally sighing, she almost collapsed. They waited a couple of minutes before the stranger relaxed his grip.

"Come," he commanded in a whisper. "Not a word until I give the OK." He warned and pulled her with him. Ducking his head out, he made a quick survey before hauling her after him. Unable to struggle against his iron grip she resisted with every step. He moved at such a fast pace, making it difficult to keep up. Before she had time to realize where they were, they entered her room and he shoved her to the centre.

"You are a real piece of work," he said, annoyed, when they faced each other.

Alex took a good look at him. He was dressed in black from head to toe and he wore a mask.

Pointing a finger at his chest. "How did you get in?" She managed to ask when she recovered enough from her initial shock.

"That is for me to know and for you to find out."

Her eyes narrowed into slits, "Who are you and what do you want?" She demanded.

"Who I am is not important. What I want is another matter." He continued in a calm tone.

"I will raise the alarm."

"Let's just say I am a friend," he said and put a bit of distance between them.