The Devil's Angel (The Devil's Assistant Series Book 4)

The Devil's Angel - Chapter 13

They had kept Caspar for much longer than they had kept me. I was sure to the fair haired young man it felt like the time spent within the care of the mad doctor was an eternity. It had felt it to me and I had been within his grasp for only an hour at the very most. When he had been deposited back into his cell just as night had fallen outside, the young man had been unconscious. He had not roused in all the time since. If it wasn't for the occasional pained groan or the way that his breath rattled with each inhale and exhale I would have thought him dead. There was no denying that the mad doctor had no care as to whether his prisoners lived or died - he could simply send his men out for more.

Leaning against the bars of the cell, my head leaning on my arms where they rested on top of my knees. I sighed into the darkness. Daylight would be here soon which meant my turn with the mad doctor would soon be here. Fear gripped me. I was human here. The bracelet around my wrist kept me so. I knew I was more than human but even now, I could feel its effects numbing my arm, dulling all of my senses and my mind. It was difficult to retain any kind of coherency, even when I wanted nothing more than to lapse back into sleep.

Casper voice called out hoarsely into his sleep, the words unintelligible but the agony within them real - too real.

"Hush, Caspar," I murmured. "Rest now, I will watch over you."

When he only became more distressed, I started to hum, softly first but getting louder as my confidence grew. And then I sang, the words to the lullaby escaping my lips with practiced ease. My little boy had fallen asleep every time I sang to him.

Closing my eyes, I lost myself in the moment. As I sang I could feel the weight of my little boy in my arms, feel his beautiful eyes staring up at me with unconditional love and feel the comforting warmth of his small body as it pressed against mine. The image was so real, I felt a tear slip from the corner of my eye but I made no attempt to wipe it away.

I continued to sing long after Caspar had fallen into a fitful sleep and the others had fallen. It was only when the tell-tale clank of the door opening at the end of the corridor echoed down the hallway that my voice failed me. Pressing my lips together, I wrapped my hands around the bars of my cell and then ignoring as it bit into my skin, I hauled my body up on to my feet.

Even as I felt fear rear its ugly head, I lifted my chin and straightened my back. When the guards finally made it to my cell, the both reared back a step. They exchanged glances, uncertainty warring in their depths as they looked at the other. I was sure most of their 'guests' were normally cowering in the corner - not me, not today. They had made me feel small but I wasn't just a human - I was something more and it was time I remembered that.

Smiling at the pair, my grin going as wide and as bright as I could make it, I felt amusement as they danced back on their heels. Their hands twitching towards the dart gun on their belts. I giggled at them, loving how it only unsettled them even more.

"Hurry up you imbeciles, I don't have all day. Bring her to me!"

Both men jumped at the mad doctor's voice.

I grinned at them even as the taller of the two pulled out the dart gun and shot me with it. I felt the dart piercing skin, felt the drugs within it flow outwards from the point of impact. Then my body started getting loose as they took effect. It was only by sheer force of will that I managed to lock my knees and keep myself on my feet.

When I didn't collapse to the floor, the guards glanced at one another before the smaller of the two, drew his keys from his belt and unlocked the door to my cell. These were different guards but were strangely unremarkable in my drug induced state of placidness. The bigger and burlier of the two o - why was it always little and large - stepped into my cell, a black baton in hand. I was surprised he hadn't thought to bring a Taser too. He was afraid, it hung thick around him. I could smell it - literally. The stench of his sweat was cloying, it burnt the inside of my nostrils but I didn't want to breathe in through my mouth in case I started to taste his sweat. Smelling it was bad enough.