The Puppet Assassin [TTR sequel]

The Puppet Assassin - Ch 16 [what's a lie? - | - luke]

"Want to have another go at getting her calm again?" he hissed.

Dizelde bent her knees and looked around the room, as if searching for escape. "Don't give me over to him. Please, he'll... oh God, there's blood everywhere."

Shit, post traumatic stress disorder, the signs were obvious. I could hear her heart trying to beat its way out of her ribcage and she was completely tense. She was seeing things from a past event. Her father must have been absolutely fucked up.

I suppose talking calmly wasn't going to get through to her. "DIZELDE! Your father is DEAD! You're not going back to him. You're NOT a child anymore. SIT BACK DOWN."

She hiccupped.

Then leapt at me.

I tensed in my chair and stood back in an instant, ready to twist out the way, but Garth cut her off, tackling her to the kitchen floor.

"No! NO! Please, I don't want to go back. My father... He'll kill and kill and kill." Her eyes widened and she struggled with Garth who had wrapped his arms and legs around her to keep her still.

I heard something shift behind me and whipped around to see Larkin thrust something forward towards the two of them. The ice cold water from his cooler-bottle splashed over Dizelde's face and Garth's back. Dizelde gasped and Larkin strode past me, grabbed Garth by his neck and pulled him off her.

"Mate, she was already having difficulty breathing without your fat ass on top of her." Larkin joked, the humour in his voice obviously forced. Here he was, Mr. Nursemaid, intern-healer, ready to repair a patient. My head felt like a meaty hand was slowly crushing my cranium, throbbing and stabbing. It was making it hard to think.

"You didn't have to bloody throw water into her face," I snapped. "Get out, Lark, I've got this covered."

He ignored me and took the now limp Dizelde's shoulder. "Sit up here." He lifted her back into her chair and rested a hand on her shoulder. "You need to calm down and listen. Your father is dead and he's not going to hurt you or anyone else."

I nearly growled. No shit, that's what I'd been saying for the last ten minutes.

"The person who called Luke is very much alive, but not even he will get anywhere near you. Now, I need you to nod your head and say that you understand."

Her face was expressionless as she nodded slowly. Her heart was still thundering and she bit her lip.

"Do you understand, Dizelde? You are safe."

She didn't answer. Her eyes were still faraway.

I stepped forward and Lark stood straighter, looking a little frustrated and more than a little put-out.

"Diz, look at me, I'm doing everything in my power to keep you safe here." I waited until she'd turned her head and looked at me. She closed her eyes and grimaced, looking slightly embarrassed. Her hands were trembling by her sides.

"You trust me, right?" I took a short breath. "I pulled you out of Carlow and have brought you here. Do you trust me?"

Her brow furrowed and then she opened her eyes, her mouth forming a small 'o' of surprise. "Yes."

It was amazing how the simple affirmation made me feel ten times lighter. "Good. Understand that I'm telling you the absolute truth. Your father is dead and you are safe here. Alright?"

She let out a whooshing breath. "I'm sorry... I just - I keep seeing him. I forgot all of my early childhood, the first few years of my life." She looked down at her lap. "But recently... Well, I attacked someone. And it triggered a release of those memories... and my father." She choked on the next few words but when she looked up her eyes were dry and powerfully fierce. "He made me... hurt people. I think he might've made me kill some."