Transformed [W&W Book 1]

Chapter 46

Theresa felt nothing but grim acceptance as she rose from the bench. Perhaps if she was compliant, her imprisonment would not be as bad as it had been.

She would not wait another moment. Theresa put her hand on the arm of the bench to help push herself up.

"Don't move, my lady," said a rough voice behind her. His voice tugged at something in the back of her memory. Was he one of the many people at court?

Something sharp was against her back, almost cutting her.

Theresa's heart pounded frantically, her throat was thick, and her stomach was lead.

"Come back slowly," he said, pulling her arm with one hand and keeping the other on the weapon he was holding against her. Again, she had no good option as she moved slowly backwards. All too soon they were out of sight of the ballroom and out of sight of potential help.

"Move quickly now. Don't give me a reason to use my knife. I would be all too happy to, my lady."

"Why? Who are you?" she whispered shakily.

"That's none of your concern, though we've met before," he said smoothly as he steered her along the wall of the castle.

"What do you want with me? Where are you taking me?" she demanded in a voice low enough he would hopefully not feel the need to harm her.

"Keep your mouth shut," he hissed.

And then she placed his voice, the man who had been searching for her and Daphne on the roadway. He was her aunt's thug, and he had Theresa in his grasp.

Theresa could feel herself shaking, but she kept her back arched as far from the threat at her back as possible. She could feel sweat beading on her forehead. "Did Francine tell you to do this? It's a mistake, she would not want you to do this."

He chuckled. "That's where you are wrong." They came to a door and he wrenched it open. He pulled her back inside the castle. It did not make sense, but nonetheless he shoved her inside.

"Please! I need to talk to my aunt! I've decided to cooperate with whatever she wants me to do!" she cried.

"You'll get to talk with her soon enough I dare say." His tone was mocking. "Go up the stairs."

Fear clutched her and she obeyed. "Please, don't do this," she begged and turned her head to meet his gaze.

His face was harsh. It was not a good sign that Francine had ordered him to abduct her. She would probably be lucky to only be under Francine's compulsion spell once again at the end of it. "Please!" she cried, looking into the eye that was not obscured by his eye patch.

His expression changed to rage. "You would beg for mercy after what you have done to me?" he asked furiously and he shoved her hard against the wall. The breath was knocked out of her and she struggled to regain her balance on the spiral stairs.

"I've never done anything to you!" she protested, suddenly afraid that he would throw her down the stairs on purpose. She grasped the railing behind her.

"Never!?" he raged and he savagely ripped the eye patch off his face. "Look at this! Look at what you have done!"

The eyeball under the patch was yellowed and the iris was milky. There were four deep scratches running along the skin around and a notch across his eyelid.

Theresa stared in horror at the gruesome sight.

"I would never—" Theresa tried to say, but he dropped the patch back into place and slapped her full across the face.

"I never did that to you!" she yelled and hoped that someone heard her. He slapped her again and Theresa sagged against the stairs. The side of her face where he hit her throbbed.

His glare was frightening. "If you scream again, you will die the next moment," he hissed.

"My aunt would not want you to kill me," she said raggedly.

"Maybe, but I'll deal with that when the time comes. She knows what you did and how much I want revenge. Perhaps I should destroy your eye as you did mine," he hissed.

Theresa was torn between cowering in the hope he would not assault her further and the desire to claim her innocence again.

Then Theresa understood. "You were the dog?" she asked quietly in an attempt not to make him angrier.

She already knew the answer. She still remembered the dog's unnerving gaze and could see it reflected in the man before her.

"Lady Francine transformed me in order to track you. I agreed, little did I know you would destroy my sight," he said in an oddly even tone.

Theresa decided that she should keep him talking and calm. She hoped help would arrive in time.

Perhaps even Francine would be a marginally more welcome sight than this monster. "I didn't know. I was afraid and the cat took over. You were lost in the mind of the dog. You would have killed me if it had not."

"If it had not?" he asked, and his voice was rising again in anger.

Theresa slid backwards carefully until she had no more room to go.

"I was an expert archer and you have rendered me nearly useless! You've destroyed my sight. You destroyed my means to pay my debts. Now I have to rely on the mercy of people who have none," he growled and Theresa was reminded of the dog that he had been.

His rage and hatred were palatable. Would he  She could not count on mercy from this beast in human form.

Theresa slowly dragged herself to her feet. He still held the knife in his hand and she could see that he also had a bow and a quiver strapped to his back. She was above him on the stairs, he blocked her way down. She would have to go up.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly, her mind working frantically.

"Not as sorry as—Hey! Stop!" he growled as she pushed him and he teetered backwards. The knife slid across her arm drawing blood, but she barely even noticed.

She ran up the stairs, hoping that there would be an exit to the parapets somewhere above. A moment later he regained his balance and was chased her.

Her memory kept reviewing the terrible night in the woods when the dogs, when he had chased her. She was almost to a door when she felt her skirts caught in his grip. She kept rushing forward and they ripped, but he had her and dragged her back towards him.

She struggled and then there was a sudden painful pressure that radiated out from the back of her skull.

Everything went still and black.