A few days passed and Serena and Sebastian spent even more searching for information on Jonathan Wyrodd, but unfortunately this was not crowned with success either. With each passing day Serenas mood bedamce worse and slowly but surely she realized that she would not stand it much longer at this location. In order to prevent this circumstance, she had sent Sebastian to finally bring her some decent food again. She had sent him off with instructions that she needed some nerve food. With an amused grin, Sebastian of course complied with this request immediately.
So she sat in her quarters in the early evening and waited for her butler. She sincerely hoped that he would actually bring her something tasty. At least she knew his sense of humor, but Serena trusted him that he had recognized the seriousness of the situation and would adequately comply with her request.
Suddenly she heard noises from below from the vestibules and immediately turned her head and looked at the door. The other residents of this house were usually quite quiet at this time of the day and Sebastian would never move at such a volume. With a frown, Serena stood up slowly, but did not take her eyes off the door. An uneasy feeling spread through her and before she could even think about it, she went to the door and held out her hand.
Just at the moment when she was about to turn the key in the lock, the door was jerked open. The hard wood hit her head, and Serena staggered back a few steps, dazed. Her forehead throbbed like hell and her face contorted with pain as she reached for her head.
"What the ...", she stammered and stared with wide eyes towards the door. There were three tall, strong men standing there, looking down at her threateningly. Each of them had some kind of baton in their hands and they seemed quite adept at their appearance alone.
"Who ... who are you?", Serena asked, stumbling back a few more steps, still holding her throbbing forehead. Unfortunately she didn't have much space to evade in this small room and so she was already bumping her legs against the wall behind her. The man at the front narrowed his eyes for a moment and grunted to himself. Then he bared a row of crooked yellow teeth as he grinned at her maliciously.
"Who do you think we are?", he replied and his two buddies laughed just as grunts behind him. Serena's heart was racing and she felt her knees slowly go weak at the sight of these men. Of course, she had immediately realized that she was dealing with criminals, but she had to say something. She couldn't just stand there and look like a scared bunny after all.
"Apparently, no gentleman.", she managed to say, surprising herself, "Otherwise you would know that you can not just enter the room of a lady like that.". It was a mystery to Serena herself how she managed to talk to these men in this way, her heart pounding and her knees shaky. She wanted to run away screaming, but the only way out was blocked by these intruders. So there was only one option left, namely to buy time. At some point Sebastian would come back and help her out of this situation. Until then, she had to distract these men somehow, no matter how scared she was.
The three in front of her laughed again and the foremost put a hand on his hip. From attentive eyes he looked directly at her and now raised an eyebrow slightly.
"There are no ladys living in this part of town, just whores.", he said and his left buddy then clearly wiggled his eyebrows. In addition to her knees, Serena's hands began to tremble too, but she pushed them quickly behind her back and interlaced her fingers there as tightly as she could.
"There ... you must be wrong.", Serena tried further, "I'm a respectable woman.". She sincerely hoped that these men weren't exactly gifted with intelligence and would not find out so quickly that she was only trying to buy time. But what else should she tell these three intruders? Soon she would reach her limits and Serena carefully searched the room for potential weapons. Would she be able to hit one of them with a chair? But how would she keep all three in check?
"Yeah ... of course you are.", one of them said with a hum and slowly walked towards her. Serena immediately pressed herself even closer to the wall in her back and the idea with the chair suddenly didn't seem so reprehensible to her. The other two men also started moving and Serena was forced to act.
She threw herself forward as fast as she could, hands outstretched for the chair. If she could at least manage to harm one of the men with it, the others might stop for a moment, she thought as she moved. While her fingertips were already reaching the wood of the chair, she turned her head slightly as if she wanted to look out the window.
"Seb ...", she wanted to call out, because she was sure that he should be close enough to hear her by now. Her attempted cry for help was cut short when one of the men slapped her hard on the back. The pain hit her so unprepared that she groaned and slumped to the ground. She hit the wooden floor hard and contorted her face in pain, but she immediately tried to push herself up again. Everything in her was reluctant to just give up now.
But while she was still moving, one of the men attacked her again and gave her a rough kick in the stomach. Serena felt as if her organs were being jumbled up and with no control over her body, she vomited reflexively and slumped to the floor again. Breathing heavily and panting, she raised her head a little dazed by the pain and her whole body began to tremble. Still, she gritted her teeth tightly and wanted to straighten up again.
The last thing she noticed was a heavy blow to her head before she sank into a black void.
When Serena slowly woke up again, at first she only heard dull noises and faint murmurs. It was as if someone had wrapped her in layers of blankets so that she could only see a fraction of what was going on around her. She blinked cautiously, but the room she was in was quite dark and as much as Serena tried, her eyes didn't really seem to want to get used to the darkness.
Gradually, however, the feeling finally returned to her body and so the pain. She remembered having been kicked and hit and these very places now throbbed on her body and made her face grimace again. As slowly and quietly as possible she turned her head a little and was glad that she could gradually see a bit of her surroundings, even if everything still looked a bit vague to her.
She was in a dark, windowless room. She could make out a few rustic pieces of furniture and there was a strong smell of alcohol and sweat. She wrinkled her nose in disgust when Serena was appalled to find that both her hands and feet had been tied together with ropes.
The memories of the three men who had invaded her room came back to her. Panic rose in her when she really realized what situation she was in and now her head shot around in a rush to look for her kidnappers. However, she was alone in the room and she did not hear any other noises that indicated other people. Serena didn't care if it was coincidence or sheer luck at that moment. The only thing she could think of was to escape.
Slowly and with a slight moan, she tried to get up as best she could, so that at some point she could sit with her back straight. As best as she could see, her gaze slid around the room to find something to cut her bonds with. But as she had almost suspected, she was unsuccessful. Better not to class her kidnappers as too stupid, she briefly reprimanded herself. Just as Serena wanted to straighten up a little further, she heard muffled voices from outside, which were slowly getting louder. Serena quickly threw herself back on the ground and tried to get roughly into the position in which she had just awakened. Not a second too late she lay still and closed her eyes when a door at the other end of the room was unlocked and someone entered.
"Still lying there.", she heard a male voice growl and recognized one of her kidnappers, "Did you have to hit her that hard?". Another annoyed hum could be heard.
"That bitch just didn't want to obey.", a second man said and Serena recognized the voic of another kidnapper.
"Can't wait, can you?", a third voice giggled, unknown to her. It was probably the third man who hadn't spoken in her presence, Serena suspected. She tried to breathe very slowly and deeply and above all to lie still. One fake twitch and the men would notice that she was already awake, and Serena's feeling told her that she had to avoid this.
"Shut up, idiot.", the first voice growled and heavy steps approached her, which came to a stop shortly in front of Serena. Even if she had closed her eyes, she could still feel the piercing looks of the men on her. As much as she resisted it, this condition alone gave her creepy goosebumps.
"But are we allowed to do that at all?", the second one asked into the silence. There was a bright slap, the sound of a hand hitting skin.
"Why not? He wasn't exactly precise with his instructions.", the third voice said and sounded almost arrogant.
"Well ... because his only job was to get rid of her.", the second voice answered the previous question, "So why don't we just do it?". Serena felt her heart stop beating for a moment at these words. Someone had hired these men to kill her, and without being able to prevent it, she began to shake all over her body. That she was still alive could mean only one thing in her deliberations, and the idea made her feel bitter. But Serena forced herself to lie there as still as possible. At the moment, this seemed her only way to be left alone by these men.
"You're really not the smartest.", the first voice growled again and Serena didn't like the smeary undertone in his voice, "He said we should get rid of the little one, but he didn't say that we couldn't have a little fun with her beforehand.".
At those words, Serena gave a hysterical peck. As hard as she had tried, this time she couldn't hold it back. The man's words stirred up pure fear in her and the trembling of her body continued to prevail. A cold shiver ran down her spine and her heart was beating uncontrollably, loud and fast in her chest.
"Oh ...", she only heard one of the men behind her say as steps approached her. A hand that was a little too warm was placed on her shoulder and pushed her around so that she was now looking directly into the face of the man above her. His lips were drawn into a malicious grin and with his other hand he slowly moved Serena's hip up and down.
"But don't take too much time.", one of the other two grumbled, "After all, we want to have fun with her too.". The man in front of her rolled his eyes a little for a moment, but then immediately looked down at her with a piercing look.
"Yeah, fuck off already.", he almost growled and in disgust Serena tried to turn away, but he still held her shoulder with one hand. When the door closed behind the other two men, he grabbed her shoulders with both hands and fixed her on the floor below.
"So, now we're finally alone ...", he muttered in a deep voice and his gaze wandered eagerly down her body until his eyes finally rested on her breasts. Serena's body was still trembling as badly as if it were in the middle of an icy blizzard, but her tongue finally came out of the rigidity it had been in until just a moment.
"Sebastian! Come at last!", she called as loud as she could, but her scream only echoed dull on the walls of the room. She hoped fervently that Sebastian was even remotely within earshot and that he would come to rescue her.
The man above her paused for a moment and blinked at her in confusion. At least she had apparently gained a few precious seconds that way. He looked at her with narrowed eyes and cocked his head.
"Who is that supposed to be ?", he muttered, " Do you think someone down here can hear you?". The end of his question turned more and more into a laugh and he bowed his head a little so that the tips of their noses were almost touching.
"Nobody will come for you, little one.", he whispered with an evil grin, "Because you are ...".
He was abruptly interrupted when a loud bang could be heard from the next room. He sat up with a jerk and his head flew around in the direction of the door. Even if he was still kneeling over her, Serena was already breathing slightly that he wasn't so close to her anymore.
He crouched rigidly and stared at the door. Serena also turned her head slowly, because meanwhile she could hear steps approaching the room with great speed. Her heart was pounding a little faster now, because the hope that it was actually her butler who hurried to this room grew bigger and bigger.
The door of this room was kicked in with just as loud a bang as shortly before , so that the piece of wood was hurled against the opposite wall. A tall, slim figure stood in the doorway. The weak light from the lamps in the next room illuminated the person's back so that the face could not be recognized, but one feature stood out quite clearly.
His glowing red eyes glowed menacingly in the black of the silhouette and fixed the man above Serena. Anyone else would probably have been frightened to see him, but not her. Those red eyes meant security to her.
"Get away from her.", he growled in a dark, menacing voice and even Serena got creepy goosebumps at his words. She had never heard him talk so annoyed before and only now did she wonder what exactly he had already done to the other two men.
"Who the hell are you?", the man shouted, a little panicked, and sat up with a jerk. His hand was already on his belt, where he probably carried a knife or other weapon, but Serena couldn't quite make out it. But even if he did, it wouldn't do anything against her butler, she thought.
"I am the hell.", Sebastian whispered still frightening before he leaped forward like a shadow. Serena's eyes were too slow and his movement too fast, because as she blinked, Sebastian had twisted the man's neck.
The body of the man who had just kneeled over her slumped lifeless to the ground next to her and stared at her with dead eyes. There was brief silence and Serena quickly averted her gaze from the corpse right next to her. She looked carefully at her butler, who was still standing in front of her like a dark figure and did not move for a moment.
Then he slowly crouched down in front of her and his face finally became visible to Serena through the weak light of the room. The menacing eyes, which had just been glowing red, now looked down at her with concern, and very tenderly he stretched out his arms and took her face in his hands.
"Is everything all right, Lady Serena?", he whispered and his voice had nothing in common with the one he had just used, "Are you hurt?". Just his touch brought her heartbeat back into a calm, even path and she let out a relieved breath.
"No, I'm fine.", she replied softly. The relief was literally written on his face and he quickly began to loosen her bonds. As Serena straightened up, he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly to his chest.
" You can't be left alone for a moment ...", he mumbled into her hair and Serena closed her eyes for a moment and inhaled his pleasant scent. It was so comforting to know that she was in his arms again.
"These men were assigned to kill me.", she said quietly after enjoying this moment so close to him. Sebastian carefully released his embrace and looked at her worried.
"By Wyrodd?", he asked with a scowl. Serena looked him in the eye and gave a very weak shrug.
"Probably, at least I wouldn't think of anyone else who would do something like that. But how did he even find out about me?", Sebastian's eyes rested on her for a moment before he straightened up again and offered her his hand.
"Unfortunately, I can't tell you that either, my lady.", he said as he helped Serena to her feet, "But I know that it would be better to return to your cottage now. Such an incident should not be repeated.". The concern was clearly in his voice and while Serena tried as best she could to ignore the fact that there was a corpse at her feet, she nodded in agreement. She too had more than enough of the London underworld by now. Also, if Wyrodd was behind the attack, it was probably best to return to her cottage. That was where she felt safest.
"You're right.", she said, leaning a little against him. She didn't know exactly how to proceed, but Serena was sure that she would always be able to count on her butler.
Published on 02-04-2021
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