My feet made the bones that laid before me crunch as my weight pressed down upon them. I felt a shuddering chill of revulsion echo through me as I noticed there were more childlike bones then there had been on my last visit.
I realised my brain must have conjured the images, but it didn’t make sense, I didn’t need any mental reminders of what a sick bastard he really was, everyone who worked for him was aware of his nature. The only reason no one rebelled was due to self-preservation. We were all well aware of how he could end our lives at a snap of his fingers. Either by his own hand or by a simple order, he would make a father kill his own son or vice versa just to prove his power and their loyalties to him.
I continued to walk down the hall before it suddenly opened up to his throne room, I saw him sitting on his throne of bones with a fire burning deep within his eyes. It was at that moment that the truth of the matter finally dawned on me. I may very well have been dreaming, but he was the one who was controlling what I would see, like always, he held all the power.
“I am very disappointed in you Lawson, I expected a report from you at least a week ago, and you dared to keep me waiting.” His voice boomed around the hollow room and it took all my might not to shudder from the power that radiated from it, but I knew better than to demonstrate any weakness in front of him.
“Forgive me my lord, I was waiting until I had deemed the facts from the fiction,” I replied, hoping that he couldn’t see through my deception.
“I don’t care for your excuses you insolent child, when I issue orders, I expect them to be carried out to the letter, with includes mandated weekly reports. I haven’t had you up there for the past year, to go quiet on me all of a sudden. Do not forget that I can end your life just as easily as I can snap my fingers. You are expendable boy, the only reason you have such a high place is because my naïve wife saw something within you and of course because of the ability that you possess. But that does not mean that I will not end you right here.”
I’m not sure what it was about what he said, but something just snapped within me and I couldn’t stop my next words from pooling out of my mouth, like poison from a leaking bottle, no stopper was going to contain them.
“Then do it, end my life. Do you really believe that I fear death, in truth I welcome it, so go ahead, take your best shot old man.”
I saw the rage as it filled his eyes up and they shone with utter danger on my behalf.
He slowly rose from his throne and no matter how hard I tried; I could not make my legs move. He closed the distance that had been between us and curled his long fingers around my neck as he raised me up, leaving nothing but the tips of my shoes on the floor.
“I can do a lot worse than kill you, you stupid child, have you already forgotten the fact that there is a fate worse than death waiting for any who would be stupid enough to tempt it or me for that matter. Now I will expect you to be here in the flesh first thing tomorrow. Do not disappoint me Lawson, because you won’t be the only one made to suffer, give my regards to Katherine.”
He dropped me down to the floor and I breathed in deeply, trying to keep my words in my mind, not wanting to make the situation any worse than I already had.
“No matter what creature you two have helping you up there, I will always find a way to reach you, remember that child now you really should run along, but before you go, I have a little parting gift for you to remember me by.”
I didn’t have a chance to question his words as his hand came crushing down on the top of my head, with his fingers squeezing, sending a pain slicing through my mind. It started in the tip of my skull before travelling down my neck, into my shoulders and chest, until it was pushing through every part of me, making me feel as though I was coming apart at the seams. I couldn’t hold my scream back any longer, as it poured out of my mouth, the pain did nothing more than intensify to stronger limits.
Z
My eyes shot open, as I rolled out of bed, the pain followed me through from my dream and it caused me to fall to the floor as my knees buckled and my legs gave out. I clutched my head within my palms and felt the screams still being released from my mouth. But it sounded muffled to my own ears, almost as though my ears had been stuffed with cotton.
At some point during my screaming, Kat had entered my room and I could see her panicked eyes through my black hazed vision before I lost focus and the pain blinded me as well as incapacitating me. I couldn’t hear any words she may have said, but when she tried to touch me the pain only intensified until I finally blacked out from it all and the pain could no longer reach me.
Z
I wasn’t aware of how much time passed until I finally re-awakened, all I knew was my body was sprawled out on the floor and my head was resting in somebody’s lap. When I slowly lifted my head, I realised it had been resting on Kat and I couldn’t help but hope that maybe we may be able to move forward and repair our ruined friendship.
“What happened Lawson, I’ve never seen you like that, you terrified me,” she stated, as her voice waivered ever so slightly.
“He found a way to reach me through my dreams, I had no control over them, it was like I was just there for the ride. He wants me down there first thing to give my report on Unya, but I don’t want to give it to him. I can’t tell him all that I have learned about her, I know he will take control of her the first chance he can. She should at least get until her eighteenth to enjoy her life,” I stated.
“No Lawson, she should get her whole life, this is why I warned you not to get involved. The only thing is, how did he reach you, he shouldn’t be able to touch you while you are under my roof,” She replied trying to fool herself into believing that she was still safe from him.
“He found a way Kat and I have to throw Unya under the bus, if I don’t, he will hurt you, he practically spelt it out for me.”
She pushed me away from her as she rose to her feet. “We both have somewhere to be then it seems, I will try to find out how he managed to get to you and I guess you had better do as you’re told, you always do anyway,” She said that last part more quietly than the rest, but it still rang loud within my own ears.
“What the hell is that supposed to be?” I asked growing more and more frustrated with every second that passed.
“You have done nothing but lie to that poor girl since the moment you met and it’s all for ‘his’ will, do you know how twisted it is that you keep welcoming her back here. Training her how to protect herself and showing her your stash of weapons that you may very well use on her before this is all over.”
“Of course I know how messed up it is, why do you think I am training her so she could at least stand a chance against someone like me. And against my better judgement I don’t think I can be completely honest with his ‘lordship’ about everything that has been uncovered about her, not yet anyway.”
She looked at me with a sympathetic look before she turned away from me and we both set off on our own tasks, both of us having to go somewhere that we would rather not visit. For Kat, it was to the guy who held her heart and for me, well that was a little more complicated. You see I had to go and see my boss and not only was he Hade’s himself, the ruler of the underworld, but also my stepfather, luckily, he was not aware of that slight twist. If he were, there would be no way that I would have survived for as long as I had.
Chapter Thirty
Unya