Malum: Part 1 (The Elite King's Club 4)

Daemon’s book!

I spin around in search for my duffle bag, finding nothing but a damp puddle on concrete ground. The very ground I woke up on. Gross.

Muffled whispers echo off the long hallway that resembles a prison sector, with I don’t know how many cells leading off.

“Who’s there?” I call out, pressing my cheek to the cool bar in an attempt to get a better look.

“They won’t answer,” the voice that replies to my hurried question sounds robotic.

I scream, spinning around quickly to where the foreign voice came from in my cell, but no one is here. “Who is that?”

I catch movement near a dark corner on the other side of my cell, and that’s when I see the outline of someone. “What do you want from me?”

There’s a long silence, aside from the whispers that don’t seem to stop. A dark chuckle ripples through the air like a bad frequency threatening to taint everything you thought you knew. “I don’t want anything from you.”

I chew on my bottom lip. “Well can you come out of the shadow, so I can at least see you better?”

“No.”

I slide down the cell door until my ass hits the cold ground. “Are you a prisoner?”

“Yes.” There’s a roughness to the way he talks.

I’m intrigued. Aside from the robotic tone.

“God I fucking hate that bitch.” I decide to change the subject, massaging my temples. “I’m going to kill her.”

“Yeah?” the voice says, and I don’t miss the bite in his tone. “Make sure you save me her tits so I can tear them off and feed them to my dog.”

I don’t bother to look toward him. I know I can’t see. “Your dog likes silicon?”

He doesn’t answer.

“What’s your name?”

I turn my head to look over my shoulder, my eyes going back to the baby rattle that’s sitting in the middle of the cell. It’s a haunting reminder of what I’ve lost and what I also need to find.

“Don’t have a name.”

I turn back to face the shadow. “Well, that’s just sad…”

That was a dumb thing to say. I blame it on stress and confusion.

Silence. Nothing more than silence fills the cold space between us.

This is getting weird, talking to someone who I can’t see and who has a strange voice. “This is ridiculous. I can’t believe I’m locked in this shit cell.” Shut up, Tillie. Stop talking. Find a way to get out. My head hurts. I slam my eyes closed and pull my legs up to rest my face on my knees.

“Do you know why you’re here?” the voice asks. I should call him Shadow. Since he is nothing but one.

I turn to face the shadow. “Yes and no. Do you?” Where the fuck is Gabriel?

“…Yes.” His voice. There’s something about it that sparks something inside of me.

The sound of a door opening and heavy heels click across the concrete hallway. I stand, stepping backward until I bump into shadow man. I didn’t realize I had ventured into his space. “Sorry.”

His chest is to my back. I can feel every intake of breath that he takes. I can also feel how rock hard his chest is pressing against my back. He’s tall, and…built.

His lips come to my ear. “Are you the mea principessa?”

My body stills. I step away, but the man’s hand presses against my flat tummy, holding me against his chest. “You wanna kill her, principessa? Then do it.” His voice falls over us like a cage of darkness. I feel safe within his grip. “Show me what you’ve got…” I feel cold metal slide over my lower belly and tuck into the front of my panties, gliding over my flesh. I know instantly that it’s a knife.

Shit.

His smirk presses against the back of my neck, right as the cell unlocks and Khales comes into view. Dressed in a short crop top and a leather miniskirt, her black hair is tied in a high ponytail. She’s looking right at the shadow.

She smirks. “Ready to see your mother, Tills?”

I straighten my shoulders.

Shadow man chuckles. “Sic ‘em, girl.”

I don’t know what it is or why. I do not even know the shadow, but he gives me a direct line of confidence. One that I need right at this very moment.

I tilt my head, my eyes running over her body. “You know, you could have had something good with Hector.” I glance at the guards who stand behind her, two of them. Standing staunch with their legs spread apart slightly. They waver every now and then, a little unsteady on their loyalty maybe?

Khales chuckles. “Oh, I can’t even begin to tell you how wrong you are.” She lunges toward me, her hand coming to my throat. Before I can register what is happening, I’m being smashed against a cold wall. “I saw you found Daemon’s book.” She tilts her head, looking me up and down.