hadn’t really noticed it on the way, so intent was I not to slip or lose track of her behind me.
“This is the way up,” I pronounced.
She nodded, long hair swishing ahead of me, but didn’t say a thing.
We started back to the car to meet Rick.
He met us on the way down.
“I heard a scream,” he huffed, clearly out of breath.
“Was it your conscience?” Annabel said.
Rick looked her over and then gave a pointed glance at me.
“I can understand wanting her arms around you during the act, but shouldn’t you tie her back up now?”
I explained what had happened, and he performed the same test I had. She didn’t scream this time when his fingers touched the spot on her forearm, but I could see the swelling there now, and her face pinched as he felt it. Her breath shuddered.
“Let’s get it wrapped then,” he said.
We used strips of towels to wrap her arm. Whether it was broken, fractured or just badly bruised, it seemed best to immobilize it and tie it up in a sling. Then we lunched on some leftover crackers and cheese from the stash we’d found in Annabel’s tent. Finally, as the sun moved towards 2 o’clock, we packed up our things and began our ascent.
The path had looked like a level walk around the base of an unclimbable mountain, but actually, it was a slow corkscrew, leading gently but unquestionably upwards. The sun was hot, and the sweat bled all of our backs into Vs of dark exhaustion. After an hour of silent plodding, I called for a rest, and we sat on the edge of the path, looking out.
We’d circled the mountain. Straight down and to the right, I could see the rusting wreck of our car, and off in the distance, the pale ribbon of the path we’d driven faded lighter and lighter into a horizon bleached of all life.
The wasteland surrounded us, and we were winding inexorably into its very heart.
Surprisingly, it was Annabel who finally broke the silence.
“After you kill me, what will you ask for?”
Rick stared at her. He hadn’t expected his lamb to know she was being led to the slaughter. She had not asked where we were taking her, and that made it easy for us. But she’d known all along. Not too surprising, I supposed. Where else could this road lead?
“Mastery of the power,” he answered presently. “I’ve studied and practiced and sacrificed. But I can’t get there without her help.”
Annabel nodded, as if she completely understood what he was talking about. I barely grasped what he was after myself. I’d participated in his rituals, and helped him clean up the messes afterwards. But while he insisted they were means to an end, it seemed to me that it was just an excuse for the ultimate in debauchery. He enjoyed the flayings too much. And while he’d shown me a parlor trick or two, I really didn’t believe, deep down, that Rick was more than a two-bit magician with a kink for blood. Truth be told, up to now, that had suited me just fine.
She didn’t speak again, but looked out over the endless ocean of death with faraway eyes. I realized then that her eyes were grey, like the earth below. They held a stillness too, and the proud line of her nose seemed chiseled from the hard ground we walked on. She was a quiet core of strength, not a silly girl, as I’d expected when I pinned her to the ground the night before. Her eyes shifted, caught me staring, and I averted my gaze. But not before I’d seen the spark in those steely pools and the slight smirk in her smile.
She was not broken yet, I realized. She’d seen her boyfriend brutally murdered, been violently raped, maybe broken her arm and knew she was on the way to be sacrificed, yet she wasn’t afraid.
Annabel was dangerous.
When I looked back at her, she was still staring at me, and my stomach shivered.
“How’s your arm?” I asked, eager to break her concentration on me.
Her smile twitched.
“Hurts like a mother,” she whispered.
“You didn’t know my mother,” I said.
“All mothers are
“This is the way up,” I pronounced.
She nodded, long hair swishing ahead of me, but didn’t say a thing.
We started back to the car to meet Rick.
He met us on the way down.
“I heard a scream,” he huffed, clearly out of breath.
“Was it your conscience?” Annabel said.
Rick looked her over and then gave a pointed glance at me.
“I can understand wanting her arms around you during the act, but shouldn’t you tie her back up now?”
I explained what had happened, and he performed the same test I had. She didn’t scream this time when his fingers touched the spot on her forearm, but I could see the swelling there now, and her face pinched as he felt it. Her breath shuddered.
“Let’s get it wrapped then,” he said.
We used strips of towels to wrap her arm. Whether it was broken, fractured or just badly bruised, it seemed best to immobilize it and tie it up in a sling. Then we lunched on some leftover crackers and cheese from the stash we’d found in Annabel’s tent. Finally, as the sun moved towards 2 o’clock, we packed up our things and began our ascent.
The path had looked like a level walk around the base of an unclimbable mountain, but actually, it was a slow corkscrew, leading gently but unquestionably upwards. The sun was hot, and the sweat bled all of our backs into Vs of dark exhaustion. After an hour of silent plodding, I called for a rest, and we sat on the edge of the path, looking out.
We’d circled the mountain. Straight down and to the right, I could see the rusting wreck of our car, and off in the distance, the pale ribbon of the path we’d driven faded lighter and lighter into a horizon bleached of all life.
The wasteland surrounded us, and we were winding inexorably into its very heart.
Surprisingly, it was Annabel who finally broke the silence.
“After you kill me, what will you ask for?”
Rick stared at her. He hadn’t expected his lamb to know she was being led to the slaughter. She had not asked where we were taking her, and that made it easy for us. But she’d known all along. Not too surprising, I supposed. Where else could this road lead?
“Mastery of the power,” he answered presently. “I’ve studied and practiced and sacrificed. But I can’t get there without her help.”
Annabel nodded, as if she completely understood what he was talking about. I barely grasped what he was after myself. I’d participated in his rituals, and helped him clean up the messes afterwards. But while he insisted they were means to an end, it seemed to me that it was just an excuse for the ultimate in debauchery. He enjoyed the flayings too much. And while he’d shown me a parlor trick or two, I really didn’t believe, deep down, that Rick was more than a two-bit magician with a kink for blood. Truth be told, up to now, that had suited me just fine.
She didn’t speak again, but looked out over the endless ocean of death with faraway eyes. I realized then that her eyes were grey, like the earth below. They held a stillness too, and the proud line of her nose seemed chiseled from the hard ground we walked on. She was a quiet core of strength, not a silly girl, as I’d expected when I pinned her to the ground the night before. Her eyes shifted, caught me staring, and I averted my gaze. But not before I’d seen the spark in those steely pools and the slight smirk in her smile.
She was not broken yet, I realized. She’d seen her boyfriend brutally murdered, been violently raped, maybe broken her arm and knew she was on the way to be sacrificed, yet she wasn’t afraid.
Annabel was dangerous.
When I looked back at her, she was still staring at me, and my stomach shivered.
“How’s your arm?” I asked, eager to break her concentration on me.
Her smile twitched.
“Hurts like a mother,” she whispered.
“You didn’t know my mother,” I said.
“All mothers are
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