Thirty-Four
“NO!” I scream. “Don’t touch her, don’t touch her!” I fight desperately against the enchanted ropes. I pull my legs up and work at the knots around my ankles, but they’re so tight they don’t budge. I writhe and tug and twist but it’s so damn useless. “Zed! ZED! Don’t do anything to her, PLEASE!” I roll and squirm my way toward the stairs. I have no way of cutting these ropes and no plan of any sort, but I can’t just sit here. “Zed, please,” I sob. “Please don’t do it, please don’t do it.” How can he think that taking a life so pure and innocent could possibly right any kind of wrong?
Before I reach the stairs, footsteps descend. Zed appears at the bottom, carrying a wrapped up bundle of blankets in his arms. I can see Victoria’s perfect little face, her closed eyes. She’s sti
