Episode 005
2221 Words
Dominick pointed his gun slightly, his voice a threatening snarl. Celeste, you have made your argument. Now turn away before you force me too far.
She said, "Oh, darling," moving another step forward. "You are not the one presently carrying the cards."
She snapped her fingers, and from the shadows two more disguised and armed creatures surfaced.
"Domnick...," I said softly, holding his arm.
"Stay close," he said, his body tense with stress.
Celeste waved a hand with a contemptuous sweep. "Don't fret, Sienna." They are not here to do you damage. Still: But should Dominick fail to comply... She let the insinuation hang like a noose.
"What do you wish for??" Dominick insisted, his voice a concoction of desperation and rage.
"Justice," Celeste murmured, her voice abruptly icy. " Dominick, you destroyed my life. My past, my reputation, my future I was everything to you; you threw me aside like trash. I am now paying the return-of- favors.
Dominick's voice quivering with rage, "Don't you dare drag Sienna into this?" he asked. "This resides between us."
"Oh, but she's the key to it all," Celeste said, her eyes straying shockingly precisely to me. "Good little Sienna." He told you about the others as well? Alternatively are you still caught in the fantasy that you are unique?
The blood was leaving my face. "Other?," asked
Dominick answered quickly, "She's lying," but his hesitancy revealed him.
Celeste graced herself. "Am i? Sweetheart, you should find information about the ladies before you. Find out from him how they turned out after they got rather near to the truth.
I backed off, my head whirling. "Domestic, is that accurate?"
"No," he answered firmly, but his voice betrayed enough uncertainty to cause my stomach to turn over.
The tension was broken by distant sirens, but Celeste did not flutter. She bent in close, her voice a poisonous whisper.
Dominick, this is not done here. Not by a long shot.
Her entourage trailed her as she turned on her heel into the darkness.
The sirens got louder, then Dominick grabbed my arm and dragged me toward his car.
He added, his voice devoid of any opportunity for debate, "We have to go."
I jerked my arm free, resentment boiling beneath. Not sure! Not until you speak the truth. Including everything.
"I can't do that here," he murmured, his eyes straying to the flames devouring the estate. "They'll be back, Sienna. We have no time for this.
"I'm not interested!" My voice broke as I yelled. "I'm done living in the shadows. Either I go away permanently or you tell me now.
Dominick stammered, his hands closed into fists. You won't look at me the same way once I tell you.
Try me, I whispered, heart thumping.
A black envelope caught by the wind from the blazing house dropped on the ground in front of us before he could reply.
I took it up, opening it with shaky hands. Inside found one solitary picture.
It was my.
bound and puked.
As Dominick read the statement scrawled in red ink on the rear, his face became white.
"You are not able to save Carlisle. You lose this time as well.
Without me, Dominick, you are nowhere. You could be able to shut the world off, but you cannot shut me off anymore.
His eyes blazed, the gray depths whirling in frustration and something deeper. Sienna, this is not up for discussion. You are not clear on the stakes involved.
I drew forward, daring him to turn away. Then go over it with me. Stop treating me as if I were delicate. Dominick, I already find myself pulled into this dream. You can least help me fight with you.
He drew a hand through his dark hair and exhaled strongly. You are going to die personally.
"And you think I would prefer to live under your lies' shadow?" My voice broke as the weight of the last several days caught up with me. At least, I will die knowing the truth. That's better than living in constant anxiety and waiting for someone to piecemeal me apart.
Dominick's hands seized my shoulders, his touch both strong and frantic. "You think this is fear?," he snipped. This is me attempting to keep you alive. You really get it? Only you are helping me to remain sane. Should something happen to you— “
Then fight for me! I lunged back, my feelings bubbling over. "Stop trying me."
For a brief instant, unsaid words electrified the air between us, propelled by emotions too raw to control. His forehead slumped against mine, his hold slack.
"I cannot lose you, Sienna," he said softly. Neither do you.
My heart tightened, the sensitivity in his voice slicing through my resentment. Then quit trying to distance me. Allow me to enter, Dominick. Allow me to assist you.
His lips softly touched my forehead, like a featherlight stroke weakening my knees. You are the strongest person I have ever known. But this planet is more ugly than you would believe.
Whispering back, "I don't care," my hands rested on his chest. "I am able to face anything as long as I am beside you.
The moment seemed brittle, like through a glass thread stretched too thin. Then the sound of cracking glass totally broke it.
We both turned toward the sound, Dominick standing in front of me almost naturally. "Stay behind me," he said, his voice crisp and demanding.
Like hell I will, I said, reaching for a paperweight from the table.
"Sienna," he cautioned, but the library door crashed open before he could protest any more.
Under a ski mask, a man in black tactical gear burst in. With a chilly and deliberate voice, he said, "Mr. Carlisle." "You have been a difficult man to locate.
"Let her go," Dominick growled, his voice like steel.
The man laughed, and the sound was terrible. You are not in a position to issue orders.
My heart pounding, I gripped the paperweight closer as Dominick moved slightly to place himself between me and the invader. "What do you wish for??" Dominick asked, his voice almost calm.
"Justice," the man said with contempt. "Or perhaps merely retribution." Difficult these days are to tell.
Dominick advised him to leave, his fingers itching toward the revolver holstered at his waist. "Before I make you".
"Dominick," I said, my voice shaking.
The man c****d his head, as though at last seeing me. Ah, the girl, he remarked, stepping forward. "The famous Sienna." You look better than I would have guessed. Shame you are entwined with a man like him.
With his revolver now pulled and leveled, Dominick said, "Take one more step and you'll regret it."
Once more, the man laughed, his confidence troubling. You are not scheduled for a shot. Not in line with your knowledge of the sender.
Dominick stumbled, the fastest flutter of doubt across his features.
"Who forwarded to you?" I insisted, my voice more steady than I could have imagined.
The man grinned, not looking at me. Carlisle, you are running out of time. Your tiny damsel here won't survive when the walls close in.
Dominick shot enough to break a lamp nearby, warning. Tell me who emailed you; the next one passes through your skull.
The man remained calm, his lack flinching disturbing. You already know, he said vaguely. And you will shortly enough meet them.
The man tossed a smoke bomb on the floor before Dominick could fire the trigger once again. Thick, stifling smoke enveloped the room, and I felt Dominick's arms encircle me drawing me toward the door.
Coughing and struggling for breath, we staggered into the hall. The distance echoed the sound of the intruder's withdrawing footfall.
"This is escalating," I remarked, my voice strained. We cannot keep running like this.
"I know," Dominick answered, his countenance austere. "But right now we are without options."
We do, indeed, I responded, clutching his arm. "We stop running defense and take the fight to them."
Glancing at me, he seemed to be both afraid and in admiration. You are amazing, you know that?
" Save the flattery," I advised. "Let's call this to a close."
His cell buzzed in his pocket before he could reply. He withdrew it, his eyebrows wrinkling as he perused the message.
He said, showing me the screen, "It's a location." She died, the simple message was: Come alone.
Dominick's face turned steely, his hold on the phone strengthening.
The words flowed out before I could think as I added, "I'm not letting you go alone."
He continued, his tone devoid of opportunity for debate: "You're not coming with me."
"I'm not letting you do this alone!”
"This isn't up for discussion, Sienna," he continued, his voice cracking somewhat. They'll kill you.
"They're going to kill you too!" I turned back, my chest thumping.
He answered nothing; his eyes dropped back to the phone once more.
"Dominick," I murmured, speaking quieter now. "I will never forgive you if you walk out that door without me."
He closed his eyes momentarily, as though engaged in a personal struggle. He opened them to find a mixture of hopelessness and will.
Quietly, he said, "I'm doing this for you."
He turned and disappeared into the darkness before I could stop him, leaving me standing in the empty corridor with just the echo of his footfall and the terrible knowledge that this might be my final time seeing him alive.
My heart thumping against my chest, I halted in the hall as Dominick closed the door. His leaving had weight like a tidal wave. I couldn let him handle this by himself. I could not only watch and wait for something to happen.
But the phone buzzed in my fingers and I jumped before I could respond. Looking at the screen, hoping it was Dominick—a message indicating he had made it safely. On the screen, though, the name was not his.
Celeste, it was.
Opening the note, my heartbeat accelerated every second. The lesson was brief yet terrifying.
You really ought to have listened. It comes too late right now. Come see me at the old warehouse, Sienna. Either he passes away or else
I sensed the blood leaving my face. I had no idea whether she was lying, if she had any sort of trick planned, or if she was really able to carry out what she was threatening. I couldn, however, afford the risk. Not following all the rules. Not in line with all he has done for me.
My head running, I grabbed my jacket and hurried toward the door without thinking. I had to locate him, get to him before it was too late. But the sound of a muffled voice drew me back as I grabbed for the handle.
Heart pounding, I turned to find one of the masked men tensely seated in the corridor's gloom. He had been watching for me.
"Where are you going?" His low and ominous voice said.
Breath quickening, I snapped, "Get out of my way." "I have no time for this."
"Sure you do," he responded, hiding all save his cold, calculated eyes with his mask. "You really have all the time in the world. You might hardly get to the warehouse at all.
He came forward, blocking the door with his hand reaching into his jacket before I could react. Tension saturated the air, quiet between us choking.
I answered, attempting to steady my voice despite the panic crawling into my chest: "I'm not afraid of you."
You should be, he continued, his voice dark with threat. "And Dominick's fate should really worry you more."
He took a little gadget out of his jacket, and I shivered along my spine. Pressing a button with a twisted smirk, he remarked, "You're too late."
The sound of metal and glass broke across the night, a far-off explosion. As the world seemed to fall around me, my heart fell into my stomach.
"Dominate!," I cried and ran past him toward the door.
But I felt a strong tug on my arm before I could get two steps, and the earth whirled.
From the pure intensity of the explosion, my knees crumbled beneath me as the masked man's grasp tightened on my arm drew me back. My ears rang, and the globe seemed to fade.
The man said, "You're too late," his breath hot against my ear.
"Where's he?," I insisted, my voice trembling with unvarnished passion. "What have you done to him?."
He bent in closer, his voice low and almost personal. Soon enough you will find out. But just now the clock is running. Unless you can play their game, he is not going to make it.
I wrenched my arm out from his hold, my head racing to find Dominick anywhere. But the man's remarks sliced through my terror like a razor before I could think straight.
Sienna, you will never save him if you keep running. You have decisions t
o make. You let it happen or you stop him from making the ultimate sacrifice.
The door shut behind me, and in that instant the weight of his comments knocked me down more than any blow I had ever experienced.
- Writer
