Marked For His Salvation

Chapter Three

LIRA

The car stopped and I barely had time to breathe before the door opened.

Rough hands pulled me out and I stumbled, my legs stiff from the travel. They dragged me forward before I could even steady myself.

I counted four guards before we reached the first turn and put it away quietly. Not because I could do anything with the information yet. But later was the only thing worth thinking about right now.

We moved through a series of hallways. The air was thick with the stench of decayed flesh and something worse like death. I couldn’t quite place it but it made my skin crawl. With every step, my heart thudded frantically in my chest. The deeper we went the more the air pressed in like it didn’t want me there.

Then we reached a door.

The guards opened it and the second I stepped inside I felt it. Cold ran down my spine like a warning and I froze.

The energy in the room was dark and strange in a way I couldn’t explain. The smell hit my nose hard, blood or whatever I couldn’t tell what it was. It was strong thick and everywhere. Staining the walls. Dried in the cracks of the floor.

Then I saw them, the decorations. There weren’t really decorations, they were bones, skulls, not fake. Not staged. Real human bones.

My stomach clenched and my throat burned as bile rose up. I pressed my lips hard against each other, shutting my eyes briefly to calm my nerves. I would not give them the satisfaction of seeing my weak.

Then the energy in the room changed. The air shifted. It became colder and darker as something cold rolled in like a shadow before a storm and I didn’t need anyone to say it.

I knew Kael Draven had arrived.

Without a word, all the guards dropped to their knees.

I stayed standing. My legs were shaking so badly I didn’t know how much longer they could support me but I stayed standing because if I went down now, I wasn’t sure I’d get back with anything still intact.

Slowly I lifted my head. And there he was.

He was looking straight at me.

Tall and built like he was carved out of war. But it was his face that made my blood run cold. Three deep scars cut across his cheek and jaw like claw marks, the kind that came from something that really wanted to finish the job. His eyes were pale icy blue and completely empty. Not cold the way my father’s eyes were cold. My father’s coldness was performed. This was different. No soul. Just dark.

This was the man they gave me to. This was the monster they said would take care of me.

He walked toward me slowly, each step calm and confident like he had all the time in the world.

I forced my chin up. My heart racing in my chest.

“Don’t show it Li,” I said to myself. “Whatever you do, don’t show it.”

Every part of me screamed to turn and bolt but I didn’t. I stayed still. I wouldn’t show fear. I couldn’t afford to. I had to survive this.

He stopped right in front of me. Close enough that I could feel his hot and foul breath against my skin.

Then he let out a low and cruel laughter causing me to shudder involuntarily.

"You are quite a beauty," he said, his eyes roaming over me.

I didn’t even have time to process his words before his large hand closed around my neck and pulled me forward. I gasped, startled, my body going stiff. His face was just inches away from mine now. His eyes glazed over me, slow and assessing, until they landed on my lips.

Then a sick smile formed on his face. He leaned in too close and dragged his tongue slowly over my lips.

A shudder coursed through my body and without thinking, my teeth snatched his cheeks and I bit down on it, hard enough to taste blood.

Kael hissed, quickly pulling away. His hand touched the damage I’d just created. Blood. His face twisted with rage and disbelief as he glared at me.

But just when I thought he’d become the beast he was, he surprised me with a smile wide and sinister. My action only seemed to have made him excited.

"Feisty too. I like that.” He licked the blood off his fingers, his eyes gleaming with mischief. It only made my stomach dip.

Then he turned to his guards, "She's mine," he declared sharply. "Nobody touches her but me. Take her to the head maid.” He jolted his head at me. “She’ll only attend to me."

Before I could even catch my breath I was dragged out of the room with my brain trying to process everything that just happened. I couldn’t help but wonder if I had just plunged myself into a deeper hole.

They led me into a large kitchen, but the heat from the ovens didn’t chase away the cold sinking into my bones. An older woman stood by the counter, her back to me. When she turned, I saw a face that stopped caring about anything.

Her cold eyes assessed me nonchalantly. “Is this the girl?” She asked plainly.

“Yes.” The guard responded stiffly.

The woman barely spared me another glance before she turned around, “Come with me.” She said curtly.

I nodded silently, my hands trembling slightly as I followed her into a small room, a pantry. She thrust a folded black maid’s uniform into my arms. “Get changed. Your work starts now.”

The way she said made me accept the uniform without any words. I changed into the stiff uniform, then she launched into a list of instructions. She was cold, and fast, not caring if I understood her or not.

“You’re the second girl chosen for this position,” she stated, her tone flat and eyes unwavering.

My stomach dropped. I hesitated, but curiosity got the better of me. “What happened to the first one?” I asked, voice hushed.

I gazed at her expecting an answer to my question even though I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear it.

She turned slowly, her eyes blank, her face devoid of emotion. “She tried to escape,” she said flatly. “They bathed her in silver and burned her alive. And if you try to escape too, you will end up the same. Or worse. Depends on the leader’s mood.”

My breath caught in my throat. My heart dropped, and my knees gave out, I reached for the counter to steady myself. I took slow steady breaths, trying to control my raging nerves. I couldn’t fall apart now. Not in front of her. Not here.

“There’s an auction tonight,” She went on, her voice indifferent. “You will serve the leader and his guests. Don’t make mistakes. Don’t speak unless you are spoken to. Do you understand?”

She paused. “Do not make eye contact with the guests unless they address you directly. I promise you, you are better off here than with any of them.” Her voice didn’t change, didn’t soften but her eyes held something I couldn’t quite explain.

Then she turned back to the counter and began to scribble down something which looked like a list, ignoring my existence until she left the room, leaving her paper and pen on the counter.

_____

An hour later, I stood in the doorway of a massive, spotless hall; the auction room. I expected to see expensive things: maybe jewels, art, or rare items.

But boy was I wrong. As I walked into the hall, my stomach twisted in dread. The women were the goods.

They hung from metal bars, chained up, and dressed in nothing but their undergarments. Slowly, they were turned like meat on display, spinning for the room to judge.

Their eyes were wide with terror. Their faces were stuck in a silent scream. I gulped hard, my hands trembling as I stepped further into the room.

My eyes roamed the room, taking in everything, guard position, the exits and most importantly the guest.

I knew trying to escape on my own would either end up with me being incapacitated or dead. But what if one of those men is my escape route?

I stared at the faces of the men seated, their eyes fixed on the women before. Their excitement unmistakable. Their eyes all carried the same look——greed and lust and for a moment I thought my plans would be futile until I saw him.

He sat four seats away from Kael’s main position, slightly removed from the group. While every other man in the room was leaning forward, shouting numbers, high on excitement, this one stayed still. Watching the room like it wasn’t worth his time.

He didn’t look like the others. He didn’t look like trouble.

“He looks boring,” I thought, hope rising in me. “Beautifully, usefully boring.”

With a slight nod, I began to make my way back into the kitchen but decided to take a detour into the pantry, hoping I still find the paper and pen. And as if the moon goddess was on my side, I found them right where the head maid had left them earlier.

Without wasting anymore time, I immediately scribbled down two words.

I folded it neatly. Then went back to the kitchen, pick up my tray and tucked the paper under the tray and made my way back out.

I served Kael first, my eyes not meeting his gaze despite him grazing his fingers against my skin. Then I served the men beside him. Then I moved down the table, one drink at a time, getting closer.

“Don’t rush! Don’t look at him yet,” I muttered to myself.

I reached his seat. With my heart racing in my chest, I set down his drink with my right hand, and with my left, the one holding the tray, I brought the folded paper out from under my thumb, pressed it against the base of the glass, and let it go.

Then I straightened and walked away, serving two more men. For the first time in years, I prayed to the moon goddess that he wouldn’t cause a scene or call Kael’s attention to the piece of note I had dropped because if he did then my life would no longer be mine.

With the tray tightly placed to my side, I didn’t look back until I was almost at the doorway.

Then I turned briefly, my eyes finding him. He looked at the paper, read it but his expression remained same. Then without hesitation, he tore it up and dropped it on the floor beside him.

My heart dropped in despair and a tear almost threatened slip down my cheeks but I held it in.

I had been foolish enough to hope that a man at a rogue auction would be any different from Kael. I had gambled everything on thirty seconds of observation and I had been completely wrong.

With a sigh, I turned away and was about to make my way out of the hall when a thunderous voice rang out from behind me.

"Halt!" The room fell into a pin-drop silence.

I froze, beads of sweat forming on my forehead.

"This one is mine. I will give twenty million for her.”

An eerie silence ensued until Kael’s laughter filled the room.

“You think you can buy what belongs to me?”