Torture (Terraway Book 3)

  Torture

  Book Three in the Terraway Series

  Mary E. Twomey

  Contents

  1. The Perfect Guy

  2. The One Who Holds you Tight

  3. Vindicated

  4. Mariano, my New Sister

  5. Get Over It

  6. Just One Kiss

  7. Icy Inside

  8. Outsourcing Bathing

  9. Leprechaun Flu

  10. Magic Pill

  11. Three Days

  12. A Fourth Wheel

  13. Head in the Garbage Can

  14. Reading Preemies

  15. Truth Time in the Tub

  16. Macaroni and Cheese

  17. In This

  18. Joining the Family

  19. The Price of Murder

  20. Residual Andy

  21. Pemberton Elementary

  22. Breakfast over Horse Heads

  23. Our First Fight

  24. Death by Carnival

  25. Kamikaze Omen

  26. The Pain and the Hunger

  27. Insatiable

  28. Make it Better

  29. Flirting with Disaster

  30. See What you Won’t Do

  31. Letting Von Help Me

  32. Confessions from a Male Prostitute

  33. Ricotta Cheese and Kale Salad

  34. Ollie’s Little Sister

  35. Shock and All the Special Things

  36. Bruce Campbell Isn’t Real

  37. October Grace, Out

  Tempt

  1. Big, Scary Man

  Other books by Mary E. Twomey

  Copyright © 2016 Mary E. Twomey

  Cover Art by www.goonwrite.com

  Paperback Art by www.cormarcovers.com

  All rights reserved.

  First Edition: December 2016

  This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of characters to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. The author holds exclusive rights to this work. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited.

  This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  ISBN-13: 978-1540728395

  ISBN-10: 1540728390

  http://www.maryetwomey.com

  For Brittney and Michelle,

  The sisters who love me,

  even when I make no sense,

  and am basically a big dork.

  And as a side note to the precious little smackhole who inspired the character of Deli Frank,

  you know who you are, and you make me crazy.

  Chapter 32 is dedicated to you.

  1

  The Perfect Guy

  The worst thing about being alone with your thoughts is ignoring the ones you have no control over. The fears about my possible death if King Geon of Sakuna continued starving me were one thing. I could deal with those with some amount of quiet dignity. No, it was the childhood bag of crapfest that unleashed itself on me in the unending dark. Visions of the flies trying to burrow under our bedroom door plagued me, especially when Andy’s body began to rot after it became painfully obvious that I’d killed him.

  Lang had been sneaking in to feed me bits of the baga root, a handful of berries or two and a canteen of water I didn’t have it in me to resist anymore. I’d begged him to take away Andy’s body, but he told me his father wanted me as uncomfortable as possible, so sleeping with a corpse became my norm.

  I tried to reconcile my screaming guilt over my homicidal rage with the logic that I’d killed Andy in self-defense. I tried to assuage my horror at the lowlife I’d always known was lurking inside me by telling myself that it was either him or me. I knew I would skirt to safety in a court of law, but my own personal jury had me guilty as charged. I didn’t even know Andy all that well, and now he was dead.

  And rotting.

  The maggots started in after who knows how long. Those gave birth to flies. These were fat, hairy flies that had a whole body to feast on, and they did so with gusto. I’d promised myself when Ollie and Allie finally busted me out of Bev’s place that I would never let myself live like that again. I didn’t so much mind anymore when adults broke their word to me, but breaking my own promise to myself felt like a new blow I wasn’t sure I would recover from in a day.

  Or two.

  My days were broken up by sporadic visits from Geon, demanding to know where I’d hidden the sagrado stone. He’d come in with a platter of meat, my stomach lurching until he informed me it was roasted sigbin. After he left when I remained unwilling to divulge my secrets, I cried with the hope that Geon hadn’t cooked up Edward, the sigbin monster puppy I loved.

  I fell asleep, restless and freezing, choking out a cry of relief when Philip appeared in front of the fire pit I conjured to warm my dream self. I ran to Philip, stumbling with my stiff joints, desperate to find some comfort, some connection in the stifling darkness. “Philip? Help me!” I crashed into him, pretending the dream warmth was just as good as actual heat.

  “What happened? Are you still in King Geon’s prison?”

  I blinked up at him as I buried my fingers under his shirt to warm them up. “Yes. And I don’t think anyone’s coming for me.”

  Philip held me, warming my body and rubbing my back and arms to soothe my panic. “Are you hurt?”

  “I’m okay. The dark’s getting to me, though. I’m trying with everything in me not to lose it. Geon’s keeping me here to hold me for Sama’s army. This Sama jackhole wants to keep me locked up so everyone goes to him for help, instead of being able to feed themselves. It’s so stupid! The whole thing, I hate it!”

  Philip was stiff. “I’m sure this Sama character doesn’t know you’re being held in such terrible conditions. Are you well fed?”

  “No! Geon’s starving me, and I’m sitting in a cell with a rotting body that’s got bugs in it. Help me,” I begged, wishing I was strong enough to break down the irons and save myself. “Come find me, Philip. Don’t leave me here by myself. I’m so scared.” My arms banded around my stomach as the confession rolled out of me. “I killed someone! I killed a guy I don’t even really know! He was Duwende. Andy was going to take my will so I’d tell him where the sagrado stone is. I didn’t have a choice!”

  Philip gripped my arms. “You know where the sagrado stone is?”

  “Of course I do. Or, I did anyways. Hopefully Edward hid it somewhere safe.”

  “Who’s Edward?”

  “My puppy.”

  “You’re not making any sense. Where’s the stone?”

  There was too much edge to his voice. It was like he cared about the stone more than he cared about me. “I don’t want to talk about a stupid rock that’s done nothing but ruin my life! You’re supposed to be the perfect guy!” I started beating on his chest. “You’re supposed to love me so much better than real people. I can’t even imagine up a fake guy who cares that I’m starving and lying in a cold jail with a dead body? You suck, Philip! You suck!” I pounded on him over and over, taking out my frustration on the hard body he hadn’t even had to work at to earn.

  Philip softened, letting me beat on him with angry fists. “I am the perfect guy. I’m the one you can tell all your secrets to.” He held me and slowly sunk to the grass, keeping me close as I broke down into shameful tears that fell into his shirt. “Talk to me. Geon’s got you in a dark cell. He’s starving you. What else?”

  “I want to go home. He’s got Von and Mason somewhere, and I know he’s hurting them! I can feel it. I can feel something’s very, very wrong.”

  “Mason can handle it. I’m sure Von can, too. Matruculans can e
ndure a great deal. And if your half-vampire’s resisted the transition this long, I’m sure he has strength enough for a little torture.”

  “I don’t care about strength! I hate Terraway! It’s ugly and mean here. All they do is use me. I was doing just fine until they came along.” I gripped Philip’s shirt, desperate for a connection, however fabricated. “I need my medication. I’m going crazy, and I worked so hard not to be crazy! I’m losing my mind! I need it, or I’ll get lost again. I don’t remember what happened when I went off it a couple years ago. It was a week before Ollie found me. A week! He was gone and I was alone. When he found me, I was a basket case. Like, I could barely talk without counting. I was bashing my head against the wall and hadn’t eaten or showered in days. I can’t go back to that! I can’t go under again! You have to help me. I work so hard not to be crazy. I’m not crazy! I’m not crazy!”

  Philip’s hands scrambled to hold me together as I openly sobbed in his arms. “Quiet now, little one. We can’t have you losing your mind. I’ll come find you. My people are on their way. They’ll get you out of there and take you to my place. We’ll get you some food. My own special recipe. I don’t want you crazy or dead. I want you with me, by my side.” He clutched me, and I make-believed that he cared deeply about who I was, not what I could do for the kingdom. “I’ll see to it Geon’s punished.”

  I snorted my disbelief. “You’re not real, though. I need actual help. I need my brother. I need Ollie.” I let out a loud wail. “Allie! Allie left us, and she’s not coming back!”

  He kissed my cheek tenderly. “Tell me about Allison.”

  “My sister never would’ve let me live like this. She did everything to make sure I never had to live with bugs and rotting things. Now she’s gone. She stopped loving me, but I never stopped needing her! If she was back, she would make me that chicken soup with the noodles Ollie loves and hold me so I didn’t hurt myself. She would sing to me and wrap me in heavy blankets until I felt warm and calmed down.”

  “She loved you.”

  “She was perfect, and she left us. She knows I’m too much. She knows I can’t be fixed. I can’t be fixed! I can’t be fixed,” I moaned in Philip’s arms.

  He held my head to his shoulder, clutching me to him and providing the deep pressure that always calmed me down when I floated away from myself. “I can put you back together,” he promised, and with everything in me, I wished my perfect guy was real.

  But he wasn’t.

  2

  The One Who Holds you Tight

  I awoke with a jolt when a fly crawled into my nose, seeking to make me his new home. The black bugs buzzed around me as I cried silently and rocked myself back and forth, certain that if I made a noise, someone would come in and finish me off. My stomach growled like the insatiable monster it was, trapped inside an impenetrable cage. The more desperate my hunger became, the more distressed I was. I had no ability to tell time to mark the passing days, but I knew the agony of hunger, and this had surpassed even Bev’s negligence. I clawed at my arms, opening up scabs that had crusted over in my too-short slumber.

  I lost count of how many days were spent like that, surviving on berries and dirty water that Lang snuck me as he kept me alive with baga root. I couldn’t tell how many nights I cried incoherently in fake Philip’s arms, confessing details of my childhood even Ollie didn’t know.

  I missed Ollie, and hated that I still needed my brother for anything. If I was a true adult, I would be able to handle imprisonment just fine.

  That logic gave me pause. I’d seen many a grown man weep himself to sleep on his cot in prison. Perhaps it was okay to miss my brother in these dire circumstances. Ollie came with a superhero cape in my imagination, sweeping me away from the horrors of the current doom. If Ollie was here, he’d know what to do.

  I touched the bars of my cage, but only made it to twenty. It was a nice, round number divisible by ten. Any closer and I risked touching Andy.

  Eighteen, nineteen, twenty. Twenty. I breathed a little easier each time I reached twenty. Then I started touching each bar twenty times for the grand finale, crawling on the floor like a beast.

  My mania only stopped when the door opened, still letting in no light. “October?” called Lang through the empty space.

  “Lang?” I whispered, scrambling to my feet.

  “I’m here to get you out. You’re released to go back to Ezra.” He stepped toward the cell. “Ezra’s waiting outside in the courtyard for you.”

  “Are you serious? I can go? Just like that? What about Von and Mason?”

  “They were released hours ago. Father’s been holding onto you until the last possible second, hoping Sama’s army would make it in time to intervene. Then Sama sent word to have you released. He’s actually holding back the rations he’s sending until you’re freed.”

  “What? Sama wants me set free? I thought he wanted me locked up so I couldn’t reap, and everyone would have to go to him to use his rations.”

  “Apparently Father’s so off his rocker that even a megalomaniac like Sama thought he was over the edge.” Lang fumbled with the key in the lock. “I guess it’s good to know Sama doesn’t want you dead. That’s news to the council, who are all in the courtyard demanding Father give you up, by the way. Kabayo brought his army, which was the only thing Ezra was lacking.”

  I attacked Lang when he stepped into the cell, though not in the same way I had Andy. Though I barely knew the guy, I grabbed onto his arms and yanked him to me, gravitating to the warmth of his body until I was engulfed in a hug my body shuddered through.

  I’d never been much of a hugger, but I was past the point of reason. Warmth. I needed to feel my fingers again. My limbs were too stiff, making me feel like a barely living corpse. Lang hissed and sucked in his stomach as I pressed my fingers into him. “Oh, you’re freezing!”

  “It’s over!” I howled into his chest, feeling the firm leather of his breastplate brushing my cheek.

  “There, there. I told you I’d take care of it. It just took me longer than I would’ve liked.” His arms wrapped me tight, holding me together while I fell apart. A shudder ripped through me as Lang’s warm body reminded mine just how cold it was. “You’re too thin now. I tried to feed you as often as I could sneak in here, but it wasn’t often enough. I had my hands full with Mason and Von.”

  Lang shook his head and rubbed my arms and my back as if he cared about me. I let myself fall for the comfort and fall into him, closing my eyes as I gripped his skin under his shirt and leather armor.

  “Okay, alright. Easy, now. I’m here. I told you I wouldn’t let you die. Captain Finn got here this morning. Father knows not to cross a Kataw. Finn’s ruthless.” Lang led me out of the cell, both his arms still surrounding me in the beefy muscles that heated my frozen insides. “Kabayo brought a small army with him, and they aren’t leaving until I come out with you. Captain Finn convinced them to start tearing down the gate separating the main city from the rest of the country, which was when Father started to cave. Father wouldn’t want to get any poor on him, and the gate’s the one thing that separates his home from the civilians. If I don’t bring you out soon, we’ll be on the business end of them storming the castle.”

  “Get me out of here!” I whispered, terrified of the dead body I was leaving behind, and what it said about me that I could leave a man to rot. Andy had been the only witness to my crazy in the cell. His cracked skull had watched me count the bars over and over, touching the irons habitually and rocking in the dark. My foot brushed over Andy’s arm as we stepped out of the cell, and I felt something icy zap me like an electric shock. The jolt stayed inside of me, making me yelp through my shiver.

  Lang stopped as we reached the door. “I’m supposed to have you cleaned up before taking you out to Ezra, but I don’t want to hide my father’s sins.”

  I nodded. “I don’t care how I look. Just don’t let go of me; I’m so cold!”

  “The stones are uneven, and I know you
can’t see in the dark like we can. I can’t have you tripping and bleeding. Von’s out of his mind with hunger. I’m carrying you out.” He spoke it like a command that was laced with a threat.

  “Take me home, Lang. Please! Take me home.” I don’t know why he expected I had the energy to protest, but the urge did rise up in me when Lang swept me up in his arms, carrying me like the baby I was through the many hallways I didn’t care to see. As we moved through the castle, the air grew progressively warmer, though I could tell my body wouldn’t be coerced into relaxing. I shivered violently in Lang’s arms, and he held me tighter in response.

  Not a bad guy, the one who holds you tight.

  3

  Vindicated

  I didn’t open my eyes until I heard shouts and felt the open air touching my bare skin. “Give her to me!” and “October Grace! I’m here!” reached my ears, letting me know that, among the others who were shouting for my release, Ezra was there.

  I’d had my appendix out as a teenager, and Bev hadn’t come to the hospital. She was “just about to” a million times before I was released to go home with Allie and Ollie, who hadn’t left my side the entire time I was laid up. That Ezra came for me when I was down and out? It meant something. Something big.

  The moon was out, and I desperately wished for that sauna-like sun to warm me, but I took what I could get. Lang leaned his head down and said to me, “The men will rally more if you can’t walk. Let them rally. Let them pay my father back for what he’s done to you.”

  I went one further and lolled my head back as if I didn’t have the strength to hold my own neck up (which actually wasn’t too far off the mark).

  I didn’t mean to scare Ezra, but the man nearly lost his mind, his feet pounding the earth as he ran to me. “Give her to me! Give me my daughter!”