Fear the Wicked (Illusions Series Book 2)(23)

A loud snap echoed through the room, the man's mouth wide open as a loud cry of pain tore from his lips. He must have struggled again and Richard had grown tired of it. I grinned. "Did you want to try for the other arm as well? Richard, here, loves breaking his toys."

I dragged Colleen to the platform, inwardly lamenting the fact that I wouldn't have time to stay for the show. Every character had to be in place for what I needed Gentry to see, and my place was behind the pulpit. We only had an hour left to have everything in place. The adrenaline pumping through my body forced a bead of sweat to trickle along my temple.

Colleen cried as I forced her down onto the platform, her body kicking and fighting as I not-so-gently buckled her in place. Under normal circumstances, I would have taken my time with her, would have eased her into the idea of lying down just to eventually strip the veil and show her what I'd talked her into doing. But there was no time left for coddling.

Tucked in the drawer of a small table that held religious figurines and a few scattered candles was a pair of scissors I kept for moments such as this.

Colleen's father screamed and roared, begged and threatened as I made quick work of her clothes. Her sobs were a quiet beat beneath the way he bellowed. Leaving her lying in just her panties, I'd stripped her down to the skin, her clothing a pile of useless rags littering the floor.

Standing over her, I glanced between her naked body and her father's scathing stare. My eyes must have twinkled when I crooned, "My my, what lovely breasts your daughter has. The better to tease me with, I think."

I placed a gentle kiss on her right nipple and her father bellowed out his objection. Another snapped arm was Richard's response, but I needed the destruction to stop. The man had a purpose and breaking him too much would ruin all the fun.

"That's enough, Richard. I need him in one piece."

Colleen continued to cry and I walked away not as interested in what she had to offer as what I wanted from her father. Opening a small cabinet nearest where he was held, I rifled through some small glass jars until I found what I was looking for.

Holding the jar up to the candlelight, I admired the crystalline crumbles, the beauty of a drug that made raging zombies out of men. Over the past year or so, this particular substance had taken hold in some larger communities and people had been caught cannibalizing their friends. As soon as I learned about it, I set out in search, fully knowing that one day it would come in handy.

That day just happened to be today.

Kneeling down by the struggling man, I gripped him by the cheeks and said, "Here's how this is going to go. I need you to stay sill while I inject this substance in your veins. I won't be able to do so with you moving around as much as you have been. And I am not in the mood for a struggle. So, I'll give you the choice..."

Pausing, I turned to look at his daughter, the direction of my gaze obvious before I turned back to lock my eyes with his.

"I think it's obvious what's about to happen to your precious baby, but while you can't stop that, you can save her life by giving up your own. I promise you I won't touch her or kill her, if you do as I say."

He fought, weakly this time, tears welling in his eyes that he wasn't able to hide any longer. "You'll let her live?" he asked through clenched teeth. I imagined the pain he was feeling was the reason why his words sounded rough and clipped.

"I won't kill her," I promised, a genuine smile stretching my lips.

More tears dripped from his eyes that were the same color as his daughter's. "Fine."

Pleased that he would make my job a touch easier, I climbed to my feet and began the process of liquefying the drug and pulling it into a syringe. Once it was ready, I kneeled down again, tied a rag I had handy around the man's arm as tightly as possible before looking him in the eye. "This might pinch a little."

I was sure it wasn't the needle that made him cry out in pain, more like my having moved his arm enough that the snapped bone poked up into his skin.

Once the liquid was safely pumping through his blood, I was back on my feet, my eyes locking with Richard's. "He's going to become quite aggravated here in a few, and I need you to ensure what he witnesses is enough to turn him into a monster. Do you think you can handle that?"

A slimy smile stretched Richard's lips, his eyes focused on the sweet morsel strapped down to the platform. "Yeah. I can handle it."

"Excellent. Afterwards, I need you to have him caged in our special room in the compound. I need him screaming, Richard, but not able to talk, do you understand what I'm telling you?"

His gaze slid to mine. "You want him gagged?"

"No," I answered, my heart rate kicking up in speed. "I need him physically unable to talk, and I need it to look self inflicted. If you go through the drawer in that table over there, you'll find a pair of tongs. Grab his tongue by the tip and drag it out of his mouth. If he doesn't bite down on it himself in response to what I just gave him, help him out by slamming his jaw shut until the pesky muscle comes loose."

Richard grinned. "No problem."

"Be sure to bring the tongue with you and leave it in his cage. Props are important after all. I need Gentry to truly believe what we're about to show him. Understood?"

"You got it, boss."

Patting him on the shoulder, I stalked toward the door before the father screamed out. "I thought you said you wouldn't touch her."