Chapter 83

My head was throbbing. That was the first thing that I noticed. The second thing I noticed was that I was on something soft, but firm. It felt like an old mattress and when I opened my eyes, I saw that I was right.

A thin white sheet covered me. It hardly provided me with any warmth in the cold, damp room. I shivered as I sat up, dragging the sheet to my chin as I looked around me. A single hanging bulb hung from the ceiling, illuminating the space in a dim light.

The walls were made out of gray stone, water trickling down in fine lines in random places. The floor was cement and I took a small amount of comfort that this was man-made and not some cave in the middle of nowhere. But it also reminded me of dungeons that I had read about in fantasy novels. So, still not a great start.

On the wall opposite from me were papers and pictures. Some of me, some of Jack, and some of people I didn't recognize. A red string intersected in some sort of pattern that I couldn't identify. It looked like one of those corkboards detectives used…or serial killers.

The man who had kidnapped me was nowhere to be seen and other than the mattress on the floor, there weren't any other pieces of furniture. There wasn't anywhere that he could have been hiding so he must have been out. This would be the perfect time to escape, but there wasn't a door.

I stood up slowly, letting the sheet drop. I started to make my way around the perimeter of the room, sliding my hands over the stone to see if I could find a break or a draft, anything to tell me where the door was. But I found nothing.

Dejected, I went to the corkboard to see if I could glean any information from it, but it looked like the ravings of a madman. There were words that stood out like "holy maiden" and "werewolf" and I came to the conclusion that the man was having a psychotic break. And for some reason I was at the center of it.

With nothing else to do, I shuffled back over to the mattress, collapsing on top of it, trying not to think of all the things that this man could do to me. I brought a hand to my head, wincing as I found the bump from his fist. If this was the worst thing he'd do, I'd consider myself lucky. Only I had never been lucky.

I don't know how long I lay on that mattress, thinking of all the things I could have done differently to avoid this. It was the entire reason Jack and Matt had been walking me home. But no. I had wanted my independence, away from Jack's suffocating big brother persona. Maybe being independent was overrated.

A sudden draft of wind had me sitting up and scooting into a corner. I drew my legs up and wrapped my arms around them. If I made myself small enough, maybe he would forget I was there.

The man walked in through a gap in the wall next to the corkboard. I made note of where the door was, but when he closed it, it was seamless once again. Still, at least I had a general idea of where it was.

He peered at me with my eyes. It was unsettling, seeing that familiar color coming from someone else's face. I made myself even smaller.

"Good. You're awake. How are you feeling? I hope I didn't hit you too hard," he said, shifting back and forth on his feet. He seemed nervous, which made me feel less confident about my situation. Why was my kidnapper nervous? I was the nervous one.

I didn't answer him, just stared at him through strands of hair. Of course he had hit me hard. I'd blacked out and I knew from watching Jack and Matt spar that it took a helluva punch to knock someone out.

"You're right. I shouldn't have done that, but you shouldn't have made it so difficult either. If you had just talked to me, I wouldn't have had to resort to this," he told me, waffling his hand in the air to indicate the room.

He was seriously trying to blame me? I was the victim here. Anger began to heat my blood. I welcomed it. Anger was a much more welcome emotion than fear.

I glared at him, still refusing to say anything. I didn't owe this man anything. He could go to hell for all I cared.

He sighed. "This isn't how I wanted this meeting to go, Celeste. I know you have no reason to believe me, but I promise I'm telling the truth. I'm not going to hurt you. I really just want to talk."

"Just say what you want to say and let me go," I snapped, pushing back my hair so he could see my face. His eyes went to my forehead and he flinched. I guess I had a pretty nasty bruise there.

He pressed his lips in a thin line, eyes regarding me with something akin to sorrow and regret. "I was always going to let you go, Celeste. I just wanted you to know the truth since your brother has been so adamant about keeping it from you."

I paused. Did he really mean to let me go? Had I let my brother's overprotectiveness make me see a threat when there was none? I shook my head. Of course there was a threat. He had hit me.

"Is this about the 'holy maiden' thing?" I asked because that's the only thing I could think of. He must have thought that's who I was. I mean, what other reason could there be?

His eyes widened in surprise, his mouth hanging open. "You know about that?"

I shook my head and motioned to the board. "You made me wait awhile. I went through your notes. Are you trying to tell me that I'm some 'holy maiden'?"

A small smile played on his lips. I'm glad one of us found some amusement from this. "Not some holy maiden, the holy maiden. There' s only even been one. Your mother was the last."

If I had hackles, they would have risen. What did he know about my mother? She had died giving childbirth to me. I had never known her. I had never even seen pictures of her. It was almost like she never existed.

"Don't talk about my mother like you knew her!" I yelled, finally pulling myself out of the ball I had turned into. I stood on the mattress, facing him with my hands in fists at my sides.

He held up his hands in surrender. "I did not mean to upset you, but Celeste…who do you think I am?"

Out of all the questions he could have asked, that was not what I was expecting. I wanted to scream in frustration or throttle him or both.

"How the hell should I know? You're just some crazy stranger that took me! And for some fantasy bullshit about me being a holy maiden! The only thing I know is that you're fucking crazy!" I knew I shouldn't be antagonizing him. I knew that it would have been better to go along with his delusion, but he'd brought up my mother. Even Jack didn't do that.

The man frowned and for the first time I saw anger in his eyes. I shrank back, fear coursing through me at his sudden shift in demeanor. "I should have known they would erase me. My dear child, I am your father."