Chapter 19: Erin

My body was on fire, every inch of my skin sensitive. I fought against my restraints but only tired myself out quicker; the devious toy Dez inserted worked on bringing me to the edge once more, scattering my thoughts. I squeezed my eyes closed, blocking out the pleasure, and focused on Lucy, the danger she was in, and how my night would get worse if I didn’t figure out how to escape by the time Dez returned.

My gold purse still hung at my side. If I could free just one hand, I could grab the silver coin. I twisted my wrists again, the skin painful where it rubbed against the bark, but my right hand was slightly looser than my left. I needed some kind of liquid to shimmy it out.

The toy buzzed, and I bit my lip against the surge of heat it brought. Focus! How could I wet my hand and escape?

My eyes widened with a thought. It wasn’t the best, but worth a shot. I gathered a bit of saliva in my mouth and aimed at my wrist. I sprayed my entire arm with spit versus my wrist, but I hit some of my target. I attempted a few more times while wriggling simultaneously. It was tedious, and at one point, I started to bleed, but the pain cut through the pleasure, helping me concentrate.

I almost cried when I slipped free. Snatching my gold purse, I dove my hand inside until I felt the ridges of the silver coin. I wanted to be free of my restraints, but then recalled my experiment with the cup of coffee. I needed to be very specific lest the branches go up in flames or my arms turn monstrous. Curbing my thoughts, I specifically imagined breaking free in the way I wanted, holding the coin tight.

The branches withdrew, melting back into the walls, freeing my other wrist and ankles. I fell to my knees, catching myself with my hands before I landed face-first in the dirt. I ripped out the toy Dez had placed inside me. It was black and felt plastic, but when it moved in my hand, I squealed and tossed it against the wall, where it fell still.

“Lucy, need to get to Lucy,” I panted, wiping the sweat from my brow. Gold and green glitter rubbed off onto my hand.

Considering more than half of the party attendees tonight were nude, I didn’t think anyone would care if I wasn’t wearing heels. I popped the three-inch gold heels off with a sigh of relief. Coin in hand, I touched the bark and imagined it peeling back like it had for Dez when he first brought us here. When it peeled back, it would reveal Lucy, wherever she was at the party.

Like my vision, the bark wall obeyed, rolling down like the entrance to a camping tent. I stepped out onto the grass, the air cooler with the smell of flowers and rain-soaked soil on the breeze. I stood in the woods along the outer parts of the party, with one of the monstrously large white pillars still behind me, which I assumed were the boundaries of this dimension—if there were any. I ducked and pushed through branches, some bare, others with hanging glowing fruit.

Screams followed by a resounding crowd of cheers shot through the night.

I ran toward the noise, branches swiping at my arms and neck, feeling the burning pain of what would be countless scratches and cuts I’d see tomorrow. If I lived to see tomorrow.

I almost stumbled off a steep cliff into what looked like an arena. Onlookers sat and cheered on the surrounding chairs, a mixture of hammocks, velvet upholstered armchairs, and recliners on the other sides. I would’ve laughed at the ridiculous sight if Lucy hadn’t been in the middle of the dirt-packed arena, surrounded by white granite walls on all sides and a three-headed lion stalking closer toward her. Spotlights fixed to the top of the walls focused on her crumpled form, and adrenaline speared through me as I ran toward the arched entrance.

“Halt! You need to pay before you can watch.” A female-looking humanoid with green skin and a rhino horn blocked me from passing through the marble arches and down into the arena’s sea of heads. She said something else, but the cheering and stamping of feet were deafening.

“What?” I shouted.

“Pay or get lost!” A trident appeared in her hand, the tip aimed too close to my throat.

“Pay with what?” I peeked around the creature’s massive frame. I felt only a tad of relief when I noticed the three-headed lion was chained, but judging by the bloodthirsty faces, it wouldn’t be for long.

The rhino-looking beast smiled. “If you don’t know that, you don’t belong here.”

I cursed under my breath and reached for my coin when a hand came down on my shoulder. Fear shot through me. Dez found me.

“She’s with me.”

Cal. I sagged in relief.

The creature looked ... scared. She bowed her head, muttering apologies, and let us pass. What did that mean?

Cal’s hand on my back guided me through the crowd, who gave us a wide berth when he looked their way. I hadn’t noticed others’ reactions to him before, but I had been a little distracted and blocked by Cal’s enormous chest the last time. It gave me hope. If others feared him, maybe he held enough leverage to save Lucy.

“You look worse for wear. I take it Dez wasn’t too happy with you?” Cal said, close to my ear.

Images of what transpired inside that tree made my hands curl into fists despite the opposite response in my lower stomach. I would never make the mistake of trusting Dez again. “That’s putting it mildly. I don’t plan on seeing him anytime soon if I can help it.”