Thanks to all for their reviews:)
Sorry it took a while to get the next chapter up! I hope you like this one, things are about to start happening... but not the way you would expect...
Sarah opened her eyes and looked around. She recognized the place as her room, everything was just the way she had left it, except the window had been boarded up, leaving only a few slivers of light for illumination.
Slowly she turned on her side. She ached all over, as if her whole body had been hit by something hard. The very bones hurt, and moving was made even harder by her lack of energy. But she forced herself to sit up, hoping the grogginess and nausea would go away. Her arm hurt where Jake had stuck her with something to make her sleep, and she saw that there was a deep cut there too.
She went back in her mind to the day before, or at least she assumed it had been the day before, when Jake had found her. How he had was beyond her, she had been so careful to make sure she couldn't be found.
And why did he want her back? He could have easily found someone else to beat like a punching bag, or he could have just killed her when he found her. Bringing her back didn't make sense unless he was a complete psychopath whose only focus in life was to torture her until there was nothing left.
Such was not an impossibility, she realized. Many people had gone through what she had, and there were many such people as Jake who took delight in hurting others. But she couldn't understand why he had suddenly started treating her like an animal. He hadn't been kind to Karen or Toby, but he had never raised a hand to them at all. It was after they left that he started beating her, and she didn't know why.
Looking back over the years she decided that it just didn't make any sense at all. So many things didn't add up, and she couldn't find any links between them. Just trying to think about them gave her a headache and she had to stop.
Slowly her bedroom door started opening. Instinctively she moved away from it and bunched herself up on the bed, drawing her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. Tears of fear stung her eyes when Jake stepped into the room, and she pressed herself against the wall. She felt like an animal, trying to hide and remaining quiet in hopes that the hunter wouldn't notice her.
"Sarah." he said. His voice was so different than it had been before. She felt a hand touch her elbow, and she drew away, trembling. "You must leave, now!"
"Don't torment me!" she cried, ducking her head so far down that her neck ached. "If you are going to beat me then just do it, don't play games!"
"This is not a game." his pulled her arms from around her knees and took her hands in his. She shuddered, but didn't resist him. "Sarah, please listen to me and go now!"
"Why? You brought me back here, why should I run away again?" Sarah's eyes were red from the hot tears. "You enjoy the hunt? You love to sport before you kill?"
"No, no, Sarah." his voice was soft, like it had been when she was young, but there was an edge of panic to it. "There is not much time, you must get away before he comes back!"
"What are you talking about?"
"My darling, there is no time for questions!" he pulled her to her feet. "Just run as fast as you can, and don't come back."
Sarah didn't know what to think. Her mind was being logical, telling her to get away before he could hurt her again. But her instincts were telling her that there was something horribly wrong, something going on she didn't understand. And her heart was telling her to stay there, stay with her father, and not leave him.
Pulled and twisted every way she didn't know what to do.
A bright flash of light lit up the room. Sarah looked towards the source, her vanity mirror, and saw Sir Didymus. "Sarah? I can see her! She is not blocked from my sight! My Lady, ist thou alright?"
"I'm fine, for now." She looked at her father, half expecting him to do something violent, but he just stood there watching the strange creature in the mirror.
"My Lady, ye are in danger!" his voice was shrill, on the verge of panic.
"My father told me, but he didn't tell me what from."
"From the demon! Ye are in great danger from a horrible demon!"
"What demon? What are you talking about?"
"There is no time to explain now, King will be able to tell ye everything later. But for now ye must do as I say! Ye must-"
The sound of a vicious wind suddenly crashed into the house, making everything shake as if hit by an earthquake. There was a deafening howl that shattered all the glass in the house, including the mirror, cutting Sir Didymus off before he could finish what he was saying.
The little slivers of light on the floor dimmed, leaving the room in complete darkness. Sarah could feel her heart lurch in terror and she started trembling. She felt her father move closer to her, as if to protect her. But she had a feeling that it was going to take more than a mortal man to protect her.
"Demon? What did he mean?" she asked, somehow knowing her father knew what Sir Didymus was talking about, her voice strangely calm and quiet. He drew her to him, holding her tightly in his arms.
"The demon that has had a hold on me for the last ten years." he said. "The demon that has killed me."
Didn't expect that twist in the story, do you? I love doing unexpected twists, keeps things interesting!
