This Wicked Game

THIRTY

She didn’t know what covered her face. It might have been a jacket or a bag. Whatever it was, it blocked out any and all light.

No one said a word after Herve grabbed her. He held her arm tightly, forcing her to move through the forest quickly, the darkness disorienting and terrifying. She stumbled and fell more than once. Each time, Herve yanked her to her feet, hauling her through the forest like she was nothing but a rag doll.

She smelled the road before they came to it. Hot asphalt and motor oil.

Then they were climbing up the embankment she had slid down when she’d made her escape. She knew they’d reached the top when her bare feet came down not on dirt and twigs and leaves but on the warm smooth surface of road.

Tears stung the backs of her eyelids as her terror grew. She wanted her mother with her sure voice and soft hands. Her father with his easy smile. Xander, who would never let anything bad happen to her if it was within his power to stop it. Sasha and even Allegra, who made her realize she wasn’t as alone as she’d once thought.

They were almost back to the car. Once they had her inside, the doors locked, she was as good as dead.

A car door opened, and a second later she was shoved carelessly forward, her face and knees hitting the leather seat before she was able to right herself. She caught a whiff of familiar cologne as Herve scooted in next to her, his grip tight on her arm.

The car doors shut, and the engine roared to life. There was a moment of silence before Eugenia’s voice drifted through the blackness.

“That was stupid.” Her voice was terrifyingly calm. “We could have made it less painful for you, you know.”

The car lurched forward.

Claire lost all sense of time while they drove. Herve’s hand remained around her arm, the covering still on her head. She was dimly aware that it was some kind of psychological ploy to head off another attempt at escape.

Keeping her disoriented and in the dark made her more complacent.

After a while—it could have been minutes or an hour—the car began to slow. Claire heard it in the engine, a subtle easing off of the gas.

They seemed to veer to the left, and the car left the asphalt, the tires crunching over gravel or rocky dirt. The ground was bumpy. Claire had to use her free hand to keep her body from hitting the door or ceiling of the car.

She was starting to feel motion sick when the car slowed to a stop. The engine was turned off and a second later, Eugenia spoke.

“Take off the hood.”

It was instinct to shrink away from the hands that grazed her shoulders, despite the fact that she wanted to be able to see. The covering on her face was ripped off with a harsh tug.

Claire blinked, looking around rapidly, trying to get her bearings.

Eugenia was staring at her from the front seat, Herve still beside her in the back. She could see the back of Jean-Philip’s head in the front passenger seat. He didn’t bother turning around.

Claire pressed herself against the door, wanting to be as far away from them all as she could.

“Let’s go,” Eugenia said. “Maximilian’s already at the site.”

Herve pulled on her arm, and this time, Claire fought. Every survival instinct she had told her that she couldn’t let them take her into the dark, forested swamp where she could easily disappear.

She held on to the door handle, kicking Herve as he tried to yank her from the car.

He cursed, trying to keep ahold of her arm. Finally he reached toward her, landing a harsh smack across her face. It stung, but it was the shock of it that quieted her. She’d never been struck in her life. Ever. The smack was just more proof that her world had quickly changed. She was still reeling from it as Herve hauled her from the car.

Eugenia stepped angrily toward her. “We can put the hood back on,” she hissed. “Is that what you want?”

Claire cringed, shaking her head. As terrifying as it was to be taken forcibly to the forest, it would be that much worse if she were plunged back into the utter blackness beneath the hood.

Eugenia stood up straighter, her eyes flashing. “Then behave yourself.”

Jean-Philip moved to the back of the car and opened the hatch. Pulling three bags from it, he tossed one to Eugenia and shut the door. He slung the other two over one shoulder.

They started walking, Herve dragging Claire along.

She looked around, trying to get a handle on where they were. There wasn’t much to go on. The Range Rover was parked in a small clearing, trees rising toward the sky on every side. There was a rusted iron bridge extending over a creek. A crooked, weathered sign was nailed to the tree, announcing the barely moving body of water as LOMAN’S CREEK. She hardly had time to register its name as they stepped onto the bridge and crossed over the water.

Then they were in the woods. Eugenia led the way, her steps confident. Herve and Claire walked behind her with Jean-Philip at the back of the line. Claire had no idea how Eugenia knew where they were going. Besides the bridge, there wasn’t a single identifying characteristic as they moved through the trees and bushes of the forest.

The ground was soft and muddy. Every time Claire took a step, she sunk a little into the muck. She tried not to think about all the things that were down there, touching her bare feet every time she took a step. She was sure snakes were slithering around her ankles.

After what seemed like forever, Eugenia stopped. She turned in a circle, gazing at the trees like she saw something in them the rest of them couldn’t, and continued to the left.

A couple minutes later, they stepped into a clearing. A wooden shack stood across an open meadow near the tree line on the other side. They were still a few feet from the structure when the door opened.

Maximilian stepped onto the slightly sunken porch, his face ghostly in the light of the partially full moon. Claire stopped moving, the suddenness of it forcing Herve to a stop, too.

Maximilian leaned against one of the posts that held up the roof, surveying her with eyes that seemed black in the darkness of night. Claire felt his ominous energy from across the clearing.

He turned around without a word, returning to the shack.

Herve forced Claire to move as Eugenia stepped onto the porch. They followed her inside, and Jean-Philip shut the door behind them.

They were in a main room, a fire crackling in what looked to be a makeshift fireplace against one wall. Claire wondered why anyone would want to light a fire in Louisiana during the month of July. It was hotter inside the shack than it had been outside. Sweat trickled down her back.

The room was sparsely furnished with a torn sofa, mismatched chairs, and a cracked wooden table that sat on the far side of the room. A doorway stood to the right of a tiny refrigerator.

Herve crossed the room with Claire in tow, shoving her down onto one of the chairs like he was glad to finally be rid of her. But he didn’t leave her side.

Eugenia and Maximilian disappeared through the doorway into the other room. The walls were thin. Claire could hear murmuring, but she couldn’t make out what they were saying. She looked around the room, hoping for some chance of escape, a weapon, anything.

There was nothing.

Maximilian stepped from the room with Eugenia on his heels. He walked past Claire, and a wave of bleakness washed over her.

“Outside,” he said, the same exotic accent in his voice Claire remembered from his conversation with Estelle behind the carriage house.

The word must have been meant for Jean-Philip and Herve. They followed Maximilian to the front door without a word.

Eugenia came toward Claire, grabbing her by the arm. “Get up.”

Claire obeyed. She didn’t have much of a choice and her arm was already bruised where Herve had used it to drag her through the forest.

She felt a moment’s hope when Eugenia led her to the doorway. It was just the two of them now. Maybe there would be a better chance of escape in the other room.

Eugenia shoved her through the doorway and into a tiny room lit by a single candle. Claire glanced around, looking for anything she could use to her advantage. Her hopes were quickly dashed. The room was probably intended as a place to sleep, but it was just as bare as the other one. Worse, this one didn’t have a single window, and its only furnishings were a wooden desk and a chair that matched those in the living room.

“There’s a rag and some water inside the basin,” Eugenia said, tipping her head at a metal tub on top of the desk. “Use it to wash yourself for the ceremony and then put on the ritual garment.”

Claire shook her head. “I’m not changing. Whatever you’re going to do to me, you’ll have to do it in these clothes.”

Eugenia hands were lightning fast as she reached toward Claire, holding her with one arm while she began tugging at her tank top with the other.

“Wait! What are you doing?” Claire shouted.

“You’ll wash and change for the ceremony as instructed. It’s a matter of respect for the loas. And if you don’t, I’ll change you myself.”

Claire shrunk back, crossing her arms over her chest. “Fine! I’ll do it. Just . . . leave me alone for a minute.”

Eugenia considered the request, an internal struggle visible on her face. Finally she nodded. “If you give me any more trouble, I’ll get Max. Let him deal with you. Do you understand?”

The thought of being in close proximity to Max again was enough to turn Claire complacent. “Yes.”

Eugenia was almost out the door when Claire called out to her, unable to keep silent the question that had been burning in her mind since she’d woken up at the house on Dauphine.

“Why are you doing this?” she asked, her voice trembling as she tried not to cry. “I know about Max . . . Maximilian. About Elisabeta. But why you?”

Eugenia seemed to flinch with the mention of Elisabeta, and for one brief second, her face seemed to crumple. Then she composed herself, standing straighter.

“Did you think Elisabeta was born without a mother?” She closed the door behind her.

Claire dropped onto the chair, her breath coming shallow and fast. Maximilian and Eugenia were Elisabeta’s parents.

Now Claire knew they would never let her go.