Page 13 of To Keep A Wolf
In the far corner, something moves.
Blinking furiously, I wait for my senses to adjust. To tell me what—or who—else is in here with me. It has no windows, and something tells me whatever they’re using this room for, it’s not meant to see the light of day. Ever.
A sound like sheets rustling steals my breath. I freeze, surveying the shapes as they come into focus.
A long, low table is shoved against the far wall. I can’t see what’s on it from here.
In the corner, the rustling sound comes again.
A bed.
I take a step toward it. Then another.
I’m stopped when I reach the bars of a cage.
It’s enclosing the bed. Making it impossible for me to reach whoever lies on the thin mattress inside.
I hear more rustling. And then, “If physical torture won’t work, why the hell would he think psychological torture will?”
The voice is weak, barely more than a whisper, but the sarcasm remains, and I nearly stumble over at the shock of hearing it.
“Kari?”
“Who the fuck did you expect to find?”
I blink, squinting harder into the darkness. Slowly, her shadowy face comes into view. Blonde hair matted to her head in hardened tangles. A face nearly unrecognizable through the bruises. And a throat haphazardly bandaged against the knife wound Jadick left her with last week.
My eyes fill with tears, and I decide not to analyze why until this is all over. I shouldn’t care that she’s here. Still breathing. I don’t.
“I thought you were dead,” I say in a strangled voice.
“Relax, you’ll get your wish soon enough.” She tries to adjust her position but then grimaces and gives up.
“How are you still…?”
“My dear brother has kept me alive.”
“For torture,” I say grimly.
“For information.”
That gets my attention. “What information?”
She barks out a short laugh that clearly causes her pain. Blood leaks from beneath the bandage at her throat. It’s disgusting. And justified.
My feelings are a tornado inside me. I don’t even know where to begin.
“Did he tell you to play stupid when he sent you in here?” she asks.
“Jadick didn’t send me.”
“Right. Let me guess then. You came to help me escape.”
Her tone is so cutting I wince.
“I’m not here to free you,” I say, eyes narrowing.
“Give me a fucking break.” She manages to roll her eyes, though her expression is pinched from pain. “You’ve always been the naïve one.”
