"No," Dania whispered before she could help herself. Landaine straightened up, the fanatic light in his eyes glinting with a harder edge as he stared at her.

  "What was that?"

  "No," Dania said, forcing her voice to be steady. "Jake will never give you his building."

  "Well, of course he will. You're his parent. You'll make him give it to me." Landaine smiled cruelly. "That is by far the best option available to you both, Dania. Don't be stupid. I will even allow him to keep his other cards. Indeed, he'll make a fine deckbearer in my service, one day. You will raise him up right. I know you will."

  "I will raise him up right," Dania said. "I have raised him up right."

  "Indeed."

  "Which is why he won't give you his building."

  Landaine's eyebrows went up. "No?"

  Dania lifted the corner of her mouth in a tiny smile. "'Fraid not," she said. "Because if I told him to give it to you, he'd know I was lying, or under duress, or whatever. My kid and I are honest with each other. He knows me better than anyone alive. And he knows I'd never support a delusional megalomaniac like you."

  Landaine's eyes narrowed, and his fists bunched tighter in Dania's shirt. "Delusional? You think this is a joke?"

  "Not exactly," she said. "I think you're a joke. 'I will build a realm and become a god…' Do you even hear yourself? You sound like the villain in one of those old cartoon shows for kids! You really think Eris, the goddess of fucking discord, chose you to 'usher in a new era' or some bullshit? Are you really that stupid?"

  A muscle jumped in Landaine's cheek, and before Dania could so much as brace, he flung her away from himself. She barely managed to keep her skull from slamming into the concrete wall as she stumbled backwards. Her feet slid out from under her, and she slid down the wall, slumping to the floor once again.

  "You will call Jake. You will compel him to give me his Hidden Realm building card. Or you will bring him to me and I will take it by other means."

  "I don't have my phone," Dania answered, dredging up the sassiest tone she could manage. "So, no, I will not."

  "You are not in a position to argue."

  "That's where you're wrong, bro. What are you going to do, kill me? Fine. Whatever. Jake's still safe."

  Landaine smiled slowly. "Is he? How safe will he be, I wonder, when I inform him that his beloved aunt and protector's life depends on whether or not he gives me that card?"

  Terror gripped Dania's chest with icy claws. She fought to keep her face expressionless, but Landaine's smile grew.

  "That's it, isn't it? That's the key. Jake will do anything to protect you, just as you will do for him. Thank you, Dania. That is very helpful information. I'm sorry we have to take this route, but this, apparently, is what you prefer." He stepped back and turned to look at Knight.

  "Do not kill her. Short of that…" He waved a hand.

  Knight nodded, his eyes flicking to Dania's. The corners of his mouth deepened, but his face remained mostly impassive.

  "Good luck, Ms. Ellis. You will find Clayton most effective in his methods of persuasion, I think. Just remember, this was your choice." He brushed off the front of his jacket and turned to exit, shutting the door behind him.

  Dania met Clayton's eyes. "I'm not giving up my kid," she said lowly, her mind racing. Okay, this is going to hurt. Breathe into it. Don't fight it. You've handled pain before. You might just have to make him hit you hard enough to knock you out again. That way they can't get to Jake.

  "I know. You bitches are all about your fucking kids." He stepped off the wall and shook out his hands, rolling his neck on his shoulders. "I don't give a fuck about your kid, tell you the truth. That's Landaine's thing. He's a crazy motherfucker, but he pays. He'll find another way to get your kid. Me? I'm after something else." Knight's lips curved in a slow smile that sent icy fingers of dread jolting along Dania's nerves.

  "What's that?" Dania asked.

  "I want your cards."

  Dania blinked, playing for time. "What?"

  Knight's hand whipped out, his knuckles cracking into Dania's battered cheek, wrenching her head to the side hard enough to overbalance. With her hands still zip-tied behind her back, she couldn't catch herself and so she landed hard on her shoulder, the air exploding out of her with an audible "oof."

  "Did I stutter?" Knight asked, amusement threading through his tone. "I said, I want your cards. Now you heard Landaine. I can't kill you and just take them, which sucks. So you're just going to have to give them to me."

  Dania rolled back up to a seat, panting a little. Yep. This is going to hurt. Okay. Here we go.

  "Is that how you got Kendra's deck? By beating a pregnant woman like a fucking pussy?"

  Slap!

  Blood filled her mouth as the inside of her cheek caught on one of Dania's teeth. She spat it out and pulled herself back upright.

  "Worked pretty well, seeing as it's my deck now," Knight was saying. "So how about it? Give me your deck and I'll leave you alone to get a good night's sleep."

  "Fuck you."

  She was anticipating it, so Dania was able to flinch away as he kicked at her. The toe of his boot still caught her in the ribs, punching the air out of her lungs and toppling her to the floor once again. Her head smacked the concrete, and his menacing form momentarily disappeared behind an explosion of bright white sparkles that danced before her eyes.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  Knight lunged forward, tackling her to her back, wrenching her shoulders so painfully that she cried out. His full weight landed on her hips as his legs kicked hers out flat, denying her any leverage. His hands came down hard on her throat, pinning her to the floor.

  "Still the wrong answer," Knight said, grinning down into her face. He reared back and drove his fist into her face. Dania felt something crack in her cheek. Pain exploded throughout her head, stabbing downward in jagged, electric jolts through her body. The bright sparkles reappeared in her vision and danced ever faster, ever brighter until they blotted out the sight of him hunching over her, fist cocked for another blow.

  "No," she whispered, calling up the image of Berto's cabin in her memory. Pain rocketed through her again, but she pulled her mind away, wrapping it in a blanket on the old leather couch as she watched the snow fall through the huge picture windows that dominated the wall of the A-frame—

  "Want me to stop? I'll stop as soon as you give me one. Just one card, Dani. That's your name, isn't it? Dani. Berto screamed your name when we cut his fingers off, you know."

  Berto…no. The cabin. Sitting in the cabin, the fire cracking in the fireplace, snow falling softly outside…

  Agony smashed into her nose, cracking the cartilage and flooding her mouth and nostrils with blood. Dania tried to turn her head to the side, but hard, heavy hands clamped down on her, grinding her broken pieces together. A wet, burbling scream ripped its way out of her.

  "One card," she heard Knight say…but it was distant, fading. "Just one…"

  Just one. Just one more. Make him hit me one more time, that should do it. One more.

  "Fuck…you…" she whispered again, feeling blood bubbling at her lips with every sound.

  "You stupid bitch." Even further away, now.

  Come on. One more hit. Let me rest…

  She never felt it. Blackness enveloped her, dragging her down to merciful oblivion.

  ***

  "Deckbearrrerrr…"

  Dania knew that sound, that voice. It pulled at her, lifting her from the blank safety and darkness up into layers of crushing, agonizing pain.

  "No," she whispered. Or tried to whisper. Her lips stuck together. as if she'd smeared a glue stick over them instead of lip balm.

  "Dooo youuu yet liiive?" Something sharp traced the line of her cheek, curving down around her jaw. That same voice slithered over her skin, prodding her memory with its familiarity.

  "Hush." This time she was successful at peeling her lips apart long enough to let the monster's name slip past.

  "Yessss. Youuu arrrre badly hurrrt. Whooo did thisss to youuu?"

  "Knight. Clayton. Kendra's ex. Seems it’s his M.O." She blinked her eyes, straining to pull her lids apart as whatever stuck her lips together had apparently dried in her eyelashes as well.

  Blood. It's my blood. Don't be a wuss, Dania. Face what's happened and move forward.

  "You shoullld not mooove."

  "I'll live," Dania said. "My face might be fucked up forever, but I'll live. Maybe Rhett's card doc can build me a new cheekbone or something."

  It hurt. It hurt like nothing in recent memory. Every movement jarred through her ribs, stabbing in and down at the same time. It stole her breath, every time, which jostled the ball of agony that was her battered face. Her nose was completely blocked, forcing her to breathe through her mouth, which caused the cycle of pain to start all over again…

  "What caaan I doo?"

  "Kill the light…in the ceiling."

  "Yessss." She felt Hush's presence glide away, and a moment later, the room plunged into darkness accompanied by the tinkle of broken glass hitting the floor.

  "Cut my hands free," she gasped then. She could no longer feel her arms below her shoulders. She caught her lower lip between her teeth and rolled toward the window, letting out a muffled cry.

  Hush bent over her, and the tension holding her arms snapped. A million pins and needles surged to life in her shoulders as he gently straightened her limbs.

  "Help me… pull my deck," she said. "He'll come back soon. Camera."

  "Youuu willl fiiight hiiim?"

  "Every fucking time. You should go."

  Hush's face split in his wide, terrifying grin. "I cannnot be sssseen on camerasss. I will ssstay. It willl be a ssssurprisssse forrrr Clllllayyytonnn." He dragged the name out with a relish that made Dania's skin shiver, even as she agreed with the viciousness that glinted in Hush's eyes.

  "Help, then," Dania said. "He sees the light's gone out. He won't be long."

  Hush lifted her hand to her chest as she stayed facing the wall. She hoped that the camera wouldn't pick up the glow of the cards as they appeared in front of her, but she figured it didn't matter much anyway. Hush arranged her tingling, barely responsive fingers in the splay-fingered gesture, and then pulled her hand away.

  Her Lost World Lioness, a Scimitar Cat, Era of the Ice Age, and Megafauna. Dania touched her mantle, and felt the fur flow over her battered face. The darkness of the cell eased slightly as her feline eyes picked up on what little light there was and made the most of it.

  Her gaze fell on the Megafauna card.

  It's not true healing… but adding twenty health to my overall pool is probably not a terrible idea. I can't imagine I'm doing too well as is. And it should work, because the mantle gives me the Beast type, right?

  "Let's give it a shot," she muttered. She touched the Megafauna card, picturing its tawny light flowing over herself. Instantly, her back straightened, her legs stretched out straight, and her body sort of… swelled. Like she'd just come back from a solid lifting session at the gym, only… more. Pain still wreathed her body, but it had faded, like background noise.

  "Ssssomeone comessss," Hush said. "I willl not leave youu, but I mussst hiiide to ssssurrrrprrrissse Cllllayyytonn."

  "I'm good," she said, pushing herself up to a seat. She rubbed her wrists and scooted back until she sat against the far wall, facing the door as the sound of approaching footsteps echoed in her enhanced hearing.

  Ker-thunk.

  "Oh, good, you are awake. Ready to give me what I want?" Knight's voice filled the room, the excitement in it settling over Dania like a wet fog of hatred. He stood just inside the door, which he held open, letting light spill in from the hallway.

  "Nope," she said, popping her lips on the "p". "I just wanted to see if you had the balls to face me with my hands untied." Slowly, she gathered her legs underneath herself and pushed up against the wall until she stood on her feet.

  "Huh. You really are a stupid bitch," Knight said, shaking his head. He turned and pulled a key out of his pocket before closing the door and plunging the room into near darkness again. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a headlamp, which he put on and activated before using his key to lock the door. Then he re-pocketed the key and turned, shining the light directly into her watering eyes. "You can barely stand up! The fuck you think you're going to do to me?"

  "Do you remember being a little kid, Clayton?" Dania asked, squinting and ducking behind the loose fall of her tangled hair.

  "What are we, friends now?"

  "Not exactly. I bet you wet the bed, didn't you? Most kids do at some point. But I have a theory that men who like to beat up on defenseless women wet the bed well into their adulthood. Do you know why?"

  "Keep talking, bitch. It's just going to hurt more when I start throwing hands again."

  "It's because you're scared," she pressed, hoping Hush would understand what she wanted him to do. "You're scared that even though you're a big enough man to beat his pregnant ex-girlfriend half to death, you're still not big enough to overcome that monster that your gut tells you still lurks under your bed."

  Knight scoffed. "Okay…whatever." He stalked toward Dania, and it took everything she had to let him come to her, grab her by the shirt, and slam her back against the concrete wall. He blinked as he got a closer look at the fur that covered her face, but she didn't let him think about it for too long.

  "Here's the thing," she gritted out in a harsh whisper as his other hand came hard around her throat. "You're right."

  "Hell yeah I'm right," he said. "Wait…about what?"

  "The…monster…"

  "Sssurprisssse, Cllllayyytonnn. Rrrememberrr meeee?"

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