This urban fantasy serial is a work-in-progress. I’ll make the index page someday, meanwhile I’m just writing and publishing a chapter per week. All the chapters of book 1 and 2 are free to read on my Substack.
TW: contains strong language, sexual references and violence.
“Wakey wakey, bitch!”
An annoying woman’s voice and a cold splash of water to the face woke Odry. She couldn’t open her eyes, something was tied around them, to keep her in the dark. Odry moved, her arms and legs tied to a chair she was sitting on. Oh, how it reminded her of the long-gone torturous training sessions with Bastille! Cold sweat broke out on her back. The baby kicked her stomach nervously.
“Clarissa? Cassio? Please, untie me! Let me go! I’m… pregnant,” Odry begged timidly.
“Well, doh! You’re as big as a whale! Why would anybody want to do that to their body? Fucking pathetic!” Clarissa’s voice laughed maliciously.
“My back aches… please, let me go, I’m not… why are you doing this?!” Odry cried out desperately. There was no pride left in her in the face of fear; she had to keep the baby safe from these monsters. She felt Clarissa trying to suck energy from her, but Odry resisted with all her might. That’s probably how they got to her and the bodyguard. Cassio took the energy while they were unaware, he was the one driving the limo. That’s why they fell asleep so quickly. Odry wished she’d taken Mateo with her to the doctor’s. He would’ve sensed something was wrong.
“Clarissa, back off! Move away from her. She’ll be in no shape to serve father!” Cassio’s voice demanded from afar.
“To… to serve? What do you mean? Please, Cassio, untie me! Take that thing off my eyes! The baby… it’s your cousin’s child!” Odry stuttered.
Cassio didn’t get to reply. Odry heard some footsteps coming her way.
“I’m afraid we cannot do that. Because once you’ll see what you’re doing, you’ll make objects fly at us. But you wouldn’t risk doing so blindfolded, now, would you? Otherwise, you could hurt that precious child you’re bearing,” Tiberius’ voice rolled over the large hollow space like a slow, dark wave. He obviously enjoyed his power over Odry. She felt sick. Odry remember Mateo saying Tiberius was the devil. Obviously, that was not far from the truth.
“What will you do to me? Please, let me go!”
She heard the footsteps approaching her. Cold chills ran down Odry’s spine. Even without seeing him, Odry felt Tiberius’ suffocating presence.
“A while ago I thought Mateo was Bastille’s biggest treasure, but then I found out your worth. Oh, we followed the activities of the circus closely…” Tiberius gave a short chuckle. He stepped closer. Odry smelled his sickly-sweet cologne.
“This one video Mateo published only for a couple of minutes… we recorded everything and studied it. It seems you are a human power-converter, aren’t you? Bastille’s little personal power plant. How convenient!” Tiberius stroke her hair gently. Odry shook her head.
“How lucky for us! You gave all your secrets out just like that” He snapped his fingers. “ “The secret files of Cirque du Macabre” ain’t so secret anymore!” Tiberius gave an eerily psychotic laughter, which sent Odry’s body into uncontrollable shaking. She never had panic attacks. She tried to steady her breathing.
Just breathe and try to calm down. For the baby. I have to hold on, for the baby!
“Clarissa, darling! Come closer! I want to test something,” Tiberius called his daughter. Odry heard a pair of stilettos clicking. She also heard the sound of an electrical device being plugged in.
“Cassio, untie her hands!” Tiberius commanded.
A cord of a phone charger was shoved into Odry’s palm.
“Clarissa, dear, take her hand!”
“But father…” Clarissa objected in a squeamish brat’s voice.
“Do as I say!” Tiberius grunted through his teeth.
Odry felt a cold hand grab her free hand, its long, sharp nails dug into her skin like predator’s claws.
Something cold and metallic was pressed to Odry’s stomach. A gun.
“Now, Odry or Odette or whatever you’re called, you will charge Clarissa with energy. If you try to hurt her, I’ll terminate Bastille’s bastard without a second thought,” Tiberius’ voice slightly trembled with hateful delight.
“It’s not Bastille’s, it’s Linden’s baby!” Odry cried out, fighting for a breath.
“I don’t care who fucks who in Bastille’s perverted family. Do it! Give her energy!”
Odry tried to focus, with her heart pounding, still fighting for a breath from the panic attack rolling over her body. The energy flowed through her, Clarissa gasped, but laughed right afterward. The electric charger went PUFF in a cloud of blue smoke of burnt plastic stench.
“Whoa! It really worked! The bitch knows her stuff!” Clarissa, the energetic vampire, rejoiced, letting go of Odry’s hand.
“Very good! Excellent!”
“Please, let me go!” Odry begged desperately.
“Oh, no, you are too precious! With powers like yours, I’d be a fool to give you away. Bastille thought he’d steal my show? I’ll steal everything he holds dear!”
Tiberius’ phone rang.
“Speaking of the devil….” he turned the phone’s speaker up, “hello, Jean-Luc! How can I help you?” Tiberius inquired idly.
“Give her back!” Odry had never heard such hatred in Bastille’s voice.
“News travel fast! Well, Jean-Luc, I’m not gonna beat around the bush. In thirty minutes time a courier will deliver you a contract, which I expect you to sign if you want your little bitch to live. You can imagine what I want - the full ownership of Cirque du Macabre and everything concerning it, the physical, the intellectual property and trademark. It’s a fair bargain, considering you stole my show and caused my business financial damage.”
“I want to speak to Odry,” Bastille said coldly.
“Jean-Luc… Jean-Luc, I’m scared… they tied my eyes shut… I can’t…” Odry cried, between her own ragged breaths.
“See? She’s fine. For now.”
“I want her back when you get the signed contract,” Bastille’s voice was stern.
“You are not the one making demands here, Jean-Luc! First, I get the contract. You get to know she’s alive. I’ll inform you of the next steps of our cooperation. Goodbye, Jean-Luc!” Tiberius hung up.
“What… what will you do to me?!”
“I think I’ll keep you as a personal assistant. I’ve included it in the contract. Not that it matters much. You will belong to me just like the rest of the troupe, only you I’ll use for my personal needs. No more mingling with simple folk to take their energy, when I have a human power-converter at hand!”
Odry couldn’t fight the panic attack anymore, she sobbed uncontrollably, fighting for a breath like a fish out of water.
“Father… please, I think she needs help!” Odry heard Cassio. His voice was almost timid when speaking to his father.
“Oh, shut up, Cassio! What kind of a man are you, if you can’t stand a hysterical bitch throwing a tantrum?!”
“But father, she’s very… pregnant! What if…”
“Shut your mouth, boy! You’ve always been a coward, just like your mother! All I wanted was a son, instead she birthed me a doormat! Clarissa is more man than you are!” Tiberius bellowed at Cassio.
“Take her away!” He spat out after Odry struggled for a few more minutes.
Odry felt somebody untying her feet and hands.
“Don’t dare to rip the cloth from your face, Odette! You’re only one bullet away from true suffering. And you know what damage a single bullet can cause!” Tiberius voice slithered into her ears like a venomous snake. Somebody supported Odry, to help her up, because she could barely walk. The panic attack wouldn’t stop, she felt faint, fighting for a breath. A man supported her to walk out of the vast space and into a corridor, some more quiet footsteps followed them. A set of keys jingled, somebody unlocked a door, and escorted her into a small room.
“I have to tie your hands,” Cassio said quietly.
Odry was barely conscious. She held on to Cassio tightly as if drowning and wouldn’t let him go.
“Please, help me!”
“Hush, bella, hush! Try to breathe! Deep breath! Again! Breathe, bella!” Cassio said nervously. Odry didn’t know what she was doing. She stood holding Cassio until her panic attack retreated.
“Good, bella, good! Deep breaths,” he said.
“Thank you,” Odry whispered.
“I used to have panic attacks all the time as a kid. My Mama had them too.”
Cassio led her to a bed and sat her down.
“Father told me to tie your hands.”
Odry nodded. Cassio tied her hands behind her back.
“I suggest you don’t try to run. You will be well-guarded. Rest now, bella.”
Cassio stood quietly for a moment, as if searching for more words, but then he went away hurriedly.
Odry didn’t have the strength to think about escaping. There was only darkness around her. The baby stirred; poor thing was restless. Odry laid on her side, numb and devoid of all emotions.
Breathe… just breathe…
I knew Bastille was being an idiot...