Katie's Hellion

With more fish. She sat up and crossed her legs, eyeing the rope. He walked out again, and she tossed the fish and hid the rope, straightening just as he reappeared.

His eyes flashed silver as he glanced at her. He sat on a boulder near the entrance, as if he were the bouncer trying to prevent someone like her from exiting.

"C'mere, little girl."

"I hate that!"

"It's how this works."

"How what works?"

"I feed you, you feed me."

"Can't you eat a cow or a rabbit or something?"

"You taste better."

She didn't know what to think. She needed more rope to reach the top of the cliff, yet being dinner for any creature wasn't the way she'd like to go. And what if he attacked her as Sasha did, and she had no Lankha to heal her? She'd bleed out in this cave.

"I've claimed you as my blood slave," he said, as if reading her mind. "You're worth more to me alive."

"In that case, then, if you ever hurt me, I'll throw myself to the ocean!"

"Whatever."

She wasn't ready yet to prove it to him, not before she at least tried to escape. He gave her a look that warned her he'd get her if she didn't come to him. She rose, angry, and knelt beside him.

He gripped her neck in one large, roughened hand, tilting her head. She squeezed her eyes closed, heart quickening and her breathing fast and shallow. She gripped his wrist hard, wondering why he insisted on tormenting her by taking his time. At long last, she felt the warmth of his breath on her neck. He bit, and she stifled a cry. The pinch was less today, and the pain gone instantly, replaced by heat and warmth. He didn't drink long, and when he was finished he touched his thumb to the wound, cauterizing it again.

Only when he released her did she sit back on her heels and open her eyes. He was gone again. The blood loss and lack of food made her dizzy. She reached into her pocket and pulled out one of the three water cubes and the remaining sugary cube. She popped one water cube but replaced the sugary cube with some hesitation. If he brought her more fish tomorrow morning, she'd have rope enough to reach the cliff edge ten feet above. She'd need her strength for what she planned.

She lay down on her back to watch the sun set and didn't move until he returned early the next morning to toss stinky fish beside her. She rolled to face him, squinting in the grainy dawn. His silver eyes flashed from the darkness at the back of the cave, alarming her.