Fearless The King Series Book One - By Tawdra Kandle Page 0,118

The pain was still right there with me, and I sensed it wasn’t going away any time soon. But by taking it slowly, I could shift in tiny increments without passing out again.

I caught sight of a robed figure standing in front of a pile of rocks. I knew it was Nell. My heart pounded, and I tried to calm myself enough to figure out how I could best save myself. It was pretty clear from her thoughts that I was the chosen sacrifice today. And it also sounded as though she was buying into the idea that I possessed some sort of power. I wondered if she knew what it was.

I toyed with the idea of feigning unconsciousness for as long as I could, hoping that might buy me some time. I was growing increasingly uncomfortable on the ground; something was poking me in the back, and I tried to move. But my feet somehow didn’t seem to be obeying my mind. I couldn’t feel them at all. Wincing in agony, I lifted my head as far as I could and looked at my legs. My feet were bound tightly with rope and fastened to a large wooden stake in the ground. The knot was on the other side of the stake, beyond my reach even if I could ignore the pain long enough to sit up. The binding must have cut off my circulation, I realized, which explained why I couldn’t feel my feet.

That was when true, mind-numbing terror took over. I was stuck here, unable to move, completely helpless against anything Nell was planning to do to me. My eyesight was still blurry, and my head throbbed; I assumed that probably meant a concussion. That really wasn’t going to matter in the long run, because Nell was going to do something to spill my blood. I was betting on her using the knife again. By the time she was finished, a concussion would be the least of my problems.

My one good chance for rescue was the message that I’d left at the nursery. If Belinda got in touch with Marley and Luke, they would know what to do. And if Michael wasn’t here, then of course he must be there, working. He might even get the message himself and understand where I was.

Of course, there was the possibility that Amber would alert him. When she found the note in her locker… if she found the note in her locker… would she call his parents and find out that Michael was not really in danger? Had I told her that I was coming out here by myself? My head was still fuzzy and it hurt to think that hard.

I twisted again, trying to lean away from whatever was hurting my back. Then I froze, because at my movement, the murmurings of Nell’s mind stopped abruptly, and she turned to look at me.

Her smile was one of pure pleasure, and suddenly I couldn’t breathe. She seemed to float over to me, as the long robe covered her feet to the ground.

“You’re awake!” she exclaimed in what sounded like true delight. “Good. We have so much to do. I was afraid I was going to have to try to bring you around myself. Apparently, it’s very important that you’re conscious when we begin.”

Nell sounded as though we were beginning a school project together. Her voice was matter-of-fact, but her eyes blazed with the true madness that I’d been hearing in her mind for months.

I tried to sit up, but the agony in my head was strong enough to make me nauseated, and I fell back.

“Yes, sorry about the head. Probably hurts quite a bit, doesn’t it? That was unfortunate. I considered trying chloroform, but it’s not as easy to get as you might think, and there’s a paper trail, too. I couldn’t have that.”

I stared at her incredulously. “You don’t think you’re really going to get away with killing me, do you? You might do it, but between Michael and Amber, I’m going to bet the cops will be at your door before you’ve had a chance to clean up. If I disappear, who do you think will be the number one suspect?”

She laughed then, a silvery tinkle of amusement tinged with insanity. “Oh, poor Tasmyn. You don’t think I’ve thought this out? It was very complicated, you know. Everything had to fall into place so precisely, and it had to be done in very little time. I had been