Free Return to Celio by Sasha Cain

gave me that wheezy chuckle again. “True, but he knows me...and my...particular tastes. He’ll come.”
    “What does that even mean?” I asked, dreading the answer.
    He snorted and licked his lips. I shuddered. Using his left hand, he ran his pudgy fingers along the inside of my arm. Then he traced one finger over my chin. I cringed, trying to pull away.
    “I know he’s saved a lot of people, but he bent over backward trying to keep you alive. He took some big risks. Like the one that gave me the opportunity to snatch you right out from under his nose. You’re awfully pretty.”
    He let his eyes roam over my body. “And you’ve got a luscious little body too. There’s a whole lot of things I can think of that I’d like to do to that body.”
    I glowered at him. Laughing, he leaned in toward me.
    He stood up and stepped back, glancing out the window like he’d heard something. He looked back at me and smiled. “Maybe that’s our boy now,” he said.
    I yelled as loudly as I could, “Darrios, stay away! It’s a trap!”
    Podredo turned on me, furious. He backhanded me with his burned-up arm, nearly knocking me unconscious. “Shut up, bitch. You’ll ruin everything,” he snarled.
    He approached the door, warily, like he expected something or someone to come crashing through it. Nothing happened. He stepped closer to the door and listened. Still nothing. He turned to me.
    “Well, it looks like you scared him off. Now what ever will we do? I guess this is as good a time as any for me to have a little fun, especially with you tied up and soon to be naked.” He rubbed his crotch suggestively. Bile rose in my throat. “Oooh, I’m getting stiff just thinking about it.”
    At that moment, the door burst open, slamming Podredo against the wall. He fell, stunned. Darrios came running in, looking around. When he saw me, he narrowed his eyes, turning to Podredo.
    Before Darrios could reach him, Podredo changed into a snake-like creature. He coiled up, baring an enormous set of fangs. Darrios pulled out his gigantic knife, swinging it around like it was a baton. The snake became a flying insect and flew out the door. Darrios slammed the door shut and hurried over to me.
    He began untying me, but I was trembling so much, he had a difficult time loosening the ropes. He started apologizing. “I’m so sorry, Maggie,” he said. “I had no idea he was around. I haven’t seen him in at least a year.”
    My tears began flowing freely. I could barely breathe. “We have to go. We have to get out of here before he comes back!” My voice became shrill with hysteria. “Darrios, please! He wants to kill you and he wants to...do terrible things to me.”
    “Ssshhh, Maggie. Listen to me. He isn’t coming back anytime soon. All that changing forms wears him out. He’ll go into a cave or something somewhere and rest. He’ll dig a hole, climb into it, and stay there for weeks. It’s kind of like hibernating. By the time he comes out, we’ll be in Inland and he can’t get there...ever!”
    He untied the last knot, setting me free. I leaped up and threw my arms around him, sobbing openly. “I was so scared. I thought he was you. He changed into you.”
    “Maggie, I know. It’s okay. Did he hurt you? Did he lay a hand on you?”
    Still crying, I answered, “No, no...Well, he hit me when I yelled to you. But he didn’t... touch me.”
    Darrios let out a relieved breath. He continued to hold me until I was breathing normally. I pulled away, suddenly self-conscious. “I’m sorry. I was...I...he...”
    “It’s all right, Maggie. You really are safe, now. I’m so sorry you had to go through that because of me. Let me see your neck.”
    I pulled my hair back. “It wasn’t your fault, Darrios. He’s crazy. Why does he hate you so much? What did you do to him?”
    He shook his head muttering he didn’t like the way my neck looked. “His mate...I killed her.”
    I sucked in a breath.
    “She was like him, a changer.