Dark Days (Written Pictures #2) (28 page)

Half a world away, a dark haired woman cringed and closed the lid of a laptop. She had the most cause to despise Raven, yet even she couldn’t watch the abomination anymore.

CHAPTER LXI – The Moaning After

The first night of her new reality didn’t pass well for Jacqueline Corbeau. Even in the darkest times she had found hope and a way, but now she had never felt so alone, so worthless or so utterly spent.

With Alexei there had been a way forward, hinted at by the growing thrill of seeing something grow, capped off with that deliciously frantic fuck. There was a chemistry between them, however perverse it was and within that there was an intoxication that carried her through, beyond the loss of Red, into his arms and onto his cock.

Alexei though had been thrust aside and Natalia wasn’t like anyone she had crossed before. There would be no luring her and eventually breaking her down. She was equally sure that as Natalia’s confidence in her newly taken position grew, it would mean nothing but suffering - pain without even a nodded hint toward future pleasure.

The absence of Yuri also concerned her. With him, she understood exactly what to expect. Brute though he was, he was a straightforward one who knew a good body and fucked it with all the subtlety of a herd of bulls in a china shop. She could only guess at what had become of him and that Natalia had played no small part.

The laughing, leering Jester was far less predictable with the wild bipolarisation of his character which lurched between simpleton and sadist, jester and judge. Plainly and simply, he was dangerous. Even if she did all he directed her to, she could never be sure he wasn’t just one crooked cackle away from killing her with his manic malevolence. She hadn’t seen him murder of course but he had it in him, Jacqueline just knew.

They had taken her apart and yet it had always been her darkest hour that had shown her the light. She had had things done to her in her life that were beyond those a person should have to endure. And yet in that blackest of nights, they had overlooked a single element that was the very essence of who she was, there at Raven’s genesis, something that would always be at the bedrock of her being.

Her survival instinct. Often spoken of and almost as often overlooked. Jacqueline took deep breath after deep breath. She had called Natalia ‘Mistress’ but she hadn’t felt it, not like when she had proclaimed herself as Alexei’s. It was expedience, nothing more. Say the words, save the day, screw the little bitch.

With her sense of self-preservation as the spur, resolve rose from Raven’s ashes. She mentally cleaned herself up as best she could and waited for what the morning would bring. She wasn’t quite done yet.

== ~ ==

It seemed that she didn’t sleep at all that night, though it was final clarity of thought that kept Raven awake rather than the nagging of her wounds. She was wired on an adrenalin high, laying there awake, waiting for the seconds to creep past.

Three of ten they had announced and even though her furtive imagination tried to peer around the corner in morbid curiosity to see what the next seven could be, she couldn’t let it get to Game Four, not if she was still to be in a fit enough state to try to get away.

They hadn’t let her take the catsuit off but had let her discard her boots, and they sat right by the bed she was chained to. Normally, everything was tidied away each evening but the Jester seemed to be her jailer now and he lacked both the insight and thoroughness the others had. He was careless and she would use that in whatever way she could. He would make another mistake, it was just a matter of when.

She wished she could take the parking brake off time, feeling her readiness rise with each annoyingly loud tick of that damned clock. She never saw it but the sound of it was fed into the room, probably to leech away a little more of her resilience, disturbing her sleep, reminding her that each second moved her further from who she once was.

The adrenalin was helping to dull the constant discomfort she felt from her injuries but Raven knew that she also needed them to smart to give her that edge. She also needed to
be
smart with whatever opportunity arose.

Yuri had given her none though if he had, he was three times her size even if he wasn’t even half as intelligent. She would have to be constantly ready. Whoever came through that door, she would have to seize whatever slip they made.

If it was the Jester, she would have to weather his mayhem, allowing it wings in the hope that it would create its own error.

Alexei? She couldn’t work him out. When Natalia had faced him down he had been trying to make the assault on her stop. Perhaps he was still the future for her. There was passion in the sex; hard, driven passion. Was he really like that with everyone? Was she really just another whore to him as Natalia had said? The jury was out.

And what of Natalia? If it was her then the only way was to wait her out, take what she threw and hope enough of her scraped by to get through the day.

And so Raven lay there, senses back in tune with her brain, swollen eye as wide as she could bear it. Waiting, hoping the despised Jester would visit her again, reason winning over her anxiety of the indiscriminate man.

The eventual clanging of a key into the lock offered no clue to the person on the other side of the door. There had been no tell-tale heavy footfalls and from that she guessed Yuri wasn’t the visitor today. Raven narrowed her eyes. Natalia? She knew power trips enough to guess she would probably send someone else. The one called Tomas was dead so that left it down to two.

Alexei had only come once and that had been for sex. Sliding a little further up the bed Raven propped herself on her elbow, elongating her body, ready to be seen, just in case.

It could be the Jester of course. He was the one most likely to offer a chance so covering bases she slipped a hand down beside the bed, making sure a boot was close to hand.

The door slowly swung open and a maniacally bleached white face pushed around it. “Hello, Ki-Ki,” cooed the Jester, voice whistling with nasal tones. “The Mistress of the House is going to have
such
fun with
you
today.” His bony finger pointed to her as, with one eye shut, he looked down it as if sighting a rifle.

Raven offered a moan and raised her head further to look at him through intentionally hooded eyes. Her fingers slid slowly across the sheet, taking his attention with them, as other fingers rested on leather.

Safe in the knowledge she was still securely chained, the Jester bounded into the room, brimming with chaotic confidence.

His hands started to roam the moment he reached her, groping and squeezing unchecked. She forced herself to let him roam, to not push him off in disgust. Let him explore, let his cock rise and his guard fall.

Face, breasts, crotch, nothing was safe from the skinny hands that slithered over her. The only brief respite was the occasional retreat to touch his own growing hardness. “No arena for
you
today, Ki-Ki,” the strange man sneered. “Mistress has personal plans for
you.
” He clicked open the lock to her ankle.

It was just what she had hoped and waited for. Gripping the shaft of her high heeled boot, she swung it and swung it hard. Despite the pull on her shoulder, her aim was as true as it needed to be. The pointed toe of the boot connected squarely with the Jester’s jaw, a sickening crunch telling of the weight of the blow.

He dropped like he had been shot, unconscious before he even landed across her. Scrabbling as her flesh crept with feeling his vile body against hers, Raven heaved the scrawny man off. She wanted to just run, but common sense stopped her - if she got outside she would not get far with nothing on her feet.

As quickly as she could, she pushed on the boots, yanking up each zip to close them on her legs. She wouldn’t win a sprint in them but she could run and up on her toes, run she did, out the open door in a wide-eyed bid for freedom.

CHAPTER LXII – Stable Door

Raven ran like she never had before. Fast clearing the door to her room, she ran through the mansion ignoring anyone that came to see the cause of the noise from her heels. If anyone tried to stop her, she had the element of surprise but nobody did, the anonymous house staff knowing better than to get in the way.

Sprinting down the long corridor, she burst into the light of the empty arena and with a leap and no small amount of scrambling, flung herself into the lowest rows of seats. For once Raven was glad she wasn’t clad in a corset as her chest pounded, clearing two steps at a time until burning in her thighs shortened her stride.

Plunging down an access way, Raven spotted an emergency exit sign and increased her pace – there could be no greater emergency than was hers right now. She plunged the metal bar down and while the door stuck initially, her good shoulder ensured it soon opened.

It wouldn’t be long before the alarm was raised, if it hadn’t been already. The emergency exit was almost certainly linked to a system. Once she had passed through it, she made herself to stop and take stock, breathing heavily. She was in unfamiliar territory now, and there was no room for mistakes, not if she was going to get clear.

She was in a courtyard, fairly bland, nothing sinister, no threats. It was an area clearly meant to be hidden away behind the scenes. To the right was an arch and crossing the open area quickly, she plunged into the relative safety of shadows.

Heart thumping, Raven pressed her body tight against the wall. If truth be told she was already surprised she had got this far but still in the compound, she was far from free yet. She had hit the bizarre little man hard and while not being the biggest blow, it had been enough to knock him cold. There had been no time to check on him though, no time to think to crack his head a second time, just to make sure. So she had to push on, get out while she could, get free.

At the back of the archway was a wide wooden door. She heaved on the cross brace to lift it from its rests, cringing at the squeaking of wood against wood as it showed a reluctance to budge. The whinnying of horses in an adjacent stable added to the threat of the noise giving her away.

The door clearly hadn’t been used in a while but that was perhaps in her favour. She hadn’t the time to go all the way across to the main exit she had noticed and anyway, maybe they wouldn’t be expecting her to go out of the old door. Out of use, out of the way, out of mind. Christ, she hoped that was the case at least.

Another heave saw the heavy timber move properly and a second lifted it out of the brackets. Wits razor sharp now, she resisted the urge to throw the beam and propped it carefully against the wall instead. A series of tugs moved the door ajar on rusty hinges and after squeezing through the narrow gap, she sprinted across an ornamental garden and into open country beyond.

CHAPTER LXIII – Close Run Thing

Horses bucked and neighed in their stalls, swept up in the excitement of the moment. Countless people seethed in the courtyard and the sounding of horns added to a cacophony of shouts and the relentless clatter of hooves. There were no tracker dogs, that wouldn’t have been sport and as Alexei swung his leg to mount his prized chestnut stallion, he promised himself that, whatever happened, he would be the first to find her.

He couldn’t lose her like this. Looking over to his younger sister on her excitable grey mare, the withering glare she shot back would have floored many a man. Alexei’s knuckles whitened as he gripped the reigns, shuffling his feet in the stirrups as horses jostled behind him, eager to run.

Their eyes met again across the sea of people. Brother and sister in competition, each knowing they had to be first to find the escaped woman, each knowing exactly what they would do when they did.

Alexei broke the deadlock, looking away while Natalia still watched him. The Jester, who claimed to have some skill in tracking, emerged from the recessed ancient arch, his grotesque face twisted into a triumphant grin. “She headed out the old door. East. About half an hour ago.” He rubbed his tender jaw, knowing precisely what
he
would do if he found her first. With a grunt, he turned and rushed through the now fully open door, leaping onto a motorbike and gunning the accelerator to speed in pursuit as a servant flung himself back out of the way.

Hauling his steed around, Alexei thudded his heels in to its side, flicked the reigns and yelled to spur him forward. They charged through the old arch, Alexei ducking under the lintel of the door, Natalia close behind and the rest of the party hurrying to follow in their wake.

== ~ ==

Blinking to try to cope with the swelling, Raven watched the motorcycle tear away from the stables, across the gardens and into the field beyond. Gaudy clothing and the wild flop of hair that was reddened by the morning sun gave away its rider, even from this distance. Occasionally, he slowed, one leg out to steady himself, peering down at the grass before wrenching the handle grip back to propel the bike forward again.

The horses weren’t far behind but it was difficult to make out who the riders were. There looked to be a dozen in the echelon, no more than that, and Raven thought the burly frame on the horse in the lead looked to be Alexei.

From her position up behind rocks, she watched them cross the field, wheel left then jag quickly back in her direction just as she had run not an hour before. She had been headed for the obvious path along a river, but had changed her mind and veered away up into sparse woods that flanked the hillside instead.

She had been lucky. Nobody had seen her escape and none of the staff had dared to raise the alarm and wake the house so she had got into the country at least before stopping to catch her breath. Now, from her high vantage point she could see if they were following and how.

They were coming closer and clearer to see. When the Jester stopped again, he was close enough that Raven could see him rubbing his jaw in some discomfort right where her boot had struck. Hope it hurts you creepy little fuck.

He made her skin crawl. It was gratifying to see him suffering but with the way he craned his neck down to examine the ground, Raven knew it was he who was the biggest threat to her now. His grasping, grabbing hands had been disgusting but for once he seemed to have more than just sex on his mind. He had made a mistake and there wouldn’t be much tolerance for that kind of error here. Now he had a point to prove and she guessed he was just the type to make sure he proved it, and proved it on her.

They were no more than a few hundred yards away and Raven crouched lower between the rocks that shielded her from view, pressing her black clad body deeper into their shadow. She could almost see his expression. Watching him, she felt a cold shot of terror as he stretched up and seemed to sniff the air, turning to look in her direction.

Raven held her breath, more on instinct than the thought that it might actually help, as petrified as the stones that flanked her. He was looking at her, right at her and as his hand moved away she thought she could make out the bluish smudge of a bruise already decorating his jaw. Good, the bastard deserved at least that.

With a curdling cry, the strange man twisted back the accelerator, strangling it in his eagerness and urged the party forward along the stony path via a sweep of his thin arm. Raven breathed again, keeping it carefully controlled, though at that moment the thunder of hooves would drown it out, and much more.

In a flash of inspiration, she had removed her boots when she had reached the rocky path, hoping any pursuer would assume she had headed off along it when in fact she had tiptoed barefoot across the grass beyond to the shelter of the rocks. The rain had been unwelcome at the time but it was the break she had needed to help hide any flattening of grass by her feet. God knows she needed a break and it seemed to have worked – the Jester bumped his bike along the path.

The rocks though offered only temporary respite and no more. She still had to get fully away and clear and, watching the horses flash past as they followed the bike, what they carried only confirmed that need.

Alexei was indeed on the lead horse and in the blur of the stampede she also picked out Natalia. Dangling from the saddle of her horse were heavy-looking manacles that clanked as she thundered past, striking against other metal objects that Raven couldn’t make out, and probably wouldn’t want to anyway.

== ~ ==

She would enjoy keeping the woman. No doubt Alexei would object but he had shown himself to be weak when the woman was near and that would never do, not at all. Not with the pipeline deal so close. Fuck Alexei. She didn’t need him now. She would delight in every scream, every plea she managed to rip from the bitch, yes yes.

Perhaps she would be the Ballerinatrix again, just to see the taller woman break and beg. Maybe she wouldn’t even have to strike her next time, the memory of her blows might be enough to bring her straight to her knees. Enjoyable would be an understatement. If this was what power felt like, then bring it on, she needed more, and flailing the reigns against the side of her horse, Natalia lurched forward to hunt her pleasure.

== ~ ==

Raven could barely hear the motorbike now and steeling herself, she dared to lean forward to peer out. She had bought a little time but how to use it?

For a start the rise behind her was rocky all the way up, so she pushed her feet back into the boots, necessity impelling her rather than vanity for once.

Creeping her hands up the granite boulders, Raven braced herself and carefully squeezed out of the crevice until she could stand. She could see down the path. They had made it over the next hill already. That was good. With a push off the rocks, Raven ran diagonally up the slope, adding breathing space with every stride, startling a bird that winged and wheeled overhead.