Madeleine Abducted (27 page)

Maddy
shuddered, trying hard not to imagine the agony that would
accompany such a death. That she was made to watch as Aaron was delivered into
the darkness, forced into an act so cruel, that no man could be expected to
come back from it — this was the final insult to the injuries inflicted upon
her. She would watch, however, and remain steadfast in her role as Aaron’s
slave.

Aaron
turned his back to her and moved along to the next woman strung up on the
gallows. She could only see that his arm moved, but the woman whom he
slaughtered screamed out in terror and suffering.
Maddy
could only watch as the blood red organs from the woman’s body splashed across
Aaron’s feet.
Maddy
had to hold back her tears as she
was forced to watch Aaron move from one slave to the next. In his position as
The Estate’s executioner, Aaron was required to commit these vile, horrible
acts. She knew the darkness surrounded him — penetrated him — and
pulled at his soul while he carried out his father’s orders.
Maddy
wondered if Aaron enjoyed these kills now like he had
before she’d been abducted. She knew what he was, she knew the things he’d done
— the things he continued to do — and she knew that those acts
would one day destroy even the small spark of hope she’d seen come alive inside
him during the time they’d spent together.

As
Aaron moved from one woman to the next, he leaned into them pretending that a
closer angle was necessary in order for him to carry out their execution; in
reality, he was whispering an apology to them as they died. The stage was slick
with their blood, their entrails kicked about as he moved across the wooden
floor. Finally reaching Emily, he pulled the mask from her face before reaching
up to turn her head so that she could see what had become of the other women.
Her eyes widened with fear and her mouth suddenly sprang open as she vomited on
his shoes. Aaron smiled, leaned into her as he did the others, but this time,
it was not an apology that he gave.

“How
does it feel to be a whore, Emily? I do hope you discovered that answer and I
hope you enjoyed it.” His knife pierced her abdomen just below her ribs, he
pulled down slowly, tearing at her flesh with the blade; he did not grant her
the swiftness he’d given the other women. Once her belly was open, he pulled
the organs loose, wiggling them free from the abdominal cavity in her body
until they splashed down at his feet. He kept his eyes trained on hers as she
screamed, locking his gaze with her eyes so he could watch the life leave her
body.

Once
the task had been completed, he turned to the audience. His shirt, once white,
was now stained crimson from the blood of the slaves; his boots covered
completely by bits of the organs he’d removed from their bodies. When his eyes
found Madeleine, he saw the horror written across her features at having bore witness
to how truly dark he could be. Had that been his father’s plan? Had this entire
show been a ruse to make Madeleine fear him by showing her what he really was
inside?

“Very
good, Aaron. I’m pleased to see that you haven’t become so accustomed to death that
you lack style in your method.” Settling himself back into his throne his
father motioned for Aaron to return to his position in the center of the room.
His steps across the room left dark crimson puddles, a trail of carnage from
the stage to his place next to
Maddy
. She’d remained
in the position his father had placed her, her eyes glued on the scene of the
empty shells that had been made of the slaves hanging from the gallows. She
appeared frozen in her horror, a place where the waking nightmare had taken her
ability to move, to scream … to escape.

“Face
to the floor, slave.” Aaron’s voice was terse as he ordered her to look away.
Allowing the audience to believe that he cared nothing for the woman at his
feet, he immediately granted Madeleine the ability to look down, to huddle over
herself
, to come to terms with the bloodbath she’d
just witnessed. Returning his eyes to his father, he waited for the next
command.

His
father’s eyes were glued to Aaron’s as he spoke. “
Xander
,
take Madeleine to the gallows please. She is to remove the entrails and place
them aside to be fed to the dogs. Once that is done, I want the blood wiped
clean from this room.”

Xander
picked
Maddy
up, provided her with as
much balance as he could while he led her to the gallows. Aaron didn’t allow
his eyes to follow their
path,
instead he kept his
gaze glued to the epitome of evil that sat in its throne.

When
Xander
and
Maddy
had gotten
close enough to the gallows that she could see the remains of the women strewn
about the floor up close, she got sick. Her body violently expelled the dinner
she’d eaten earlier that
night,
the audible heaves of
her contorting body filled the quiet room.

 
With a disgusted and bored tone, Aaron’s
father ordered, “And make sure all that
vomit
is cleaned up as well. If she gets sick again, I will order her execution so
that I do not have to hear it.”

Aaron
waited for
Maddy
and
Xander
to reach the gallows before speaking again. “Is that all you require from the
executioner?”

His
father didn’t answer immediately, his eyes staring at Madeleine as she cleaned
up the stage. As he took in the sight of Aaron’s slave, something within his
eyes shifted before a smile creased his face. Turning back to Aaron, the smile
was lost as he responded, “No … actually, I have a job you must do tonight as
well. Emory will supply you with the information regarding your target and his
location this evening when it is time for you to go.”

A
warning rolled along Aaron’s spine as he nodded his assent, but he brushed it
off as he turned to walk to the gallows. Taking a place by
Xander’s
side, he looked on as
Maddy
struggled to clean up
what was left of the women. Her body retched with the vomit she couldn’t spill.
Diligently she moved from one to the next, wiping up the blood and picking up
the organs until at last the stage was clean. After finishing the floors of the
ballroom they were excused to leave so that they could return to Aaron’s
quarters.

As
soon as they were inside the apartment, Aaron picked up
Maddy
and ran to the bathroom carrying her in his arms. Placing her in the tub, he
pulled the nozzle out from the setting and washed the blood that covered her
body. Violently, her body continued to retch as he cleaned her. Once the
crimson stain had been erased from her skin, he filled up the tub with warm
water, hoping the heat would help soothe
Maddy’s
tired and weak body. Pulling his own clothes from his body, he washed the
stains off himself in the other shower before returning to pull her from the
tub.

Walking
into his room, he laid
Maddy
down on the mattress of
his bed, before climbing in beside her and pulling her tight against his chest.
They lay in reticence for over an hour, the shock of what they’d just seen and
done had frightened them enough that their words had been silenced. Every so
often,
Maddy
would be reduced to
tears,
the violent sobs took control of her body. The cries that escaped her throat
worked like a knife that twisted itself into the heart of the man that held
her.

When
she’d quieted, finally succumbed to the exhaustion left behind by witnessing
such horror, Aaron finally spoke. “I will kill him, Madeleine, I swear to you,
he will die.”

Maddy
didn’t respond except to close her eyes and lose
herself
to sleep wrapped in the arms of a man who could
commit the atrocious acts of an executioner.

~
    
~
    
~

A
faint knock on the door woke Aaron. Opening his eyes, he watched as
Xander
entered the room, a piece of paper held in his hand.
“Emory dropped off the information for your job this evening. It’s about an
hour away from here. I’ll stay with Madeleine while your gone.”

Begrudgingly,
Aaron removed his arms from around
Maddy
, slowly
crept off the bed and covered her with a blanket once he was standing. Once
Xander
left the room, Aaron moved into the closet to
quickly dress in black pants, a black shirt, and his black leather coat. Arming
himself, he continued to look over to
Maddy
as she
slept on the bed. Like an angel at rest, her dove white skin shimmered in the
low light of the room. Her features were not quite at ease, but not locked into
the look of horror she’d had since the ballroom. Aaron approached the side of
the bed, leaned down to place a kiss on her cheek, before turning to exit the
room.

Finding
Xander
in the living room, Aaron barked out his
order. “While I am gone, I want you to contact the leader of each group in the
alliance. The time to strike is now. My father has gone too far. The only hand
he has left in this game is to take
Maddy
from me and
I’ll die before I allow that to happen. I want him dead tonight,
Xander
.”

“I’ll
start making the calls,”
Xander
replied.

Reaching
for the door, Aaron turned back to his guard. “If anything happens, you are to
contact me immediately.” With that Aaron swept out into the halls of the
corridor on his way to take another human life.

After
Aaron had left,
Xander
spent more than an hour
coordinating the strike, each unit given a time and place to meet.
Xander
paced the living room floor waiting for Aaron’s
return, his nerves on fire from the anticipation of the evening’s battle. When
he heard boots outside the door he moved to open it expecting that Aaron would
be on the other side. Once he had moved aside the large door, however, his eyes
locked with those of Joseph Carmichael.

Mr.
Carmichael didn’t bother with a greeting as he stepped into the apartment,
followed closely by Emory and Vincent. He rotated slowly as he looked over the
room, his eyes pausing every so often on a statue or other similar decoration.
When he’d finally turned back to
Xander
, a grin
stretched over his face. “Where’s the slave?”

Instantly
tensing,
Xander
stood motionless as he tried to think
of anyway he could refuse to answer. Finding none, he responded, “She’s
sleeps.”

“Well,
then, wake her and bring her to me. I have use for her tonight.” Mr.
Carmichael’s words were slightly slurred, but still dripped with the malicious
intent toward
Maddy
.

Xander
paused. Wanting nothing more than to kill all three men where
they stood, he realized his efforts would be wasted, he be killed before he
could take them all. Recognizing that Aaron was the only man who could save
her,
Xander
begrudgingly walked to the corridor, but
stopped suddenly when Mr. Carmichael said, “Better yet, Emory and Vincent, why
don’t you two escort him? I don’t have time for dillydallying tonight. I want
my needs met sooner rather than later.”

Except
for the sound of their steps, the corridor was quiet. Reaching Aaron’s bedroom,
Xander
let out a deep sigh and pushed the door open.
Emory and Vincent came from behind him to wrench
Maddy
from her sleep.
Xander
stepped aside as they passed
back out into the corridor,
Maddy’s
feet dragging
behind her as she awoke and discovered that she was being removed from Aaron’s
quarters. Mr. Carmichael and his guards left without another word and as soon
as the doors closed,
Xander
was on the phone letting
Aaron know that
Maddy
had been taken.

“
Aaron ….
your
father … he just took
Maddy
.”
Xander’s
voice
shook with the rage that was teeming inside him.

Almost
wrecking his car when he heard
Xander’s
words,
Aaron’s foot slammed into the gas pedal. His mind went blank with rage as he
drove — except for one solitary thought: tonight, his father would die.

Madeleine
regained full consciousness as she was being dragged down the halls toward the
ballroom. The grips of the men who held her were so
firm,
she knew bruises would form easily beneath her pale skin. Joseph Carmichael
walked quickly in front of them, ordered the doors to the ballroom be opened,
but traveled through the large room to another set of doors on the other side.
As she was dragged through the second set of doors,
Maddy’s
eyes took in her surroundings. She’d never been on this side of the house, had
never seen the different corridors that led to the rooms where those loyal to
Joseph stayed. The walls of the corridors were the same burgundy red as on the
other side, but chains were attached at evenly spaced intervals. The walls
beneath those chains were stained a darker red, almost black; handprints
smeared along the paint, footprints smeared along the floors. Ominous and
terrifying, it was apparent that an untold number of evil and bloody things had
occurred in these halls.

Realization
dawned on
Maddy
that she was being led to her rape
and probable death. Aaron’s father had played his last hand, choosing to take
the slave, not caring that Aaron would cast her aside as a result. There was no
longer the need to maintain the façade she’d kept over the last few months, and
she allowed herself to shed the tears that swelled in her eyes. Weakly she
pulled against the men that held her, but she was too small to fight
physically. The skin on her toes burned from being dragged against the stone
floor, her stomach still had spasms from being sick earlier that day. When they
reached a room at the end of the hall, Mr. Carmichael produced a key from his
pocket, quickly unlocking and opening the door so that Emory and Vincent could
drag her into the room. The loud click of the lock sliding into place made her
jump,
made her realize that her fate had been sealed.

Mr.
Carmichael’s space was even larger and, at one time in the past, would have
been more luxurious than Aaron’s. Littered among the books, fine statues, and
other decorations that spoke of classical times and educated taste, however,
his quarters housed tools used for torture, glasses still half full of liquor,
and drug paraphernalia on every counter and table. Her eyes widening,
Maddy
glimpsed the lifestyle that led a powerful man into
fits of insanity. His home displayed his fall into the abyss of the depraved.
Blood pooled in different areas of the room, in others it was dry and like
dust; it looked like the place hadn’t been cleaned in days or weeks. The three
men who’d taken her didn’t seem to mind the filthy conditions of the
home,
they didn’t seem to notice that their environment had
taken on the appearance of Hell itself. Almost every sin possible for a man to
commit, every temptation that can lead a man to evil, was given its own space.

Terror
flooded her system as she was dragged through a set of doors and down a long
corridor that led to the back bedrooms. Glancing in each room as they passed,
Maddy’s
heartbeat sped up faster and faster, her breathing
became more erratic when she saw the bodies — rotting and long dead
—
laid
out across beds, on floors, and even
chained to walls. Blood lay in dried pools, the putrid smell of decaying flesh
assaulting her nose, causing bile to rise into her throat, the cramping in her
stomach become unbearable as she attempted to hold back her need to retch. Even
more horrifying was the way these men didn’t seem to notice the squalor and
repugnance of the apartment: they walked passed the rooms without even a glance
toward the outward manifestation of a man gone mad.

The
door creaked loudly as they entered the room at the end of the long hall; a
room illuminated by dozens of blood red candles set in sconces on the walls.
Every wall bore shackled chains. Crimson-stained whips and canes, ropes, and
phallic-shaped objects littered the tables and floors. Mixed among them needles
and mirrors, pills and white powders that reflected the scant traces of light
in the room.

The
large bed in the center of the room was raised up on a platform so
high,
steps were required to climb in. The posts at the four
corners of the bed bore the scars of fingernails scratched down their lengths,
ligature marks across their breadth; ugly white scars of exposed wood, evidence
of the agony women had been put through at the hands of the man who now
intended to take her. Chips of a pink fingernail polish were buried within
those scars, the same color as the toes of a woman she’d seen in the ballroom
many months before.

Climbing
the steps of the platform, Mr. Carmichael sat on the edge of the mattress near
a small round side table that held a large pile of white powder and the
paraphernalia to match. Emory and Vincent dragged Madeleine up the stairs,
their fingers digging into her skin and the muscle underneath from the strength
of their grip. Pain shot through the fine bones of her feet as they hit against
the sharp edges of the stairs. Reaching the top, she was thrown down on the
mattress,
Emory and Vincent took seated positions on either
side of her. Their rough hands taking liberties with her
body,
vice grips on her breasts, fingers invading the flesh between her thighs,
barely, but not fully forcing themselves inside. Vincent, becoming too caught
up in his excitement, leaned down to bite the tip of her breast.
Maddy
cried out in pain, drawing the attention of the man
for whom she was being restrained.

Mr.
Carmichael’s hand reached out suddenly, the back of his hand slapped against
Vincent’s face, knocking his guard back on the bed. “Not yet, Vincent! You and
Emory will have your turns when I’ve had my fill of the bitch; and it is my
preference to fuck her WITHOUT your spittle across her body!” Turning his
attention back to the objects littering the side table, Mr. Carmichael measured
out some of the powder, scooping it into a spoon, the bottom of which he held
over the flame of a candle to heat.

Even
though they’d been warned, the temptation of
Maddy’s
body was too much for the two men holding her down. Emory licked his lips as
his eyes traveled the length of her body, his hand reaching down to fondle her
between her thighs, his fingers pushing even deeper into her and she saw him
visibly harden underneath his pants. Each man grabbed one of her legs,
spreading them apart so that they could gain access to her more easily.

“I
cannot wait until I get you back to my playroom, whore. My dick has never been
so hard as it is at this moment.” Vincent’s finger breached the opening of her
ass, the lack of lubrication causing the skin to burn from the intrusion. “Oh,
I think I’ll be taking you there, it is
so
fucking tight.”

Pulling
the liquefied powder into a syringe, Mr. Carmichael stood up. Speaking through
laughter, he said, “It won’t be when I’m done with it, I plan on ripping this
bitch apart. Such a sweet piece of ass, it’ll be like Heaven itself in
comparison to the whores I’ve used up over the years.” He placed the syringe
aside, stood up with the spoon in his hand; the spoon’s bowl was still red from
the heat. He stood in front of her as she was held to the bed, her legs pulled
apart so that she was completely bared to him, not a single bit of her wasn’t
exposed. His eyes roamed over her skin, his gaze fixated on the flesh at the
apex of her thighs. “Oh yes, I’m going to thoroughly enjoy this.”

He
leaned down over her, supporting himself on one arm, while the one that held
the spoon remained behind his back. Pressing his mouth to her ear, he whispered,
“I want to hear you scream for me.” With his last word, he pressed the back of
the spoon into her inner thigh.
Maddy
released a
bloodcurdling scream, she could smell her flesh as it burned underneath the
spoon, her legs shook violently from the agony tearing across her skin, through
her nerves, sinking itself deeply within her bones. Mr. Carmichael hissed while
standing up; his eyes closed as if listening to the sound of something so sweet
it placed him in a state of ecstasy. His eyes opened once she stopped screaming
from the pain, the unforgiving steel-colored eyes filled with malice as he
looked down into her eyes. “Like music to my ears,” he scoffed. Another chuckle
as he moved back to the table to put down the cooled spoon, before retaking his
position in front of her.

His
hands moved to his crotch and he squeezed himself. Looking over her body, he
shook his head, “Tsk, tsk. It appears my son didn’t know how to properly use a
whore. There isn’t a single mark on your body. He is such a failure —
such a disappointment — preferring to indulge in his desire to kill
rather than the splendor of a whore splayed out before him.”

Leaning
down, he took her breast into his mouth, swirled his tongue over the tip, and
sunk his teeth into the tender skin surrounding it.
Maddy’s
throat felt torn from the volume of her scream, tears saturating her skin as
they ran in rivulets down her face. Mr. Carmichael sucked on her breast,
drawing blood from where he’d broken the skin. A loud popping sound resonated
when he let go and stood back up. “So fucking sweet.”

His
hand reached down as he forced his fingers over her clit and within the crease
of her soft skin folds. Pushing his fingers inside her, he pulled them apart,
spinning them along the muscles of her opening. “Remember when I did this to
you in the ballroom? I’ve wanted to fuck you ever since I had the pleasure of
tasting you that day. You should have never been given to Aaron. When I’m done
with you, I’ll abduct another woman and be sure not to make the same mistake.”
Bringing his fingers to his mouth, he licked her off each one, slowly and
suggestively as a chuckle rumbled from his chest.

~
    
~
    
~

Arriving
at the compound twenty minutes later, Aaron immediately went to his quarters,
Xander
following closely behind as Aaron entered and moved
down the corridor to his room. Grabbing and arming himself with as many knives
and guns that he could carry, Aaron barked out
orders
as
Xander
stood diligently nearby.

After
retrieving a pair of longer knives from the closet that could be used as short
swords in a fight, Aaron emerged and asked, “Are the men on their way?”

Xander
nodded indicating that they were. “They will be here within the
hour. Once they have formed their group we can move to strike.”

“I
will not wait for them,
Xander
. I’m going after
Madeleine now! She may not have an hour. If that bastard kills her, I swear to
you, neither he nor I will remain alive for much longer.” Rage burned behind
the green of Aaron’s eyes, fury so intense his muscles shook with the force of
it rushing through his veins. The darkness that
Maddy
had tempered over the last few months returned with such a fantastic vengeance
that Aaron felt like, if he did die, he’d detonate and take hundreds of men
with him.

“Then
I’m going with you. I’ve told you before: ‘If you die, I die.’ And I’m not
letting you go against a hundred men on your own.”
Xander’s
tone was firm, the sound of a man who would not be swayed to change his
decision.

Green
met blue as the two men stared at each other; both knowing it was futile to
argue against one another. Aaron turned and grabbed another long blade for
Xander
to use. Tossing it to his friend, he said, “Then
let’s be quiet as we go in. If we can keep the element of surprise, we might
stand a chance. Use your gun only when it’s absolutely necessary.”

Once
they’d entered the halls, the only sound between them was the pounding of their
boots against the stone floor; the rhythmic beats sounded strong and assured as
the men moved toward the wing of the house that was occupied by Mr.
Carmichael’s men. Approaching the doors to the ballroom, the two guards who
usually would pull them open so that Aaron and
Xander
could pass now blocked the doors instead. Aaron went against the man on the
right while
Xander
swung out toward the man on the
left. Their blades quickly decapitating the guards, Aaron watched as their
heads fell from their bodies and rolled along the ground. Grabbing the handles
to the door, Aaron pulled it open. He was not surprised to find twenty men
waiting on the other side. Just as their boots moved into the ballroom, the
sound of twenty guns being cocked reverberated throughout the large space.

Aaron
looked to
Xander
then back at the men in front of
him. “I guess we won’t be remaining quiet for much longer.” Both men ducked to
the sides, seeking shelter behind furniture as twenty guns were fired in their
direction. Aaron and
Xander
both pulled their guns in
return,
more capable of finding their targets among
the chaos than the ones they were fighting. One by one, they took down the men,
but were met with a wave of reinforcements that came pouring through the doors
on the other side of the ballroom. Between the two of them, they’d killed more
than forty men. Running out of ammunition, Aaron took advantage of the chaos in
the room and ran into the crowd slicing away at arms, legs, and heads as he
passed through. Blood ran like rivers through the ballroom. The fetid stench of
expelled excrement, which spilled from the bowels of the dying men, became a
suffocating stink that permeated Aaron’s skin as he continued to fight.