Blood on the Sun-ch 7

Song of the Sangamar book 2

«Last chapter!

Days had passed and the time to implement their escape plan was fast approaching. How any of them managed to keep track of the days with the way they were getting constantly knocked around was a total mystery to Liliana. Maybe Dakota had a better handle on the passing of time based upon her connection to the moon, because she was a werewolf. And Hal… Lily wasn’t quite sure what he was, but he definitely knew more than he let on.

Their scheme wasn’t perfect. No plan could ever account for every possible barrier and variable, regardless of how prepared they thought they were. But they had to try. She wouldn’t let herself just waste away in this desert, so far from the men she loved.

Over the past few days, Lily had noticed that Luis’ treatment of her had begun to soften. She wasn’t sure what to call the time he spent with her, but “physical torture session” was becoming less accurate. Lily was thankful for the change. She wasn’t fond of being a human punching bag. He did still keep her restrained, with manacled arms behind her back and a chain that dangled between them, but she’d been graciously allowed to sit in a single chair that had been placed in the middle of the room.

The sun shining through the open windows warmed the depths of her soul. She’d started to get used to the pervasive heat that sank into her bones. She preferred the dry sting of the air above ground compared to the musty dampness where their cells were located. Where there was sunshine, there was hope. She wouldn’t let that spark of hope die, despite his attempts to smother that spark with his fists.

In order for the plan to work, Lily would have to do her part. She’d been less resistant with the guards, which generally meant less wounds to recover from when she was returned to her cell. Getting smacked around significantly less was returning clarity to her thoughts that she didn’t know that she’d even lost, in the first place.

Now, listening to Luis walk back-and-forth behind her, her nerves were getting the better of her. There were no clocks anywhere, so she couldn’t be sure how much time had passed, but his silence was starting to get under her skin. Even without the blindfold, she’d gotten used to him being more of a threat out of her line of sight. She’d noticed that he was less inclined to hurt her if she could see him, make eye contact with him.

It was always so much easier to cause harm to someone if you didn’t have to admit that they were human. Treat them like an object, and those pesky little morals could be pushed aside. Things don’t feel. Things don’t hurt. And if they bled a little bit? Well, that was just a minor inconvenience. Or a snack, if you were a vampire.

Which led Lily to her major task for the day. If she could get Luis to chat with her, and stop just creepily traipsing back and forth like a lion trapped in a cage, she had a bevy of questions to ask him. But she was reasonably afraid to be the one to shatter the uncomfortable silence which was only interrupted by the barren wind that blew through the openings that served as windows.

She licked her dry lips, steeling herself to speak, when she felt his hands settle on her shoulders and she valiantly managed not to scream at the startling contact. The pads of his thumbs dragged across the skin of her shoulders, exposed because she was still living in tank tops. His touch paused as he felt her muscles tense up, a loud sigh escaping him. Fingertips trailed lightly downward, the skating caress leaving goosebumps in its wake.

“Why do you keep eluding me, Liliana?” His words were soft, the gentlest she’d ever heard his voice. She was quiet a moment as she tried to think of the best way to reply.