CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
ROXANNE
For the third time, I was moved to a new cell. One that wasn't so far away. One that was smaller. One that I could be watched from, closely.
But I wasn't the only one. I had company.
Ryker had ordered his men to keep the guards I had murdered in the same cell with me and immediately they did as they were told, they stayed far away from me. They avoided me like a plague.
They knew I had taken two more lives and they were more than terrified of me. I was trying to get accustomed to this new change. In White Moon I used to avoid people but here in Red Moon people avoided me.
I didn't know if it was a good thing or not but what I did know was that it got me into more trouble.
I had stayed in the far end of the cell. As always. It was the coldest and a dim light reflected in it.
I didn't want to stay anywhere close to the bodies. Today's events replayed in my mind. I was sure I didn't kill these guards. I had waited for them to kill me. I may have passed out because when I awoke they were dead.
But the knife was in my hand.
There were claw marks on the floor too.
I had no wolf, so yes it explained why I had no claws but apparently the Alpha didn't believe me. I had killed X so he believed I could kill anyone else.
After leaving the cell, he had called for Kara to treat me again. She did and I was all wrapped in bandages. She had stared at me but didn't utter a word because she was being watched.
She ignored me like we weren't friends.
Well I couldn't blame her. She was watched and I was stupid to even conclude we were friends. Maybe being nice was her personality. She may have no intentions of building a friendship with me so yes, I may have made a big deal of it.
And Ryker… he reminded me of Zane everytime. But the ferocious and courageous type. I had never seen him look as terrifying as he did today. I was certain he was going to kill me but again he had spared me.
The more I was spared, the more I was scared.
I knew he was waiting for the last straw to be broken because he had almost killed me today.
Everything about me seemed to change when I stepped into Red Moon. The air here was charged with power and I was beginning to get confident. Perhaps it was because I wasn't kicked or beaten anymore. Of course I was still yelled at but hardly. But there was something wrong with this place and whatever it was, affected me.
***
I laid in a foetal position. I had managed to get a little sleep but the pains from the damage on my body woke me up again. I dipped my hands into my panties and pulled out the necklace I had hidden there when I was on the run from Ryker.
I grazed my fingertips against the initials and replaced the necklace on my neck. A soft rustling echoed from the shadows of the room causing me to sit up, my senses alert.
Was it the guards? Were they coming to life?
It was like a presence. The rustling became louder and I froze, my heart pounding in my ears. Something —or — someone was watching me.
The weird feeling washed over me and I glanced around cautiously, half expecting to see a shadow or figure emerging from the dark corners of the room. But there was nothing— only the old, worn room, the scent of dust, the dead guards and the necklace I gripped tightly.
My eyes closed. I could swear I didn't close my eyes. It happened in their own will and almost immediately the illustration of the child I had seen in the book invaded my mind. I could see her but this time her red hair was fiery as though it was ablaze in the background of my mind. Her lifeless eyes pierced into my mind and almost felt alive. It seemed as though I could feel her.
And then the image vanished and my eyes sprang open.
The hell?
I heard a hum, it was soft at first and I had to strain my ears to figure out where it was coming from. The moment it grew louder and I felt it vibrating I knew where it came from.
It was the necklace.
A shiver ran down my spine as I grabbed the pendant of the necklace tighter, trying to steady my trembling hands.
What was going on? Why was the hum so loud — so deafening?
Slowly the hum transformed into a whisper, a haunting melody that seemed to rise from the necklace itself.
“Lilith, lilith, lilith,” the whispers sang, taunting me with the name that I had found in the book. The melody grew louder, swirling around me, filling the room with an otherworldly presence.
I tried to take off the necklace but it wouldn't come off. I didn't know who Lilith was but I hated the name already. It wasn't a voice anymore. They were voices and they sang her name.
Suddenly the words I had forgotten echoed in my mind, “A cursed resurrection, a haunting's flash.” What did it mean? Who was this child and what dark secrets did her story hold?
Before I could ponder further, the whispers abruptly ceased, leaving the room in eerie silence. My heart pounded in my chest, and I was about to breathe a sigh of relief when a new sound emerged — soft footsteps approaching from behind me.
I whipped around, my eyes scanning the room. There was no one there but the footsteps continued, drawing closer and closer.
“Write” a voice spoke in my mind.
Write what? And why should I listen to my mind when all it did was get me in trouble?
Write.
I was lost but an unseen force lifted my hands to the wall and the words became loud and clear like someone whispered it in my ears.
Write.
Perhaps they knew what to write about because without my control, my fingers began scribbling rapidly on the wall.
***
“What on the moon happened here?”
Reflexively I turned around, jabbing the person in the rib with my elbow as panic surged through me.
Her cloak fell off and her face came into view.
It was kara.
“Oh my god, I'm sorry,” I whispered as I ran hastily to her side and helped her up.
“I must give you credit for having such a wonderful elbow.”
I chuckled and smiled apologetically,“I'm sorry.
I could swear I thought it was someone invading my mind. Again.
She winced, “shhh keep your voice low. I had to sneak in again without the guards' knowledge.”
“Oh,” I muttered and grinned at her, “it's good to have you back.”
“It won't be for long,” Kara informed, “or my movements will be suspected.”
I nodded in understanding and nervously bit my fingertips.
Her eyes settled on my fingers and she snatched them from my mouth, “what are you doing? You're bleeding.”
She gasped when she saw my fingers. They were all bleeding and damaged and irritably short but I couldn't stop biting them.
“What did you do to yourself?” She almost whisper screamed.
I yanked my hands from hers and dated my eyes everywhere. “It's nothing. I'm fine.”
“Roxy?” She pushed.
I glared daggers at her, frustrated that she was probing. As if getting my silent warning, she nodded and left me alone.
Kara wore her cloak and glanced around the room. She almost gagged when she saw the bodies of the guards.
“Don't tell me you're sleeping with these things?” She asked.
I shrugged my shoulders, “Alpha’s orders.”
“Hmm,” She said and bit her lower lip.
Then her eyes darted to the wall. Her eyes were the size of dinner plates as she approached the wall. She traced her fingertips on the writings there.
The writings were not just there. They were everywhere on the wall. Everywhere my hands could reach.
She turned to me, eyes burning with curiosity, “what is this?”
“Writings,” I muttered.
“Don't—” She stopped and returned her attention to my fingers then settled it on the wall. “Roxanne, don't tell me you did this with your fingers.”
“They won't stop screaming,” I sobbed as I approached her, “They're everywhere and I can't get their voices out of my head.”
She stared at me worriedly. I should be heartfelt that someone gave me a worried look but now it didn't matter.
“What are you talking about?” She asked gently.
I gulped, “The girls next to me.”
“Roxy,” Kara started, her voice growing weary, “There are no girls next to you.”
Yeah. Of course. It was just me. Who would believe me?
I bit my bottom lip.
“I heard them whispering today,” I continued.
“Who?”
“The girls,” I yelled in frustration.
Kara nodded at me as if she understood. I knew she didn't understand me but I didn't care. I just needed to talk to someone before I went crazy.
“And what did they say?” She inquired.
“Lilith,” I whispered, half scared that I would hear the voices again.
Kara returned her eyes to the writing on the wall. It was all ‘lilith.’
She swallowed, “who is Lilith?”
I stared at her worriedly this time. “The voice in the wall. She's lilith.”