Be Careful What You Wish For (26 page)

In her rooms she believed she had found all those that existed there, but even far away from the house, even amongst the rocks, knowing she couldn't be seen from the windows, she sought out lenses which might be hidden. And yes, she discovered one which opened out at the point where the glow of the floodlights might join. She'd continued searching, but found no more.

Following one particular night she arrived at the beach exhausted. Shadow had crept in through the darkness, catching her unawares as she was sleeping. Throwing caution to the winds she had struggled and screamed.

But it was useless. He took her anyway. He didn't care, except with satiating his own appetite, always greedy for more. It wasn't until the early hours that he left her.

She knew he would be sleeping, and she took advantage of knowing she was alone, at least for a while, by cuddling the rocks, taking pleasure in feeling the lap of water around her toes.

Suddenly a shadow passed over. The sound of a helicopter made her look up. She was reminded of the day Grand Master had arrived, the excitement she'd felt, knowing she would be collared and ‘married' to her Masters. How different things were now.

But wait, the helicopter was circling. She caught sight of two faces; the pilot and another. Grand Master? Could it really be?

In a moment of madness she was climbing desperately out of the rocks, grazing her bare feet on the jagged outcrop, suddenly sensing a way to be free. ‘Wait!' she shouted. ‘Please... wait!'

Was Grand Master going to visit? Was he bringing Dream Catcher back home? Oh, if only... if only!

But already it was passing on. They hadn't seen her. She was too late. If only she had been in the open. Damn the camera! She could have shown some sign of distress, shown that all was not well. And then Grand Master might have landed. After all, he presumably had a code of practice he expected others to live by. He would be the ideal person to tell.

He was gone, but not so the questions buzzing around in her head.

What was Grand Master doing here?

How long would it be until Dream Catcher returned?

They were the two most important questions which had most impact on what was happening to her. And as she sat to think on these things, a plan began to form.

 

 

‘Be s
till!' She was getting harder and harder to control. He had to use brute force now while he threaded the rope through into knots to hold her. ‘Remember your place, slave.'

The air quivered with uncertainty, but she was defiant. ‘No, I can't take this any more. You can't do this to me.'

Shadow laughed deviously. ‘There's more than one way to skin a cat. Be careful, Little One. I can always find other ways.'

She was adamant. Sitting on her hands she tried desperately to put them out of reach. There was no door to lock him out. No place to hide. She'd debated about staying out of doors. With only one camera his sights were limited. If it came to it she would. If there was no other way, and if her plan failed, then...

‘You're making it hard on yourself. Maybe you enjoy the rough stuff. Maybe it's time to push the boundaries and to try new things; more edgy, more dangerous...'

His words were designed to shock, to jolt her out of her reverie. He turned for the polythene bag he'd brought with him for just this occasion. She needed to be weakened, to have the rebellion taken from her. He hadn't tried this before, but he'd heard it also aroused and stimulated orgasms. He'd enjoy seeing her response.

In a moment she was gone. It was as if she'd planned it, but how could she know? She was running through the open French window and down between the rocks towards the beach. He let her go, but then on impulse brought forward his plan.

‘I've news for you, Little One!' he called after her. ‘He isn't coming back... Dream Catcher, that is.'

He watched her falter, and stop. Ah, now he had her attention.

‘Dream Catcher. He's had an accident. It was a car accident, and his death was immediate.'

Wham!

The news drove home. She almost sank down where she was and he made for the door, meaning to bring her back inside. But as if sensing his intention she pulled herself up and walked fast, then ran somewhere out of view.

He let her go. Why should he worry? She couldn't get far. After all, this was an island. She'd need to come back when she was hungry. Maybe this was the best way after all.

He gathered up his things and left her room.

 

 

‘He
isn't coming back...'

‘Dream Catcher isn't coming back...'

‘He's had an accident... a car accident... his death was immediate.'

Dead!

The words kept going round and round in her head. She couldn't take them in. She didn't want to take them in. They didn't belong. They couldn't be true. And yet why would Shadow say them if they weren't true?

She wasn't thinking straight.

Again she believed she'd found the answer. Again he had come, just the way he always did, and snatched it all away.

She ran until she had no more breath, gasping and gagging, pushing herself into the unyielding rocks that rose like aliens from the sands, surrounding the bay. They shielded her. They protected. They calmed. Just knowing she was out of the line of the camera lens tracking her movements brought her some degree of comfort.

But then she was crying, wracking sobs that shook her body. Where had the dream gone? Had it always been this way and she'd just never seen it how it really was? How could she have been so blind? She felt trapped. A bird in a gilded cage. She'd been given everything she had ever wanted, and more, and kept, locked away from the world. For months she'd had no stimulus from the outside world. She didn't even know what was going on away from the island. She was a prisoner. There was no place to go, and no means to get there even if she could.

She thought of the helicopter, and of the plan which had formed. Now was as good a time as any. She knew that now Shadow would prevent her even going outside, given she'd used it as a way of getting out of his clutches. Now the sadist in him had taken over it was as if he were finely tuned, anticipating her actions before she knew herself what she might do. She'd beaten him to it on this occasion, but he wasn't likely to let it happen again. The French windows would be locked, of that she could be certain. He could be waiting for her even now.

Again she looked to where the camera lay hidden in the rocks. Floodlights were positioned on either side, two more strategically placed so that anyone approaching the bay could clearly be seen. But the sands stretched beyond, and she knew just where she could sit without being in the line of vision.

She could see the silhouette watching from the window. He wasn't coming out. Why should he, when he knew eventually she would be forced in either through a turn in the weather or by basic needs? Keeping her head low, as if grief-stricken... which she didn't really have to pretend because she was... she continued following the coastline, and then came back on the same path.

Gulls swooped overhead, no doubt hoping for food. It wasn't the sound she wanted to hear. She listened to their cackle, knowing they had a language all of their own. She wished she too could make somebody hear at a distance.

The window was empty. Shadow seemed to have given up his vigil, but she knew he would be keeping a watchful eye. She would stay out as late as she could. There was no urgency to return. Shadow would only be thinking up more perverse ways of punishing her, making her pay for somehow taking control and keeping him waiting. Well, let him wait! He wasn't used to not being obeyed. His payback would be swift and certain.

She settled back in the line of rocks, her favoured place, and looked back to the path she'd followed through the wet sand, the lettering she'd scraped in it with her feet large and bold and clear.

H E L P

Maybe Dream Catcher really was dead and would never return, but Grand Master seemed to have made it his mission to fly over the island, for whatever reason. She would use that to her advantage.

Meanwhile her thoughts drifted to Dream Catcher. Just before he left that time they'd spent in his room had seemed all the more special. He genuinely appeared to care for her, to love her. Out of the two men he had always been the one she would turn to so easily, giving herself freely, without fear. Somehow he instilled trust. She knew she was safe with him. He took control, but went only to a level she could cope with, pushing her that little bit further but always at her pace, and never abusing her trust.

Shadow had always been different.

But given what she had witnessed on the screen once the session was over, she didn't know if she could trust either of them. They seemed to have each betrayed her in different ways.

What was it that drove Shadow now?

She mulled these things over in her mind, and gradually the day passed, and she drifted, dozing, until the ball of fire on the horizon began to sink into the crimsoned sea.

Suddenly she heard the
chuff... chuff... chuff
of the air being beaten by rotors. Then came the drone of an engine, and the continual
whoosh
of the rotors as the helicopter approached.

Grand Master!

Immediately she was on her feet. Who cared now if Shadow saw her? She would only get one chance at this. She had to make the plan work. There was no other way.

She ran the short distance and sat by the lettering in the sand just out of view. Yes, there he was! Grand Master! She watched him lean forward, forehead pressed against the window. His hand raised, his head turned. It was as if he were instructing the pilot. Slowly the helicopter edged towards her. Yes, yes, yes!

But then Shadow was coming from the house, attracted by the noise. Peering over the rocks she saw him start to run. She rose to her feet as the helicopter landed.

‘Quick, take my hand, there's a good girl!'

‘Grand Master!'

‘No time for words! Just heave yourself up... that's it!'

Shadow was almost upon them, reaching out, ready to snatch her back as the helicopter rose into the air, hovering just out of reach above him. He swatted at it as if it was an irritating fly, jumping up and down as if he could somehow drag it down. And despite herself Abi laughed. Two arms enveloped her. She was safe.

‘Seems we were just in time.'

‘That is so true!'

‘So what's been happening? And where is Dream Catcher? Isn't he back yet?'

Abi didn't know where to begin. She relaxed back in her seat. Dream Catcher. Again the sadness dragged her down, and suddenly she was spilling out the way it had been.

Grand Master's face darkened the more the story was revealed. At one point he leaned forward to tap the pilot on the shoulder. ‘Divert to Pentangle. We won't be going home just yet.'

She wondered where Pentangle was, what it was, who lived there, what Grand Master's connection was with it.

‘Go on, I'm listening,' he prompted, and she marshalled her thoughts and continued sharing the way Shadow had become more and more sadistic in his behaviour, revealing the bizarre events that had followed the Collaring Ceremony. As he listened, Grand Master resolved to use this information for his own ends.

 

While in a room in the heart of the City, Sir Richard Armstrong had just completed the deal - the biggest deal of his life. He was looking forward to returning home... and to Angel.

 

-oOo-

 

 

Follow Abi's continuing story in Pentangle, and the final part of her journey, Maverick, both coming soon from Chimera.

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