A Warning to all my regular readers. This chapter is a bit rough. Deanna is being tortured and then forced to have sex with her father while the demons watch. So there is your warning. I hope if you read it, you'll enjoy the plot line. Thanks so much!
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Chapter Two
Deanna Schlock rolled her eyes as her father handed out her work for the day. She nodded her head when he was finished and then reached into her book bag, pulling out her Ipod and ear buds. She was forced to work for her father and she did it for free, but no one said she had to enjoy it.
Quickly grabbing trash bags, she went through the store and the work room, emptying each receptacle and then headed for the back door that led into the alley. She tried to ignore the tremor of unease she'd always felt in the alley. It was dark, covered in shadows, and she hurried toward the dumpster, picking up the lid and tossing the big bag she'd collected. Then she closed it up and turned back toward the door, her steps slowing when she realized that the door had closed.
It had an automatic lock and she knew she was locked out. Letting loose a shrill scream of panic, she kicked and hit at the heavy metal door, trying to get her dad's attention so he would open the door.
"Fuck!" she growled, turning and kicking at an empty box. She had two options, neither one thrilling her any at all. She could continue to bruise her hand on the door and hope that her half deaf father would hear her and open the door.
Or...she could walk down the long, dark alley and go around to the front of the store. Her hands rose and she rubbed at her arms, all ready feeling the chill and the fear that came with it. "Daddy!" she screeched. "Open the door!"
"Damn, damn, damn!" Deanna pushed away from the door. Her father was working in the front of the store today. He would never hear her cries or come looking for her until he did miss her. That could take hours. Looking down the long alley she could see the light at the end, almost as if she were drowning and could see the sun peering down at her. Tears streamed down her cheeks and she forced herself to take that first step. The light on the back door of her father's store was the only light that could be seen and she hated stepping out of the cone of safety it gave her.
Her next step came quicker and then quicker still until she was running down the alley. She jumped bags of trash and veered around the homeless man that made this alley a home. The light from the street seemed almost in reach and she breathed a heavy sigh, though she didn't slow down.
Then it was as if she'd hit a brick wall. She could feel blood dripping from her forehead and she wiped it away, pushing gently at the abrasion and bump it had left. "W...what the fuck?"
"Such language, little girl."
Deanna shrieked again and spun her hands out to try and protect herself. "Y...you scared me," she stuttered, staring at the stranger. He was tall and dark, his eyes glowing a startling red. He was handsome, even with the strange eyes and she felt her body relax involuntarily. "Who are you?"
"You know me Deanna. Just think about it a bit. I'm sure it will come to you."
Deanna wiped another gob of blood off of her forehead and she glared at the man who seemed intent upon his silly games. "I don't want to think about it. I want to go inside and have my daddy take me to the Emergency Room. My head really hurts." She could feel the heat of her tears and she tried to wipe them aside.
"Oh, I can make all that pain go away, Deanna. You've just got to answer a silly little question for me." He reached out and Deanna tried to duck around him. She didn't want him to touch her, not in any way.
"No! I'm going to find my father." She glared at him, bristling as she heard him chuckle and then wave his hand out to let her go.
"Be my guest," he said cordially enough, stepping back to give her more room to get by him. He glanced only once down the long alley, seeing the door to her father's shop start to open, and then he turned, following Deanna as she stepped into the vortex he created. She screamed as the wind began to blow, harder and yet still harder, stealing the breath from her lungs.
Soon she was holding out a hand, reaching for something, for anything that would help her stand. He stood just outside of her reach smiling congenially even as the wind whipped her hair into her face.
"You've only to ask for my hand and I will willingly give it to you, Deanna. All of this can become nothing more than a nightmare. You've just got to answer a question."
"W...what kind of a question!" She screamed the words at him.
"You know the whereabouts of the newborn," he tipped his head down as he asked the question, looking up at her from beneath his thick lashes.
"What newborn?" Deanna shrieked.
Then the world around her grew so silent she felt as if she could hear the world sucking the air away from her. She gasped, looking up to stare at the stranger that was causing all of this around her. "What newborn?" she whispered, her tone of voice seemed very loud. She ducked her head, wishing she could hide from him.
"The newborn that has been in all the prophesies. Don't tell me you don't know about them. All your coven knows."
"Coven? I'm not in a coven." Deanna tried to move away from him but he reached out and took her chin in a grip of steel, actually bruising her.
"The same coven your friends are in," he growled, sounding even more menacing. "The tri crescent that they wear." He grabbed the front of her shirt and tore it down the front, his hand pulling the sides away from her skin. "Where is it?"
