The powerchair moved slowly down the long hallway as Thorn stopped to admire his collection, cooing and throwing treats as he passed by each cell.
“I hate that man,” Salem said.
“The feeling is mutual, child.”
Stopping a few feet in front of the glass, Thorn turned and said something to Drake, who tapped at a device trapped to his wrist.
The exterior sounds filled the cell, making Salem jump at clutch at her chest. Raven stood still, staring down her captor.
“Good evening. How are my two favorite ladies doing?”
The women stood in silence, both reaching out to one another to hold hands.
“How precious is that scene, Lionel? We have some family bonding going on. I wonder if Daddy is invited. What do you think?” Thorn said.
“I’m not sure it’s a party you’d want to attend, sir.” Drake replied dryly.
Thorn wheeled a little closer and stuck out his bottom lip. “You both look so very sad in there. Raven, I see your pretty dress is torn. I’ll have something new ready for you when I let you out.” He turned his attention to Salem. “You, my dear, are quite beautiful. Other than the hair, I do think you favor your daddy.”
Salem clenched her fist, her nails digging into the palm of her hand and drawing blood. She tried to fight down the anger, but she could feel it building, getting ready to blow.
“Hmm, not very talkative today, are we. How about I take over and explain what is going to happen next. Does that sound good?”
The women remained silent.
“I’ll take your silence as a yes. I’m not sure how much Mommy dearest has told you about her time here, so let me fill you in.”
“I am going to kill you,” Raven said.
“I’m not exactly sure how that is going to happen, dear. I do believe that ship has sailed. But as you can see, I am talking to our daughter, so if you would kindly play the dutiful wife and shut your fucking mouth, I’d be much obliged.”
Drake placed his hand on the butt of his gun as Salem stepped forward, a look of pure rage etched on her face.
Thorn, unfazed, continued. “As I was saying, Salem, I have a little ritual that I enjoy partaking in with each of my guests. You might call it their thank you for my giving them room and board.”
A thin trail of blood fell from Salem’s left nostril, all the way down over her lips and chin before dripping onto her shirt.
The men behind Drake took a backward step, one of them turning to look back the way they had come.
“Hold your positions,” Drake hissed.
“Well, would you look at that,” Thorn said, pointing at Salem. “It looks like you may have already got the memo and are preparing your blood gift.”
Raven tore a strip of fabric from her ruined dress and held it up to her daughter’s face, trying to staunch the flow of blood.
Shrugging her mother away, Salem took a step forward, her gaze fixated on a spot in the middle of the glass. Blood flowed like a geyser from her nose, and as she blinked, more began to run from her eyes.
“Make it stop, Raven screamed.”
“Not yet, dear. This is just beginning to get interesting,” Thorn said. “Whatever are you trying to do, sweet Salem?”
She began to tremble, the shuddering movements of her body sending blood flying onto the glass. As it hit, a chip appeared dead center, like the mark left from a pebble striking a car windshield.
“That’s not good,” Drake said.
Salem shook more violently, turning the chip into a crack that looked like a lightning bolt etched into the glass.
“Sir, if she gets out, we are all fucked,” Drake said, tapping the awestruck billionaire on the shoulder.
“How wonderful,” Thorn whispered.
The crack stretched from corner to corner, the glass seeming to warp under the stress. Blood seeped into the break and took on a life of its own, creating smaller fissures off the main crack.
Spreading her arms wide, eyes rolled back in her head, Salem began to chant in a long dead language. The cracks spread further, like serpents rising under the call of a snake charmer.
“Hit the gas,” Thorn said. “Hit it now.’
Hands trembling, Drake punched in a code and watched as the cell began to fill with a misty cloud. Raven dropped instantly, but Salem stood for a moment, staring her captors down while continuing to speak in tongues. The glass warped once more, another large crack appearing before she tumbled to the floor.
“What the fuck was that?” Drake asked.
“That, Lionel, was the key to unlocking all my powers. I need her blood. Tell the medical team that we are moving up the transfusion.”
“Done,” Drake responded.
“Oh, and have those two moved to the new cell by the lab. “There will be no escaping that one.”
The men cleared a path for Thorn as he turned his powerchair towards the exit, this time moving much faster than he did upon arrival.
As they cleared the guard station and arrived at the elevator, Drake radioed for assistance. He sure as shit wasn’t about to open that cell door and move the women on his own.