“Get it.”
“It is not my money.”
Reaching out, he slapped her across the face. Desdra’s head snapped sideways and her hand flew to her cheek as she looked at her father in horror.
“I told you to get it,” he snarled. “Get all of it. I want all of it.”
Fear was trying very hard to overwhelm her. Ciaran was deadly serious about this because she could read it in his eyes. There was desperation there, and even madness if she looked closely enough. If she could only disable the man, she would be able to make it to the door and cry for help. She was positive that Zeus was on the landing, but the door was closed and voices weren’t raised, so he wouldn’t be able to hear what was going on.
She had to make it to that door.
“What are you going to do with all of it?” she asked. “Do you owe that much money?”
“Get it. I’ll not tell you again.”
She could see that. He didn’t want to talk. He just wanted money. But that wasn’t all that was concerning her. What would he do to her when he finally had what he wanted?
She didn’t want to die.
“How do I know you will not try to kill me once I give it to you?” she asked. “For I would know that you stole it. Do you intend to silence me permanently?”
“I will silence you now if you do not do what you are told.”
“If you silence me now, you’ll never know where the money is,” she said. “Furthermore, you will not leave this place alive.”
His response was to come toward her, hands out to grab her again, but Desdra bolted.
She began to scream at the top of her lungs.
Ciaran rushed in her direction, but she was faster. She made it over to the hearth and the array of fire implements. She grabbed the first one she came to, which was a spade-like shovel. It was heavy and it was iron. She swung it at her father with all of her might, catching him in the face. The sharp iron edge cut across his cheek and into his mouth.
Blood sprayed.
Momentarily stunned by the pain, Ciaran fell away and Desdra bolted past him, heading for the door, but he managed to catch the ends of her hair as she ran. That long mane of hair, so beautiful and treasured, was her downfall as her father yanked on it, pulling her backward. Screaming, Desdra swung the shovel again, hitting Ciaran on the side of the head. It didn’t cut him, but it was a heavy blow. He grabbed it with one hand, still holding on to her hair with the other.
In the fight for her life, Desdra screamed as loud as she could, hoping someone would hear her. In their struggles, theyknocked over a chair, a heavy bank of tallow candles, and a stack of ledgers. The noise could be heard everywhere as the fight went on and on.
Little did she know that the cavalry was coming.
*
Jareth thought hewas hearing screams.
They were faint, but he heard them. His eyes popped open and he saw Orion stand up from the chair beside his bed, ears cocked to the sound.
“What is that?” Jareth asked sleepily. “Do you hear it?”
Orion nodded. “I do,” he said. “You stay there. I’ll go see what it is.”
He moved out of the chamber. Jareth sat up in bed, rubbing the sleep from his eyes when he began to hear more screams. There was some banging going on. Given the fact that Desdra wasn’t in front of him, but rather out of his sight, there was some concern about her safety. For his own peace of mind, he had to make sure she was well. She was probably fine, and would berate him for being out of bed, but he would welcome the scolding as long as she was healthy and whole.
Very slowly, he managed to climb out of bed.
By the time he hit the corridor outside, there was more screaming. He could hear it. He had to go down one flight of stairs and up a separate flight to get to the solar where Desdra did her work, so he headed in that direction. There was no rush on his part until he managed to descend the stairs and end up in the foyer. There were no Guardians, which concerned him. He could hear more banging, more screaming, and it was definitely coming from overhead. Just as he took a step, Stefan appeared from the reception chamber across the hall. He had a big iron rod in his hand.
“Stefan?” Jareth said, concerned. “What is happening?”
Stefan was in distress. “Come on,” he said, rushing over to take Jareth by the arm. “It is Lady Desdra.”
