He nods then releases my grandmother. Her drugs haven’t worn off, so her scream is delayed, followed by the cracking of her body slamming into the sharp rocks. Turning to me, he asks, “What do you want, troublemaker?”
“Your chocolate,” I joke.
He stares at it, muttering to the confectionary, “Ruby said I have to be kind to her.”
“I don’t really. I just need you to move something.”
Kane waits until we walk back into the house to whisper, “I could do it.”
“I know. You need to help him.”
They both follow me as I walk into the living room, instructing them how to move Helene as I swipe her stick on the way to the courtyard. The beams are too high up to reach. I don’t know how she got me up there to be able to mimic it as I tell them, “She needs to be there with her arms in each of the blocks.”
Her muffled shouts get louder, which we all ignore as Daigon goes through the logistics. “Kane, sit on my shoulders, then you can lift her.”
“I’m not sitting on your fucking shoulders,” he spits back.
“Well, you’re not going to hold me, are you?”
They drop their hold on Helene as they continue arguing. “I could easily lift you.”
“Really? You were struggling with Harkin and I’m bigger than him.”
She tries to crawl away, but I kick her in the face because it’s fun. Then dig the sharp serpent point of her stick into her sternum as I lean over her. “Told you he wasn’t dead.”
“You, troublemaker,” Daigon says, pointing his chocolate bar at me. “Sit on my shoulders since your husband is too fragile.” He stuffs the rest of the chocolate into his mouth as he drops his backpack and dips his head like I’m an acrobat that should be able to jump up.
Kane gently holds my hand as he steps on Helene’s stomach to keep her in place, banding his arm under my knees to lift me. “Climb up, pretty girl.”
It takes a few attempts until I’ve successfully climbed on my brother-in-law’s shoulders like a child. Daigon raises to his full height, making my stomach drop when I realize how far up I am. The world looks different from higher up, specifically Helene, who remains crumpled on the floor with blood staining her nape as Kane grabs the leash of her collar to drag her up.
With Daigon’s help, he manages to lift her up by her legs after freeing her arms. She slaps out, nearly making me fall and the other two lose their patience. They drop her and Kane cocks his leg back, kicking her in the hip as Daigon slams his fist into her jaw while steadying me on his shoulders with his other hand.
“Now, we try again,” he says calmly before pointing at Helene. “My wife will be upset if you hurt her sister, and I will be upset if that happens, so stay still.”
Kane laughs, trading jokes with him as we pull Helene’s dazed body up the wall to secure her arms in the blocks. We step back, watching her uselessly hang as I jump off Daigon’s shoulders, uncaring if I hurt myself in my eagerness for her pain.
“Go inside,” I call over my shoulder as I run over to the hatch.
I wait until they both reluctantly step back into the house to unbolt the storm cellar where the wicked bitch keeps the animalsshe mistreats. The dogs slowly walk up the steps as Daigon snaps, “They shouldn’t be locked away.”
I run back before they can attack and slam the door behind me. The windowed door Helene installed to witness my torment is now my viewing window as she screams, attempting to pull herself down as the dogs sniff under her suspended feet. No whistle is needed as the leader of the pack curiously sniffs her foot. Every soul that’s been abused recognizes their tormentor, so they’re cautious at first, but when she tries to kick them, they attack. Her muffled screams are only rivaled by the vicious barking as they jump up, latching onto her legs, ripping their heads left and right as fast as they can.
Kane pulls me into his chest with his arms crossed over my shoulder as he looks down at my leg. I don’t know how Helene could stomach watching me for hours when I wasn’t gagged. The screams are awful. The blood spraying on the stone walls is worse, turning my stomach despite it being deserved.
“Get some sleep,” he says to Daigon. “We won’t be able to take the boat when it’s dark.”
I turn in his arms, hugging him as we walk up the spiral staircase one last time and go to the room we were kept in. The marble painted wall is still the same, making me smile at the memory of him painting. This place feels like ours. Even if we had to pretend to hate each other, this is the place where we found our new selves. And the ledge above Helene’s screaming is where we built ourselves up again.
“I love you, Kane,” I breathe out with a new lightness as I hold his shoulders.
His eyes flick to the side for a moment then comes back to me. “I fucking love you. I need to fuck you while she’s in pain.”
“I want you to do something for me, but we can’t talk about it.”
“What?”
“Piss out of the window.”
