and his fingers dug into my back. He grabbed my neck and I
gasped.
No. This can’t be
happening.
I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t move. His
thumb pressed the skin under my jaw and a shock of pain ripped
through me, causing my knees to buckle.
“Ow!” I cried. “You’re hurting me!” I
drew a breath to scream and he crushed me against his chest. He was
so strong.
“Don’t scream,” he said into my
ear.
Inhaling, he dragged his nose against
my cheek. Then I felt his tongue, cold and slimy, lap my chin. A
whimper escaped from my lips.
“You know, Zee, I’ve never taken
anyone here before. But you are special. The second that I saw you,
I had to have you. I’ve never seen anything more lovely. I just
couldn’t help myself.”
“Please, don’t kill me.”
“That really isn’t an
option.”
He pulled me back so that he could
look at me. His lips twisted into a sneer. I searched his eyes and
saw no warmth, only a terrifying look of madness, of hunger. He
didn’t look like himself anymore. I clawed at his arm and my feet
slid as I tried to push myself away.
“Mmm. This is my favorite part. The
struggle.”
“Please, Paolo. Just let me go. I
promise I won’t tell the police or anyone about this if you let me
leave.”
He reached over and took the rose off
the collection box. He tapped the bloom to his mouth and raised his
eyebrows.
“Why don’t we play a game?” he said.
“If you can guess my plan for you, then you can go.”
“You—you’re going to kill me!” My
teeth clattered so that I could barely spit out the
words.
“But how?”
He brushed the rose over my nose and
lips. I tried to jerk my face away but his grip was
unyielding.
“Stop!”
“Come on, Zee. What happened to all
your playful energy?”
He hit the rose against the side of my
face and a petal fluttered to the ground like a wounded butterfly.
I felt sick inside.
“Fine,” he said. “You wouldn’t have
guessed right anyway. You girls never do.”
You girls?
“You’re all the same. You’re always so
surprised,” he said. “But I’m going to tell you since you seem to
enjoy full disclosure so much.” He leaned in so that our eyes were
level. “First, I’m going to take you in my arms. I’m going to
stroke your hair. And then I’m going to drink your blood until your
heart stops beating.”
Oh my God. I gasped but there was no air.
“There’s no use…”
His voice trailed off and he turned to
look over his shoulder as if he’d heard something. I looked behind
him, desperate for someone to be there, someone to save me. For a
moment, we were frozen. I heard nothing but my shallow breath and
my thundering heartbeat.
Suddenly, he released me and swiveled
around to face the altar. I lurched backward.
Run.
He was blocking the door so I turned
and I tore under an archway and down a dark hall. I skidded around
a corner and slammed into a wall. The corridor was bleached by
moonlight from a window up near the ceiling. I twisted a door
handle and hit it with my shoulder. It didn’t budge. I tried
another door across the hall and burst into the room.
It appeared to be an
office, lit by a small lamp on a desk. I dashed around the room
like a trapped animal and tripped over a chair. I cried out, a jolt
of pain shooting through my shin. Beside a bookcase there was a
small opening, a dark mouth in the brick wall. I crouched in front
of the short doorway. I can’t go in
here. I looked over my shoulder at the
door. At any moment, Paolo would be in this room. He would be
behind me, dragging me away. I took a breath, stooped, and threw
myself through the passageway.
The tunnel was black. I waved my
hands, trying to swim through the thick murk. Rough stone walls
squeezed me on each side. The ground under my feet became uneven,
lumpy, and started to slope downward. I paused, my breath in
shreds, my heart thumping.
“Zee!”
His voice, singsong and
taunting, from somewhere inside the church shocked me, driving