Running with the Demon - Terry Brooks [139]
She wondered again where Wraith was. Couldn’t he find her here? Was it possible that he couldn’t come into the caves?
Time passed, and despair began to erode her resolve. Maybe no one could find her. It wasn’t as if she had left tracks that anyone could follow. All anyone knew was that she had left the dance at the pavilion and gone west into the park. She could be anywhere. It might take them all night to find her. It might take them more than that. She could easily be here when Danny Abbott and his low-life friends returned in the morning. If they returned at all.
Why had this happened?
She heard voices then. Someone on the road outside! She tried to call out to them, tried to shout through the tape. She thrashed inside the feed sack, kicking out at anything she could reach to signal them. But the voices passed and receded into silence. No one came. She sat trembling in the dark from her exertion, the sweat drying on her skin.
When she had calmed herself, she began rethinking the possibility of rescue. Whatever else happened, her grandparents would not leave her out here all night. When she didn’t come home from the dance, they would begin searching. Lots of people would help. She would be found. Of course she would be found. Danny Abbott would be sorry then. Her glee at the prospect wavered into uncertainty. Didn’t he know how this would turn out? Didn’t he know what kind of trouble he would be in?
Or was there some reason he wasn’t worried about it?
Time dragged on. After a while, she became aware that she wasn’t alone. It didn’t happen all at once; the feeling crept over her gradually as she pondered her fate. She couldn’t hear or see anyone, but she could sense that someone was there with her. She went quiet, a slow sense of dread growing inside. Of course there was someone else in the caves, she reproached herself with a mix of fear and anger.
There were the feeders.
They moved almost soundlessly as they surrounded her. She could feel them looking at her, studying her, maybe wondering what she was doing there. She fought down her revulsion, willed herself to stay calm against the sea of despair that threatened to drown her. She felt their hands brush against her, small pricklings that raised goose bumps on her skin. Touching her!
She could not identify the feeling — like old paper sacks, maybe, or clothes stiffened with sweat and oil. They had never touched her before, had never had this opportunity, and the thought that they could do so now made her crazy. She fought against the urge to thrash and scream. She forced herself to breathe normally. She tried to pray. Please, God, come for me. Please, don’t let me be hurt.
“It’s scary to be down here all alone, isn’t it?” a voice whispered.
Nest jumped inside her burlap prison. The demon. She swallowed and exhaled quickly, noisily.
“All alone, down in the dark, in a black pit where your greatest enemies dwell. Helpless to prevent them from doing whatever they choose. You hate being helpless, don’t you?”
The demon’s voice was soft and silky. It rippled through the silence like bat wings. Nest closed her eyes against its insidious sound and gritted her teeth.
“Will someone come for you, you must be wondering? How long before they do? How much more of this must you endure?” The demon paused as if to consider. “Well, John Ross won’t be coming. And your grandparents won’t be coming. I’ve seen to that. So who else is there? Oh, I forgot. The sylvan. No, I don’t think so. Have I missed anyone?”
Wraith!
The demon chuckled in a self-satisfied way. “The fact is, you have only yourself to blame for this. You should never have tried to follow me. Of course, I knew you would. You couldn’t help yourself, could you? It was all so simple, making the suggestion to young Danny Abbott. He’s so angry at you, Nest. He hates you. It was easy to persuade him that he could get even with you if he just did what I told him. He was so eager, he didn’t even bother to consider the consequences of his act. None of them did. They are such foolish, malleable boys.”
The demon