ripped through him with renewed fury. He staggered and dragged the petrified female with him. He crashed into the side of the sarcophagus, knocked it off its pillars and onto the floor.
His back slammed into the stone floor. Kendra tumbled face first into his bare chest. A bellow of anguish burst from his throat. The echo of his despair bounced off the hardened surfaces of the dungeon and carried out through the spaces of hell.
Chapter Ten
Kendra came face to face with Ari’s lifeless body, which had been hidden by the sarcophagus. The guardian’s eyes stared at her with a cloudy haze. The murderer had a tight hold of her. Bakari’s body vibrated with an unadulterated rage. The torches on the walls dimmed. The air in the room thinned to the point she couldn’t draw a breath.
She gasped and reached for the unseen strangle hold, but found no fingers to peel away, only an unrelenting pressure pulling at her body. She slumped against his chest, the darkness consuming her completely.
A light feather tickled the tip of her nose, as she rested somewhere between life and death. She raised a slow uncontrolled hand to slap it away. Her chest burned on the inside with each breath of fresh air. She inhaled deeper welcoming the sweet breath into her body. The feather seemed to return, a soft brush against her lips and cheek. With a third breath, Kendra struggled to open her heavy eyelids.
Her entire body floated, bathed in numbness. She blinked away the fog and focused on the hardened, gaunt face looming over her. The death god sat naked on his haunches in the dark corner, and apparently had pulled her back in his modified cave. The cold press of stone at her back reminded her of the where and how of her predicament.
The dampness of the cell seeped through her skin. Alarmed, she ran her fluttering hands down the front of herself to ensure she wasn’t naked. Blowing out a long breath, she pulled the thin cotton fabric over her panties. Her head rested on the ball of cloth that turned out to be her terry cloth robe.
Her head throbbed with each bound of her racing heart. She breathed deeply to ensure the sense of strangulation had dissipated completely. She should be dead, that she was certain. Ari and the guardians surely had perished in the same way. Summoning her strength, she shifted her gaze to the shadows where Bakari hid.
His silver predatory eyes were locked on her face and then slowly drifted down her torso. The depths of his pupils were vacant and hallow. His once all white hair was now streaked with long black locks. She lifted her hands to inspect them. No wrinkled skin or age spots. Thank, God. He had siphoned enough life off her soul that it altered his hair. So far as she could tell, she didn’t morph into a withered old woman.
His perfect skin bunched between his furrowed brows. Kendra scanned his body. Several thick silver scars marred his chest and arms. There was no modesty in his position either. She jerked her gaze away, but not before the sight of his proportions burned into her brain. God, she had groped him in all the inappropriate places.
Looking to see if her assessment angered him, she only met apathy. Behind the dullness, a blackness shimmered behind the facade of control. His jaw and fists were tensely clenched. His thin muscles bulged and fasciculated. Control was definitely a loose term. One wrong move on her part and it would all unravel.
If it was one thing she understood was psychology. She had taken several courses over the years, as part of her academic studies. The key to defusing a situation with someone who was mentally decompensated was to minimize their sense of being threatened. She already assumed a submissive posture, lying almost naked on the floor. The last thing she wanted to do is challenge or show force. Heck no. If she wanted to get out of this, she had to play it smart and calm.
She moved slowly to the point it was painful, considering all she wanted to do is run
His back slammed into the stone floor. Kendra tumbled face first into his bare chest. A bellow of anguish burst from his throat. The echo of his despair bounced off the hardened surfaces of the dungeon and carried out through the spaces of hell.
Chapter Ten
Kendra came face to face with Ari’s lifeless body, which had been hidden by the sarcophagus. The guardian’s eyes stared at her with a cloudy haze. The murderer had a tight hold of her. Bakari’s body vibrated with an unadulterated rage. The torches on the walls dimmed. The air in the room thinned to the point she couldn’t draw a breath.
She gasped and reached for the unseen strangle hold, but found no fingers to peel away, only an unrelenting pressure pulling at her body. She slumped against his chest, the darkness consuming her completely.
A light feather tickled the tip of her nose, as she rested somewhere between life and death. She raised a slow uncontrolled hand to slap it away. Her chest burned on the inside with each breath of fresh air. She inhaled deeper welcoming the sweet breath into her body. The feather seemed to return, a soft brush against her lips and cheek. With a third breath, Kendra struggled to open her heavy eyelids.
Her entire body floated, bathed in numbness. She blinked away the fog and focused on the hardened, gaunt face looming over her. The death god sat naked on his haunches in the dark corner, and apparently had pulled her back in his modified cave. The cold press of stone at her back reminded her of the where and how of her predicament.
The dampness of the cell seeped through her skin. Alarmed, she ran her fluttering hands down the front of herself to ensure she wasn’t naked. Blowing out a long breath, she pulled the thin cotton fabric over her panties. Her head rested on the ball of cloth that turned out to be her terry cloth robe.
Her head throbbed with each bound of her racing heart. She breathed deeply to ensure the sense of strangulation had dissipated completely. She should be dead, that she was certain. Ari and the guardians surely had perished in the same way. Summoning her strength, she shifted her gaze to the shadows where Bakari hid.
His silver predatory eyes were locked on her face and then slowly drifted down her torso. The depths of his pupils were vacant and hallow. His once all white hair was now streaked with long black locks. She lifted her hands to inspect them. No wrinkled skin or age spots. Thank, God. He had siphoned enough life off her soul that it altered his hair. So far as she could tell, she didn’t morph into a withered old woman.
His perfect skin bunched between his furrowed brows. Kendra scanned his body. Several thick silver scars marred his chest and arms. There was no modesty in his position either. She jerked her gaze away, but not before the sight of his proportions burned into her brain. God, she had groped him in all the inappropriate places.
Looking to see if her assessment angered him, she only met apathy. Behind the dullness, a blackness shimmered behind the facade of control. His jaw and fists were tensely clenched. His thin muscles bulged and fasciculated. Control was definitely a loose term. One wrong move on her part and it would all unravel.
If it was one thing she understood was psychology. She had taken several courses over the years, as part of her academic studies. The key to defusing a situation with someone who was mentally decompensated was to minimize their sense of being threatened. She already assumed a submissive posture, lying almost naked on the floor. The last thing she wanted to do is challenge or show force. Heck no. If she wanted to get out of this, she had to play it smart and calm.
She moved slowly to the point it was painful, considering all she wanted to do is run
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