Play Me - Revised

Chapter 8

"C-can" –I clear my throat– "Can I ask you a question?"

His eyebrows rise, taken back by my confidence. He nods permitting me.

"How old are you?"

"Twenty-one, why?"

"At first glance, you look young, but considering your full appearance and attitude, people will doubt their mind," I reply.

"If you stick around, you'll learn how important that can be for people like us," with that, he turns around. He takes a tall stand in front of me, fixing his suit before making his way to the exit.

My eyes linger on him as he whispers something into another man's ear. Once he's done, he takes a glance back at me before the door closes. In the literal sense, darkness takes over as slight whimpers escape my chapped lips.

My family had trained me to be strong, but I'm only fourteen. My training doesn't finish until I'm eighteen. There's so much I haven't learned yet. I've never been through anything like this and one wrong move can make me end up six feet under. There's no way I can survive this and be the same person I was the day I turned fourteen.

...♛...

"Father," I speak, a phone held to my ear.

"My beloved Daughter," my father replies in Latin. Every time he calls me that, it's laced with sweetness, but today, there's sorrow.

"How long has it been?" I question looking straight into Nick's grey eyes.

"Five days," my Father responds as if he has failed. Before I can say anything, Nick pulls the phone away from me. He presses a button before he starts talking.

"Okay, that's enough," Nick pulls the phone back to his ear. "You've heard her, Xavier. She's alive and well, so let's get to business. I want every single piece of document ever printed, from the last fifty years, regarding The White Dragons. We'll discuss things further once I have them."

Nick listens as my Father speaks on the other end. I can't tell exactly how Nick is feeling because his back is facing me but his rigid posture reveals his tension.

"If you do as I say, you'll get her back, Xavier. You have my word," Nick assures. His words are a lie. I've seen who is. He has introduced himself to me. He's never going to let me go, not after letting me see his face. I haven't heard him tell my Father who is. That means my family doesn't know who took me and he's using something to disguise his voice.

"He's lying, Father! It's Nicholas Black! I've seen his face! Don't give him anything!" I yell in Latin hoping my Fathers going to hear me through the phone. Latin is a dead language and that's exactly why my Father made us learn it. No one, off the bat, can know that it's Latin that we're speaking.

Nick whips around and strides over to me. Without a single warning, the back of his hand connects with my left cheek once again.

My head tilted to the right, I open my eyes slowly. The metallic taste of blood dances across my tastebuds. I spit onto the ground in disgust. Nick grabs my hair and forces me to look up at him. My eyes blurry with tears, I blink them dry. His grey eyes have been taken over by the darkness of his own emotions.

"What did you just say?" he asks through gritted teeth. The phone held away from his ear, is silent. My Father and Nick both wait for an answer.

"He's lying, Father. It's Nicholas Black. I've seen his face. Don't give him anything," I respond in Latin again. This time calmly. I know my Father can hear me.

Nick chuckles. "You think you're funny? What does it mean in English?"

"Look it up on google translate," I spit.