FEATURED TITLE
Title:
The Forgotten
Author:
Mariah Deitrick
Email: mariahdeitrick@yahoo.com
Excerpt
Heat Level: 1
Book
Heat Level: 1
Buy
at: www.roguephoenixpress.com
Addaline Walker is
sentenced to death after being accused of a crime she didn’t commit. Determined
to save herself, she makes an impossible deal with the man who wants her dead.
Every time she fails to get him what he wants, he threatens to kill someone she
loves. With time running out, Addaline must face her fears, swallow her pride,
and allow help from Xander, a seventeen-year-old boy she was raised to fear.
As Addaline and
Xander race through the guarded city to save themselves and their loved ones,
Addaline uncovers horrifying secrets that will leave most of the city dead.
With hundreds of lives on the line and Xander by her side, Addaline sets out to
stop the man trying to kill everyone.
EXCERPT
"Please,
please, please," I begged for what seemed like the millionth time. That
one word played like a broken record in my head as if that was the only word I
knew.
For the
past three days, I pleaded with anyone who came near me. I wasn't begging for
my life. That was the last thing I wanted. Death was much better than the
torture I'd endured. All I wanted was for someone to kill me.
I felt
foolish now for spending so much of my life concerned about death. Death was
not the worst thing that could happen to someone. Living a life full of pain
and fear was much more agonizing.
Since I'd
been yanked from the prison, near drowning and beatings were all my life
consisted of. I couldn't figure out why they didn't just kill me, but I didn't
ask. Every time I opened my mouth, pain followed. I quickly learned to keep
quiet.
Even
after the days of torture, I thought they would at some point end my misery. Of
course, Dr. Grant wasn't kind enough for that.
"The
Elders and I had a meeting last night. Since you've already established a bond
with the criminals, we've decided you will get us the information we want,"
Dr. Grant told me after having me pulled from the pit for the third time that
day. "But this time, we're giving you a little more incentive."
I
flinched. What more motivation was there? They weren't about to offer me my
life again. If I wasn't successful with my own life on the line, why would I do
it knowing they were going to kill me?
Horror
and comprehension hit like a bolder. My breath came quick and unsteady. My
hands trembled.
Page.
Dr. Grant
chuckled. "I see you're catching on. After all you've put me through in
the last few days, I'm not stupid enough to offer you your life again. Besides,
that clearly doesn't mean much to you. But, you might be willing to work harder
if Page's life is at risk."
Tears
sprang to the tiny slits that were the remains of my beaten eyes. I shook my
head and ignored the pain the action caused. "No," I mumbled through
swollen lips.
His
chuckle turned into a booming laugh. "You're actually willing to let your
twin sister die for you? Are you really that selfish?"
Sobs
rumbled through my chest. "No," I said again, forcing more anger into
my tone. "Leave her alone." My words were so indistinct I wondered if
he even understood.
When a
twig snapped and a blurred figure moved toward me, I cringed away.
"Let
me make this very clear, Addaline," he said from so close I could feel the
heat radiating off his body. "This is not a request. You will do as you're
told or Page will die."
"Please,"
I begged again, the broken record spun out of control now. Once again, that was
the only word that my mind could conjure up through the thick haze in my head.
It angered me. I wanted to scream at him, but I couldn't. All I could do was
beg pathetically.
Dr. Grant
didn't even acknowledge my pleading. He simply said, "Take her back. I'm
done with her."
For a
second, I thought he meant the pit, and my body stiffened. I was tired of this
game--physically and emotionally exhausted. I just wanted it all to end. It
seemed like a cruel joke that he would continue to suck every last bit of
emotion out of me before he finally let me rest in peace.
Once
again, Mac tossed me up on his shoulder, but before he could get too far, Dr.
Grant said, "You have one day."
I knew at
that moment I was not going back to the pit.
Water
dripped off my saturated skin, hair, and dress, leaving a muddy trail behind us
to the prison. Not that anyone needed the trail to follow us. I moaned loud
enough for anyone in a mile radius to hear.
The first
gust of cold air came when Joe opened the prison door for Mac.
"Whoa,
that's cold. I'm definitely going to have to change after this," Mac said,
and we both shivered.
Joe
laughed. "Why do you think I had you carry her?"
"Thanks,"
Mac said, and shuddered again. "Remind me to return the favor later."
Mac
walked in ahead of Joe. The silence in the prison was more profound than it had
been before. I didn't want to think of all the helpless teens that had been
drug out of here while I was being tortured.
"You
two get to the corner over there and turn around," Joe ordered once we
were standing outside the Forgotten's cell. He must have realized there was no
quick way to drop me off since they couldn't shove me from behind.
The cell
door creaked open and Mac took two quick steps in, dumped me on the ground, and
darted out.
My breath
hissed between my teeth as I choked back the shriek that crept up my throat.
"We'll
be back," Mac warned with a chuckle.
"One
day," Joe said.
Because
even the slightest movement would have tipped me over the edge to
unconsciousness, I didn't acknowledge them.
Despite
his aversion to me before, Xander was at my side in an instant. "What did
you do to her?" he asked, concern thick in his tone.
The
guards merely chuckled and sauntered away.
"She's
soaked," Xander said. "I need your coat, Grandfather."
"That
won't do any good. We'll need to get that dress off of her."
I tried
to shake my head. "N...no," I stuttered already trembling from the
frigid air. But, dark or not, I wasn't about to let them strip me down. Dr.
Grant and the Elders hadn't managed to take all my dignity, and I wasn't losing
what little I had left here in the prison to the Forgotten.
A warm
hand clutched the fabric clinging to my thigh. I flinched away automatically
then moaned.
"Shhh,
Addaline," Xander soothed. "I'm not going to hurt you. I just have to
get this dress off." He didn't wait for my reaction before yanking my
dress above my hips. Surprisingly, I wasn't jostled much at all.
"Please
don't," I muttered, trying to pull the dress back down. Tears streamed
down my cheeks.
He
ignored me. "Do you think you can hold her while I pull the dress off?"
he asked Julius. "I don't think she'll put up much of a fight. They beat
her pretty bad."
"Of
course. Whatever I can do to help," Julius said.
Four
hands gripped me as lightly as possible. "We'll try not to move you too
much," Xander assured.
Slowly,
they sat me upright. Air hissed through my teeth and more tears streamed down
my cheeks. The pain was excruciating. "Please stop," I whimpered.
"It'll
all be over in a minute, I promise," Xander said. "Do you have her?"
"Yes,"
Julius said.
"I'm
sorry," Xander whispered. Then without warning, he gripped my wrists in
one of his hands and wrenched them over my head.
A
bloodcurdling scream escaped my lips, but they didn't stop. More torture, I
thought. No, I couldn't handle anymore. "Kill me," I tried to tell
them, but my words were lost in the sobs.
Sasha
took her revolver from Alvin, fished her spray out of her pocket and finally
took a deep slow breath. "I really hope it's not a vampire overlord,"
she said with a strained smile and opened her door.
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