Haunted King

TWENTY-EIGHT | my old cage

Three days Melody had gone missing, and this time her parents had a reason to be afraid, because Christain was gone too.

At first the Lu and Davis families assumed the two had run off together but clues pointed other wise. Their phones, wallets, and clothes were all perfectly intact. Only a fool would continue to press such silly conclusions. They scoured the city, and were slowly stretching their search to the whole state. But they were finding nothing. Not even a single trace. No signs of them even leaving the manor. It was like they had just disappeared into thin air.

Mrs. Lu had called Crystal down from Boston to help investigate. Since the two had become close they hoped maybe she could come up with an answer. The first place Crystal went was to Melody's phone that was still on the nightstand. She touched the screen and noticed the battery was hot. The phone was running on full power even though the screen was black.

"Do you mind if I run some tests on the phone? I already had a friend of mine create a code to analyze the app usage on phones to determine any locational clues for someone. It worked pretty well last time," she partially lied. She had covered up Melody's previous disappearance by saying that Melody was staying over at a friend's house that she met through a game.

If her parents knew Melody well enough, they would know she had no friends and seen through her lie. Mrs. Lu nodded, "okay. But immediately send us the results." Crystal nodded and slipped the phone into a plastic bag.

She touched the shoulder of her aunt in reassurance, "I will do everything I can to find Melody."

•••

Melody tried to cast another spell but failed. Her mana was being restricted. Christain walked up to the cage and gripped the metal bars. "You've been crying," he sadistically smiled. "Who hurt you Melody? Come on, tell me. I'll feed him to a sea of crocodiles so he'll never hurt you again," his pirate accent tinted his words. He really was Christopher.

Melody looked down to her hands. The transportation device was hidden in her hands but the jewel was dull and slightly cracked. She tucked it into her dress pocket. "That's enough Chris. Koa is already dead so stop making such unsavory threats," a whimsical voice cut through the room.

Christopher frowned and backed up from the cage. The red eyes neared her instead. "My love, it is truly distasteful that you had to taint your hands with such vile blood." The man's pupils dilated and then sharpened like a lizard. "Heavens look at you! You look so deathly pale! Are you hungry?"

"Your kidding right? You think I'm like this because I'm hungry?" She was angry and terrified all at once. He blinked, "ah. My apologies that was a silly question.... Well the best we can do is a bucket-." "I DON'T HAVE TO TAKE A PISS FOR GODS SAKE! I'M LIKE THIS BECAUSE YOU PUT ME IN A FUCKING CAGE!"

"AGAIN!" She added.

She sucked in a shaky breath. Melody touched the green carpet. "Did you guys find this in the storage room of the palace or something! Or did Gabriel fucking give this to you?" She was yelling through staggered breaths. Tears were rolling down her face. She had lost count of how many times she had cried today. "God, what is WRONG WITH ALL OF YOU!" Melody was raging. "I can tell by your stupid eyes that you are going to profess your undying love but I AM DONE! I FUCKING KILLED SOMEONE TODAY!"

She wanted to jump off a cliff and wash away her memories in a ferocious river. She didn't know how she would make it out of this situation sane.

"Melody, Melody, Melody," the voice tisked.

Melody didn't respond. She just closed her eyes and laid on the ground. "Don't you dare fall asleep," a dark an ominous voice boomed. Her eyes shot right open. "We were going to do things the nice way but clearly our kindness was taken for granted."

"Nice way my ass. I'm still in a fucking cage, and your numbers are way to high for me to believe you guys would do anything sane."

"Love brings insanity Melody. It is just the normal course of nature." Melody scoffed, "Yeah well moving on from a lost love is also normal. I suggest you all do it."

The voice sighed. "You go first. Let's see how well this spell works."

Melody slowly sat up and hid behind her legs. The door to the cage was opened and for a small moment she could feel a bit of mana. But it disappeared as quickly as it came when the door closed behind a hooded figure. He smiled down at her. His gold eyes danced with a demonic desire she wanted no part of. "I shall remind you of the love we once shared Melody."

She wanted to ask what he meant until he leaned down and grabbed her jaw. Then he kissed her in one full swoop.

Everything went black. Then white. Then red.