Pulse of Heroes (63 page)

“I don’t want to die like this,” she
whispered in childlike desperation. And Elliot’s heart felt like it
was being twisted and torn. How the hell did he get her into this
he thought, looking back and forth between her face and the cold
blade that teased at her back again.

“You’re not going to die, Michelle. It’s not
your time,” Elliot reassured her, although he knew quite well what
Hadeno was capable of.

“There’s only one person here who could cause
your death, and you’re looking at him. I am just his instrument,”
Haden said coldly. When Michelle first met Haden she would have
never believed he was capable of killing her, but after he almost
raped her and then choked her until she blacked out, she knew it
was possible. He probably did kill Adi she thought and shuddered.
But Elliot was capable of doing the same; she looked at him
suspiciously and he could tell that she feared him also. Elliot
took the clay tablet that was still hanging from around his neck
and slid it towards Hadeno’s feet.

“Here, keep it and take me. Let her go.”
Hadeno gave the tablet a shove with his foot so that it ended up
behind him.

“Good. Now I have everything that I want. But
it’s you I’m really after. I’m going to back up with precious cargo
here and I want you to follow us into the room.” Hadeno began
pulling Michelle backwards. Elliot slowly walked after them into
the bedroom and looked around at his surroundings,

“That’s right. Little princess had no problem
sleeping in my bed.” Michelle felt ashamed and looked down at the
floor. It was obvious that he was not planning to spare any detail
regarding their interactions. Elliot tried to catch Michelle’s eyes
but she wouldn’t look at him.

“Oh, big man, aren’t you! We can take whoever
we want; it’s not like she had a choice. So keep your boasting to
yourself.” Michelle was glad that Elliot stood up for her, but at
the same time hearing him say that he could have whomever he wanted
showed her that Haden was right about something. Elliot wasn’t shy.
Not the way she had thought he was. The images Haden showed her
were obviously not lies. So why did he act so innocent with her?
Why all the performances of not wanting her the way that Haden did?
Maybe that was just it, he didn’t really want her. She was after
all just a silly girl, and that was how he treated her. Michelle’s
heart sank inside her and she let out a small sigh.

“Look who’s talking. You’re the one that’s
manipulating a little girl for your own means. Don’t worry, I
picked up on her
Pulse
, but I bet you never said anything to
her.” Michelle tilted her head, although her eyes were still
downcast. ‘
Pulse
?’ Elliot’s eyes glared at Hadeno, who only
smirked back at him with satisfaction.

“That’s right, Michelle. Elliot never told
you anything about our families or the curse, did he?“

“Those things do not concern you Michelle.
Don’t listen to him!” Elliot yelled out to her. ”I was going to
tell you everything… we just haven’t had the time, after my friends
were murdered! By the same hands that are holding you right
now!”

Haden whispered into Michelle’s neck, “Have I
lied to you little sweetheart? Now you see the difference between
me and him. He’ll say anything to deflect any sense of
responsibility.”

Elliot hated Hadeno being so close to
Michelle, and his eyes accordingly glowed like blue fire. When
Hadeno saw Elliot’s expression he kissed Michelle’s neck and then
licked it just to piss him off even more. “She still tastes the
same, just a little more salty now that she’s sweating.” Elliot saw
that although Michelle was not happy with what Hadeno did, she
didn’t flinch in disgust.

They’ve been intimate, he was now convinced
of it. His heart sank and he looked at Michelle with sadness. Haden
instructed Elliot to walk over to the wardrobe and push at the
bottom right of the large beveled mirror. Elliot did, and the
mirror rotated on its axis to reveal a dark abyss with a narrow
flight of stairs descending into its midst.

“Move!” Hadeno screamed at Elliot, shoving
the sword a little harder into Michelle’s back so she was forced to
curve it out away from him. They followed Elliot down into the cold
cavern. “Turn left.” Hadeno stopped walking and held Michelle in
place while he fidgeted with something. That was when Michelle
caught a glimpse of the metal bars he was about to swing shut, and
in an instant and much to everyone’s surprise she leaped forward
about a foot and landed on Elliot’s side. Haden just laughed again
as he slammed the gate shut.

“Suit yourself. I guess I can spare you two
lovebirds a little social time. Maybe you can tell her about all
your wives? Or maybe how you drove Leta to commit suicide?”
Michelle looked at Elliot but he wouldn’t look back at her; he just
swallowed hard. Hadeno was telling the truth.

“What do you want, Hadeno? You’ve got the
tablet and you have me. Send her home,” Elliot said. Haden looked
at Michelle and said that he had grown quite fond of her, and that
despite the way she was acting now he knew that she was quite fond
of him too. She just needed better training. Elliot shook his
head.

“You keep shaking your head as much as you
want because soon you won’t have it to shake.” Michelle looked at
Haden in horror. Why did he hate Elliot so much? Why was he still
bent on killing him now that he had the tablet? “Because Michelle,
the future of humanity always depends on us to move things along.
You might see me as odd, maybe even a little temperamental, but
what if someone came to you and told you that there is a special
weapon, a special force that will unite all humans to work
together, to stop their insane feuding and jealousies, to melt all
borders and cultures and become one great nation? Would that be
worth the sacrifice of one measly life?” Elliot looked at Haden in
confusion, his perplexed thoughts almost perfectly mirroring
Michelle’s. “If someone gave you the power to do all this and more,
would you not give up one life for a dream like this? I didn’t
choose him. Fate did, and it just so happens that he deserves it,
that’s all.”

“You’re insane!” Elliot yelled. “Isn’t it
enough that you fuel most of the wars around the world with your
weapon trading hobby? Now you want more?”

“That’s just it, Elliot. I won’t need any
weapons, because I have finally found the thing we have all been
wishing for our whole lives, and I will rule in peace and
equality.” Michelle looked at Haden, completely horrified. Was he
really crazy? Or was there some kernel of truth to his words. Haden
looked at Michelle and his face softened a little. He told her not
to worry because she would still have an important part in his
life.

“You, Michelle, have the
Pulse of
Heroes
in your blood. You will give me a healthy son one way or
another. If you want to leave after that, I won’t stop you. I guess
Elliot here was hoping for the same. I’m sorry to squash your
dreams.” With those words Haden disappeared up the steps, and the
only rays of light that crossed the threshold down into the small
dungeon disappeared with him.

Michelle stood in absolute darkness. She
imagined that that was how blind people lived. Elliot couldn’t see
anything either, despite his pupils’ desperate attempts at
searching for any source of reflected light.

“Michelle,” he said to her softly, “don’t be
scared. I’ll get us out of here. I promise.” Michelle didn’t answer
him. She couldn’t trust a thing he said. And she was still in
complete shock at the words that came out of Haden’s mouth. Was he
actually planning to forcefully impregnate her and keep her there
as a prisoner until she gave birth? It didn’t make sense after
everything he had said about her needing to want the pregnancy. It
made her stomach turn, and she held it in her arms steadying it.
She hadn’t eaten all day, and her stomach acids were already
burning her stomach lining. Was Elliot training her to become a
walking womb too? Was that why he paid her attention? Was it
because he liked her enough as an oven for his unborn spawn but
didn’t really love her?

“Michelle,” Elliot tried again.

“What is this
Pulse
, Elliot? Is that
what I was to you too? A potential womb to carry and birth more
monsters like you? Your spawn?” Michelle’s words stung and hurt
Elliot deeper than she could have ever imagined. He heard the hate
in them, and her repugnance for him was not hidden. He didn’t know
what to do or what to say. So he moved a little closer to her but
when Michelle felt him she panicked and moved away. Elliot cursed
Hadeno. If Hadeno had hurt Michelle physically she could heal and
he could help her, but the mind was a complex and mysterious place
where no amount of science or therapy could completely reverse
things that were imprinted on it, because that was the process of
developing a personality. Everyone was born with an unblemished
personality, but as soon as life begins to take its toll, that
personality gets buried beneath other layers, becoming almost
unseen by the time one is an adult. After that, it only emerges
every so often, and that’s usually when someone is in love. That
was what Elliot had seen in Michelle’s eyes when she looked at him.
And now the person yelling at him was no longer the same
Michelle.

“Elliot, What the hell is
The Pulse
!
What was he talking about?” Michelle yelled out in fear. Elliot
swallowed hard and dreaded having to explain everything to her
under such hurried and negative circumstances.

“Michelle, I can’t tell you all of it with
you just standing there like that.” He reached for her hand but she
yelled at him not to touch her. Elliot couldn’t believe the vast
space between them, and yet they were mere inches away from one
another.

“I’ll tell you everything, ok? But first
things first, your safety.” He slowly sat down on the floor and
asked Michelle if she would just sit down for one second? He
promised not to touch her, even though uttering those words almost
killed him. Michelle sat down, sighing with pain. “Why are you
hurting? What has he done to you?” Elliot asked, trying to control
the anger in his voice. Michelle was too embarrassed to tell him
about what had taken place, so she lied and told him that she fell
on her butt and cracked her tailbone. Elliot knew that she was
lying; he could feel her facial temperature increase from where he
was sitting.

“You don’t need to hide anything from me. I
will never blame you or judge you for what happened with Hadeno.
He’s depraved, and he treats all his women like toys. If he touched
you, or anything else, it’s not your fault.”

“You have no right to talk to me about hiding
things. And besides, I went to him out of my own will. I wanted to.
He sounds all crazy now, but that wasn’t how he treated me before.
He’s talented and smart, and we went horseback riding and he’s
exceptionally good looking.” Elliot didn’t want to hear those words
from her. His ego was still that of a man, and bitter jealousy
crept inside him as it would into any jealous lover.

“You just think that. He lowered your
inhibitions. We can influence people and simulate the effects of
alcohol or even drugs. I’m sure you didn’t have much control when
he was around.”

“No, Elliot! It wasn’t like that. It was me,
I was drawn to him… I wanted to kiss him, I wanted to be with him!
I’m not who you think I am. Stop trying to keep me a little girl
because I’m not.” Elliot had never been in a situation where he had
to excuse the girl he loved over being with another man. Of course
it upset him thinking about Hadeno’s dirty paws all over his
innocent girl. But who was he to speak. He had been with countless
women in the past, and not every one of those encounters was
something that he was proud of, even if it felt right at that time.
He had given into lust many times, and with human women finding his
kind irresistible, it was hard not to eat from the beautiful feast
that was served at one’s feet. It had taken him a while to develop
into the person he was today.

“Michelle, you’re young and unmarried. What
you do on your own time is not my concern; you don’t have to tell
me about it. In fact, I prefer that you don’t.” Elliot meant that
last bit very much. Yet deep inside he was concerned. There was the
possibility that Michelle was already impregnated and carrying
Hadeno’s child. There was no way he could detect such low levels of
hormones. She was ovulating, that he was sure of, and he was sure
that Hadeno knew that as well. He decided to push that thought
aside, and he asked her again why she was hurting, and if she would
at least let him help her. Something in Elliot’s demeanor had
changed, or maybe it was because Michelle didn’t like to hear him
not care about what happened between her and Hadeno, so she told
him a bit of the truth.

“Haden pulled me hard and I fell off the
horse, but I don’t think he meant for me to fall.” Elliot felt his
fists curling inwards. The bastard had manhandled the poor girl,
which was probably why her dress strap was torn too. And she was
too embarrassed to tell him everything; she didn’t trust him
anymore. That much Hadeno had made sure of. Michelle heard Elliot’s
breathing deepen and recognized that as a positive sign. Maybe he
was a monster like Haden, but he might care something about her
somewhere in that strange brain of his.

“Listen, if we’re ever going to get out of
here you can’t be in pain like this. Let me help you, please.”
Elliot was right about the pain, but she wasn’t sure if she should
let any of them do any more of their weird voodoo stuff on her.
“Michelle, please. Have I ever hurt you physically?” She inched
closer to Elliot and when he felt the hem of her dress make contact
with his pants he felt relieved. Her scent was close to him again,
and she was still sweet as he remembered. She sat up on her knees
and showed him where the pain was, and Elliot went to work. She
felt the numbing sensation in no time and thanked him politely for
his help, but then jumped away from him as soon as she could.
Elliot was surrounded by coldness again and mourned not being able
to hold her.