EIGHTEEN - PART 2

"No bells ringing in that pretty head yet?" he taunted, coming to a halt. "Right here is where they snuffed out your life the first time." He jerked her arm and pulled her towards a small hideaway nestled within a well-groomed garden that bordered the edge of the forest. "And right here is where they brought you back to life."

Flashes of bloodshed and torment exploded like fireworks behind her closed eyes.

"Anything coming back?" he probed.

"No," she fibbed, hiding the fragments of memories threatening to overwhelm her.

"Here," he forcefully dragged her towards the crumbling remains of what used to be a majestic country mansion. The dilapidated house cast a daunting shadow, its grandeur long faded. "This is where DeVayne's savage creatures had their way with you."

The memories surged forth once more, and her body reacted to the recollection, even if her mind resisted acknowledging it.

"I bet you can feel it right now, their foul breath lingering on the back of your throat. Their claws