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Back The Raven King Save as PDF
Chapters (17)
  1. THE RAVEN KING
  2. CHAPTER ONE
  3. CHAPTER TWO
  4. CHAPTER THREE
  5. CHAPTER FOUR
  6. CHAPTER FIVE
  7. CHAPTER SIX
  8. CHAPTER SEVEN
  9. CHAPTER EIGHT
  10. CHAPTER NINE
  11. CHAPTER TEN
  12. CHAPTER ELEVEN
  13. CHAPTER TWELVE
  14. CHAPTER THIRTEEN
  15. CHAPTER FOURTEEN
  16. CHAPTER FIFTEEN
  17. CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Riko sat sideways on the mattress beside Neil. He looked at Neil like he was imagining skinning Neil alive and feeding Neil the bloody scraps. His expression said he was getting off on the fantasy. Neil didn't flinch when Riko put the tip of the blade to Neil's lips, but it was a near thing. Jean moved up alongside them, but Neil didn't dare take his eyes off Riko to look at him.

"I am going to love hurting you," Riko said, "like I loved hurting Kevin."

"You are one seriously fucked-up individual," Neil said.

Riko slipped the knife into Neil's mouth and pushed, hard enough to break the skin at the corner of Neil's mouth but not deep enough to do any real damage. "Shut up and lie down," Riko said. "We don't have a lot of time, and I promised the master to have you in line before night practice."

"I hate you," Neil said around the blade.

"Lie down," Riko said again, "and put your hands on the headboard."

Neil stretched out on his back and reached over his head. Jean caught his hands to guide them to the right place. Neil felt wood under his fingertips and grabbed hold. Jean let go of him only to snap cold metal over his wrists. Neil tried to look but the knife in his mouth wouldn't let him move. Riko felt him tense, though, and withdrew his blade. Neil looked up and regretted it immediately. Metal cuffs locked his hands to the headboard. He yanked his arms as hard as he could, nearly skinning his wrists in the effort, but the headboard didn't even creak.

"Who is your King, Nathaniel?" Riko asked.

Neil spat in his face.

Riko froze, then slowly reached up to touch the glob on his cheek. He eyed his slick fingers for a moment, needing to see the mess to believe it, and then seized Neil's face in an iron grip. He pried Neil's mouth open and spat in it. A hand over Neil's mouth kept him from coughing it back up. Jean climbed onto the bed and sat on his legs before Neil could knee Riko in the back. Riko pressed the knife to Neil's chest and slipped the edge under his skin.

"I'm going to make this as terrible as I know how," Riko promised him. "When it's too much for you, don't hesitate to cry."

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

"Passengers for flight 227 to Las Vegas, please report to Gate A19. Boarding will begin momentarily."