Diana Racine 02 - Goddess of the Moon

of baby-kidnapping Satanists ― of which we have no concrete evidence ― Easley ’s been involved. Until now. I think he opted out because his friends abducted a cop , and Easley has a deep-rooted, lifelong fear of the police.”
    “That’s an awful lot of ifs, sir.”
    “Yeah, I know. But right now we have nothing else . Won’t hurt to turn the screws and see his reaction . He said he’d be home at noon. Probably doesn’t want the cops to go to his office. I’m hoping we got ourselves a weak link. God knows, we need one.”

Chapter Forty -One
    T o Act the Part

    D iana forced her eyes open . She lay on a bed in a strange room , unable to move . Not her hands or arms or legs. Not anything. It was if her body belonged to someone else . She wasn’t dead because she hear d her accelerated heart beat pounding in her ears from fear. Where am I ? I nch ing her head to the side to see her surroundings took every ounce of strength and le ft her breathless . The room equaled one in a five-star hotel ―e xpensive furnishings, luxurious draperies pulled closed. She managed to turn to the other side and saw part of a marble-tiled bathroom. A fleeting memory attacked her consciousness .
    This was no hotel.
    S lowly , h er fingers came to life, followed by her hand and arm. Next, her body regain ed prickly sensation, leaving her limbs heavy and weighted.
    But she felt them.
    Nausea moved up from deep in her gut . She needed to get to the bathroom. Sitting up sapped her energy, and she collapsed back onto the bed. The nausea abated but still smoldered in her belly like a fire’s dying embers.
    F lashes of memory hit her next― wavy visions and distorted sounds, Lucier’s heartrending helplessness as his head sank into his plate of food, the pungent aroma of lemon and salmon, the soft cushion of the fish’s flesh warm on her cheek .
    T he blackness from her own lapse into unconsciousness.
    She closed her eyes now and more memories flooded into her mind .
    Silas Compton stood over her with a welcoming smile on his face as if she’d be happy to see him . Another man, someone she didn’t know, stood next to him.
    “You’re awake,” Compton said.
    Her throat was so dry , tongue like sandpaper . He held out something to drink. She shook her head violently. Can’t drink. Can’t drink. Drugs .
    Compton handed the glass to the other man. “Welcome to our world, Diana,” Compton said. “You will be happy here, I promise. You’ll be worshiped and adored.”
    H er voice, shrill in her head, scream ed and swore . She clawed a t Compton. He jumped back. The other man stepped forward holding something in his hand she couldn’t see. H e brought it forward . A hypodermic needle.
    She fought some more , but she weakened quickly . They held her down and the other man plunged the needle into her arm.
    Diana bolted upright, fully awake now , but the room spun, and she once more flopped on the bed . How did the group trick them? She and Lucier ate the same food as the others , drank the same liquids. The answer mattered little. She was locked in a room in a place she assumed she’d never leave.
    W here was Lucier? The group needed the Goddess Diana but they didn’t need a New Orleans cop who could put them all in prison. Was he already dead?
    N o, no. She couldn’t think that .
    The possibility reignited, and sorrow clashed with anger. She squeezed her eyes shut, forcing tears that crawled down her cheeks. These people couldn’t be allowed to get away with such things. S he had to stop them.
    She laughed at the brave words. Stop them? She could barely move. The fury inside her forced another attempt to rise. This time she succeeded with an extra surge of energy.
    Okay, Diana, swing your legs to the side.
    The room spun again , and the nausea returned, gathering force from deep in her belly, rising into her throat . She swallowed to stave off the sickness until she felt steady enough to get to the bathroom.
    Deep breaths. In. Out. In. Out.
    S he sat up, saw the little red light high in the wall vent not unlike the camera setup in Slater’s office. She didn’t care. If watching her gave someone a thrill, let them watch . She saluted to the red light.
    Scanning the room, she noticed clothes in the closet and a makeup case on the dresser. Everything a prisoner needed to make herself presentable. The clothes appeared to be the right size too. Compton had planned all contingencies. She checked the a rmoire for scotch.