A Few More Questions

Overheard Voices

Mercy flinched at the momentous rage her father was pouring into his words as he whispered then not so quietly to the figure. His words travelled into ears for whom the comments were not intended, and Mercy fully regretted listening in.
"You mustn't take her, I beg of you!" She heard her father retort to the previous mumbles of the man sat opposite him.
"It is my decision", came a uniquely indescribable voice, with no set tone, "we agreed twelve years, and I even granted you a month on top of this. You cannot keep her forever."
"AGH!" her father exploded with rage, causing Mercy to wince one more. "I refuse to let you take her. She is mine."
"Her powers are growing too strong for you. She will kill you if she stays any longer. We agreed." Came a calm and bone chilling response.
"That was then and this is now. I told you. I. Refuse." Her father spat back, his strained voice barely contained to a whisper.
"then I shall have to take the girl by force." There was no emotion in his tone, the man sounded almost robotic.
Mercy had to stifle a distressed gasp by biting on her arm, leaving a perfect set of red marks when she started to scramble back up the stairs. Cowered scared in her bedroom, her door was locked and a chair against the handle.
The footsteps up the stairs were heavy and evenly timed. Mercy counted each of them, her fear growing as the numbers increased. One... taking a few steps back, She did her best to keep away from the door. Two... The steps where rhythmically timed, precise. Three... They had a purpose. They were meaningful and fear provoking. Four... Mercy had taken to counting the beats between each step. Five... so far, there were always 10 beats between each step. Six... That meant that Mercy, knowing the number of steps, knew that she had only 40 beats left. Seven... she had just lost a quarter of her time paralysed by the terror of the man of darkness. Eight... The room was small and with little furnishings, providing Mercy with no protection against her captor. Nine... she held her breath. This was it. This was she end.