House of the Damned

The Second Punishment

Eleven

The Second Punishment

I still have about an hour before I have to get up, so I decide to head downstairs and get something to eat. I pause on the stairway when I hear Venus’s voice coming from the kitchen. I shudder at the icy tone it has taken on since I spoke with her earlier.

“…need to talk to him, Michael. Stop being stubborn and help me out.” Only someone who knows her as well as I do would recognize the desperation leaking into her voice.

“I can’t,” Michael replies, with a sigh.

“You’re not going to like what happens if you don’t,” she hisses, her voice still ice cold, but the slight hint of fear still evident to my ears.

“I can’t,” he repeats.

She sighs, but I can practically hear the smile in her voice as she says, “I warned you.”

Then she calls my name and I briefly wonder if I can make it back upstairs, get my knife and end my life before she finds me. I shake the thought from my head and continue on my way down the stairs. Venus smiles coldly at me when I walk into the kitchen.

“Cassandra, what is the punishment for disobedience?”

I sigh, knowing the answer. Of course I know the answer. “Three days without food and water.”

“And if Michael was the one being disobedient, who would face the punishment?”

“I would, Miss Venus.”

Michael pales at my statement. I think he had forgotten that I’m still being punished for his mistakes.

Venus glances over at him. “What do you say now?”

I can see the pain in his eyes as he repeats his earlier statement, “I can’t.”

“Well then, Cassandra, no food and no water for the next three days. I shall talk to you again then, Michael.”

She sweeps from the room and Michael looks over at me. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be. Not the first time this has happened and it won’t be the last.”

I really wish I had eaten last night. I shouldn’t have skipped out on dinner but that’s too late now.

“Come on, let’s go start cleaning.”

He starts to say something, but I cut him off. “If you apologize again, I will punch you. Don’t bring it up, okay?”

He nods in understanding and we go upstairs in silence. We get to work and after a long silence, Michael speaks.

“How long will it be before she starts punishing me for my mistakes?”

“It’s going to be a while, Michael. And it’s not going to be any better when she starts punishing you, because she’s going to be a lot harsher. Especially if you keep irritating her.”

“I don’t try to. I just couldn’t do what she was asking of me.”

“Whatever it was, I don’t think she’s done asking for it,” I mutter.

He sighs. “I’m afraid of that.”

I glance over at him and smile, despite the fact that I can already feel a headache coming on from skipping dinner. “Don’t worry, Michael. I’ll be fine.”

He frowns. “She can’t keep-”

“She can and she will. Just accept it.” My eyes spot something I hadn’t noticed before. “Have you always been wearing that necklace?”