The Fifth: Darkness series

by K. D Rawlingson

  His eyes were as black as night, not as in his pupils were just really dilated, his whole eye was jet black. Like a shark's eyes, there was no warmth, no depth, they were just dead looking. It wasn't like when I'd seen the others with the red eyes, there were glowing and scary, but if you looked hard enough you could see the person's eyes underneath. Their eyes reminded me of how when you put a torch under your hand and it makes your skin glow red.

  This man on the sofa was no ordinary man, sat down wanting to have a little chat. Looking into his eyes was as if I was staring at pure evil.

  His lips curled up into a twisted smile when he saw me enter the room and confirm my thoughts about him. My body visibly shuddered of its own accord letting him know exactly what I didn't want him to know; he’d freaked me the fuck out. Fear washed over me. I had no idea what this man wanted from me but in no way shape or form did I think it would be good. I was under no illusions I would be leaving this room as a shiny happy person.

  Cass led me to the centre of the room and presented me to the man sat there, she then bowed her head

  "As you requested Master," she said before turning and leaving the way we'd come.

  Up until now, the Greek looking demon-man hadn't said a thing, He hadn't even acknowledged Cass's words his black eyes had stayed fixed on mine.

  "So, rumor has it you are the thing that is supposed to end our ruling." The man bellowed out in a voice that held a tone of laughter as if I were nothing more than a joke. And at this point I pretty much was. He started talking but I wasn't sure if it was to me or more to himself.

  "You, some tiny little human girl. You are what they left to defend against the might of me and my brothers. You are the one legend has foretold as the Great and Mighty Fifth, born in all four".

  He actually laughed this time rising to his feet while in the same motion slapping me around the head. I didn't know what was with these fuckers hitting me in the head every time but I was getting pretty damn sick of it. I wondered what the hell born in all four was supposed to mean?

  I spat the blood from my mouth from biting my tongue from being hit to the floor, while the man began circling me. After several passes around, he stopped right behind me and trailed a finger down my neck whispering in my ear

  "I will see how strong you are little human." It was said in a way that oozed evil intent but with a tone of unmistakable glee added in and I knew whatever he planned on doing to me, he would enjoy. He roughly pulled me to my feet and started dragging me towards the end of the room. A single chain hung from the ceiling, I hadn’t noticed before. I had a pretty good idea what was going to happen once I got there so, fought like hell to get away or at least not make it easy.

  The Greek looking demon guy grabbed my shackled wrists and connected it to the chain hanging from the beams. He lifted and maneuvered me as if I weighed nothing, even with all the struggling, it made no difference to him.

  When he had secured the pins that would hold me in place, he stood back to look at me all the while that wicked smirk had not left his face.

  A black whip appeared in his hand as if he had just conjured it from the air. I wondered where and how he had just done that but the more pressing matter was what he was going to do with it. Having no prior knowledge of whips or any type of BDSM. Ryan was a vanilla guy who liked it just us. No naughty box under the bed, we had, of course, tried a few things never anything that heavy and so, I had no idea or reference as to what kind of whip it was, but wasn't stupid I knew it was going to hurt like hell, it had about ten long leathery whipping parts to it. I was in no doubt, it was a mean mother fucker.

  I was strung up like a dead animal in the slaughterhouse, my feet were barely touching the floor and as a result, my arms were taking most of the strain. I tried with every muscle in my body not to show how much I was shitting myself right now, but I don't think it worked.

  "Now little human there are a few things we are going to get straight before we start today and if I were you I'd listen up. Firstly, you are MY pet now and I'm your Master."

  The guy hadn’t even given me a chance to answer before he struck me with the whip across my back. The pain raced through my body as if my skin had been ripped open in several parts all at once. I screamed out in pain. He laughed at my pain and began taunting me by caressing the whip along my body

  “Now, I know it might take a bit of training, it always does but soon you will learn and if you’re a really good pet I might even protect you and allow you to live when my brothers try to steal you away from me. Which they will, once I tell them I have you. They, didn’t even believe you existed, but I did. As soon as I was freed I put the word out, offered a nice juicy reward for anyone that captured a girl with a star mark on them.”

  Again, he slashed the whip across my back, while continuing to tell me how I would serve him and only him. I would behave. Do as I’m told, just like all his other pets.

  In the end, I could no longer hear anything he said over my own painful screams. The demon man hit me with the whip over and over again. He didn't just target one area, he let loose over my head, stomach and back, I tried to use my arms to protect my face but dangling from the ceiling like a fucking piñata I had no hope.

  When he grabbed my face, told me that I better be listening to him and then smiled like it was the most normal thing to tie a person up and whip them to death. I tried to listen to the rest of what he was saying and pay attention hoping it would be enough to get him to lay off me but it was hard to concentrate on him droning on about worshiping him when I was being slashed to pieces.

  My whole body felt as if it was on fire, I’m pretty sure I’d pissed myself after the fifth or sixth hit. I had begged and pleaded that I hadn’t done anything, wasn’t going to do anything, and asked what he wanted from me? All he’d done was laugh in reply and went back to droning on about him being the Master and I would become his faithful pet. It became clear that he was talking to himself as much as he was to me. He danced around my body gleefully slashing away as if my skin was wrapping paper he needed to strip off to get to the present underneath.

  After about the eleventh hit my body did what it was becoming pretty custom to and passed out from pain. I’m sure I started to dream I was at the beach as I could hear waves sloshing on the sand, I could feel the heat of the sun on my face and the wind blowing through my hair, the serine, peaceful feeling I was beginning to feel was ripped away when I was jolted awake by something slapping my cheek. Blood dripped to the floor from both my face and the whip.

  “Now, now I will not have you passing out while I’m training you” came the sinister voice of the Guy slashing me to pieces.

  "Please" I begged or gargled as I wasn't sure if what I was saying was even comprehensible anymore.

  "Please let me go, I haven't done anything to you".

  He traced a finger down one of the slashes on my face causing me to cry out again and more blood to seep out and slide down my cheek, his black eyes seem to glaze over a second when he took the bloodied finger and placed it in his mouth. He lent his body so it was touching mine but he was at least a foot taller than me so had to bend down to whisper in my ear “No my pet you haven’t and you won’t once I’ve finished training you”.

  I could see and feel the fucker was getting turned on by my pain or maybe the blood he’d just tasted and it made my stomach churn but it was the first time the guy had answered me directly and so I jumped on the opportunity to maybe get some answers.

  “What do you want from me?” I asked

  He began circling my body again prodding at the open wounds. Several times I heard the intake of breath after he’d tasted my blood

  "Tut, tut," he said from behind me "This is not how it works my little pet"

  I felt the air whoosh past me as he lifted his arm to strike me again. I tried to brace for the blow, knowing it was coming but it didn’t work. He struck me right across the lower back and arse. I screamed in pain, parts of the whip had caught previ
ous hits and at first felt like they were on fire but with the repeated blows the skin had torn and I was in agony.

  “WHAT DO YOU WANT” I screamed in pain and frustration. The demon guy shook his head and the tips of his lips turned up into an evil grin as he swung the whip down on my head and side of my face, again.

  Tears streamed down my face mixing with the blood and into my mouth. I hadn't done anything in my life to deserve this. I was a normal wife and mother that's all. Demon guy didn't care about that, he roughly grabbed my chin forcing another gargled scream out of me forcing me to look at him in his dead eyes. "

  I can do this all night if you wish” he chuckled and the evil smirk returned to his face. He walked behind me and began stroking my hair.

  “Now, I don’t want to do that my pet but you will learn the first lesson tonight”

  His words fell off his tongue like honey. All sweet sounding but I could hear the menace in them.

  A thought suddenly occurred to me what he was asking without asking? He had been droning on about how I was his pet and he was my Master the moment I had got in here. He had tied me up, tortured me with that fucking whip and all I'd heard so far was how I would serve him. Would it really be as simple as calling him Master for this to stop? At this point, I was far beyond being brave or tough and knew I couldn't take much more of this.

  “Please Master” I begged trying to sound as small and as subservient as I could. “Please let me go”

  I heard a sharp intake of breath followed by a sinister snicker.

  “Ah, little pet you are learning, I hoped this was going to take longer.”

  From behind me, he slid the handle of the whip in between my thighs until it reached my crotch. When I didn't move, he pressed harder with the whip while leaning in and licking the blood that had dripped from my head onto my neck. I wanted to kick and scream, to fling myself around like one of those aerial silk artists at the circus to get him off me, but somehow, I knew he wanted that, wanted me to show that I was only pretending to serve him. So, I closed my eyes and stayed as still as I could.

  “You taste so good my pet.”

  His breathing was becoming heavier and he had a guttural tone when he next spoke

  “I bet you would taste even better with me inside you”

  I couldn’t think of anything more terrifying but didn’t say a word hoping, praying he wouldn’t.

  “Umm, maybe tomorrow I will have that pleasure.”

  Thankfully he released his grip on me removed the whip handle from my crotch and returned so we were facing each other. Somehow in replace of the whip, in his hand, he held another iron chain with a single looped shackle attached to it. He opened it up and fastened it around my neck. He then released the cuffs at my feet, when he removed the ones from my wrist I fell to the floor like a lump of shit.

  I didn't have long to lay there before The Master was yanking on the chain around my neck, like a dog on a lead. I knew if I didn't try and get up he would just drag me along the floor so I tried to stand, I really did but with the way, I'd been hanging and the fact I'd just been barbarically tortured I was having a real hard time. Pain seared through my body my bottom half fared better than the top but only marginally.

  When I couldn't get up, the Master began dragging me as I suspected he would, the collar around my neck dug into the already slashed skin caused by the whip. I couldn't help but yelp in pain sounding much like a hurt leashed up animal I was feeling like.

  The Master finally stopped pulling and I felt the chain around my neck slack.

  “Take her back to her room”

  I looked up to see Cass had entered the room and was stood at the top of the stairs. I didn't know how long she had stood there but was glad to see her, hopefully, that meant the Master was done with me at least for tonight.

  The Master turned to me with that wicked smirk on his face and said in that gleeful tone

  “I will see you tomorrow my pet for lesson number 2. You are going to behave until then, aren't you?"

  He looked down at me expectantly and I knew he wanted to hear me utter the words again.

  Wanting this to be over as quick as possible I bowed my head and whispered the words as best I could “Yes Master.”

  He laughed as he passed the chain over to Cass and strode away. I looked at Cass and then turned to look back at the Master and he was gone!

  I scanned the room from my vantage point on the floor but could see no sign of him, he had just vanished. Having no idea where he’d gone or how he’d left, I breathed a sigh of relief and thought I’d worry about that later. Right now, as much as I hated the thought, I just wanted to lie down on the dingy old mattress.

  Chapter 18:

  Cass helped me back to my cell, for being so old and looking so frail she had enough strength in her to take most of my weight plus the chain that she held on to. On the way back, I’d tried to talk to her, pleaded to be let go but, she had just hushed me quite and as the few words I’d uttered had hurt so much and I’m not even sure were comprehendible I followed her advice and shut up, allowing myself to just concentrate on walking.

  Cass opened the door to my cell and the candle I had hidden under the mattress was alight next to it. Every slice and cut hurt, pain radiated throughout my body so, for about 3 seconds I was glad to be there, to rest and let my body heal. That was until the metal loop flickering in the candlelight caught my eye, it was attached to the wall above my mattress. The thought suddenly dawned on me that if, when I next woke up my body had healed itself and it would have, after all, every time I had cut or injured myself since the day of the earthquake, I had awoken to find I had been miraculously healed. I was starting to admit there was no doubting that at least part of me being magical was true. The Master would be able to repeatedly torture me over and over again. My vision of Sol screaming in the most agonising pain would come to be and I would have no way to save him. Time seemed to slow as my heart rate quickened. A darkness descended over me. Despair and complete helplessness threatened to drown me. It would be so easy to just fall in line, let it take me and maybe if it was just me I would have. Sol’s screams echoed in my ears again and I refused to let that be his fate as well as mine.

  It was too much something inside me snapped I felt it happen. It was as if something inside my head, heart, and soul just imploded and I stopped dead in my tracks not moving a muscle neither in the room or out, Cass's hold on me grew stronger and less nurturing, her bony fingers dug into the cuts on my arm as she tried to lead me toward the mattress and metal loop. I became rooted to the spot as if the stone floor and myself had become one and no matter how much Cass tried, I didn't budge.

  "Cass let me go," I said trying to reason with her.

  “Sadie don’t be silly dear you told the Master you would behave so I suggest you do, look at you, I don’t want it to be any harder for you than it has to be”.

  It was the most Cass had spoken since I had arrived here and even though she had said the words like a little old lady concerned about my welfare, I couldn’t help but notice the warmth didn’t mirror in her face, touch or body language. Her fingers were now digging in so tight around my arms blood was seeping through her fingers and onto the floor. She was strong for her size and age but somehow, I stayed exactly where I was in the doorway.

  I could feel a burning sensation that had taken resident inside my chest, I’m wasn’t sure if it was due to the lashes I’d taken as it was a feeling bubbling up from the inside rather than the outside of my body. It was if the sight of the metal ring or the thought of Sol going through what I just had, awoke the burning but either way I felt like I was cooking from the inside out.

  My vision was becoming hazy and just when I thought I was going to pass out yet again my head cleared and the burning stopped. The candlelit cell in front of me suddenly glowed brightly for a second and then a thunderous sound boomed in right behind it. Rain abruptly poured from the sky as if the heavens had just opened up. The droplets s
ounded more like millions of tiny hammers dropping from the sky as it hit the conned roof.

  The room flashed again as another streak of lightning shot across the sky followed by another loud crash of thunder. A storm had picked up and sounded like it wasn't taking any prisoners. The same feeling resonated throughout my body, it felt as if the storm was emulating my emotions. I knew if I let Cass chain me to the wall than I would have no hope of escape. After my time, upstairs with The Master tonight I already feared a repeat performance, it would be only a matter of time before my vision of Sol screaming the same way I had, would come true and there was no way I was letting that happen.

  My voice became hard as if it wasn't even me speaking

  “Cass, I really don’t want to hurt you but I am leaving this place now. You can either come with me or stay here.”

  I stood dead still waiting for an answer. She ignored my question and continued to try and pry me from my spot, still, Cass was unable to move me. I had no idea where this strength was coming from especially as I had just been beaten half to death and moments ago had needed a little old lady to support me. Somehow, unexpectedly the tables had turned and I was becoming the pillar of strength. I was sure my body was starting to heal itself and as I stood there I could feel the steady trickle of blood that had been dripping through my eyelashes stop and the smaller of the gashes start to knit back together.

  It was the strangest feeling, a soothing tingling sensation everywhere that was injured. I closed my eyes for a second and blocked out the incessant Cass, pulling on my arm trying to move from my place at the doorway and tried to figure out this amazing thing, I was suddenly feeling. I knew it wasn’t something to be afraid of and was coming to the harsh reality that it was something to do with me being this Fifth but what? Was this my magic finally opening up? Had I freed it? Could I use it? I opened my eyes and Cass looked livid, her face was red from straining to move me.