“I’ll ask you again, what do you know of us?”
“Nothing. I swear.”
He snapped his fingers and three of those horrid black creatures appeared around her, growling and hissing, claws bared, teeth snapping.
“We can do this the easy way, or the hard way. The choice is yours.”
“I don’t know anything, I swear!” she screamed.
The hooded man looked at the creatures and nodded, but when they went to claw her, a strange blue light appeared around her body, jolting them as they tried to touch her. They screeched in pain.
The man narrowed his eyes and asked, “What are you?”
“I’m human,” Liasare cried. “Let me go! I don’t know anything.”
“Oh no. And you’re no human. I’ve been around for eons little girl and I’ve never seen any kind of reaction like that. Use the chains on her!” he ordered.
One of the creatures picked up a heavy chain and swung it at her, its thick links cutting across her hips and abdomen. Liasare screamed.
“What are you?”
“I don’t know!” she cried.
The man nodded to the creature and he swung the chain at her again, only this time it landed across her shoulders and chest, tearing into her flesh. She screamed again.
“What are you?” he asked again.
Her throat became so raw from her screams, she could barely answer. The torture worsened when the dark creature began beating the bottoms of her feet. Eventually she passed out.
She wasn’t sure how long she’d been unconscious, but the hooded man was there when she woke.
“I’m a very patient man, young lady. We can play this game for hours and hours. I won’t tire of it, but I know you will. I can already see how it has affected you. Your mind is slipping, but this is nothing compared to when I let them rape you. You’ll be left with half of your mind, and believe me, you’ll wish you didn’t even have that. So tell me. What are you and what do you know of us?” he growled.
“Go to hell you motherfucker!”
“I’m already there, and it seems you’re getting ready to join me.”
He clicked his fingers and one of the creatures was between her legs. He ripped her panties off and spread her legs apart, but Liasare’s mind snapped into place, reaching for something she knew was there, yet now knowing how to access it. He grabbed himself, intending to force himself into her when a blinding light erupted from her and threw him back, frying him in the process.
“Well, well, well. Aren’t you the interesting one? What other tricks might you have for us tonight?” He slashed his hand toward another of the creatures and he began to whip her with the chain again. She didn’t last long before everything went to black.
***
“You were supposed to keep watch over her Tak. I gave you strict orders dammit!” Jurek screamed. His face was a mask of fury as he stormed through the headquarters.
“She said she wanted to walk around the block to stretch her legs. I didn’t think anything of it!”
“You know damn well trouble follows her around like a magnet. I want all of Team One down here NOW!” Jurek yelled as he made his way to his quarters.
Moments later, twenty Praestani showed up, ready to search for Liasare.
“Jurek, do you not sense her anywhere?” Naroo asked, as she was part of Team One.
Jurek paced and ran his hand through his hair. “I sense her, yes, I feel her energy, but I can’t find her source. It’s unusual, almost as if there’s a shield blocking it. I know that’s not possible, but that’s how I’m reading it.” The room was vibrating with Jurek’s power.
His nerves were shot. He couldn’t ever remember feeling like this. Raw. Everything was intensified. His senses were his enemy now. They pained him, physically, in every way. He felt like he’d just been flayed and left bloodied and broken. His emotions were unstable and his men looked at him like he was losing it. That’s exactly what was happening to him. He was losing control of himself and only Liasare could bring that control back. He had to find her; there was no other option for him.
“How do you want to work this?” Ludo asked.
“I’m going out now, and I’ll search the area, sector by sector. I’ll take Naroo and Marik. Divide the team up into three’s and each team will do the same. We start here and work our way out, increasing our spread as we go. As soon as I feel something, anything, I’ll let you know and you come to me. Clear?”
***
Liasare awakened and found herself hanging by her shackled wrists from the ceiling. Her arms were stretched so tightly the shackles bit into her with even so much as the slightest of movement. She looked around her, trying to get the attention of someone nearby. No one was talking; the ones who were awake all had a dazed look about them and the others looked to be unconscious.
“Pssst. Hey, anyone. Can any of you hear me?” she whispered.
One girl looked her way and then looked around to make sure no one was near.
“If you talk, they’ll beat you harder and longer. So shut up,” she said harshly.
“How long have you been here?”
No one answered and everyone ignored her. Liasare lost track of time. Her arms had gone numb long ago and the ache in her shoulders had become almost unbearable. She tried to move them to relieve her pain, but it only made it worse. Her mind drifted to Jurek. She wondered if he could feel her or sense she was in pain. Her stomach, chest and shoulders throbbed incessantly. The only consolation was the fact that she was hanging took some of the pressure off her feet. Otherwise, she was sure she wouldn’t have been able to bear that pain.
Something startled her, and she jerked herself awake. She must’ve dozed off, but when she realized what had awakened her, she started shaking. The creatures came for her. Pulling the chains, she left the floor and thought her arms were being torn from their sockets. They dragged her back to the table of torture, where they chained her again.
The hooded man was there waiting for her, his red eyes glowing. Piercing pain gripped her head and she screamed, thrashing it back and forth.
“I thought that might get your attention. That was a mere demonstration of what I have in store for you today. Now, I’m going to be generous first. I’ll ask you again. What are you and what do you know of us?”
“I don’t know anything, I swear. I’m human and I don’t know what you’re talking about. Please, you have to believe me,” she begged. “If I knew anything, I’d tell you, I swear it!”
He looked at her and her head suddenly felt like it was bursting in a million pieces. She screamed and that was when he gave his creatures the order to feast. They fell upon her and began tearing into her flesh on her arms, shoulders, abdomen, thighs and Liasare screamed until she had a voice no longer.
“That’s enough. I said feast, not kill!” The creatures immediately stopped and left her writhing in agony. Liasare wanted to die, more than anything. She’d experienced pain, more than her fair share, in her life, but nothing came close to the horrific things she was dealing with now. Her sanity was slipping away, an inch at a time; she recognized if she didn’t get out of here fast, she would go insane or die. She hoped for death first.
“Are you ready to talk now or are you ready for more fun?”
Liasare opened her mouth to speak but only blood and air came out in a whistling hiss. Swallowing was impossible; talking out of the question. Her stomach felt like it was split wide open; her arms felt like acid had been poured on them. Her vision was fading. Is this what it felt like to die, she wondered? She always heard death wasn’t painful, so maybe her pain would end soon.
“No? Not ready then I see.”
The creatures were back again, ripping her to shreds. Her arms and legs, everywhere on her body was open season. They didn’t touch her neck though, so a small part of her mind recognized that they weren’t going to kill her yet. Thankfully, darkness claimed her mind again, bringing her temporary peace.
Lias
are was hanging from the chains again, only this time, her head lolled for she didn’t have the strength to hold it up. Blood was dripping everywhere from her torn and shredded flesh. Muscles and bones were visible on her arms and legs, but she didn’t dare look at her stomach for fear of what she would see. Even if she had been able to, she doubted she could have withstood touching herself. She wondered if she would survive another trip to that table. She doubted it.
Jurek, where are you? If you can hear me, please come and get me out of here. I can’t live through another day of this.
***
Jurek’s energy form streaked throughout the city for the next two days without stopping. He could feel her; he knew she was near, yet he couldn’t pinpoint her location. By this time, Team One had ruled out half of the city with Jurek’s directives. He knew where she wasn’t. He could feel her pulse of energy, but he began to become frantic as it started to weaken on the third day.
“We don’t have much time left. She’s becoming very weak.”
“Jurek, I have an idea,” Naroo said. “Can we link our power together and send out a beam, using your sense to guide it? Maybe with the increase in strength, it can hone in on her source better.”
“I’ll try anything at this point.” His weariness was taking over his ability to think clearly, but he knew if they didn’t find her within the next few hours, she would not survive.
Jurek summoned the team to their headquarters and that’s exactly what they did. He felt her presence shortly after that and gave the command to follow him.
Ten Praestani arrived at an old mansion about thirty miles south of Center City. In the basement of the house, they found Liasare, chained to a table, naked and barely alive. Jurek’s power erupted from him and almost singlehandedly destroyed everything in the place before Naroo could get him calm enough to go to Liasare.
His heart cracked into a million pieces when he saw her shackled to that table. He screamed in agony when he saw the ragged and torn flesh of her beautiful body. His body was betraying him by becoming physically ill as he looked at her. Knowing he had no time for that, he forced his nausea back and swallowed the acid that was threatening to explode from his stomach. Suddenly his cheeks began to feel cold and he moved his hand to touch his face. He was surprised when his fingers touched moisture, for he never realized tears were raining from his eyes. Forcing himself to remain steady, he reined in his anguish and approached her with tenderness.
“Liasare, I’m here. You’re going to be fine. We’ve got you now,” he bent his head and gently rubbed his cheek against hers. Her body was so ravaged by what had been done to her, he was afraid to touch her for fear of causing pain.
“Jurek,” she whispered. A mixture of blood and foam bubbled out of her mouth as she spoke. Her chest rattled as she tried to breathe. “Please take me out of here. I want to feel the sunshine warm my face one more time before I die. I don’t want to die in this hell. Please take me in the sun,” she begged, in a broken, garbled whisper he could barely hear or understand.
Wiping the blood off her lips with his fingers, he said, “I’m not going to let you die. Do you hear me?” His voice croaked and his throat was thick with fear. Her life force was seeping out of her and he knew he didn’t have much time.
“It’s not your choice. I can’t see or feel anything. They say dying doesn’t hurt and the pain is gone Jurek. Please get me away from this place,” she rasped, the words jumbled and so quiet Jurek had to strain to hear.
His energy popped the bindings that held her ankles and wrists, and he lifted her in his arms. “We’re going now, but I’ll not let you die,” his gut tightened in fear for he hoped like hell he was right.
“Tak, Naroo, I need you on Lare-Stell, stat!” he yelled as he flashed them to the space station.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Liasare was unconscious, lying on the table on Lare-Stell with Jurek, Naroo and Tak standing around her.
“Jurek, are you crazy? Do you have any idea what you are about to do?”
“Stop asking such foolish questions. Of course I know. I have no other choice. If I don’t do this she will die.”
“Then let her die!”
Jurek’s eyes swam with silver and his rage was palpable. Naroo, sensing a war was getting ready to break out, stepped in saying, “Tak, you forget yourself and your place. This is your ruler, your leader. You overstep your bounds!”
Tak threw a nasty look at Naroo and said, “This is none of your fucking business. I would suggest you stay out of this.”
“Excuse me! This is as much my business as it is yours. While Jurek is your friend, he is first and foremost your ruler, and if you cannot follow his orders, get the hell out of here now!”
Jurek nodded toward Naroo and turned to Tak saying, “She’s right. If you refuse to do this, than get the fuck out of here Tak.”
“You’re making a mistake. What if she doesn’t want the responsibility?” he countered.
“It doesn’t matter. As I said, there is no choice.”
Tak stared at Jurek and at last he said, “You love her. You’re in love with the human, aren’t you?”
“That isn’t your concern. Will you help or not? If not, get the fuck out of here because we are running out of time.”
Jurek looked at Naroo and asked, “Are you ready?”
She nodded. They all looked at Tak and he said, “Yes, I’m ready.”
Two hours later, Liasare was in her old quarters on Lare-Stell, sleeping, recovering from the healing process her body had just experienced. Jurek was also sleeping as was Naroo and Tak. The healing of Liasare had taken its toll on all of them so they would need at least two days of sleep to fully recover.
***
Liasare felt strange when she opened her eyes. It wasn’t anything she could name, she just felt different. Her mind was fuzzy and she tried to recall what had happened. Did she have too much to drink the night before? Her tongue felt like sandpaper and her head hurt. She sat up and a wave of dizziness smacked her in the face, sending her straight back to her pillow, moaning. Someone rushed to her side.
“My lady, may I assist you with something?” a musical voice asked.
“Argh, I feel terrible,” Liasare groaned. “What happened? My head is killing me.”
“It is the effects of the healing.” The woman glided out of the room and returned with a cool cloth scented with herbs of some sort. She placed it on Liasare’s forehead, and soon its effects began to drift over her.
“Ahhh, that feels so nice,” she sighed. “May I please have something to drink?”
The woman handed her a glass of iced lemon water, which Liasare guzzled down.
“Where am I?”
“You are on Lare-Stell my lady. My lord will be here shortly.”
“Why am I here?”
“I am not at liberty to speak my lady. My lord will answer your questions.”
Liasare’s mind was churning with questions, but her eyes were so heavy, she drifted off to sleep again. When she awoke later that day, she found Jurek sitting by her side.
“What the hell did I drink last night? This is one horrible hangover.”
Jurek wiped the dampness from her forehead and gave her a half smile. “Your memory will return in a few hours, and I’m afraid you’ll wish it hadn’t.”
She reached for his arm and laid her hand on it. “What happened?”
He looked about her tiny room, and suddenly asked, “Are you hungry?”
“Oh no. That bad, huh? I know your diversion tactics, Jurek. Tell me.”
Jurek leaned forward, resting his arm on his legs. He briefly looked at her and then rubbed the back of his neck. Her stomach was instantly filled with twisting knots. She recognized this action of his, because it was something he did when he was troubled. “You were held captive. Does that ring a bell?”
Her eyes narrowed, as the wheels spun in her mind. “Held captive? I don’t remember anything, but my head is killing me.”<
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He sat next to her and grabbed her hands. He began sliding his thumbs back and forth across her knuckles. “The memories will come back Liasare, and you won’t like it. I wish I could stop them but I can’t. We couldn’t find you for three days.”
“Three days? I was gone for three days?” She furrowed her brow, trying to remember.
Jurek nodded. “I thought I was going to lose you.” That’s when she noticed his haggard appearance. The lines around his eyes that hadn’t been there before. His unshaven face, his uncombed hair. He’d always had a sort of wild look about him, but never stressed. And he looked totally frazzled now.
She sat up but was assailed by a wave of dizziness again. She put a hand to her head and tried to steady herself.
“Whoa, what are you doing?” Jurek halted her with his hand.
“I really need to pee. I have to get up.”
“Well, then, let me help you.” He lifted her up and set her on her feet, but she let out a yelp and would’ve fallen if he hadn’t been holding her.
“Ahh, my feet,” she screamed. He set her down on the bed and lifted her feet and the bottoms were a mass of black bruises. Jurek’s anger immediately consumed him as Liasare rolled to her side, pulling her feet close to her body.
The memories rushed in then, assaulting her mind like a torrent and she began hyperventilating. She was lost to them, back in that evil dungeon, filled with monsters as they ripped her apart. Her eyes filled with terror and her hoarse whimpers echoed in the room as she frantically scrambled off the bed, seeking a safe place to hide. There was none, so she ended up huddled in the corner, tucked into a tight ball, trembling.
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