Chapter 7
Altair
I felt wrong. The scents around me were wrong. Everything was very, very wrong.
I gasped, sitting up in a dark and foreign room. I remembered the poison. Was I dead? No, I could feel the ache in my body from the poison they’d fed me. If I’d been dead, I likely wouldn’t have felt anything right now.
I quickly scanned the small room. I was definitely in a house, and surprisingly, not a basement.
I went to stand and both heard and felt the thick chain on my ankle.
Fuck. They’d chained me to the floor. I inspected the chain and it seemed long enough to allow me full movement inside the room.
It had a bucket, and once I realized what that meant, my mood soured further.
They meant to keep me here for a long time, it seemed.
I hugged my arms around my middle, protecting myself as much as possible from my uncertain future here. I had no powers and now I had no Tino, either.
The tears began and I welcomed them. I needed to mourn everything that had happened. No way would the others find me in time. I had the locket, I could feel it around my neck, hidden underneath my shirt, exactly where I’d left it.
I gasped, remembering I hadn’t deactivated it or whatever Silver had said I should do when we found Tino.
I pulled it out and sobbed in relief. It had a glow.
I could find my way to Tino! I just had to figure out a way to get out of here and escape.
The ones that took me likely couldn’t find me since I had no magic on my own, I hoped that was the case at least. Then I just needed to escape and then I’d be free.
Noise from outside the room startled me, and I quickly lay back down and pretended to sleep. I wasn’t ready to face those monsters yet. They’d taken me from Tino. They were my biggest enemies along with the leaders.
I heard the door banging open and flinched slightly from the noise before I could remember myself.
“You told me he was awake!” a man grunted and it sounded like he’d slapped someone.
“I heard the chains!” another man said defensively.
“He’s right where we left him, you idiot!” Then the door banged shut again, allowing me to breathe easier. I kept still for another few minutes, not daring to open my eyes in case it had been a trick and they were, in fact, still in the room watching me.
From outside I could hear a door open and then banging shut again.
Likely the front door from the way the door to my prison rattled.
Muddled voices carried from outside, there was yelling and then, to my horror, screaming.
It started out with two men yelling, but then in seconds it sounded like several people were being tortured outside.
I dared a look at my locket, hoping no one was in here with me, and when it glowed the same as before I released a breath.
It wasn’t the others, they were still safe wherever they were.
The screaming intensified and I whimpered as I lay there on the floor, unable to stop the screams from entering my ears. I feared I was next, and that whoever had started whatever it was outside, knew I was here. Wanted me for something.
“He’s likely upstairs,” a woman’s voice spoke with conviction, like a leader. I forced myself into an even tighter ball, hoping it would make me disappear.
The door banged open.
“I found him!” she yelled out.
I held my breath and got ready to face my death.