The Sanguine Door

by Genevieve Grey

  I had to get a grip. Revenge needed me to be cold and calculated, not hysterical. I drew in deep, shuddering breaths until the urge to vomit had passed. No doubt the confinement would compound the effects of the collar and I had to stay sane long enough to extract my punishment.

  When would the torture begin?

  It seemed as if Judas didn’t know that I had struck a deal with the Elect, and they would never admit to actively working with a Blood Mage. At least it explained his odd behaviour. I took solace in the fact that the rebellion would continue its mission without me. I would no longer pose a risk to their operation. This was what I had wanted, to surrender myself, to save my friends, and protect Luka’s sister. Hadn’t I? Judas had just beat me to it.

  My choice had been taken from me and Rosie had been murdered. Seething anger burned through me, chasing away the panic. No longer would I be an unwilling passenger in my life. My next decision would be mine alone. For Rosie, for me.

  The Elect would not break me.

  I needed focus. How long had I been unconscious for? There was no daylight and I couldn’t even roughly gauge the time. I might have been unconscious for minutes or for days. The spell I had been hit with was strong. I still felt the groggy after-effects. I hobbled along and inspected every square inch of my tiny cell. In the back corner was a soft spot in one of the bricks about the size of my palm. But there were no other weaknesses. Sitting back on the mattress, my mind was filled with images that I had long since forgotten. It seemed my nightmares were coming back to haunt me.

  Eventually I heard a door open. I rushed to press my face to the bars. Two heavily-armed enforcers strode down the hall toward my cell. I shifted my features into a menacing snarl. The woman was holding a small roll of bread and a soft satchel of water. My mouth was dry and I had never been more hungry. My stomach growled in protest. Without a word, one of the guards tossed the bread and water into my cell and turned on their heels to leave.

  I was tempted to yell after them, but I wouldn’t show any weakness. When the door had closed I scrambled to retrieve the bread and water. In the rational portion of my brain I knew that I needed to save the rations. I didn’t know when I would be getting my next meal, but my stomach didn’t care when my next meal was, it was only concerned with the present. The hard, dry bread was gone much too quickly.

  I took a sip of the water and hid the half-full container under my pillow. It took all my willpower not to guzzle it. Judging by how thirsty I was, it was likely I had been unconscious for quite some time. I retrieved a small stone from the dirty floor and scratched a mark into one of the bricks before crawling back onto the hard mattress. If I couldn’t keep track of the days, my mind would turn to mush. I laid down and closed my eyes.

  Would they move me to one of the Blood Mage camps that Luka was so terrified of? Or would they leave me in the cells? The thoughts swirled around my mind until sleep took me again.

  Luka grinned at me, his platinum eyes lighting up. His smile was infectious. I smiled back like a love sick puppy.

  “Is that the best you’ve got?” His stance was wide and his body slick with sweat. His shirt had been abandoned some time ago and the view of his hard muscles was distracting. We were in the sparring gym I frequented in Ka. Erin’s tinkling laugh rang through the space, it soothed my soul. She and Jax leant against padded walls, taking in our stand-off.

  I rolled my eyes at Luka, ignoring the burning pain in my lungs that demanded I stop. His fingers stretched. It was all the warning I needed. I rolled to the side, narrowly avoided a kick to the head. Luka threw it lazily and tried to jump into guard on top of me. He was too slow and I was on my feet before him. We traded blows, evenly matched, especially when I couldn’t use my Magic and Luka pulled his strikes. Eventually Luka managed to take me down and straddle my stomach. His legs locked around mine and I was trapped.

  He leant his mouth to my ear. “You need to wake up.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Wake up, Rina.”

  Frantically, I swung around looking for Erin and Jax, but they were no longer there.

  I was alone. Luka was gone.

  A terrible, keening sound filled the space.

  My hands clawed at the metal around my neck. The loss of my power was a physical pain, an insatiable gnawing hunger. My eyes flashed open and I was once again surrounded by three brick walls and a set of bars. I slammed my mouth shut, stopping the gurgling noise.

  They will not break me.

  I repeated my prayer, my lips stumbling around the silent words. A moldy loaf of bread lay at my feet along with a canister of water. The bread was hard but filled some of the emptiness in my gut. It was the first time they had delivered food since I had awoken. I marked the occasion on the bar, next to the other lines. After stuffing the food down, I began my monotonous routine. It was getting harder to ignore the burning pain that nearly brought me to my knees every time I breathed in. The circumference of the cell was exactly sixteen steps, I paced the dirt floor until I was covered in a light sweat and my bare feet hurt. My joints popped and protested as I stretched for as long as I was able. I then sat back on my mattress and attempted to meditate until I was delivered food for a second time. Then I would allow myself to sleep and begin the whole process the next day. The routine kept me from being swallowed into a pit of despair.

  My only goals were to stay sane long enough to send word to Sylvia and to take my vengeance. I would take it in any form. In the silence between meals, I heard the heavy wood door creak open. My dream had put me on edge and I was waiting to hear the now-familiar gait of the enforcers. I wondered who it would be; the fat one with the thick moustache who would aim the food at my head, or maybe the muscled woman with a thin braid who would set the food gently on the floor by my feet. There didn’t seem to be a set schedule, none that I could predict with any accuracy at least.

  Instead of the usual two sets of footsteps, I heard more. Three people? The change of routine after four long weeks made my ears prick.

  The distinctive smell of power flooded my cell, Magic I would recognise anywhere.

  It couldn’t be.

  I raced to the bars and pressed my face to peer down the hall. Immediately I recognised his confident aura and easy swagger. “Luka?” I yelled, my voice hoarse from the prolonged silence.

  He didn’t acknowledge me. Perhaps he didn’t recognise me. I was covered in filth and mud, and my Magic was being hidden by the collar. “Luka!” My words turned to a desperate scream. I reached through the bars toward him. If I could just touch him, maybe he would recognise me. I needed to know if Rosie had been found, if they had told Sylvia.

  He came for me!

  I was wrong. Judas was wrong. He hadn’t betrayed me.

  Luka stood with two guards. He was dressed in a perfectly pressed black uniform. His mahogany hair, which had grown long in our time at the compound, was now shaved close to his head. It stuck straight out. Luka’s eyes were hard, and all emotion was locked away behind their steel casing.

  He was so different, harder, more disciplined. I barely recognised him. If it wasn’t for his distinctive Magic, I might not have recognised him at all. He was the Hunter once again. What I had thought of as the real Luka was hidden away. My outstretched arm dropped. If I could just touch him, I knew the spell would break and he would grin at me. His smokey eyes met mine in the firelight. Even different as he was, the contact was like a salve to my soul. I wanted to ask him about Rosie, ask if everyone had gotten to safety, but I stayed silent.

  “She’ll be dead soon.” His voice was dismissive, his lip had curled and the disgust was plain on his face. “You better question her soon or all you’ll get is the ramblings of a mad woman.”

  Shock smashed into my chest like a blow and I stumbled back from the bars. What was he doing? “The collar will burn through her. How long has she been in here?”

  The information suddenly seemed like a lifeline. It was real, something solid t
o hang onto. The gruff looking man with salt and pepper stubble seems to think for a moment before answering.

  “Six weeks, give or take.”

  I had thought I had been in here only a month.

  “It wouldn’t surprise me if she’s hallucinating already.”

  Was I hallucinating now? I reached up to touch the collar. It was solid under my fingers. Tumultuous thoughts swirled in my head. I spun to face the back wall, my hands running through my knotted hair. This was real, wasn’t it? I was in this cell. If I turned around now would Luka still be there? Or would he disappear like he had this morning?

  What would be worse, if the Hunter was standing in front of me, arms crossed and eyes cruel, or if I was alone once again? I wanted to remember Luka as he had been in my dreams, long hair flopping over his eyes and an easy smile showcasing his perfectly-pointed teeth. My teeth bit through my bottom lip, the pain centering me. I kept my eyes closed as I spun around to face the bars once again. The unmistakable clicking of a heavy lock forced my eyes open. The Hunter was standing in the threshold, boredom plain on his features.

  This was real.

  He had betrayed me. Every word, every touch had been a lie.

  Backing up into the corner of my cell, I prepared to fend off the guards. I could most likely take the two of them, but a fight with Luka was one I wouldn’t win. It didn’t mean I wouldn’t try.

  “Careful, she’s dangerous,” he warned as the guards closed in around me. One of them had the audacity to scoff before I smashed my head into his nose. Blood poured from his face and he bowed over in pain.

  “Bitch,” he groaned.

  My right fist connected with the other guard’s jaw in an upper cut. My power was pathetic and the guard barely flinched. Instead, he grinned, showing me a row of his stained and misshapen teeth. Salt and pepper beard seemed to get over his broken nose and grabbed me around the waist before slamming me onto the floor. The air was forced from my lungs and I could smell my blood. I guessed it was from the back of my head, but the adrenaline was masking any significant pain. Without letting him get on top of me, I scrambled to get back to my feet. The other forgettable looking guard seemed to regain his senses and dove for my knees as I fought to get up.

  Luka had the audacity to laugh. I shot him an evil glare. For a moment I thought I saw the ice melt in his eyes, but I realised that it was simply a trick of the light. They smothered me using their size advantage and wound up one astride my chest and the other over my thighs. Handcuffs trapped my wrists and ankles. Instead of standing up with them, my body went limp. They would have to drag me out.

  “Get up,” salt and pepper shouted at me.

  I stuck my tongue out at him, childish as it was. My action was met with a swift slap across the face. The hot metallic taste of blood filled my mouth and I spat the mixture onto the floor.

  “Carry her,” Luka demanded. They both looked wary. Finally, the one with the plain face leant down to scoop me up. As soon as he was close enough I bit into his shoulder; hard. He reared back in pain.

  “Stupid cow!” he screamed.

  His blood filled my mouth and I let it dribble down my chin as I eyed salt and pepper. I was ready to headbutt him again if he got too close. He didn’t seem to want his nose smashed again because he stayed back.

  “Oh seven hells.” Luka strode over to me, his granite eyes met mine. In a flash, he unsheathed a dagger and held it to my neck.

  “If you bite me, you’ll regret it.” His voice was low and dangerous. The knife should have stung against the skin on my neck but my body was numb to anything but the pain of his betrayal. I searched his grey eyes for any signs of familiarity but found none.

  I pressed toward the sharpened edge of the blade and let it bite deeper into my skin. My blood ran warm against my neck as it trickled down my front. His gaze was steady and he didn’t flinch at the wound. His once-beautiful eyes now seemed too angular and sharp. There was nothing but burning hatred within them. Trembling, I tipped my chin further into the sharpened edge, tempting him to end my suffering, half hoping he would.

  He seemed to take delight in my pain.

  I kept my mouth closed as he scooped me up roughly under the arms. Luka begun to drag me from the cell. I knew I didn’t want to go wherever they were taking me. My legs kicked violently and I began screaming as loud as my damaged voice would go. The two guards seemed to follow his lead and grabbed my feet. Luka completely ignored my struggles. He looked as serene as if he were walking a dog. They took me deeper into the confines of the underground prison. The ground eventually started to slope and I had the impression that the cells down here were much worse than mine.

  We stopped in front of a large steel door. Luka swiped a pass on an electronic scanner and the door unlocked. They carried me into a dark room, the air seemed to turn colder. Goose bumps raised on my skin. The guards dropped my feet and flicked on the fluorescence light. The room was larger than my cell, but not by much. A reclined chair sat in the middle of the room. It came straight from my nightmares. The walls were adorned with various devices of torture, I tried not to look at any of them too closely.

  Luka released my arms and I fell to the ground, he wiped his hands as he moved back toward the door.

  “I’ll get Louis.”

  “You don’t want to stay and watch?” I taunted him, licking my lips.

  He didn’t spare me a glance. Instead he shut the door without turning around.

  The two guards had wrestled me onto the chair and now secured my hands and feet. Both of the guards were considerably more bruised and bloodied than when they first entered the room. It wasn’t as satisfying as I would have liked. We waited in silence for whoever Luka had gone to get. I doubted very much I would like the next person who walked through the door. I kept my face blank. No need to let them see how terrified I was.

  Finally the door clicked open.

  The figure that walked in could have been a man or a woman. They were tall and lithe, and their features were distinctively androgynous. When they turned their head, a thin dark pony tail was secured at the back of their head. They stared at me, bored, as if seeing a person strapped to the chair was nothing to phone home about.

  “Hello, Arina.” The voice was bland and monotonous. It made me question whether or not they had a soul. I guessed it had been destroyed by the Elect long ago. “I’m here to ask you a few questions.”

  The original two guards seemed to shrink away from the person, as soon as they walked over to me, the guards fled to stand by the door. I schooled my features into ones of serenity. They would not break me. If nothing came from my mouth, there would be nothing that could betray my friends. No doubt Luka and Judas had told them everything, I wouldn’t be corroborating their information.

  My breathing slowed, as I focused as Stella had taught me. I imagined my non-existent power forming a contained golden orb, I could almost feel the glorious burn as it chased away the icy terror in my veins. My eyes closed and my brain filled with memories of power rushing through my body. I longed for my Magic.

  “Where has the rebellion moved too?”

  Maybe Luka hadn’t told them everything. My lips stayed sealed and I tried to remember the faces of my friends back in the compound. Davis, with his kind eyes and his single minded pursuit to breaking the enchantment on my collar.

  A dark cloth was stuffed into my mouth and placed over my face. I tilted backwards.

  I thought of Stella, with her intense eyes who I had once thought of as crazed. She had spent hours selflessly teaching me not to fear my Magic. She had made me a stronger, better version of myself. Frigid water flowed, in my mouth, my nose and all over my face. I held my breath as long as I could, but eventually I was forced to breathe. I was drowning. Sheer panic overtook me. The stiff leather of the restraints bit into my skin as I thrashed.

  I struggled to bring up memories of Loral in his messy potion room. His zest for life which entered the room before he did.

&nb
sp; Water dripped unrestrained into my lungs. I couldn’t breathe! The freezing cold I had initially felt was now completely gone. A wave of heat filled me and my heart begun to beat in frantic panic. The urgency for air was overwhelming. The water stopped.

  I lurched forward and threw up in my lap. Water and bile mixed with my already putrid smell.

  Louis asked me another question, but I couldn’t hear it over my hacking coughs. The rest of the water was splashed over my chest and body. I began violently shivering, my muscles ached and cramped. Surely, I had never been so cold.

  “Where are the other Blood Mages living?” The woman demanded. “You can’t be alone. Where are the others?”

  I didn’t dare open my eyes, less tears begin to escape. The chair was tilted backwards again and the cloth stuffed back into my mouth.

  I thought of Loral bringing me unapproved food when he knew I was miserable. He had picked me up bounty after bounty without a complaint. My lungs filled with water—they burned. It wasn’t the sweet feeling of my Magic, but one that would break me if it went on for too long. I imagined Lucia, her never changing appearance through the years and the tough love she had shown me through my childhood. It was the affection of an immortal. If I had stayed with her none of this would have happened.

  Surely, I had never been as close to death. Every inch of my body screamed for oxygen. Finally, after what felt like hours, the water stopped and the cloth was removed. I ripped air into my lungs. My throat stung with sweet relief. Violent retches tore through me and more water expelled from my body. If I started talking now, I wouldn’t stop. I would tell her everything I thought she wanted to know and more. Even if I didn’t know the answers. I was never meant to be a martyr, I was a mercenary. Not long ago I would have said anything to have the pain stop, but there were people who were more important to me than myself. Those people needed me. The thought steeled me.

  I opened my eyes. Louis had a sadistic smile plastered to her face as she weighted a hefty hammer in her hand.

  I needed to protect those people. That was my choice and it would not be taken away from me.