by JJ King
Guards came and went, checking on me, to see if my rope still held or if I was still breathing. I counted them, six different scents, six different foot falls, six different presences that ignored my plight and did as they were bid.
I fell asleep eventually and dreamed of my friends and family, frantically searching for me in the forest under the light of the blood moon. I tried to scream, to call out that I was still alive, still fighting, but my voice was locked away in a box that I held in my hands. Voices squeezed through the cracks of the box, whispering for me to never stop, never give in.
I awoke to the glare of the sun on my face and nearly abandoned my place in the darkness when I realized that I was seeing light, not just feeling it. My eyes were healing, slowly but surely, and would recover if given the chance. Viktor would never give me that chance if he found out, but it meant that my vision was coming true. I’d be stronger soon.
I didn't flinch when the door opened, and I heard the familiar fall of Viktor's footsteps coming into the room.
"It's a beautiful day, little wolf," he said in a voice that was surprisingly chipper. "New day brings new opportunities. You surprised me, you know. I expected you to crack a long time ago but maybe there is more of me in you than I thought." He stopped next to the table, blocking out the light from the window.
I stared up at the ceiling, as I'd done for hours the day before, and refused to let him know that my sight was returning, however minutely.
Viktor ground his teeth together when I didn't respond. "I should've grabbed one of your little friends, too," he muttered. "That would get you talking."
Relief was like a warm breeze through my mind. If he was complaining about his regrets, that meant my friends and family were safe. I was surprised, though, that he hadn't taken one of them. Then again, I realized, he would've been confident enough in his skill to break anyone, to never see my silence as an option.
He sat in the chair next to the table and took a sip of something. Not coffee, I thought, I'd smell that. Water, maybe. At the thought, my mouth went incredibly dry and my tongue licked out to touch my cracked lips.
"Thirsty, are you?" Viktor asked, not moving from his seat. I heard the splash of water and the sound of his swallows. The only water I'd been given the day before had been from the bucket that had washed away the silver dust from my face. I'd held my breath most times, as the water had been filled with silver particles that, if swallowed, would attack my body from the inside. I either sated my thirst and helped my body survive, or swallowed silver and weakened myself further. It was a horrible choice, but I'd made it and now my body was healing, inch by precious inch.
"I suppose it wouldn't do to have you die of dehydration," Viktor said, pushing to his feet. He poised the water over my mouth and slowly let it drip onto my lips.
I took what he offered, not grateful, but relieved. Yes, my body was healing, but it would be a lot easier to heal if I weren’t dehydrated. Wolf metabolism meant faster healing, but it also meant an increased need for fuel and they hadn't given me anything to eat or drink since I was taken.
He pulled the water away before I could quench my thirst, then, before I could swallow the last gulp, he covered my mouth and nose and chuckled as I choked.
"I think it's time we start again, don't you? I trust you're well rested and ready for a new day." I heard him shrug out of his jacket and hang it across the back of the chair. Preparing for the new day's work of breaking me down.
I wondered if there was a point of physical pain that would draw me out of the darkness and the safety of disassociation. I wished I'd studied the topic more, but there hadn't been a reason to go more in depth at the time. Who in their right mind would foresee a future where they would be tortured and then murdered?
I heard the slap of fabric on one of the kitchen countertops and tried to imagine what new agony Viktor had in mind for me.
"That silver powder we played with yesterday was fun, wasn't it?" Viktor called out. "I brought some more fun things with me today," he added, approaching. "A whole bag of fun things, in fact. Like this." The razor-sharp edge of a silver knife sliced into my forearm and dragged from my elbow to my wrist in one slow-motion.
My nerves lit with fresh torment and I retreated further into the darkness, letting the voices surround me, protecting me with their whispers.
Viktor asked the same questions he had the day before and, when receiving the same silent answers, began to lose his temper and slice rapidly at any exposed area of my skin.
My blood flowed onto the table, surrounding me with the scent of death. From deep inside the shadows, I began to question if what I'd seen had actually been a vision of what would be, or if it was just a figment of my imagination and desperation for hope.
The sound of metal clapping together, broke through my questions.
"I think it's time we start losing parts of you," Viktor growled. "I'm getting sick and tired of the silent treatment, little wolf. Maybe this will get you talking."
He grabbed my shoulder and yanked hard enough to turn me over, exposing my hands. I realized as he pulled my fingers apart and slipped something cold and metallic over the end of my pinkie, what he was about to do. My body tried to squeeze my eyes shut even though I still had no eyelids.
The door to the room flew open, hard enough to hit the wall with a bang, and one of Viktor's minions, a tall guy from the length of his strides, hurried across the room.
"What do you want?" Viktor demanded, pausing to yell. "Can't you see I'm busy here?"
"Sorry to interrupt, Alpha," the man murmured in a low voice. "But they've caught our scent. If we don't move soon, they'll be on us."
The metal fell away from my finger and clanged to the floor. If I'd been any less detached from my body, I would've sobbed in relief. Instead, I forced myself to listen and understand what the guard was saying. The Sisterhood was looking for me and was closing in. If I could just hold on a little longer, there was a chance I wouldn't die.
Viktor roared and slammed his fist down on the table, just inches from my body, splintering its surface. The guard stayed silent while he raged, upending chairs and other furniture in the room, while I prayed and dared to hope. Maybe, just maybe, my vision wouldn't come true because it wouldn't be necessary.
When all that was left was Viktor's ragged breathing, the guard spoke. "What are your orders, sir?"
Viktor blew out a ragged breath. "We leave now."
"What about her?" the guard asked.
Yes, I thought. What about me?
Viktor laughed and the edge of insanity in his voice was more terrifying than any torture he'd already inflicted on me. "Go get everything ready. I'll take care of her."
My heart sank. The Sisterhood wouldn't find me in time. I have to trust that my vision would come true, not today, but one day. Holding onto that, I stayed calm as I was yanked around and up to my feet.
I thought he'd throw me over his shoulder and cart me off, possibly to a helicopter or private plane. I worried, for a moment, that I'd be thrown inside something dark and small, and calmed myself by remembering that I was already somewhere dark and small, inside my mind.
When I felt the tug of something on my ropes and I heard what sounded like a serrated blade cut across them, confusion filled me. Viktor was cutting my feet and hands free. The moment he let go of my hands, I crumpled to the floor, unable to stand on my own.
"Get up," Viktor growled. He reached down and grabbed my arm, wrapping his long fingers around my bruised and bleeding flesh, and pulling me roughly to my feet. "You might be the child of my brother, but there's too much of me in you to let you die on the floor like a nobody."
Shock punched through the darkness and wrapped its frigid hands around my throat. All around me the whispers turned to moans then screams that would have deafened anyone else, but I was used to them now. Or, as used to them as I could get without going completely mad.
I didn't want to die. I was too young, too new in this
life that was filled with possibilities and experiences I hadn't had the chance to share with those I loved. I couldn't leave Bash behind. My death would crush him and, by extension, Daniella. I thought of all we'd been through, the distance we'd come together, and knew it wasn't my time.
I leaned against the table, hands braced behind me as the blood flow returned to my legs and lifted my gaze toward Viktor. The morning sunlight poured into the room, illuminating him from behind so that I could see his outline. The image I'd seen in the water pushed forcefully to the front of my mind in vivid detail and I saw Viktor, through the vision, almost exactly as I saw him now.
This was it, then. This was what the voices had wanted to show me. The moment I made the connection, their screams faded, and excited murmurs took their place, like the whispers of an anxious crowd waiting for the big fight to begin.
I tilted my head to the side and looked at him, really looked at him even though my eyes were still barely functioning, as if I could see something more, beneath the surface, that I could appeal to. There was nothing there, beneath those eyes, beneath the skin that made him appear human, but actually disguised something sinister and cold. His eyes registered the change in my demeanor immediately and lit up with interest.
"Welcome back, Elena," he said with a grin that was all teeth. "You really are more like me than your father, you know."
My lips curled back. "I'm nothing like you. I would never betray my own blood like you did." I huffed in derision. "I've said it before, and I'll say it again. You don't deserve to rule."
His teeth ground together and a low growl emanated from deep in his chest. I flexed my muscles, urging the blood to resume its flow and give me back the strength I needed to fight. I needed time, but that was a commodity I didn't have. With The Sisterhood closing in, Viktor was eager to do what needed to be done, then leave.
I moved along the edge of the table, keeping my hands steady on the edge so Viktor would think I needed it to stay upright. I didn't, not anymore, but I didn't want him to know that yet. So, I moved around the table, putting distance between us, hoping that he would take that as an indication of my fear, and grow cockier than he already was. He hadn't taken any of my friends from campus because he'd been cocky. I'd use that against him, now, plus anything else I could think of.
"Where are you going, little wolf?" Viktor asked, stepping closer. His steps grew quieter but in the stark room it was impossible to hide the sound of his movement, especially now that my sight was impaired. It was true what they said, lose one sense and the others perked right up.
"Do you think I'd actually make it easy for you to murder me?" I spat the words out, letting the fury that raged in my veins flow through my question.
Viktor chuckled. "On the contrary, I was growing disappointed at how easy you were making it. This is much better." He stalked closer, coming around the other side of the table so we were separated only by a wide piece of wood and steel.
I tried to glare at him but that didn't work when you didn't have eyelids. So, instead I snarled and snapped my teeth. "What makes you think you can take me now?" I asked, loading my voice with as much derision as possible, just to piss him off even more. "You couldn't take me when you attacked campus. I’ve only gotten stronger since then." I wanted to brag about all my training, including my hours spent with Dalia, but I held it, deep inside, where he couldn't see. He'd never see it coming.
The table flew forward, crashing into my hip bones, sending me sprawling back several feet. I scrambled to stand up and locate him again through the haze of my blurred eyesight. He moved like the wild animal he was, crouching low and placing one foot after the other slowly, constantly aware of his footing and his prey.
I wasn't doing as well, I thought bitterly. In the vision I’d been standing in an open area and right now I was trapped between the end of the kitchen, the table, and the cabinets on the far wall. I needed to get around the table, but he had the upper hand. My sight was dull, my body was weakened from torture, lack of food and water, and lack of blood flow. He was smart, Old Ones knew he was devious, so I had to be better, smarter, stronger and the only way I knew how.
I had to use my Alpha power.
I'd never tried to use it against someone. When I'd blasted Benson and the group after the plane crash, I hadn't been trying to hurt them, I'd just been trying to stop them from hurting me. It had burst out of me, completely outside of my control, and taken down everyone around me, before I even understood what was happening.
I understood now what it was I wanted to do, but I had no clue how to access that kind of power within me. My time with Dalia had been spent trying to understand my natural born Alpha abilities, not learning to control it, not yet. I'd always planned to learn, but I'd thought that there'd be more time.
I inched back, away from the table, knowing that it would open me up to attack when Viktor rounded the corner. I needed him to think that I was vulnerable, without any way of fighting back, and panicking. It would lower his defenses and give me an opening, however small.
The whispers grew louder as I backed away, murmuring incessantly, warning me of danger. I reached out to them and the hum of energy that sparked to life as I opened myself, calling to anything within me that could help.
“Foolish little girl, thinking you can fight me.” Viktor’s voice was closer now and filled with the certainty of his victory. “What do you possibly think you have that could stand up to my power?”
It was the perfect opening. I couldn’t have asked for better. Channeling Buffy, I cocked my head to the side, let my lips curve in a deadly smile, and screamed.
Chapter 25
Viktor flew through the air and landed hard against the edge of the table. His face twisted in shock, then rage, as he realized what was happening.
My throat had healed, my desperation and anger had strengthened me, and my Alpha voice had come when bidden.
It blasted out of me, never ending, building continuously so that my skin vibrated with its power. I dug my nails into my palms and bunched the muscles in my shoulders and arms as I strained forward, aiming the destructive power of my voice in full Alpha mode at Viktor's head.
He had his own power, and I knew it would only be a moment before the shock of my defense settled and he came at me with his. He'd had years to practice controlling the power that came with his position, so that gave him an obvious edge. But, from the look on his face now, I guessed that he’d had no idea what I was or what I was capable of.
I grabbed the nearest object to me that wasn't nailed down and threw it with all my strength, then darted towards the other side of the room and the open space I'd seen in my vision.
Viktor's roar was primal and tore from his chest so bitterly that it sent shivers of fear down my spine. I shook them off, refusing to succumb to his demand that I bow to him. That's what it was, that vicious roar. I recognized it and turned to face him and make my own demands.
Strength and sharp focus flowed through me, filling all the cracks Viktor had created with his silver and vicious words. The whispers in my mind cheered me on quietly, as if they feared distraction. My eyes, still shadowed and blurry, fixed on Viktor's outline as he shook off my attack and stalked forward with power and anger coming off him like waves of heat. I tried to blink, to wet my injured eyes, and nearly sobbed when I felt eyelids, newly formed and delicate, slide down to protect what Viktor had tried to take from me.
“I see you, you know,” I said, offering him a twisted smile. “Which means that I’m healing, faster than normal even for our kind. What do you suppose that means?” I scanned the room through still blurry eyes, looking for weapons or impediments. I didn’t want to trip over anything and lose this fight because of an accident.
He moved closer, keeping his body low and ready. I’d caught him off guard with my display of a power I shouldn’t have access to, but he was highly intelligent and loved nothing more than collecting information that he could potentially use against others
in his bid to gain and maintain his position. I doubted he was ignorant of the existence of natural born Alphas, even if I’d been before meeting Dalia. He was keenly intelligent, I knew, and would acclimatize quickly.
“So,” he said conversationally. “You’re a natural born Alpha.” Viktor made a humming sound in his throat that was both fascinated and annoyed. “Very interesting. That explains how you withstood my attack at the academy.”
That had been my first experience with an Alpha and the powers that came with the position. Viktor had used his voice to dominate and it had driven Bash to his knees. I’d suffered under the pressure of his mind, too, but I’d been able to move through it, slowly but steadily, like walking through waist deep wet snow. Katherine had been able to function through it, as well. I wondered if that had something to do with her being the child of an Alpha. Two Alphas now, I supposed.
“It’s cute that you think that makes you my equal, though.” I heard the smirk in his voice. “Let’s see how you manage against real Alpha strength.”
I barely had a split second to realize his intent before Viktor launched himself forward, fists high and lips curled back in a snarl.
Months of muscle memory kicked into gear and had me ducking beneath Viktor’s fists and spinning out of his grasp. I came out of the spin with my leg pulled up and, using the momentum, snapped my foot out to hit him square in the chest.
Viktor staggered back and cursed savagely but caught himself before he fell to the floor.
I grinned and cocked an eyebrow at him just as I imagined the vampire slayer would, knowing it would piss him off even more. Buffy knew her shit and could get a rise out of any Big Bad. Anger would throw him off or, at least, I hoped so.
“I’ve been practicing,” I said, impressed with my acting skills when my voice came out calm and confident. “But it looks like maybe you’ve let yourself go recently. Have you gained weight?” If I’d had eyelashes to flutter, I would have charmed like a Southern Belle. Instead, I smiled and danced back from a jab. He was around the same height as Tomas, so I was well versed in avoiding strikes.
