“Again,” Xavier told him.
Just like with Gabriel, Xavier made Moira suffer, and Thomas gave no sign of recognition or emotion. And just as Ava suspected, the prisoners had no idea the Elementals had had their minds erased. But they hadn’t. So the Elementals really were torturing their friends willingly. Would they ever forgive the Elementals once they found out the truth?
After a few minutes, they took Moira away and continued down the line. Melissa repeatedly poisoned Joss causing her to collapse. She narrowed her beautiful violet eyes at Melissa, and then everyone else.
“I can’t believe you!” Joss yelled. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head and sweat ambled down her face. She heaved and swallowed, but then heaved again and threw up forcing the crowd around the railing to groan in disgust.
Several of them looked away, completely grossed out.
“Ugh, what did you do?” Anais asked.
Melissa lifted a shoulder. “Atropine poisoning.”
Donovan dropped his jaw. “You can do that?”
“Yeah.”
He tried hard not to appear impressed, but Ava saw it in his eyes.
“What is that?” Gillian asked.
“Makes you hallucinate and temporarily lose memory. It comes from the belladonna plant.”
“Where am I?” Joss frantically scanned the group. She had no idea where she was or who anyone was. Ava glanced at Eric, but like a rock, he showed no emotion.
“Someone clean this up and take her back,” Xavier said.
One of the Cimmerians carried Joss away and one cleaned up the mess.
“Let’s continue.” Xavier crossed his arms, impatiently waiting.
Gillian moved to the front as Natalia was pushed toward her. She manipulated Natalia to stab herself over and over with a knife. Blood spurted out all over the floor from the several gashes that tore her stomach open. Then Jeremy’s intense wind ripped Zhan’s skin leaving it hanging in sheets. And Lance absorbed Konstantin’s ability and telekinetically raised his body in the air and dropped him with a sickening thud. His leg cracked, but he never made a sound. Ava remembered when Havok did that to her in a dream. The intense pain had consumed her as her leg broke. She couldn’t think of anything else but the throbbing agony. She wasn’t sure how Konstantin remained silent.
Katarina poisoned Aaron with her radiation disfiguring his face. His skin boiled and bled through. Ava could barely watch. The skin around his eyes had peeled away. His hair had fallen off and blood seeped through his flesh. Ava saw one of the girls look away and try not to vomit.
They wanted to see what the Elementals could do. Ava knew each one of the Elementals had pulled out all of the stops, but how would they feel later? She wasn’t sure she wanted to feel her emotions after what she had done. How would they get through this? Would they live like emotionless creatures for the rest of their lives? She didn’t know how she or the others could keep torturing their friends and loved ones.
Gustav was next, and Ava knew Anais would be his punisher. Anais looked at him like he was a disgusting roach. She crossed her arms and smirked. Had she known that he was her father? She shook her head. “An Elder. You don’t look so powerful.”
Gustav took his punishment without a word or movement. None of the prisoners fought back. Why didn’t they? Were they trying to prove something? They didn’t know that Ava and the others’ minds were supposedly erased. Were the prisoners testing Ava and the rest?
The second round of torture began as Peter, Link, Nicole, Donovan, Eve, Eric, and Kira tormented the prisoners again. Ava didn’t want to think about what they had to hold onto in order to survive. She knew they were all incredibly strong, but she didn’t know how they were able to take it all without a fight.
A few hours had passed, and Xavier called an end. The bloody, anguished prisoners were returned to their cells. Ava wondered how they would be healed. They had to; otherwise, they would die in the middle of the night from blood loss. But no one asked Ava to heal them. Maybe they had healing potions like Savina had. How else could they heal themselves all these years without Savina’s help? Ava held onto that fact as she followed Thomas and the rest of the group out of the training hole.
“Do you all wanna refresh and regroup tonight?” Lance asked.
“Sure,” Thomas said. “Sounds great.”
But Ava knew it was code for going to Klaus’s secret room. She walked fast to her room, waiting to turn on her emotions, if only for a little bit. When she reached the door, someone called out to her.
Ava looked up and saw Xavier.
“Are you in a rush?” he asked, one eyebrow cocked.
“No. I’m just really sweaty and disgusting.”
He chuckled. “I understand. See you at the tavern later?”
“Yeah, sure.”
Turning the knob, she opened the door and then quickly closed it. She rested against the door for a second, and as she tore down the mental wall, she raced to the bathroom.
All the food she had eaten that day was gone. The first time she saw Gabriel in probably a month, she abused him. Made him drown several times, choking up water. Again and again. Her heart ached as she clutched her stomach. She curled up into a ball on the bathroom floor, squeezing the rug near the toilet.
Whenever she got sick, her father always comforted her. But he wasn’t there, and now it was just her to take care of herself. She would never forgive herself for the pain she caused. Somehow, she had to talk to Gabriel, if he would ever listen to her. Would he forgive her? Could he still love her?
Ava slammed her fist down on the tiled floor as his last look haunted her. No. Gabriel would never forgive her, and he couldn’t love her. Not through something like this. She had chosen her path, and she had to stick with it, no matter what. Even if it was for the good of the Enchanters and Ephemerals.
CHAPTER EIGHT
LINKED
With her emotions back on, Ava sat in horror as she relived what she had done to Gabriel. She shook her head, but couldn’t keep the sobs back. “Why didn’t he fight back? He just took it. All of them did.”
“I can’t do that again,” Thomas said, pacing in front of Klaus’s fireplace.
They had retreated there again after drinks with Xavier and some of the other Cimmerians. Why they always went to the tavern when there was a perfectly good city to get lost in baffled Ava.
“You’ll have to do it again,” Klaus told them. “Havok will want to see it for himself.”
“What if we become monsters like them?” Gillian asked, her blue eyes wet with tears. “The whole time I wanted to kill the Cimmerians. Why can’t we just attack now?”
Klaus frowned. “I know it’s hard. This mission cannot be easy for anyone. But you all are our only hope. You’re the only ones who can stop him.”
“We know,” Melissa said. Ava could detect annoyance in her voice.
“This is what we had to do when they made us into Enchanters,” Link said. “Even when we changed, we bullied everyone. We tortured each other and punished the prisoners at the time.”
“It wasn’t easy, and neither is this,” Nicole said.
“You remember your life here?” Ava asked.
“Bits and pieces,” she said. “I just see flashes.”
Link nodded. “Me too.”
“Don’t fret,” Klaus said. “It’ll all be over soon. And I promise I will try and help you all out as much as I can.”
“Letting us have this time helps a lot,” Katarina said. Her brown eyes welled as Peter held her close.
“Tell us where they’re keeping the prisoners,” Thomas demanded.
Klaus sighed. “I can’t.”
“You realize we will find out, right?”
“You realize there’s no way you can go see your friends? Havok will find out very quickly and wonder why you’re down there.”
“We can play it off,” Ava said. “They’re the ones who so-called kidnapped us. Maybe we want to punish them more.”
Klaus pressed his lips in a thin line. “You must take a protector with you. Once your emotions are on, it’s easy for Havok to get inside, especially you Ava.”
“Why me? Because he tortured me before?”
Klaus studied her for a moment. Pity flashed in his green eyes. “You don’t know?”
“Know what?” She braced herself.
His face grew serious. Ava hated it when people gave her that look. “Your mother promised your soul to Havok.”
“Who doesn’t know that?”
“You don’t know what that means?”
“No.”
Klaus hesitated. “It means your soul is linked to Havok’s.”
Ava drew in a sharp breath and then froze. Her heart stopped beating. Everything seemed to cease. There was a ringing in her ears, and it felt like the walls closing in on her. “I’m linked to Havok?” A tear fell out of her eye.
Klaus frowned. “I’m sorry.”
“How is that possible?” Melissa asked.
“When her mother promised her soul, a spell was placed, linking her soul with Havok’s,” Klaus explained, and turned to Ava. “It was supposed to activate once you grew into your powers, but because Havok was still weak, the connection wasn’t as strong. When you went to the Necromancer, it strengthened the connection since his soul prevailed over Colden’s. That’s how he was able to get inside your head so easily for so long.”
“Wait, so was he the one that subconsciously got her to seek out the Necromancer?” Link asked.
“Yes. He found a way to take over Colden’s body, and since he had a connection to Ava, albeit a weak one, he used that.”
Ava gritted her teeth, and rose to her feet. She began pacing in the room, breathing hard. She clenched and unclenched her fists. The more she heard about her mother, the more she hated the woman. She wanted to throw something or punch the wall. She let out a frustrated sigh. “I hate her! How could she do this? What was she trying to prove? How could she be so selfish?”
Melissa grabbed her shoulder. “Ava, turn off the water.”
When Ava looked down, she saw the water trickling down in chaotic lines like the thoughts inside her head. Stopping the stream, her vision blurred from the tears, but she batted them away. She wouldn’t cry for her pathetic mother who was too selfish to save her own child. She hated her even more.
Once she calmed down, she faced Klaus. “Okay. Does this mean he can get into my head whenever? Does this explain the weird visions or whatever I’ve been having?”
Melissa and everyone else gave her a confused look. “Visions?”
“I had one right before we initiated with Havok. It felt like a memory or something. Havok was telling my mom to spy on the Elders and the second time was when I saw Havok for the first time since we got here.”
Klaus studied her and stroked his chin. “Perhaps. I wonder if he’s able to see your memories.”
“You don’t know?”
“I don’t know of anyone else who’s been linked to Havok. Or any Enchanter for that matter. I do know that you can still keep him out of your mind. He doesn’t feel the need to torture you, but if you ever feel him trying to read your mind, make him see what he wants. You’ve done a great job of strengthening your mind. Whoever taught you that is incredibly powerful.”
Gabriel had taught her. And she needed to find him to apologize. Or something. She needed him, but knew that was a pipe dream now that she was a Cimmerian and had hurt him. “Where are the prisoners?” she asked.
Klaus sighed. “In the South Hall. The prison chambers are the only thing there.”
“Can I manipulate the guards?” Gillian asked.
“No. It will be very hard to manipulate a Cimmerian guard. They are protected by a charm.”
“Of course.”
“There is one more thing,” Klaus said.
“What?” Thomas asked.
He looked to Ava. “You and Havok’s souls are linked.”
“You already said that.”
He hesitated. “Meaning, whatever happens to Havok, will happen to you.”
Several of them gasped.
Ava’s heart stilled. The churning in her stomach made her want to vomit. The room spun, and she couldn’t catch her breath. She swallowed several times, but her mouth watered. “You can’t be serious.”
“I’m afraid I am.”
“Why the hell didn’t you say something before?” Thomas yelled, and lunged for Klaus. Just as he raised his fist, Lance and Link roughly grabbed him, and pulled him back.
“I’m sorry.” Klaus’s eyes widened as he held up his hands. “I thought you knew.”
“Let me get this straight,” Link said, releasing Thomas. “You’re saying we can’t kill Havok unless Ava dies.”
“No!” Gillian yelled. “There has to be another way.”
“We have to break the spell,” Melissa said. “How do we do that?”
“I’m researching it. The spell is powerful, and only an Elder can undo it.”
“There are only four left,” Jeremy said. “Maggie, Gustav, Aaron, and Havok. Maggie is probably a lost cause given that we can’t separate her from Havok. Gustav and Aaron are prisoners.”
“I don’t want to think about all this right now,” Ava said. “I have to see Gabriel.” She needed him. He was the only person who could bring comfort right now. She was going to fall apart. If they continued with their plan, Ava was going to die. She swallowed hard. “I need to see him.”
“Not tonight,” Klaus said with a stern look in his green eyes.
“Why?” she demanded, glaring at him as she tempted to blast him with water.
“Havok will be gone from the castle tomorrow night. Then you can go.”
“Where is he going?” Lance asked.
Klaus hesitated. “He and a group are going out. They’re going to…massacre a town.”
Ava’s heart dropped to her stomach. Melissa wrapped her arms around Ava. “Come on. Calm down. We’ll figure something out. We have to.” She spoke through tears.
Ava breathed in and out and closed her eyes.
Slowly, she began to calm down. For a second, she wanted to see Gabriel through the Scrying Bowl, but thought better of it. She didn’t want to see his injured body lying there thinking about what she had done to him. What was she going to do? How were they going to kill Havok? Could they break the spell? She held onto some small shred of hope. It was all she had.
All she knew was that they had to kill Havok. That was a must. And if that meant she would have to die, she would.
CHAPTER NINE
NOT AN ANGEL
“Today, we’re going to continue the torture,” Xavier said, twirling a police baton. He paced around the room and looked bored. The room wasn’t the same as the training hole. They called it the Torture Chamber. As if Ava needed to be told that. Iron shackles that were rooted in the cement wall with various tools of torture nearby, gave her plenty of information to make that assessment. It was smaller room, with a railing separating the crowd and the punishment ground.
Her stomach coiled from all the possible scenarios in her head. She had to clear her thoughts. As she watched Xavier pace, she wondered if he was going to the massacre tonight.
“Only today is different,” Xavier said. “Havok will be watching.”
“Great,” Anais groaned under her breath. “He makes me nervous.”
“I’d imagine he would,” Ava said. “Why does he watch?”
“He likes to watch. He’s sadistic.” She shrugged. “Who knows the real reason?”
Ava looked to her. “Were we friends before?”
Anais arched an eyebrow and scoffed. “No.”
“Enemies?”
She shifted her weight and rolled her eyes. “Stop asking so many questions.”
“Sorry. My memory is a bit fuzzy. Just trying to figure things out.”
“Why? We’re here to do what Havok says. What else matters?”
Ava
lifted a shoulder. “You don’t seem to want to do it.”
“Doesn’t matter.”
The door opened and Havok walked in, flanked by Maggie and Sorcha. As if on cue, everyone kneeled. Melissa placed a hand on Ava’s shoulder and pushed her to her knees. The thought of kneeling for this man sickened Ava, but she turned off her thoughts.
Havok moved across the floor with an arrogant gait. His shoulders squared, and he knew nothing could touch him. Ava clenched her teeth, hating that she was on her knees. He flicked his wrist and everyone stood. His thin lips turned upward into a ridiculous smile. He owned them all and knew it. They were all his little puppets.
He didn’t say a word. Just watched them. Xavier opened another door, and in came the prisoners. Ava hated the way they looked. They were dirty, their clothes ripped and torn. Cuts and welts on their faces. Gabriel walked in, his intense eyes trained on Ava.
Xavier and a few other Cimmerians shackled the prisoners next to each other. Ava didn’t like where this was headed.
Xavier motioned for Ava to stand near him. She obeyed, and he turned her body so that she was behind Gabriel. Her stomach tightened as she stared at his backside. Xavier ripped off Gabriel’s shirt, revealing a smooth back with a curvature that Ava had once lovingly traced as he kissed her.
“You’re going to create a whip with your water and strike his back.”
“I’ve never done that before.”
Xavier’s eyes sliced into her as if she had said the wrong answer. She had embarrassed him in front of Havok. He moved closer to her. “You’re going to do this.”
“Okay.” She acted a little scared for his benefit.
Gabriel bowed his head as if he knew what was coming to him.
Water trickled down Ava’s arm in a stream.
“Finally let him take you over I see,” Gabriel said with a taut voice.
Xavier moved liked he was about to strike Gabriel, but Ava quickly said, “That won’t be necessary.” Feeling all eyes on her, she told them grimly, “I can shut him up myself.”
Xavier raised his eyebrows. “Let’s see it. Ten lashes will do it. For now.”
Her eyes moved to his back. The smooth contours looked beautiful in the light, but she was about to ruin it. She closed her eyes for a second. She had to do this. “I’ve…never actually used a whip before,” she confessed.
Under an Onyx Sky (Elemental Enchanters Series Book 4) Page 6
