Omi muttered some more, then reached for the rolled up rug. He tapped it with his scepter, and it magically opened, reaching the floor. The tapestry—a brownish world map—was large, almost as large as five or six men standing side by side.
However, the size wasn’t what caught my attention. What caught my attention was the fact that certain points on the map, at least two dozen, shone brightly. I squinted, trying to make sense of it. Cathedral Rock was one of those points. As was Stonehenge, the pyramids in Egypt, and many other known places. The white lights blinked and then shifted. What the hell?
The ball of energy in Imha’s hand died out, and she looked from me to the map and back to me. “What do you see?”
For a second, panic surged up. I willed my face to look as emotionless as I could and averted my eyes.
Omi turned his back to the map. “What happened?”
Imha didn’t answer. However, the smile on her face wasn’t only evil, but the kind of smile that said I know what you saw.
The lights blinked and shifted once more. When they settled, they expanded and I could see them better. They weren’t only lights, but also symbols, though I couldn’t exactly make them out.
Then the symbols danced around the map again. I fought the urge to look at them, but I couldn’t resist. I could feel them. I stared at the symbols and tried to make sense of it. I noticed a couple of symbols moved along with the others, but they always came back to the same places.
Her creepy smile widened, and I turned my head away, forcing my eyes to focus on a crack in the stone floor. She muttered something to Omi, making his smile grow wide too.
Oh, God.
His eyes fixed on me, and he strolled forward, halting a few feet from the chaise.
“Nadine, tell us where Ceris is,” he said.
I remained quiet because saying “I don’t know” would be just as bad.
Omi pointed his scepter at me. “Last chance to see a nice version of me. Where is Ceris?”
Swallowing my fear, I raised my chin and met his gaze, without saying a single word.
“So be it,” he said.
A red stream surged from the orb of his scepter. My muscles locked as it traveled to me. The red light twisted around me like an unending snake. Panic filled my chest, and I fought the urge to scream. The red snake curled around my arms, around the cuffs, and lifted my arms above my head, pulling me up. Up and away from the chaise. Pain shot from my wrists, and I whimpered as the snake stretched me in the air. It was like there was a rope holding me up by my wrists, and it hurt.
Omi seemed amused. “Where is Ceris?”
I whimpered because honestly I couldn’t hold on without screaming a bit, but I still didn’t say anything. I wouldn’t say anything.
Omi looked at the four demons standing guard and gestured to me.
Baring their teeth, the demons attacked.
One of them raised its claws and swiped at me. I screamed, making Omi laugh while Imha looked bored.
Taking turns, the demons played with me as if I were a pi?ata. They clawed my legs, pushed me back, and twisted me around, causing more pain in my wrists.
After a few minutes, Omi raised his hand and they stopped.
He looked up at me. “Where is Ceris?”
I kept my gaze on my torn clothes. Blood trickled down my numb legs.
Shrugging, Omi walked away, and the demons growled, resuming their game.
I opened my eyes and recognized everything about this place and situation in less than a second.
I was in a dark, chilly, tiny room with gray stone walls and no windows. A cell in a dungeon. A thin strip of light coming from a torch illuminated the place.
My arms ached. I looked up. Metal chains wrapped around my wrists. My clothes hung in tatters, and when I moved, my back scratched painfully against a rough wall.
Just like the vision I had three months ago.
Imha walked into the room, her head high, holding her scepter. A black cloud followed her. I shuddered.
“Hello, Nadine,” she said, an evil smile over her red lips. “How are you?”
I bit my lip as bile rose from my stomach. Oh, God, that vision. The torture vision. I had joked about it with Victor and Micah.
Approaching me, Imha tsked. “It is polite to answer questions addressed to you. Didn’t your mother teach you good manners? You don’t want me to call my friends, do you?” she asked, still smiling. “Be a nice girl and tell me everything I want to know.”
I remembered this part. In my vision, I had asked her, “What do you want to know?” but this time, I knew what she wanted to know.
I grimaced but kept my mouth shut. I would change this vision. I didn’t know how, but I would.
Imha laughed like an evil queen in a fairy tale, sending goose bumps over my skin. “Still playing the mute one, are we?” Her laugh died, and her eyes became hard. “Tell me everything, and I will end your suffering.”
Suffering was a big fear of mine, but loyalty was one of my best traits. I wouldn’t crack. Even if she spent ten years torturing me, I wouldn’t crack.
“If you tell me about Ceris and her plans, I promise your death will be quick and clean.” Imha came closer until her face was inches from mine, her eyes sparkling with pure vice. “On the other hand, if you keep up with this silence game, I promise you, you will regret ever being born.” She kissed my cheek.
No, no, no. I braced myself as her icy lips touched my skin, cracking it, drying it out. The withering spread, sending searing pain through my face until it reached my throat, making me gasp and choke.
I tried to inhale the air that would save me, but it was in vain. The parching spread down to my lungs and chest. The world spun, and the room became even darker. Blood trickled from my wrists as I struggled against the cuffs, and my legs went numb.
Imha sent a purple bolt from her scepter to my chest. The bolt hurt as if it had opened my flesh and crushed my organs. I tried to yell but couldn’t. However, a few seconds later—although it seemed like decades—the power of the bolt spread, and the drying sensation left me. I took a deep breath, not caring that my body weight dangled from my bloody wrists. I didn’t have any strength left, not even to look at Imha while she laughed.
“That is just the beginning,” she said, sauntering toward the dungeon door. With her back to me she added, “I’ll give you a while longer. Choose wisely.”
She left. The door closed behind her, leaving me in total darkness. Despite myself, I cried.
12
Nasty hands carried me out of my cell, but I couldn’t keep my eyes open for long. I was tired. I was hungry. I was thirsty, and I was in pain.
I was thrown on the same hard chaise I had been on … yesterday? Two days ago? Last week? I had completely lost track of time.
“Nadine, I have something to show you,” someone said.
Nothing they had to show me could possibly interest me.
Hands clasped my shoulders and held me up.
“Open your eyes,” Imha said. Against my will, my eyes fluttered opened. Imha flashed her evil smile. “Good girl.” The bright symbols danced on the map behind her, but before I could pay attention to them, she gestured to the pillars to her right. “Bring them in.”