[9]

Morax stomped towards me, hatred and murder gleaming in his eyes. I frantically began to search the room for anything that would help me escape, instinctually reaching for my magic only for the manacle's bitter touch to wash away my concentration. I was in no shape to brawl with this guy. Forgetting the obvious fact that I was chained to a cot; he had just spent the last God knows how long torturing me, cutting into me, wearing me down and trying to break me. Yeah I had been patched up but the injuries were still there and they still hurt like hell. I wasn't going to be able to move swiftly enough to avoid those battering ram like fists of his. Also, Morax was a friggin' fallen angel. A really angry fallen angel who was already pissed with me because I wouldn't tell him that I had nothing to tell him. I was still suffering from what he did to me while he was in a good mood, I really didn't want to know what he'd do when he was in a bad one. He let out a roar as he brought his right fist down towards my face. I moved my head to the side and with my free left hand, deflected the blow, nudging it away. His fist went straight through the cot, where my head had been a mere second ago, and kept going until it hit the ground and brought his face level with mine. Instinct took over and I lashed out with my free hand, landing several blows to the side of Morax's head. My pained body objected to all the fierce movements but I just gritted my teeth and kept piling on the punches, one after another. My anger fed into itself and I didn't let up; blow after blow, I just kept hitting him with everything I had. If they were going to take me down, I was going make the bastards work for it.

"How'd you like it, you son of a bitch." I shouted as I continued to pummel away.

Morax tried to keep his head down, hunching up his shoulders to block my attacks but that didn't stop me. He let out another bestial roar, sharply rising to his feet and I suddenly found myself, and the cot, flying through the air. We both collided with the wall, the cot softening the impact and keeping my already aching bones from shattering against the hard surface. I landed on the floor with a thud, the cot breaking as we hit the ground. Morax rose fully to his feet, shaking his head to regain his balance and focus, clearing away the cobwebs. I slowly began to free myself from the wreckage of the cot, trying desperately to make it to my feet before Morax recovered from my attack, and to my surprise I was able to move my right arm without restriction. Although I still had the Thorn manacle secured around my wrist, but with the cot now in ruins, the other end of my restraints slid free from the splintered mass. I got to my feet just in time to find Marox refocusing on me. I made a quick survey of the room; the only exit was about five running steps to my left and although it was sure to be locked, with the right amount of momentum and leverage I could probably force my way through. In the far corner closest to the door stood the tray of torture tools and resting on top was my eskrima. While I still had the manacle fastened around my wrist my magic wouldn't be all that reliable, but the eskrima would still work well as a physical weapon regardless. To my right and behind me were solid stone walls and then in front of me was the bulking form of Morax. I really didn't have a lot of options. I was tired, in pain and even if I did get out of this room alive, I had no idea what I was likely to find the other side of that door. Although right now I needed to focus on the staying alive part of that scenario. I could feel the intensity of Morax's glower, his hatred and anger washing over me in equal measure.

"Don't suppose you want to sit down and talk about this rationally do you?" I said, my voice trembling slightly with a nervous giggle.

Morax roared in response as he rushed towards me, swinging his right fist like a giant wrecking ball. He was quick, quicker than I thought someone his size could be, but I was already in motion as his battle cry rumbled to the surface. I rolled under his strike, my body screaming at me in protest the whole way. I tried to follow the roll through, to come back up to me feet, but the wear and tear of recent events was taking its toll and I stumbled, coming up short in a sprawl across the floor. I tried to aim in the direction of my eskrima but it was still a couple of feet away. Scrambling to my hands and knees, I frantically motioned towards my weapon; I was just able to touch it with my thumb and index finger when I felt someone grab me by the shoulder and wrench me back with such force that I left the ground and collided with the far wall once more. Sadly this time I didn't have the cot to cushion the impact. I landed on the floor with a thud and my wounds cried out, sending a fresh tidal wave of pain washing through my body. There was the light clatter of wood landing next to me which helped me focus and block out the agony; it was my eskrima. I must have had enough of a grip on it that it came with me on my flying lesson. I picked it up, grasping it tightly in my right hand and I felt a surge of defiance stir within me. It was short lived however as Morax stomped over, reached down and grabbed me by the throat. Without showing much strain he, with one friggin' hand, lifted me up and held me above him, his bolder size fist still locked around my neck. I kicked my legs out but without any weight behind them it was a futile gesture at best. But with eskrima in hand, I brought the weapon down towards my attacker's head only for him to catch the blow with his free hand. I felt the grip around my neck begin to tighten and it became incredibly hard to breathe.

"Botis said I was wasting my time with you Wizard," Morax said as the started to choke the life out of me. "He said you had no knowledge of us, but I had to be sure, I had to know your secrets."

Stars were beginning to swim across my vision as my lungs yearned for air and I could feel my limbs becoming heavy and sluggish.

"I should make you suffer, but I've wasted enough time on you. Goodbye Wizard."

Everything started to go black; 'This is it' I thought to myself. After all the close calls and battles I had survived, I was about to go out being choked to death by a fallen angel.

A loud boom sounded against the wall behind Morax that drew his attention and with it his grip wavered. It went off again, this time the wall shook slightly sending dirt and dust tumbling to the floor. Then there was another and another and another, each one getting louder and louder. At that point Morax's attention had moved on from me and was now entirely focused on what was happening to the wall. He lowered me down so that my feet were once again touching the floor; his grip was still firm around my throat but I was at least able to suck in air more reliably. The booms continued for a full minute and then abruptly stopped. Everything was deathly silent and eerie. Morax motioned closer to the wall as if to inspect it, dragging me along with him. He stopped a foot away from the concrete wall and even though I could only see a part of his face, I could tell that he was unsure, that he had no idea what that noise was or what it meant.

Suddenly the wall exploded with chunks of concrete shooting towards us like flaming comets. Morax was between me and the wall and bore the brunt of the flying debris. The force of the explosion sent us both tumbling backwards, driving us to the ground and at some point it broke Morax's grip freeing me in the process. I laid there for a moment dazed and confused with a whining buzz ringing in my ears. I looked around to find Morax half covered in rubble and bleeding; it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy. The dust was just starting to settle when I caught a glimpse of three figures standing in the newly formed hole. The first one I could make out was a woman, athletically built, about five and half feet tall and looked like she had just stepped out of a rock concert. Her hair was jet black save for a few streaks of white, dark make-up exaggerating her Asian features, a black tee-shirt that stopped just above her navel with black jeans and a sliver studded belt that sat on her waist and together they framed her toned abdomen. The next figure to emerge was male and he too was dressed all in black; black boots, cargo pants, top and leather trench coat. His features were almost lion like; his light brown hair was short and blended down into a short beard. Also when he smiled at the destruction around him, believe it or not, I thought I saw fangs. The two of them moved into the room and a third person walked in behind them and I immediately recognised him. The intense stare, the built physique and dark skin; it was the guy I saw outside Reggie's place. He was in an outfit not far from what I usually wear; hooded leather jacket, denim jeans, boots, but of course once again it was all in black.

Do bad guys get special rates for buying everything in black?

As he emerged through the hole in the wall I noticed scarlet coloured flames engulfed his clenched fists and the smell of sulphur hit my senses. Instinctively I froze in place, not wanting to draw any attention

"Malpas, Orias, get that door down." The dark skinned man ordered, his accent American sounding. I'm guessing he's the one in charge.

Goth Girl and Lion-O motioned towards the door but were quick to spot me lying on the ground. They stopped and lorded over me like reapers come to claim my soul.

"What should we do with him?" The female asked.

"Only the girl matters," replied the leader as he walked towards the door, the scarlet flames still glowing around his fists. "Kill him."

Before they could move, Morax bellowed with rage and charged at the new comers. Goth Girl was fast, scary fast, and managed to get out of the way in time but Lion-O wasn't as lucky. Like a charging bull, Morax hit the guy with such force that he instantly took his target off his feet, went careering through the wall and out of sight. The pair left behind were quick to follow but before disappearing in pursuit, the leader stopped and stared down at me, his lips parted in a snarl.

"If I see you again," He said "I will kill you." And then he ran to catch up with the others, vanishing through the dust cloud.

Wow, two death threats in the space of a few minutes. It's enough to make a guy feel wanted.