"Oh," Teela moaned softly as she started to wake up. Her arms hurt as if she had spent too time much training, or had stretched out in the grass and fallen asleep with them over her head. There was a fuzzy feeling in her brain, and when she opened her eyes, she couldn't make anything out. Before her loomed a dark blur spotted with a few scattered lighter blurs. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to figure out where she was. What happened? Something's wrong. My arms. I can't seem to move them. Slowly, she realized that her arms felt strained because they were spread out to either side of her, and were bearing her weight. Clumsily, she brought her feet under her and pushed up, relieving the pressure. A scraping sensation on her back made her aware that she was against rock. With a sinking heart, she slowly opened her eyes again and let out an involuntary scream at the sharp face only inches from her own.
The Specter smirked. "Why, it's lovely to see you again too, Captain Teela. Welcome back. It was so nice of you to bring the rest of the royal family this time."
Teela looked to her right to see Adora, Marlena, and Randor all awake and chained up as she was. Adora's jaw was clenched with frustration, her hair a tangled mess. The crowns were missing off of the king and queen; as a result Marlena's hair spilled to her shoulders, emphasizing her resemblance to Adora. Randor's eyes were hard, and a fine sheen of sweat covered him. Occasionally he would take a deep breath as if he were trying to steady himself. All of them were watching her carefully. Teela's heart stopped and her head whipped to the left, then wildly around.
"Where's Adam?" she demanded.
"My, my, my, you've lost the prince again," the Specter said, shaking his head in mock sadness. Teela's heart lurched in the hope that perhaps Adam had gotten away and was even now transforming to He-Man, until Rueben continued. "Not much of a bodyguard, are you, Captain Teela?" He made a disappointed clucking noise with his tongue as he paced slowly in front of them.
"Where is my son, Specter?" Randor asked, keeping his voice calm.
"Your son's presence was desired by another, but don't worry," their captor said, his voice smooth and delighted. "I've been assured that he will be thoroughly tortured before he dies, and we'll all get to watch."
"No, you can't!" Adora yelled, struggling against her chains. Rage flooded her, followed by helplessness.
"Oh, but I'm not," the Specter pointed out mildly. "In fact, I'm not even sure who is."
"You have me," Adora said, trying to bargain. "Let the rest of my family go. Please."
Her nemesis snorted. "I don't think so." A soft glow emanated from the far wall, and the Specter turned, a smile lighting his face. "Ah, it seems the show is about to begin."
The four of them watched, horrified, as a semi-conscious Adam was dragged into what looked to be another cave and chained to the wall in a manner similar to them, his arms spread out wide and his ankles loosely shackled. The group couldn't hear what was happening, only see the events. Adam's head rose for a few seconds, then fell to his chest again. The hooded figure calmly approached Adam, and then laid a hand on him.
Adam's head jerked up and his blood vessels stood out in stark relief at the pain that burned through him like a hot knife. An involuntary yell was ripped from his throat as the pain ended as suddenly as it had begun, leaving him heaving for breath.
"Excellent, you're awake," said the hooded figure.
Ice ran through his body in warning as Adam stared at the cloaked man before him. He had only felt the presence of such evil once before, when as He-Man he had briefly fought Evil itself. Just as had happened then, this one's presence was sounding alarms off in every part of his mind. Even Skeletor and Hordak hadn't been this evil.
"What are you?" Adam asked between breaths.
The assassin pulled back his hood to reveal the most non-descript man Adam had ever seen. He had eyes that were neither large nor small, an oval face, a nose that was neither sharp nor round but simply there, and hair that was somewhere between black and brown.
"Interesting that you ask not who I am, but what I am," the assassin said, tilting his head to one side, his dark eyes assessing Adam. "Very interesting. For the last few months, I have been a hired assassin to someone whose name I choose not to reveal right now. I am the one who has tried to kill you, and the one who successfully framed you for murder. And today I will break you."
Adam's heart alternated between leaping at the truth that he had been framed, and sinking back down at the threat. "You can have a go," he said flippantly, "but it never works. How about we just skip to the part where I get loose and kick your-"
"Oh, I don't think so, He-Man," the assassin hissed, interrupting the prince. Adam's eyes widened in shock as he caught sight of his sword tauntingly lodged in the rocks in front of him. "Yes, I know your little secret. I am forbidden to tell anyone, but that doesn't mean I can't act against you."
There was a slight change in the man's face, a slightly scaly appearance for a few seconds. With a flash of insight, Adam knew what he was dealing with. "You're a demon," he said flatly, "a servant of Evil."
"Yes," the assassin affirmed. "And of all the beings in this world, you are the only one who has been touched by Good itself, who could have revealed me for who I am." He grinned maliciously. "I might tell someone anyway, but for now, I decided it was best to separate you from your family." He walked across the cavern floor and picked up Adam's sword. "I thought I might use this on you for my own amusement. Give you a few cuts to remember me by. What do you think?"
The one thing Grayskull's magic wouldn't be able to heal him from. Adam kept his face carefully neutral as he replied. "You've spent all this time trying to kill me, and now you've decided to take your time about it and torture me first? Why?"
The demon put down the sword and reached into his pocket, pulling out a small knife. "If you had died, it would have saved me some trouble. Because you see, although I can arrange accidents, I am forbidden to kill you directly." A slow smile lifted his face. "However, I can make you beg for death. I can cause you so much pain that you pledge your life to my master in order to be released from it."
Adam lifted his chin, his eyes steely. "I don't think so."
The demon's smile grew cold as he stepped closer. "Let's try it, shall we?" He plunged the knife into Adam's left bicep. Adam's jaw clenched, but he didn't utter a sound. The assassin twisted the knife, watching in delight as Adam's nostrils flared. Then he pulled out the knife and laid a finger on the wound. It felt as if someone had poured acid onto the muscle. Adam's breathing grew ragged and he couldn't keep himself from looking at his arm. The angry wound bubbled with a yellow pus-like substance, every small round ball of air feeling as if it were piercing his flesh anew.
"That will continue to feel as if I am twisting the knife in your flesh," the demon said with a sneer. "It is far more painful than being beaten. But since we have an audience to entertain, I'm afraid I'll have to use a method that is a bit more brutal and obvious." With that, he picked up Adam's sword again. He swung the flat of the blade hard into Adam's side, forcing the air out of the prince. Adam ground his teeth against the sharp, blinding pain that accompanied the blow.
"There's one broken rib," the demon said in satisfaction. "You should have that looked at, you know." Before Adam could even think of a retort, his captor raised his hand. Adam moved his head as best he could, but still received a glancing blow to the cheekbone. The next blow landed directly on his nose and slammed his head back against the wall. Blood gushed down his face, staining Adam's shirt. Before he could recover from that one, the demon raised a hand with sharp, jagged nails, and scraped the side of Adam's neck. The burning overwhelmed the other pain, and Adam thrashed his head back and forth in a vain effort to get rid of what in his mind must surely be acid eating into his flesh.
"That should do it for now," the assassin said, stepping back and nodding his head. "Excuse me, my dear prince. I have others to attend to."
Lana and Hawk had looked like zombies when Duncan arrived, and after two hours of looking through Lee's records, Man-at-Arms could see why. They were a mess, but it was not the fault of the gardener.
"Someone's tampered with these," he said in disgust, throwing the papers onto the floor. His hand brushed another stack that fell to the floor as well. The office was small, with barely enough room for the three of them. His patience was already at an end, he realized as he stared out the large window, his fists on his hips.
"How can you tell?" Hawk asked, perplexed. He and Lana bent down to retrieve the papers.
Duncan jerked his chin towards the papers. "There are accounts that only exist in this set, the exact months we were trying to figure out. A few of the regular accounts are missing. Whoever it was tried to replace one name with another consistently for at least six months, hoping it wouldn't be noticed."
Hawk shook his head. "Sea froth and ice caps," he muttered. "Give me a sword and a ship any day over this muck."
"Duncan," Lana said shakily, standing slowly with a paper in her hand. She was staring at the record, a stricken look on her face. She raised her troubled eyes to Duncan's. "Sully's not the one behind all this."
Before Duncan question her, his communicator emitted an eerie sound, causing his face to turn white. That signal was to be used only in extreme emergencies, as a way to contact all the masters. He had developed it after Hordak had kidnapped the king, queen, Teela, and He-Man. "Man-at-Arms here," he said into his wrist.
"Man-at-Arms, this is Saul," said Teela's second-in-command. "Sir, the royal family and Captain Teela appear to be missing."
"What?" Hawk roared. Duncan waved at him to calm him down.
"What do you mean, 'appear to be missing?'" he asked tensely.
"Duke Sully came to visit several hours ago, shortly after you left. They went into a meeting with him, but no one has seen them since. We've checked the whole palace. And we can't raise Captain Teela on the communicator."
Duncan cursed under his breath before answering. "Gather up the masters. I'll return at once."
"That won't be necessary," said a familiar snide voice from the doorway.
"Sully!" Hawk hissed, rising to his feet and reaching for his cutlass. "What did you do with Adora and the others?"
Sully's frown reflected an inner tension as he held up a hand. "Please listen," he begged, his normally dour face lined with worry. "The Specter has Beau. He demanded I bring him the royal family, as well as Captain Teela and Sea Hawk, or he would kill my son."
"I think he's telling the truth," Lana said, handing the paper to Duncan. Man-at-Arms glanced down and his face went white.
"And you did it?" Hawk asked incredulously, his eyes telling Sully what a stupid move that had been. "Surely you know he'll kill Beau anyway."
"I suspected that," Sully admitted. "But I had to try. He's my son." For the first time since Hawk had met him, Sully's face seemed to show true emotion. Tears actually stood in the man's eyes. "I thought that if I gave him the family, he would be so preoccupied with them that I would have time to find you and figure out how to rescue them all."
"If they're not dead," Hawk ground out, slamming a fist on the desk. "Don't you realize he wants them all dead?"
Sully paled. "He-he didn't tell me why he wanted them, and I didn't ask," he admitted shakily. He raised a hand and rubbed at his head nervously. "What do we do? Can He-Man and She-Ra help us?"
Duncan and Lana exchanged glances. "I'm afraid we're not going to be able to reach them in time," Duncan hedged. "We need to come up with a plan."
Adora could feel a shadow of Adam's pain. Adam! she thought desperately. Why is he doing this to you? Is it just to punish me? How can anyone be evil enough to stand here and watch this? Her stomach twisted with every blow her brother received, and by the time the assassin appeared in front of her, the tears were streaming down her face unchecked. Nevertheless, she glared at the hooded figure, feeling hate stir in her heart.
Like Adora, Marlena's tears fell silently. Her chin held high, she refused to utter a sound. Teela, on the other hand, was spewing forth threats at Rueben and the demon as fast as she could think of them.
"When I get out of here I'm going to make sure you pay," she promised, her voice harsh and her face reddening. "You'll be locked up until your bones turn to dust!"
Randor alone had a dry face, and only because he was trying to be strong for his family, to give them strength by his example. It wasn't easy, though. Even knowing that Adam and He-Man were the same person, it was much harder to watch Adam being beaten now than it had been to watch He-Man be whipped in Hordak's fortress; perhaps it was because the king knew that He-Man's strength would buffer some of the pain, while Adam did not have that advantage. Randor was so upset his chest felt tight with the anxiety. He started panting slightly, feeling as if he wasn't getting enough air.
"What are you doing here?" the Specter asked suspiciously.
"I have something to discuss with the princess," the assassin said smoothly. The Specter had been leaning casually against the wall, but now he lunged forward, striding toward the demon.
"This was not part of the bargain," he growled. "Adora is mine."
"Oh, you'll like this," the assassin assured Rueben. The man glared at him for a moment before stepping back, watching him carefully. The demon paced back and forth in front of the royal family for a few minutes. On the screen they could see Adam still writhing, seeming to alternate between trying to escape the pain and attempting to get free.
"I bet you're wondering exactly what he's feeling," the demon whispered in Adora's ear. She jerked away, caught off-guard by his proximity because she had been so focused on her brother. "Let me show you." He laid a finger on her bare neck, and it felt as if someone were branding her skin with a hot iron.
"Ah!" Adora cried out. The demon smiled in satisfaction and stepped back. Adora forced herself to remain still and stare back at him, even though her neck was still burning with pain. "You're a monster," she spat at him.
"Not quite," the assassin said in amusement, his nondescript lips still pulled back in something resembling a smile. "No more than you."
A wash of anger, guilt, and indignation swept through Adora. "You know nothing of me," she said slowly and clearly, her voice hard.
The demon leaned forward so that his lips were right next to her ear. Adora shuddered involuntarily; his presence was making her skin feel as if a hundred night spiders were crawling all over her. "I know more than you think, She-Ra," he whispered.
Adora's throat tightened with fear and surprise. By the First Ones, he knows who we are! The idea of what such a madman could do with that knowledge sent her into a panic, and she strained against her shackles.
He straightened up and walked over to Teela. "Hm. Friend of the princess and fiancée of the prince." He pulled out his small knife and showed it to Teela, the light gray stone handle gleaming in the glittering light. "What do you think of my weapon, Captain?"
"Let me loose and fight me, you coward, and I'll show you what you can do with that weapon," Teela challenged him, her face flushed with anger.
"I think not," he disagreed calmly. "It's a very good carving knife. Good for delicate work." He laid the blade against Teela's cheek lightly enough that it didn't cut her skin. She went perfectly still. "Let me show you." Without waiting for her response, he trailed the knife down her throat and tilted his head back and forth several times. Finally, he pressed the blade into her skin lightly. Teela gasped more in surprise than anything as she pushed her head back against the wall in a vain attempt to escape the blade. She could hear Randor, Marlena, and Adora yelling for him to stop. The assassin ignored them and increased the pressure slightly. A light trickle of blood began trailing down Teela's neck. Her eyes met his and she felt a chill in the center of her soul.
"Perfect," he said in satisfaction, drawing back. "A nice, slow bleed."
He strolled past Adora and stopped in front of Marlena, looking extremely pleased with himself. "So many victims, so little time," he mused aloud. "Specter, did you want to do this one?"
Rueben shook his head. "Oh no, you're doing a fine job," he assured the assassin lazily. He eyed Adora's distressed face, waiting for the rush of pleasure he expected to feel at any moment. You deserve this, you murderer, he thought viciously.
Marlena raised her chin stubbornly and looked the assassin in the eye. She didn't speak one word as he once again tilted his head this way and that, examining her face and neck.
"Leave my mother alone!" Adora insisted, yanking again on her chains. Her wrists were already red with irritation from her constant pulling, but she didn't stop. I have to get out of here. I have to save them! If only I could get my sword!
The assassin only grinned, his teeth as common as the rest of him—not perfect, but no noticeable chips or missing teeth either. The color was somewhere between yellow and white. His grin twisted evilly as
he drew back a fist and punched Marlena first in one eye, then twice in her stomach. Unprepared for the attack, Marlena promptly vomited.
"You'll pay for that, you vile villain!" Randor raged at him, his blood vessels popping out as his blood pressure went up even further and his face and neck began to redden.
The assassin stopped and smiled in surprise. "Why Randor, you'd better calm down. Your heart's about ready to give out. I think I'll just leave you alone. You'll die on your own soon enough." With that he was gone, and a quick glance at the white screen across the room showed him approaching Adam again, who had apparently recovered somewhat from the earlier attack.
Like Adora, Adam had yanked on the chains so many times and so violently that his wrists were already starting to chafe. Now, as the demon strolled towards him again, Adam held himself still. His left arm still throbbed with pain, the pus and blood dripping steadily on the ground. The scratches on his neck were no longer burning, but the sting was still sharp. Adam ignored it all as he stared at the demon.
"What have you done with my family?" he demanded. "If you've hurt them…"
"You're in no position to make threats," the demon laughed at him, his skin taking on that scaly appearance again for a few seconds. "Your future wife is slowly bleeding to death, and your mother is quite sick at the moment. Your father…I don't need to touch him. His heart will give out before the end of the day. And all I did to your sister was give her a small sample of the pain you're experiencing."
Adam jerked at his bonds again, enraged at the demon's words. "When I get loose, you're going to pay," he promised the demon in a dangerous tone.
"Am I?" the demon said, clearly amused at the idea. "Even if you could get free, Champion, we all know you're much too virtuous to stoop to something as insipid as revenge." His dark eyes suddenly glowed red.
Adam felt convicted by the words. They rang in his ears for a moment, and with sudden clarity, he saw what the demon was after. "That's what you want," he said slowly, surprised at the revelation. "You want to push me to the point that I use my power for evil."
The demon made no reply, but reached out and put his hand over Adam's chest. Immediately, electricity seemed to pulsate throughout his body with every beat of his heart. The pain was so intense Adam could almost feel all the cells of his body vibrating against each other. His blood vessels felt as though they were about to burst. He ground his teeth, but a loud, harsh groan escaped him anyway. As the pain increased, he couldn't hold it together any longer. He screamed, writhing as much as the chains would allow as he struggled to escape the pain. He had no idea how long it lasted, but by the time the demon let go, Adam was trembling. His throat was raw from screaming, and his face was wet with what he suspected were tears, but could have been sweat.
"I will break you, Champion," the demon said mildly, his hands now at his side.
"Your master will never have me," Adam said hoarsely, though he was barely able to hold his head up.
The demon leaned in closely. "Who said he was after you?"
The words brought an icy hand of fear to Adam's heart, along with a startling comprehension. Adora.
"Ah, I see you now understand," the demon said with an evil smile. He drew back his hand and threw a punch that landed on Adam's eye, splitting the skin near his eyebrow and causing another trickle of blood to start down his face. The assassin stood back and examined Adam, tilting his head back and forth as he considered his handiwork. Then he took the Power Sword and unceremoniously slashed at Adam's chest, causing a shallow chest wound. Adam cried aloud as the steel sliced through his flesh.
"Much better. I have to go work on your sister some more now, Adam," the demon said with a twisted smile. "I'll leave you here to suffer in peace for a few moments."
The women were openly sobbing now, and Randor screamed at the Specter. "Stop this at once! What kind of monster are you?"
"I'm not doing anything," he protested mildly. Teela's averted head snapped back around at his words.
"You're allowing him to do this!" she snapped. "You claim to hate Adora for the evil deeds she committed, yet she was under the Horde's spell. You're not under a spell Rueben! Your self-centered desire for revenge has twisted you into the very evil you say you despise!" The Specter covered his ears, trying to block out her words, and sank to the floor, whispering to himself under his breath.
"Now now now, let's not confuse the poor man," the demon said as he ambled into the cavern. He patted Rueben on the head. "Come on, now, Rueben, it's okay." He threw a mock-glare in Teela's direction. "Rueben's not quite right, you know. It's not nice to torment him with thoughts of your version of good. He's much happier believing that his view is correct, and that he is the servant of good, aren't you, Rueben?"
The Specter looked at the demon blankly for a moment, then seemed to come back to his senses. He stood and glanced at the royal family. "Can I kill them yet?"
"No, I still need them," the demon replied matter-of-factly. "Are you enjoying the show?"
The Specter grinned mirthlessly. "Adora has been most entertaining." Indeed, he hadn't taken his eyes off of her, and his gaze returned to her now. Tears were streaming down Adora's blotchy face.
The demon walked over to Adora and studied her for a moment. "Are you ready for this to end?"
"And how do you propose it ends?" she asked angrily. "Somehow I doubt that you're going to let us just walk out of here."
"No, that wouldn't work at all," the demon agreed. He leaned in close and whispered in her ear so that only she could hear. "But you can end it, Adora. All you have to do is pledge yourself to my master, serve him without question, and I will heal everyone in your family and let them go."
Hope and a sense of foreboding warred within Adora's heart. Her brother's face, screaming in silent, agonizing pain, was emblazoned on her memory, and over the demon's shoulder, she could see his bleeding, exhausted body in the magical screen across the cavern, his head dropped down. She ached for him.
"Who is this master?" she asked suspiciously. She watched as Adam raised his head, looked around, and seemed to panic. He yanked hard at his chains, glancing at his right wrist in mild surprise.
The demon caught her gaze and looked over at the screen. "Hm, that brother of yours is a bit more resilient than I realized," he said. He glanced at Randor, who was staring at him with undisguised hatred. "You know, my dear, my offer is for a limited time only. Your father's heart grows weaker by the minute." He dropped his voice again. "Just say the word, Adora, and I can stop it all. You can save your whole family."
Before she could react any more, he was standing before Teela. "Such a pretty thing," he commented casually as he thrust the knife into her wrist, causing her to cry out. "I'm afraid you're dying a bit too slowly, Captain. I need you to hurry along." He watched almost hungrily as a slow, steady stream of blood poured down her wrist.
"No!" Adora shouted, her chains rattling as she twisted and pulled against them. "Stop!"
The demon turned to her expectantly. "Do you have something to say, Princess?"
Adora's breath grew heavy as she wrestled with the choice. Perhaps she could pretend to go along with it and buy herself time to figure a way out of the situation, or for Duncan and Hawk and others to find them. But something held her back.
"Let them go, please," she finally begged. "Do what you want with me. But let them go."
"Wrong answer," the demon sneered. He disappeared and reappeared between Marlena and Randor, touching their shoulders. The two of them screamed and writhed in pain for what seemed like an eternity.
"Stop, please stop," Adora sobbed, pulling so hard that she lost her balance. The chains caught her and she used them as leverage to pull herself back up. "Please stop."
"I've only just started," the demon retorted, then he was gone. Randor and Marlena gasped for breath.
"Adam," Marlena sobbed quietly, horrified at the pain this demon was causing. "My baby."
For the first time since the assassin had knifed Adam in the arm, Reuben glanced at the magical screen and was startled at the sight of the prince, whose face and chest were covered in blood. The king and queen's screams still echoed in the Specter's ears, and for some reason, the pleasure he had expected to get from Adora's emotional pain had not materialized. It was one thing to allow his own creatures to kill Adora's family and friends…their paralyzing poison was almost painless, except for the initial scratch. But this brutality…he had witnessed it only within the Horde, and now it was turning his stomach.
What have I become?
A commotion in one of the tunnels caused the Specter to bring himself to his full height and turn. Two of his guards led Sully and Hawk in.
"Hawk!" Adora cried.
"Adora!" he called back, his eyes sweeping those there. "Where's Adam?"
"He's there," the Specter replied casually, waving an arm in the direction of the magical screen without looking at it. He smiled tightly. "Well done, Sully."
"I've done as you asked," Sully said, looking nauseated as he glanced at the prisoners. Randor looked like a sick old man. Marlena had bruises on her face, which was also blotchy from crying. The front of her robe was stained. Sully nearly gasped as he caught sight of Teela, her skin deathly pale and blood seeming to cover half of her tunic. He looked towards the viewscreen at the beaten prince and felt so much guilt well up that he wanted to die. He turned his head to look at the Specter. "Now release my boy."
The Specter put a finger to his lips. "Ummm…I think not," he said, and with a wave of his hand, Hawk and Sully were both enclosed in a forcefield. "Bring Beau up here," Rueben told the guards. "He can enjoy the show with everyone else." But even as he said the words, guilt began to seep into his heart.
"Unfortunately for you, your sister is extremely stubborn," the demon told Adam when he returned.
"Unfortunately for you, devotion to serving good runs in the family," Adam retorted, wishing his voice sounded stronger. "You'll never get her to serve your master."
"Oh, I beg to differ," the demon said casually. "Evil runs in your family too, my dear prince. And besides, Adora couldn't stand to have your deaths on her conscience, you see. After all that she was responsible for as a Horde officer, she couldn't live with herself if she stood by and allowed those she loved to die when she could stop it. Even if that means serving Evil to do so. You should understand that. You made the same choice, didn't you?"
Adam realized the monster was talking about when He-Man had been enslaved to Hordak while the king and queen were held hostage. "That was different," he hissed. "I didn't do anything to harm people. I still drew the line at killing. Somehow I doubt your master would allow Adora that little freedom."
"Ah, but Adora doesn't know who my master is," the demon pointed out, his voice dripping with triumph. "She will give in, if only to save you." He grinned nastily, his teeth looking pointed in the odd cavern light. "So now we're going to step it up a notch." He snapped his fingers and leaned in close to Adam's ear. The evil Adam sensed made his stomach churn wildly. "Now they'll hear your every cry," the demon whispered.
Before he fully understood what the demon had said, the monster's hand was on Adam's shoulder, causing the excruciating pain to wrack his body once more. A scream was torn from Adam's throat; he couldn't possibly hold it in. Time lost all meaning as the pain consumed every part of Adam's mind, making coherent thought impossible. When at last it ended, he was incapable of even thinking to call out a warning to Adora. His mind felt empty of everything except the echoes of his own screams and the aftershocks of the pain he had endured. His ragged breathing was the only sound in the cavern.
"Are you ready to give yourself to me, Champion?" the demon whispered, his lips next to Adam's ear. "This is your last chance."
"Never," Adam whispered back breathily, unable to answer more firmly. His body was as weak as if he were running an abnormally high fever; it burned and ached and trembled all at once. The demon was right about one thing: he did desperately want it to end. Help me, he prayed, barely aware that he was doing so.
"I figured you'd say that," the demon said in mock sadness. "I'll be back, Champion."
Adam's screams had burned themselves onto Adora's mind. She had never felt as desolate as she did now, watching her brother suffer immeasurable pain. This is my fault. I could stop it, she thought. She shook her head firmly. No. That evil villain is doing this. I can't let him convince me it's my fault.
It was unnerving to Adora, the way the assassin would disappear from the screen and reappear in front of her as he did now. What is he? He's no ordinary man. No one could be that evil.
"Have you changed your mind, Princess?" he asked her quietly, so only she could hear. Adora couldn't help but look over to Rueben, but rather than staring at her, his gaze was now locked on the magical screen as he rocked back and forth.
The demon sighed dramatically. "So you still need more convincing, do you?" he asked in a bored tone. "Very well. Your brother's time is almost at an end. I certainly hope you change your mind before he dies."
"Don't you touch him," Adora hissed at him angrily.
"Oh, I'm not going to kill him," the demon protested mildly, gesturing towards the screen where another figure appeared. "He is."
A/N: I know, I know...you're all thinking, "Another cliffhanger?!" I can't help it. This one's already longer than most of my chapters. And besides, I read too much Nancy Drew growing up, and most of the chapters ended that way...that's why I could never put a book down... Anyway, you know I won't keep you in suspense for long if I can help it. :-)