Author's Note: Hey guys! Here's chapter 11! Please enjoy!
Note: There is a mild torture scene in here, so please don't read if that bothers you. :)
I cross my arms, suppressing the urge to back away and duck behind the throne. I see the glare of a demented, evil fire inside Setrakus Ra's eyes, and I know immediately that he isn't going to trick me into signing the leadership document, or use black tar to immobilize me, or even sting me with acid until I give in. It was going to be much, much worse.
Setrakus Ra calmly tilts his head away, relishing in his power and my uncertainty. The rectangular shadow I saw in the doorway moves closer, and I realize it's a cart covered in a black tarp. Soft squeaks of its wheels follow it across the room as two large guards push the cart from behind, their breaths labored.
"I have a surprise for you, Ella," Setrakus Ra's voice rumbles with barely suppressed glee. He flicks his hand, commanding the Mogs to remove the tarp.
The soft glow of sunlight from the top of the walls hit the uncovered cage, and its steel bars cuts slanted shadows across the floor. As the tarp falls off, I see a body laid, face-up on a metal table inside the cage. The sunlight glints harshly off of the shackles that clamp his fists and ankles to the table legs. His wrists are rubbed raw, his clothes singed. I gasp when I see his face. No-it can't be-
"John!" I cry out.
I leap up, nearly tripping on my dress as I tumble forward down the marble steps. His eyes fly open, darting around the room, reminding me of a wild, trapped deer. My mind whirls, seeing his ripped jeans and haggard face. What have they done to him?
"John!" I scream again, and he cranes his neck around to see me.
"Ella?" his voice rasps. The tendons in his neck strain as he turns his head.
I nod, my eyes widening. "How did you get here?" Worry and desperation tinges my voice. Maybe he came for me. Maybe this is my fault.
"I-" His words choke in his throat. "We-"
"Silence him."
I turn towards the voice and see a short figure striding forward briskly from the doorway, nodding his head at Setrakus before stopping in front of the cage. He's stocky, and doesn't look much older than I am. He doesn't have the angular features of a Mog, but rather a soft nose and uncertain eyes, which he tries to mask with his stony expression. He tilts his head towards me.
"I'm Five, by the way."
Five. No wonder he looks so familiar. It's his is face on that tapestry. The one with Eight.
"You traitor!" I scream, grasping the thin material of my dress as the realization hits me. "You murderer!" His eye widen, and it's then when I really notice the gauze covering one of his eye sockets. Rage tumbles inside of me.
"Wait, I-" He swallows, his eyes flickering down.
I shake my head furiously and his stops. "I can't believe you did it." He presses his lips together and looks away. When I glance towards John again, the Mogs nearby have already managed to stuff his mouth with a cloth, cutting off anything he wanted to say to me. I notice that his Loric pendant has been replaced with a smooth red stone strung around his neck, vibrant with energy. What is that?
Setrakus Ra diverts his attention back to me, and my thoughts are cut off. "Ella, dear, you can still sign now before anything happens. It'll be a lot easier."
I bite my lip and brush off his comment for the time being, because my mind is on other things. Focusing my energy, I begin pushing a hole in the bottom of the blue force field. It's barely a finger wide, but I feel my mind automatically stretch out and sense John's.
John, it's me, Ella.
His eyes light with surprise, but he doesn't question my ability to pass the glowing blue dome.
Setrakus Ra sighs at my noncompliance, not noticing John. From beneath his black coat, he pulls out a vial of a light amber liquid. The glass vial sparkles under a beam of sunlight.
Ella, can you hear me? John prods.
Yes.
Setrakus begins pacing in front of the dome. "This is a chemically modified version of carborane acid," he explains, twirling the glass vial.
John sends me another message, trying to smile for me. Ok, listen. You can't do anything he says.
I nod hesitantly.
"Not the strongest acid in the world..," the Mog leader muses. My eyes dart between the vial and John.
He slows to a stop, exhaling slowly. "But the most painful."
I ball my fists, inhaling sharply. "No! STOP!" I scream, panicked.
"If you sign the contract, we'll stop," Setrakus replies, unfazed.
John jerks his head, trying to shake it. Ella, don't! Don't do it!
My hands shake a little and I clasp them together to conceal it. Maybe if I can hold off for a little while, they won't torture him.
Setrakus delicately holds the vial with three fingers and passes it to Five. "Just a few drops," he whispers. My mind screams internally as my fingers grow numb.
Five starts towards John's cage, and I fight to stay sane. I can't let John get hurt anymore. I need to stop this. Reaching out, I try to grab the vial with my telekinesis, but it doesn't work. It's as if someone set up a giant wall in my mind, preventing me from accessing my powers. I almost scream in frustration, but as Five starts to unscrew the cap, all my emotions melt into fear.
Ella, just turn around, John tells me. There's no use in stopping this.
My hand reaches towards the pen, shaking.
No. I need to stop this. My thumb just barely brushes the tip.
Ella! Don't do anything! John screams in my mind. My fingers grasp onto the pen. NO! DROP THE PEN! His message reverberates in my head, a crashing cymbal.
Squeezing my eyes shut, I drop it. I look up and see a flash of relief in John's eyes, even as Five readies the acid.
Five's fingers shake a little as he sticks his arm into the cage, slowly tilting the vial. John closes his eyes, and even though I want to avert mine, I can't. My mind is a blizzard of thoughts, my heart a malfunctioning metronome. My knuckles are white as I clutch my hands together.
The liquid spills over, and a drop hits John's bare forearm.
A scream. An painful, tearing scream that seizes my brain and pierces my eardrums. John jerks his arm, but it doesn't come out of the manacle. It's my fault this happened to him, yet I was too weak to do anything about it. I can't watch this. I can't do this any longer!
"STOP! I'LL SIGN IT!" My words hurl desperation in their faces. Five jumps and yanks his hand out from between the bars. The sound softens, a haunting moan. Setrakus Ra glances at me and gives a small smile.
"I knew it wouldn't take long to convince you."
I push his words aside as I lift the pen, trembling, and scribble my signature across the bottom. My sloppy signature dips below the line and bleeds ink across the page, but it doesn't matter. He got what he wanted. As I lift my pen from the final stroke, Setrakus grins broadly.
A pain flares at the base of my neck. I scream, clapping my hand to it, but my fingers burn on contact. The pain grows fiercer, clouding my mind. It feels as if someone is pressing a burning poker to my neck. Through the pain, I see my signature glowing purple on the document. I clap my hands over my mouth to stop the screams and collapse onto the steps, letting only small whimpers escape as my vision turns blindingly white. Is he trying to kill me?
As the pain finally begins to die down, I smell a putrid burning smell. Setrakus Ra nods approvingly, pointing to his neck at his purple splotch.
"Now you have one too. The mark of a Mogadorian leader."
I gag, clutching my neck. A mark just like his.
"You might be wondering why I was so eager to label you." He murmurs.
"Now that you have this scar, every attack you do to me will be inflicted upon, you, also." He smiles cruelly. "And because of this scar, you are now bound to Mogadore and the Mogadorians."
Is this his way of making sure I don't escape from here? To make sure I stay compliant?
Setrakus Ra smiles, pleased with himself. "And all the better that you were chosen, since you are the tenth Elder." My mouth parts slightly. I am?
"You are Pittacus Lore."
A wave of confusion crashes into me. What?
No, that can't be.
No, no, no. He must be joking. I'm not strong enough. I'm not brave enough. I'm not even old enough yet.
But he's telling the truth though; I can tell. His lips twitch up at the corners, content with his power, and now with his invincibility.
What have I done?
A/N: Thanks for reading, everyone! I'm so sorry but I'm going to have a bizarre update schedule because of school. I'm going to be crazy busy!
Side note: I founded a reading and writing club at my school and we're starting this year! I'm really excited for that, and of course we'll be discussing the Lorien Legacies!
Special thanks to:
TheAdventuresofaNerd for your comforting words!
Samthevariablex for your enthusiasm!
PD106 for your bright comments!
Sixisshortforsixty for the update reminder! (Love your username, by the way!)
Meerkat78 for being my penpal (or snapchat pal really) halfway across the world!
Thanks to all the guests who reviewed; I would love it if you commented with an account so I could thank each and every one of you! (But of course, do what you prefer!)
And lastly, to all who have read this and given me a chance!
P.S. Review/message me if you want an excerpt of the draft where instead of Five accidentally spills the acid all over himself. I decided to cut it out because it didn't work with the plot hahaha.