"Come here, girl."
She stepped forward.
"Have you found him yet?"
She shook her head. But he noticed the split second of hesitation before it.
He beckoned her forward with one hand. She unconsciously stepped towards him.
"Do not lie to me," he said, his voice as smooth and sticky as honey, dripping in black sweetness.
She stepped forward again and he gently wrapped his hand around her throat. A tremor went through her as his grip slowly tightened, his filed-sharp nails sliding across the purple skin.
"After all I've done for you, and to you, I still see that stupid-little-spark. In. Your. Eyes." The last few words were through gritted teeth, his facade going from that sultry smile to a livid demonic visage as his hand tightened sharply around her neck. Her eyes widened and she opened her mouth to gulp in air.
"You understand, don't you? That you're mine? That you'll be mine forever?"
Her face was starting to turn red but she still managed to look him straight in the eye. And despite her small figure, it was as if she was looking down on him from above.
"Jaken!" he spat.
A shadow in the dark jumped and then scurried over to them.
"Anoint her. Again. Drown her in it, if you want. Just make sure she obeys me."
"Yes, master," said the shrivelled, small man. His eyes were bulbous in his bald head. His brown skin had so much olive tint to it that he looked like an angry scab, a pus-filled green.
His master let the girl go, shoving her with all his might across the room with that one hand. The force of the push on her throat almost crushed it and she gasped for air.
"Come, Rin." Jaken said, grabbing her hand and dragging her behind him, not in the least bothered by the fact that she had been thrown across the room.
She struggled up and followed him soundlessly, massaging her sore throat. They went through dark passageways and tunnels to another dark room lit only by a small lightbulb hanging from the ceiling.
Jaken stopped and looked around, then leaned closer to her. "You're a fool!" he whispered.
She said nothing, just glared at him.
"Don't look at me like that. I know, I know, I'm not completely under his spell either, but I've served him long enough that I know how to act like it! If you know what's good for you, you'd do the same. Don't think of anyone else's safety but your own."
Rin turned her head to look at him out of the corner of her eye before patting him on the head. The gesture made him jump and push her hand away.
"Don't treat me like a friend. I'm not."
She gave him a painful smile.
"I'm not," he said again, swallowing thickly. He went over to the back shelf and pulled down a bottle. "Now come here. We need to give you a fresh dose."
She wrinkled her nose but went anyway. She knelt before him and pulled her mass of tangled hair above her head. He dabbed the dark liquid on the back of her neck with his fingers. This had been a ritual for awhile now. Her neck had a permanent discoloration from the perfume, giving the illusion of a deep bruise. But her hair slid back into place and the mark was hidden once more.
It leaked into her pores immediately, going straight to the bloodstream and then to her brain. Something seemed to shut down then, like a house turning off all of its lights or a hallway of doors slamming shut. Her eyes unfocused.
Kanna had taken over once again.