A/N: Yo! Rejoice my faithful readers for a new chapter is here.
And its Syaoran's turn to tell us what happens. Yay!
And I answer a few of the questions that I asked at the end of the previous chapter.
But as usual, new questions arise to take their place. *Shrugs* oh well, that's just the way things go in my stories.
I hope you enjoy reading it just as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Don't forget to leave a review.
The witch dragged me back to my feet but I didn't have the strength to remain standing anymore. I slumped against her, which just made her laugh that sick laugh.
"Tired already?" she whispered in my ear, leading me through the corridors. Any sense of direction evaded me till I was standing in front of that metal door.
Inside, the flickering light bulb illuminated the metal table. A harsh twinge of fear struck me.
No… Not that again…
But the witch just cackled at the look on my face.
"No, we're not doing that again." She spoke softly. "I have something more fun planned out."
She turned me around and marched me down the hallway, then around a corner before coming to a stop outside an identical black metal door. She flicked her hand and the door slid open.
It was completely empty, save for a pair of shackles attached to the end of a chain hanging from the roof. And the room was lit by, once again, a flickering light bulb.
What is it with those stupid light bulbs?
I couldn't do much to oppose her as she swiftly grabbed my hands and cuffed them together. Once she was done she let go of me and I immediately fell on my knees, unable to fall any further because the chain held my hands above my head.
The ribs poked me and I gave a weak cry.
"Oh, did I mention that I used a spell on your broken ribs?" she said gleefully as she walked over to a lever in the wall next to the metal door. "No matter how much they stab you inside, they won't pierce anything."
So that explained why I didn't have a punctured lung by now.
She pulled the lever and I heard the cranking of shafts and the squeaking of gears in the wall before the chain began to ascend. I was pulled back on my feet and soon I was dangling on my toes, my feet barely able to touch the ground.
My chest protested the position I was in by sending sharp spikes of pain everywhere.
My eyes watered as I panted in an attempt to breathe; my body twisting against my binding in an attempt to balance me.
"There." She announced happily as she walked back towards me. She was smiling again. "All done.
Without even thinking about it, I spat the blood out of my mouth but she jumped out of the way.
I glared at her angrily as she just laughed at me, moving close enough to ruffle my hair with her hand.
"You are a very amusing boy." She chuckled, dropping her hand to her side. "And you remind me a lot of another amusing pet I used to have."
"…"
"I gave the mage an entire week to rescue that pet, you know." She told me in a matter-of-fact way. "But he failed." She shook her head as she paced in front of me. Her gaze then travelled to me, her eyes hardening as she spoke. "He was too late."
In less than the blink of an eye, she was right before my face. "I wonder if he can get you out in time."
Something silver flashed in my line of sight before the cold blade created a searing hot slash across my skin. I gasped as the blood began flowing from the shallow but painful cut.
"Don't think I take kindly to being hit." She hissed angrily in my ear. The wooden hilt of the knife slammed into the wound and I couldn't stop myself from crying out. Once the pain lessened, I glowered at her through watering eyes as she pulled away from me and stood before me.
"Like I care about that." I tried to snarl but the effect was ruined due to the fact that my voice was hoarse and weak. But that didn't bother me much. At least I had overcome my fear.
I didn't know why but for some reason, I no longer felt afraid. Maybe it was because I had managed to hurt that witch in return for what she had done to me. Or maybe it was something else. But for now, I didn't feel the fear I had felt in that room where I had been electrocuted or the fear that I had felt outside in the hallways.
What was even better was that my body was finally under my control. Well, sort of.
I wasn't shaking anymore!
She slapped me across my face, her face twisted in fury.
"I thought I told you never to use that tone with me." She hissed, grabbing hold of my chin and forcing me to look into her chilling black eyes.
"Like I said," I hissed, narrowing my eyes as I met her stare. I was past caring what she did to me. I was done being scared of her. "I don't care."
Unnervingly fast, a smile broke out on her face.
She fingered the knife in her hand, observing it with the same fascination that a six year old might have with a lighter. She looked at me out of the corner of her eye before flicking the knife in my direction. I clenched my teeth in hopes of stifling the yell as the blade buried in my upper thigh.
Her hand moved idly over the hilt of the embedded knife before her fingers curled around it.
In an almost bored manner, she twisted and turned it, this way and that. My muscles were alive with pain but I forced myself to keep my mouth clamped shut. But even then, I couldn't stop the strangled noise from escaping my throat.
I felt fresh tears slide down my cheeks as she continued jostling the knife. Finally, she pulled it out of my leg. My head spun as a wave of dizziness rolled over me.
"Maybe I should put you out of your misery," she said thoughtfully as she ran a finger around my wound. It stung like hell but I just kept my jaw clenched. "It's not like the High Mage is ever going to figure out where we are."
"They will come." I said through gritted teeth, not sounding very convincing.
"Oh?" she cocked her brow, grinning madly. "It doesn't sound like you believe that very much."
I didn't answer, choosing instead to screw my eyes close when her finger dug inside the cut. I bit my lip. Suddenly her finger disappeared and a sheet of something cool began to envelop me.
I opened my eyes to see black runes surrounding my whole body. I felt them pull at my very core, shredding the fibers apart, searching for something.
A prod here, a poke there and I knew what she was looking for. The source of my magic!
She was going to steal it away!
I screwed my eyes shut once again in concentration as I began to resist her spell.
I was not going to lose it to that witch.
The poking grew more insistent, tugging and pulling apart the shields I erected to protect myself. I grit my teeth, giving my all into opposing her. I heard her give an enraged cry as she doubled the force of her spell. But I still held on.
It continued this way for a very long time. My brain was pounding against my skull but my body felt numb. Just when I thought I was going to lose, the witch released the spell.
I forced my eyes open and looked at her blearily.
Her face was red with anger as her figure shook with barely suppressed rage.
"Just like that witch." I heard her whisper. "You will break… Just like that witch..." Her smoldering eyes met mine as her voice grew louder. "The mage won't save you!" she yelled angrily as a black mist began forming in the air before me.
The next few second passed in slow motion as the mist condensed into pitch black petals made out of some dark liquid. They hovered in the space between us as the witch observed me with cold eyes. Tantalizingly slow at first, the petals floated towards me, circling all around me.
My body swayed slightly, the chains tugging at my wrists, sending sharp pinches of needles down the length of my arms and sides.
And then the petals shot towards me.
Wherever they touched my flesh, hot sparks of fire erupted as the black liquid clung on to my skin. Like tar. But unlike the sticky liquid, this substance burned. Hoarse screams echoed all around me and it took me a moment to realize that they were mine.
The witch was laughing again.
God! How I hated that laugh.
I twisted around where I hung, my wrists rubbing against the cold metal of the manacles holding me above the ground as I became enveloped in a shower of excruciating pain. I was no longer aware of the passage of time but finally my legs gave out under me, only the shackle holding me upright. My shoulders were threatening to break apart as I writhed in agony, the black acid sizzling my skin, leaving behind bleeding burns.
It felt like I was on fire, my tormented cries ringing in my ears. That mad woman's delighted laughter was the last thing I was aware of before it all became too much for me to take and I blacked out…
"Enjoying yourself boy?" her breath tickled against my ear. I opened my eyes, only to see the petals vanish all around me.
My whole body trembled as I panted; I felt blood run down my arms. And face.
"Would you like to see your precious girlfriend again?" she said, running a finger along the length of my cheek.
"You… Stay the hell… away from her!" I pulled against my restraints, not caring if I ripped off my hands in the process. I'd kill her if she so much as laid a finger on Sakura.
"Or what?" she laughed, watching me struggle as she stepped away from me.
I chose not to answer her, doubling my efforts to get free. The look on her face grew bored after a while.
"Enough," she said forcefully, raising a hand and my muscles froze. I couldn't move.
She slid the door open and walked out, coming back inside not more than a minute later.
In her hands was a long medical syringe filled with some sort of grey-colored liquid.
I tried forcing my muscles to move but they didn't even twitch as she neared.
"Do you know what this is?" she said, raising the needle to my face.
"…" no sound escaped my lips.
"What?" she looked at me with mock disappointment, "You don't even want to hazard a guess?"
"Fine," she smiled, taking my chin in her hand, "I'll just let you find it out on your own."
She repositioned her hand next to my eye, pointing the silver metallic end of the syringe towards my eye. Instinctively I clamped my eyes shut.
"Now now," she let go of my chin, I felt her fingers over my closed right eye, "You'll never find out this way." She pulled my eyelids apart, forcing me to look at her deranged grin.
She stayed that way for a while, letting me struggle against whatever spell was holding me in place; but no matter what I did, it wouldn't budge. And then she stabbed the needle in my eye, forcing the liquid inside. Black clouded my vision but I knew I wasn't passing out. It was the liquid.
She was blinding me!
I felt her pull the needle out before grabbing hold of my other eye. She repeated the process, rendering me unable to see anything.
I opened my eyes to their fullest extent but there was nothing but black to see.
Horror struck me.
I was blind!
She released the freezing spell, allowing me to shake like leaf. The shackles were cutting painfully into my wrists but I didn't care…
I couldn't see.
No matter how hard I tried to stay calm, I couldn't. I was beginning to hyperventilate. My breaths came in short gasps as I glanced wildly around me, my heart and mind both racing; I was panicking.
There was nothing to see, no way of knowing what she was going to do to me next. I heard her footsteps move away from me, towards the metal door.
"Don't worry boy, you'll see her sooner than you think." I heard her slide the door shut and then I was alone.
I stepped around the floor lightly, trying in vain to keep myself steady, to keep the weight off of my wrists. To stop straining my chest but it was no use. I wavered on the spot, like a lone banner, fluttering in the winds of a bloodied battlefield.
My eyes were still wide open in hopes of seeing something, but even with a flickering light bulb overhead, there was nothing but darkness for me.
-0-
"Syaoran…" her soft voice reached my ears.
"Syaoran…"
"Saku-ra?" I whispered hoarsely, lifting my head up in hopes of seeing her beautiful face but I couldn't.
"Oh Syaoran." I heard her sniffle from somewhere to my right. I turned my head in the direction of her voice.
"Sakura, are you alright?" I asked her praying that it wasn't the witch that had brought her here.
"I'm fine but…" she cried. "Oh Syaoran…"
"Don't worry Sakura." I lied, in hopes of reassuring her that my bloody body did not feel like it would fall apart any second. "It's not as bad as it looks."
My throat was parched and talking to her was a big effort on my part. But I couldn't tell that to her. I licked my cracked lips trying to return some moisture to them but it wasn't of much use seeing as my mouth was just as dry.
"What are you doing here?" I asked her instead.
"I-I…" she sobbed, "That bald man, he knocked me out… and then he brought me here…"
"Did the witch hurt you?" I felt rage blind me.
Hah! Blind me.
I was already blind.
"N-no. She just… locked me in this cell…" She answered. "I'm chained to the wall…"
That would explain why she sounded far from me. But I felt relieved. At least she wasn't hurt.
But if Sakura was captured and brought here then…
"Where is Fai?" I asked, fearing the worst but hoping that the cold dread in the pit of my stomach was nothing more than that. A bad feeling.
"S-she.. The witch…" she hiccupped loudly. I could imagine her pale face wet with tears, her eyes puffy. I wanted so badly to be able to comfort her. "S-she… She killed him." She wailed loudly.
My whole world was frozen as my mind went blank.
She… killed him?
No.
No!
"Syaoran…" she kept sobbing, but I was in shock. My muscles stiff, I tried to say something but my mouth kept opening and closing and no sound came out.
Fai-san… was dead.
A/N: Bet none of you were expecting that! I just killed Fai! And Sakura is in Akira's hands! And Syaoran is blind! And Kurogane is… still dead! *Shot*
Lolz… hehe.. Erm yeah. Review if any of the above mentioned statements caught you by surprise while you were reading the chapter. Also review if any of the above mentioned statements made you want to kill me while you were reading the chapter. And please review if you have a twisted mind like mine and enjoyed reading the chapter. ;)
I just hope none of you are planning to join the angry mob once again, cuz I really don't like bloodthirsty angry mobs that are out to get me because I put my favorite characters through so much pain. I have a twisted mind people. Deal with it. ;)
And don't try to kill me for it. Because if you do that now, what are you going to do when you read what happens to them in the coming chapters? Trust me. You wouldn't wanna kill me before you read the upcoming chapters.
I should really stop rambling at the end of each chapter and keep these author's notes short and to the point. Hmm… I probably should. Oh well, this one is already too long and well… I should probably go now.
Till next time.
Ciao!
