Eli's senses first came back with the sharp shoulder and neck pain.
The fang bites created by that cursed diva on Eli burned as if her skin and flesh had been set on fire.
Her breath was wheezing with pain, and she slowly realised that her wrists, arms, ribs and her right ankle also hurt.
If she were lucky, it could be just a twisted ankle and a cracked rib, but she was anything but fortunate that night.
Beyond the scorching pain, Eli's ears started to work. She struggled to regain consciousness, but it was as if a heavy cloud covered her brain, preventing her from awakening. Her eyelids were so heavy, as if they were sealed by molten iron.
She heard chatter. The whispers were angry and hostile.
"That is yet to be decided," a soft, clear, and low voice responded.
The sound was terrifying enough to revive Eli completely—enough for her to remember where she was, who she was, and what hell she was stuck in.
She shot her eyes wide open, taking a sharp breath.
Her mouth fell open.
Fuck
She was in the middle of the large room, the same chamber on the second story. Gone with the orgy, musical instruments, and sensual atmosphere. She looked up, finding her hands chained from the ceiling with a thick iron chain. It was high enough that Eli's heels couldn't touch the floor. The room was filled with a pack of strange, angry varmints, and Eli was satisfied to see they were also wounded. They had gathered around her a few steps away and were whispering to each other.
She looked at herself. Her gloves, leather vest, belt, boots, and weapons were ripped off her. She did not need to look hard to find them. They were on the ground, a few inches away from her bare feet.
Without the leather vest, her deep-cut white shirt was now loose and open, revealing the skin beneath. However, the shirt was no longer white because of dirt, blood, and sweat. Eli took one look at the blood on her breasts and her stomach between the two sides of her shirt, rising and falling with each painful breath, gleaming under the lantern lights. The blood flowed slowly, not drying. She closed her eyes for a second. That meant her wound was not healing. She was about to die soon.
Eli looked up again. The chain was strong enough to support her weight for months.
There was no escape.
Fuck Fuck Fuck
"Now that you have comprehended your situation, we may proceed."
Eli's head shot back to the source of the sound. The mage stood in front of her. His voice was deadly calm, and his eyes looked distant and cold.
Eli swallowed.
She knew there was a slight chance left for her to survive.
Lucky for her, it was not the first time she was scared, in chains, trapped, and facing death. So she took a stern face and reminded herself he was under house arrest - not that it would profit Eli.
The mage was wearing a black robe now. The ruby still rested on his chest, mocking Eli for her failure. He stepped into the red lights, and Eli saw he was much younger than she had imagined. He was probably in his early thirties. His stubble was short, and the features of his face, shoulder-length hair, slender nose, high cheekbones, and jaw all made him look kind and even beautiful.
But his eyes would wipe all that. They were so black that no sun in the world could light them up. His eyes had no mercy, no soul, as if all emotions were pulled away.
ELi's head dropped backwards a little. She knew it was her final hours.
The mage glanced at Eli's belongings on the floor. "Look at that. A Thief!" he sounded disappointed. He sighed. "What a night. And here I assumed my house was watched for political motivations."
So he knew she was eyeing the mansion.
Eli pressed her lips together. She thought she was more discreet than that. However, the house was different from the outside. Maybe he was watching her spying on the building as he sipped his tea behind the window. Or his black potion of toad brain and baby blood. Eli wouldn't know.
"Were you expecting an assassin?" Eli tried her best to look smug while suspended in the air.
The mage looked up.
"Unchain me," She continued, "and I'm more than happy to oblige to your expectations."
She had her experience with being tortured, but she had no idea how mages earned their dark reputation. She braced herself for the mage's blow.
He closed his eyes, a deadly smile on his face. "Oh...you chose the very wrong night to test my patience, and as you know, I'm known for my creativity."
Eli frowned- Her shoulder barked with pain. She was sure the creativity the mage was talking about could make her condition much worse.
The mage narrowed his eyes, studying her face. "Dear heaven, you have no idea who I am, do you?" He sighed, rubbing his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. "Ugh, pathetic; I expected them to hire a high-skilled crook at least."
Now, both the mage and Eli were offended.
Before she could stop them, words came out of her mouth, "I'm no crook!"
"How could you be? It requires a set of skills to be one." He shot back.
"I AM known as an expert!" Eli growled, her jaws locked.
The mage cocked an eyebrow, "Oh? And look how you ended up." He snapped.
That hurt Eli's pride more than her injuries.
The mage exhaled through his nose, shaking his head. "Clearly, I have to lower my standards. Now I have to deal with petty house burglars."
Eli had had enough. "Well then, fuck you and your standards."
The mage was now furious. His eyes glazed with rage, and the red aura of power reformed, circling his right fist.
He closed a step to Eli, stepping on her belongings, and pointed a finger at her, coated with vicious, alarming power and threatening. "Alright, listen now," His voice was low and threatening, "I will level with you. Evidently, you don't seem to know a damn thing about me or even mages. Because then you would've known there is no escaping from a mage. Nobody gets to steal from us and walk freely on earth.
So, the only reason you're still polluting the air of my house with your rancid breath is that it's clear that you're just a pawn of somebody else's scheme. They are pulling your strings, and I intend to identify them. Regardless of the outcome, you will die here, in this house. The only difference is that you have a body to bury by your beloved if you cooperate. Are we on the same page now?"
It took Eli a second to blink away the terror that filled her core. She put on her mask of smugness again. "You surely love to hear yourself talk."
The mage dropped his hand. He lifted his chin, looking down at her. Nobody moved for a few moments. The house again blocked all the sounds of the world.
"Fine," He finally said, "Have it your way. I'll leave you alone for the night to rot here since you reek of cheap booze, garlic, and men's cum." He looked disgusted, his nose wrinkled. "You have the whole night to come to a decision. And I'm forbearing for now."
Eli said nothing as she stared at him. The dark circles around his eyes looked deeper and darker.
"I thought I chose the wrong night to test your patience." Eli teased.
"We'll leave the fun for tomorrow morning, then." He seemed to barely contain himself from strangling Eli to death. His eyes burned with disdain.
"Come on now, let me attend to your wounds." It took Eli a second to realise he was addressing his demons while looking at Eli.
He eventually faced them. They all left the room one by one, murmuring at each other. The mage stopped at the door and looked at Eli over his shoulder. "And I wouldn't be hopeful about that bite mark. That won't close. You'll be slowly bleeding to death."