He pressed the blade harder, making a small cut on her cheek, "Let's see what you have to offer."
With her eyes glaring daggers at him, she slowly reached for the dagger on her waist and placed it on the ground. Then the rest of her hidden weapons. A small axe, another dagger, and even a vial with red liquid on it.
Her jacket, belts, and boots followed. She was now down to her thin black shirt and pants. She was shaking from anger and shame, her pale skin turning red.
Lucian knocked her out with the hilt of the sword, and began to search her clothes for any hidden pockets. He found an amulet under her shirt. He opened it and saw a portrait of a child held by a couple.
'Woodheart's daughter?'
Lucian took everything she had, and used her blood as bait to catch fish. He held her by the arm to keep her body from drifting away, and waited for the fish to bite.
After hours of waiting, a small shark took the bait. The pain woke her up. She screamed as the shark yanked on her leg.
Lucian stabbed the creature in the head, killing it. The shark stopped moving, but its jaws remained clenched on the woman's leg. She continued to curse and cry, trying to pull the dead shark off her leg.
Lucian dragged her with the shark still attached to her to the middle of the shore, where he cut its jaw open. Blood splattered on her face, making her freeze in horror.
"What were your thoughts telling you when you decided to save me?" he asked, cutting the sharks' fins and gills.
She held her leg, her hands trying to close the wound. Removing her shirt, she used it as a bandage.
"Let me guess, they wanted you to avenge your father's death by lowering my guard."
She paled even more, a flicker of doubt in her eyes, "What are you talking about? Are you insane?"
He took out the amulet from his pants pocked, "Penny Woodheart, you should have asked Ash for help, instead of trying to do it on your own."
"Give it back! It's mine!" She lunged at him, only to receive a punch in her guts. She flew a few feet back and landed on her injured leg, making her cry out.
Tucking the amulet inside his pants pocket, Lucian went to wash the meat in the sea and started to cook the thin slices of meat on his palm. The shark's meat began to sizzle and curl up as it cooked. He made sure to cook it thoroughly before he began to eat.
He watched her glaring at him, her eyes burning holes into his head. He could tell by her reaction that he wasn't that far off from the truth.
He stood up, still cooking the meat on his left palm while his right hand held her sword.
She tried to crawl back, but there was no place to hide from the kick he delivered to her injured leg, making her arch her back in pain. The kick made the wound open again, blood gushing out.
'Which Voice belonged to her?' Lucian wondered as another scream echoed in the cove. He knew Voices didn't feel pity or empathy for their hosts, but he still did it.
She clutched her leg, biting her lips to stop herself from crying.
Lucian took a bite of the meat and chewed slowly, forcing another scream out of her by touching her wound with his foot, making her bleed more.
She threw a stone at him, which he dodged easily.
"There's nothing to make fire with," he said, eating another bite, "and you are a good source of light in this dark place," pointing at her glowing hair with his chin, "Maybe I should cut it off and use it to see better."
She covered her head with her hands, but not before he cut a chunk of her hair off with the cutlass. It stopped glowing once it was detached from her body.
He tossed it in the air, watching the long, thin strands fall slowly to the ground.
She crawled away on her elbows, dragging her injured leg behind her, reminding Lucian of a snail without its shell.
There was no satisfaction in torturing their puppets, and even though he knew they didn't value human life, awakened shackleds might be a different matter. Their value increased the longer they stayed alive and the more they accomplished.
Lucian raised the cutlass above her head, and she curled up, covering her head with her hands, "Come out, whoever is controlling her."
His eyes searched her head for any sign of another entity. And indeed, something flickered behind her eyes, a malicious smirk appearing on her lips.
The body rose from the ground, its leg mending instantly, the fingers reaching for the cutlass.
Lucian stepped back, avoiding her arm and kicked her in the stomach. Her body flew back, but instead of hitting the ground, it used the water to propel itself forward, sending a tidal wave at Lucian.
He used the cutlass to split the wave in half, the water splashing around him. Their expertise in astral skills was far greater than his, but what he lacked in skills, he made up for in raw strength.
He ran towards the body, cutting the air with the blade. The body dodged by leaning back, its glowing hair spreading out like a fan. The water behind it rose up, forming giant arms.
Lucian was smacked down by them, the force of the water making him skid across the ground. He rolled to his feet and charged again, cutting through the water arms, and slashing at the body.
The body blocked the attack with its arm, the cutlass cutting through flesh and bone, yet it didn't bleed, held by the astral energy around it.
The body grinned at him, a golden halo forming above its head, like a crown of light, and pushed him back with its astral energy.
Lucian's feet dug into the ground, but the pressure was too much, and he was thrown back again. He hit the cliff wall with his back, and slid down, coughing blood.
The body raised its arm, and the water began to rise, forming a giant fist. It aimed at Lucian, ready to crush him.
Lucian released his own astral energy, a wave of heat spreading out, drying the ground and turning the air humid. The water evaporated before it could reach him, turning into mist.
He continued to push the heat, making the mist thicken and surround the body like a fog. He couldn't see her body, but he could sense its movement, and lunged at it with the cutlass.
The sick laugh echoed in his head, as the fog cleared and the body was nowhere to be seen. The cutlass was stuck in the rock, the edge broken from the impact.
Lucian pulled it out and looked around. Gone, along with Penny's body.
He cursed under his breath and returned to his shark meal, his hand trembling as he cut more pieces from it on the rock.