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Momentarily distracted by the empty feeling spreading through her chest, the guard took her other hand and clipped on the other cuff. He attached a thick rope to the shackles and without another word, started to walk out of the cell, dragging Macey behind him.
She was weak from days without food and struggled to catch up. The fear of being dragged across the dirty ground was all that kept her going.
They passed rows of cells. It was too dark to see if there were any prisoners in there, but if there were, they stayed quiet.
Just when Macey thought that she wouldn't be able to walk for much longer without collapsing, they reached a staircase. Without warning, the guard grabbed her around the waist and threw her over his shoulder as if she was a sack of potatoes.
"Oi!" Macey shouted but it came out as a whimper. She'd not had water since yesterday and her voice was suffering.
In response, the man hit her hard on her bum. She whimpered again both in pain and humiliation. So far, none of the guards had touched her, but it looked like this particular one might be different. And right now, she was completely at his mercy. With her hands shackled, her magic blocked and not able to shift, there wasn't much she could do to defend herself should he start to grope her.
He didn't put her back on the ground when they reached the end of the staircase, but instead continued to carry her on his shoulder. His bones were pressing into her abdomen and it was getting harder for her to breathe. She was almost hoping that they'd reach their destination soon, even though she knew it would probably be worse than what she was going through right now.
They - well, the guard - walked along a bleak corridor before turning right into a courtyard. Macey was expecting to see daylight, but instead, white mist surrounded them. It seemed even thicker than what she was used to from the Staran and it smelled strange... like something was rotting close by. Decay. She started breathing through her mouth, but even so she could taste the wrongness of the mist.
The guard dropped her unceremoniously in the centre of the courtyard and bound the rope connected to her shackles to a pole next to them. She felt as if she was a dog being left behind while its owner did their shopping, and tears of humiliation burned in her eyes.
How the waves did she end up here? And how could she escape?
THERE IS NO ESCAPE, LITTLE KELPIE.
The Voice was booming in her head, louder than ever. She instinctively wanted to cover her ears, but her hands were cuffed.
"What do you want?" she asked feebly, realising how pathetic that sounded.
OH, NOTHING IMPORTANT. ALL I NEED IS YOUR SOUL.
He laughed and Macey thought her head would explode. It hurt so much. Stars were dancing in front of her eyes and her ears were pounding. She was almost hoping that she'd faint from the pain. At least then she wouldn't have to be conscious during whatever he was going to do with her.
NO, YOU WILL STAY AWAKE. YOU WILL FEEL PAIN, YOU WILL FEEL FEAR. I NEED YOU TO SUFFER OR YOU WON'T BE ANY USE TO ME.
"Why? How is that going to help you hurt the Staran?"
She was feeling a bit like she was in a film by now. Keep the bad guy talking in the hope that he'll reveal his evil plans. Even if that meant taking those secrets to the grave.
IS THAT WHAT YOU THINK? THAT I WANT TO DESTROY THE STARAN? OH LITTLE KELPIE, YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW WRONG YOU ARE.
"Then why else are you doing this? Why do you need the Wardens?"
I DON'T NEED YOU. I JUST DON'T WANT YOU TO FULFILL YOUR PURPOSE. SO NOW THAT I HAVE YOU HERE, YOU'RE LIKE ANY OTHER OF MY PRISONERS. I'M GOING TO ENJOY PLAYING WITH YOU THOUGH, YOU HAVE SPIRIT. AND IF YOU'RE STILL AS BRAVE IN THE END, I WILL EAT YOUR SOUL WITH DELIGHT.
"Eat my soul? How is that even possible?"
YOU WILL SEE. SOON. NOW, LET'S HAVE SOME FUN.
There were sounds in the distance. A woman shouting something. Through the thick mist, two people approached. One was the same guard who had brought Macey here, and the other... a young woman around Macey's age, maybe a bit younger. She looked almost too thin to stand and her eyes had a crazed look, even from a distance. She had a bronze collar around her neck, but she wasn't being dragged by the guard. No, she was walking passively by his side.
Macey had a sinking feeling about who the girl might be. And she didn't like that thought one bit.
TWO WARDENS UNDER MY CONTROL. YOU STAND NO CHANCE NOW, LITTLE KELPIE.
The other girl’s head whipped up, and her eyes widened, panic filling them.
“You,” she blurted, half seeming afraid, half relieved. It was almost like she knew who Macey was. Which was impossible, surely?
“Me?”
One of the guards kicked her in the shin, and she hissed, but didn’t cry out. She had bigger things to worry about. Like what would happen if the Voice decided to make Amber attack her. For she had no doubt this was the woman she needed to find.
