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Her fingers laced through his, Liora led him to the precipice. There was nothing visible through the mists below them, save for a few streaks of intermittent light. Stephen’s palms grew moist and his throat became dry. When he turned his head to the side, the shifting expressions in her eyes were still able to convey so much. He inched closer to the edge, his trust in her implicit, and he flashed her what he hoped looked like a confident smile. Pushing his fears aside, he gripped her hand as they stepped into the flickering abyss.
Part Three:
The Glimpses of Possibility
Chapter Sixteen
A pair of furry hands grabbed Liora’s shoulders as she stumbled into the illuminated basement. Sharp claws dug into her skin and she winced. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the drastic change in light, yet she didn’t need to turn around to know who had restrained her.
“Well, well…our missing maiden has finally wandered home. And she seems to have picked up a traveling companion along the way.”
She jerked her head to see Stephen in a similar predicament. His arms were twisted behind his back by none other than Thirvar, whose malevolent sneer sent a shiver down her spine. He continued to immobilize the intruder as he shook his head at the newly-arrived pair. “It’s been ages since we last had a visitor to Marindal. I am not sure how I feel about this. Perhaps I should eliminate him right away.”
“No!” She tried to move toward him and was unsuccessful as Kai held her back in a merciless grip. “Don’t hurt him!”
Thirvar laughed, the sickening sounds echoing off the clammy stone walls. “They must have become friends quickly. How sweet.” He dragged Stephen across the room until they both stood at the bottom of the steps. “Say good-bye, Liora. Kai will be taking this man to the castle and keeping an eye on him until I can decide what to do. About both of you.”
Liora said nothing, nor did she make any futile movements when the humanesque cat released her to take Stephen into his charge. Fear glinted in her lover’s eyes, and she yearned to reach out to him, to reassure him. She assumed any revelations about their relationship would only further enrage her master. Keeping silent, her gaze never left him as he was led up the stairs to an unknown fate.
Once they left, she faced away from Thirvar, refusing to admit any fright or remorse. “Did you really think I wasn’t going to find out?” he asked.
She didn’t respond.
“I’ve executed traitors for far less, you know.”
“You’re not going to kill me. You can’t.”
He spun her around and kept her face directed toward his with his fingers clamped on her chin. His free hand extended toward the sphere and skimmed along its surface. The turquoise clouds changed to a dusky midnight beneath his touch, spreading throughout the globe’s entirety.
In a split second, she felt as if all the air had been sucked from her lungs. The bejeweled cuffs on her wrists tightened, digging into her flesh as the atmosphere of the room bore down upon her, oppressing her with unrelenting force. She tried to scream, but no sound came out. Thirvar held her up as her knees buckled and her arms went limp. Darkness clouded her vision. She could barely make out the lines of his vindictive smile while she prayed for unconsciousness to overtake her and the agony to end.
When she thought her world was about to disappear for good, he withdrew his hands from both her and the sphere and let her slump to the ground. As she gasped for air, his words to her were almost drowned out by the noise. “Are you so sure?”
Her only answer was her continued struggle for breath. He sighed and leaned over, shaking his head at her again. Plucking her off the floor with ease, he slung her over one of his bulky shoulders and carried her up the stairs. He pulled a chair out from the table with his foot and dumped her into it, ignoring her weakened state. “Whatever happened to my sweet, docile Liora?” he murmured as he towered over her. “This is not what I expected to come home to. I am thoroughly displeased.”
Despite her wheezing, she forced out a response. “If you do anything to him, I will no longer do what you ask of me.”
“I don’t believe you’re in a position to negotiate.”
“On the contrary. You need me to manage your precious shield, and now my work is going to come at a price.”
Thirvar glared at her. “In another time and another place, I might have found your defiance an enticing challenge, but I don’t have time for foolish arguments. You will do as you are told.”
“As soon as you promise me you’ll keep him alive.”
His glower never faltered. When she didn’t back down, he moved toward the exit. “I hope you enjoyed your little voyage, Liora. It’s the last you’ll be seeing of anything outside these four walls for quite some time.” As he slammed the door behind him, a blood red cloud wafted through the space beneath it. She waited until he was long gone and approached the doorway.
No matter what she did to the doorknob, it refused to budge. Her attempts to open the windows were met with similar results. A search of the room revealed her stockpile of nonperishable food had been removed in her absence. Aside from the furniture, her prison was stripped bare. Somehow, he had anticipated needing to make good on his threats.
Liora returned to her chair, exhaling as she sat back down. She knew what he wanted, but she wasn’t ready to surrender. Now that she had involved Stephen in her affairs, she needed to ensure his safety, even at the risk of her own. Her only bargaining chip was her influence on the magical barrier, and she was prepared to let it decay until she received word her aspiring hero was still alive.
***
Two days passed, and Liora was fatigued from hunger. The faucets at the sinks worked intermittently, and she had no way of knowing when she would be able to quench her thirst. She surmised the energy barrier must have been weakened by her lack of attentive care, but she refused to look it over.
On the morning of the third day, she lay in bed long after the morning sun filled the room with its taunting luminosity. Tempted to give into Thirvar’s demands, she toyed with the idea of reaching out to Marindal’s perimeter. Thoughts of Stephen suppressed those urges, and she was determined to hold out for as long as possible.
She was unsure of how much time had passed when, in her delirious state, she thought she heard the door open. Her assumptions were accurate, and her lord appeared before her, blocking the streams of light from the window with his mammoth frame. She met his cold stare head-on and said nothing to him.
