Blackmoore Academy (On Hold)

Chapter Five

Gwendolyn whimpered. Sweat dripped down her face, and her hair stuck to the back of her neck. She huffed and a strand of hair fluttered in front of her face. Rhaen smiled and tucked the unruly strand behind Gwendolyn's ear. Rhaen and her sister circled Gwendolyn like hawks.

"What do you want from me?" Gwendolyn demanded. "What do you want me to say?" Rather than answer the twins both grabbed her. A scream erupted from her throat and she flung her head back. Rhaen's fist sailed through the air, connecting hard with Gwendolyn's stomach. She dry-heaved. Her stomach was too empty to produce vomit. "Please!"

Rhaen backhanded Gwendolyn; her head snapped to the side so violently she swore she thought it might break. "You have to learn that begging won't get you anything." Rhaen glanced at who sister, who now stood, sullenly - by the door. "What do you think, sister dear?"

"Imagine the people in the Underworld. They suffer like this for eternity." It was the most she'd said all night.

"Don't tell me you pity them, Rhetsae." Rhaen approached her sister, eyes narrow. Rhetsae stood her ground, her face an unreadable mask. Gwendolyn hoped they would fight and kill each other and end her suffering. "I always knew you were soft."

Rhetae hunched and stood in the corner. "I'm not weak," she stated, with little conviction. Her eyes flicked between Gwendolyn and her sister.

Tension brewed between the two, like water sputtering from a cauldron left too long over a fire. Gwendolyn squelched the sudden uge to egg the fight; it might direct their fury at her, instead.

"Let me show you how it works, sister dear." Rhaen smirked and strode towards her hostage. "It's us against the world." She patted Gwendolyn on the head. "We were chosen. Hades himself blessed us."

Or cursed you, Gwendolyn thought.

"You can either rule over your own fate, or be like them." Rhaen stepped away and thrust a finger at her sister. "I know you. You're strong enough to withstand this. You on the other hand." Rhaen turned back to face Gwendolyn. "You won't make it three days here."

"What do you want me to do?"

Rhaen moved her hands to the bare skin of Gwendolyn's neck, squeezing tight, depriving her of air. Her body raised out of the chair, and she flung her head back. Gwendolyn's eyes bulged in her skull. Spittle dribbled from her mouth and whatever scream had formed in her throat was strangled, resulting in a garbled moan.

"Would you be willing to risk everything for your family?" The hot air from Rhaen's breath tickled Gwendolyn's ear. "Would you die for us?"

"You're not my family!"

"Shut up!" Rhaen placed her hands over Gwendolyn's rib cage. She wailed and struggled against her restraints.

"That's enough!" The woman from yesterday entered the cell. "We want to train her, not kill her."

"You mean you want to break me." Silence settled on the room. "Go on. Say what you mean."

"Gwendolyn, I am known as Mistress Dalia." Gwendolyn clamped her mouth shut, too terrified to speak up any longer. "When you aren't training with the twins you will spend your time with me. Leave us." Dalia looked over her shoulder and watched the girls leave. "Charming, aren't they?"

"What will it take for me to get back home?"

"Come a month you won't want to go home." Dalia chuckled.

"And if I do? If I don't want to be here after a month?"

"Then we'll send you home. You have my word."

Gwendolyn swore to herself then that she'd hold onto her resolve for one whole cycle, after which she'd be sent home. "Thank you."

"You must be wondering why you're here." Gwendolyn didn't dignify her with an answer. "You have a gift, Gwen. A powerful one. We can teach you to hone your abilities."

"What? Hearing voices?"

"There's much more to it than that. Your abilities could go many ways." Dalia paused, searching for the right words. "You could turn out like our prodigy. You could make others bend to your will, Gwendolyn."

"How?"

Dalia laughed. "I'll tell you if you survive training." She walked behind Gwendolyn's chair; no matter how much she squirmed, she could not catch a glimpse of Dalia. "You should hope you pass initiation."

The statement sent Gwendolyn's heart racing, and she couldn't help but ask, "What happens if I fail initiation?"

"You'll be sent...home. Remember? I gave you my word." The air seemed cooler with the words, and all the air left Gwendolyn's lungs. The word 'home' had such an ominous feel, it nearly broke Gwendolyn's resolve. "Let me give you some advice, dear." Dalia leaned down - hands on Gwen's shoulders - and brought her cheek to rest against Gewndolyn's. Air rushed past Gwendolyn's ear as Dalia spoke again. "Don't fail initiation."

*

Sleep didn't come that night; Gwendolyn didn't know how long it had been since she'd gotten a good night's rest. She sat in her cell, twisting her wrists; the bite of chains around her flesh did not impede her struggle for escape. No matter how she pulled or squirmed, she could not free herself. The trickle of blood down her wrists failed to register. The longer she struggled, the more harm she brought to herself.

The night grew darker, and riding in on that dark, like a morbid invitation, were Rhaen and Rhetsae. Gwendolyn killed the panic before it set in; she was intent on enduring whatever they had in store for her. The second night was just as terrible as the first. At one point, Rhetsae and Rhaen each touched a temple.

Immediately, Gwendolyn tensed; her throat tightened and she swore her skull was shrinking - crushing her brain. Her mouth hung slightly ajar and her eyes bulged. No scream came, only a strange gurgle. Lights flashed across her vision. Her world went black.