Blood & Lust [Book Two of The City of Eternity Series] [✔]

2.14: Perfidy

As soon as I had stepped over the threshold of the door a guard had stepped forward and roughly pulled a covering over my head. Quite frankly, being thrust into darkness was becoming a cumbersome activity that in future I'd hope to avoid.

I'd been walked with a hand gripping my arms behind me, the guard holding me so tightly I could feel my arms bruising as we went. Ruben and the guard didn't speak the entire journey, so the only thing left to keep my thoughts company was the annoyingly repetitive in-unison footsteps the two were taking; each one made a dissatisfying thud against the concrete floor. Then every so often we'd pass a small group of masked people having whispered conversations that usually ceased as we passed.

I hadn't gotten any grasp of my surroundings when I'd been shoved into a cold, hard chair - even the process of binding my arms to that chair had been done in complete darkness, my five senses not allowed to act together for a single passing second. As the ropes are pulled to an agonising tightness, the cover is removed from my head to reveal nothing of consequence.

Ruben is standing in front of me, staring at the guard rather than me, but other than that, there was nothing to catch my attention. It was a similarly plain room, much like the holding cell I was just sulking in - grey concrete walls, a complete lack of windows, and a singular rotationally locked door on the wall in front. The only real difference was the considerable decrease in the size of the room.

It left me questioning where this building could possibly be within the walls of the city; the usage of this building post the unification of the species were few and far between - the only truly plausible option being a large prison, but Barewood hadn't built a prison within the city limits, the nearest being a town or two away.

Ruben had escorted the guard back towards the exit, more quietly spoken words said between them. That guard had hurried out a few steps before Ruben, who had continued to walk from me. He'd stopped at the metal door, hand resting against the wall as he peeked his head out. One of the masked guards was standing idly by, barely viewable just shy of the door, "I don't want any interruptions, G-23. I don't want anyone to open that door until I am done and satisfied. You understand me?"

I watched on as the guard seemingly nodded at his request and took a step back from the door. Ruben steps back towards me, the metal door slamming shut with an alarming thud.

I whimper, the sound escaping my mouth involuntarily. An action that he doesn't fail to notice, almost snarling at it, in fact.

"Pathetic," He'd spat as he turned back towards me. The very tone of it made me want to panic, "You, whimpering at my presence. What is wrong with you, Vee?"

I swallowed hard; whatever personality I tended to use around Ruben had safely retreated, leaving the far more vulnerable version of me to stand up for themselves. Unfortunately, that version was wholly unable to do so.