Mythigore | A Fablehaven and Dragonwatch Adventure |

Chapter Twenty-Three - The Ritual

Jaw clenched, Seth waited in suspense as he heard Chafer's footsteps circle him. A blindfold was placed over his eyes, and his wrist were now bound to the stone floor, both at his sides. The chains were short enough that in order to avoid bending over like he was trying to touch his toes, he had to kneel down.

The ground was hard and sticky, like when you dropped juice on the floor and let it dry instead of cleaning it up. The air around him felt a stale. It could have been the ever growing anxiety building up in his throat, but either way, breathing was slightly difficult.

"This shouldn't hurt too much," Came Chafers voice. "If you just hold still, and try to relax, it might not even hurt at all."

Seth grit his teeth. Relaxing wasn't exactly an easy task for someone who had been kidnapped, magically bound to a couple of witches, and then thrown into captivity. He doesn't know how long he's been away from his family. He doesn't know when the last time he ate was. He doesn't know anything. It was like something was fogging his brain, and because of all that, he most certainly couldn't relax.

"Ruler of shadows, conqueror of light," 

Seth's whole body jolted at the un-human like voice that started to chant. There was no way that came from Chafer.

"Lend me your will as I vanquish one's sight," A deep growl emitted from 'Chafer's' voice, and a chill shot down Seth's spine.

"Sight towards glory, and sight towards the found. Bring him back to when he was lost from their foolish sound."

Seth's whole body shook violently. Small needles of pain pressed against his sides as his head started to pound with a headache. He sucked in a short breath through his teeth before letting out of yelp.  Sweat started to drip from his forehead.

So much for trying to relax.

"An alley of the night, chosen in its power-"

"Stop!" Seth shouted. His ears were starting to ring, now drowning out the rest of, what Seth now understood, was a spell.

He shook his head vigorously despite the pain. There was the feeling of hands on him, crawling up his arms and resting on his neck. "Let go!"

The hands did nothing of the sort. Instead, they started to lightly squeeze. Seth's mind was filled with nothing but panic. He felt too vulnerable with the blindfolded on. What was he supposed to do? He couldn't do anything!

He couldn't make himself sit still, now moving in any way he possible could to avoid the needle like pains in his sides and the hands gripping his throat. "Stop it," Seth's broken plea was met with no noticeable response.

The ringing in his ears got louder. If it weren't for the fact that Seth was in such uncomfortable pain, he would have assumed it was his body protecting him from hearing whatever it was Chafer was saying.

Seth choked as the grip around his throat abruptly tightened, cutting of his ability to breathe. His heart was pounding so hard he swore he wasn't the only one who could hear it. He yanked against his restraints reflexively, only for the chains to stop him from reaching towards his neck.

He couldn't breathe.

Though he couldn't see anything, he still managed to notice stars as he blinked against the cloth around his eyes. His head started to feel lighter, and his lungs were beginning to burn from the struggling effort to try and inhale.

"Please," Seth choked out breathlessly. "Please...."

Before he could even tell if he had been let go or not, Seth's felt his eyes roll back into his head has he fell unconscious.