The Kiss of the Blade

Chapter Nineteen.

(Recap:They wandered the hallways for a while until an ear-piercing shriek stopped them in their tracks. )

Zee:

Zee's blood turned cold as she froze for a second. Then turned and ran in the opposite direction, Caspar on her heels. Turning random corners and wasting precious time for a while, she finally stopped to catch her breath.

"Zee you need to think rationally, stop acting randomly on instinct." Caspar said, panting. Zee looked at him questioningly. Why was he being so condescending....and insulting? She had always acted on instinct, and almost always been right. Had they been away for so long that he forgot so much about her. It was just like earlier, when he told her to keep her guard up.

No. She shook her head. She was just overthinking. He was just looking out for her. Zee chuckled a bit, remembering how Caspar always told her to stop overthinking.

She stopped when she heard Caspar's voice. "What are you laughing about, at this time." His voice was blunt, cruel almost. Zee had to hide how much it hurt her. He used to join in on her random amusing quirks and jokes, whether he knew why she was laughing or not.

He had changed so much..."Oh nothing. Just how you used to tease me about overthinking." She said, smiling slightly, hoping to get the happy Caspar out.

"Uh.."He hesitated, "Ye-yeah. Sure." Zee turned away, blinking back tears. Had she really been the only one who cared, in their relationship. had he really cared about her so little that he forgot all the fun they had? Or was it just her who clung too desperately on to those memories like a moron?

She just managed to choke out, "Whatever, how do you suggest we get there?". "Follow me," He said, before taking off in a seemingly random direction. She ran after him, sighing. A couple dead-ends, roundabouts and ages of backtracking later, they found themselves in front of a door from which muffled screams were emanating.

Zee started opening the door but then stopped suddenly. She leaned close to Caspar and hugged him.

"What are you -" Caspar began, but he was cut off by Zee's lips on his. He seemed to be really surprised at her sudden kiss because he just stood there and a second later she pulled away. "A good luck kiss." She said, "Like that time in Italy."

Capar smiled, "yeah. Like in Italy,". Zee turned away, her smile disappearing. As she opened the door, only one thought was on her mind. They had never gone to Italy. He really had forgotten.

She turned the handle and pushed open the door. Inside, gagged and streched out on table with his limbs bound to a corner each, lay Noah. His shirt was ripped and lying on the ground.

Ian stood facing the door, a knife in his hand and a cruel smile on his face.

Noah:

(*15 minutes previously*)

Noah stared at the sight before him, losing all hope he had. The single table with its gleaming shackles and the neatly arranged set of torture instruments. The only source of light were several old fashioned oil lamps and the reflections of the flickering flames could be seen on each and every surface.

The room smelt of the tropics - which Noah assumed came from hidden scented candles or the likes - but the stench of stale blood was still penetrating through and stinging Noah's nostrils.

He felt a hand on his back, lightly pushing him forward, and oddly, it gave Noah a sense of familiarity. It reminded him of when he was a child and his mother would guide him. Or when he was a little older and attempted to give Nigel a piggy-back ride.