Deadly Desires

Liar

"Ivy...Ivy?"

My eyes flutter open at the sound of a far-off voice calling my name, for a moment I feel nothing as my eyes open to look up to see a grey ceiling. And then pain. 

So prominent, so horrific it's all I can do but let out a shriek. I can't even scream, can't muster up the energy to create the sounds to properly make noises. I gasp and my vocal cords contort again to release an agonising wail. 

"GET OFF HER," A voice roars, I recognise it to be Nikolai's. My eyes focus, as I look down to find the source of my suffering. 

A man crouches down in front of me, wearing a black tux. I can't see his face but I notice the silver blade in his hand, or it was silver but now it's covered in a red liquid. I glance down and stare at my butchered wrist. 

"Hang on buttercup, almost out," He says, his voice is thick with a Russian accent and I stare in horror as he takes the knife and presses it into my wrist again, right at my pulse point and digs the blade beneath my skin. 

I scream again, drowning and writhing in agony. I try to pull away from him but my body is bound to a silver table. The cold metal presses against my exposed skin and I realise with a sense of horror I'm only in a black nightgown. 

There are leather restraints on my arms and ankles, holding me down. I scream again and then a new wave of pain unlike anything I could have ever even imagined washes over me. My whole body seizes, my arms twitch as do my legs and the sound that escapes my throat is inhumane. It sounds feral and untamed, stars twinkle in my eyesight and everything goes black as my brain forces me to pass out so I no longer have to endure this suffering. 

When I come to again, I realise in an instant the pain in my wrist has dulled to an ache. And in the absence of mind-numbing pain, I realise my leg also aches. The cold metal beneath me bites into my skin and a sob comes out as I try and force myself to focus. 

"Poison? You awake?" Nikolai's voice again. It's like a small beam of light that breaks through the darkness that quickly swirls around me. I turn my head to the left, forcing my eyes open as I blink back tears. 

Nikolai is tied to a wooden chair, his hands are in metal cuffs behind his back and his feet are wrapped in endless layers of duct tape that also wrap his middle and tie him to the chair. His face is bloody, with dried blood coming from his nose and his right temple. And yet he's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. 

"Yes," I whisper, my voice is hoarse from the screaming and it hurts to speak. It hurts to even move, I thought the torture that Marissa and Dominic subjected me to was pretty bad. However I managed to get myself out of the dark place, free of PTSD even. But, I was afraid I wouldn't survive this torture. Afraid I wouldn't want to. 

"Focus on the sound of my voice," He says, looking at me. I nodded, tears sliding down my cheeks and Nikolai worked his jaw. 

"Is this the work of Lotus and Shadowborn?" I asked him, trying to think so I could stay conscious. I looked around as I asked, taking in the basement we were in. It was dirty and old, there was no furniture here except for the table I was strapped to and the chair Nikolai was tied to. No windows either, the only source of light came from a couple of exposed lightbulbs hanging from the ceiling. 

"No, this is...worse of the two evils I'm afraid," Nikolai said. I turned my head to the side to look at him again. But he wasn't focused on me, he stared straight ahead, "It's my father." 

My mouth fell open slightly but before I could ask any of the questions I heard a third voice sound across the room, "So good to see you, son." 

My body went rigid with tension as I heard his voice, Nikolai's father's. I couldn't see him yet as he wasn't in my peripheral vision and if anything that made it all worse. I had no control.