The Awakening

Chapter Thirty Two

Avelon knew the moment her consciousness returned, when she could not move, that someone had knocked her out and had restrained her. The pounding in her head signalled that the blow had been with the intention to cause more harm than good.

She almost snorted. Her hysteria was creeping back in.

She had expected that Elha would find her again.

They had three affinities left to play with- to test on her, and she had known they would find and restrain her at least thrice more for experiments. She expected it, and yet, she had been gravely unprepared for the encounter. Just as she was unprepared for the library incident.

Avelon had replayed the moment over and over again in her head. She had planned to run the moment she saw Elha. At the same time, she wanted to fight- to strangle Elha with her bare hands, though none of the visions had included the possibility of an ambush.

How stupid of her.

She frowned, blowing out a deep breath through her nose. She should have expected more.

She refused to move her face in the slightest or open her eyes as she silently listened to whatever sounds may have roused around her- nothing met her ears. Strange, she thought. Normally Balor and Elha would be waiting for the exact moment she woke up, and yet it seemed that no one was in the room with her. Her frown deepened and her forehead creased. Something did not sit well with her. Slowly she pried her eyes open into thin slits, surprised to be met with complete darkness. Swallowing the lump forming in her throat, she opened her eyes fully.

The darkness seemed to smile at her- if that was even possibly. She quickly realized that it was not just normal darkness that greeted her.

"Ah, I see you've become well acquainted with my shadows." Balor's voice was muffled, though Avelon could hear him well enough. His voice radiated all around her simultaneously.

"The recognition on your face gives you away." Balor tsked. Disappointment evident in his voice.

Avelon snarled at the sound. He had no right in judging her characteristics.

"I don't like it when children think they can interfere in my business." His voice rose with a snap, the shadows surrounding her pulsing in response.

The shadows were excited.

Avelon shrugged off the uncomfortable wave of caution that veiled her senses and tried opening her mouth to object, but Balor cut her off. "Silence!"

Her mouth slammed shut. She could not see anything, but she could feel Balor's glare boring into her skin. A shrill ringing filled her ears as the shadows darted toward her. They pulsed against her skin, analysing- burning. She opened her mouth once again, a shout muffled by the shadows shoving through her mouth into her throat.

Her eyes widened.

Undiluted, unmeasurable pain hit her with a force she was unfamiliar with. She gagged involuntarily as she tried to comprehend what was happening. It felt as though the shadows themselves were unravelling every vein and muscle fibre within her. Her screams were swallowed by the darkness flowing in through her mouth. Avelon tried pulling against her restraints with all her strength, though her body barely moved. Her breathing was smothered by the relentless assault of the darkness.

HELP! She shouted within herself, hoping that something would release her from the pain she was in.

The pain that filled her body was unbearable to the point of passing out. Avelon could not fathom how Brianne had felt while the shadows were steadily climbing her body. She had not hinted at any measure of the pain that Avelon was feeling.