Soul blades (Light of the 7 Blades: Book 1)

CHAPTER 1

Scarlett's eyes snapped open in fright. Her breaths came out as muffled pants behind her captor's hand. Scarlett grabbed at the hands holding her captive, which caused the grip to turn painful. Her eyes widened in shock. Her eyes focus on a man with a horrendous scar on his face above her. More hands grabbed her by her wrists and feet, preventing her from struggling. Shivers ran down her spine as Scarlett's mind registered the assault. Tears leaked down her face. Unable to scream or move Scarlett stared fearfully into her assailant's eyes. He returned her gaze with a glare and commanded, "I want you to get up very slowly. Don't make any sudden movements." With a slight nod of confirmation from Scarlett, the assailant took a step back. Her hands were held in an iron grip as her feet were released. She slowly edged her legs over the side of the bed. Her feet landed with a thud. The touch of the cold floor added to her shock. She stood on shaky legs. Her wrists and her elbows were bound tightly together with rope behind her back. Even bound, Scarlett's assailants retained their iron hold.

Scarlett focused her attention back on the person that seemed to be in charge. He was dressed in a completely black stealth suit, whereas, the rest of his men were dressed in dark grey and their faces were covered. The grip on her mouth tightened as the leader commanded, "You have two options: when I remove my hand, you will remain silent and cooperative, or we will sedate you. Understood?" Scarlett nodded numbly with tears in her eyes. She started to cry. He released her mouth and signaled for one of his men to move forward as he stood to the side. "Open your mouth," he commanded harshly. Scarlett's eyes closed in defeat. She opened her mouth, as tears dripped down her cheeks. He moved forward to place the gag in her mouth, securing it behind her head. Her body shook. While he returned to his original position, waiting for further instructions.

The leader seemed to be satisfied while he signaled for his men to move out of Scarlett's room. Three of the soldiers stepped in front of her as she was pushed out of her bedroom. She heard a noise. Glancing back over her shoulder, she saw the leader place a letter on her desk, looking up, his gaze locked with Scarlett's, as she was pushed forward again. She stumbled. With her arms bound and mouth gagged, she was led through the hallway to the open front door. The night was silent as they exited the dark house. They continued out to the driveway where two black vans were parked. At the sight of the vans, she halted in her steps. Her eyes flickered. She attempted to scan for a way to escape. Having seen the front gates open. She planned to make a dash for cover behind the wall attached to the gate. Before she could take a step in their direction, Scarlett was hit brutally from behind between her shoulder blades. She let out a cry as she fell to the pavement. Rough hands picked her up by her arms to place her back on her feet. Glancing behind, Scarlett saw the leader glaring at her. She let out a shaky breath.

The leader motioned for her to keep moving. The leader turned around at the sound of thumping feet as a harsh bark sounded into the night. A Great Dane approached their group. Scarlett's Great Dane Molly leaped onto the leader. The sudden appearance of Molly distracted the soldiers holding Scarlett. She bolted halfway across the driveway at a dead sprint. A soldier near her grasped her by the arm and pulled her back. She swung back around. She used the momentum to kick the soldier in the shins. The kick forced him to let go with a groan as he dropped towards the pavement, she continued to bolt towards freedom. Scarlett flinched as she heard a loud, resounding bang echo into the night followed by a pained yelp. Tears streamed down her cheeks as Molly— her first ever pet— was shot and most probably killed. Engines roared to life. Scarlett had managed to sprint to the gate before the soldiers had caught up to her in their vans.

Scarlett let out tired pants. She risked a glance over her shoulder. To her horror, she saw the soldiers were catching up to her on foot. The vans were driving alongside her sprinting form. The side of one of the van's doors slid open to reveal two non-descriptive soldiers. They jumped out of the van and tackled Scarlett to the ground. She let out an anguished cry. Her clothes ripped and shredded as her figure skid across the pavement. Her body ached. Her vision blurred as pain bloomed through her whole body. The soldiers pinned her figure to the ground and pushed her face into the pavement. Scarlett was crushed to the point that she could barely breathe.

The vans circled back to where she lay and parked near Scarlett. The door opened with a bang. The leader climbed out of the van and retrieved an object from his pocket. The unknown object appeared in her field of vision. Scarlett panicked when it appeared to be a syringe with an unknown clear liquid. She tried to thrash away. She sagged in defeat. Her body was exhausted and in tremendous pain, as black spots appeared in her vision. The leader strolled towards Scarlett. He dropped to one knee as if to propose and none too gently injected the fluid into her neck. She flinched. He stood back and dialed a number on his phone. Her vision darkened. The last thing she saw was the glare of the leader's icy, blue eyes.

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Scarlett felt movement underneath her as she slowly regained consciousness. She breathed in deeply. As senses returned to her, she heard one of the soldier's comments, "...You know, you went a little overboard with hitting her in the back when she stopped, Commander. It wasn't necessary. She hasn't woken yet and won't have been able to do any damage to any of us..." he was interrupted by his leader.

"That's easy for you to say! The last one we were sent to capture hadn't woken then, but he had still managed to scar my face before we succeeded to sedate him," sneered the leader. While they were talking, Scarlett cautiously opened her eyes. She moaned softly in defeat as her sight was covered by a blindfold. She tried to move her legs. However, they were bound to the side of the van. Her body sagged in defeat. A groan escaped her lips as pain coursed through her body. The voices suddenly stopped as muffled footfalls stepped closer to where Scarlett lay against the van's seats. She felt a prick by her neck again. Her mind drifted once more into the darkness.

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When Scarlett first regained consciousness, she was blinded by a bright light above her as she slowly opened her eyes. She breathed in slowly. There was a beeping sound near her head and an oxygen mask attached to her mouth. She attempted to sit up. Her attempt was halted by the bound attached to the sides of the bed that she was laying on preventing her from moving. She slumped in frustration. Scarlett drifted back into slumber, hoping it would all be just a dream. The second time she stirred. There was a cool, sweet liquid on her lips. The liquid streamed down her throat as she slowly swallowed down the fluid, trying to soothe her irritated throat. She sighed in relief. Scarlett attempted to open her eyes. However, her eyelids refused to budge.

Once she had swallowed all of the sweet liquid, Scarlett drifted back into slumber. After she aroused for the third-time, Scarlett succeeded in opening her eyes. Her gaze flicked around the white room. She glanced down to notice that she was no longer bound to the cot. Her body was still in too much agony to move. She lay completely still. She attempted to sort through her memories of what happened. Memories of her abduction and being sedated flicked through her mind. Her attacker's his horribly maimed face flashed through her mind. She started to cry. Her eyes drifted closed as exhaustion hit her head on.

Over a period of several days, people in shaded jumpsuits visited Scarlett's prison. They brought her food and more of the sweet fluid that she was given previously. During that time she conserved her energy. A couple of days later, Scarlett had finally had the strength to get up from her bunk. When she got up, she had ultimately gotten an immeasurable look around her prison. It turned out to be more of a cell than a room. It was quite small. Her cell consisted of a bathroom and a bed. She cautiously walked towards the entrance of her cell. She discovered to her horror that there were more prison cells like hers. She wondered out loud, "What did I do to deserve this?"

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