The Darkest Souls

Five (Part Two)- Into the Darkness

For the first time in what seemed like forever, Eli was cold. He never got cold, ever; not since his magic had awoken. Groggy and confused, he willed his magic to his fingertips. Seconds passed, yet the magic didn't appear, he couldn't even feel it. Panic twanged in his chest. What was going on?

The room he was in pitch-black, darker than anything he'd ever seen before. He put his hand in front of his face, but could barely see it. He swallowed hard. Normally the dark would never bother him, but strange things were happening, and he didn't like them one bit. His last memories were of taking Novellia's hands in his, and staring into her piercing silver eyes and then... then... nothing. How did he end up here? All he knew was that he was sitting on a hard floor with his back to a wall.

Off to his left, a small moan of pain resonated through the darkness. "Hello?" He called out, quiet and hesitant. No one answered him, but the moan continued. He got to his feet, still feeling groggy and heavy. He stumbled as he rose and had to lean on the wall for support. Moving towards the sound, and still leaning on the wall, Eli took care not to fall. "Is anyone there?" He called out again.

No one answered him, but he seemed to be closer to the source of the moans. Behind him, a huge bang sounded, and shouting quickly followed. The voices sounded older and male, but were so muddled Eli could only make out a few words.

"You-... how could you forget-... only some of the pay!" One spoke, clearly enraged.

"One is-... don't need the other..." The other spoke, unfazed by his partner's anger.

"I agree." Said a third. As the voices continued, they got clearer and clearer, and Eli began to feel less tired and heavy.

"We were supposed to split the pay evenly!" Complained the first voice. "Now there is barely enough for two here!"

"You're a greedy bastard, aren't you?" Replied the third. "We're still getting a massive amount, so it's not like it matters. The brother was worth only half the sister- quit your whining."

"Screw you, we could've been set up for life!"

"We still are! What don't you understand about that?" Said the second voice, annoyance clear in his voice.

"Forget this." The first snapped. Angry footstep stomped towards Eli, and light flooded the room. Wincing, Eli covered his eyes and looked away. Behind the door, the other two voices protested.

"The hell are you doing?!" Yelled the second voice.

"Paying the princess a visit." Replied the first. As his eyes adjusted, Eli got a better look at the man. HE was massive, his arms were bulky, and he appeared to have a potbelly- but Eli knew better, he knew that muscles were rippling under his skin, not fat. His left thigh was wrapped in bloodied bandages. He didn't seem to care that the blood stain only grew larger when he walked; he wasn't even limping.

Eli followed the man's gaze and saw a young girl, bound by her hands and feet. Her left eye was closed tightly shut, a large, freely-bleeding cut going through the eye and partially down the cheek. The eye that was open was completely void of expression, and she didn't react to the man or the light. Her blue nightgown was torn and dirtied; she couldn't have been more than ten. Eli immediately knew that he was looking at a younger version of Novellia. What in the hell happened to her?

The man completely ignored Eli and moved toward the younger Nova. Still, she didn't react. "The floreline still hasn't worn off, huh?" He said, laughing as he crouched in front of Nova. Eli watched, frozen in place. Floreline was the drug doctors used to perform surgeries on patients, but it also had the side effect of suppressing magic.

"Well, that's fine." He patted his wounded leg. "You got me good, but I think I returned the favor." He grinned at her eye. "You'll definitely feel that once the floreline wears off." At this, Nova's good eye flicked towards the man, anger briefly flashing before the blankness returned. The man laughed one last time before stalking away, shutting the door behind him.

"Novellia, are you okay?" Eli called out to her. She remained silent, as though she couldn't hear him. Or as if I wasn't there... he thought to himself. Nova exhaled deeply, and light flared at her fingertips. The room was cast in a weak, sickly glow. She struggled to her knees, breathing heavily. She must've been faking it, Eli concluded. He reached out to help her but instead of touching her, his hand seemed to go through her. He yelped and drew his hand back. Is this a dream? He wondered, Or... a memory?

Still panting, Novellia closed her good eye, concentrating. The light at her fingertips began to take shape, twisting and swirling around her hand until it looked like a knife. Sweat beaded Nova's pale face, but she began to saw at her bonds, twisting the knife as best she could. Taking care not to nick herself, she went slowly.

Despite her care, the knife still grazed her skin, making her wince. Whenever the knife slit her skin, sharp, prickly pain shot through Eli's wrists, as well. Surprised, he pulled his shirt away from his arms and looked, but he saw no visible wounds. Novellia continued to hack at the thick ropes until they fell away from her wrist, which were red and raw and bleeding. Wasting no time, she went to work on the bonds around her feet. Meanwhile, outside the dark room, conversation had resumed.

"She's drugged out her mind," laughed the brute. "She won't be feeling anything for a while."

"That's because you used too much, idiot," scolded the third voice, who seemed to be the wisest of the trio. "I wouldn't be surprised if you've caused brain damage." At this, Novellia quietly gasped, but kept cutting at the bonds.

The brute scoffed. "She'll be fine."

"You know," spoke the second voice. "If she really does have brain damage, they'll reduce our pay even further."

"W-what?" Stammered the brute.

The third voice tsked, "First you cause us to lose the brother, then you damage the goods."

"THAT WASN'T MY FAULT!"

"Whatever you say," replied the second voice as another door slammed somewhere.

Nova had finally gotten her feet free, and tried to stand up. "You can do it, Novellia," Eli whispered as she stumbled. It took a few tries, but she was eventually standing. She appeared to think for a moment before she slammed her fist into the wall. The light extinguished, and the room was plunged into darkness once again.

"The hell was that?" asked the second voice.

"I guess she isn't as drugged up as he thought." Replied the third, sighing. "I'll fix her up."

The door opened with a loud creak, flooding light into the room. But Novellia wasn't there. She wasn't anywhere. Both the man and Eli looked around, one frantic, the other confused. As Eli looked toward the door, he caught what he thought was a shadow moving towards it.

"Where the f-" the man started. Before he could finish, the door closed shut behind him. There was the sound of something heavy being swung, then a grunt of pain. Eli heard the man's body hit the floor, followed by quiet breathing.

"Harry?" The second voice called out. "Is everything okay?" A chair scraped against the floor. "Harry...?"

The door opened once again, but much more slowly than the other two had opened it. Light from the other room shed light on the brutal scene. Novellia stood in front of the door, a small hammer of darkness clutched in her right hand, a syringe filled with clear liquid in the other. The front of her nightgown was coated in thick blood. Harry was lying face-down, a pool of blood spilling around him, the back of his skull cracked open.

The man scrambled backward and fell, yelling for the brute. Before he could yell anything else, Nova rushed forward and raised the hammer. Eli flinched as she brought it down, the man's screams dying as the light left his eyes.