Sub Zero

Chapter Sixteen

The strange girl remains expressionless. Finn seems to be experiencing the same symptoms as I am, for his face seems to be distorted in some imaginary pain, which I can only assume is emotional. "The darkness has cleansed you of your magic. You are no longer a threat to Lord Torren." I want to scream at the girl, but I remember her threat, and for Finn's sake, I keep quiet.

"This way." She says in her annoyingly monotonous voice. She turns around stiffly, then walks briskly through a metal framed door where the light had come from. Finn grabs my hand, and I am relieved that my dream hadn't come true. I take a shaky breath.  I begin to feel sick. What did Torren plan to do?

We walk through the door and shield our eyes from the unfamiliar fluorescent lights that are strung from a corridor very similar to the one that lead to the darkness.

Our bare feet slap against the cold stone floor, the sound bouncing off of the bleach white walls and crashing back into our sensitive ear drums. Ever since my senses have returned, my ears have been ringing, and I'm almost certain that I have a nose bleed. Finn's in the same lousy condition as I am.

The girl turns a corner, so we do. I find that I'm keeping note of every turn that we make and every splotch of mildew or crack that the walls bear. If we need to escape, we'll need to know where to go.

With our powers and strength drained, it will be almost impossible to defend ourselves, so escaping seems unlikely. We may just die here.

As we make our way through the bleach white halls and shield our eyes from the blinding lights, I begin to basically contemplate my life, and everything that's happened recently. Why has Finn immediately began to like me? Why have we kissed when we just met, if he could heal without kissing? Why does everything seem like it's missing something, and why is time passing in a weird way? It all doesn't add up.

We turn another corner, and the girl  stops abruptly. "When you fulfill the honor of being in the presence of Lord Torren, you shall not speak unless expected to do so. You will not resist in any form, or insult him in any way."

We stare ahead of us blankly, too terrified to even acknowledge her orders. She nods. "This way." We follow her through an archway and wait outside in front of a steel door. "Permission to enter, my Lord?" She asks into a Bluetooth that she somehow  concealed behind her braid. The door creaks open eerily, revealing a dark room.

We follow her into the room. I jump as the door immediately slams shut behind us. Lights flick on dramatically, and before us sits a large desk made of some kind of stone. The northern wall of the room is replaced with an extremely large a bookcase, packed with encyclopedias and a variety of novels.

A crimson carpet is spread out across a marble floor. In the corner sits a large black sofa lined with silk pillows the color of red wine. But what catches my attention, more than anything in the room, is the tall lanky figure that sits in a chair near the bookcase. I begin to shake.

This is the man who nearly killed us. This is the man who used an innocent little girl to hurt people she cares about. This is the man who stripped us of all hope. He's a monster.

"Ah, how convenient! I was just about to settle down and have a glass of wine. Come, sit with me!"  He says leisurely. Torren's words make me sick. After trying to kill us, he invites us to some party like we've been friends for years. It makes my blood boil. "Screw you!" I spit.

The girl whirls around and smacks me. I fall to my knees from the shock of the blow. She looks so frail, and yet she can strike out with a terrifying amount of power. I almost expected it, though.