Damsel[ed]: No Rescue Required

Chapter 23: A Hero's Undoing

I blanch, watching the villain.  His eyes flash an unnatural blue. His entourage steps into a crescent behind him, their sinister forms sending me shrinking against my pole.

Galaxy raises the sword, and Poison knocks it out of her hands with a half-hearted flick. My heart thumps, sickness spreading from my stomach. 

"Hello, hero," he purrs, circling Galaxy. She crosses her arms. Tingles of heat crawl behind my bones, and I growl into the darkness. I've only seen that Poison guy three seconds and I already hate him. 

"Do I know you?" 

"I think you do," he says, "I think you're the one messing with my crime ring."

"Snare?" She snorts. "You're a bunch of nobodies. Foiling your heists is easier than ordering midday coffee! I'd really like a crack at that Syndicate bunch in the east, they seem like they know how to put together a crime."

Poison gives her an adoring look, one that leaves me clench-fisted.

"Ah." He wraps his arm around her waist, sending her into a slew of swears. Heat flares where my heart should be. "So you do have a trademark temper? I thought it was a myth."

"Hey!" Cat snaps, storming forward. "What are you doing here?"

"No myth. Now get your hands off me or you'll see it," Galaxy says, oddly cool. I swallow. She knows she's beaten, and now she's trying to keep the little dignity she has left.

"I'm charmed," he says, pulling away from her. "Well, hello, kitten!" He waves at Cat. She stomps towards him, levitating to speak to him at eye level. Her hatred radiates off her like electromagnetic waves, and I bite the inside of my lip, struggling to keep from shaking.

"Don't call me that," Cat says, grabbing his collar. "You're breaking the rules, Poison! No interference! Why can't you understand that? Syndicate—"

"Syndicate won't do anything. You're slipping, kitten. You really thought Snare would give Syndicate a shot at the hostages? But I thank you for making the job so much easier for us."

She shoves him to the ground, the dungeon quiet with anticipation. He snatches her leg, and soon the two launch into a brawl. I strain at my ties, the rope burning as I gasp from the effort.

The obsidian's seer reminds me of a hot poker, the heat sizzling my skin to a crisp. Stars spin in front of my eyes, my ears ringing. If only I could do something!

No one moves to help Poison, and the feuding villains remind me of Heaven and Gats. Well, except my friends tussled for the fun of it, ending the fight with a smirk or taunt after someone gave up. Poison and Cat though, they really seem to want to kill each other, shrieking and clawing like cats. They struggle to pin each other, rolling, kicking, throwing blows.

The surrounding henchmen seem amused, and with one well aimed shove, Poison sends Cat skidding. Just watching them electrifies me with adrenaline. She lies panting, and Poison stands, waltzing over to her trembling form. I blow a strand of hair out of my face, unsure whether to speak or keep a shut mouth.

"I finally won," he says, raising his boot. I hold back a gasp. Cat gives a sickening cry, the crunch of bones a ghastly echo. I wince. She can't be okay after that, can she? One more kick sends her skidding to the far side of the room.

CRASH!

I squint to make out her position. She coughs, clutching her ribs with one hand, the other clenched around something that looks an awful lot like a prison bar. Poison laughs, sashaying towards her. My heart thumps.

CREAK. 

He stoops down, catching her slumped form and guiding her behind a door. A cell? Gah! Why do evil lairs and torture chambers have to be so dimly lit?