Infernal Academia

Chapter 5 - Gale-Force Envy: Part 2

When Cobalt was about to cross paths with a stranger, his natural response was to offer a polite greeting.  Raise his hand, nod his head, smile a little.  

But before he could even consider saying hello, the figure spread a great pair of stony wings and suddenly rushed forward in a blast of cold wind.  Unable to react, the Incubus was swept up in a pair of ash-black arms as the smell of dried sweat and acrid bleach washed over him.  The feeling of cold, bare flesh pressing tight to his skin made him shiver, and he cried out as a sharp sting suddenly made itself known in the side of his neck.  Held in place by the stranger, Cobalt could only struggle as a payload of dubious chemicals was injected into his veins.  As the wind rushed by and the arms tightened around his body, the Incubus dully realised that he was being kidnapped right there on the school campus.  It was not something he was unfamiliar with, as horrible as it sounded to admit. 

As his vision grew hazy and the sound of his heartbeat loudened and distorted, he just about picked up a cold, monotonous laugh.

"In my arms once again, my love.  Sleep now... waste no strength with struggling..."

His head lolling back, Cobalt's eyelids slowly slid shut as the world gave way beneath him.

"E- El... ya...?"

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It was disconcerting when Cobalt awoke that morning with his shirt pulled off and his room broken into, but at least he was partially dressed and somewhere familiar.  As he slowly came to, the Incubus realised that he had been stripped completely naked, with little more than a dirty sheet protecting his modesty.  Crying out with shock, he pulled the cloth protectively around himself and huddled into a ball, scared out of his mind.

He had been lying atop a pile of old mattresses in a cold stone basement, with little more than an electric lamp to see by.  Shivering, he took a deep breath and tried to steady his nerves.

"H- Hello...?" he called, hugging his knees beneath the sheet.

Footsteps echoed from somewhere around him, but the lamp must be low on batteries, as he was barely able to see a few feet in front of himself.

"Wh- Who's there?!" cried Cobalt, raising the lamp in an effort to aid his sight.

As his eyes began to adjust to the dark, more features of the basement revealed themselves.  The stone tiles underfoot were ancient and cracked, yet resembled those of the storage rooms beneath the main school buildings, where supplies were kept.  Figuring that he was likely in the basement of one of the unused buildings, he peered around for any sign of his captor, a deadpan chuckle sent chills along his spine.

But it was familiar.  Far too familiar.

"I- If you are who I think you are...!"

Cobalt swallowed hard.  Even after his graduation, even after heading to England to become a teacher. how many months had he spent looking over his shoulder, expecting her to be standing there, camera poised and recording?

"... then please...!"

It all made sense now.  The cryptic writings were a staple of her modus operandi, and the letters gouged into the classroom blackboard could have only been made by one, particular tool.

"... come out and talk to me, Elya!"

A gust of cold air washed over him from behind, just as a long pair of arms embraced him from behind.  Fridgd breath tickled his neck, and the soft sensation of a woman's chest pressed into his back.