Caged

Chapter 22

Wrapping a towel tightly around my chest I swipe the condensation off of the bathroom mirror in front of me. I don't recognize the girl staring back at me, just as the seasons have changed during my stay here so have I. Two bright orbs stared back at me, my eyes were a mix of a stormy ocean and a never ending forest. My lips aren't chapped anymore, they've filled out nicely. Running my hand gently over the lengthy protruding scar that extends from my eyebrow down to just below my nostril I shudder at the grotesque sight. No wonder I don't look myself in the mirror. I sloppily run my fingers through my lush, hip length, russet locks. A haircut is most definitely overdue. For the first time in a long time, I allow my towel to fall at my feet.

"You can do this," I whisper to myself. I run my hands across my skin and tremble as I feel the countless scars that litter my body. It will take time to accept my body the way it is, but I have come to love myself anyway. Pride beams through the smile that's appeared on my face. My ribs can no longer be seen, my body is healthily toned and I no longer look sickly. Abigor's training sessions truly did a number on me.

Leaving the humid bathroom, I venture off to Abigor's bedroom once again. This has become a bad habit of mine I whisper to myself. This has to stop sooner rather than later. Sitting on the edge of bed I inspect the runes wrapped around my wrists having no idea what they mean or what they do. What the hell did I get myself into?

I have a little time to kill before Abigor gets back, might as well use my time wisely. I fluffed my pillows and sat upright in bed, picking up the leather-bound book Satan had given me some time ago, this should keep me up considering that I don't want to doze off and die in my sleep. Flipping across the pages looking at the ink drawings of different creatures something suddenly catches my eye, Abigor. The drawing depicted him sitting on a throne of human bones with a naked female servant at his side, his arm was snaked around her hip. Jealousy pinched at my heart but then sadness came over me, I don't know anything about Abigor whatsoever. What was I thinking, we could never be involved with each other.

Imagining myself next to him made me feel worse, who is he with right now? What's he up to? Have I even crossed his mind? What am I even doing? I can't help to wonder what kind of girls he's been with and what they made him feel. Why do I even care, we aren't meant for each other and we never will be. To spare myself any further heartache I decide it's time to ditch my bad habit, leaving the room with the ancient book in hand I walk downstairs getting comfy in front of the crackling fire.

My curiosity gets the best of me as I flip open the book to the page about Abigor, glancing over the text causes anxiety to tie my stomach in knots, then sadness, then anger. The text read, "He's never been in contact with a human being without stealing their soul," and "any favors result in the loss of your soul." A picture depicting thousands of orbs levitating around him makes me wonder if I even ever saw the real him. Abigor's sharp grin and glowing eyes jump out at me, his claws are tightly clasped around a glowing orb. I continued on reading and his name was followed by the description of a brutal murderer taking down anything in his path. The blood spilt by his hand is enough to color every ocean on earth crimson.

He feeds off of the souls of human beings and that's the only thing keeping him alive for this long.

"How could you?" I've been lied to, my parents weren't murdered by my captor. Anger shook the house and my tears burn holes in the hardwood floor like acid eating away at flesh. Abi came running to my side, touching my shoulder and gasping at the state of my face.

"He lied," I said. Her mouth opened cooing me to soothe the anger seeping from my pores.

"He lied!" The demonic voice escaping my lips shakes me to the core, not even I was prepared.

"I'm putting an end to this," holding the book tightly in my hands I go upstairs and yank a backpack off of the wall. Carelessly I shove a few changes of clothes into the backpack and the book. Abi standing merely a few feet away during the whole process with a worried expression on her face, quite a usual expression people have around here when they see me.

"Athena, where are you going?" her hand wraps around my upper arm.

"I'm gonna go find that asshole grandfather of mine so I can go live a normal life, I'm tired of this." I zip up the backpack and put it on, hastily making my way to the front door I fight past my childhood friends and Abi makes a last attempt to reach out to me.

"It's pitch black outside! you'll get hurt without Abigor's help" I spin around to look at the three of them and throw my hands up in the air.

"Don't you understand? I didn't ask for this life and I certainly didn't ask to be the one laying down my life to save others. Yes, I'm selfish, but you tend to get that way when you've been locked up half of your life and the people you thought you trusted lied to you." Reaching for the door knob blindly behind me my hands land upon fabric and I turn around, there stood Abigor.

"I told you to stay put, and I told you to take care of yourself. Yet here you are fuming with rage and about to disappear into a very dangerous forest with nothing but a backpack. What do you think you're doing?"

"What do I think I'm doing? You fucking lied to me and I don't feel safe anywhere anymore. What happened to my parents? tell me the truth this time, don't you dare lie to me."

"What are you going on about," I cut him off by grabbing the book and throwing it to him, he then opens it up to the page I folded over.

"Athena, if I tell you the truth it'll bring nothing but despair." I storm up to him burying my finger in his chest.

"You better tell me right now." 

"Your parents died because of an ancient curse flowing through my veins. They exchanged their souls for my help and once a human asks I can't turn away. Look, Athena, I knew your parents and I begged them to stop but all they cared about was your safety. The moment their souls left their body they collapsed. I couldn't stop them. It was physically impossible." The markings on my wrists began to illuminate spreading a golden light across the room. The moment the light connected with Abigor he began to stagger back in pain.

"Athena, please" Max rushed forward to pull me away from Abigor.

"You killed my parents, you lied to me, and now you want me to forgive you?" The light became brighter, causing a painful expression on Abigor's face.

"I didn't kill them! they did that to themselves, they used my curse against me!" He continued pleading, his body slumped against the door becoming weaker by the second. Max tried to cover my markings with his hands, as Abigor got worse and worse I panicked. Running to his side the room turned chaotic. The two brothers struggle to pry me off of Abigor.

"Get off of him!" His eyes opened and stared at me, a second later his body went up in smoke that dissipated into nothing but black swirls in the stuffy air. Embers were still floating around the room and my wrists were no longer emitting the golden glow. Everybody stared at me, no longer with worry, but with fear.

"What have I done?"