Iridian

18. UNDERGROUND

.memory (fragment #17)

I awoke to the sensation of rocking, the soft sound of rippling water... I knew this. I was reminded of a time when the twins and I used to play with Luna in her father's little dinghy. The stream behind my grandmother's home was relatively slow and safe for children to play in during the dry season. We would imagine we were great adventurers, traversing the great rivers looking for hidden treasures. Those treasures would be mottled white stones found on the base of that crystal clear stream, sunlight glinting of the glass-like segments like tiny diamonds. I had a small jar of those somewhere, stored at the back of the closet in my old house. I wondered if that jar was still there. Would my mother or one of the twins discard it, now that I was gone?

I was in a boat—of that I was sure. Someone was paddling it, paddling very gently but I could still hear the ripples the oars made. Strangely, the motion made me feel nauseous even though I'd never been the type to take to seasickness, and it was an effort to keep the bile from rising in my throat. I couldn't see as my head was covered in a musty smelling sack, but from the echoes around us, I could tell that we weren't out in the open. Except—I knew of no enclosed channels in London, and there were no sounds of other boats, so we were likely isolated from others. The old sewers maybe? That would explain the unpleasant stench perforating the dryness of the sack.

My head was still ringing from the crushing mindblow I'd received earlier, and I couldn't use my telepathic senses to pick out anything or anyone around me. Everything seemed a little fuzzy and blurred along the edges, and every time I tried to concentrate, my head throbbed like a massive migraine. My body felt numb and sluggish, so even if I wanted to move, I really couldn't. I tried to touch Dante's mind, but he seemed far, far away beyond my reach. I knew he could sense me though—and that comforted me somewhat.

The boat bumped gently against something, and stopped moving. The slosh of the oars being removed from the water was quickly followed by the clatter of them being dropped into the boat. The echoes of trickling water gave me the impression that we were in a cave of sorts. I was hauled roughly around the waist and slung over the person's shoulder, and I cursed the fact that I didn't have any ability to move because neither my hands nor legs were tied. I couldn't even touch the mind of the person who was handling me like a burlap sack. Had I been drugged?

It was uncomfortable to be hanging upside down the back of my carrier but there was nothing I could do about it. I tried to listen to his footsteps instead—I had assumed it was a 'he' since the hands that had grabbed me didn't feel like a woman's—listening to how the ground sounded when he walked even though my head protested. At first, it seemed like he was walking on wooden planks, which then muted to a barely audible thud. Perhaps, bare earth? The sound of the echoes tightened, indicating that we were no longer in as large a chamber as we had been in earlier, and his footsteps changed, ringing as if walking on flagstone. He was obviously unconcerned about anyone hearing, which didn't bode well for me.

I couldn't tell how long it took as my perception of time was greatly dulled, but soon enough, I was shouldered off to land roughly on hard wood. I bit back an exclamation of pain. I didn't want my captor to know that I was already conscious. He yanked the smelly sack off my head and I quickly closed my eyes, allowing my head to roll limply to one side.

"Child of Gaius..." came the sibilant whisper, a cold finger stroking my cheek. I repressed an internal shudder. I felt the unwelcome sensation of feathery tendrils curling around my neck, stinging my skin and my whole body screamed but I was frozen still. Was this going to be the end of me? There wouldn't be anyone to save me this time. I was isolated. But it didn't make sense. Why steal me away only to kill me? He could've killed me at the opera house. What did he want from me when there had been two other Iridi with me for him to drain?