The Little Lightning Girl

6- I'm better than a stick of wood

Warning: This chapter contains torture, though not overly descriptive.

It only took me a few minutes to regain consciousness this time, or at least it only felt like a short time. Normally that'd be a good thing, but not in this case. Because when I woke, I found myself tied to a wall with my arms above my head and my legs spread. The fat man was standing alone in front of me. As my head was also secured against the wall, I could only see in my peripherals, but from what I could tell, there was a single guard at the door to my left, and one on the right. Both were decked out in the same black robes and skeleton mask that they'd all been wearing when we were captured. I couldn't see the faces beneath, could only tell that the left guard was pale-skinned and the other was slightly tan. Their hands were clasped in front of them.

"Don't look at them, little girl, eyes right here."

I obeyed, dragging my gaze back to the fat man. He held a wand in his hand, and as he walked closer to me, I could almost feel his eyes wandering over my body. My shirt had been ripped the rest of the way off. I was clothed only in my sports bra and black pants.

"You are a pretty one."

I felt my stomach churn, but I did not look away.

"My lord wants some answers from you. And I can't let you out of here until we get them."

I let my head droop, but he shoved his wand under my chin and yanked my hair to pull my head up. I still refused to meet his eyes.

"You are not a pure blood witch, but you are powerful. Unnaturally powerful. So what are you?"

I kept my gaze averted and didn't speak. The first rule of being a demigod was to never inform the mortals of what we were. If I told these men what I was, it would endanger thousands of people. Wizards like to believe that they are the most powerful beings on the planet, if anything were to challenge that belief, all hell would break loose. So I wouldn't speak of it, even if they flayed the skin from my bones.

"Crucio!"

Unbelievable pain roared through my body. It stemmed from no wound or broken bone. My blood was boiling, my bones breaking and twisting over and over again. And yet they weren't. My limbs thrashed in the restraints but I refused to cry out. I gritted my teeth and did my best to take in a few gulps of air. Eventually, the pain faded, but my body was throbbing. I'd read about this curse, but hadn't taken the time to imagine what it would feel like. I doubted I'd forget anytime soon.

"Now, my lord says that we're not supposed to have anything in common with muggles, but they came up with some inventions back in the day, some fun ways to get information. I'm very interested in how these techniques work."

It was then that I glanced up just enough to see the fat man produce an actual whip from behind him. My mouth went dry at the sight of it, but my resolve to keep my secrets only hardened. These people were willing to use middle aged torture methods on a teenage girl, if I told them anything there would be no telling what they'd do to my demigod friends.

I didn't speak when the man undid my restraints only to refasten them when my face was towards the wall.

"Of course, you could tell me what I want to know, and you wouldn't have to go through any of this."

I didn't even turn my head.

"Very well, then. Your choice."

I heard the whip unfurling, and I heard the rasp of fabric as he rolled up his sleeves. And then I heard him laugh.

He was a monster.

The first strike of the whip hit the center of my back and I clenched my jaw. The second hit my lower back and was forceful enough to knock my body into the wall. The third came, then the fourth struck and I sharp cry of pain escaped my lips. And then he stopped.