last hit, at the party all those days ago.
“Now, if you tell me the key to your power, it will make this much easier for the both of us. But if you don’t … well, I’m sure I can think of some exciting methods of getting you to talk. I’m sure you’ve never broken your own arm, for instance. Or chewed off your own fingers. Or torn out your own hair, chunk by chunk. And that’s only the self-inflicted options – I would love the opportunity to instruct you on doing some things to me.” He ran a single finger across my shoulder blades , and every muscle in my body screamed at me to strike back, to do something !
“Let me give you a clue to my power, then,” I said through gritted teeth. “Violence won’t get you anywhere.”
But I knew – I knew from the way he was looking at me: this wasn’t about my power. He couldn’t care less about what made me tick. This was a man who found pleasure in doling out pain in its purest form, and needed no incentive to do it.
“You’ll have to do better than that, I’m afraid.” The finger pushed into the middle of my back. “ Knock out one of your teeth on the corner of the table .”
Immediately, I flooded my system with the remaining sunshine at my disposal. I hadn’t felt its effects in years, since I’d started at the Carova City Hospital, and it was a bigger hit than I remembered. The interrogation cell was suddenly a lot brighter, its shadows slinking back into the walls. My head no longer hurt; my shoulders relaxed and the threat of pain and suffering suddenly disappeared. It was as though the world had turned sunny, and there was no chance of the darkness returning.
Best of all, I remained standing. My knees didn’t even shake with the demand of dropping to table-height. Instead, I laughed, as though Molten had just told a fantastic joke. The relief of knowing I could repel his power was too great.
“Ah, so your ability is immune to mine,” he commented, though the sinister edge to his voice had faded. “I was hoping I wouldn’t have to get my hands dirty, Miss Eastwood, but I see you leave me no choice.”
I sobered quickly enough to avoid his hand snatching out to grab my hair, and even managed to strike back with a slap of my own. I was fast, but he was faster. His anger drove him, whereas my happiness distracted me. Soon enough, he had me pinned to the wall, my back against his front.
“Achilles!” I screamed, voice muffled by the stone. I have no idea why his name was the one to fall from my lips – probably because he was the only person I thought could hear me in this dump.
“You’re his new toy, you know,” Molten hissed into my ear, yanking my head back with a fistful of hair. “And Achilles is very territorial about his toys. He’ll get tired of you, though. After a while, when he’s done playing with your sweet little body, he’ll move on to something better. And when that happens, I’ll be on you like a shot. Until then, I’ll have to bide my time.” He studied my side-profile for a long moment. The happiness in me waned, but didn’t vanish. It would take more than a few threats to break my power’s hold on me.
Just as he jerked my head backwards, no doubt aiming to break my nose against the wall, the door slammed open, and Molten jumped a good five feet away from me.
“What the fuck is going on here?” growled a familiar voice.
Chapter Five
Without a Fight
I never thought I would be relieved to hear Achilles’s dry tone, but I was. Anyone aside from this monster was a welcome change.
I sank against the wall, the sunshine threaded through my veins helping with the elation of being interrupted. His empty black eyes flicked over me for all of half a second before he turned to Molten, who looked like a little kid who’d been caught with his hand in the cookie jar, despite the fact that he had to be a good five years older than Achilles. The look was enough to make my stomach roil, happiness be damned.
“I
“Now, if you tell me the key to your power, it will make this much easier for the both of us. But if you don’t … well, I’m sure I can think of some exciting methods of getting you to talk. I’m sure you’ve never broken your own arm, for instance. Or chewed off your own fingers. Or torn out your own hair, chunk by chunk. And that’s only the self-inflicted options – I would love the opportunity to instruct you on doing some things to me.” He ran a single finger across my shoulder blades , and every muscle in my body screamed at me to strike back, to do something !
“Let me give you a clue to my power, then,” I said through gritted teeth. “Violence won’t get you anywhere.”
But I knew – I knew from the way he was looking at me: this wasn’t about my power. He couldn’t care less about what made me tick. This was a man who found pleasure in doling out pain in its purest form, and needed no incentive to do it.
“You’ll have to do better than that, I’m afraid.” The finger pushed into the middle of my back. “ Knock out one of your teeth on the corner of the table .”
Immediately, I flooded my system with the remaining sunshine at my disposal. I hadn’t felt its effects in years, since I’d started at the Carova City Hospital, and it was a bigger hit than I remembered. The interrogation cell was suddenly a lot brighter, its shadows slinking back into the walls. My head no longer hurt; my shoulders relaxed and the threat of pain and suffering suddenly disappeared. It was as though the world had turned sunny, and there was no chance of the darkness returning.
Best of all, I remained standing. My knees didn’t even shake with the demand of dropping to table-height. Instead, I laughed, as though Molten had just told a fantastic joke. The relief of knowing I could repel his power was too great.
“Ah, so your ability is immune to mine,” he commented, though the sinister edge to his voice had faded. “I was hoping I wouldn’t have to get my hands dirty, Miss Eastwood, but I see you leave me no choice.”
I sobered quickly enough to avoid his hand snatching out to grab my hair, and even managed to strike back with a slap of my own. I was fast, but he was faster. His anger drove him, whereas my happiness distracted me. Soon enough, he had me pinned to the wall, my back against his front.
“Achilles!” I screamed, voice muffled by the stone. I have no idea why his name was the one to fall from my lips – probably because he was the only person I thought could hear me in this dump.
“You’re his new toy, you know,” Molten hissed into my ear, yanking my head back with a fistful of hair. “And Achilles is very territorial about his toys. He’ll get tired of you, though. After a while, when he’s done playing with your sweet little body, he’ll move on to something better. And when that happens, I’ll be on you like a shot. Until then, I’ll have to bide my time.” He studied my side-profile for a long moment. The happiness in me waned, but didn’t vanish. It would take more than a few threats to break my power’s hold on me.
Just as he jerked my head backwards, no doubt aiming to break my nose against the wall, the door slammed open, and Molten jumped a good five feet away from me.
“What the fuck is going on here?” growled a familiar voice.
Chapter Five
Without a Fight
I never thought I would be relieved to hear Achilles’s dry tone, but I was. Anyone aside from this monster was a welcome change.
I sank against the wall, the sunshine threaded through my veins helping with the elation of being interrupted. His empty black eyes flicked over me for all of half a second before he turned to Molten, who looked like a little kid who’d been caught with his hand in the cookie jar, despite the fact that he had to be a good five years older than Achilles. The look was enough to make my stomach roil, happiness be damned.
“I
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