CHAPTER 10 - JANE
I open my eyes to a silver light shining down on me. My eyes are heavy from sleeping for what seems like ages. I look around and there's nothing familiar about this place.
I try to move but my hands are chained and my legs too. I'm only in my panties and lace bra. My mouth is gagged with a piece of clothing. My skin is smudged with dirt and a bit of slimy substances.
Tears slide down my eyes as I look around the place again. It seems to be a tube-like cage but it's transparent. My gaze travels farther and I might be wrong, but this looks like a cave. A creepy, blood-curdling, eerie, horrific cave.
I let out a yelp as I see a crawling creature with lots of limbs and a gruesome face with long fangs. There are a lot of them and they are crawling up and down the walls.
Where am I?
I hear a faint voice and I look in that direction.
"Ri – Richard?" I stutter in a mumbled mess, 'cause of the gag. For a second, I wonder if it's really him.
He's dressed in just his briefs, and his eyes are deep grey and squirting fire to the million candles surrounding him, lighting them up.
There are drawings and markings on the ground that symbolizes ancient enchantments.
Fear crawls up my spine as I notice I'm surrounded by the same candles.
His lips are moving uncontrollably but I don't hear what he's saying. But I can swear they were spells. Just how much of a psychic did Richard become?
What are you doing?! I yell with my mind but there's no way he can hear that.
Was this a ritual? Is he sacrificing me to some god? Is this the end for me? Will he cut me in bits and hurl me into the deepest abyss?
Please someone get me out of here. I need my clothes. I need my daughter, my friends, and my mate. I need to go home, please! Enough of this torture. Enough of the nightmare. Take pity on me, please!
Approaching footsteps gives me a bit of hope but it dwindles when I see who has the footsteps.
"Are you ready?" She asks, coming to stand next to Richard.
No fucking way. A mage?!
I blink rapidly, trying to take off the haziness in my eyes and be sure I'm seeing things as they are.
Maybe I'm just hallucinating. Maybe my messed-up mind is playing tricks on me. Maybe it's just me, picturing the worst scenario.
But no, that's not it. Because no matter how much blinking I do, she's still standing there.
I thought Mages are extinct. Vishal assured me that they destroyed every one of them. What is she doing here?
"Are you ready?" She asks, patting Richard's shoulder softly. She's holding a candle, and to my insanity, he lights up her candle with his eyes.
Oh, dear goddess…
My squirming starts again but it's futile. There's no way I can free myself and escape these demons. Not without Amber. And sadly, I don't feel her presence anymore.
"There are rules to this, Richard. And there are consequences if you do break any," The Mage says, coming to stand between the both of us. But she's facing Richard and her ancient - tattooed back was to me.
He nods but doesn't stop muttering whatever it was. His gaze is intently fixed on her and it increases the horror in them.
Her words resound in my ears and I'm left wondering what she means by them. What rules? What is this?
"The first three rules are just keeping her in a trance, never letting her out of the tube, and never letting go of this," She hands him a collar with thorns around it and an orb in front.
Richard receives it and the orb gives a shiny pink light, pointing at me. I squint my eyes, looking away from it.
"Whoever has that collar controls the world she'll live in. In your hands, she stays in the parallel universe. But in any other man's hand, she'll be back to this world,"
Richard nods again. The light leaves my face and my gaze returns to them. He has the collar in his grip and his eyes are boring holes into me.
"In the other world, she's human and you're a werewolf,"
What other world is she talking about?
"This spell can only last for three months. So you got three months to win the heart of a female human. It's a limited time so use it well,"
"What if I don't win her heart over before the next three months?" Richard finally speaks.
"Better pray you do. Because if you don't, then the spell will be destroyed and she'll be back in this world. The only way to make her stay in the other world permanently is if she genuinely falls in love with you there,"
He looks at me again and our eyes lock. A lot of emotions run through his eyes. But the most seems to be fear.
"Do it," He says flatly.
"One last thing, " The mage sets the candle down and glances at me and then at him. "This is your last chance. If this doesn't work, then she'll never love you. Not in this lifetime, and not in the next. This is your last chance, Richard…"
"Do it," He repeats more sternly. "It's either this or nothing, so do it,"
The Mage steps away and starts moving her hand in the air, screaming an endless line of spells.
A tornado-like wind appears in the cave and spins around Richard and I.
I shut my eyes as I feel like I'm slowly drifting away. Memories start fading. Thought of my loved ones gets erased. My mind feels blank and I feel non-existent.
The next thing I hear is a voice, repeatedly calling out my name.
I open my eyes and I sit up in a rush. Then the feminine voice says again.
"Go get ready, Jane. You'll be late for work,"