The sinking feeling in my gut only grew worse as I rode the carriage in complete darkness. Staying without my sight for so long was harrowing. If something happened, I'd have no idea where to go to escape. Geayu would not have the ability to find me. It was on me and me alone to handle this situation in however it needed to be handled.

What if I was wrong?

"You are wrong. This is a terrible idea. But don't worry, if all goes awry I can teleport us out of here," Zendar stated. "Unless she does something to prevent that. . . Then again, why should I save your ass when you're the idiot putting us in a bad situation? Maybe I should let you suffer your consequences."

"If all goes right, you will cease to exist and I won't have to deal with you at all," I said, leaning back into the plush seat of the clearly expensive carriage.

"You'd have died without me, more than once. We need each other."

I didn't reply. I couldn't summon a logical argument to combat what he had said. Even if it was true, I was tired of living a duel life, not knowing where I would wake and who would become my enemy next for actions that weren't my own.

The carriage stopped. Strong arms grabbed me and lead me forward. We went up and through a door based off of the creaking sound. Then we went down. Way down, probably into a basement of sorts. I lost count of the steps three times and had to start over, attempting to add them in my head. Over a hundred, that was my best estimate.

"You made it safely I see," Lacey stated, her voice sounded different, slightly deeper than the last time we spoke. "Good, then we can start right away."

Something sharp brushed against my wrists as my arms were lifted above my head.

"You have no idea how excited I am to have a pure immortal in my laboratory. There's so much I can learn from you."

I didn't like the odd sort of curiosity that dripped off of each word and the sound of clanking chains above my head. Something looked around my wrist. The slight pinprick of multiple needles stabbed into my skin. A wash of dizziness came over me and my feet fell out from beneath me, making me hand by my arms and causing the sharp objects to tear into my skin. "What are you doing?"

"Your power is in your blood, in order to know how to help you, I have to study it, yes? It's only natural. But I'll need much more of it than this, I'm sure you understand," Lacey said nonchalantly.

Burning pain ripped into my thigh.

I cried out as I felt warm blood gush out from the cut artery, splashing onto the floor beneath me.

"That's better. I'll check back on you in a few to see if I have enough." Lacey giggled. "Toodles."

Without magic, I was helpless, I was mortal. If she left me to bleed out too long, I'd die.

Sudden, pulsing agony throbbed in my wrists as the shackles grew tighter, cutting off circulation to my hands and making my fingers go numb. That couldn't be normal right. "Lacey! I think your device is working wrong."

But she was already gone. I was talking to nobody. It was just me here, bleeding out. My head throbbed, a headache beginning behind my eyes as I could feel unconsciousness coming for me. What had I done? Was this a mistake?

Even as the world around me turned to silence, I couldn't shake the feeling that things would only get worse from here.

...... ...... ....... ....... .......

Ice, cold water splashed on my face, pulling me quickly back to the world.

"Wakey, wakey, Falosa! I got enough of your blood that I stitched your leg and allowed you to regain what you had lost." Lacey walked over and removed the blindfold.

My heart sunk to the pit of my stomach when I took in my surroundings. Her laboratory looked like something out of the pits of hell, a cursed existence that only the worst were to be sentenced to. Instruments of all kinds that I didn't want to know what they did were scattered all over the place. There was no particular order, it was a mess, a nightmare for anyone with OCD. It was as if she had simply tried to fit as much equipment in here as possible without eliminating all pathways.

When I looked up at Lacey, I noticed that her eyes had turned completely black, void of all color. Rather than having her hair down as it had been when I first met her, it was up, pinned neatly. Even her clothes were different, longer and showing off less. "You were out for a whole day. I almost thought I killed you, but then I reminded myself, immortals can't die that easy." She smiled and tapped her finger on her red painted lips. Her dark hair fell out around her face, creating a silhouette in the dimly lit room. "I am curious to see how many times I can push you to the brink of death without killing you." She grabbed my hair roughly making me look up at her. "For all the things you've done to my family you deserve to suffer you immortal piece of shit."

Blood spurted from my nose as she slammed it into her knee, giving me the beginnings of a headache.

"I don't remember you, I have no idea what you're talking about," I hissed, trying to pull out of the chains that held me in place.

Lacey clutched the shackle and crushed it between her fingers. "Murderers like you kill too many to remember names."

I cried out as twinges of burning pain shot down my arm over and over as each bone in my wrist cracked one, by one.

"Zendar, now would be a good time to get us out of here."

Silence greeted me in the mind space.

"Zendar!"

Nothing.

"Don't try to call out to your demon, he can't hear you." Lacey sneered, releasing me and stepping away. "I've perfected a way to keep out the voices in your head. This serum does the trick. Whoever isn't dominate is put to sleep, unable to be summoned." Lacey stabbed the needle into my arm, the purple liquid going through the syringe and into my system.

Vomit rose up my throat as the serum burned a path of fire down my arm and to my chest.

"This is what you wanted, isn't it? Full control?" Lacey asked, blinking innocently. "I simply gave you what you asked for. But now that he's gone, you want him back, no?" She tsked. "Immortals and demi's can never make up their minds on what they really want can they?"

Lacey ran her hand down my cheek. I turned my face away. She grabbed my chin and turned me to look at her. "I bet if I turned you in to Tragore you would fetch quite a pretty price, but, I won't do that until I've learned all I can about immortals from you. Like how many holes can I put in your body without killing you. Demons can only survive once, most die by the time the night is over, but you, you're different." She skipped around the room and rolled over equipment covered in various sized spikes. "How do you think you will fare?"

Oh boy, here we go >:3