The Unmaking (The Rayne Whitmore Series Book 1) (13 page)

            “Good,” I say and then
reach out my hand, ready to get this over with. Ready to start my life over
again, to become more, someone who protects.

            Selene places a gentle
kiss on my lips and then steps back to grab the knife. I unconsciously gulp at
the thought of the knife slicing my skin, but Selene doesn’t seem to notice.
She grabs my hand firmly and looks at me one more time before nodding. A second
later, there’s a slice, then a burning sensation as a little bit of blood
begins to pool out of my cut.

            “Don’t do anything until I
look at you and then drip three drops into the air like a triangle like this.”
Selene demonstrates in the air and I nod in understanding. Then, she continues,
power dripping through her words, “Ah signum ma rah. Um Immortalis rekesch. Ah
fidelis ad mah rah. Um tah rah Immortalis sanguine ad rekesch,” She chants it
three times before looking at me and then I do as she instructed making the
drops of blood into a triangle in the air.

            For a couple seconds
nothing happens, then suddenly, my hand stops bleeding and I am in a vacuum.
Where I put my blood, I feel a pull and I gasp as the air itself rips open and
reveals some sort of portal. All the lights and candles behind us go out and
then, even more so like a surround sound system, I hear Diana’s voice swirling
around us, demanding, and yet, amused.

            “So, you’ve made your
choice, child. Then, come. Step through the portal and begin your awakening. I
am waiting here for you on the other side. But know this, you either succeed or
you die. Step into the world only with the intent of triumph, because even the
slightest hesitation can cause you to be lost forever, stuck in the grey
between our worlds.”

            I gulp one last time and
look back at Selene who now has locked her hand into mine. Without saying a
word, we both step forward and into a world I never even fathomed could exist.
The pull is strong and I find myself almost flying toward the exit and almost
letting go of Selene’s hand. I fall to the ground and barely get to catch my
bearings. The air feels different as if it’s heavier against my skin, tastes
different because it is lacking the pollution of my world, and even smells
different here like there are different species of flowers and animals. Everything
seems brighter and as I try to shield my eyes, Diana’s standing over me with a
sadistic look in her inhumanly blue eyes. I try to scoot away, but powerful
hands grab me.

            “Un-make her,” Diana
orders the hands.

            Before Selene or I can
protest, before I even see who’s clutching me, the bright lights of this world
go out.

◊◊◊

            Cold. Dizzy. I slowly open
my eyes and visually explore my surroundings. It’s dark, but not so much that I
can’t see anything. However, I feel like shit. My arms are killing me. My hands
are chained above my head and as I try to pull myself free, a sense of fear
creeps over my entire body. I’m on my knees and the heavy weight of the chains
causes my arms to shake.

             I realize that I do have
enough give in them to be able to stand, but not much else. To do this, I have
to shimmy up the wall scraping my back against the jagged rock. I’m completely
naked, exposed, afraid. The chains won’t budge and Selene is nowhere around. At
least while I’m standing, the chains allow me to put my arms to my side. It’s
all very unpleasant still. The shackles upon my closer inspection are rigged so
that if I try to pull them off, I could end up peeling off all my skin, if not
scraping bone. If the tiny drops of blood forming on my wrists are any
indication, I’d better be careful.

             What’s going on? I
thought they were going to help me, not lock me up. Diana’s words run through
my head. ‘Un-make her.’ I become frantic and pull harder on the chains trying
to free myself as I forget exactly what I just learned about the shackles. I
learn my lesson with a sharp cut to my wrist. I break skin and hiss in pain. I
call out Selene’s name urgently, hoping that she will come to my rescue.
Instead, someone else shows up, another Immortal.

            He’s tall, blond hair,
with dangerous green eyes that are staring at me like a hungry lion. I study
him as he stalks towards me, smirk on his face. Like Diana, he is nearly
glowing, otherworldly. He has on no shirt and his grey bottoms look like a type
of sarong. His body is that of a swimmer. Lean, muscular, but not overpowering.
On earth, he’d give Brad Pitt a run for his money. Here, there is no doubt that
he’s a warrior. He lifts up my chin and studies me silently. That’s when I
notice the sword and try to pull away. I’m not familiar with blades, but it
looks like a machete, only much sharper and older. He just laughs and turns his
back to me, pacing for several seconds.

            Finally, he says, “I’d
been expecting you to ask a million questions by now. Why am I here? What are
you going to do to me? Where is my lover? But you, young one are surprising.”
His voice is deep and commanding as it echoes from all over the room the same
way Diana’s did when I first met her. In this deep cavern or dungeon, it is
even more eerie as his voice seems to even reach the high ceiling. Where
Diana’s voice is similar to someone who lived in England long ago, his voice
sounds more modern, even if the same accent is still there. I still stay
silent, afraid that my voice will betray the fear inside.

            He continues. “Well, I am
Lawrence, the younger brother of Diana and the best weapon forger in the land.
That will suffice for now. It has been a long time since there has been a human
in our midst and I must say, I do not think you will be with us for too long.”

            “Why is that?” I ask
quietly, flinching as the shackles eat into my skin.

            Lawrence takes three long
strides and is so close to my face that I think he’s going to kiss me.
“Because, young one, no human has ever survived being un-made by me.”

            Before I can even process
what he’s telling me, I am being impaled by his sword right through my
diaphragm, upwards, until the sword exits nearly at the base of my neck. The
pain explodes through my whole body and I am screaming inside, but no words
form on my lips. Lawrence locks eyes with me and I cough up blood right in his
face. Ignoring the splatter of blood on his brow, he smirks in pleasure at my
pain.

            He retrieves the sword and
it’s more painful going out than in as he slowly turns it inside of me. My
vision wavers and I lose control of my bladder as reality sets in. Is that why
they stripped me naked? Excruciating pain, humiliation, and paralyzing fear eat
away at my soul. I can’t even tug at the chains as my strength becomes
nonexistent. I feel my life being cut away and confusion sets in. I don’t
understand this. I came here to get help, not to be murdered in cold blood,
tied up, with no way to defend myself.

            Suddenly, Lawrence slams
his palm into my wound and the heat from his hand seeps into my skin. I feel
the wounds inside me stitching themselves back up and I gasp for air with tears
in my eyes. He’s healing me and the pain recedes, leaving me more confused than
I was in the beginning.

            “Why?” I whisper, tasting
blood on my tongue.

            “Why? Now, you ask the
questions after you have tasted the steel of my blade. Fool. Because you are
weak and I do not think you are worthy of the mark that you wear. Because fear
rules you and revenge calls to you. How anyone could think you could ever have
any power inside you is unfathomable. I know you will not prove me wrong. I
will break you, human. I will torture you, heal you, and then start all over
again. When I’m done, you will beg for death to take you and I will gladly
oblige. There’s one other thing that I forgot to mention about myself. I
apologize for not telling you this bit of information sooner, but I am the
greatest master of torture our people have ever known,” Lawrence tells me with
such heat in his voice that I begin to sweat. I don’t even have a chance to
take another breath before I am impaled with his sword again, this time
piercing a lung and causing me to black out from the pain.

            I awaken after what seems
like days upon days to find myself dripping with sweat. My hands are now raw,
my lip bloody, and one eye is swollen shut. Lawrence has healed the worst of my
injuries, but has left just enough pain so that I remember every slice, every
punch, every broken bone. For three days he has come and assaulted me, tortured
me, and mocked me. On the third day, I begged for him to stop, pleaded and
cried that I wanted to go home. He told me that he would not only kill me, but
Selene too. I spit in his face.

             He laughed, unchained me,
then strangled me with the chains. After that, he water boarded me. I think I
went mad until he knocked me out. A small mercy. The worst part is the
knowledge that I’m getting ready to feel unimaginable pain all over again, that
I will only be able to remain chained like an animal and take it. And to what
end? Even if Lawrence continues to heal my wounds, surely I’ll die from the
shock, hunger, or thirst soon enough.

            Now, I hear footsteps
returning and I panic. I cannot keep this up. I’ll never be able to withstand
another punishing hour of this. I am alone, weak, hungry, and so thirsty. I
have to buy some time to get free of this. I pretend to be sleep as I listen to
the footsteps get heavier with their closeness. Maybe then, he’ll leave me
alone for a little while longer so that I can think and rest.

            Icy water splashes all
over me and I yelp, then growl in pain from my sudden flinching. Now, I’m just
fucking mad. I open my eyes and blink out the remaining water as I start to
shiver. There’s nothing left for me to lose now. My shivering from the cold
becomes trembling with rage. Lawrence looks at me in amusement. I look back at
him like I want to rip his head off. He pretends not to notice. This only makes
my anger grow. I’ll repay his ass if I ever get out of here. I promise myself
that.

            “Rayne, is it?” he asks,
saying my name for the first time. “I’m glad you’re awake. Your lover Selene
was asking about you. I told her that I didn’t think you’d last much longer and
she looked concerned. Maybe I should bring her here to say goodbye.”

            “Why?” I ask. “Where are
you going?” Not the best comeback, I know.

            A flash of surprise shines
through his mischievous green eyes and then it disappears. “Was that a joke?
Delightful.”

            “I just want to know if
that’s all you’ve got? Are you really threatening me now after all you’ve
already done to me? I don’t fear you or any of this anymore. Right now, I just
want to destroy you,” I tell him calmly. Fuck him and his glowing skin. I’ll
peel it right off of him and use it for a nightlight.

            This time, he laughs a
loud booming laugh. “Thank you Rayne. This is the most fun I’ve had in years.
Then, he slices my upper left thigh and I hiss in pain. He raises his sword at
me again, but I try to swing away, ignoring the protests of my too raw wrists.
He misses and I try to counter with a kick that’s nowhere near the target.
Lawrence laughs again at my attempt to scramble away and head butts me
something vicious until I see stars. Before I can shake off the blow, he comes
at me again and slices my stomach. I stumble back into to wall and hit my head
again.

            I take a deep breath and
stand as upright as possible with the blood beginning to pool on the ground
around me. Then, I feel it. The power building up inside me, the will to
survive, and it clicks. It is like an inferno roaring to life, a wall of water
breaking through the dams. The minute I stopped being afraid and started to
fight back is when the power started to flow. This whole time, he wanted me to
feel helpless, hopeless, weak, and afraid. It isn’t about just having the will
to survive; it was about being able to be in a life or death situation and
still being able to be courageous.

            This test is meant to
force me to find my power and awaken it. I had to remember my goals, my family,
why I was here doing this. I had to forget all I once was, my weaknesses, and
become something more. I had to be un-made. The entire world seems to slow down
then speed back to normal as I see things as if for the first time. My new
senses explode.

            Lawrence comes at me again
with a forward strike. This time, with new eyes, I’m able to follow his
movements. This time, with new strength, I rip the chains free of the wall and
wrap them around his neck pulling as fiercely as I can manage as he runs the
blade through me again. It doesn’t hurt like it did the first time and the
surprise on his face gives me the ultimate satisfaction I need. I collapse in
his arms after he pulls the sword out of my stomach and I loosen the chains on
his neck. He scoops me up like a baby and pulls me close to his chest before
kissing me on my forehead.

            I grin stupidly as he
says, “Well done child. Your mark is glowing. You have unlocked the secret to
your power and you have been un-made.”

            Damn right.

Chapter Twelve

           
T
his time when I wake up, it’s to the beautiful hum of
Selene’s voice. She’s running her fingers through my hair and I put my hand on
top of hers. We lock eyes and I see that she’s been crying. Quickly I sit up
and question the reason for the tears.