The old woman headed over to the black marble that was mounted flush with the surface of the water in the room. With every ripple, a film of water rolled over the stone, leaving it glossy with moisture.
“Come on, jump on it. We don’t have all night,” the old woman cackled, patting the wet stone.
Her black cloak spread in the water, floating around us like spilled ink.
Everything inside me vibrated with terror, but I climbed onto the altar obediently, my hands and knees slipping on the wet marble.
“Now lay on your back and stay still,” Dorelea instructed. “Let Jearda do her magic. It isn’t an easy task to prepare a fragile being like yourself to approach the Gates of the Abyss and survive, even if for a little while.”
Gates of the Abyss... Were they sending me to the literal Hell of Olathana?
I wanted to scream, but of course no sound came out. Panic thrashed inside me. Without a way out, it threatened to tear me apart. But all I did was lay down on the cool, wet marble and stayed still as I’d been told.
“You may as well close your eyes,” Jearda allowed benevolently. “This will take at least a couple of hours, no need to dry your eyeballs.”
My eyelids dropped closed immediately. Apparently, not only Dorelea could order me around, but Jearda too. Maybe anyone could? Any stranger passing by could tell me what to do, and I’d have no power to resist or even to voice my disagreement. I’d just do it.
The absolute loss of control was terrifying. I didn’t just feel helpless. I felt like I was buried alive. Like I was listening to the sound of dirt being dropped on the lid of my coffin, but I had no way to stop it. There was no one to save me.
A cold blade pressed to my shoulder as Jearda cut through the straps of my dress. She then peeled the soggy fabric off my body.
The water in the room sloshed. Then I heard muffled whispers, as if more people had joined my captors. Were they all standing here now, looking at my naked body as Jearda cut my dress off me?
Someone, probably Jearda, ran her fingers around my neck. The sensation lingered on my skin, as if she’d placed something around it.
I didn’t know how many people were in the room with me or who they were. No one said anything.
My eyes remained firmly closed. All I saw was darkness. All I felt was a sickening, shaking fear.
“Don't be scared, my little one,”the memory of Kye’s voice floated through my mind as the only source of warmth and comfort in this cold nightmare that had become my reality.
I wanted to see him. I couldn’t have his hug, but I’d take his smile, that impish squint of his eyes, his magical voice... I needed to hear his voice to stop terror from suffocating me.
Cold fingers touched my throat. Someone prodded my chest, pressing around my naked breasts. It was worse than being unconscious. I felt everything, yet I could react to nothing.
“You will never face the darkness alone,”he had sung to me.
Yet there I was, faced with the most terrifying darkness, completely and utterly alone.
Sharp pain sliced across my neck. A scream boiled in my throat, burning through my insides, with not a sound coming out. Terror exploded through my mind. And I finally, finally passed out, mercifully no longer feeling a thing.
Chapter 17
Maren
“Get up,” a voice commanded, slicing through my awareness like a cold, sharp blade.
They should’ve ordered me to wake up first. As my body jolted into an upright position, my sluggish mind hadn’t caught up yet. My eyes remained closed. I lurched from the marble altar and plunged into the water surrounding it.
A bitter cold enclosed me. I floundered in the water, trying to get up but couldn’t find my footing. Panic zapped through me with paralyzing weakness. The water between my legs suddenly felt warmer, sliding along my inner thighs.
Someone grabbed me under my arms and pulled me out.
“Stand up. Open your eyes. Get your body under control,” Jearda’s scratchy voice said slowly and clearly.
With her words, my panic calmed a little, and some sense of reality returned. I became aware of my body. My muscles moved under my command. My mind was still reeling from fear and uncertainty, but I stood on my own two feet and opened my eyes.
Water sloshed around my waist. I panted through the residual grip of horror in my throat, catching my breath. Dark figures surrounded me. A few dozen, maybe more. Their black hoods were up, drawn low to conceal their faces. The hems of their long, black cloaks floated in the water, snuffing out its blue glow.
