Fantastic World Ch 11

"

Come back to me...my sweet. Come back...

"

The haunting strains of a grieving voice filled the farthest reaches of her subconscious mind. She clawed her way through the darkness, hoping to rediscover the light. Pain zinged through her, threatening her resolve. A tiny wavering voice urged her to run away from the pain. It was much safer in the dark embrace. Here she could hide indefinitely.

But Callia Blackhawk-Darksbane had never been one to run away from anything. Pain was something she would never hide from. It was not in her nature to behave so cowardly. She had never backed down from anything and did not intend to start now.

She heard the voice once again, somewhat fainter yet no less familiar. It had to be Jaz'rin calling her. She was sure it was his gentle voice, but what would he want with her? Hadn't Jaz'rin been jealous of Ethi? Hadn't Jaz'rin tried to kill her? Hadn't Jaz'rin brought Amakiir here? Hadn't Amakiir tried to kill her? Hadn't Amakiir assaulted her with his foul magic? She wondered where Amakiir was and how he had come to be here.

The voice in the dark changed. She felt something else calling to her, beckoning her onward. It had to be Ethi. The voice filled her with an inner strength she found to be intoxicating. But how could that be? How could he have known? Had he followed her?

Ethilathain...His voice rang loud and clear, filling her up. It echoed through the darkness surrounding her. Soundlessly she called back, fighting her way through the thick black curtain of her subconsciousness. Panic gripped her. There was no way out!

Ethi... Ethilathain...

Save me... ETHI...SAVE ME...

I NEED YOU...

.

O.O

Mocking laughter permeated the darkness and a searing ache coursed through her. A harsh groan escaped her dry parched throat, causing another part of her tortured body to throb. Callia opened her swollen eyes and blinked several times. Her eyes watered and she felt

something

thick ooze down her face. Her cheek twitched, her whole being spasming. Trying to ignore the throbbing pain in her entire body, she looked around. The first thing she noticed was the reeking smell of death, so strong that it nearly choked her.

Looking down at herself, she noticed she was in a silken web of sorts, suspended from the ceiling above. Her arms were pinned behind her back while her legs were raised to point her exposed naked bottom directly downward. The web encompassed every inch of her body, cocooning her almost completely. Further examining her dilemma, she realized the webbing was parted to expose her breasts.

Harsh insane laughter filled the room and she jerked her head up, her gaze falling upon the windowless chamber. It was large and well lit by magical, multicolored flames burning in numerous braziers. Heavy, black curtains were covering all the walls of the circular space, but there was no furniture, except one thing. In the center there was a large chair made of human bones.

A shiver raced through her. Something about this room was so otherworldly wrong, but Callia couldn't place her finger on it.

Heh

, she scoffed inwardly. She couldn't place her finger on anything at the moment, pinned behind her back as they were. She just knew she didn't like it here and didn't want to be here. Yet she was here and had no choice otherwise.

She couldn't tell where the maniacal laughter was coming from. Or from whom. It didn't sound familiar to her. Who could it be? Not Jaz'rin! Certainly not Ethilathain! Was it Amakiir? Damn him!

A silver haired being materialized in the skeletal throne. Then she heard a low, menacing chuckle, and even before she focused her eyes upon him, she knew who it was.

Gods be damned!

Amakiir!

"You must be thoroughly insane to bring me this close to you," she hissed, not bothering to hide the venom in her voice. "What are you going to do with me this time? Make me suffer?"

Amakiir snorted, coming into full view of her, watching intently as she struggled violently against the soft webbing. "Ever the fool you are to think that suffering is all I wish of you."

His smug tone grated on her nerves.

"

Vith'os,

" Callia spat. Her laborious exertions were causing her bonds to rock and twist.

"Such language, my dear! You are impertinent as always, and still flaunting your inner rage, but this time I will have much more fun, believe me." Amakiir scoffed as he stood and sauntered toward her. Cockiness oozed from every pore of his being and Callia knew he was toying with her, much like a cat plays with a mouse before it goes in for the kill. "You should be taught some manners!"

Amakiir drew his hand back and slapped her face with all the force he could muster, a force backed by the magical energy that bolstered him. She took the blow and grunted at the pain that exploded through her cheekbone. Callia growled back at him, hissing as she spit blood. He backhanded her just as harshly. "You are my bitch! Shall I prove it to you like I have so many times in the past?"

"You think just because you have me at a disadvantage that I will not kill you?" Callia taunted, her struggling increasing, despite the fact her stretched hip and leg muscles protested greatly. "I owe you! And I always pay my debts!"

Amakiir scoffed at her, ignoring her threat. Then he whistled sharply. A moment later, an identical cocoon dropped down from an opening in the ceiling, within it was a dark elf male. The webbing was red in many spots as blood seeped from open wounds. He was trussed up much like Callia, though his legs were not held aloft.

A startled cry escaped from her lips as realization hit her. It was Jaz'rin and from the looks he had been tortured. Breath rattled harshly and shallowly from the dark elf's chest, a testament that he still lived. But not by much. Callia forced the bile down that rose in her throat. She would not give Amakiir that satisfaction of seeing her sickened by what had become of Jaz'rin. Slowly she coursed her eyes over his broken body. "Long have I walked the road to ruin. I look back upon my countless rages and find nothing but death and destruction in my path. There is so much blood on my hands. So much I feel I could drown in it." Callia remarked as she perused the multitude of cuts and gashes upon every inch of Jaz'rin's obsidian flesh. "But I will not be held accountable for this. He

chose

his own path. He

knew

what his duty was and he

chose

to forsake it. Therefore I should not be punished for it."

"If I wanted to punish you, I would have made you watch him being tortured." Amakiir chided, laughing evilly.

Callia longed to slap the smugness from his face.

"He never once uttered a sound as Tathlyn worked him over with her blades. Dark elves know how to wreak torment and anguish upon those foolish enough to fall into their grasp. She chained him up and let him hang by his wrists. It was music to my ears as I heard his bones break. She smashed each one of his fingers, yet he never flinched at all. His threshold for pain has always been high."

A snarl slipped from between her tightly clenched teeth.

"One other thing, my sweet, if you'll look downwards at your precious Jaz'rin... You'll notice something you enjoyed quite well is missing. Tathlyn took it as a souvenir." Amakiir grinned at her, his expression full of malice. "I considered summoning a dread balor to do my bidding, but why let a demon have all the fun? Beautiful Tathlyn did exactly as I wished and I reaped the fruits of her labors. She's quite talented, you know. Too bad you were unavailable to join us."

Callia rolled her eyes at him and spit in his direction. "She must not be much of a dominant female if she allowed

you

to tell her what to do! It beckons a quandary, though. Why would a dark elf

female

submit to a surfacer

male

? That is unheard of in their culture. You should be beneath her," she retorted.

"I put the bitch in her place." Amakiir taunted, as he spun the webbing Jaz'rin hung in around. Callia unleashed a roar, feeling her blood boil in unspeakable anger as she saw his back. Every inch of his flesh had been flayed completely off from his shoulders to his buttocks. She thrashed about violently, but her bonds held her taut. "Tell me Callia, could you withstand having your flesh peeled away inch by inch? Withstand it and not scream in agony? See all those muscles? Oh, I have little doubt that you have seen these muscles tense. All of them, right? And not only in battle..."

Callia glared at Amakiir, and then watched helplessly as he muttered an incantation. Jaz'rin shuddered visibly, his jaw clenching as an electrical current skittered over his broken body.

"He knew what would happen if he failed me. He knew what he'd be forced to endure yet he chose to ignore that. He chose not to do my bidding. Therefore he chose his fate." Amakiir spun Jaz'rin back around to face Callia. He maliciously jerked the dark elf's head back, pulling on the long white hair. "I ask you again, was she worth it?"

Jaz'rin's cerulean eyes blazed brightly, turning a deep rich blood red.

"Defiance," the silver elf commented. "I like that about you, but you fail to realize I hold your fate, your very life in my hands."

He let the dark elf's head drop back down until his chin rested against his chest. Jaz'rin raised it back up slowly and looked Callia straight in the eyes. "Don't... don't let him see what you feel, my sweet," he whispered after a while. "Don't give the bastard the satisfaction, you hear me?"

Another electrical shock engulfed the cocoon the dark elf was enclosed in. "What a touching sentiment, but rather wasted upon her. She has already given me much satisfaction and is about to give me even more."

Jaz'rin's flesh spasmed violently as Amakiir touched him. "Why do you fight against what you know will come? Why not accept your fate? Give up,

abbil

. It'll be so much better if you don't fight. Just say the words and I'll ease your pain."

"

STOP THIS

!" Callia screamed at Amakiir.

"Don't... beg, my...sweet," Jaz'rin managed, as jolts of magical energy washed over his mangled skin.

A concerned look took hold of her features. "This is madness-."

A harsh slap to her face stopped the words from coming from her mouth. She clenched her teeth as she felt a hand press to her stomach, unleashing a numbing jolt of cold that engulfed her. "Is that the best you can do, you son of a bitch?"

The silver elf laughed evilly. "You should know well the answer to that, but you seem to have forgotten. I will leave you alone to ponder that. Say goodbye to your dear sweet Jaz'rin."

"NOOOOOOOOOO!" She screamed as she helplessly watched the webbing that held Jaz'rin rise upwards, passing through the hole in the ceiling from whence it had come. She glared at her former lover hatefully. He flashed a grin at her and made a few intricate hand gestures and gathered a burst of magical cold within his palm. He muttered an arcane incantation and blew the cold from his hand straight at her. The frigid energy encased her, freezing her instantly.

O.O

Wracking cold permeated every inch of her body causing shivers to run through her continually. She cursed that damn Amakiir for doing this. He had long been the center of all her troubles.

Flashes of memory raced through her mind. The cold kept her trapped by what she saw. Poignant moments of her life haunted her. Everything that she had held dear was gone, and she was alone with her regrets. Kalaviir, the trusted clan scout who'd been as close as a brother to Karowyn, had showed her what it meant to be a woman. Callia had been young, too young, even for an elf. He'd awakened her passions and doomed himself in the eyes of the clan. Kalaviir had left with a cloud of disgrace hanging over him. He had never known the child they had produced. A child that had been taken from Callia and given to another family to raise. To this day, Callia had never known the fate of her tiny baby girl.

Countless others followed. Her need for attention had been insatiable. And when it all became too much, she'd been sent away. Her thoughts settled on Nathan. What a joy he had been. She could always count on Nathan to give her all the pleasure she could ever want and none of the attachment. It's what she loved so much about him.

An ache pierced her heart as she reexamined her affair with Delilah and......Jaz'rin. She'd been a fool to trust him. It had led to so much needless suffering. She mentally kicked herself for believing he was anything more than Amakiir's pet, for believing his lies. She should've known better. Jaz'rin surely would die at Amakiir's hands, once he'd finally broken the dark elf.

And Ethilathain...

She hadn't expected to meet anyone like him. A single thought of him warmed her heart. She had needed solace and a chance to lick her wounds from the disaster that Amakiir had caused. Ethilathain had offered her that. A part of her wondered if she should fully place her trust, not to mention her heart and soul, in Ethilathain's mighty...claws. Would a magnificent dragon really stay with an elf once he was truly free? And this ritual he needed to complete....Was she strong enough to endure it? Could he really prepare her for it totally? Their size difference was utterly frightening, but the little voice inside her urged her to place her trust, her heart, and her very soul in him.....within his mighty hands.

The shivers passed and she could feel nothing at all. Numbness sucked at her, leeching all of the hope she possessed. And when she felt she could not take any more of it, the body numbing encasement of ice was no more.

Her eyes flew open and she glared at Amakiir, who stood in front of her. That evil grin and hint of madness nearly smothered her. His hand snaked out and connected with her cheekbone. Her head snapped back as pain splintered through her, causing crystal shards of ice to fly from her hair. "I thought that might chill your fury, but I guess I didn't leave you on ice long enough, dear little sister." Amakiir mocked her, sneering at her ruthlessly.

Her blue eyes flashed at him. She struggled against her bonds and hissed as heat caused pinpricks of pain under her skin. She blocked it out, hissing furiously. "If I get out of here, I'll kill you." Callia threatened. "You don't know it yet, but you are dead. Hear me well, Amakiir. D-E-A-D DEAD!"

He snorted at her contemptuously, "Hardly, dear Callia. Your paltry delusions amuse me."

Amakiir clapped his hands together and the webbing containing Jaz'rin dropped back down. The dark elf looked less hurt, though a multitude of white scars stood out like badges of honor on his onyx skin. He almost looked whole again. She raked her eyes over every inch of him that she could see. "Tathlyn healed him.....somewhat. We didn't want to give him too much of that goodness. He doesn't deserve it. He failed me after all. He let his emotions get in the way."

"You mean he should have been a heartless bastard like you."

"He should've killed you when he had you at a disadvantage. He would have been able to retrieve the treasure on his own. He didn't need you."

Callia nodded. "Oh, I wouldn't be so sure about that. The guardians of the keys to the vault would have killed Jaz'rin right off. A female needed to be the seeker. The obsidian dragon would have had him for lunch and I severely doubt he could have defeated all the trolls plus the daemonfaey and the troll king on his own. Furthermore, we have yet to begin the quest for the final key."

"The obsidian dragon was toying with you, stupid bitch. It would have given its key like it was supposed to or paid the consequences. I promise you that." He glared at her hatefully then reared his hand back. It connected with her cheek with a resounding SLAP! Callia winced and shuddered.

Amakiir stepped away from her and motioned for Tathlyn. She muttered a phrase, casting a spell upon Jaz'rin that seemed to immobilize him thoroughly. Then she cut him out of the webbed netting and dragged him past the bone chair to a section of the room where heavy chains hung from hooks in the ceiling.

Tathlyn placed his hands into a set of heavy manacles with a thick chain joining them together. Tathlyn grinned wickedly and put the chain of the manacles around a hook hanging from the dungeon's ceiling. As Jaz'rin's bare feet dangled in the air, Callia swore she could hear the bones crack under his body's weight as metal tore the skin off his wrists. She hissed furiously at Amakiir and renewed her struggle against her bonds.

A thickly coiled whip appeared in Tathlyn's hand. It hissed and sizzled as she flicked her wrist and hit the stone floor with it.

CRACK!

Jaz'rin's upper back flinched as the whip connected with it.

CRACK!

HISS!

Tathlyn cackled with delight as she landed two more lashes on his tortured flesh. "Scream for me. Give in and scream!" she taunted him.

CRACK!

Her maniacal laughter continued with every swing of the whip. Jaz'rin's back ran red as rivulets of blood flowed down his back. Yet he remained silent as a grave. She swung him around and began to lash his front. His eyes glowed as red as the blood that began to pool on the floor beneath him.

Throwing down her whip, she pulled a wicked looking serrated blade from a sheath at her waist. She brandished it in his face. Other than his glowing eyes, he showed no emotion whatsoever. His jaw flinched as she ran the jagged edge down his chest, slicing through already broken skin. She repeated her course, choosing a patch of unmarred flesh to rip into. His body shuddered. Still he remained silent. Her slicing turned to slashing, hacking chucks of his flesh in her blood frenzy. Minutes passed before his eyes rolled back into his head and a tiny noise slipped forth from his lips.

Tathlyn backed away from him, and unleashed an evil laugh. The breaking of Jaz'rin had fully begun. She'd found that crack in his resolve. Then she murmured an incantation, filling her hand with an unholy light. It crackled red as she touched him. His body bucked and he growled as the magical energy tore gashes in his flesh. Again she repeated the incantation and pressed it to him. His eyes flashed with the same red intensity, but this time, no sound accompanied it.

"Have you had enough yet, my pet?" Tathlyn taunted him. "Shall I ease your pain?"

He glared at her and sneered as he marshaled what energy he could in order to kick at her.

Tathlyn backed out of his reach and laughed again. "And here I thought you were ready to beg me for mercy!"

"I. Shall. Never. Beg. You." He gritted out through clenched teeth.

"Never say never, my pet, for I have only begun to lavish my attentions upon you," She turned her back to him and slowly

prowled

her way to Amakiir's side. She nodded for him to take Jaz'rin away, that she was done with him this day. Tathlyn turned to Callia, who had been remarkably quiet as well through Jaz'rin's torture session. A smile crossed her lips and she leaned in close, allowing her musky scent to waft over Callia. Tathlyn nipped at one of Callia's ears, her teeth sharply sinking into the lobe. Callia hissed and bucked. Tathlyn chuckled low in her throat. She drew back, a wicked smile on her face. The harsh slap centered on Callia's cheekbone followed by a vicious backhand.

Rage filled Callia's eyes. She glared at Tathlyn and struggled against the webbed bonds that held her. She would get loose of this contraption and she would kill the dark elf bitch and that bastard Amakiir for what they had done to Jaz'rin. That was her vow.

From her belt, Tathlyn pulled a wicked looking cat-o-nines tails whip and ran the coils over Callia's breasts. She leaned in and pinched Callia's nipples, eliciting a growl from Callia's lips. She bucked again and spit at Tathlyn. The dark elf female sneered and slapped her open handed across her mouth, splitting her lip and making it bleed.