Chained (The Siren Series #2) (3 page)

“
Ellie, we need to hurry my dear.” Just
listening to Rhea’s her voice made me happy. I forgot how calming
her voice had been.

“
Come on, we’re nearly there.” Sophia
said with her elegant voice.

I pushed on and we came into a main hall that
I was taken to before. It was empty, except for the tiny drops of
my blood speckled on the floor. Rhea grabbed onto my hand along
with Sophia’s. But before we could escape a loud voice boomed
throughout the hall.

“
Ah Rhea, I expected no less.” The
brutish man said.

“
Barbus, I’d wished never to see you
again.” Rhea spat.

The shaggy haired man stared at me with
hunger in his eyes. “If you think you’re taking my Siren you’re
wrong.” he said.

“
You think she’s yours? She nobody’s
toy!” Rhea shouted.

“
No I wouldn’t say that, but she does
have her uses.” His lips turned into a sick smirk that made chills
run down my spine.

“
You are sick.” said Rhea

“
Don’t be like that, remember the good
times we had.” He replied.

Around the man who called himself Barbus,
gangs of leaches started to appear. I stood behind Rhea, hoping she
would protect me.

“
They were never good times, Barbus.
I’m a different person now.”

“
No one ever truly changes, but if it
helps you sleep at night.” Barbus replied.

“
You disgust me, you did horrid
things!” Rhea yelled

“
Don’t lie you enjoyed every bit-.” Before
Barbus could finish he was blasted back through a door. That was
the leaches cue to attack. They rushed at us screeching and
gnashing their teeth. Sophia stepped forward and erected a barrier
around us, turning the eager leaches into dust. From the back of
the room blasts of red came flooding towards us. It struck the
barrier, but it held its ground. Before Barbus could attack again,
Rhea grabbed mine and Sophia’s arms and the world was torn away in
a blink of an eye.

The same feeling came over me again. I
wanted to be sick, but I fought the urge. My stomach flipped and
jumped as I traveled from one place to another. Finally I was
dropped onto a hard floor and I rolled to a stop. Rhea stood over
me while Sophia was just getting to her feet. She looked perfect,
truly an angel.

“
Thank you Rhea, You saved me, I
thought I would die down there.” I said with a weak
voice.

“
I’m happy that you’re back too. That’s
why I’m sorry to do this.” She said.

Two strong men walked over to me and lifted
me up on my feet. I tried to fight against them but they were like
two brick walls. They dragged me away and put me in a small room. I
was about to run back through the door but Rhea stood between me
and freedom. She waved her hand and the door clamped shut, locking
me in.

“
I’m sorry Ellie, but you need to stay
here.” She said, her voice echoing through the door.

“
No, Rhea, please let me out!” I
shouted.

“
Listen, they have been injecting you
with something that’s highly addictive and for your own benefit, it
needs to leave your system.” Her voice was so calm and
confident.

“
I trusted you Rhea!” I screamed. I
repeatedly slammed my fists against the sturdy door.

“
It’s just for a few days, I’m sorry.”
Her footsteps echoed down the hall and I was all alone,
again.

When I finished slamming and pounding on the
door, I gave up. I slumped down on the floor and curled up.

This cell was much nicer then my
so-called
other
one. There
was a small single bed in one corner and a toilet, and sink at the
other side.

“
Well at least it has
pluming.”
I
thought.

The room had been painted with blinding white
walls along with the pristine while floor, it felt like being in a
padded cell.

How could Rhea do this to me, first she
rescues me and now she leaves me? I felt awful, my wrists were
healed and the marks on my neck too, but, I felt itchy and
irritable. I just wanted get up and leave but there was no way. I
picked myself up from the floor and helped myself to some water.
The cups they had were made out of paper. (What am I a child?) The
water was cool going down, and for just a second I forgot about the
nagging itchy feeling. I closed my eyes and tried to focus my mind
onto something else, other than the pain I was feeling. I threw
myself onto the bed and it felt like heaven, I hadn’t felt
something this soft in a long time. I pulled the blankets around me
tight and tried to get some needed sleep.

A loud noise woke me up. I shot up from
the bed, fearing another leach would be accompanying me. When I
remembered that I was safe, free from their clutches (well if
anyone would call
this
free?). The
door opened slowly and I waited for whatever was about to greet
me.

Sophia thanked someone to her right and
walked in. She smiled and placed down a tray that was supporting a
sandwich. My eyes lit up and I snatched it from the plate. For such
a basic sandwich it tasted amazing.

“
Slow down or you’ll choke.” She
said.

I took her advice and took my time. Sophia
stood over me and watched, as I tore the sandwich apart like a
savage animal.

“
I’m sorry it took so long to find you,
Ellie.” She said softly.

I stopped making a pig of myself and looked
up to meet her gaze. Sophia was wearing one of her unusual outfits
again. This time she wore frilly gloves that traveled up to her
elbows, a tight fitting corset that pulled her in tightly attached
to a ruffle skirt. Where did she get her clothes from?

“
What do you mean? I was only gone a
few days wasn’t I?” I asked.

Sophia didn’t answer. She remained quiet.

“
Sophia, tell me? How long was I gone
for?”

“
Two weeks.” Her words felt hollow and
strange.

I swallowed my final bite with a bit of
difficulty. “What?!”

“
Rhea did not stop until she found you.
It took us awhile but-.” I cut her off.

“
I was gone for two weeks?! But it only
felt like a few days at the most.”

“
It’s because of the stuff they
injected into you. You must have been asleep most of the
time.”

The words passed though me as they meant
nothing. Two weeks I was locked up, it didn’t even feel remotely
close to that. I immediately grabbed at my neck. They had been
drugging me, keeping me asleep and doped up. The words just spun
around my head, until I felt sick.

“
Are you ok, Ellie?”

“
Yeah, fine.” I lied.

I took a sip of water that sat on the
tray.

“
When can I get out of here?” I asked
her.

“
It’s not up to me Ellie.” she
replied.

“
But why, can’t Rhea just heal me?
Surely she can do that?”

“
I asked her that and she cannot.
Whatever is in your system cannot be cure by magical means.” She
said “I’m sorry. You just have to wait it out.”

“
But I feel like I’m going crazy.” I
said.

“
I’m sorry, Ellie.”

Sophia picked up the tray and the empty cup,
as she was about to leave I snatched at her dress.

“
Please don’t leave.” I pleaded with
her.

“
Ellie I wish I could stay but I have
orders.” she pulled away from me and exited through the door that
led to my only escape.

I crawled back into bed with a full
stomach. It felt nice to have some decent food, not that disgusting
thing on a plate
they
tried to
feed me. Sophia said it would only be a few days, I could handle
that, just a few more days and I could get the hell out of
here.

At night that was when the pain started. I
began to sweat through my clothes. I began to feel clammy and
irritable. My temperature was high then it would drop. It was like
my body didn’t know how to regulate my temperature, I just wanted
to scream. My body ached throughout. What did they put into my
body? I splashed myself with some water and tried to calm myself
down. Nothing worked. I scratched at my skin till it became sore. I
pounded on the door till my hand hurt, but no one answered. I
needed to get out. With my powers, I could bring this place down if
I needed to, but I had to suppress it. Clenching my teeth together
would take the pain away, but only for a few seconds and then it
would start up again. I climbed into bed and wrapped myself up in
the blanket, no matter how hot I was. I would beat this thing.
Waves of heat came from within my own body and sweat trickled down
my face. I brought my knees up towards my chest and sat there.
After a while of trying to suppress the pain, sleep caught up to
me. I tried to get myself into a comfy position and tried to get
some rest.

I awoke to a piercing noise throughout the
room. My eyes scanned each of the white walls to see that there
were many slash marks made into the walls. My heart raced as I
could smell the familiar stench that brought me back to those deep
dungeons. The lingering scent beckoned me from outside the room and
as I stepped forward the door was torn away before me. A group of
leaches stood in my path but did not block it. They soon parted on
each side and out walked Barbus. He stood proud among the many
creatures that he commanded. He held out his hand and waited for me
to take it. I wanted to go back into the cell, to run away, but my
body moved forward, like I was being called to him. Closer I drew
near him until I was within arm’s reach. He pulled me into his
chest and embraced me and I could feel his strong muscles through
his clothes as his hands traveled down my back making my flesh
crawl.

His fingers started to caress my body and
for a moment it felt good, but I didn’t want this. I should be
disgusted by him, but his breath on my neck took it all away.
Without warning he grabbed a handful of my hair and pulled my head
back exposing my throat, but I didn’t fight it. His lips traveled
from the bottom of my neck and up to my ear lobe. My cheeks flushed
with colour and my heart pounded rapidly inside my
chest.

“
You won’t escape me.” he
said.

His voice was strong and commanding and at
that moment I felt I could do anything for this man. Something
inside started to scream, telling me to run away, to never trust
this beast of a man. A cruel smile graced his lips and he threw me
towards the leaches like I was table scraps for the dogs.
I lay on the floor while the
leaches gathered around.

I woke myself up with a scream. Quickly, I
placed my hands over my mouth when my brain realized what I was
doing. I had blown open a small hole on the wall opposite me. I
jumped out of bed to give it a look, hoping I didn’t do too much
damage. Well at least I didn’t bring the place down.

“
Don’t worry about that.” said a voice
behind me.

I spun around to be greeted by Rhea who stood
in the doorway.

“
Uh, sorry ‘bout that.” I
said.

Rhea giggled and smiled. “I’m so glad to have
you back Ellie, and it looks like your powers are slowly regaining
as well.”

I smiled weakly at her.

Rhea made her way to my bed and sat, she
tapped the spot beside her and I took my place.

“
I’m sorry you had to go through this
Ellie, as soon as those foul creatures took you I didn’t stop until
I found you. I failed you. I should not have let this
happen.”

I took both of her hands into mine and a
surge of power flowed through me, fueling my once beaten body. I
forgot how good it felt to touch her.

“
Rhea, you saved me.” I said to her “I
almost gave up.”

“
I’m just relieved that I got to you in
time.” Rhea pulled me close.

It felt good being in her arms; my once
troubled thoughts were gone.

“
Can I leave now?” I asked
her.

She took her time before answering. “Well you
seem to have your powers back.”

“
Well I feel fine, but it was a rough
night.” I replied.

“
Then I think you’re ready to join
us.”

“
Us?” I was confused.

Rhea led me from my room and out into a long
corridor filled with other rooms on either side. I walked passed
each of them expecting to see them locked up like I was, but inside
were people of every age inside reading or listening to music. The
rooms looked like bedrooms. Some of them were decorated with
personal affects and posters of famous singers and shelf’s crammed
with various kinds of books.

“
Rhea, who are these people?” I asked
her.

“
They are guests here, looking for
refuge.” She answered softly.

“
Refuge from what? Leaches?”

“
Yes and no. This is a place where everyone
can feel safe, runaway or not.”

I passed others in the corridor, some of
them only kids. They looked scared and uncertain but as soon as
Rhea passed their faces lit up. What were they doing here didn’t
they have families to go home to?

We left the rooms behind us and turned a
corner into large seated area. It looked like a living room with
sofas, TV’s, and electronic gadgets. It felt warm, comforting, like
a real home. A feeling of guilt ran through me but I ignored it as
best as I could and carried on with Rhea.