Rebirth: The Awakening Of A Witch (26 page)

“Rhiannon,” I breathed out, staring
warningly
at her as she
made her way
in front of me.

Her golden eyes narrowed as she smiled coldly. “I see you already know who I am so there’s really no need for
an
introduction now, is there?”
She went closer and lightly scratched one of her long fingernails on the side of my cheek.
I immediately cringed, instinctively pulling my face away from her.
I
grimaced
when s
he
harshly grabbed hold of my
face, digging her nails on either side of my cheeks as she
forcefully
pulled my face back so I was facing her.
I
spat
on her
face as I
violently struggled on the tight
metals
that were holding me
against a massive
post
, ignoring the pain it brought at my constant
thrashing
.

She let her cat-like eyes
completely display the loathe she held for me as she held back her hand and slapped me right across the face.
I
instantly
turn
ed my head back to glare at her
, taking her by surprise.
Her
Roman
nose scrunched up, distorting her
tanned
face as she looked at me.
“Why you little…” she began while she again brought one of her hands back
,
obvious
ly planning on hitting me
once
again. But I
stood firm on my ground,
star
ing
her down
and
never flinching
even once.

“Rhiannon, enough!”
A rugged voice commanded behind her.
I stiffened
and she immediately straightened up
, smiling harshly at me
.
I dragged my eyes away from her face and over her shoulder to where the voice vibrated from.
This presence was a lot different than hers. It was completely robust and intimidating
that
my
courage
immediately started cower
ing away.
I
smothered the fear
and
tried to keep up the brave act
,
preparing myself to face whatever was coming next.

A
tall,
dark figure loomed behind her.
He stood so still that he could’ve easily blend
ed
in with the shadows.
I couldn’t see his face because of the limited light brought on by the ball of heat his sister
made. I wrinkled my brows
as my eyes attempted to focus
, trying to have a clear view of him.

He laughed in a raucous voice. “I’ll step into the light for you, Princess. We wouldn’t want you exerting any effort here,” he said in an amused voice that was filled with malice.
My body recoiled away
as the shadow slowly moved into the light
. If only I could
escape these cold
steel
bars
. I viciously struggled against them as I saw him
take slow, easy steps.
When the light finally caught him, my eyes widened.
He was the exact image
I saw in my vision—clad in dark clothes with his
head
hiding behind a hood.
As h
e slowly
revealed his face
,
my heart galloped wildly at the look he held there.
His yellow eyes
were
blazing
with
frenzied madness
,
completely
overflowing
with fiery abhorrence
as he
fixed his gaze on me. That familiar
, dark
sneer
slowly
lifted the sides of his lips as he came
even
closer
to me
.

Rhiannon gladly stepped aside, casting me a
challenging
smile before she
sank into the background
,
generously
giving
way
for her brother.

“How should we do this, Alastor?”
she asked in a high-pitched voice that almost sounded like she was scree
ching.
I couldn’t tell if that was her excited voice
,
but it was
a
terrible
sound to
any human
ears
.

“Hush, Sister. I want her to show us her tricks before we finally get rid of her,” he said as he s
tood in front of me
, cocking his head to the side as he studied my face
. He thoughtfully rubbed his chin
with his thumb as if he was thinking of something.
I shudd
ered, refusing to imagine any of the thoughts that w
ere
surely crossing his mind right at this moment.
He dragged his eyes
down my body
then.
“Such a
beauty. It would be a waste to have to kill you,
”
he sighed. “But I guess it can’t be helped now.”

He brought his face closer to me until it was only inches from
mine
. I flinched
and
turned my head to the side, refusing to look at him as I ordered my heart and breathing to calm down.
Be brave, Skylar.
I commanded myself to wake up.
I have to
focus and
think of something.
I can’t die here like this.
I wouldn’t give them that satisfaction.
He gently placed a hand on the side of my cheek and
f
irm
ly
pulled it back to face him
as he sneered
. “
Would you please show us what your abilities are, Princess?
I would really love to know what I will be getting once I
kill
you,
”
h
e quietly said.

“I don’t have any powers,” I answered him directly. “You’re
only going to be
sorely disappointed
for going through all this trouble
just
to find out that I’m useless to you,
”
I continued on, trying to keep my voice firm despite the hammering in my chest.

“Oh, but it won’t be a waste. Didn’t those guardians tell you?
Even if I decide to kill you now, all your powers that have yet to develop will still be mine,
” he smiled darkly at me, cocking his head to the side, allowing his jet-black tousled hair
to flow around on the side of his face.

“
You won’t get anything from me. I would gladly kill myself before any of you touch
es
me
yet again
.
”
I lashed out, suddenly understanding how my grandfather felt
during that time that he asked Adrien’s father
to kill him.
My view on
why he did that immediately changed. It actually felt noble if you have this kind of reason to back it up.

“Oh, so feisty, are we? Is it
perhaps
this
particular
quality
of yours
that
your
dark-haired guardian is so
enticed
to?
I wonder
…
”
he said as he slightly leant back away from me.
“
Shall we have him here with us to visit? So he could see you die in my hands?
”
he mused.

I gasped as my fear nearly drowned me
with its intensity. I shook my head violently, trying to chase out the horrible images. No, Adrien wouldn’t be that stupid to come barging in here. I
heard Alastor laugh
in
that eerie
,
booming
noise
that was
so close to
my ear.
I turned my attention back to him. “Calm down now. I wouldn’t do that to you. You are, after all, our guest.”

“Alastor, if you’re going to bring him here could I have him for myself to play with?” Rhiannon suddenly spoke. I turned to look at her and saw her vicious eyes fill with what could only be
raw
lust.
My anger flared up at that moment. I wanted so much to slap that hideous smirk
off her face with my bare hands.
As I felt my fury
spread
,
something else
felt like snapping
inside me. But I totally ignored it. I was still itching to get out of these
bar
s so I can march towards her and let her feel my wrath.

“My, my, my. What a jealous little minx you are,” Alastor laughed
,
and I instantly dragged my eyes from his sister back to him, directing my anger towards him instead. That
numbing
fear
that
I had before
gradually
dissolved
as
the
fury
I now felt slowly crept its way
into
every fiber in
my body, replacing
every other emotion I
previously
had there
.

“
You will
not
lay a finger on
Adrien. This feud
against the Imperials
end
s
with me!
”
I growled, staring back at him
with every hate I have
in me
clearly displayed in my eyes.
For once I
think I
actually saw
a spark of a different emotion in his eyes
. I wasn’t sure what it was, because he instantly brought back his crazed look with another one of those
rowdy
laugh
s
.

Rhiannon yawned out loud.
“
Can we kill her now?
”
she asked as she leaned against a wall
, looking very bored
. I dragged my eyes back to her, and as I did
so
, I allowed my eyes to roam around the
place where they
currently
held me.
By now, Rhiannon’s ball of flame ignited so brightly that the entire room was almost lit.
It looked like an old, abandoned
sweatshop
. The
whol
e place was literally about to fall off.
Cobwebs
, soot, and grunge
were everywhere
coupled with long, broken tables
and other supplies
carelessly
set aside on one corner of the
room.
I didn’t exactly know where we were
,
but
I had a strong feeling
that we were still in
Rattford Cliffs, just
somewhere that I
haven’t been
to
yet
.

“
W
here’s the fun in that?”
he replied. He was now back
to
that ev
il, pondering expression of his, walking away a bit, giving a short distance between us.
“
Since you’ll be gone soon,
let me tell you how I work here. If I just killed you, the entire process of finding you,
the thrill of finally seeing your face,
the entertainment I got from that lightning show your beloved guardian
performed
, and that impressive psychic ability you displayed on that playground
will all go to waste now, would
n’t
it?
You see, I strongly want to kill you
,
but I also want to enjoy the entire process of doing so.
That way
,
the kill would be
worth
the hunt. You can say that I like to keep things interesting
,
”
he explained as he rubbed his hands together, t
horoughly enjoying
every sinister plan he
had on his mind.
I felt my anger escalating further at the thought of
going through all th
at
trauma
because
he wants to be entertained. He
’s completely
mad
!