If Eli had a choice, she would have preferred to die that night.
The pain did not allow her to think straight. Both hands were numb, and she lost the ability to move her fingers on both hands an hour after the mage left.
Her arms and shoulders were screaming with pain. She gathered what was left of her strength, trying several times to pull herself up by grabbing the iron chain. She was half expecting her weight would get her free if she wrapped her feet around the shackles. But the chain was tied tight.
Now that her body had her attention, she was sure at least one or two ribs were cracked. From the swollen look of her right foot, she could only guess her ankle was broken and the back of her head was barking in pain. Falling down the stone stairs had left a lump on her head.
And as if all that was not enough, her shoulder wound on her left was still open as the mage predicted. The bleeding was prolonged, but it would accelerate whenever she tried to move her body.
The more time passed, the more agony she found herself in. With every slight movement, her face twisted in pain. Even breathing was hard.
She tried ignoring the pain while she stretched several times to reach her belt and weapons the mage had left on the ground ahead of her. But they were just far enough to be out of her reach. Eli gave up when she realized the more she pulled herself, the more blood she lost.
She cursed, screamed, threatened, moaned, begged, shouted, and pleaded, but no one came to help.
Finally, disappointed in ever seeing the sunrise, she passed out from the pain.
***
"Had enough beauty sleep?"
Eli opened her eyes. It took her a few seconds to realize where she was and who owned the face staring at her.
She wasn't conscious enough to panic properly. Her mouth was so dry it was like she had sand on her tongue. Her arms were numb and heavy, barely holding her upright. She probably blinked a few times, and when she still did not look sharp enough to engage in the interrogation, the mage ordered, "Bring her down."
There was a rustling sound of the chains, and a moment later, Eli fell on the floor on her broken ankle. That was enough to gain her whole consciousness. Her face twisted in pain, making noises that even she couldn't recognize. She looked down. Her foot was so swollen her toes looked small.
Dehydration, pain, and injuries had got the best of her. She could never walk out of that door on foot.
"Oh, my apologies. Was it too harsh for you?" The mage said, towering over Eli.
She looked up, half dead. The room was now bright with daylight, and his features were more visible. He had a proper outfit now: fine leather pants and a black cotton shirt. His ruby necklace gleamed like a pendulum taunting Eli. She stared at the uncut red rock hanging from a golden chain.
Things couldn't have gone more wrong.
She swallowed, or at least tried to.
"As a high-skilled burglar, it's expected to take a little beating." There was a tinge of mockery in his voice. Now Eli was a laughing matter. Not that she was in a condition to care. But surprisingly, it still hurt.
The mage squatted before her. He smelled of cinnamon, apples, and freshly cut grass. His hair was damp. The bastard even took a bath before tormenting Eli. When she didn't respond, he continued, "Maybe if I do this..."
Eli felt a thumb on her shoulder wound, pressing the injury. Her eyes popped out of pain, and she screamed. So loud even her ears hurt.
The mage took his thumb off and sniffed it, "Infected, disgusting."
"Fuck you, you sadist bastard!" Her voice was barely audible.
She tilted her head to ease the pain. It didn't help. The left side of her collar was stuck to her wound. The former white cotton was now entirely blood, sweat, and dirt, and with the pressure the mage caused, the blood damped the linen of her collar even more.
"Excellent. Now that you have joined us, would you care to share the information required from you?"
Eli gaped at his dark eyes as he cocked his brows encouragingly, still squatting before her. It was then that she realized he had no mercy. His eyes were empty. There was no compassion or forgiveness.
He would end here right there.
If Eli had a chance of survival, this was it.
"You should know that if I don't come back, they will send for me," Eli said, her voice hoarse. She ignored the rising pain of regaining sensation in her arms.
The mage looked hardly impressed, "Uh! Spooky. Who's coming?"
"Don't waste your time on me. You should prepare! They will raid here, unleashing hell upon you and your abominations." She needed water.
The mage glanced at the windows behind her, looking at the front of the mansion with a raised brow, "How long do you think we have to wait?"
Eli growled.
The mage went on, "Well since you care so much about my well-being—the one you obviously know so little of—I suggest it's only polite to sit and wait here with you until this alleged group of people show up and I reasonably hand you to them."
Eli shook her head as much as her injuries allowed her. "You don't believe me?"
The mage chuckled, and the sound was so sincere. As if he was genuinely amused. His face lit up with the smile. "Aside from the fact that I simply don't trust you because you trespassed and broke into my house, I must question the possibility that even if there were such a group as you claim, why didn't they aid you in intruding here last night? Why come now? And please, don't tell me because you're their top choice. I'd be offended."
Eli looked down at her hands, wrapped in iron shackles, still unable to move them.
"You're not being wise," she said, which was a lie, really. The mage was, in fact, very insightful. Eli wished she could come up with a better strategy to stall dying. However, the lack of blood and the pain she went through last night drained the wit and scheme out of her. Even Malkan - who prided himself on breaking Eli - never left her hanging in chains with an open wound before.
Looking up at his stare, she said, "You'd be sorry when they come." Her voice was still shaky. At this point, she stopped trying to be persuasive.
"How interesting!" the mage taunted. "Now that you are so obliging, would you care to give me their names?"
Eli snarled.
"Oh, what's that?" Mage teased her again. "Out of ideas to lie to me?"
His eyes were so black that Eli feared she would drown in their abyss if she stared at them for too long. He pinned her down with his stare, and Eli was utterly paralyzed. She couldn't even blink.
The mage narrowed his onyx eyes in rage, and Eli felt his thumb on her wound again.
She shrieked, loud and pleading. This time, he didn't lift his hand. Fresh blood poured down from her shoulder, drenching the fabric of her shirt. She felt the warm stream running down her skin. Tears pooled in her eyes. Pain struck her in the muscles of her back, shoulder, and chest.
Mage rested his hands on her shoulder, a sweet heaviness. Her shirt was the only thing resisting. If he wasn't pressing his thumb in the exact amount of pressure to torture Eli enough to not pass out, she would say his touch was gentle, friendly even.
She didn't have any energy left to fight back. Her arms were barking in pain. There was no blood left in them to help her move them.
"And again, your lack of information on mages is disappointing. Because if you knew me, you would've learned that the whole royal army of Oxyn can not make a scratch on this place. You would have known that if you were wise enough to do a little research first!"
Eli blinked at him, mouth open and confused.
Who the hell was he?
Why was he so powerful?
The mage grabbed Eli's jaw with a hand red with her blood. This time, his touch was not soft. "You are speedingly losing your value."
Eli narrowed her eyes, gathering what was left of her courage. "I thought I was dying anyway."
The mage levelled her stare; his face was deadly calm. "I never said you had a chance of survival. You can only slow your death, which won't be to your benefit. Now get up." He pushed Eli upward with her jaw in his grasp, forcing her to sit straight, kneeling before him.
Every bit of her body screamed in pain. She couldn't stop her whimpering.
What could the mage possibly do to her now?
Her shirt edges were pushed aside with the movement, making Eli kneel in front of him, half-naked. The fabric of her collar was now stuck to the edges of the festering wound, each motion tormenting.
Her right shoulder, breast, and stomach were bare, gleaming red with her blood. Only the blood on her face had dried. Her hands were still in chains, purple and bruised, and locks of tangled hair covered her face. Most of it was out of her hair tie.
The mage stood, looking down at her, taking her all in, flames of hate burning his eyes.
He looked away and motioned for someone to stand behind Eli. There was a rustling sound of clothes for a second, and then Eli felt a presence behind her.
"Now," The mage was looking down at her, "I will count the questions; each wrong answer comes with a price." He sounded determined. "Who sent you?"
"Filthy whores of Oxyn," she hissed, narrowing her eyes.
"Glad I'm missed. But wrong. One!"
A whoosh sound filled the air, and a whip landed on Eli's back.
The blow was so powerful it threw Eli forward. Eli landed on the ground before the mage's boots. The whip's blow rushed the blood to her head, muting all the sounds for a moment. Then she felt it, the familiar horrific pain on her back. As if her back was split in half. After a long moment of shock, Eli let out a cry, loud and mise.
"Don't blame us. I warned you there would be a price. Now, again, who ordered the heist?"
Eli shut her eyes, her wounded cheek resting on the cold floor, "Go to hell." And braced herself.
"After you, apparently. Two!" The second blow came without warning, hitting the same spot.
Eli screamed in pain and agony. Her skin ripped, and blood flowed on her back. "Please, stop..." She tried to get up. Her hands and shoulders were shaking out of crying, pain, or panic; she couldn't tell.
"It's all up to you, I'm afraid." The mage's voice was empty of feeling. "Again, Who hired you?"
Eli cried. "I don't know."
"Three"
"No!"
The third strike landed on Eli's back. Eli screamed in pain. "Please, no more..."
"Give me a name then." The mage was persistent.
"I don't know! I didn't see their faces." Eli wailed. She caved in. The pain was worse than death. She would take anything but that.
A hand grabbed Eli's hair, pulling her up so she could sit again. Her back made her forget whoever she was and whatever she had. The mage squatted again to look at her directly. "Who's they?"
"I...I'm telling you. I didn't see any faces," She said, her lips trembling. "They came from the back door where anonymous clients usually go. But..."
Eli panted. The mage's hand still had a firm grip on her hair, stretching her skin. "Keep going," He encouraged.
"But their carriage were in dark blue and gold." Eli's voice was as strong as a whisper. She didn't see them leaving, but she saw them coming to Malkan's office above the tavern. Tears spilt down her face, burning the scratch wound on her right cheek.
The mage narrowed his eyes. "Royal carriages, you mean?"
Eli was too tired to say more. She was seconds away from passing out.
"Are you playing games with me, girl?" He was studying her face, trying to detect a lie.
"I'm being honest."
"Well, that's surprising. What were they after?"
Now Eli could see a trace of emotion in his eyes. They were no longer empty. Was it alarm or excitement?
The mage wanted answers, and he looked even scarier now. "What. Did you. Come here. To. Steal?" He asked again, each word clipped.
Eli's eyes slipped from his face to his chest, glancing at the ruby glowing peacefully.
The mage's eyebrows tangled together. He let go of her hair, and Eli collapsed on the floor, wincing in pain. The mage paced the room, running his fingers through his black hair.
Eli looked at him with half-closed eyes. She couldn't understand how this information affected him. It was as if he had never imagined a royal character would be prying into his jewels.
Someone behind her voiced her thoughts, "But how would they know about it?"
It was Takana.
The mage didn't respond.
"Do they know about the house?" Takana pushed.
"They can't." The mage stopped, still frowning.
"Do you think..." Takana stepped forward, and Eli saw a glimpse of her transparent wings gleaming under the daylight, changing shades of purple, green and orange. They were beautiful and reminded Eli of something she couldn't grasp.
"Do you think the royal family is after you?" Takana asked.
Eli realized she was worried.
"None of them are stupid enough." The mage responded, still lost in his thoughts.
"Then how would they know about the amulet?" Takana pushed.
"I don't know," he snapped, suddenly looking frustrated. "But I will."
He turned to Eli, striding towards her. "What did they tell you about it?"
"I told you, I didn't meet them."
"Well, you must have your source of information. So you better be talking." His voice had become husky. His eyes were gleaming with rage and hatred. Eli knew mad men enough to detect those gleams in their eyes when nothing and no one would stop them from getting the things they wanted. She didn't think he would have any boundaries.
The mage grabbed her jaw again, his nails digging into her face. "I'm not in the mood to play with you, girl. Answer!"
"I...he...he didn't have much intel, to begin with, he only knew the ruby is important...so...I..."
"You what?" The mage snapped.
"I just brought a fake one to replace it with yours." Eli swallowed. "It's in my dagger."
The mage's face hardened. "How humiliating!" He puffed, letting go of Eli's jaw. "You genuinely believed you could climb up my wall, sneak here without attracting my attention, replace my ruby, and get away with it with your head on your body?" He shook his head.
Takana clicked her tongue. "It's all you're doing, you know." She blamed the mage, shaking her head. "You let them know you're this weak, and they sent this..." She looked at Eli in disapproval, "to fetch it."
Eli ignored the blow. She had to grasp anything to survive. "Nobody knew anything about Ruby." She defended herself. "And I couldn't ask around about a mysterious mage no one has heard of in years." Eli desperately hoped he wouldn't count four.
"They must have believed it then, the glamour...the house..." His voice trails off.
"She fell for it," Takakna said with a hint of pride.
The mage turned Eli again. "Who is that he that you mentioned?"
Eli blinked. "I said?"
"You didn't see their faces, but who did?" His face was pale, etched with anguish. "Come on now, you don't want me to use my magic, do you? Because I will boil the little blood left in you."
Eli started. "No, I didn't..."
"Four!" The mage ordered.
Takana didn't hesitate. She was behind Eli in a second, cracking the whip in the air.
"His name is Malkan..." Eli sobbed before the whip landed on her. Tears came down her face. "And he'll torture me slowly to death if I ever came out of here alive empty-handed." She closed her eyes. She didn't care anymore. It wasn't one of those situations where she could expect other gang members to aid her. Malkan insisted on not telling anybody.
"No need to worry." The mage's voice was calm again. "You wouldn't make it out alive."
Eli looked up. He pressed his lips. "Now, let's finish what Takana started."