You might think, I was behaving childish. Throwing a tantrum of some sort by refusing to eat my food. But if I was dead, then they wouldn't have a hold on Mason anymore. Sure, I was in this mess purely by being associated with him and stupid enough to think that I could outsmart people who were intently searching for me. But that didn't mean that both of us had to die. Whatever they were leveraging me for, once they got it, both of us would die anyway. I didn't know what I had stepped into but it looked that someone was hell-bent on getting what they wanted.
The silence surrounding me didn't help the storm raging inside my head.
For once I wished I could slip inside the dreamworld but I knew eventually that would reject me too and spit me out in the real world.
I just had to wait for the effect of Dr. Button's magical pills to wear off. I was still no closer to figuring that one out. What exactly I was meant to do while I was in there? Or how to harness my abilities. But better late than never.
With no idea where, or when I was, I allowed myself to drift off to sleep. Mostly in the hopes that I would find my way to the frozen land that had rejected me countless times.
No such luck. I concluded when my dreams were nothing more than just regular ones. To my dismay, I dreamt of Mason. Although, the dream was a bit of a stretch considering that all saw was him being tortured in the most gruesome way. I sorely regretted my decision to sleep the moment, the faceless man ran a hot blade across his chest searing the flesh as he dragged it across his abdomen. To his credit, Mason didn't scream but the anguish etched on his face, and the look of despair in his icy blue eyes we enough to rip the heart out of my chest.
Either I had an overly active imagination, or I was seeing what was happening to him.
I wasn't ready to dismiss anything. It could have been both of those things, but secretly I hoped it was nothing more than my imagination playing the worst-case scenario.
I watched entranced by the vivid depictions of my dreams. The maroon brickwork, the blistering heat, the sandstone floor, the low ceiling, a small window allowing a trickle of sunlight and Mason kneeling on the floor anchored by his hands with chains thick enough to tow a boat.
The details seemed too real, just to be a figment of my imagination.
The disturbing feeling, that I had front row to his torture became reality when the man in front of Mason laughed. A raspy laugh, and wicked.
" You'll tell me where to find it," Another blade was picked from a burning crisalyde, and ran across Mason's chest parallel to the one he'd made before. The torturer was wearing a mask, so I had no insight into what he looked like but there was a hint of accent to his speech.
" Fuck you," Mason spits in his face but fails to have the intended effect since the man was wearing a damn mask.
I have never seen this side of Mason. He looked feral. If it wasn't for the shackles that kept him tied to the floor, he would probably chop the man to bits and pieces and remake him as a new creature. I have to admit, I made full use of my imagination on that last part.
Did my heart ache seeing him helpless? Yes, it did. I would have given anything to help him. If this was a dream, then I should be able to have some control over my own wild imagination.
Closing my eyes, I desperately tried to focus on something else. Something a little less daunting and cruel. Another grunt forced me to open my eyes. Nope, that didn't work. I was still there.
" They told me that they found her," The man in the mask laughs, and Mason tugs on his binds, with a feral grunt.
" You're lying," Mason huffs, a laboured breath.
" No. I have no reason to," The masked man begins to slowly circle Mason, and giving me a full view of the damage. He wasn't bleeding. The heated blade was meant to cut and sear the wound to prevent him from bleeding out.
I take a step forward, but Mason shakes his head and looks straight at me. There is very little written on his face. I can't deduce much. But I was always crap at reading him. Can he see me?
" You need to go back," Mason says, gaining the masked man's attention, who stops in his tracks and looks around the room.
" Go back?" The man echoes the last part, frowning, his gaze searching the room and locking eyes with me. Shit. Can he see me too?
" I see you have a visitor, " The man cackels, and walks in front of Mason, partly blocking my view of him.
Mason takes a deep breath through his nose, and tugs on the binds once more and I see him raise his head and look the man dead in the eyes.
" I'll rid myself of these binds Asha, and when I do you will curse your mother and your father for having birthed into the world," The raucous laughter that filled the room at Mason's threat, made my blood boil. I was in the dark and couldn't see the light. Everyone knew what the hell was going on, but me.
" Mason," I tentatively called, not knowing if he could hear me. It was worth a try. I had nothing to lose.
" How do I fix this?" I ventured, hoping that I would be able to find an answer to at least one question out of the many.
" It's early. Too early," He says under his breath. Too early for what?
" Your time has yet to come, He adds, and pushes himself to stand, but flops back on the floor, the chains are dead weight dragging him down.
" Call for Shay. She will find you," Well that didn't make any sense. How was I supposed to call when I was stuck in a dungeon, chained to the floor? And who the hell is Shay?