Ash and Fire

Chapter 16

A pounding throb in Lydia's head had woken her from a slumber. Every part of her body ached as her mind slowly registered the cold ground under her. Her mouth was dry; like it had cotton balls in it. She flicked her tongue out, trying to wet her lips and get rid of the soreness.

Her body froze as two unfamiliar voices drifted around her. Flinching, she tried to move her hands, only to feel them bound at her wrists; raw and sore from how tight they were. A groan of pain scratched her sore throat when she tried to move.

"Ah, seems like our guest is finally awake," a scratchy voice gleefully stated from her right.

Slowly she opened her eyes, finding nothing hindering her eyesight. She angled her body to peer at the voice that had spoken. A man with disheveled brown hair stared down at her with a wicked smirk on his face. She swallowed thickly, trying to stop the fear that crawled through her as his gaze slowly raked over her figure.

She didn't remember seeing that man anywhere before or how she ended up tied up in a room with him. A fog blanketed her mind, the last thing she remembered was Leon leaving with the others to help a merchant. Tightly shutting her eyes, she pushed through the throbbing pulse that had intensified as she tried to recall how she got in that room. Sebastian's voice filtered through her mind, recalling him telling her and Asher to meet Theron. The brief discussion before Theron walked out first, his sullen words repeating in her head. Spending time with Asher before he had to leave, leaving her and Sebastian.

Her eyes widened when everything rushed back to her, the dull ache in her head barely being overpowered by the alarm for Sebastian's well being. Hearing Sebastian's screams echoed in her mind again, tearing through her. Marcus's voice before a needle was stuck in her neck. The hopelessness she felt as Marcus told the other men to get rid of him.

Lydia couldn't stop the glare that was fueled by her guilt and anxiety at the man before her.

"Stop, Travis. You know the rules."

She pushed herself up with her hands, leaning against the wall behind her as she heard Marcus's voice. He sat carefree on a stool on the other side of the small room, a knee propped up on the middle bar. She reigned in the fury that flared in her at the sight of him casually playing a game of cards with another man across from him. He looked cleaner than Marcus and Travis, fair skin without a spec of dirt or scars. He was leaning over the table, his messy black hair covering his eyes.

Travis scoffed, slamming his hand onto the table. "There aren't any rules, Marcus. She isn't a job."

"She's my job. One I took on personally. One you asked to help with. I don't need you, Travis, remember that. You'll get what you want when I'm done with her," Marcus reprimanded, narrowing his eyes at Travis while he threw his stack of cards down onto the table.

She glanced between the three men, her nerves on edge when Travis didn't make an objection. The only indication she got that he wasn't happy with Marcus was the tick in his jaw and his eyes darkening with bitterness. Asher had told her to stay away from Marcus, but Asher didn't make it clear enough how dangerous he seemed to be at that moment. Dread pooled heavy in her gut that maybe Asher didn't know what Marcus was capable of. One of the men in the room with her had used magic and she'd bet all the money the two men had that it was either mysterious, no name or Marcus. Travis was already submissive to Marcus and the man across from Marcus hadn't spoken a word yet for her to know if he followed or he was being paid by Marcus.

None of the books she read had stated any magician renouncing their position in the Spire. Her chest felt light as her breaths came in short and quick. She knew without having to be told that any magician didn't up and leave their position, but she doubted the other magicians would have let them leave with magic intact, leaving the lingering question in her mind as to how they used it.