The Monster's Stratagem (Lesbian Story)

26: Renegades

Dawn awoke on a cool, hard surface. Harsh blue light flooded her senses, body suddenly on high alert upon realising that she was not somewhere she recognised. She moved to sit and quickly found that she couldn't; cold, rusty shackles chained her to the metal bed below her. Her vision swam as she desperately tried to shake them off, memories of being chained in a dungeon fighting their way to the front of her mind. No matter how much she tried, and how deceiving the old chains appeared, they held her firmly in place.

Thankfully, she could still turn her head. This, however, proved to be a curse rather than a blessing as she now had a view of her surroundings. Dismembered bodies lay motionless on identical tables next to hers, what was left of their faces were contorted in agony. Blood seeped to the floor, pooling at the bottom and staining everything it touched black and crimson. In place of shackles were intestines from each body, wrapped around whatever limbs were left attached to the corpse.

Quickly turning her face to the opposite side, Dawn hoped for a less morbid view. As though fate had heard her wishes and decided to punish her, the Venturer came face to face with the bodies of Freya and Rose. Both girls had been cut open from navel to throat, frozen expressions twisted in a silent shriek. Freya, nearest to Dawn, had her hand stretched out towards her, as though the Venturer had any capability of helping her when she couldn't even help herself. From the sight, it appeared as though her sisters had died while she was unconscious, and that thought tore her open from the inside out.

Dawn desperately wanted to scream, wanted to make any sound to relieve her from the excruciating pain, but she couldn't. She could do nothing except watch what was soon to be her fate, watch as a shadow stepped into the light.

"Hello, Dawn." The witch whispered, lips twisting into a chilling grin as she stepped closer to where the Venturer lay immobilised. "Hold still."

Panting, Dawn forced her eyes open, the nightmare still present and looming in the back of her mind. Sweat beaded on her brow as she caught her breath, desperately trying to soothe her racing heart.

"Bad dream?" A familiar voice brought her out of her delirium and Dawn's head snapped up, eyes struggling to focus on the Monstra sitting before her.

Syrena, who was now very much awake and alert, was sitting on the opposite side of the table, feet propped up and a journal in hand. Despite the topic of the pages between her slender fingers, she appeared quite relaxed and composed. New candles burned around them, the waxy remains of their predecessors already cleared away. By the looks of things, Syrena had been awake for a while.

The Venturer simply nodded, feeling as though her throat had closed entirely.

"Should I bother asking if you want to talk about it?" The Commander raised an eyebrow, hand stilling on the page as she glanced at the human girl.

"You sound as though you already know the answer to that question."

"I do, but I thought it would be polite to offer."

"Since when do you care about being polite with me?"

She shrugged. "I'm in a good mood so I thought I'd be civil."

"You're in a good mood?" Dawn's tone betrayed her disbelief. "Even with what you're reading?"

"We now have answers." Syrena waved the book she was holding before setting it down. "Speaking of, forgive me for my reading this without your permission, but I had to catch myself up with what you discovered." The Commander slid Dawn's notes across the table towards her, gaze steady. "Although, I admit that I am a bit lost as to why Alani's name is written."

Rubbing her temples to ease the tension, the Venturer took a breath to compose herself before she relayed what she had discovered a couple of hours prior. It took a lot of strength to remain calm, strength that Dawn did not know she possessed. What she wished she could do was storm directly to Kings Grave and hold the witch at knifepoint until she shared all of her secrets; only, the Venturer was miles and miles away from where she needed to be.