Celestial Sisters

Chapter 29: The Hunt

Elizabeth Moyer sat in a circle of hooded wax figures and dancing, amber flames. A subtle burn simmered around her wrists as the iron cuffs bit into her flesh. Her head was bowed to the ground, so she could only see the reflection of the flames on the stone floor and the shiny, black boots of her captors. A bead of wetness dropped from her brow and ran down the length of her face, however she could not tell if it were sweat or blood. The underground dungeon she had been kept in for the past two days, was as hot as the sweltering pits of hell- and the ripped ball gown she wore was not appropriately designed for such treacherous conditions.

Two, miserable days she had been trapped but if felt like two months had gone by. Two days of starvation and torture, she tried to call forth her magic but she was drained. Her captors were not stupid, they dedicated their whole lives to her eventual death and knew every weakness and strength she possessed. She would have respected that amount of dedication if not for the small fact that they were seconds away from killing her.

It was such a weak way to die- bound helpless and drained- she wanted to cry at the sheer pathetic nature of the situation. But, she didn't. No, instead, Elizabeth Moyer kept her lips in a tight line, ignoring every insult, and threat tossed her way. One day the men that stood before her would die too but they would remain dead, trapped six feet under the ground, stuck with everything else from the past. Whereas she, would rise like a phoenix from the ashes and she would never forget. 

"I will spare you one last minute Alla and Aki," A man in a deep purple robe, squatted so he was eye level with Elizabeth. "I will make this as easy and painless as possible if you give me the location of the Book of Moons."

Elizabeth could not see what the man looked like, his hood covered the most intimate details like his eyes or his nose but his mouth was wide and covered entirely under a massive grey beard. She analyzed that detail and committed it to memory. Truly, there would be no sparing her. It was all just senseless talk, and if it weren't for the fact that her sister's mouth was gagged, she would have telling Elizabeth the same thing.

"You say we are too powerful to walk this earth and yet you deem yourself worthy to possess our magic. Perhaps you are not as righteous as you believe, Mr. Delphi." The words fell from Elizabeth's tongue without an ounce of fear or hesitation but her voice was hoarse from the lack of water and scratchy from the repeated punches to her esophagus.

"Defiant to the bitter end," Mr. Delphi stood gracefully to his feet. With one arm tucked behind his back and the other used to stroke his beard, he said, "I am not looking to use your magic Aki, I am no fool. I am simply looking to keep that in my own safe keeping, so you can never use it again."

The urge to rip his head off suddenly overwhelmed Elizabeth but as soon as the anger flared within her, it deflated and she was reminded once again of her weakened state. Let the mortal scum believe what he wants, thought Elizabeth. He can believe she is a menace to the world but to believe that, is to ignore the fact that this dismal planet belongs to her. She helped create it and if she wanted to, she could destroy it.

"Father," a small head of strawberry blonde curls peeked around a pillar. It was a child no older than six or seven and he was speaking directly to the very man who held her life in his hands.

"Nikolai!" The hooded man jerked his head over to the pillar, where the young boy stood- a stuffed brown, bear was being wrangled between his chubby hands.

From the corner of her eye, she could see her sister- Analise- pick up her head, intrigued by the sudden intruder. Wriggling her nose she tried to remove the tie from her eyes but the knot was secured tightly and refused to budge. The child would have been the best opportunity to escape- using Mr. Delphi's very own flesh and blood against him. Elizabeth felt a sliver of pride within her at the sheer ruthlessness of her sister's plan. But it would never come to be. Just as the tie began to move one of the many hooded figures noted her actions and kicked her in the gut. Annalise fell onto her side, a barely audible whimper escaped her lips. Elizabeth could practically feel the self-pity pouring off of her in waves.