Ch 17: The Demon's Puzzle

Excruciating pain. That was all Astasha had felt.

She knew Cal had sworn to save her, knew he would do everything he could to keep his word, but as Errant locked her in the tower under more magical protections than she could imagine, her soul ached. There was no escaping this, and she knew her Prince would torture himself for not being able to rescue her.

There was no point in fighting, and so she went willingly when they came to collect her before the sun rose. Not even when they stripped her of her clothing and restrained her on the cold stone table did she struggle. All she kept telling herself was that her love was safe and that he wouldn't have to witness this.

And so Astasha had resigned herself to simply lay there, eyes closed, until death took her. But when she heard his voice, her heart broke into a million pieces. He couldn't be there. She didn't want him to see her like this, to watch what was about to happen.

There was no denying the fact that she was afraid, but seeing his face as he discovered her as she was made her horrified. Why had they let him come?

She tried to focus on his eyes; she wanted them to be the last thing she would see. But she couldn’t help but to look at the blade as it was brought to her chest. He had called out to her, tried to comfort her, and realizing this was the end, she had tried to tell him she loved him. But then pain erupted within her and it was all she knew.

She had hoped she would lose consciousness and it would be over, but the darkness never came, only insurmountable anguish. Through her suffering, however, she realized something else was happening. There were worried voices around her, and a scrambled chaos. Cal's voice broke through it all, and although she couldn't tell what he was saying, she could feel his presence, and then his hand on hers. The sensation that came over her was nothing she had felt before, like a string being tied to her very core, pulling towards him.

It was then that the darkness took her.

There was only darkness; darkness, and a sinister presence. She didn't know what it was or where it was coming from, but it was there.

And then she heard the voice and fear consumed her.

"Finally. I've been dying to have a word with you, my precious Tasha."

The demon.

This had to be what death was.

As if reading her thoughts the voice responded. “You aren't dead if that's what you're wondering. Which is good, because I have much suffering to repay you for."

*No,* she thought to herself. *Death would have been better.*

So what was happening? The only thing that made sense to Astasha was that when she lost consciousness, her mind had slipped into the trap she created to hold the demon within her. If that was the case, she needed to know if it would continue to hold.

"I luckily haven't encountered many demons in my life, but I can imagine you're somewhat sore losers."

She knew it wasn't the best plan, to taunt the vile thing, but she had to know.

The cackle that responded, however, was not a good sign.

"Oh, you sweet sorceress. Do you think I've lost? No, no. This is only the beginning."

Questions started spinning in her mind, but she needed to focus on the most important one first.

"It doesn't seem like much of a beginning to anything if you’re trapped inside here with me you piece of shit.”

“Believe me, fire witch, it's only a matter of time before I’m free of your binds, and then, the real fucking fun can begin. I wonder what I’ll do first… Perhaps I'll make you watch as I rip the flesh piece by piece off your fuck boy’s body."

So it was still ensnared, but that seemed little comfort not knowing if it’s threat to break out was valid. She wanted to turn the thing to ash in a blazing inferno.

"I'd like to see you try to lay even a fucking finger on him.”

A growl responded. “And I’d like to see you try to stop me from finishing what we started in the woods, only this time, I'll be the one riding you while you're covered in blood."

The images its words conjured were enough to terrify even the bravest person, but Astasha forced herself not to focus on them.

"I don't think you'll be doing either demon. I outsmarted you once, I can do it again. You fucked up when you showed me how to harness power like that. And with Calder free, I won't be repulsed doing it. In fact, I know I’ll enjoy the hell out of the process of destroying you."

The demon snickered. “You know nothing about power. I gave you a taste. The things I could have taught you if you had set me free would have made you a Goddess amongst men."

“You will never be free. I'll kill myself before I allow that."

Another cackle. "Oh I will watch you die, one way or another, just as soon as the next one comes along. Pity though, she was so certain it was you… and I was just beginning to understand why she liked you."

What was it talking about? It had to be messing with her, like a cat playing with a mouse. She was done being a play thing to this monster. “I really don’t give a fuck what bullshit you or anyone else thinks about me or what will happen to me. So long as you’re trapped in here, there’s nothing you can do.”

“Oh make no mistake darling Tasha, I will find someone to release me, and then you’ll be wishing you had given a fuck.”

Something was wrong. The pieces to the puzzle she didn't know she was putting together weren’t fitting. How could it possibly find someone to free it when it could only speak to her? And who was this woman it spoke of? How were they connected? Suddenly, every certainty she thought she had seemed uncertain, and the answers she thought she held turned to questions.

She needed to make sense of it all, and fast, yet she didn’t even know what was happening in the world around her. The questions kept piling up, starting with what had happened before the darkness had taken her; Why had they stopped the ritual? Was Calder alright?

The demon knew it had rattled her. “Oh sweet, sweet Tasha, you're just too much fun to play with. It truly is too bad you didn’t just do as you were told. The things we could have done together. Truly disappointing to waste such beauty and potential. But if you aren’t the one, you aren’t the one, and you serve no purpose but to quench my thirst for blood and flesh.”

It was just trying to scare her, to rattle the bars in her mind until they loosened enough to escape. She needed to wake up, to reinforce them and keep it subdued.

“Your mind games won’t work demon. That would require me to be afraid, and you don’t scare me. There is nothing you can do from here, and I will find a way to destroy you before you can even begin to find a way out.”

“I’ve always liked a challenge. But trust me, sorceress, you will feel fear before the end.”

Enough, she had had enough. It was taking everything not to panic, not to feed into the demon's mind games and lose herself.

She searched for the power within to draw herself back out, to pull herself from the cage, but there was nothing there for her to grasp.

Just when she was about to give into the helplessness, a tugging began, somewhere within her soul. It was familiar, and she concentrated on remembering it. That feeling, she had felt it before. Yes. Just before she had lost consciousness. It was like a string, a string that had been pulling her towards Calder.

This was what she had been searching for. A way out.

She grabbed hold of the feeling and pulled back with everything in her.

A whisper rushed through her ear, a simple word, 'Tasha'. It was faint and distant, but she knew where it came from.

"Cal."

She heard the demon cackling and tugged harder on whatever it was tying her to her love.

Calder's voice became clearer, and the darkness began to fade. "Come back to me my love. Please."

The cackling dissipated, but not before the demon’s voice drifted after her. “Enjoy your time with your precious Prince, Tasha. I'll be seeing you soon, and then it’ll be my turn to enjoy you.”