Book of Wishes - House of Blood

Chapter Fourteen

Lorelei ascended the winding stone steps to the parapet connecting the high tower, her arms laden with parchment maps and scrolls that fluttered and snapped in the balmy midnight breeze. She had avoided Cairbre and Stone for days now, still unsure how to confront them about Bren. Thankfully, her studies provided an excuse to keep to herself, though she couldn't avoid her them forever.

That night, however, she had to leave her court. She was running late for her Astrology of the Conjunctions class, where they would be studying the rare event of Comet Agnoria's passing, which could only be seen at a very specific and inconvenient time. Shadows danced across the weathered pillars as flickering torchlight struggled against the gusts. Lorelei narrowed her eyes against the onslaught, focusing on the beckoning tower steps ahead as loose pages slipped through her grasp and were borne away into the endless night.

"Well, well, look at what we have here," a voice sneered behind her.

Lorelei turned, almost dropping her things, to see three men standing behind her, blocking the entrance to the parapet walk. They looked menacing, and Lorelei didn't recognize them. Without a word, she turned to try and make a run for it, hoping to reach the safety of the watchtower around the next bend.

But before she could even take a step, one of the men appeared in front of her, having moved faster than her eyes could register. The other two stayed behind, blocking her escape. Lorelei's heart raced as she realized that she was trapped.

"Scared of the dark?" the man in front of her taunted, his pale, cracked skin and buzz cut making him look even more intimidating.

All three men were dressed in black combat clothes, and Lorelei regretted not having her guard accompany her all the way to the watchtower. In fact, she had made a big fuss a few days ago about them following her everywhere, and they finally backed off a little bit.

Lorelei noticed a strange symbol on their shirts, a looping design of tentacles that wrung around each other in an unsettling way.

"I need to get to class, so can you just get out of the way?" She said. She bit her lip and shifted her weight onto one side.

"Oh, come on, the night is young. Let's have some fun," said the man in front of her.

"Maybe she needs a drink first, Caius." One of the men behind her grabbed her neck and pulled her into him. He carried a small vial of black liquid, and she tried to fight him off, but the others held her down as he forced her mouth open.

The liquid tasted like rubber and stuck to her tongue. Their hands squeezed her cheeks, coercing it down.

"What the fuck!" She gagged. She fell to her knees. The rubbery liquid squelched down her throat and thumped into her stomach. She tried to summon her light, but the threads were nowhere to be found, and her strength quickly faded.

"What did you do?"

The men laughed as they smashed the vial on the ground.

"Now, let's have some fun," said the man named Caius.

Lorelei attempted to remember the moves Stone taught her. She braced herself as one of the men grabbed her arms and brought her to her feet. She used the element of surprise against them and shot a kick into his groin, watching his eyes widen as he let her go and backed away.

"Bitch!" He cried.

She spun, raising her hands to the other two, who were quickly jumping at her. If she was going down, one of those fuckers was going with her. She kicked and scratched as the magic in her continued to fade, blurring her vision as she swayed back and forth.