Rekindle

Chapter 15 (Alister)

The first thing I see when I open my eyes is blood. A lot of it.

"So you've decided to wake up, Bane."

The voice sends panic through my chest, tightening my heart and strangling my lungs.

Mavis stands above me, her long blonde hair twisted into a bun, her hands covered by leather gloves.

I know where I am instantly.

The torture chambers.

Nausea drowns my senses, twisting and contorting my stomach. I feel more blood rush up my throat, and I heave, but it stays there, blocking the oxygen from entering my lungs. Searing pains claw their way down my throat, making my eyes water.

I have a feeling I won't be leaving this room unscathed. If I leave this room at all.

"Look at me," Mavis orders.

I flinch, but do as I'm told. My eyes stay on her for a fleeting moment before she whips me across the face. More blood. It doesn't stop.

Hit after hit after hit. Blood is splattered across the entire room, reaching halfway up the farthest wall. I didn't even know I had that much in me.

I can't tell you how long it lasts, and I especially can't tell you if I'll survive it. In fact, I can already feel my body shutting down.

Mavis switches out her leather gloves for spiked ones, each piece of metal pointed and curved, perfect for ripping through flesh and muscle. She raises her hand, and I tense, but no impact comes.

I won't realize until later that it did come. It came and it nearly killed me.

***

I'm lying on the dissection table. Straps hold my wrists to the surface, my eyes covered by a warm cloth.

They've already finished the surgery, now they want me to heal myself. No hands, no vision, no knowledge.

I can hear a monitor beeping, most likely displaying my heart rate. People are whispering, my name coming up several times. Not my real name, just "the Bane".

They don't see me as a human, only an object. A device for annihilation. That's all that word means. To destroy.

The thought saddens me. I understand that they don't know the truth, that Mavis is the enemy, but that fact doesn't make it any less hard to deal with. If I'm going to save them, they can't be on the enemy's side.

Pain ripples through my chest. The monitor dips, and a girl standing to the side checks for my pulse.

Same procedure. Dissection. Testing. Depressing thoughts. Near death. Bedtime. Repeat.

However, this time I am determined to successfully do as I am expected. With a deep breath, I focus on the open, oozing wounds in my torso. I imagine myself using my energy like a strand of thread, stitching the gaping holes closed. For once, a tactic works. I feel my flesh pulling forward, mending itself together.

"He's ready," Crow's voice enters the room.

"Ma'am, this is his first time healing himself, we're nowhere near--"

"Silence, Knueven. Learn to obey your authority's orders."

A firm hand clasps around my throat, cutting off my airways. I'm bound and blinded, and I can't do anything to fight against it.

"Lord Mavis, that is no way to treat the Bane," Crow scolds.

"He must be put past his limits," is all she says.