HEDOSCHISM: WATTY AWARD WINNER

33 // TWIST

Blake raised his eyes to the sparkling lights, again showing no fear or alarm, before calmly focusing his attention back on Ethan.

'You will agree to be bound,' he said.

It was Ethan's turn to laugh now. 'And you and I both know that's definitely not going to happen either. You're going to release Casey and then we're going to get the fuck out of this shit show of yours. Don't force my hand, Blake, I'm warning you. I won't hesitate.'

'And yet, you have hesitated and that, my old friend, is your problem.' Blake smiled.

Without warning, the air juddered violently. All around, Blake's army tugged on the air, rolling it between their hands, quickly creating spinning balls of incandescent energy, ready to aim it directly at Ethan. Taking a quick step back, Juliette faced me and with a grin full of pure wicked glee, she raised her hands in front of her making a twisting gesture and pulled hard. Instantly, my arms stretched out on either side of me as the invisible binds pulled further apart, and to my horror, they kept on going, each one tugging relentlessly on my body, as if I'd been strapped to some medieval torture rack. I screamed, an ear-splitting howl of agony, as unbearable pain tore into my muscles, ripping across my shoulder blades as if it might split my spine in half. Holding up her palms, Juliette held me there, not attempting to pull me apart any further, but keeping me locked into the pain.

Ethan howled with rage and the demons took a step forward, closing in on him as he raised his hands and picked off the closest one – clearly the bravest and most foolish of them all. The demon – a tall, stocky guy with tanned skin and a shaven head - had advanced with a smug grin, only to find himself thrown up into the air like he was someone half his size and catapulted across the room, where he hit the wall with a sickening thud and crack of bone.

'You let her go,' Ethan shouted at Blake. 'You let her go right now or I swear I'll slaughter every fucking one of you.'

'And just how many of us do you think you can kill, before the maledicti dies?' Blake called back. 'How many do you think, Ethan, before Juliette rips her arms from her body? Three? Four? I am willing to sacrifice whatever it takes. What are you willing to sacrifice?'

He snapped his fingers and Juliette clenched her hands into fists and pulled again, a little sneer tugging on the corners of her mouth. Violent pain exploded through my body, cluster bombs of fire ravaging muscle, bone and flesh. Tears streamed down my face. Sweat poured down my back. Pinpricks of light began exploding in my eyes. I felt the pain overwhelming me, dragging me down, darkness blurring the edge of my vision. She was going to do this. I could see it in her expression, that mad lust for pain and suffering. She wanted me dead, but she was going to make damn sure she enjoyed every last second of my pathetic life as she tortured me.

'Okay, okay, stop!' Ethan shouted above my screams. He stepped forward and held up his hands, but not with intended threat this time. 'I'll do it, okay? I'll agree to be bound. I'll do what you want. Just stop hurting her, please.' His arms fell to his side, his shoulders drooping in defeat.

'Juliette,' Blake ordered, without taking his eyes off of Ethan.

With an exasperated huff and clearly upset that Blake had put an end to her twisted fun, Juliette scowled as she stopped pulling, and moved the binds back to their original position. The relief was instantaneous as the pressure was released, but my body still bore the after-effects of the pain. I hung there, head bowed, tears still pouring down my cheeks, gasping for breath.

When I finally regained some strength to lift my head just a little, Ethan was being forced to his knees, his arms held behind his back. Behind him, one of the demons – a toned, dark-skinned woman with her long, black hair tied into a high ponytail and a visible tattoo on her neck – was making rolling gestures with her hands, but I couldn't see what she was doing. Whatever it was she did, Ethan's arms were yanked back, forcing him to straighten his spine. His face contorted into a momentary grimace of discomfort, before the woman stepped away and nodded to Blake.