Chapter 46

Lorelai

A splash of cold water on my face forced me back to life. That, and a brilliant blast of white light, along with a buzzing electric shock.

"Aaah!"

I heard my cry as if from outside my body, something between a gasp of shock and a scream of pain.

Sirena's voice, her cruel chuckle, shook the foundations of my soul.

"You didn't think I'd let you die that easily, did you?"

Am I in Hell?

Most religions had long since faded from Earth, except for a few that were still followed by die-hard believers. Still, everyone knew of the mythical place of the damned. If it existed, surely, I was there.

"You haven't been out that long," Sirena chided. "I took you out. I brought you back. I have all the power, here, human. You have none. Here. Smile for Ellax."

Before I could respond at all, she held up a device, clicked, and then lowered it. I assumed she'd taken my photo and was sending it to Ellax. My suspicions were proven correct when her fingers flew across the screen, its glow highlighting the sharp planes of her wicked grin.

She's enjoying this. She's having fun. She's a literal monster.

What could have shaped someone into the kind of being who actually enjoyed inflicting this level of pain on someone they'd never met? Was it losing her parents? Tragic as that was, many people lost their parents and never morphed into fiends.

"I'm going to check her vitals, Sirena."

I rolled my eyes towards the unknown voice. Sirena didn't glance up from tapping on the screen, presumably sending that message to Ellax, blackmailing him into doing her will. Her will—the destruction of the wild humans outside the Citadel.

"Fine," she murmured assent. "Remember, I only need her alive. I want her in pain. And no tending to her wounds, unless they're life-threatening."

The newcomer whispered something in a language my translating chip didn't catch. I heard a slithering noise, and then an alien with human legs, no arms, and four tentacles sporting human-like hands on their ends, knelt next to me.

"Hello," she said. I guessed it was a she, based off the soft, feminine voice. I'd never seen this species before, and couldn't judge gender by the clothing or physical apparatus.

"I am Doctor Natusha," she said calmly. Her tentacles were busy, pressing against my chest, running down my sides, over my legs. She was examining me, checking my pulse, gently peeling back an eyelid to shine a tiny pen light in my eyes.

"I'm in a bad way, aren't I, Doctor?" I moaned.

"The wounds I can see are not deadly," she replied, setting down the light with a tentacle. She sat back on her heels, regarding me soberly. "My worst fear is internal injuries."

I wanted to lower my face to the cold concrete and cry. Her words seemed to support my assumption. Sirena wanted me injured so terribly I'd never be able to get pregnant.

"If you were to be taken to a medical clinic and cared for straightway, you might suffer lasting…effects," she said gently. "As it is…"

Sirena had been communicating with her two goons who'd beaten me so terribly. Now, she must have recalled what was going on, because her focus switched back to us.

"I said no tending to wounds unless they're life-threatening," she snapped. "I merely require that you keep her alive. Is she going to live?"

The doctor's lips quirked in a sad smile at me before she rose, her tentacles wrapping around her torso in a stance that screamed firmness.

"She requires medical attention, Sirena."

"I know," Sirena laughed. "I'm responsible for it. I want her to hurt. I want her to suffer. From you, I merely need to know if she'll live."

"Sirena, this is not right," Doctor Natusha protested quietly. "I have a duty to the health of others. I—"

"Oh, spare me the lecture on your sacred oath and your duties and your commitment to the life of any species," Sirena snapped, waving a hand brusquely to dispel the doctor's protests. "If you really cared that much about the health of others, you shouldn't have gotten involved with a married patient."

Since I couldn't move anything else without extreme pain, I could only roll my eyes towards the doctor. I could see her jaw tighten, although it was hard to tell in the gloom of the warehouse.

"I made a grievous mistake," she admitted quietly. "I've owned it. You should not blackmail me for it."

"You should not have made your mistake with one of my acquaintances, then," Sirena retorted. She was icy. Cold. I shivered, listening to her. Honestly, that Asterion Elder scared me more than anything I'd ever feared in my life. She had zero empathy. For anyone. I don't think I'd ever met anyone more fully invested in herself, and more determined to get what she wanted, no matter who she had to crush to get there.

"No further arguments." Sirena ended the discussion, trampling the doctor's mild protests. "You do this for me, and I'll have Fabore destroy the evidence. You'll get a clean slate. Double-cross me, and the evidence goes viral. You'll never be trusted again as a physician, never be respected, and I personally guarantee you that your reputation will follow you everywhere you go, even if you leave Asterion."

I was worried sick about myself and the plight I was in. Nevertheless, I felt sorry for this doctor, who seemed like a decent being who'd made an awful mistake. Her head drooped. Her tentacles fell to her sides.

"Yes, Sirena," she murmured and walked away, seating herself on the floor a dozen paces or so from me.

My final hope withered. She'd been sympathetic. But Sirena had her firmly in her grasp. I couldn't blame the doctor. She didn't know me. Helping me escape would basically be risking her life for mine, and she owed me nothing.

This is it, then . A lone tear tracked down my cheek, dripping on the hard floor. I think my body couldn't spare the energy to create further tears. No hope now. Ellax will cave to her demands. The wild humans will be slaughtered. My boys will never know what happened to me. Or, if they find out, it'll be from a stranger after I'm gone.

And it's all my fault.