Chronicles of Araxx - Forever Broken
Chapter 31

The last thing Lee remembered was seeing the three men she saw at the club the night Bree died, fire, Jacob, Vaughan.

No!

Vaughan was dead.

Jacob killed him.

The three men did nothing, they just stood there.

Then more people turned up.

Then nothing.

Blackness.

Everything was a bit of a blur. She remembered snippets of the past, but it looked like clips from a film recorded badly, fuzzy and the sound was out.

She could hear voices talking about something called Araxx, they mentioned warlocks, the girl who Lee assumed was herself, someone called Simons and Kane. His name was mentioned too, although she could not remember what they had said about him. She shuddered at his very name and everything it meant.

Lee then remembered being walked, and seeing a plane, at least that’s what she thought, but it was as too quick to be sure. She heard the word Scotland at some point, but she couldn’t be sure of that either.

She awoke feeling sick, very sick. The room she was in smelled strange, clinical, and oddly clean. Lee could hear voices in the room, but she did not want to open her eyes. As far as she was aware, the people in the room still thought she was sleeping.

“So who’s the girl, then?” A woman asked. Her voice was high and excited. “We never get outsiders here. I don’t know what she is.”

“I heard she was a werewolf captive, and that Kane is looking for her,” another voice said.

“I heard the same thing, except I heard she killed a young man before they caught her,” a third voice said.

“That can’t be true,” the first voice argued. “She’s not chained up or anything.”

There was a pause.

“So what?” The second voice asked.

“So... If she’d killed that boy, she should be chained and have guards, right?”

There was a sound of a door opening and the women left the room. Their voices carried down the corridor, and Lee lost the sound of them once the doors closed again.

The last thing she heard as they disappeared down the corridor was one of them saying, “Did you hear about the warlock they brought back too?”

Lee kept her eyes closed. She didn’t dare open them, scared there might be someone else in the room with her, watching her. She couldn’t feel eyes on her, but she could not be sure.

Straining her ears for the sound of breathing, she could not hear anything. The echoes of the voices in the room suggested it was large and she could see light through her closed eyelids, bright and natural. The room she was in had windows.

Lee focused on her body. She could feel a thin cover over her, which came up to her shoulders. She could also feel she was not wearing any shoes, nor any socks. Her feet were a little chilly, but the soft covers felt nice against her skin. She was also not wearing the clothes she had been captured in.

Her legs felt like they were mainly bare, but she could feel the fabric of clothing on her high thighs. Someone had changed her clothes.

Lee could not feel any restraints on her body. She thought this was strange, but assumed she must be in a locked cell. That would make sense, but she still did not know who had locked her up. Was it Kane again? Or someone who was working for him? Was he coming for her?

Lee began to panic. Just the thought of him terrified her.

She opened her eyes quickly. She had to know where she was.

When Lee opened her eyes, she saw something she was not expecting. The walls of the room were white, and there were several beds in the room. It was bright, with large windows on the wall opposite her bed. It looked like a hospital room. She’d never before been inside a hospital, but she’d seen them in films she watched with Bree.

A sad feeling washed over her as she remembered more of what had happened the night before. Or had it been longer? Lee had no way of telling how long she had been here.

Lee pulled the covers back to reveal she was wearing a hospital gown. It was pale blue, clean and rustled a little when she moved.

She sat up and swung her legs around to the side of the bed. As she did so, something pulled on her arm.

There was a drip in her arm. Lee had not been aware of the tube and the clear liquid running into her bloodstream. She looked over to the bag. ‘Saline solution’ the sign read.

She pulled the needle from her arm, wincing at the pain, then allowed it to drop to the floor along with a few drops of her blood. She covered the small hole in her arm with two fingers.

Lee’s muscles throbbed as she stood up from the hospital bed. Her legs were sore, all of her muscles were. The floor was cold as she stepped on it.

Lee looked to the door at the end of the room. It was a big double door with glass panes filling half of them. They didn’t look like the normally fortified doors Lee was used to, and she could get through them easily. They did not look locked either.

A further inspection of the room uncovered a sink and a mirror. Lee walked to the mirror and looked in it. What she saw shocked her.

Her neck was purple, and there were bruises and cuts on her face. She inspected herself further, moving the gown to expose her skin. Her arms and legs were bruised also, and her ribs were sore. She assumed they would be bruised too, but didn’t check them. Her hair was a mess, matted with what she assumed was blood. She felt dirty and uncomfortable. Where were her clothes? Who had put her here? And why were they not revealing themselves?

She had so many questions, and no one to ask.

Lee strained her ears again. She was sure she heard voices, although she could have been mistaken. She quickly moved closer to the door and pressed her ear up against in.

“Is she going to be awake yet, Sir?” She heard a vaguely familiar voice. “Mason drugged her with a lot of that sleeping stuff before he brought her in here.”

“She should be awake, yes. The drug would have worn off about half an hour ago, Jason,” another voice said. Lee had not heard this one.

“Does she know where she is?” Another familiar voice spoke. Adz, Lee thought his name was.

She was filled with anger. This Adz and his two friends just stood there while Vaughan was killed.

“No, Adam. She does not know where she is, or who we are, so be prepared for anything when we go in the room,” the older sounding man warned.

Be prepared was right. Lee wasn’t going to go quietly. These people would not take her that easily.

“Simons? Can I ask you something?” Adz said.

“Can it wait?” Simons asked.

“It’s about my brother, Sir,” Adz stated.

“I see.” Simons sighed.

They’d stopped outside the doorway. Lee could see their outlines through the frosted glass. They were all tall, although the older man, Simons, was the shortest of the three, he commanded respect. Lee could hear it in the other’s voices. “He’s not going to be harmed, Adam, I can promise you that,” Simons assured him.

“When can I see him?” Adz asked.

“Soon. Let’s focus on Annaleah for now, though. She’s the most important thing at the moment.”

The handle of the door bent downwards, and it opened with a faint creak, revealing all three men dressed in black and grey clothing.

Simons was clearly the eldest from his silvery hair and a short beard. He was wearing a black suit with a grey shirt. He looked smart, and like someone who was clearly in charge.

The next person Lee saw, was Jay. He was the tallest, made to look taller by the width of his shoulders. He was wearing black lounge-pants, black trainers and a dark grey vest. The muscles on his arms were clearly visible, and he was a little intimidating. His hair was blonde, which looked strange with his Asian complexion. Lee would have guessed Japanese possibly, although she couldn’t have been sure.

The third person who entered the room was Adz. He was wearing black skinny jeans and a baggy grey jumper with rips in it. It clung to him in a few places, giving the indication there might be well-defined muscles under his clothing. His hair was dark, almost black and longer than Jay or Simons. It hung almost to his shoulders and was shaggy looking, but in a sexy kind of way.

Lee’s first reaction to these people, two of whom witnessed her friend dying and did nothing, was to flee, but there was nowhere she could go. The room only had one exit, and the windows were too far away for her to get to before they would get to her. She decided instead, she might have to fight her way out of the room, although she did not like her chances with that. Perhaps she could escape some other way, but she would have to bide her time and hope she could find her chance.

“Good morning, Annaleah.” The older man spoke in a soft calming voice. “My name is Toreador Simons, but you can call me Simons,” he said as he walked forward, his arm outstretched.

Lee did not trust him and stepped backwards. She glanced behind him to Jay and Adz. They were not looking directly at her, and Lee did not know why. They looked nervous, shy possibly, or something else?

“You don’t trust me, do you?” Simons asked.

Lee decided it could do no harm for her to answer, she would simply have to be careful about how she answered their questions.

“Not really, no,” she said. These were the first words she had spoken since waking up, and her voice was raspy.

“Can I ask why you don’t trust me, Annaleah?” He asked.

Lee winced at the name. “My name is Lee,” she said as she looked at the floor, not wanting to make eye contact for fear Simons may see directly into her soul. His eyes seemed like they could do that, it was a strange feeling she got from him and the way he was looking at her.

“Okay, Lee.” Simons adjusted the name he used to address her. “May I ask why you do not like the name, Annaleah?”

Lee cringed at the use of the name again but answered the question. “The only people I can remember calling me by that name hurt me. I don’t like it.” Lee could feel her lips burning from where Jacob kissed her. The thought of him saying her name hurt, and in more than a physical way.

“Note taken. I will tell everyone here not to call you by that name. Agreed?”

Lee looked up, and straight into his eyes. She decided she had nothing to fear from this man, and she would have to put on a brave face even if she was terrified on the inside. “Agreed,” she said. “I have questions.”

“I thought you might,” Simons said. “Fire away. I will answer as many as I can.”

Lee looked past Simons, to Adz and Jay. She narrowed her eyes at them, and Simons followed her gaze. “Why did you not help when Jacob had Vaughan killed?” Her voice broke at the end of the sentence. It was showing a weakness Lee did not want to reveal, so she quickly cleared her throat. “You stood there while he broke my friend’s neck, and you did nothing.” She paused, thinking back. “Come to think of it, you did the same thing with Bree. I remember you were there, in the club when the vampire attacked, and you did nothing.”

“You know about vampires?” Simons was shocked. “I thought you had no knowledge of our world.”

“My knowledge is limited, and I have no idea who any of you are, but I know a vampire killed Bree, and a werewolf killed Vaughan, and I want answers.” Lee was getting angry again and had to breathe deeply to calm herself.

“Now Lee, I know you’re angry at Jason and Adam, but it really wasn’t their fault. There’s something you have to understand.” Simons tried to defuse the situation. “I told them when they started the mission they were only to focus on you, and they were only to protect you, and they should not interfere with anything else. So, you see, it’s my fault your friends died, not theirs.”

“How could you send children?” There were tears in Lee’s eyes.

Simons couldn’t help but feel sorry for the girl. She looked so small, so helpless and scared. She was putting on a brave face, but Simons could tell she was frightened, and he didn’t blame her.

“Children?” Adz snapped. She had blatantly insulted him and Jay, and he wasn’t going to stand for it. “Who are you calling, children. We’re the same age as you.”

“You had no idea what you were doing. The only reason I’m here and not with Kane is because more people showed up and...” Lee let her voice trail off. “You didn’t do anything to help. Nothing!” A single tear fell from her left eye but Lee held his gaze.

Jay stepped forward and took hold of Adz’ arm. “What do they want from you?” He asked Lee.

She decided she may as well tell these people as much as she knew, it wasn’t much anyway, and they may be able to help her. “I don’t really know,” she said truthfully as she took a seat on the bed behind her. She was feeling exhausted and was starting to get a headache. “Kane needs something from me, but I don’t know what it is. He’d ask me, over and over again where ‘it’ was. I don’t know what ‘it’ is. All he would tell me was that the thing he was looking for was important, that it would take him to the top, that it was owned by my parents. When he burned my home to the ground he didn’t find whatever it was he was looking for, and I don’t know what it is.” As Lee spoke, she became aware of a burning sensation coming from the bracelet wrapped around her wrist. She wrapped her left hand around her right wrist in an attempt to dull the pain, but it didn’t go unnoticed.

“What’s that on your wrist?” Jay asked. No one else had noticed the bracelet until it started causing her pain.

Simons extended a hand and touched the bracelet but recoiled instantly. He put his finger in his mouth and pulled it out again. The tip was bright red and threatened to blister from the burn. “It’s really hot. What is it?” Simons asked as he massaged his burnt finger.

“A reminder from Jacob.” Lee sighed as she winced in pain.

“A reminder of what?” Adz asked.

“A reminder that I belong to him.” Lee didn’t take her eyes from the platinum bracelet as she spoke. “This bracelet it tied directly to Jacob. I’ve had one before, so I know what they do. Jacob can make me feel whatever pain or pleasure he wants me to feel through it.” The burning subsided a little. “I thought it was cute the first time he gave me one. Like I would have a part of him with me, even when he wasn’t close. That was until I pissed him off one day. I didn’t know how it worked at first until I saw him do it. Jacob dug his own nails into his arm, drawing blood. As he felt the pain in his arm, I felt it through the bracelet. It was agony. I quickly learnt I should never make him angry, but he always found pleasure in my pain.”

“So why don’t you just take it off?” Jay asked.

“It’s not that simple, Jason,” Simons explained.

“You’ve seen one before?” Adz asked. He couldn’t stop looking at the band around Lee’s arm. The skin underneath it was red and sore looking.

“I’ve seen one, yes. It’s an Alabra. They contain powerful magic that goes both ways, not just one. The werewolf must be wearing one too for you to feel anything through the connection. Only he can take them off too because he was the one who put them on. There is no other way of removing them. They’re designed so siblings, lovers and close friends are aware of the dangers the other might be in. It’s old magic and not to be messed with.”

“I wasn’t aware at first that he could feel my pain through the bracelet until one day when Kane came back. I didn’t think Jacob knew about the beatings until that day. Kane came into my cell, asking questions again. He brought Jacob with him, as he usually did. When I didn’t tell him the answers he wanted to hear, he hit me. Only once, but it hurt like hell. Nearly broke my nose, but the pain wasn’t as bad as it should have been. I think Jacob must have felt most of it through the bracelet he was wearing. It wasn’t long after, that he removed them.”

“So there’s no way of taking it off?” Jay asked.

“Not that I’ve found, no.” Lee sighed.

“We’ll leave you to rest, Lee. When you feel ready to talk again, I can answer some questions. My office is down the hall. I’m easy to find,” Simons said.

“So, I’m not a prisoner here?” Lee asked.

“Why would you assume you were a prisoner?” Simons laughed. “You’re our guest.” He smiled a warm smile.

“Thank you,” She said as they left the room.

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