Chapter 11:

As I struggled to comprehend who she was and why she wanted to kill me, she continued. “It’s the only way I can think of to save myself and the others.”

I noticed her grip on my face loosened as she spoke, and in that moment, I seized my opportunity. Adrenaline surged through me as I grabbed the hand clutching the knife at my throat. My right hand clamped down on hers, determined to wrest control of the blade. Swiftly, I pivoted, using my left elbow to deliver a sharp punch to her stomach. The impact doubled her over, and in one fluid motion, I used my momentum to throw her over my shoulder. My unexpected move caught her off guard, and she tumbled to the ground, disarmed. The knife clattered to the ground between us. My heart pounded, and I used the moment to lunge forward and grab it.

Instinctively, I touched my neck, reassuring myself that I was unscathed. The blade was dangerously close to my throat, and a wave of relief washed over me as I found no sign of injury.

With the knife now in my possession, I turned my attention to the young woman before me. Judging by her young face, she appeared to be around my age, with olive-hued skin I rarely seen in the capital, and a mane of black hair neatly tied back in a ponytail, revealing her forehead. Her eyes were large and green, and the ragged clothes she wore looked old and dusty.

She rose, rubbing the back of her head. “Ow...” She groaned in pain. “You didn’t look that strong.”

I kept my distance, pointing the knife in her direction. “Who are you? What do you want?” I demanded, my voice tense. I was already used to people in this village trying to gain my trust only to betray me later, so being attacked outright felt almost refreshing.

“I’m sorry.” she repeated. “But the only way is to kill you.”

Her words hung in the air as she assumed a fighting stance, and before I could say anything else, she had already closed the distance between us with alarming speed.

Instinctively, I thrusted the knife forward, aiming to ward her off, but she flawlessly sidestepped to her left. Then, continuing her motion, she completed a full circle and struck the side of my head with her right elbow. The impact jolted me, disorienting me for a moment, but I managed to put some distance between us and regain my composure before she could strike again.

She took me by surprise. At first glance, I would’ve never guessed she was so proficient in combat. Sure, her build was athletic, but she was relatively short and at least visibly, non-intimidating. Yet her movements were sharp, clearly the result of extensive training. Her fingers and arms bore no signs of magic minerals, indicating that her skill was entirely her own.

As I was still comprehending her capabilities, she lunged at me again, executing a precise roundhouse kick. I reacted quickly, dodging backward, but she didn’t relent. As her missed kick contacted the ground, she seamlessly transitioned, using it as a pivot to spin and deliver another strike with her other leg. Caught off guard by the fluidity of her movements, I failed to anticipate her second kick, which struck my arms. The impact sent a shockwave through me, forcing the knife from my hand. It clattered to the ground, out of reach, leveling the playing field between us.

Now, with the knife no longer in my possession, she grew even bolder. In an instant, she closed the distance between us and unleashed a flurry of quick punches aimed at my face, forcing me to shield myself with my arms. Her relentless barrage continued, and my defense began to falter. Each attempt to block left me exposed and vulnerable to her swift, strategic shifts in attack. She was quick, and the pain intensified with every strike that found its mark on my body.

As the punches accumulated and the pain became unbearable, I knew I needed a change in strategy. With quick thinking, I managed to catch her hand mid-punch, eager to turn the tables. I tried to leverage my superior strength, attempting to pull her off balance as I had before. However, she surprised me once again, proving she was leagues beyond me in hand-to-hand combat. Using her right foot, she executed a powerful kick to my gut. The unexpected blow left me momentarily incapacitated, and before I could regain my composure, she used my stomach as a stepping stone, launching a swift kick to my nose with her other foot. Pain surged through me as I was sent flying backward. Her hand broke free as her kick connected, and she completed the motion with a backflip, landing gracefully on both feet.

I sat on the cobblestones, blood trickling from my nose as I instinctively reached up to check the damage. Pain pulsed through my face, but my attention quickly shifted as I saw her darting toward the fallen knife. I knew I had to act fast to prevent the situation from escalating as I was no match to her in a fair fight, so I decided to try and talk my way out of this. Fumbling for words through the pain, I tried to reason with her. “Wait, wait! What do you mean you have to kill me? I don’t even know who you are!”

My voice was urgent, reflecting my genuine confusion and fear, hoping it would be enough to find a sliver of understanding with her. But she continued approaching me with the knife. Then she spoke, her answer as ambiguous as before, deepening my confusion. “It doesn’t matter. I’m sorry, once more. I promise it will be quick and painless.”

My heartbeat intensified as I realized she wasn’t going to stop. I obviously decided to resist, using the only advantage I had left – the fact that I was downed and seemingly defeated. As she closed in, I summoned the strength to kick at her legs. The unexpected move caught her off guard, and she tumbled backward, the knife slipping from her grasp.

“Why won’t you just let me kill you already?” she exclaimed, her voice filled with frustration.

Her words were as absurd as this entire village. As if anyone would voluntarily let themselves be assassinated.

“I can’t stay here! I have other places to be, and this bitch won’t let me leave!” She continued, her voice laced with anger.

“This bitch...” I mumbled. “Do you mean Lida?”

Her eyes flared with fury. “Yes! The cursed wench!”

“Then it means we have a common enemy.” I shot back quickly, trying to find common ground. I couldn’t be sure if she wasn’t one of Lida’s lapdogs as well, but one thing was certain - she genuinely had a murderous intent toward me. Whatever plan Lida and the rest had for me, they didn’t seem to want me dead. At least not yet.

“You think I don’t know that?” she retorted, her voice laced with annoyance. “Why do you think I was apologizing to you? I already guessed that you’re just as unlucky as the rest of us. Perhaps even unluckier.”

Her words made me think about the fact that there were more people held captive here than just Ren and me. Lida’s lapdogs, the bandits - who I already suspected wouldn’t actually be handed over to the Morthrygan army - and now this girl. I hadn’t given much thought to any of them until now.

The girl began standing up and reaching for the knife once more.

“Would you stop it already?” I pleaded. “Let’s talk this out. Why do you think killing me would solve anything?”

“It’s only my guess, but I overheard them talking about it.” She shrugged. “Whatever they’re planning to do in twenty-five days somehow involves you. Me and the rest are just a side dish to it all. I assume it has something to do with human sacrifice. You’re the grand sacrifice, while they slowly kill us one by one until then.”

Her words sent a chill down my spine. They were to going to sacrifice me? Is that why they kept bringing Vitara into this? Do they truly believe that the goddess of life demands sacrifice by death? The realization of these people’s insanity made my skin crawl.

She continued. “If I kill you here and now, the whole ritual will be doomed. That’s why Jhad started a small riot in the jailhouse. He’s buying me time so I can kill you.”

As I absorbed her revelations, conflicting emotions surged within me. Fear gripped me - the idea of being a sacrifice in their twisted rituals was sickening - but at the same time, I was confused. Why me? Why did they want to sacrifice me? There was nothing special about me...

I took a deep breath, regaining my composure and confidence. I had already planned on escaping before the date of the ritual, so nothing had really changed. My motivation to run away was already strong, even before learning about their pagan ritual of human sacrifice intended for me.

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“And what would killing me achieve exactly?” I tried to appeal to her with reason. “Won’t they just get mad and kill you all anyway?”

“I don’t know!” She shouted, her voice full of anger. “But it’s better than just slowly waiting for the end.” Then her expression shifted to one of terror. “Some nights, they just come and take one of us, and we never see those who were taken again.”

“Do you have someone in the infirmary you need to save as well?” I asked, trying to change the subject and make her connect to me emotionally.

She looked at me with questioning eyes before shaking her head. “Not here. But out there, I have someone who needs me. That’s why…That’s why I can’t stay here!”

“Can’t you just run away, then?” I asked, confused. “Like right now?”

She rolled her eyes before speaking, her voice furious. “You think I haven’t tried? The damn chain won’t let me get farther than the village’s entrance.”

Her words presented another troublesome revelation – Lida’s ethereal chain physically prevented us from leaving the village’s perimeters. That explained her arrogant confidence. She knew full well I wouldn’t be able to escape, even if I managed to reach Ren. That’s why she didn’t even bother locking the room they held me in. Perhaps the tourmaline ring could bypass that restriction, but now it was in her possession.

The girl’s eyes met mine, and I could see she was full of conviction. No, it was more than that. Those were the eyes of someone with a purpose, eyes burning with determination. With pure fire. The eyes of someone who was going to get out of this place alive and take down anyone who stood in their way. Her clear and visible determination to escape, combined with her readiness for violence, was enough for me to consider an alliance with her. At the very least, I didn’t want her as my enemy. She had already proven to be too strong for me to handle.

“I have someone who needs me too.” I said, trying to gain her sympathy. “Her name is Ren. She was already in a bad shape when we got here, and now they have her. I need to save her. No. I must save her. And I’m not planning on dying here today, or in twenty-five days. We will get out of here alive.”

She continued to watch me, shaking her head as if a battle was raging inside her mind. Finally, she exhaled loudly. “Curse you!”

Despite her tone, I interpreted this as ‘I’m not going to kill you after all.’

Then, a distant sound startled her. “She’s coming.” She said, turning to run, her voice urgent. “I hope you have a plan.”

“Not yet, but I will.” I replied, my voice filled with determination. “My name is Luca, by the way.”

She nodded and ran off, but not before introducing herself. “You can call me Sona.”

She used her impressive agility and flexibility and scaled the wall of the nearby house, quickly reaching the roof. From there, she began jumping from one rooftop to another, heading back toward the jailhouse.

Lida appeared almost immediately afterward, walking slowly and confidently with a grin on her face. “Trying again, huh?” she asked joyfully, but her expression turned serious as she saw my face. She rushed to my side. “Luca, oh no. What happened? You’re bleeding!”

If I didn’t know better, I might have actually believed she was genuinely worried about me. But the human sacrifice ritual which I had just learned about put things into perspective. It wasn’t me she was concerned about – it was my body. For the sake of their ritual, they needed me intact and uninjured.

“Let’s get you to Vera.” She said, her voice worried. “Sleep now.”

Her command immediately sent me into unconsciousness.

***

When I woke up, I was surprised that my back didn’t hurt. In the past week, whenever I managed to sleep - which wasn’t often - the rough wooden floor had been my cradle. But now, I was lying on an actual bed. The ceiling and lighting in the room were different as well, and I quickly recalled that I wasn’t in my confinement cell – I was in the infirmary.

I reached for my nose and felt a bandage covering it, with cotton wool stuffed inside my nostrils. It hurt, especially to the touch, the pain appearing with each breath. The room itself was quiet, seemingly empty of Vera and her nurses.

Ren lay in the bed opposite mine, her still form appearing unharmed. I lifted myself from the bed, intent on reaching her. I hadn’t checked on her all week, and I was worried sick about her condition. My chest tightened as I approached her bed. I reached out to touch her, to feel the pulse in her wrist, and relief washed over me as I found it. Despite everything that had happened, she clung to life, and that alone became my anchor in our horrendous state.

Again, I thought about escaping. Ren was already here, and we could try to make a run for it, regardless of the other captives and that girl, Sona. Perhaps not directly, but I had told her that I’d find a way for all of us to escape this place - a way for all of us to survive. I didn’t trust her, of course. So far, everyone I’d met in this village had betrayed me. Starting with Belferon’s deceptions, continuing with the welcoming masks of the villagers, and ending with the betrayal of the two men who were controlled by the woman who once seemed compassionate and caring - Lida. Sona remained a mystery for me - potential ally or yet another puppet controlled by Lida. That’s why I promised myself in that moment that, whatever happened, if push came to shove, I would sacrifice anyone to save myself and Ren. We were the only people I could trust.

But for now, I could try to use this Sona’s determination to my advantage. If our escape couldn’t be straightforward because of Lida’s magic, then I had to think of a way to outsmart her. A way that could render her magic useless and give me back my freedom. I was determined to turn this all around. They made a mistake when they caught me. I’ll wipe that grin off Lida’s face and get us out of here, free from her shackles. Belferon will regret the day he met me. And Vera will be sorry she thought that sacrificing me was what Vitara wanted.

I glanced at Ren, my heartbeat steady, my confidence high. “I’ll get us out. I promise.” I whispered. “You, me, and that damned calcite.”

***

I stayed in the infirmary for one night as Vera’s nurses treated my injured nose. I didn’t want them to touch me, but I understood that, in the end, their actions would help me heal faster, and our survival depended on me being in the best shape possible.

When I was alone, I rummaged through the shelves in the infirmary, only to find that if Vera possessed a turquoise stone or ring, she hadn’t left it here – which, of course, was obvious.

With nothing else to do, I contemplated strategies to counter Lida’s magic. Walden, Belferon and Vera might all prove to be formidable opponents themselves, but thinking about them was pointless while I was still Lida’s puppet. The key to my escape lay in finding a way to render her magic useless against me.

I tried to analyze what I knew so far. First, there seemed to be levels to Lida’s magic. The first level allowed her to influence thoughts. For example, Jhad, the bandits’ leader, was swayed and influenced by Lida’s magic, yet it appeared that the decisions he made were still of his own volition. She never used direct commands on him - only suggestions. Furthermore, it seemed that for this level of magic to succeed, Lida didn’t need to be the one doing the talking. When I experienced this basic level during my first time in the infirmary, it was Vera who did all the talking, suggesting that Ren would wake up if I left her in her care. It was her way of pulling the right strings in my head.

Of course, the thought crossed my mind that Vera might have her own pink ring, but it seemed unlikely since I didn’t see her wearing any mineral rings or bracelets. She could have worn a different accessory, one hidden by her clothes, like an ankle bracelet, but then, why would she need Lida to be there?

The second level of Lida’s magic, which relied on the success of the first, functioned like a truth serum. It made her voice and image transform into that of someone you knew and cared about deeply. The mental image of the person, intertwined with her magic, compelled you to spill the truth, even if your mind told you otherwise. In my case, it was my mother’s image that made me reveal truths I shouldn’t have. I also assumed her magic could be easily broken, during these two levels, if the person being influenced became aware of her ring and grew wary of it. That’s why she and Belferon remained silent when I inquired about the ring after she used it on Jhad. They had to ensure Jhad didn’t understand what was happening. This realization made me even angrier at myself because it meant I could’ve avoided it all if I had been more focused. I already knew about her ring after witnessing it in action. There was no excuse for me to have become so trusting and let my guard down. But it was too late to dwell on it now…

Which brings me to the last level, or at least the last one I knew of. In this third level, you became her unwilling puppet, connected to her by an ethereal chain like a dog. The was the level where I currently resided. At this stage, the knowledge of the ring was irrelevant because you were already in too deep. To reach this level, you had to pass through the previous two first.

Thoughts of possible ways to break free from her control bore no fruit, as I recalled each time she spoke to me, no matter how hard I tried to disobey her - I couldn’t. Her magic was stronger than my own power of will. The only solution I could think of sounded simple on paper but was highly impractical in reality: taking away her ring. It should work, since without the ring she wouldn’t be able to channel her mana through it to control me or anyone else. But getting that ring off her finger would be no easy task. Whenever she approached me over the past week, she always seemed wary that I might try to snatch it from her finger. After all, I had already revealed to her that I was a thief.

Despite all that, I didn’t let the challenge discourage me. Instead, I began thinking of ways to overcome this obstacle. As far as I could tell, her magic worked in two ways: auditory and visual control. Whenever I heard her commands, I had to obey, and whenever I saw the chain around my neck, each time she pulled it, I lost control of my body and fell.

The chain wasn’t real; it wasn’t physical. I ran my hands around my neck multiple times - there was nothing there. It only appeared when she was nearby and wanted to show me she held my leash. I wondered if I could bypass the visual control by closing my eyes. The theory was plausible, but even if it worked, what then? Do I continue running around blindly with my eyes closed? She could still stop me with her voice. Hells, she could even force me to open my eyes with a single command if she wanted to.

This meant the first thing I needed to neutralize was her audible commands. Using the same logic as before, if I managed to avoid hearing her voice, I might be able to avoid being controlled by her.

Looking around the infirmary, I found a sack filled with cotton wool and stuffed some of it into my pocket. One of these days, when Lida comes for a visit, I’ll test my theory.