‡ Promise 37: Torture & Rescue ‡

-As told by Lily-

anging from chains on stone wall, my body was beyond pain, and I can feel myself weakening. I knew I didn't have long to live, as blood continued to pour from the wounds in my body, over these past torturous days. My clothes clung to me in patches, while other spots were dry and crust over with old blood from older wounds. The gray-haired man calmly heats a poker in steal-drum fire, every so often taking a peak at his gold Rolex watch on his right arm.
"It's amazing," he says, breaking the long silence, "How much a human can bleed, without dying. But sooner or later, time will run out, and there will be no more blood to claim." I say nothing, just trying to focus all of my energy on breathing and staying alive. But this demon isn't looking for a reply, he's more interested on where else on my failing body that he could plunge the hot poker into. As he approach me, I try to think of a way of stalling him, certain that I would not survive another wound. "He's not coming." I blurt out, stopping Sylas in his tracks, "You do know that?"
Sylas laughs, his manically voice echoing around the huge abandon warehouse, and sending chills up my spine. "Of course, he's coming." he nods, as if trying to reason with a small child, "He's going to come a moment before the deadline ends, typical behavior from a Rolmir, but he will be here nonetheless. He wouldn't want his human whore to die, now would he?" "I'm not a whore!" I shout, foolishly wasting a lot of my strength, with my anger. I curse myself silently, as my anger didn't mean anything to Sylas and wasn't going to change my situation.
Sylas heads for the old phonograph in the corner, which sat crudely on a packing box, turning on the same record of a haunting opera piece. This is a song I've heard countless times, over the days of being trapped here and tortured, played over and over by my demon captor. "Hmm," he says, as if realizing something important, "I never explained to you this song's meaning." "Bite me." I say, weakly. But Sylas continues, as if I didn't say anything, "The woman... Do you hear the pain and torture in her voice? She sings in Hungarian, so I doubt you know of what she sings, but I will translate."
He walks around the room, deep within the song, his head thrown back and his eyes closed. "She sings about the death of her children." he says, a satisfied grin spreading across his face, "She sings of her country covered in death, destruction, and disease. She sings of no hope and of no mercy, denied of peace. And the ending... She sings about her own inevitable demise. It's all too beautiful, the torture, the pain and loss, and finally the death of a worthless human. It has been my favorite song, since I was young!" "You sick bastard!" I growl, rattling my chains.
He moves fast, grabbing my face with crushing force, and slamming the back of my head into the stone wall. "Don't you dare!" Sylas hiss, his eyes wild, "Don't you dare spit your worthless insults at me, human! You're not fit to be in the same room as me, let alone have the liberty to say one word in my direction!" He loosen his grip, his mad rage fading suddenly as it appeared, and his calm carefree spirit returns. He is now gently holding my face, as if we were lovers, smiling calmly. "Don't worry.", he assures, "Rolmir will show up. It will be a lovely repeat of history! Just like his father, before him, he will rush here to save his human whore. And the both of you will die together."
I am confused by this, remembering what Fray had told me, many nights ago. "No," I say, nearly in a whisper, "Keith's mother died, when he was just a child. His father raised him alone." Sylas backs away, laughing harder than before. "Someone told you a lie." he sings, wagging one finger, "I guess even the Rolmirs don't trust their whores with the truth! Well, my dear, I will tell you real story. Rolmir's filthy human mother was taken, by the great King Gular, as a lure for his ingenious trap! Gular had chosen a remote place, like I have done, and Keith's father did show in a effort to save his human bride. But, of course, Rolmir blood is no match against the blood of the pure. Both the human girl and demon was slain, effortlessly.
"The plan was almost flawless. Except, Gular never expected the Rolmir kingdom to appoint a new young king so fast. And he never would have guessed that young Keith, at the age of twenty-one, would storm the Gular kingdom and take vengeance. And so, here we are in the present. I have followed the steps of the wise King Gular, but have perfected the flaws of it. I will not make the same mistake, this time around. After I kill Keith, I will instantly finish the job, by destroying his kingdom as well. The demon-world will be singing my name for ages! Anthony Sylas, of the Sylas kingdom, the demon who destroyed all of Rolmir!"
He laughs in delight and dreaming of his victory. "It will never happen." I breath, now becoming sad with realization, "Keith is smart, he knows what you're planing. He would never give up his kingdom for me. I'm just some random girl that he knows, we're not dating, and we haven't been friends for that long. He loves his people more than me and he's made that clear, several times. So, he's not going to show. You've tortured me for nothing." "Perhaps," Sylas shrugs, pacing around me, "But, even if he doesn't show, I still have a plan. First, I'll kill you. And then I'll just hunt down Rolmir. Either way, I will kill him and as a bonus I get to kill a pretty human girl, such as yourself."
He leans in closer, his nose just a inch from mine, and I can feel the heat of the hot poker near my right leg. "Besides," Sylas whispers, "I don't think he'll skip our meeting here. Rolmir blood is too weak, when it comes to humans. His human blood will yearn for you, he will be struck with guilt, and he will feel something about the threat against your life. Friend or no friend, it doesn't matter." He jams the poker into my leg and I let out a horrible scream in pain, my body shaking violently. "We'll let that sit for a while." he nods, walking away again, "Then I shall pull it out."
I cry, feeling my body wanting to give up, yet I fight it. I try to shift my mind away from the searing pain, focusing on why Fray had lied to me about Keith's parents. Did she just make it all up, so I would forgive Keith and befriend him again? And now I was becoming pissed at that possibility, knowing that if she didn't make up that lie, I would still be avoiding Keith. And if I were, I'd never be here, fighting for my life! Fray's manipulation did more harm than good. I could be home, right now, studying for a test or hanging out with Jody and...
I thought of Tommy and worry now flooded my mind. He was hurt pretty badly, trying to stop Sylas from kidnapping me. It was just a few minutes, after Jody and her mother had left the shop, when the gray-haired man walked in. I had recognized him, from the week before, and instantly asked him if he had caught up with Keith. "No," he had answered, "But, I'm sure Keith will come to me, once he knows I have his prize." "Prize?" I had asked, thinking it had something to do with Keith's writing career, "For what?" And suddenly I was faced down on the floor, I had been hit violently, and I didn't understand why.
"Lily!" I heard Tommy roar, hoping from his seat and rushing over, "You sonnafabitch!" He throws a swing at the gray-haired guy, as I pull myself up from the floor, but this excites the demon. He brutally grabs Tommy by the hair, slamming my friend into monitors and shattering them. I dived on the demon's back, punching his head wildly, but Sylas just laughs. He is still throwing Tommy around the shop, like a rag doll, not responding to my attacks. "Stop it!" I screamed, still punching, "Stop it! Let him go!" "Okay." Sylas laughs, flinging Tommy into a floor-to-ceiling bookshelf.
It then topples over on Tommy, while the end of the heavy wooden shelf causes a domino effect to the other shelves. "Tommy!" I shrieked, trying to run towards him, "Tommy!" But I was hit over the head and everything went dark. I woke up here, just hours after my kidnapping. And I had wondered about Tommy, off and on, and hoping like hell that he's still alive. He tried to save me and he didn't think twice about it. "It's not fair," I sob, caught in my thoughts, "He wouldn't have gotten hurt, if I've just stayed away from Keith. I should have listened, from the beginning."
There's a sharp pain through my body, as the poker is ripped from my leg, and I scream my last. I realize now, that I have no more strength left to scream anymore, the next poker will surely kill me. "Wakey-wakey!" grins Sylas, "You were talking to yourself again. You must be nearing the end." There was a sudden explosion, coming from the rooms ahead of us, and sounds of a fierce battle. "Ah." smiles Sylas, checking his watch, "Just a minute before the deadline. See, I was right. A Rolmir never disappoints." "They're..." I gasp, squeezing out the words, "Gonna... kick... your ass..."
"No," he waves, leaning near me, "Not 'they'. The servants are never any match for a king. Those little rascals may kill off my army, but they can't dream of touching me, unless they want certain death. No, only kings may kill other kings. It is a phenomenon of the demon-world, going way back before there were humans on this earth." "He's right." says Keith, entering room with bloodied claws, "My army is good, but only I can destroy this demon." "Rolmir." says Sylas, facing him. "Sylas." nods Keith, still calm. My heart begins to beat slowly.