Chapter 75 The Desolating End of Boyhood* (1/2)

He vaguely registered Guards entering the cell with that damned anthrite net again as his ears rung and his jaw clenched. He groaned and rolled to his hands and knees, the makeshift sword he'd made lying just a foot away from him where he'd dropped it. He began crawling towards it, trying to shake off the effects of the shock, then he felt someone grab his wrist, and an anthrite cuff went around it.

Rassa was snapped back to reality, and his eyes zeroed in on the cuff, on the chain it was attached to on the opposing wall. He felt the sudden pull as he was dragged along the ground to the centre of the cell. He dug his feet in and reached for his makeshift sword. Grabbing a hold of it, he took two running steps forward to gain some slack from the chain that held him then jumped and twisted as he passed another guard holding a cuff on the end of another anthrite chain. They may have been wearing armour, but they clearly hadn't been expecting him to make a weapon. The guard's head was severed from his body then Rassa landed and kicked out with another leg. He heard the snap of the whip behind him and he dodged quickly, just as the lightning pulsed out of the end of the whip and into the anthrite floor. The anthrite, unlike other metals, didn't conduct the lightning, it just absorbed it. Rassa looked at the Ridge Man, who was grinning at the challenge before him.

Rassa growled, ”You've got no idea who you're dealing with. Do your research next time”.

Rassa threw up his makeshift sword straight up into the air then jumped and spun, kicking the end of the sword. It propelled through the air and skewered the Ridge Man before he even knew what had happened.

”You lack training,” Rassa breathed. A pin drop could be heard in the cell, none of them had ever seen Rassa move like that, especially not chained with anthrite. They had no idea that he'd trained for three years under the tutelage of his father, and honed by his Vampire instincts, then spent the last three years in this cell training in battle under Victor's watchful eye. Mirroring Victor's every movement as he fought with a prowess no one on the continent had ever seen. A prowess lost to time.

Rassa's gaze went to Zaroth, ”Get this damned thing off me”.

Zaroth grinned, ”Oh no, not today”. The unlocking of a cell door was heard, and the small steps of Seri echoed as she came to Zaroth's side. Her time in the cell had not diminished her beauty. She was still very prettyl, and surprisingly clean, no doubt she'd been given more fresh water than Rassa had available. He honestly hadn't thought to pay attention. Zaroth continued as he placed a hand on Seri's shoulder, ”Today, you have a special guest, and I'd hate for you to harm your entertainment. After all, it's not every day a boy becomes a man”.

Rassa's eyes narrowed, ”I told you I was not a tool nor a toy the first day I came here. Do you seriously expect me to comply to your every stupid whim?”

A guard had approached from behind and Rassa swung around and kicked him down, ”I said, get them off me, not put them on”.

Zaroth sighed, ”Rassa, when in the gods' names are you going to learn? What you say has no place here. You are both a tool and a toy, you have been for years. It won't matter how much you fight back. Your fate here is inevitable”.

Zaroth then nodded to the guards, then turned and walked away.

Even with all his training and prowess. Even with his senses still heightened and the lightning whip taken care of. Rassa couldn't fight them all off indefinitely. But he had had his fair share of blood by the time they managed to get him chained and the mask in place over his lethal fangs. He was standing, his feet both chained to the ground, his arms spread to either side of him so that he couldn't move away. He watched as the guards left, dragging some of their dead with them, and Seri entered. She looked at the three bodies still lying on the floor then shut the gate behind her and looked down the tunnel. There was a single torch left in the room. And the halls fell silent as Seri took the key and placed it on the ground, then took a dagger from the inner folds of her dress. She approached Rassa slowly with what she, and many others, probably considered a seductive smile. In any other situation, Rassa may have even considered it so himself. But he was in no mood for this. Nor did he have room to fight against it happening.