Page 26 of Trial of Deceit

“An enemy…” he replied, his brows pulling together while his hand tightened around the steering.

Ashari narrowed her eyes on Jediah as his body swayed, trying to bring him into focus.“I don’t feel good,” she murmured.

“I know…” Jediah said.His voice was distant.

“W-what did y-you give me?”Ashari slurred, slumping into the seat.Her tongue was heavy in her mouth.

“Your first test,” Jediah answered.“And you passed, My Ashari.”

Chapter five

Hereyesflutteredopen.Her vision was hazy, her body groggy as she looked around.A chain rattled, making her aware of the coldness seeping into her wrists.Laziness vanished.Ashari bolted upward, tugging against the chains.

Movement came from the corner of her eyes, and she stopped struggling to look in that direction.Darkness made it difficult to see, but from the burning red circle cocked to a side, Ashari knew the figure was Jediah.

Only he would be so cocky.

Her hands tightened into fists as she sneered.She opened her mouth to exclaim that she was going to kill him, then she remembered her case.Ashari relaxed her hands, tugging lightly at the restraints.“J-Jed… Why me in a chains?”Ashari asked, looking about the room with fear-stricken eyes.“Weh me deh?”

The room was empty, except for a long, rectangular glass window on the slate grey wall before her.The room next door was illuminated from a bulb in the ceiling, its white walls appearing to glow.Due to being seated, Ashari couldn’t tell if anything else was in that room.

She looked in Jediah’s direction when she sensed movement.Jediah took slow, calculated steps toward her.The light slowly revealed his face, and she sucked in a breath.

There he was.

The Jediah she knew.

His eyes were empty.The tiniest smirk shaped his mouth.He looked as sick and twisted as she knew him to be.

She gulped as he stood behind her.She looked over her shoulder at him.“Jed… explain.Please.You a scare me.”

“Shh,” he coaxed.“You don’t want to miss the show.”He pushed her chair forward.

The metalscreechbounced off the walls.Ashari gritted her teeth as a ringing developed in her ears.Her brows furrowed as he continued to push the chair forward until she was close to the glass.She still couldn’t see what was in the room except for its bare walls.What was this?

Her eyes darted to the door of the room she was in while she wiggled her hands.The cuffs on her wrists were strange, ones she’d never encountered before.Its unique triangular shape was custom made, possibly needing a fancy key to open it.

A slam drifted through the glass window.Ashari’s head snapped up.Her eyes widened as she tugged her body forward.“No!”she screamed, pulling harder and ignoring the pain from the cuffs digging into her skin.

“Tell me why you’re here,” Jediah’s cold voice came from above.

“Me don’ know wa you a talk ’bout!”

“Drop the act.”

“Go to hell,” Ashari hissed, looking at her shoulder as something dropped on it.Her eyes widened as she realized it was ash.Did he just use her body as an ashtray?!

“Been there and loved it,” Jediah dismissed coolly.

Ashari’s lips trembled as tears fell from her eyes.Her vision blurred as she watched the two persons walk further into the room.

Charlie’s fear-stricken eyes stared at the glass window.Beads of tears rolled down her rosy cheeks, soaking the cloth gag in her mouth.Charlie’s mumbles poured into the gag.Ashari couldn’t decipher it, but she knew Charlie was begging Dimitri to stop pressing the gun against the back of her head.

Ashari held her head low, closing her eyes and shaking her head.“I’m sorry…” she whispered.

“Oh?”Jediah’s mocking voice came.“Just like that?Then yu wan’ seh she a yu friend?”He scoffed and moved around the room.Ashari couldn’t open her eyes to look at him, but she was sure he was by the intercom because he spoke, “Dimitri—”

“Wait!”Ashari exclaimed, her eyes opening to meet Jediah’s.“Don’t kill her… Please,” she begged, and Jediah lifted his finger off the intercom.