Page 83 of Taken

CHAPTER 36

Mercy

AT LEAST TWO hours had passed, and I clambered to my feet with a sudden urge to pee.

“Hello?” I called out, banging my fist against the glass, but no one came. “I’m going to pee myself if you don’t open this damn door.”

Julian appeared in front of the glass and moved his hands around until I heard a click. As soon as it opened, he grabbed my arm and escorted me to the bathroom. After I relieved myself, I took my time washing my hands.

I cannot go back into that stall.

Julian knocked on the door. “Hurry your ass up.”

When I opened the door, I flipped him off and moved past him, but he grabbed my arm again. “Watch it!”

“Fuck you!” Without thinking or caring about the consequences, I spit in his face. “And go to hell.”

Maurice entered and let out what sounded like a hiss. “Enough, Julian. Don’t put her back in the stall. We’re ready for her.”

Maurice grabbed me this time, and when I looked back at the glass stalls, they were empty.

Oh no.

My aching heart felt like it was crumbling into pieces. Not only was I a prisoner in this hellhole, but the man I thought cared about me was a monster. My enemy. I had to be willing to fight and defend myself if the opportunity arose.

We walked into the main room with the large tank, and standing on a platform were the other five people that were kept as prisoners here. These criminals had tied their hands behind their backs. It was clear someone had drugged them as they swayed from side to side, the older woman almost falling down.

“Maurice, what’s happening?” I asked. “What is this?”

He gestured to the people on the platform and said, “They’re going to be our sacrifice.” He turned and smiled. “The world is comprised of five Universal Elements, Mercy. Centuries ago, five families represented these elements. Other witches had to use spell books to harness those powers. But not those families. If that wasn’t special enough, an angel came down and gave them each a child, their spirit being the element itself. It allowed them to have a direct connection to Earth. Pretty extraordinary, don’t you think?”

I clamped my mouth shut, afraid to say anything, as fear and horror drained through me.

Fuck him. Fuck these people and this place. I had to find a way out and take those other prisoners with me.

“These five are descendants of those families,” Maurice said. He then climbed up onto the platform.

He moved over to the first prisoner, pulled out a sharp knife, held it to her throat, and sliced it in one swift motion.

Oh, my God! I held my stomach, holding back the bile rising in my throat.

“Water,” he said as her blood spilled from her wound. I shielded my eyes away.

He killed her. Holy shit. He killed her!

“Hold her head up so she can watch,” Maurice commanded Julian, who pulled at my hair and yanked my head up to stare in their direction. Maurice walked behind the man with the fierce eyes, who had been in the second stall, and slit his throat, too. “Air.” Then to the older woman. “Earth.”

I let out a loud sob and gasped for air as terror filled my body. Once Maurice reached the young blonde woman, I tried to step forward, but Julian yanked me back. “Please don’t do this, Maurice.”

The woman looked me straight in the eyes and called my name. “Mercy!” she called.

She repeated my name, but the second time, she screamed it. Maurice slapped her hard across her face. “Shut the fuck up, Abigail!”

Abigail, I said the name in my head.

“Mercy, you need to use your powers,” she said. “Use them now!” Panic rose in my chest as he slit her throat. She let out a choked cry, “Mer … cy!”

“Stop! Please, Maurice. No!”

---