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Discomfort. Pain. Fear. I felt all of these as I struggled to move…to escape. I wondered how I could have possibly ended up in this situation, but I already knew the answer. A wyvern had dug its claws into my shoulder, carried me to the other side of town, and then dropped me from the air. I’d broken a few bones when I hit, and before I knew it, some daemonites had grabbed me, stripped me of my armor, and then chained me up to the car lift in an auto garage.

I didn’t know how long I’d been chained up like this, though it couldn’t have been too long. My bones were still broken and hurt like hell. However, I grimaced and tried to hold back the tears and screams of pain, not wanting to give my daemonite captor the satisfaction.

The daemonite responsible for capturing me was a binder, with his pet wyvern waiting just outside the garage. I could feel its foul presence out there, smell the stench of its breath every time I breathed in. The wyvern was a monster, but in the end, it was just a mindless animal following its instincts. As far as I was concerned, the daemonite was an even greater monster.

The hood of my captor’s cloak was pulled back, giving me a good look at his weathered face, as well as his greasy and unkempt hair and beard. If I’d seen him on the street, I would have just assumed he was some homeless guy begging for change. Perhaps, that was exactly what he’d been before he’d become a daemonite.

Without saying a word, the daemonite put his hand on my shoulder, right where his wyvern had torn into me. Then he began to slowly caress my skin, stopping with his hand right on my naked breast. I felt disgust and revulsion while he just grinned at my reaction. He was clearly enjoying himself, though I didn’t think it was sexual. Instead, I was pretty sure he just got his kicks from having me helpless and at his mercy.

“Val Kyr,” he said, his voice carrying the same contempt that any Val Kyr would have while saying ‘daemonite’. “I have always wanted to see one of your kind up close…”

“Let me loose, and you’ll see me really up close,” I responded sharply, thinking about just how much I wanted to break his neck.

The daemonite sneered at that, then suddenly punched me in the face as hard as he could. I spat at him in response, since it was about the only freedom of movement I currently had. That just pissed him off more and he punched me several more times, not that this really bothered me much except for when he hit me in the leg, right about where it was broken. After a dozen punches or so, he finally settled down, seeming satisfied with himself.

“You are more attractive than I’d imagined,” he stated, putting one of his hands on my breasts again and making my skin crawl.

As he stood there, hand on my breast and staring down at me with a sadistic gleam in his eyes, I suddenly felt a shiver of dread run through my body. It had been awhile since I’d really thought much about the downsides of being a woman, but now, one of them came directly to mind. Rape. This was something that most normal women had to be concerned about, at least enough to take precautions. But as a Val Kyr, this was the first time it had truly occurred to me that this was now a possibility. I struggled frantically against the chains that held me, trying to ignore the pain from my broken arm and legs while the daemonite just chuckled in amusement.

“My friend is eager to taste your flesh,” the daemonite abruptly said, giving me a look which suggested that he wondered how I’d taste as well. I shuddered at that and glared at him but didn’t say anything. “It was difficult to keep her from eating you, and she really wanted to do so…” He paused and licked his lips, sending a shiver down my spine.

“Then why am I still alive?” I demanded, glaring at him as if that would be enough to hurt him.

He just snorted as he turned away, answering, “Because our leader wants you alive…”

I gulped, definitely not liking the sound of that. My thoughts turned to my friends and the hope that they’d find me…that they’d rescue me. Of course, I’d never be able to live it down afterwards…but at least I’d still be alive. I just hoped that they’d be able to get to me in time.

While I waited, I tried to test my chains, but I was still too hurt and weak to do anything against them. They were pretty heavy chains, so I doubted that even if I’d been in top condition, that I’d be strong enough to break them. Maybe if I’d been jatta.

Suddenly, I felt a new presence, and I looked to the doorway at the daemonite who’d entered. She threw back her cloak, revealing a face I immediately recognized. “Estrid,” I whispered, feeling another surge of fear. Until now, knew that if I got loose, I was still strong enough that I could probably overpower the daemonite binder. However, in my current condition, I’d have absolutely no chance of doing so against the former Val Kyr.

“Fools,” Estrid exclaimed, glaring at the daemonite binder. “Do you understand what you’ve done?”

The binder looked confused for a moment, then responded, “I captured that Val Kyr like you ordered…” He gestured to me.

Estrid gave me a flat look, turning her attention back to him. “That is not what I was referring to. My orders were to hold the daemons back…to conserve their numbers until we were ready for them, yet you all decided to waste them against those Val Kyr instead.”

“But there were only seven Val Kyr,” he protested, clearly afraid of Estrid. “And a group of civilians… We thought it would be easy to overwhelm them…to destroy them.”

“It was a trap,” Estrid snapped at him angrily. “Now we’ve lost over half the forces we brought over…”

The binder cringed and said, “I’m sorry…”

“Indeed you are,” Estrid told him with a snort of disgust. “But fortunately, we have enough reserves gathered in the Twilight Realm that we should be able to replace most of those daemons in time…” She paused at that, then in a calmer tone, she continued, “But you should apologize to Nessa, who is working hard to make up for the mistake you and the others made.”

“I will,” the binder agreed.

“Then go,” Estrid told him. Once the binder had run out of the garage, Estrid turned her attention to me. We stared at each other in silence before she commented, “So, we meet again my young atra…”

I glared at her as I spat out, “Let me go and give me a sword, and I’ll meet you properly.” Of course, it was pure bluster, largely to hide how terrified I was at the moment.

“I think not,” Estrid responded, coming closer until she was standing almost right beside me. “I’d prefer not to kill you just yet, especially after I took such great effort to arrange this meeting.”

“What?” I gasped in surprise.

Estrid gave me an evil smile, then casually asked, “You did not think I chose this location by mere chance, do you?” She gestured around us.

“You…,” I gasped, staring at her in shock and horror. “The whole town…”

“This is the third time my people have had to come here,” Estrid stated with a grim look. “Years ago, I discovered a Val Kyr was residing in this place, so I sent soldiers to eliminate her. As you may know, they failed. Then more recently, I learned the same Val Kyr had returned to this town searching for a recruit…”

“You,” I blurted out, glaring at Estrid with growing anger. “You sent those daemons to my school…”

“And they failed,” Estrid responded with a look of annoyance. “Now, I learn that it was not just one recruit who escaped…but two…and that one of them is atra, like myself.” She stared at me with a cold, almost hungry expression.

I clenched my teeth, continuing to glare at Estrid with a hatred I’d never realized I was capable of. Estrid was responsible for my dad losing his leg, for my mother leaving us both, and for pushing Dad down the self-destructive path I’d been forced to watch him take. She’d been responsible for the attack on my school, for the death of Mrs. Clarence, and my being disemboweled. And, it was quite clear, she was also responsible for the incursion into this town…for the countless people her daemons had slaughtered.

“This town has been an annoyance,” Estrid continued, “and I suspected there may be other future Val Kyr present as well. And though these were considerations when I chose this as the location of my incursion, the truth is, my primary reason was so that I could lure you to me.”

“Me?” I exclaimed in shock and horror. “You murdered all those people, just to get me? WHY?”

“Because you are atra,” Estrid answered simply, continuing to give me a cold stare. “I have spent three centuries discovering what I am capable of…mastering my abilities on my own. But even now, I cannot help but wonder if there is something I have missed…some atra ability that I have yet to discover. Perhaps…something that may have been taught to you.”

“Fuck you,” I spat at her viciously. “If you wanted to learn how to be atra, then maybe you shouldn’t have murdered those Val Kyr…”

Estrid suddenly punched me, doing so much harder than the daemonite binder had. Two of my teeth broke loose in my mouth, one of them a tooth that had only recently finished growing back. I spat the teeth and blood at Estrid, who just glared at me with a look of hatred in her eyes.

“You know nothing,” Estrid spat at me. She just continued to glare for several seconds as she regained control over herself. Then in a cold tone, she said, “In my pride and fear, I made a deal with the Val Kyr…not realizing that I might as well have been dealing with Lucifer himself. I swore my service in exchange for health and power, only to discover that it also cost my wife, my son, and my honor. And for all I sacrificed, I was repaid with humiliation, contempt, and betrayal…”

“Betrayal?” I exclaimed with a snort. “You betrayed the Val Kyr. You murdered five Val Kyr…three of whom were converts…”

“No,” Estrid responded, sneering as she glared at me. “As I said, you know nothing. I killed only two Val Kyr…in self-defense. Neither was a convert.”

I stared at Estrid in surprise and confusion since there was absolutely no reason for her to deny her crimes back then, not when she’d just freely admitted to committing far greater ones. Still, I accused her, “You’re lying…”

“Believe what you like,” Estrid said, looking like she was about to turn and walk off. But after several seconds of hesitation, she explained, “Two Val Kyr attacked me in the baths without warning, attempting to murder me. They sought to end my life, but they underestimated me, so it was they who died instead.”

I didn’t know what to say to that, or even if I believed her claims. After all, Estrid was a monster of the worst sort, the kind who had just casually murdered hundreds of people just so she could get her hands on me. She certainly wasn’t a credible witness, but she acted as though she was telling the truth, or at least as though she really believed what she was saying.

I knew that some of the Val Kyr had been pretty hard on her back when she’d been in Val Halla, and I’d gone through some of that myself, but I had a hard time believing anyone would have tried to murder her like that. Maybe it was a misunderstanding, or the result of some kind of paranoid delusions on Estrid’s part. Maybe.

“Even before this, I’d already realized my mistake,” Estrid stated fiercely. “When I’d agreed to serve the Val Kyr and their goddess, I’d turned my back on God and had been cursed for this sin. Now freed of the illusion that the Val Kyr were anything but damned souls, I fled Val Halla and into the depths of Hell where at least my enemies would be honest.”

Estrid paused, staring off into the distance with a far-away look in her eyes. It was dark…almost haunted. In spite of myself, I actually started to feel sorry for her, at least a little bit.

“I have no idea how long I spent wandering hell,” Estrid continued, “fighting daemons, surviving by my strength and wit, and fearing the entire time that the Val Kyr would soon arrive to finish the task of killing me.” She gave me a cold look. “Then a small group of daemonites found me while I was injured, taking me prisoner. The ripper who served as their leader amused himself by infusing me with daemonite power, then watching as I rejected their power and expelled it from my body. Eventually, we talked and I realized that my captors and I shared a common enemy…the Val Kyr. After this, I willingly accepted the daemonite power…embraced it.”

With that, Estrid gave me an evil smile, one where her teeth were all just a little long and sharp. Her eyes were now yellow and slitted, making me gulp at the sight. Estrid wasn’t just allied with the daemonites…she was one of them.

“Now then,” she said as her features returned to normal, “there is the matter of what to do with you, my prisoner…”

Since she’d just finished telling me about how her own time as a daemonite prisoner led to her becoming a daemonite herself, it wasn’t difficult to figure out what she wanted. “You’re crazy if you think I’d join you.” Of course, she was already crazy anyway, so I shouldn’t have been surprised that she’d assume that I’d follow her lead.

“Of course not,” Estrid responded with a snort of distain. “You are still too blinded by Val Kyr lies to see the truth.” She reached out and grabbed my face in one hand, looking me right in the eyes. “I brought you here for the chance that you can help me unleash my full power, and you will do so…willingly or unwillingly. I do not have the time to either coddle or convince you of the truth, so I merely leave you to consider how much easier this will be for you if you simply give me what I require.”

With that, Estrid let me go and started to turn and walk away. I glared at her, afraid and angry at the same time. “You talk about how you’re damned because of your sins,” I spat out, hoping I could at least shake her up a little. “And you don’t think killing all those people is a sin?”

Estrid looked back at me again, her expression grim and resigned. “I am already damned for eternity, and nothing can change that. But what I can change is whether I spent it trapped in Hell…or fighting for my brethren and I to be free.”

“You’ll never get away with this,” I snarled, regretting the words the moment they left my mouth. I sounded like some kind of cliché damsel in distress, and I absolutely HATED that. Then I decided to bluff, adding, “Lindrell has already called Val Halla for reinforcements. By now, we’ve got a dozen more triads here to wipe you and your daemons out.”

Estrid just stared at me for a moment before she burst out laughing, though it wasn’t a nice laugh. “It is such a pity you are lying,” she told me with a smirk. “That would actually suit my plans quite well.”

“What?” I blurted out in confusion.

Estrid reached into a pouch on her waist and pulled out what looked like a necklace, made with a dozen oddly shaped stones. It took me a moment to realize that they were all key stones.

“It took me three centuries to acquire this many key stones,” Estrid commented as she held up the necklace to stare at. “I searched the sites of old battles, looking for fallen Val Kyr. I ambushed Val Kyr and took these as souvenirs…building my collection.”

“Why?” I demanded, having a bad feeling about this but knowing it was important.

Estrid gave me another evil grin before answering. “These key stones provide me with certain…leverage. They point me to their sibling stones as though a compass…and allow me to intercept communications through them. I am quite aware of the fact that there have been no such requests for reinforcements.”

I stared at Estrid, suddenly understanding exactly how the daemonites found all those new recruits they’d killed. The daemonites hadn’t been tracking down the recruits…they’d been following the recruiters.

“You…almost sound disappointed,” I said nervously.

“Of course,” Estrid explained, looking quite pleased with herself. “The more Val Kyr there are here…the fewer remain in Val Halla. I have created a number of distractions to lure as many Val Kyr away from your home as possible. You see, Val Halla is currently under siege from an army of daemons…and it is virtually undefended.”

“Oh shit,” I blurted out.

“Freya has called all available Val Kyr to return immediately,” Estrid said with a nasty smile, “but communications were…interrupted.”

I snarled, thinking about her conversation with the daemonite binder and how they were bringing more daemons over to replace the ones we’d killed. Not only was Val Halla under siege, but she had an army of daemons here as well.

“Let me guess,” I spat out coldly. “Now you’re going to overwhelm the school and finish wiping out this town.”

Estrid gave a dismissive snort before saying, “I have little interest in this town beyond using it to lure you to me. This town is merely a staging point for my forces, forces my ripper will transport directly into the center of Val Halla. By this time tomorrow, I will have full control over your fortress…and the anchor that resides within.”

“Why do you need the anchor?” I demanded, frantically trying to think of anything I could do to interfere with her plans. Unfortunately, being injured and chained up, my options were extremely limited. At the moment, all I could do was keep asking questions, trying to learn as much as I could. Fortunately, the old cliché about villains wanting to monolog was turning out to have a lot more truth than I ever would have imagined. “You already have a ripper.”

“True,” Estrid agreed. “But my daemonites are mortal…and their endurance is limited. With an anchor under my control, I can free the forces of Hell to overwhelm this world. We WILL be free.” There was a manic gleam in her eyes and I could tell that there was absolutely no reasoning with her on this.

“You’re insane,” I told Estrid, bracing for her to hit me.

Estrid just gave me a flat look before saying, “When I return, we will discuss what lessons you may have been given in Val Halla…and how you may assist me.”

With that, Estrid started to leave, meeting the returning daemonite binder at the door. As the binder stepped into the garage, he looked in my direction and asked, “You want me to question her?” He looked more than a little eager to do that.

“No,” Estrid responded, not bothering to look in my direction again. “I will take care of that myself when I have time.” Then she paused to give the binder a firm look, adding, “Do not even think of feeding her to your friend. I need her ALIVE.”

“Whatever you want,” the binder quickly said.

Once Estrid was gone, the binder turned his attention back to me. He stared at me with a dark gleam in his eyes, one that suggested that his imagination was working overtime on what he wanted to do to me. I tried very hard not to think of what those things might be.

I was in a bad situation, and though I didn’t dare let this animal see, I was also terrified. I was afraid of him, but what truly terrified me was Estrid and what she was really up to. Not only was she on the verge of taking over Val Halla, but also unleashing Hell on Earth.

“I have to get out of here,” I whispered to myself, desperately trying to think of how I could escape, or at the very least, get a message to Lindrell. “I have to warn them…”