him up. “Finn! Wake up!” A pair of unfocused blue eyes slowly met mine, widened slightly and then closed again. In my panic, I shook him a little harder than I intended. The last thing he needed was a concussion.
“Finn, it’s me! Can you hear me?” My relief in finding him was overshadowed by the dilapidated shape he was in. What had she done to him? His wrists were bound by something I’d hoped I’d never see again after my last run-in with Nadia. The iron clad white vines were coming out of the wall and holding him captive. Dried blood caked his wrists and arms. His face was bruised and sunken in with malnourishment. He was immortal now; he was supposed to be strong! Why wasn’t his body healing itself like it should?
I searched the cavern for some kind of clue. I assumed the river rushing above was Nadia’s river, but I had no idea how far upstream we were or how it was possible to physically get in here. I ran my hands along the walls for any sign of a lever, a rock to push; anything. I rolled my eyes at myself when I found nothing. I mean, this wasn’t an Indiana Jones movie…there were no heart-stealing nine year olds down here. Unless you counted Nadia, and I definitely wouldn’t put it past her.
I found a very suspicious-looking trunk that sat against one wall, but it was locked with something more than your normal combination lock. Besides that, the cavern was completely empty. I sighed in frustration and heard another low moan escape from Finn. I sat down next to him and attempted to wake him once more.
“Finn! Open your eyes! We need to get out of here!” I called to him over and over. An unsteady breath rattled from his lungs and his confused eyes cracked open. His entire body stiffened at my presence and he fought against the vines to move away from me.
“What kind of sick joke is this?” His voice was a gruff whisper, barely audible.
“Finn, it’s me - Stasia!” I pulled him back towards me, which was alarmingly easy to do.
“Stasia?” he stared at me for several seconds, as an inner war waged inside of him on whether or not I was real or an illusion. As something seemed to click, his eyes softened and then widened in panic.
“You have to leave!” he managed through a painful sounding cough. “You can’t be here!”
“I’m not going anywhere until I get you out of here,” I scolded him with conviction.
“She’ll drain you, too,” he pleaded with me. “You have to leave.”
“Drain me?” Had she morphed into a vampire? That would be my luck.
“Our abilities…” he coughed and moaned again, “…don’t work...down here.”
His eyelids fluttered and fell closed as his body relaxed and succumbed to unconsciousness once again. My heart sank into my stomach.
“Finn!” I begged him, tears beginning to burn behind my eyes.
“Well look who came to join the party!” Her piercing voice was like nails on a chalkboard.
Scorching anger flamed in my heart and I whirled around right as Nadia materialized before me.
“What have you done to him?” I demanded and moved towards her, my rage inflamed with adrenaline.
“I’ll do whatever I want with him. He’s mine ,” she growled, as the gray smoke lifted from her skin. A blood chilling smile spread across her lips, “And now - so are you.”
A pair of white vines erupted from the ceiling, wrapped around my body and slammed me into the wall of the cave with a sickening thump. Almost without thinking, I closed my eyes and imagined my bed, the sheets, the darkness, the feather pillows beneath my head….and waited. It wasn’t working.
“Aw,” Nadia pouted cynically, “didn’t Prince Charming tell you? Your pathetic abilities don’t work down here.” She smirked, knelt down, and her golden eyes bored into mine as she continued, “You’re welcome.”
The vines squeezed tighter, making it incredibly hard to breathe. For good measure, she slapped me across the face with a smug grin. As I felt blood trickle from my nose, I smiled right back at her.
“You hit like a girl,” I laughed, trying to buy some time while I racked my brain for a way to escape.
“I could rip your pathetic soul in half with the flick of my finger. Don’t test me!” she fumed; her features darkening into a cross between malevolence and hysteria.
“Where is your soul, Nadia?” I asked, genuinely curious. “How did you become so cruel?” I was getting very good at hiding my fear. Or maybe my growing confidence in my own strength diminished it. Either way, hatred swirled around in my veins and collected in my tone.
She walked over silently and kicked me in the stomach with as much force as a runaway freight train. The wind swiftly left me and I slumped over onto the floor in excruciating pain. I closed my eyes, fought to catch my breath, and attempted to return to my body once more to no avail.
“How’s that working out for you?” She cackled. “I told you not to test me. It’s not my fault you don’t listen.”
I wrenched my eyes open to glare up at her, but was met instead by sliver of moonlight shining through the river above. I watched as individual rays of light splintered and fractured; shooting into my eyes and spreading throughout my body. My muscles stiffened with renewed strength and my vision instantly focused. Taking advantage of this sudden and unexpected turn of events, I once again imagined the smooth sheets beneath me, the warm comforter on top of me. Chagrin, marked by surprise flashed in Nadia’s eyes as she helplessly watched me fade away.
I sat up quickly and immediately regretted it. Pain shot through my stomach, along with painful coughs. Undeterred, I flung the covers aside, and ran next door to Finn’s room, wiping the blood from my nose as I went. As I ran to his bedside, I realized someone else was already there.
“Stasia?” Natasha stood with alarm.
“Natasha!” I ran around the bed and threw my arms around her. “I found him! I found him!”
“Calm down, dear” she gripped my shoulders as I clutched my stomach in agony. She did her best to hold me upright; allowing me to catch my breath. “Tell me what happened.”
