"AHHH!"
"Why are you doing this?"
Screams echoed around the room.
A knife was pointed towards Gabriel's left leg.
The hole was still throbbing in pain in his right leg where the blade had just plunged into it. He was desperately trying to figure out what had happened and how he had ended up here.
A dirty man, of average height, who is no older than 30, with a beard covering the whole of his jawline and a scar running from his eyebrow all the way to his lip, was smiling at Gabriel, using his teeth.
"Tell me what you heard, and what you saw", the man snarled "Tell me now, or you won't see or hear again".
Gabriel, in a panicked frenzy, tried to stand up from the chair he was chained to. He completely forgot about the iron shackles used to secure him to the chair, trying to muster all the strength he could.
Finally, realising his helpless situation, Gabriel slumped back defeated.
"I don't know what you want. I've seen lots of things, heard lots of things"
The dirty, bearded man clenched his fist around the knife and threw it towards the young boy. The force of the punch knocked both him and the chair over.
The man signalled to his comrade, who had been sitting in the corner of the filthy prayer room silently this whole time, staring at Gabriel with a blank expression, showing no emotion whilst watching a 15-year-old boy be tortured, to pick up Gabriel.
The second man stood up and walked over, towering over Gabriel as he lay on the floor, still sitting in his chair. He grabbed the child and yanked him back upright.
The boy spat out the blood that had collected in his mouth. Gabriel tried to ask why, but only muffled sounds escaped. He was unable to talk, the dirty man had broken his jaw.
"Pull his head back and open his mouth"
Gabriel quivered as he glanced at the man who had been sitting there blankly watching him be tortured. He didn't notice when he had picked him up, but looking at him, this man stood at nearly 2.5 metres. His monstrous height and boulder-like body were mismatched with his blonde hair, soft eyes and young-looking face.
A thought flashed through Gabriel's mind and slipped out of his mouth.
"O, O Ogre", Gabriel mumbled, shocked
"Ogres are extinct", the words were barely audible
The "Ogre" put one of his hands, which was the size of Gabriel's head, on the top of Gabriel's forehead and yanked it back with force. The other hand, he stuck it in Gabriel's mouth and forced it open.
Snap!
Intense pain shot through Gabriel's face. He began screaming, but his screams were muffled due to the extensive break in his jaw and the giant's hand still in his mouth.
The Dirty man began laughing. "They don't like to be called Ogres, they are Giants" The dirty man looked at Gabriel. He didn't have a knife in his hand anymore, it seemed to have vanished. Instead, he had a little glass bottle filled with an emerald green liquid.
He poured the contents of the bottle into Gabriel's mouth. Just as the last of the liquid emptied, the "Giant's" hand moved to the bottom of Gabriel's Jaw and forced it shut.
The intense pain in Gabriel's mouth had spread all the way to his temple.
"Swallow", a deep growl echoed all through the basement.
As he began to swallow, the "Giant" turned and sat back in the corner with the same blank expression on his face.
Gabriel, still shaking from the pain, was on the verge of passing out when he felt a strange warmth take away all his pain. It was like he was being embraced by one of the seven Archangels still left in this world.
He closed his eyes and, for a moment felt nothing but bliss and happiness.
Smack!
The Dirty Man, again with a clenched fist, struck Gabriel in the side of his face.
This hit wasn't as hard as the previous, it only stung the young Paladin a little.
"Wake up", the dirty man half shouted.
"What did you just give me?" Gabriel shouted, Puzzled.
"A Secret." He replied, grinning. "Now I'm going to ask you one more time. What did you see and what did you hear? Think about it, because this knife will be going into your neck if you don't answer."
Gabriel blinked hard, scanning the man's empty hands. His stomach was twisting. Where had the knife gone?
He was staring intently at the man's hands, then out of nowhere, the knife appeared.
Gabriel was accustomed to magic, as he was studying to become a Paladin, one of the prerequisites to join the Paladin order was being able to use magic. But this type of magic he had never seen before.
A wordless cast. The thought flashed in his mind for a brief second
Smack!
Another sharp hit to the side of Gabriel's face. Shocking him back to the reality of the situation he was in.
"Answer me now"
The dirty man's tone changed. His green eyes began to turn a ruby red.
Bang! Bang! Bang! The door to the basement was hammered from the outside.
"Sir, the Commander, wants to see you"
The Giant instantly stood up. The dirty man shouted back. "I'm busy, the kids breaking".
"Sir, the commander is sending Ariya to finish the questioning. He has an urgent task for you and Dannis"
The dirty man turned his back to Gabriel, walking towards the door. Before reaching it, he turned his head slightly towards Gabriel.
"You should've told me kid"
The "Giant" stood there frozen. Staring at Gabriel. His blank expression now changed. Gabriel couldn't tell what emotion he was showing. Was it pity? Maybe even a slight bit of fear. He bowed slightly and tapped his heart with his index and middle fingers twice.
This is a sign that those who follow the Archangels use as a greeting or departing when meeting others from the same church. It also has another use. To show respect to the dead.
"Dannis, let's go"
Thoughts again began to race through Gabriel's mind. Why did the Giant's expression change to pity? Wait, was it pity? Why was he Scared?
Who is coming?
The "Giant" began walking towards the door. His footsteps thudded through the basement.
The door closed behind him.
It was dead silent.
Tap, Tap, Tap,
Gabriel began hearing Light footsteps. As they got closer, he began hearing a gentle humming.
The footsteps and the humming got louder and louder. As they got closer, the sound seemed to calm him.
He had stopped shaking. He wasn't afraid anymore.
Finally, the tapping and humming got right outside the door and stopped.
The door opened, and standing there was a young woman no older than 20, she stood there with long pitch-black hair and illuminating purple eyes. She was no bigger than Gabriel. holding a jug and a cup.
He had to blink twice, he thought he was dreaming. He had never seen a woman as beautiful as this young lady.
The woman glanced at Gabriel with a smile and said in a soft, gentle voice, "My name is Ariya. I hope you don't mind, but I'll be asking you some questions."
Gabriel was still shocked. He didn't understand what was happening. From the reaction of the "Giant" Dannis and the dirty man, he was expecting someone truly wicked-looking to walk through the door. Yet it was the beautiful lady with a soft and gentle voice.
"Yes".
Gabriel mustered up his voice.
"First, would you like a drink of water?" Ariya quizzed.
Gabriel hadn't noticed it before, but the back of his throat was so dry that it felt like it was going to close itself off.
"Yes", Gabriel retorted before Ariya had even finished her sentence.
After pouring some water from the jug into the cup and helping Gabriel drink by pouring it softly into his mouth, Ariya whispered into Gabriel's ear, "Do you know why you're here?"
She gently retreated behind Gabriel.
"No", Gabriel Said. His breath came in sharp, uneven gasps. The iron shackles rattled as his hands trembled against them.
"That's okay", Ariya spoke whilst unshackling Gabriel from the chair. "I need you to remain seated whilst we talk" Walking back around to the front of Gabriel, no more than two feet away.
A thought came to his mind. I can escape, she's left the door open, and I can overpower her. My hands a free. Just as he finished his thought.
He froze, his body wouldn't obey him
He looked up at Ariya, her eyes had changed to a dark red. Her hair had stretched out to the sides, and her face had become pale with veins bulging out from under her eyes all the way down her cheek. She stretched out her arm and placed it on his chest.
"This is for your own good", she hissed.
Her soft voice turned almost ethereal. It sounded like one of the wraiths that Gabriel had seen whilst out on hunts with his teachers.
Boom!
He flew backwards into the wall.
Chains reached out from either side of the basement by themselves and wrapped around his arms. Tightening and stretching them out.
Gabriel began coughing up blood. He was staring at Ariya, who was now 10 metres away. He blinked. Ariya was standing right in front of him, holding two short swords.
Ariya smiled as she thrust both swords towards Gabriel's hands. One to his left and one to his right.
"AHHHH!" Gabriel screamed out.
There was a boom from the swords impaling Gabriel's hands into the brick walls of the basement. She had used such force that it felt like the wall was going to come down.
She then ripped the long tunic he was wearing open and placed her child-like hand outstretched in the centre of his chest.
Ariya muttered something. Gabriel couldn't make out. Due to the pain, his mind went blank. The words coming from her mouth sounded distant, muffled, like he was underwater.
A red smoke enveloped his chest.
The air felt thick.
This wasn't any magic he had seen before or even the divine magic he had heard about. This was sinister magic. Forbidden magic.