There was a shred of light, but I couldn’t tell where from. Somewhere on the right. It wasn’t a window or a bulb, but like…
Luminance seeping in from underneath a door. I focused on it, squinting, but all I could make out was the light.
Without thought, I shook against the restraints, trying to break my arms free. When they didn’t, I kicked my feet, groaning through the gag at the pain that sliced from my ankle up my leg.
My eyes shot that way. Red tainted the bottom of my jeans, puddling on the cement beneath me, only then realizing the rope around my feet was joined to the rope at my wrists. I tried to lower my face to my hands, thinking I could hook a finger under the gag to yank it down, but my chest caught where another rope held me in place, tethered to the wall, making it impossible to reach.
My heart pounded as I tried to scream through the gag, only creating a muffle.
“Shhh,” a voice sounded. “He’ll hear you.”
I looked that way, blinking, trying to see in the dark room.
“Just be quiet and do what he says,” she whispered. “He won’t hurt you if you do what he says.”
Misty.
I could hear her, but all I could make out was a vague shape in the corner in the dark room.
She’s alive.
Thank god, she’s alive.
I tried to maneuver my tongue through the gag to yank it down, but a pop sounded in my jaw, aching into my skull. It was tied too tight.
In flashes, it all began to come together.
I was driving.
I’d argued with Declan, and I was driving home. I’d made it about halfway there when my stomach started twisting. Thinking it was an anxiety attack, I pulled over, and I opened the door to puke. By the time I was done, my limbs felt weak, and I collapsed into the seat behind me, trying to level my thudding heart.
That must’ve been how I ended up here.
But just as it all came back, just as the haze faded, so did the obvious realization.
Teleport to Misty, grab her, and teleport home. Come back with a gun, and a knife, and send the cops.
Closing my eyes, I tried to let that familiar, vibrating sensation quake through me.
But nothing happened.
My brows dropped.
I tried again, only to stay in place.
“I’m tied up too,” Misty whispered. “I’d get your gag off if I wasn’t. But maybe when he comes in later to let us pee, he’ll take it off.”
No, he wouldn’t.
If I couldn’t teleport, there was only one reason why.
Morion.
It was a black stone Guardians avoided like criminals avoided cops. Like kryptonite weakened Superman, morion dulled our abilities. It didn’t make us sick, but it grounded our abilities, like cutting off an electrical line to a house. Won’t hurt the appliances, but renders them utterly useless.
It worked on Guardians, but had no effect on any other race. That was why there was a gag around my lips. They could keep me from teleporting, but not from casting a spell.
“It… it hurts, but I don’t think he’s trying to kill us,” she whispered. “He’s really strong though, so when he does it, try to sit still. You… you can’t fight him. He’ll win.”