Chapter 331: Torment In the Cell
The clank of the boots echoed down the corridor long before the torchlight reached their cell. Scarlet, who was sleeping beside Inez, stiffened. She whipped her head and turned to look at her sister. She knew that these guards were no romantic lovers. They would never pursue, nor would they charm a woman into submission. They only knew one way to make a woman submit. Though submission.
Inez closed her eyes, knowing what was coming for her; she braced herself.
Gilderoy came to a stop in front of their cell, grinning through the bars.
"Time to play," the guard sneered, twirling the keys on his finger.
He placed the key in the lock, which swung open. The metal door creaked and groaned as Gilderoy stepped inside; his lips were hooked up in a sinister smile as he walked over to where Inez was sitting. His rough hand reached out and knotted locks of Inez’s hair before dragging her to the centre of the torture chamber built at the end of the prison. Chains rattled, and Inez winced in pain.
"Let her go!" Scarlet lunged at the guard, her heart burning with pain and concern when she saw the guard degrade her sister in such a manner. But the restraints on her wrists had weakened her considerably. Bringing her to the same level as that of a human. And that was why Gilderoy didn’t fear her. He sneered when he saw her attempt to rescue her sister, finding her cute.
"You are like a tramp; words are wasted on you," he mused, raising his foot and kicking Scarlet in the stomach.
"Scar!" Inez cried out, but her words were cut short when Gilderoy tugged at her hair. Her hands reached out instinctively as she tried to pull her hair away from his fingers, but the man’s grip was like a vice; no matter how hard she struggled, Gilderoy didn’t let go of her. She knew that if they wanted to escape, this was necessary, but the pain that came with the plan was something that Inez could never find welcoming.
He pulled Inez to the torment area and forced her to her knees. Tying her hands with the iron chains, he murmured, "Such fragile little things."
The cold iron dug into Inez’s skin, and she closed her eyes, trying to ease and smooth her breathing. However, her breathing cruddled when the first strike of the whip came lashing across her skin. Fire split her skin, and Inez bit her lower lip to stop herself from screaming. The pain was indescribable, and the familiar burn on her skin told her that the whip had been coated with wolfsbane.
Another strike followed, harder and meaner. All to break her, but Inez held on. She had been used to this kind of pain; she could withstand it with her eyes closed. So that was what she did. Even when panic surged past her heart and clawed at her throat, screams continued to build but were silenced just as they reached her lips.
Her muffled screams of pain echoed in her ears while the prisoners enjoyed the sight of her getting whipped.
"Leave her alone!" Scarlet’s voice echoed in the cell, desperate and helpless. But she couldn’t rush and attack Gilderoy, as another guard who followed Gilderoy had pinned her to the floor of the cell.
The guards ignored Scarlet. "She must be a trained killer. Look at the whip marks; the person who sent her to assassinate Luna Lola must have trained her quite well. Look at her silence; even after getting whipped to this point, she has not shed a single tear."
Gilderoy had noticed it too. When he came to the cell, he imagined the woman breaking down and crumbling at his feet. Begging him to take her rather than use the whip on her.
But the woman stayed silent, not saying a word nor crying out.
He narrowed his eyes, picking up the heated iron that the guard behind him had handed to him. Bringing it to Inez’s arm, he let the burning hot iron press against Inez’s skin lightly, just enough to let the burning flesh fill the cell.
Inez choked on another cry while Scarlet let out another screaming ’no’.
"Looks like we have something interesting in our hands. Unless she gives us the name of the person who appointed her to kill Luna Lola... I will keep whipping her till then. Let’s see how she will not tell us the truth. Since this proud woman wants to play like this, I will certainly fulfil her wish." He knotted Inez’s hair into his fist and pulled her head up. "You’d better learn to speak by the time I come back. Those pretty lips better be singing the name of the person who hired you, or else I will make you sing in agony all night long."
Inez raised her head and looked at the guard. Her blood was thrumming. Carrying the same resonance that had once thrummed within her father’s veins. So, when Gilderoy dropped his gaze and looked Inez in the eye, he noticed her eyes glimmering faintly with an otherworldly light that he couldn’t quite catch. It was just for a second, but Gilderoy still caught it.
The light flickered out as fast as it had come, but Gilderoy still felt uneasy.
The hand that was raised in the air dropped on his side. The whip clashed against the floor, making a harsh sound.
"Let her bleed. We will come back when she remembers the name of the person who had hired her," said Gilderoy. His eyes once again found Inez’s, but when he didn’t see the light in her eyes, he frowned while staring at her with that assessing gaze of his. Maybe he was imagining it?
Inez dropped to the floor when the guards undid the restraints that were tied around her wrists. Slumping like a sagged sack, rolling down.
The door closed shut as the guards headed out of the cell, and Inez closed her eyes and heaved a sigh of relief as she heard the sound of footsteps fading away.