They dragged her all the way from the alley they had finally captured her in. To this walled estate he used as a safe house. Two giant burly men almost tore her arms out as they half dragged, half lifted her through the gates, the gardens, the door.
Despite her injuries, despite the fact her powers were chained, she fought with every ounce of strength she had left. The terror raged through her body like hot acid. She tried to jerk free, to claw at an arm, to bite a hand. But the men carrying her did not pause. The grim determination on their faces held, they would finish this job and deliver their charge. They did not even look at her. If she would have had access to her powers, she could have blasted them through the wall, she could have blinded their senses, she could have... No use.
She caught her first glimpse of him as they entered through the huge double doors of the mansion. She saw him stand in some absurdly fancy reception hall. He probably loved the theatrics of the decor. Had planned it this way. If she could get free now, maybe she still had a chance. With a last resort of strength, she spasmed with her entire body to try to get her knee to connect with the groin of one of her captors. He deflected her attempt with a graceful ease and put extra pressure on the shoulder joint he had in a vice like grip. If the pressure increased by a hair, she was sure it would pop right out of its socket. The bastards did not even break their stride. Until finally they stood still, a couple of meters in front of the man she had hoped to never see again.
She trembled from the effort of her escapes, from the fear of seeing this man so close, from feeling his control. She had sensed it blocks away, before the attack even came. But this close, his aura of control rolled over her like a thick fog. She remembered the sensations that came with it and almost got sick with the fear of what it meant. He had her. All the things he threatened her with if he would capture her again, he could execute. All the times she taunted him, refused and belittled him reeled through her mind in quick succession. She knew he would remember all of them and make her pay.
His eyes bored into hers with such intensity she could feel him drink in every aspect of her. His stance exuded victory, the corner of his mouth turned slightly upward in a way that made her skin crawl. He could see her fear and was relishing every moment of it.
With a great effort of will she tried to push down her terror, force it to a corner of her mind, to not give him the satisfaction.
"Nessa," he said softly. His tone could almost be thought of as kind, but the malice in his eyes belied the gentleness of his voice. "How lovely to see you," he said with a mock smile. "You gave my men quite the challenge, even blocked as you are. Whatever have you been up to in our time apart? Krav Maga?"
The goons holding her did indeed look worse for wear. One had a bleeding gash from his ear to the back of his neck, and the other had an eye that was already almost completely shut from the swelling. She herself was covered in bruises as well. All her fighting lessons had paid off some, if not enough.
"Why don't you make them release me and I'll show you. You disgusting prick!" she spat.
"Now, now Nessa, no need to be rude just yet. But if you insist." He nodded at the men, and they released her so quickly she almost fell to the floor. "Do show me what you learned."
She reached into her boot where her last knife was stored and fueled by fear and hatred, she tried to attack him with everything she had. Tried.
She had known it was pointless as soon as she felt his strength again, but to not try would be to admit defeat. And she would never do that. She had hoped her training would have made her more resilient. She had worked so hard at the exercises that were meant to arm her against his influence. She felt the familiar fog of his control grow thicker and thicker and although she managed to take a step towards him, knife raised, she could not take another. However much she willed her body to lunge she grinded to a complete halt still paces away from him.
"Oh Nessa," he almost purred with a confident smile. "You should know better than that. Have you forgotten all the manners I taught you? No matter, I will take great enjoyment in teaching you again."
With that he strode towards her, while she still stood frozen, knife raised and stopped inches away from her face. It was then that he whispered the words that haunted her every nightmare when she had escaped. "Kneel, Nessa."
