All she could see was fire and smoke, her breath caught as the horrible musk of debris and smoke curled around her nostrils, coughs rippled from her dry throat as the dark cloud of smoke surround her—choking her.
She could feel the flames march towards her, her lungs felt clogged and burned from the lack of oxygen, her throat itched from thirst.
Where was she?
The only person she thought of at the moment was Lila, she was the only one who could tell her what happened and how she had ended up here. "Lila.Lila." she called but was met with silence.
What was wrong? Lila had never ignored her before.
"Lila."
"Lila." She called her voice rising from panic but was still met with the cold silence. Her heart pounded in her chest. What happened to her? She peeled her eyes open and saw the fire curled around her—no way in and no way out.
She tried to scream for help, but her voice was swallowed by the cackling flames, the sound so haunting, it sent shivers down her spine. The flame kissed her ankle first, burning her. the pain sending her tumbling backwards.
She stumbled back as the flames closed in on her, threatening to devour anything in its path. She clasped her eyes shut, praying for the gods to come to her rescue even though she wanted to die...she didn't want to die yet. Her eyes flew open—it was all a dream.
Her heart banged. Loud and violent, the sound reaching her ears. She immediately reached for her ankle where the fire had burned her but saw nothing. Her skin was spotless as though the fire hadn't grazed her at all.
But she felt it, she felt the pain...how could a dream feel so realistic?
She exhaled sharply, clasping her chest tightly to calm her raging heart, her hands trembled as she remembered how the flame had felt against her skin. Her eyes scanned around the room as she tried to decipher where she was and how she got there.
An old bench, with worn out foam leaking out of it the walls were painted with dry blood stains and bright streaks of chalk with roman numerals etched on it, a small window in corner of the room with rusty bars, the morning sun peeking through it. A dusty bed with worn-out sheets, covered in cobwebs, barely held up by rusted chains.
A prison cell.
How did she get here?
All she remembered was being dragged to the coven by Caroline and her cohorts and also Lila coming out to fight for her.
"Lila." She gasped.
A light mumble erupted within her, Lila's pulse ringing in her ears, she drew a shaky breath. "I thought I'd lost you." She said, her voice trembling.
"Even at the point of death, I'll always be there for you." Lila assured, her voice soft and it warmed Seraph's heart. At least she has someone who cared for her and it made her determined to live and to punish those who had hurt her.
She dragged herself to the bed and sat on it, constantly adjusting and changing positions, since the bed felt uncomfortable which made her wonder what kinds of people had slept here before her—that was if they could even sleep. Calling this a bed would be blasphemy.
But that was the least of her problems, she had to get out here...quick.
Her mind raced with possible ways to escape this hell hole but was met with multiple dead ends which either led to her being captured again or killed. She knew it was only a matter of time before they came for her and probably ended her life.
The sounds of footsteps echoed in the hallway followed by the sound of mumbling and laughter. Seraph closed her eyes, pretending to be asleep, hoping they would probably let her be but no, of course they wouldn't let her be! She was Seraph—the outcast, the demon who lived among witches for years.
The sound footsteps increased until the men reached her cell and banged on the door with their swords waking her up from her "slumber."
The one who held the key, placed them in the key hole and pushed the creaking door open. They entered to the small cell and grabbed Seraph roughly by the arm.
She struggled but their grip only tightened. Then she did the only logical thing...she bit them. Well one of them and kicked the other in his groin. Her sharp teeth dug into the guard's skin and she slipped from his hold and kneed the other and their groans rang in the air.
"Stop her!" The one she kicked yelled, clutching his groin while the other ran after her.
She bolted across the hall, her footsteps echoed, the sound bouncing off the thickness of the walls. The wind blowing her hair. Her heart raced from the thrill. Quickening her stance—she ran without looking back.
She saw a door, a slight glimmer of hope flashed across her features. Maybe she could escape this—maybe she would survive this after all. She reached the door and was about to run off when she felt a sharp thud in her gut—the metallic liquid painted her lips, her vision blurred from hunger, exhaustion and pain.
"Got you." The man smirked, feeling accomplished as he threw her like a sac of food over his shoulders. The other two guards from earlier reached the spot and when they saw that the other guard had caught Seraph, they exhaled. Thanking the gods, because they knew what queen mother would do to them if the prisoner escaped.
The guard she had kicked followed closely behind the one carrying her, his face twisted with anger. He raised his hand and slapped her hard across the face. Her lips burst on impact, the taste of blood flooding her mouth. Shame, fury, and helplessness surged in her chest—but she refused to cry."That's what you get, you scumbag." He sneered, annoyance and anger written in his voice.
Yes, she was an outcast but she was still a lady, couldn't they at least be gentle with her.
They made their way to the courtyard with executioner waiting with an excited grin dancing on his lips. Finally after so long he gets to kill someone.
The people surrounding the pathway leading to the platform looked at Seraph with pity, she was a woman like them just... different and her she was suffering the consequences of her mother's mistake.
They knew nothing could save her now, especially since the queen mother had personally ordered for her death.
They reached the imposing podium made of termite-infested wood with dry stains of blood, testament of the countless murders that had been carried out on it. Their pitiful gazes boring into Seraph's skin. The guards threw her to the ground—She hit the ground hard, her body thudding like dead weight. Dust particles invading her nostrils—choking her.
"We should fight. We can't let them win Seraph—" Lila barked, her anger evident.
A dry sigh escaped Seraph's lips. "We can't, we're surrounded and if I let you fight... I'll probably lose you and I would rather die with you than to live without you—" She pleaded and Lila calmed understanding her point.
"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you master..." Lila apologised and Seraph smiled weakly. "You did your best Lila.... and I loved having you as my demon." She replied, her voice cracked from sadness and love.
They tied her down, her body wrapped around by a tightly knotted piece of rope restricting her movements, leaving only her head. They snapped her head downwards, the cold blade grazed her skin making blood spill from her neck.
Her eyes got moist. This was it
This was how Seraphina Ashbourne died...
Never would she had thought that this was the way she would end. Tied up and her head about to be chopped up in front of witches—the one creature she had come to despise the most.
She closed her eyes as she awaited the impending slash of the blade. The executioner raised his axe aiming for her neck with brutal force when smoke bombs filled the air, blinding him.
Seraph's eyes widened. Usually smoke would bother her but she could perfectly see through the cloud of smoke which made her wonder what it was.
The executioner was kicked off the podium by a person she didn't seem to know. He darted behind her, fingers flying to the knots—freeing her. "Let's get out of here!" He said and she nodded.
Running along with her saviour...