Climbing each step felt like scaling a steep mountain. Lorelei’s ribs flared with pain every time she took a breath. Her mind was hazy and her ears still rang like church bells as she was dragged to the upper floor by Simone’s thug. A door opened and closed. Then the man hurled Lorelei into a room and left her lying on the floor. At least this time there was a carpet between her and the coarse wooden planks that cushioned the fall.

Lorelei remained still, trying to organize the information coming from her confused senses. In short succession, she had gone from the darkness of the basement through the light of the entrance hall, to what looked like a spacious bedroom. With the curtains almost completely closed, everything was drowned in twilight. Several candles flickered in heavy candelabras but only made the shadows deeper instead of driving them away. From what little Lorelei’s eyes could distinguish, the room was filled with the shapes of furniture, the central piece being a large bed with a heavy brocade canopy carried by spiral-carved poles.

This dim and secretive atmosphere was extremely uncanny, but what made Lorelei’s heart truly race with fear was the smell lingering in the air. Her gaze quickly drifted around until it fell on a small incense burner hanging from one of the walls. Another one was put on a low table directly at the head of the bed.

Someone was burning love-herbs!

Lorelei recognized the scent of sandalwood and opium that mixed with the muskiness of human sweat. Her eyes widened and she tried to still her breathing to avoid inhaling the sweet, traitorous fumes. Unfortunately, it was too late. The woman felt her body becoming hot and even more sluggish. A strange warmth burned in the pit of her stomach as a sense of calmness started to envelop her. No! She had to focus her drifting thoughts. She could not let her guard down. Not now and especially not here!

Gritting her teeth, Lorelei tried to pull herself up and at that moment realized that there was a dark figure casually sitting at the end of the bed. It was a lean man. A loose robe covered his shoulders but beneath its folds peaked the bare skin of an immaculately shaped body. Half-hidden in the shadows of the canopy, the man’s features were heavily obscured. Still, Lorelei could feel his invisible eyes wandering over her and it made her shudder. Then he leaned forward and a gasp escaped her lips. A silver mask in the likeness of a demon covered the man’s face. In the flickering light of the candles, the grooves and swirls of the metal made it look like a real creature of darkness had ascended from the nether-realms.

The intense gaze coming from between the eye-slits of the mask was akin to a snake’s – mesmerizing and binding its victim. Lorelei winced. Her stomach twisted in fear despite the calming effects of the incense. In an involuntary spasm, her fingers dug into the carpet.

‘Run!’ her instincts screamed. ‘He is dangerous!’

She tried to crawl farther away from him but it was futile.

The man graciously stood up and took a stride which led him right before his fleeing prey, his cat-like footsteps silenced completely by the thick rug. He squatted down, coming so close to her that Lorelei could see the beads of sweat gleaming on his bare chest. The thick musky smell of an animal, mixed with the sweet fragrance of the aphrodisiac, assaulted her nose again, this time even stronger. A hand that looked pearl-white in the dimness stretched out and brushed off the hair from Lorelei’s face in an almost gentle manner. The man’s slender fingers traced the curve of her jaw, carefully caressing her bruised cheek.

“Your men have overdone it, Simone,” his muffled voice came from behind the mask. Its tone sounded familiar in Lorelei’s ears. This was the man that had called for her a moment ago.

“She tried to escape and hurt some guards, master Argente,” Simone glided by and stood by the man’s side. “We had no choice but to subdue her.”

“Our turgan friend won’t be too happy about this. He wanted to break her in himself. Well, the damage is already done.”

As he was talking, the man’s hand slid down her neck. Lorelei was petrified. Fear and disgust bubbled in her chest. This seemingly gentle touch reminded her of Ronan. Of his dirty hands over her body. Of his heavy breaths over her skin. She knew what was going to follow. But this time Noah wasn’t there to save her.

“You are suddenly so quiet, dear duchess,” there was mocking in the man’s tone. “I expected you to scream, fight, ask me why I’m doing this to you.”

“A-and you would have answered?” Lorelei tried to quell the terror in her heart and make her voice stop shaking. Her situation was desperate anyway, so no matter what, she wouldn’t give him the pleasure to taunt her. She forced herself to smile, despite her torn lip. “No need. I know why you are doing this anyway.”

“Really?! Pray tell.”

“You are giving me to the leader of the Red Hands.” Lorelei stiffened as the masked man’s hand traced her collarbone. “After he has his way with me, he can send me back to the duke as a symbol of his victory. Dead or alive, it does not matter. He would be the one who had defiled the wife of the Beast of Norden, tarnishing the duke’s reputation.”

“What a calm assessment.” The man sounded surprised. His fingers returned to her face, lifting her chin up a bit. “I am starting to like you, duchess. Such a shame that I have to give you away. If it was an ordinary turgan, I might have reconsidered our deal and kept you for myself. Alas, he could put a curse on me and seven generations of my offspring.”

Despite his words, the man’s thumb brushed over Lorelei’s lips, making her jolt. He leaned in even closer so that the strands of his dark hair touched her cheek and filled her nose with the unusual scent of herbs and walnuts. Lorelei could now feel his other hand crawling over her back. His whisper, distorted by the mask, reached her ear.

“But playing around with you for a bit won’t be an issue. The turgan never expected a virgin to begin with, lady Norden.”

He was so close that Lorelei could feel his arousal pressing against her through the layers of clothing. Her limbs grew cold. She tried to struggle free but the man pinned her on the ground with his body. The thumb that was caressing her lips became rougher and bolder, trying to pry her mouth open.

Something snapped in Lorelei’s mind.

Without giving out a sound, she sunk her teeth in the man’s hand.

A painful scream echoed in the room. The man tried to jump back but Lorelei didn’t let go and soon her mouth was filled with the salty metallic taste of blood. Only when the fist of the thug Bigs landed in the pit of her stomach did she let go, coughing bile and blood and struggling for air.

“Lord Argente!” Simone jumped forward, hurriedly tearing a piece of her gown and binding the man’s bleeding finger.

“You mangy mutt!” The man howled, pressing his injured hand to his chest. “You’ll regret this!”

“Touch… me… again,” heaved Lorelei, “and I’ll bite… your thumb off! Next… will be that precious… manhood of yours!”

With a scream, Simone lunged at the young woman who curled up to protect herself from the onslaught of kicks and punches. In a distant corner of her mind, Lorelei thought that she won’t be able to hold on much longer. But that was good. Better die here with her honor intact than become the plaything of some twisted creatures.

Just then, the barrage of fists stopped. Someone yanked at her collar and then she heard Simone’s panting voice.

“What the hell is this!? It’s glowing!”

With some difficulty, Lorelei parted her eyelids and saw a little white amulet in the other woman’s hand. But right now, the whole twin-drop was engulfed in a red glow that illuminated the room like a miniature bloody sun.

“Bigs, bring the shaman here!” The still shaking man squeezed the order through his teeth.

“B-but… he ish shtill recuperating after…”

“I don’t give a damn! This reeks of binshi magic. Bring. Me. The. Binshi. Now!”

Lorelei felt her consciousness drifting away. She blacked out for a couple of seconds. When she came to again, there was another person in the room – a short, willowy man with sunken eyes and the snow-white hair of a full-blooded binshi. There was something strange in him that Lorelei’s muddled senses could not exactly pinpoint. But that was not important. The important thing was that her glowing amulet was dangling from his hand.

“T-this is bad! Oh, this is very bad!” The shaman’s voice quivered as he moved the little piece of glass between his fingers. “A connection was established. Impossible! There is a one in thousand chance of this happening for a limerian.”

“Meaning what?” Simone sounded pissed.

“That my decoys were all for naught. Whoever carries the other half of the twin-drop can trace it back here! Damn! I never thought that limerian monster could be this shrewd and lucky.”

“Can’t we destroy it?” The masked man was starting to calm down a bit.

“It won’t help. It is already too late. The duke’s men could be knocking on our door any minute now.”

“Then prepare to move out.”

The masked man exited Lorelei’s field of vision but continued to speak.

“Leave all the merchandise here and torch the place. We will exit through the tunnel.”

“Lord Argente, let me help you with your shirt.” Simone ran after him.

“And what about this one?” The shaman threw a side glance at Lorelei.

“We are taking her with us. Capturing her was too much trouble anyway, so we need a payout for the investment. Besides, your turgan expects a delivery.”

“Kush-turgan…” mumbled the binsh but then his voice rose up. “Master Argente, I believe that the other half of the twin-drop is in the possession of none other than duke Norden.”

“And?”

“We can use this to our advantage and get rid of him once and for all. You see, I have a plan…”

“Cut the crap and state your point!”

“Y-yes…” The shaman gulped. “There is a hex that creates illusions. It is weak and a strong-willed person or a powerful shaman could see trough it given enough time. But if I combine it with the connection the twin-drops share it could fool our enemy just long enough. A dagger to the heart takes only an instant.”

The silence that followed lasted no more than a second.

“Alright. What do you need?”

“Hair and blood from the duchess, so that I can fool the other twin-drop that she is still the one carrying it. And also, a person to take her place. Preferably a woman since that way the hex will take less energy.”

“We can take one of the whores,” said Simone and the cheer in her voice was obvious.

“No.” The masked man’s words were cold. “You will do it, Simone.”

“W-what? B-but lord Argente…”

“You’ve made one too many mistakes this time, my dear. I need to reassess your worth.”

“You are sending me to my death!”

“Enough. It was your and your people’s negligence that created this mess. It’s time to take responsibility. You know where the secret door to the tunnel is. If you are fast enough after you finish, there is a chance to get away.”

“No, please, master!”

“Choose, Simone. Either you stay and have a chance to rejoin me later, or you die here on the spot.”

“A-as you command, master…”

The tension was palpable. Lorelei was careful to remain perfectly still as to not attract their attention. But on the inside, she was screaming. Noah was in danger! They were going to trick and murder him and there was no way for her to prevent it! In her mind, a thousand thoughts were flying like a flock of birds. There was no way out. No way she could warn him. No way she could stop these people. Maybe if she kept fighting long enough, the shaman wouldn’t be able to finish the ritual?

As if guessing her thoughts, Bigs the thug straddled her, pinning her hands on both sides of her head.

“No running around dish time, bish!” The glee in his voice hurt Lorelei more than the weight crushing her body.

Right at that time, a terrible howl came from outside the window. It was the bone-chilling cry of something not really alive.

“Damn! They are here!” the shaman cursed and lunged towards Lorelei with a knife in his hand. “My drals will keep them occupied for a couple more minutes.”

“Then stop yapping and start doing your magic!” the masked man barked.

“NO!” Lorelei screamed at the top of her lungs, trying to wriggle out of the thug’s iron grip. “NOAH!”