Since entering the room Korbin hadn't heard the crying. But it started up again now. In fact, it sounded like Darin. Helena heard it too, and breathed in deeply, confused when she didn't catch Darin's scent. Korbin looked around slowly, feeling uneasy. So far, Lex was the only voice or apparition that was real. And of course he was forcefully reminded of the door in the kitchen, where he'd witnessed his image viciously bludgeoning first one, then two of his siblings into darkness. They hadn't been real either. And Helena knew of the spectral Razor which had led her astray. But Korbin couldn't ignore the sobs of his youngest brother.
"Darin?" he called nervously. Even as he said it a sense of dread filled him, causing him to panic somewhat. The choking sobs grew in volume and intensity until they were all he could hear. It got to the point that his eardrums were in agony and he prayed for things to be quiet again. And then they were. The sobbing stopped completely, leaving Korbin standing in silence. Somehow the quiet was worse than the screams. He shuddered, truly beginning to panic now. To be safe he recalled Helena, desiring to keep her out of harm. But before he could do anything else a searing pain tore through his skull and he was swallowed by darkness.
The first thing Korbin noticed when he began to regain consciousness was that he was in bed. Had it all been a dream? Perhaps he'd never entered the Chateau; perhaps he'd never met Azleyla; perhaps Samrin was alive. The thought was backed up by the fact that he wasn't wearing a shirt. Generally he slept in as little clothing as possible. But after a few seconds he realized that his hands were tied to the headboard of the bed, he was still wearing slacks and a belt, and his boots were still on. What, then, was happening? He tried to move his legs, but realized they were tied, too. At this point he began to feel very vulnerable and exposed, tied down spread eagled on a bed that he'd never even seen before. Was this the Chateau still? He looked to his right first, and found the expanse of the room before him. The floor was still hardwood, but the dust and splinters were gone. In fact, the floor was shining and highly polished. The cobwebs were gone from the corners and the walls were clean. But there was something missing… It took him a moment, but he realized that Mark wasn't anywhere to be found, and neither was his Sableye. Where could they be, then?
Korbin looked to his right and immediately screamed aloud. Apparently his wasn't the only bed in the room. Pushed next to his was another with someone else tied down much in the same fashion as he was. They were obviously male, as he could tell because they weren't wearing a shirt either, baring a skinny stark white torso ripped and torn with what appeared to be welts from a whip. His hair was cropped to medium length in the back and long in the front, falling over one blue eye. Rings glinted from his lip, septum, eyebrow, and the bridge of his nose. Strange, he looked exactly like…
Darin! Korbin's eyes widened and he screamed yet again, and began to struggle valiantly. Darin desperately needed his help. There were deep gouges all over his torso and forearms, welts from what he assumed to be a whip, bleeding bites that could easily be from a human mouth, and his eyes were staring vacantly back at Korbin, already glazing over. Even worse, there were rips in the flesh on either side of his mouth, starting from the corners of his lips, all the way up to the jawbone. The effect was that he appeared to be grinning in a terrible, macabre sense. Blood pooled on the pillow from the horrible rips in his face. Common sense dictated that Darin was gone. But Korbin couldn't just let him lie there. The handcuffs that kept him in place cut into his wrists and hurt his ankles as he strained against them, but he hardly felt it. The wood of the headboard actually began to creak a little before a velvety soft female voice filled Korbin's senses. As beautiful as it was, it was dripping with venom.
"Ah, I see that you have awoken. Do you see what I have done to Darin?"
Korbin gasped in horror at the dawning realization that he was completely vulnerable to the person who hadn't just murdered, but had massacred and violated his little brother. His fears were confirmed as she continued speaking.
"I intend to do the same to you, but first I intend to break you. I will show you what I did to Darin."
A dark figure loomed over Korbin. He was too petrified to struggle as it reached out an arm and brushed his forehead almost sweetly, like a lover. The last impression he had before his world faded to black was that of smoke caressing his skin. Almost immediately he saw color again, though not from his own eyes.
With a cold expression she surveyed the rows of hooks attached to the wall. They held the tools of her trade, everything from simple handcuffs, to whips, to chains, to cattle prods. Decisively she plucked four pairs of handcuffs from the hooks and turned, her eyes on the unconscious figure on the bed. A sadistic smirk curved her ruby red lips at the thought of what lay ahead. Her stiletto heels made a clicking sound as she crossed the room to the bed, a huntress approaching her prey. Rarely was she able to ravage someone so completely innocent as this boy. As best as she could tell, he'd never even been with a girl, and his thoughts were overall pure for a boy his age. He was as a delicacy to her.
When she was near enough she grasped one of his legs in her hand and clapped one side of the first pair of handcuffs around it. The other side, she clapped to the leg of the bed. She did the same with his other leg, and then trailed a hand up his leg to his hip, where she dug her nails in a little. He groaned, obviously enjoying it. Her smirk grew into a malicious grin. Good, she loved it when her victims turned out to be masochists. Pushing their limits was always first on her agenda before she shattered their sense of pain and pleasure, and always their sanity.
Since he hadn't regained consciousness yet, she could restrain him further. She continued to trail her hand up his body, over his torso clothed in a tight black tee, to his shoulders. His arms lay limply at his sides, making it easy to grasp them gently around the wrists and pull them above his head. In two swift movements she had them cuffed to the bedposts. With him well tied down she grabbed a handful of his hair and pulled it roughly, forcing his head back so that she could sink her teeth into his neck.
The sudden yelp he made caused her to grin inwardly in satisfaction. Though he was awake she didn't let go until she felt his skin give way and break. As she straightened up she flicked her tongue over the wounds, making him shudder in surprise and something else entirely. Wide blue eyes stared up at her as she stood over him, her entire countenance predatory and threatening.
"Hello, handsome," she said in a velvety tone. "I'm glad you're awake. You see, I've been looking forward to this for a long time." She bent down low again to breathe in his ear. "A very long time."
His chest started to move more rapidly in rhythm with his breath, like a frightened rabbit. "W-what are you going to do to me?" he stammered, chewing on his lip rings. The dark look on her face told him that he was either in for something wonderful, something horrible, or a mixture of both. Naturally, she wouldn't tell him anything. That would ruin the surprise. "Just lay still, relax, and enjoy," she said softly.
Now that he was awake she stalked to the other side of the room where the hooks were, well aware of his eyes on her. Laboriously, she caressed the handles of one whip at a time. First, the smallest, going up in size. When she heard him meep in either terror or excitement at the size she was considering she went one bigger and grasped the handle with one hand. With the other she discreetly picked up a small knife. She didn't want him to know she had it yet.
Eyes the size of saucers watched her as she returned to Darin's bedside. "Now, don't you dare lie still." Her eyes flashed dangerously, giving a hint as to the madness that lie within. "And scream."
Adrenaline coursing through her body, she brought the whip down with all her force. It made a vicious crack as it stung Darin's torso through his shirt and he squeaked in pain, squirming as much as the cuffs allowed him. To her intense satisfaction she noticed that the whip had actually cut through his shirt. However, she was far from pleased by the fact that he'd held back the scream she knew that had welled up in his throat by biting down hard on his lip. Expert with the whip, she flicked it and it encircled his neck several times, allowing her to pull roughly and force his head up. Slowly and viciously she licked the blood from his lip, then forced his head back down hard enough to make him lose his breath. Large, frightened eyes stared at her as she raised the whip again, but this time she brought it down on his face. He barely closed his eyes in time to avoid having them maimed or ruined. This time he moaned in pain and turned his face away from her as though that would protect it. She practically growled as she whipped him across the hips even harder. He screamed in earnest now and snapped his head back up, tears welling in his eyes.
"You don't look away from me," she hissed. "That will only make it worse for you."
He looked at her desperately, his chest heaving with barely contained sobs. She glared at him and sneered. "Don't be pathetic. And stop holding it in. If you're going to cry, cry."
Seeming to regain some of his nerve, Darin glared at her right back. "No, I won't, you sick tramp. I'm not about to give you the satisfaction." Just to infuriate her he grinned madly right back at her, his eyes glinting with reflected madness. He knew he was in grave danger, but he was going to go out laughing maniacally. In fact, that's what he started to do. Every time she whipped him, he giggled like a madman until his shirt was hanging in shreds and he was bleeding profusely from horrible welts all over his body.
She paced angrily for a moment or two, then turned back to Darin, her composure flooding back to her. "So you think you'll defy me, do you?" she said softly. Darin snapped to attention, suddenly alert to her calm tone. In his experience that couldn't be good. "Well, we'll see how that goes." She returned back to him and gripped the shreds of his shirt. In one swift pull they came loose and she discarded the ruins on the floor. Her cold eyes swept the length of his body, causing him to cringe nervously. "You know, I think you don't respect me yet. We could change that."
That was where the knife he hadn't seen her pick up came in. She slashed him across the chest without warning, causing him to flinch a little. But all the same he continued to laugh. He was weakening from all of the blood loss, but all the same he remained defiant. And she just couldn't have that. Furious, she pinned his head down with one hand, and gripped the knife in the other. For a moment fear flickered in his eyes but then he continued to laugh at her. That just added fuel to her flame. Her face contorted into a grimace of fury she slashed the blade from one side of his face to the other, tearing his flesh on either side of his lips. He didn't laugh now; he screamed in pure agony, which only made it hurt worse, which made him scream harder. He sobbed miserably.
It was her turn to laugh. She cackled psychotically and lashed him ceaselessly with the whip, then slashed him with the knife, then started again. With every new wound he howled in pain until finally his breathing grew more shallow. She eased her assault then to gentle cracks by the whip. When his eyes began to grow distant she stopped and climbed into bed next to him.
"Shh, darling, it'll all be over soon," she said sweetly. "Just relax and let the darkness take you."
Darin's lip trembled helplessly and tears streamed down his ruined face as he begged her with desperate eyes to help him. She traced the wounds on his chest gently with a forefinger and kissed his maimed lips. With one final whimper his body went limp and his heart ceased to beat.
Korbin screamed in horror as the image faded abruptly. He began to struggle more valiantly now, and once again he heard the bedposts creak from the strain. He was in hot water here, he knew, and if he didn't get away something horrible could happen. A quick glance to the side informed him that Darin was still there. After seeing the horrible method of death it was even worse for him to be there.
The same soft, psychotic laugh from the vision surrounded him and the dark figure dissolved, leaving a young woman in its place. She was beautiful, from what Korbin could see of her face. Dark hair hung in her face, obscuring everything of her eyes, nose, and cheekbones. Her body wasn't half bad either, as he could tell because she was wearing a practically skin tight black suit made of a material that, even as he was horrified for his life, made him want to feel of it. This led to horrible feelings of self loathing, guilt, and further interest. But he didn't have time to think it over. The woman in black approached him, her whip in her right hand. His heart began to thud erratically as she grew nearer. At any second he expected her to begin an assault like the one he had just seen her perform. But she stopped spontaneously and cocked her head as though she'd thought of something at the last minute.
"Before I kill you I guess I should tell you about myself. I am Lindsay Parker. I was a dominatrix, and a murderer. Shortly after the Old Chateau was abandoned I made it my business headquarters. I brought my clients here and murdered them. I was successful for about a month before my life ended. Until the afterlife began for me, I didn't know why I had died. As it turned out, my actions were beginning to tip the balance of power. The Shadow had me killed so that I would not become more powerful than it. A violent spirit that resides here gripped my heart and crushed it."
She paused, seemingly troubled by this fact. Korbin watched her carefully; in his experience when someone was upset about a past trauma they tended to take it out on the nearest, most vulnerable candidate, which happened to be him at the moment. But after a few seconds she seemed to come back down to earth and she began to speak again.
"After that I was forced to live under the Shadow's control, and I am only allowed to kill those that manage to get to this room, so that my growth to a demon is slowed. The Shadow does not want me to get stronger, for it wants to become the strongest spirit. Now that you know about me, it is time to die."
Korbin lay perfectly, stoically still as she raised the whip and brought it down full force. It caught him diagonally and he just raised an eyebrow at her, even though he was gritting his teeth and trying not to ball his hands into fists. "Come now, love, you can do better than that."
Miss Parker didn't like that. She sneered at him and whipped him again, but once again he only grinned. Infuriated by his lack of reaction, she lashed him again and again, each time drawing blood, but never so much as a groan from him. She got sloppy as she got angry, to Korbin's great pleasure. He would have the upper hand before long. All he had to do was remain stoic and unreactive.
It was working. Lindsay just got more angry, and as she got angry her lashes got harder but less accurate and sloppier. When his torso was ripped fairly to shreds and veins in his neck were standing out from trying not to scream she unlocked the cuff on his left hand and pushed his shoulder roughly. "Roll over, scum," she ordered.
An idea came to him as he turned halfway, giving her access to attack his back. His legs were still tied but that meant nothing to her. She didn't even seem to realize that he had one arm free. He allowed her to get in a few good lashes before quickly grabbing Helena's Luxury Ball from his pocket and throwing it at her. It hit her square between the eyes and Helena emerged in a flash of light.
It took the little Sneasel three seconds to realize that her master was in deep trouble. With some crazy woman standing over him and him handcuffed to a bed and bleeding from several wounds, things couldn't be right. She did a double take when she saw that Darin was cuffed next to Korbin, and brutally beaten and physically ruined. That couldn't be real, there was no way. But that wasn't the main concern at the moment. She needed to get Korbin out of there.
With a screech of fury Helena flew at Lindsay, her claws extended. At the last second ice crystals formed over her paws and she slammed these into the demented dominatrix, tearing her suit. "Hel, get me loose!" he called. She turned around and jumped onto the bed. She couldn't cut through the steel, but she could destroy the bedposts. Viciously she tore into the wood, splintering and cutting it quickly. With his other hand free Helena leapt to the ground and used Swagger on Lindsay. The dominatrix blinked, confused, and began to lash out with the whip. Where it struck it was hard enough to leave marks on the floor, but she couldn't seem to land a hit. That was good.
Helena made short work of the bedposts at the foot of the bed as quickly as possible. She was unable to do anything about the fact that the cuffs were still attached to his legs and wrist, but at least he could have a chance to escape.
As soon as Korbin stood up Lex took notice and roared with fury at the state of the body he wished to occupy. The roar was so furious that it reverberated through Korbin's mind, and obviously in Lindsay's as well, even though Helena couldn't hear it.
'What have you done, Parker?' Lex screamed. 'The Shadow will have your head for this! You're walking on thin ice already, I'll personally see to it that you'll be gone within the day.'
Korbin was even more unnerved than he had been before Lex spoke, but it worked. Lindsay shuddered and disappeared into darkness again. The illusion of Darin disappeared as well, and the entire aura of the room grew lighter. Korbin sighed deeply, finally letting his pain show through. A few choice curses echoed through the room. Helena watched him, concerned, but he smiled faintly to show her that he was alright.
"That was an experience."
Helena hissed at him, sort of her way for saying 'Don't scare me like that.' Korbin laughed, and began to survey the room more closely. The hooks with BDSM equipment were gone, as well as the second bed. Instead the room seemed to have shrunk, as well as the bed that was now destroyed from Helena's claws. Most notable was a small box hanging on the wall. Tentative but curious he approached the box and pried open the front panel.
Engraved in the wall behind the panel in writing that looked as though it had been done with a knife was a riddle that read,
'To crack the crust and find the Beast
You must explore the psycho's place of feast;
For once you find the key of red
You will get closer to the Lord of Dead.'
Korbin stared at it for a moment, utterly confused. The first part made some sense; the psycho was surely Lindsay. What was her place of feast? …the bed? He turned around and crossed the room back to it, nervous and afraid that something would happen to have him stuck again. But Helena was close to his heels the entire time, and she was a wonderful comfort. When he was close enough he lifted the mattress of the bed, but found nothing. Then he felt over the sheets, and again there was nothing. He was just about to assume he'd been wrong when he had an idea. He knelt down and lifted one of the legs of the bed. Lucky for him, he found a little red key. With the hand not attached to handcuffs he swiped the key out, then let the bed down again. Helena chattered at him, questioning. His best guess was that she was asking whether they could leave yet. He assumed that the answer was yes and crossed the room to the door. There was a keyhole in the knob, so he fit the teeth of the key into it and turned. To his immense relief it clicked effortlessly and the door swung open.
"Let's get the hell out," Korbin mumbled to Helena. She agreed with a squeak and jumped up onto his shoulder. It was then that he realized he was still missing his shirt. His entire face flushed red and he glanced back into the room, but he didn't want to go back and look for it for fear that he would be trapped again. Worse, though, he feared that Lex would show his temper again. It wouldn't be good to fear him, he knew, but he did.
'Good. You should,' Lex whispered solemnly.
