Page 57 of Taken By The Dark Three
I exhale in dark satisfaction, stepping closer so the bed’s edge grazes my leg. “Yes, little purna. This time, I’ll ensure you beg.” With a thought, I reinforce the snare, feeling her mentalpresence recoil beneath the intangible net. She tenses, eyes narrowing.
Yet something about her calm rouses my caution. She’s not panicked. My power might be strong, but she’s cunning. I push harder, forging a direct psionic link. Our minds brush. She gasps at the sudden mental contact, but I sense her gathering defenses. I muster more power, pressing deeper until the room fades and the mental plane forms around us—a swirling darkness lit by violet arcs of psionic energy.
In this shared psychic space, our bodies are mere constructs of thought. I stand as a looming shape, arcs of gold flickering across my limbs. She’s crouched a few paces away, dark energy rippling around her figure. No illusions—no meltdown—just raw mental might. I grin viciously. “We have no prying eyes here, little witch. Surrender now and spare yourself the agony.”
She laughs, the sound echoing in the swirling darkness. “You forget how we parted last time. I drove you to your knees. Do you truly want a repeat?”
My fury ignites. “You caught me off guard. Tonight, I’m prepared.” I lash out, sending a bolt of psionic force slamming into her mental form. She staggers, a ragged gasp ripping through the void. My lips pull in a triumphant snarl. “Submit, and perhaps I’ll make this painless.”
Her eyes flare with anger. “Never.” She lurches upright, forging a twisting barrier of black and violet arcs. The next time I fling a mental bolt, she deflects it. Sparks fly, lighting up the psychic plane in flashes of harsh brilliance. I grunt, forced to brace as her counterstrike hammers my defenses.
We circle each other, crackles of energy dancing around our conjured shapes. My heart thuds with adrenaline. This is the purest expression of my House’s legacy—psionic combat waged in the mind’s realm. I’ve never lost, yet she stands defiant. Myjaw clenches. I lunge, sending a barrage of slicing mental shards, each designed to shred her consciousness.
She weaves aside, though a few shards graze her. I see her flinch, the flicker of pain rippling across her mental aura. But she recovers, retaliating with a wave of dark tendrils that try to coil around me. I grin, forging a shield that fractures them.
In the physical world, seconds pass, but here it feels like an eternity of clashing energies. I press relentlessly, forcing her backward with a storm of psionic darts. She braces, grimacing, forced into a corner of the swirling void. “You can’t match my mastery,” I hiss, driving each assault deeper. “Beg me to stop, and I might spare you the humiliation.”
Her eyes burn with defiance. “You talk of humiliation? Let’s see how smug you are when I tear you open.”
A wave of raw power surges from her, a cascade of black lightning that crackles across my shield. I snarl, feeling the blow rattle my mental defenses, but I hold firm. She hammers again, each strike intensifying. For a breath, I sense a wavering in her aura—she can’t keep this up. So I push, launching a final, concentrated spear of psionic force.
She braces, eyes wide. The spear impacts her mental shape, and she staggers. I seize the opening, weaving invisible chains around her. Her aura flickers dangerously, but I tighten my hold. Her presence convulses, pinned by my mental shackles. “At last,” I murmur, voice echoing with sadistic glee. “I have you. Now kneel, or I’ll rip your mind apart one memory at a time.”
She pants, aura flickering. In a strangled voice, she mutters, “Damn you… not like this…”
I relish the moment, stepping closer in the swirling darkness. “Perhaps I’ll enslave you fully, so every breath you take depends on my whim. Did you enjoy mocking me at the gala? Here’s your reward.”
Her eyes blaze, but she can’t break free. My grin stretches, triumphant. Then a faint shift stirs in the darkness behind her. My sense prickles—something is off. Her aura pulses, as though drawing from a hidden reservoir. A sickening chill grips me. “No,” I hiss, launching another spear of force, trying to quell her last spark of resistance.
Too late. She roars, unleashing a shockwave that snaps my chains. My mental shape reels, stunned by her sudden surge. Fear knifes through me—how is she mustering so much power? She capitalizes on my brief disarray, lashing out with a savage bolt that slams into my defenses. Pain explodes behind my eyes, forcing me to drop to one knee in the psychic plane.
I snarl, struggling to regain control, but she’s on me, conjuring jagged arcs of black energy that slash at my aura. My shield fractures under the onslaught. Panic flares. I grit my teeth, launching a desperate counterstrike. She deflects it with scornful ease, pressing forward. My heart pounds in alarm—this is impossible. No one has bested my House’s psionic mastery. Yet here I am, wavering.
She closes the gap, dark lightning crackling at her fingertips. “You want me broken?” she snarls, eyes alight with fury. “Then you should’ve struck deeper before you gave me time to recover.” She slams a wave of force into me, and I stumble back, agony ripping through my mind.
My pride screeches in protest, but I can’t hold out. Another wave batters my mental shape, shattering my last shield. My aura flickers, sparks raining from me. I collapse onto the swirling void’s floor, chest heaving, head spinning. She stands above me, triumphant, her aura crackling with raw power.
“Beg,” she whispers, voice echoing with merciless undertones. “You threatened to enslave me. Now see how it feels.”
Sweat and dread course through me, even in this intangible space. My mental shape trembles under her hold. I try to muster a final strike, but my energy fizzles. Pain lances behind my eyes as she tightens her mental grip, a phantom pressure that crushes me from all sides. My breath catches in a ragged sob.
I hiss, “I… refuse…” But she twists her hold, sending fresh agony tearing through my psyche. My vision sparks red. The humiliation is unbearable, yet the torment is worse. My control unravels, leaving me raw and vulnerable. “Stop,” I gasp, mind teetering on the edge of oblivion.
She crouches before me, eyes glowing in the darkness. “You told me I’d beg,” she whispers, lethal satisfaction dripping from each word. “How quickly the tables turn. Submit, or I drive you deeper into torment.”
My chest tightens. The pain intensifies. I know she can shred my mind if she wishes. Fear wars with fury in my gut, but survival eclipses pride. My voice breaks. “I beg you…” The words taste like acid. “Mercy…”
A sharp laugh leaves her. She traces a finger along my aura, letting me feel the cutting edges of her dominion. “Say it again. Let me hear you plead for me not to destroy you.”
Tears of frustration gather in my real eyes, though here in the psychic plane they manifest as shimmering droplets. My voice quivers. “Please… show mercy… Selene…” The name tears itself from my throat, a final act of subjugation.
She exhales, trembling with triumph. The tension in her stance loosens a fraction. “So the great psionic noble kneels to me. You craved my subservience; instead, you hand me yours.” Another wave of shame scorches me. My shoulders slump, mind battered. I truly kneel, undone in her presence.
She holds me there for a moment longer, letting me simmer in my defeat. Then, gently, she relaxes the crushing pressure. My entire being sags with relief, half-collapsed on the void’s floor.She lingers, a hint of something that might be pity or perhaps just curiosity flickering in her aura.
I expect her to strike a final blow, but she doesn’t. Instead, she withdraws, letting me gasp and cling to the remnants of my battered consciousness. “Consider this your lesson,” she says softly. “Don’t come for me again unless you want to end up as my puppet. Next time, I won’t hesitate to shred you.”
I can barely form a coherent thought, limbs trembling. But the strangest sensation tickles at the edges of my wrecked pride—a twisted spark that resonates with her power. I despise her victory, yet I also feel an odd yearning to remain beneath her command. It’s as if some deep corner of my mind finds a dark thrill in her merciless strength. My voice shivers with lingering fear. “You… you can’t keep me enslaved forever.”
