of the beds.
I watched, unable to move, as they cuffed her to the frame, Mistress moving beside Zoya, ready to begin her torture.
My eyes closed as I fought for them to stay open, but as the darkness closed in I thought of the day Mistress had brought the torture to me.…
The lights in the dark room switched on, and I flinched at the brightness.
Blinking in my surroundings, I stared out of the metal bars of the cage to see if Mistress was coming back. I stared at the door to the back room, the room I feared most, but no one came through.
I pushed myself to sit up, glancing beside me to see 362 already with his back to wall, staring at the door, too. “They’ll come,” he said in Russian. “They always come.”
I looked past 362 to 221. He was sitting in the center of the cage, his head down, long hair covering his face. He was like the living dead, obedient only to that prick of a man who was always with Mistress. He made 221 call him Master. They tried to make 362 do the same, but whatever drug they pumped into his body only made him obedient for a short period of time.
As I heard the sound of a lock turning, my attention was drawn to the door. My stomach sank when Mistress stepped through, her eyes immediately landing on me. Mistress nodded her head at the Wraith guard. The Wraith from the corner of the room came to my cage and opened the door.
“Out!” he ordered, and I stood on shaky feet.
I had walked only three steps when 362 said, “Hold on to your name and your memories. Do not let them erase them. No matter what they do.”
Swallowing hard, I followed the Wraith guard to the door I most feared. I stopped in the doorway, but the Wraith shoved me forward. I stumbled into the room, hearing the door slam shut behind me. I straightened, and when I did the room came into focus.
My stomach fell, fear taking hold. Beds were in the center of the room, leather straps hanging from the frames. There were shackles on one of the walls, but on the other there was a metal pole, heavy chains hanging from the back.
Movement from the side caught my attention. I looked sideward, only to see Mistress and that man who tortured the twins. They were standing next to a long counter, its surface littered with needles and rows and rows of small bottles.
Mistress leaned in close to the man, and his eyes roved down my body. My skin shivered when it looked like he was sizing me up for something.
Mistress waved her hand, and a Wraith took hold of me, dragging me toward the metal pole. I tried to push back. I tried to fight, but the Wraith was too strong.
In minutes the Wraith had attached me to the pole, the heavy chains holding my feet to the floor and my body to the pole. No part of my body could move.
I breathed and breathed, trying to keep calm. All the time, I did what 362 had advised—I remembered. My name is Valentin Belrov. I have a sister called Inessa Belrova. She is being held captive. I have to set her free.
I repeated who I was and who I loved over and over, until I felt Mistress and her male friend standing before me.
As I opened my eyes, my focus immediately dropped to something in her hand. My nostrils flared when I saw what looked like a metal collar. I tried to move, I gave it everything I had, but I couldn’t break free.
Mistress stepped closer and, catching my gaze, said, “If you want to save your sister, from now on you will do exactly what I say. You answer to me, and only me. I am your Mistress.”
My eyes widened, and she asked, “Do you understand?”
Mistress raised the metal collar. “No,” I bit out when I saw the inside. Sharp needles were all around the collar, small pellets filled with liquid lying underneath.
Mistress handed the collar to the male. The man approached, and without saying anything he opened the collar and brought it to my neck. I tensed, my eyes squeezing shut as I felt the tips of the needles pressing against my skin. I took in a deep breath, and as I did the man pushed the needles into my neck. I screamed out as the needles sank into