Author's note: ...hi. I didn't plan to take such a long break, but the past year has been a difficult one, mainly because I lost my grandma who I was very close with in January, after her situation was getting worse for a while. After that I honestly just felt insecure about my writing, and I kept putting off the working of this story. 

I feel guilty that I've been so bad with updates, but it's also my last semester in college, so I really hope I'll have more time soon. But anyway, I don't plan to abandon this story, so have no doubt that even if it's been a while (unless I state otherwise) I'm still working on it.

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CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE

CONSEQUENCES 

Sunlight. It's the only thing I can think about for several minutes; this warm, morning light. Everything feels strange. Nothing hurts but my body feels as if it's barely there. I can't move any part of it, only my eyes keep closing and opening. There's a big surface under me, but everything feels distorted, and I prefer to surrender to the darkness than face the wrongness of my situation.

My eyes open again sometime later. Seconds, or maybe even minutes pass by as I try to find something to hold on to, something to pull me out of this state of complete haziness. I see something ahead of me, yet it's as if someone has wiped my brain, and I can't register a single thing. The light is still the same so it can't be too long since I woke up last time.

I realize that I can feel myself breathing and I try to focus on the air coming in and out of my nose. The colors keep moving in front of me and at some point, I can even hear something, voices I think, but my general state stays the same. Not even thoughts come into my mind, it's like I'm a shell of myself. The feeling of breathing should help me get back to my senses, but it's not enough.

I'm on the floor, the realization dawns on me at some point and it echoes in my head until it sinks in. My thoughts aren't coherent enough for me to remember what happened, but now there's a strong feeling of displacement that sets all over my body. Then, in waves almost, the feeling returns to my limbs. Very quickly I start to miss my previous state, because the more I become aware of myself, the more I feel discomfort. My cheek is pressed against the floor, my legs folded, and my arms are the worst part because, for some reason, I can't move them away from being crossed at the wrists behind my back.

Then, I become aware of the voices again. I can't tell what they're saying even though I can hear them well, unable to make the sounds into words with meaning. Suddenly, two dark shadows come into view. I feel a tad more coherent, but I still can't move any part of my body. Or at least until I somehow find myself sitting and looking straight at two people. Dani and José.

Their words seem to be flying around me at the speed of light while I'm stuck still. I can't grasp what they're saying yet and I watch them talking above me. Having them there is like someone handing me a thread that I try to pull at, and questions start popping into my head about why they're here, why I'm here. I didn't think I would see them again, that's what I remember for sure, so how did they find me?

I can see my capturers looking at me and it brings back some of the memories from when they found me. Who knows what they did that made it so easy to take me... Sitting now on the dirty floor, my senses come back to me bit by bit, and I realize that my arms are still stuck in an awkward position behind me, probably thanks to one of the magic users.

When I recognize the words 'Seth' and 'money' coming out of Dani's mouth, dread washes over me. My heart sinks at the thought of Seth and it makes everything much worse. He disappeared into the night and for a moment, I wonder if they have him, too. I take a look around, and while it's hard for me to focus, I'm sure there is no one held in this room but me.

"Hey, mirame," Dani says and crouches in front of me. I look at her again and she smiles unpleasantly. "Por fin. You're back, yes? Good. This is going to be very simple—you tell us where Seth Gecko is, and we'll be nice to you."

That's a very weak offer, I want to say, yet my lips don't form the words. I simply stare at her. Dani looks at me as if it would threaten me, but in reality it has no effect. My vision is partly blurry and some parts sway a little, which worries me much more than anything she says or does.

My head snaps to the side when she slaps me. Hard. A hand grabs my face and a second later I'm forced to look at Dani again. "Where is it?" she demands.

I stare at her, both unwilling to give her answers and not even sure what the answers are. Anger burns in her eyes as she stares back at me, her nails digging into my cheeks. In any other situation, my magic would have already had some effect, yet I don't know if nothing is happening because I'm weak or because this fantastic duo did something to me.

"Jane," José says, his voice immediately drawing my attention. He steps forward, the look in his eyes is determined yet much calmer than Dani's. "We have you now. No hay ninguna otra opción pero que nos ayuden. No queremos lastimar te, queremos la plata. Lo más rápido que nos vas a ayudar, lo más rápido que vas estar libre."

He wants my help to find the money and tries to convince me by saying they don't want to hurt me, and the classic 'the quicker you'll help us, the quicker you'll be free'.

"I don't trust you," I manage to say, my voice weak and cranky.

Dani smiles a little. "Me too. But you're the one who was kidnapped."

I want to say something back, get some control over the situation, but there's nothing that comes to mind. I need to figure out a way out of here since I'm definitely in over my head. For a moment I wonder what Seth would do in my place. It might be a good thing to think about, but my body can barely hold itself up and all my rational thoughts slip away too easily.

My arms seem to jerk up behind my back, sending waves of pain through my body. My mouth opens in a silent gasp before Dani releases me. I crumble to the floor, the side of my face crushing against the surface. I try to look at the pair in front of me for help, but they know exactly what they're doing as they walk out of the room. Dani waves at me before disappearing.

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Even if I wanted to, I wouldn't be able to tell how long I'm left alone in that room. At some point, the pain becomes more bearable, yet all my muscles remain so tense that I can't even fall asleep. I stare at nothing in particular the whole time, wishing for Dani to return and take away my pain. I even try to use magic, but nothing happens. It's as if I've never had a drop of magic and I miss it. I've grown so used to being able to use fire at all times, to the sense of control that comes from it, and I'm scared to think whether my magic is gone for good.

My only sense of time is a few rays of sun that enter this suffocating room, and while I can see their direction change, I have no idea what it means in terms of minutes or hours. At a certain point, I close my eyes, frustrated. The one good thing that happens is that with time both my vision and my mind become clearer, however, it's accompanied by horrible thoughts. I want to believe that someone will come for me and save me, but the longer I think about it, the more I realize no one has a way of knowing I was taken at all. The loneliness that accompanies this realization is painful.

The sound of the door unlocking makes my eyes snap open, and for a moment, I pray that it's Seth and Kate. I'm let down as quickly as my hopes were raised when José walks through the door with a bottle of water. His gaze doesn't offer any sympathy, but I soon feel my arms dropping a bit and the physical relief almost makes me thank him.

"Tienes que beber," José says as he walks towards me. He crouches in front of me, opens the water bottle, and waits for something. I find myself staring at him, too suspicious to do anything else. "Abre la boca," he orders.

"Let me sit," I reply.

He simply takes hold of my arm and pulls me up while I do my best to put my body in a position that will be remotely comfortable. When he releases me, he brings the bottle close to my lips but waits for my permission to let me drink. I glare at him in return and keep my lips shut.

"No quiero hacer eso con fuerza," he says.

I chuckle. "Because you're so nice with everything else?" I ask and he glares back at me. Of course, I want to drink, but so far, this is the only possible way to negotiate anything with them. "Let me go."

"Sabes que no lo puedo hacer," José says with a small shake of his head and puts the bottle on the floor. "You took our money, Jane. ¿Por qué? Qué hicimos?"

There's real confusion in his eyes and I feel guilty. It wasn't the plan, I remind myself, but then what am I supposed to tell him? 'Seth had a sudden change of plans so I'm sorry because you weren't the one who was supposed to get hurt by this'? It won't do any good.

"Fine, I'll drink," I say and clench my jaw as he glares at me. Here goes my bargaining chip.

José gets a bit of credit from me for not insisting on getting his answers and letting me drink. The sip that I get is short, which I don't blame him for, but it feels so good that I almost ask for more. It's only then that I realize how dry my throat feels and ignoring the feeling seems impossible.

"Dani isn't going to be good to you," he says all of a sudden. "Estoy en serio. Think about what you say and do. I give you warning."

There's no doubt in my mind that he's right, and not just because of the honest expression he's wearing. Dani hasn't liked me since the first moment and that slap might just be the tip of the iceberg. With that, José leaves, and a dark feeling settles in my chest; this is the beginning of however long I'll be here, captive in Dani's hands. There's no light at the end of this tunnel, all I have to do for now is hold on until God knows when.