Her fingers gently caressed the coiled tendrils of his soft hair. She smiled at the faintest whiff of mint and cedar wood lingering along his skin. Watching him, in this passive state, brought back a few sweet memories.

However, they quickly evaporated when he began to stir. She pulled back just as his eyes fluttered open.

He tried to stretch, but was held in place by the restraints on each of his limbs. Confusion settled in his eyes as he began to jerk against them, "What in the h-?"

"Hello, darling," she purred.

Flinching, his head swiveled towards her voice. Watching him try to make out her form, in the dark, pleased her. Finally, she snapped her fingers. A candle-like flame flickered into place, hovering above the tip of her thumb.

Two round saucers stared at her, reflecting the small light. She sashayed towards the table. As she did, the man shuffled to the farthest edge of the table he could manage.

She paused next to the table and stared at him, as he fought the chains.

"Twila, come on. You can't still be sore about that little mix-up. It was so long ago." He finally gave up on the chains holding him to the table and looked directly at her stony face, pleading "Besides, I set you free from that little hell hole!"

"Tsk. Tsk. Tsk," she interrupted him."Flynn. We both know there is more to it than that." A glint of silver appeared in her hand.

A charming smile immediately splayed across his face as he prepared to argue.

Thunk! She stabbed the knife deep into the tabletop, within inches of his nose. His eyes flew open, staring at it. "Dipped it in Clendoleun blood, myself. Think it'll do the trick?" she asked, staring fondly at the iridescent sheen on the blade.

She dragged the jagged knife along the wood. Tchhhhhhhh. His chest rose rapidly at the sound of the knife tearing through the wood.

Silence.

A maniacal laugh slowly erupted from Flynn as he lifted his head to meet Twila's. Confused, she stepped back.

He smiled menacingly, "A little late to hesitate, dear."

An explosion of color and light erupted from the table and Twila stumbled even further backwards. She caught herself against the dungeon wall, just as Flynn emerged from the chaos.

He threw up his hands and Twila felt something grab at her extremities, buckling them against the walls. Glancing at her wrists, she frantically jerked them, trying to free them.

Clapping drew her attention back to the cocky smile of Flynn, walking towards her.

"Brava, Twila! Brava," he laughed, "Absolutely stunning! You know I love a bit of drama!"

Twila's lip quivered momentarily before her anger roused a determination of indignation.

He walked towards her confidently, and only paused momentarily when she fought the invisible chains. Failing to free herself, she spit at him.

He sneered as he took another step towards her. She was watching the saliva run down his lapel, when he smacked her with a quick backhand. Thwack!

Unable to grab at the pain, she fought back her emotions as tears welled up in her eyes.

He reached for her, with a hand on either side of her face. His immense strength kept her from shaking him off, as he used his thumbs to forcefully rub the tears from her lids. He finally let go of her, with a sigh, and she refrained from spitting again.

"Don't get me wrong. It's been fun," Flynn laughed. Leaning towards her, his lips parted. Twila's breath hitched as if bracing for impact. Instead, his face steered to the side, at the last second. "Maybe next time," he whispered in her ear, "I'll play the cat and you can be my coy little mouse."

Avoiding his eyes, Twila stared straight ahead. With her voice just above a whisper, "Next time..." She paused as if considering her words, before turning her head to meet his eyes. Her lips nearly touching his as she spoke levelly, "I'll kill you."

His brow rose suggestively and his lips formed a playful grin. With barely a needle's width of distance between them, his eyes glanced down at her lips and slowly looked back into her eyes, "Don't make promises you can't keep, doll."

When Twila clenched her jaw, Flynn's hand flew towards her face. But instead of a smack, he tapped her nose playfully with his index finger. "Goodbye, my little minx," and he quickly turned away.

Twila furiously gnashed out with her teeth, but not quick enough to touch him. He continued to saunter away as she yelled after him, "I'll kill you! I will! No matter what, I'll do it!"

When he was almost to the dungeon door, he turned to face her again. He smiled once more, "I'll be waiting." In a flourish of arm movements he disappeared before her eyes. The moment he was gone, his spells dissipated.

As the lights vanished and her wrists fell to her sides, a guttural scream of anger escaped from Twila. She sank to her knees, slumped against the wall.

After a moment of fitful crying she stilled and propped her weary head against the stone wall of the dungeon. She rubbed her neck and stood to dust herself off.

As she brushed at her blouse, her hand froze. Holding something between her fingers she held her breath before squeezing the item in her palm.

Using her other hand, she pulled a teleportation ring from her pocket and gave it a twist as she whispered, "venire domum." The dungeon swirled out of sight. Twila braced for impact as she reappeared in her rustic kitchen.

Jolting from the room, she grabbed a cast iron skillet on her way out and then bolted up the stairs to her bedroom. She set the skillet on her bed. Pulling an ancient map from the delicate folds of the leather cover it was sheathed in, she set it on the dresser.

On her nightstand, she set one of her large crystals on it's flattest side. Retrieving the skillet, she held it above the nightstand and brought it down with a solid crunch.

Throwing the skillet back on her bed, she gently unfolded her clasped hand. Pacing her breathing, she withdrew the short brown hair, that she had been securing. She gently wrapped it around one of the crystal shards and cupped it in her hands. A gentle dip of the item, in a mixture of oil and herbs, found her whispering a chant over it.

The crystal slowly transformed before her eyes. Soon, she held a glowing, pastel-yellow orb. Twila held the orb between her fingers and whispered "invenire". The orb began to blink and she traced the borders of the map, before releasing it in the middle of the map. As soon as her fingers left the orbs surface, it darted across the map and settled in it's spot.

Twila stared at the orb hovering over a small town in Mexico. She smiled to herself, as she ran her hand through her hair in excited disbelief, "¡te encontré el Diablo!"