An hour was what Adrianna needed. In that little time, when she couldn't feel her mate's bond, she looked as though she had aged so many years. There were wrinkles around her eyes. She was so willing to put herself in harm's way to bring him back that it was the only emotional relief she could think of. Her soul was scratching her, cutting her on the inside. She wanted to scream her mental agony. No one knew the uncontrolled shivers and tremors her body would experience. No one knew how she was holding back the whimpers and the moans. One look at Dmitri, and a muscle would jump beneath her skin. Without him, she would be a living corpse.
Adrianna turned her attention back to Lenny. She asked in an icy voice, "Who all are with you?" She already knew about Pryce and she had an inkling that Kenai was also involved in it. She had her doubts about Yanga too. Why was Yanga pushing her son so much to be the Military General?
Lenny was suffering from a lot of pain. She coughed blood from her mouth. She pulled herself up and dragged to the corner of the bed near her Master's feet. With bloodshot eyes she looked at Adrianna and sputtered, "You think I will tell you?" Lenny started laughing like crazy. "And if you think you can enter my mental shield, then forget it. No wizard has been able to enter through the mind block."
"Then watch me!" Adrianna said with a guttural roar.
"No!" Isidorus shouted. Breaking a wizard's mental block meant harming oneself. "You can't do that." But Adrianna had already entered Lenny's cell.
She took her wand out which converted into a sword. She found herself outside a thick brown wall. Adrianna spiraled and jumped over it. She landed with her sword pointed towards the wall with so much force that the sword pierced the barrier. It shattered and splinters that flew from it on all the sides came flying towards Adrianna. She tried to save herself from them by crouching down but several gashed her through her armor making her bleed on the outside.
Adrianna could have got all the information she needed from Pryce, but she had to avenge Lenny for what she dared to do. She overlooked the danger.
When the shield broke, on the outside, Lenny let out a spine-chilling scream. She could feel something inside her mind snap. As her wall shattered, Lenny lost her mental balance. "Stop! Stop!" she begged. "I will help you. Please Adrianna. I can't bear this pain. This will cripple me." Lenny wailed, holding her head on both the sides with her hands and shaking it violently.
At the same time, Haldir could see that Adrianna's blood flowed from her hands on the outside. "Adrianna, come out!" he shouted on the top of his lungs.
Adrianna pushed her sword deep inside and punctured the blockade completely. The wall melted away. She came out of Lenny's cell. She noticed that Haldir was applying bandages to her hand. She jerked her hand off him and snatched Lenny's wand Lenny looked at her with all the craziness in her eyes. She looked insane. She rocked her head back and forth and said, "My wand, gimme my wand. That's my pet. That's my kitten."
Adrianna took her wand and snapped it into two pieces. "This is going to be your final punishment," her voice was rough and rowdy.
That was the final straw. Lenny started banging her head and cried out loud. "Take her to the wizard prison," Adrianna ordered Nefasky.
Lenny had become an inmate of her misery for life, there was no chance of liberation.
Haldir stood there watching her going mad. Her anger, pain, sadness – they were intertwined and flowing out of her body like fury of a volcano, the lava of which was about to ashen all those who dared to cross her path.
"Haldir, come with me," she said in a heavy voice.
"Where?" he asked with wide eyes. What was she up to?
"We are going to meet Pryce," Adrianna said in a chilling voice.
She turned to look at Nefasky. "Get all the Mozias here. Keep your wands ready just in case Vikra shows his features on Dmitri's body."
"Yes, my Queen," replied Nefasky. She was in awe of Adrianna.
"Isidorus, you will have to make sure that even if I don't return, you reach the outskirts of the Land of Gaira."
"Adrianna, I would suggest that you don't go there. I can manage," Isidorus cautioned her.
"That's out of question Isidorus," Adrianna snickered. "Leave the portal open here in case I don't return in time." Then she mumbled, "I will return in time." She took one last look at Dmitri and got sucked in a vortex with Haldir.
They appeared in front of Pryce's house.
---
That night after the gathering Niiya had visited Pryce. She had invited him. He wanted to forget about Adrianna, about his father and all that had happened in the past. Pryce was so perfect that she surrendered herself completely to his demands. He didn't get out of Pryce's house for two days. They had sex as if they had never wanted anything more. Ever since Niiya stayed over at Pryce's place or would call her at his place.
However, Pryce had been extremely busy with her father for three days in between and she had told him that she would be visiting her aunt's place in the neighboring city. Those three days, Niiya didn't know what to do. He missed her a lot. He would call her, but her phone was switched off.
In those three days, Pryce was in the house where cult meetings were taking place non-stop. They had burnt three werewolves and on the third day, the Master possessed Dmitri. She was ecstatic that everything happened under the nose of Niiya and he didn't even know about it. Ever since she had joined the cult, her purpose was to entice Niiya so that these tasks could be carried out smoothly.
That night, she was sleeping soundly in Niiya's arms with a smile on her face. Her Master would resurrect by tomorrow. Tomorrow the world would see a new day. Adrianna would be dead.
---
Before Adrianna entered the house, Haldir said, "Think about it carefully. We can do this once we are back from the Land of Gaira."
Adrianna snapped. "I know what I am doing," she said.
When they appeared inside Pryce's room, Adrianna switched on the lights. Both Niiya and Pryce jumped up and woke. Before Pryce could decipher what was going on, Adrianna held her by hair and dragged her out of the bed. She shouted in pain, as her body trembled in the thin white shirt she was wearing. Niiya was shocked at this intrusion. At first he stared blankly as to what just happened and then, she yelled at Adrianna, "Adrianna, are you insane? What the hell are you doing?"
But Adrianna was in a frenzy. Her fingers went around Pryce's neck. "Tell me who all are involved," she hissed.
Niiya tried to get out of the bed to stop her but Haldir cast a spell. He created a wall around him.
Pryce laughed. "You will be dead by tomorrow Adrianna."
Adrianna lifted her and banged her head against the large oval mirror. The glass broke into hundreds of pieces. Pryce's head started to bleed. She cried in pain. "Niiya!" she called him with lots of agony. Her hands went to her head as she felt warm blood gushing out.