Kidnapped

When Misty came to, she could feel her head splitting from the pain. She tried to reach back to see if she was bleeding, but before she could move more than a few inches, her hands stopped. Rope was tied around her wrists. She opened her eyes to a dimly lit space. As her pupils adjusted to the dark, she looked down to the knots holding her hands together. Her feet were also tied tight. Wiggling around, she pushed herself to a kneeling position. She felt uncomfortable in the dirt and had the idea to try and burn the rope. Misty tried to gather her mana, but her headache got worse.

"You won't be able to use your magic here." whispered a deep, raspy voice. Misty searched the darkness. The walls were made of rough stone, as if they had been carved out of the rock. In front of her was a set of iron bars. She looked across to the cell on the other side. A man covered in tattered fabric was lying on the ground.

As if he knew he was being observed, the man turned and sat up to look at her. His eyes glowed a bit in the darkness. Strands of long, unkempt black and gray hair fell across his face. His fierce amber gaze was intense, and Misty looked away awkwardly.

"Why not?" He pointed up. Her eyes traced to where a Black stone was embedded in the ceiling.

"It's a mana inhibitor."

"So, it keeps me from being able to use my mana?" Misty's voice echoed off the walls, and the man held his finger to his lips. He was about to answer when she heard heavy boots echoing down the corridor. He quickly laid back down with his back to her. Soon, a giant man stood in front of her cell, blocking what little light there was.

"Shut it!" He growled, banging a wooden baton on the bars. Misty tried to jump back but only succeeded in losing her balance and falling back to the floor. The man laughed as she struggled, getting dirt in her mouth. By the time she was able to sit up again, his footsteps were fading away. She looked over to the other cell. The man was looking at her.

"What is this place?" She whispered.

"A prison, obviously." The man grimaced. Misty could see that he moved carefully, as if he couldn't move without pain.

"Are you alright? What did they do to you?"

"The things that are usually done to people who don't do what you want." He stood and came close to the cell door. He wasn't very tall if she compared him to Jay, but he was slender. He rested his hands on the bars. Misty could see his guarded expression. "How did you get here?"

"I was kidnapped. I was taking an assessment at the temple, and at the end, someone knocked me and the priest out. When I woke up, I was here." Misty thought about Jay, and her heart hurt. She missed him. "My family is going to be worried."

"My family is long gone. I've been stuck here for a while." The man smiled sadly. "This is an underground criminal prison. They kidnap people to force them or their families to do their bidding. The reason you were taken here is related to one of those options."

"So, this is about power and control." He nodded.

"Who is your family?"

"I just met my mate a few days ago and his family after. I am new here, so I am not sure what their family name is. My mate's name is Jay, and he is the son of Leon and Sheena."

The man looked at her in surprise.

"If you mean the same Jay that I am thinking about, that is probably why you were taken." He shook his head. "The Jay I know is the oldest son, and he has four siblings. But he is his mother's only child." Misty nodded, and he cursed under his breath.

"Jay has a mate now?" He gave her a genuine grin. "No one thought there was anyone out there for him."

"You know Jay?"

"As kids, our mothers were friends. We lost touch over the years, but yeah."

"What does Jay do that these people would use me to force him to do anything?"

"His family is the richest merchant group in the city. They run trade routes and hunting expeditions. There are a lot of people who are envious of their success."

Misty chewed her bottom lip. She tugged at the ropes and knew that there was no way she was going to be able to break them. Thinking about Jay being forced to give in to unreasonable demands to get her back made her angry. She glanced at the man again and could tell that they had probably tried to use torture to brainwash him to do their bidding.

"Are you here because you know Jay?"

"Maybe, but they also want my magic." Misty looked up at the mana inhibitor. Information started pouring into her brain. Mana inhibitors absorb mana. They can only absorb so much before they need replaced. Misty smiled to herself.

"Do you want to get out of here?"

"How are you planning to do that?"

"I'm going to break that."

"I've been here for months. There is no way to break one of those."

"If the stone is given too much mana, it will break." The man nodded.

"Yes, but they always replace it before it has a chance to break. They just replaced it yesterday and they replace it every month. That stone can absorb all of the mana around it for two months."

Misty just smiled at him. She closed her eyes and started to focus. When she opened her eyes again, she could see the mana surrounding her. Just like when she was at the dinner table, mana flowed into the stone, absorbing the mana from the man and from her. Even the mana in the air was being leeched into the stone.

She took a deep breath and began to direct the mana in the space. Massive amounts of mana began to form in the air, and the stone sucked it up.