Chapter 23

chapter Twenty Three

*Ariya*

"Stop! Please stop!" Keo shouted as they went to shove me out of the interrogation room.

"Little boy, it's too late to help her now." Boss mocked.

"You're wrong though!" Keo pleaded.

"Oh?" Boss raised an eyebrow, intrigued.

"She wasn't who we were looking for!"

Boss waved his hand, gesturing to Justin to bring me over. Obeying the order, Justin spun me back towards the room and shoved me forward. I stumbled, the strength from me drained. Boss grabbed me around the throat with one hand and with the other he gripped the blade still through my chest. I coughed up blood again.

"She hasn't even turned yet. Why would we bother looking for her?! She's useless to us." Keo continued.

"Wow, Ariya." Boss snickered, "Even the Navi don't give a damn about you."

With one rough movement, Boss twisted and yanked the sword out of my chest. I gasped in pain as I fell to the floor, landing near Keo.

"Ariya!" Keo screamed, pulling against his restraints.

"You're wrong" I wheezed.

I could feel myself losing control. The amount of blood loss was adding to how hungry I was. Things were already bad, and if I couldn't keep in control, things would get a whole lot worse. But what could I do? I was practically alone in this fight. Surrounded by enemies that were not only lethal in their own way, but also tempting me as every second passed.

"What was that?" Boss asked, unsure of what I said.

"You're wrong." Keo intervened, "It was that we didn't care about her. It was easier to protect her by leaving her in plain sight, without any knowledge of who she was."

With the last of my strength I used my legs and head to maneuver myself onto my side. The effort I put into it made the wound bleed a bit more. I coughed up blood. Determined to say what I wanted, I looked at Keo.

"Whatare youtalking..about?" I forced myself to say.

Keo looked at me concerned, "Ariyado you even remember what happened that night? Like every second of it? Do you remember seeing me the night of the fire? Do you know where your father is? Better yet, WHO your father is? What about Annarin? Do you remember Annarin? Or your mother? What about Ivan? Drake locked away your memories, so that you wouldn't be able to get caught."

"What exactly are you trying to say?" Boss asked, suspiciously.

"I'm saying that Ariya didn't know anything about who she was until you opened your big mouth! Drake locked away her memories until she turned and met 1 condition."

"What was the condition?" Boss pushed.

"I" Keo paused, "I can't say"

"Fineso be it." Boss said frustrated, "Get her up! We'll get it out of her, one way or another!"

Keo looked down at me where I lay by his feet concerned. Justin grabbed me roughly and shoved me onto my back.

"You know, the thing about locks," I started to say as Justin leaned down grabbing me by the shirt, "is that they can always be unlocked."

As Justin lifted me up, Boss' eyes narrowed at my comment, Keo's face showed realization, and I made my decision on my next move.

"NO!!!"