Page 10

James's fists clenched tighter, the veins in his neck bulging with the effort it took to hold back his rage. "If you harm her," he warned, his voice a low, menacing growl, "you will regret it."

Vice's eyes remained fixed on Ivy, his gaze piercing through her like a knife. "Ah, the fiery protectiveness of a man in love," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "But love, James, is a fickle thing. It often leads to the most unfortunate of choices."

"What do you want?" James's voice was a mix of anger and desperation.

Vice's smile grew colder, his eyes never leaving Ivy. "What I want," he said, "is for her to understand the cost of her choice." He reached out a hand, his fingers brushing against the symbol on her wrist. The room held its breath as the brand flared with an otherworldly light, the pain reflected in Ivy's eyes.

"Stop it," James roared, stepping towards them.

Vice's hand didn’t flinch from Ivy's wrist, his eyes gleaming with a sadistic pleasure as he watched her wince with pain. "Now, now, James," he chided, his grip tightening. "There's no need for theatrics. You're in no position to make demands."

James's eyes bore into Vice's mask; his fists clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white. "If you so much as lay a finger on her..."

"You think you can tell me what to do with her," Vice sneered, his eyes never leaving Ivy's trembling form. "But let us not get ahead of ourselves. The night is still young, and decisions have yet to be made. Ivy," he said, his voice a cold whisper that sent shivers down her spine, "You and I have some unfinished business to attend to. It seems your time with your dear James and Alice has come to an end. I've allowed you to playhouse long enough."

Before Ivy could react, Alice came barreling into the room, her eyes wide with terror. "You can't take my mommy!" she screamed, throwing herself into Ivy's arms.

Ivy's heart ached as she felt her daughter's trembling body pressed against hers. "Please," she begged Vice, her voice choked with sobs, "leave us alone."

The room was a tableau of fear, the men frozen in their tracks, the air thick with the tension of a hundred unspoken words. Alice's wails pierced the silence like a knife, a stark contrast to the cold, calculated gaze of the man before them.

Vice's eyes flicked down to the trembling child, a flicker of something unreadable crossing his masked face. For a moment, Ivy dared to hope that he had a shred of humanity left, that he would spare them out of pity. But that hope was extinguished as quickly as it had sparked. His grip on her wrist tightened, the symbol burning like a brand on her soul.

"The debt must be paid," he said, his voice a cold whisper.

"Please," she begged, her voice trembling, "not like this. Not in front of Alice. Can't you see how upset she is?"

Vice's masked gaze fell upon Alice, his grip on Ivy's wrist unyielding. His eyes narrowed, and for a fleeting moment, she thought she saw a flicker of something akin to humanity. Then, with a cruel twist of his hand, the pain spiked, sending Ivy to her knees. Alice's screams grew louder, echoing through the house like a shattered symphony.

"Let her go!" James roared, his fists balled at his sides, helplessness warring with rage in his eyes. His friends, stunned into immobility, could only watch as the monster they had only heard of in whispers stood before them, a living embodiment of fear and power.

Alice's cries grew louder, her tiny body shaking with sobs as she buried her face in Ivy's chest, her arms tightening around her mother's waist. Ivy could feel the heat of her daughter's tears soaking through her shirt, a stark contrast tothe icy grip of the villain's hand around her wrist. She looked down at her daughter, her heart breaking into a thousand pieces at the thought of leaving her. For a moment, the room was still, the only sound the ragged breaths of the adults and the heart-wrenching cries of Alice.

Then, Vice's hand lifted from her wrist. "You truly do love her," he mused, his tone almost thoughtful. "But love is not a currency I accept."

Ivy knew what she had to do. "Alice, baby, I have to go with Mr. Vice," Ivy said, holding her daughter's tiny crying face in her hands. She tried her best not to cry herself.

"But why, Mommy?" Alice's voice was a mix of confusion and fear. "I don't want you to go."

"I know, sweetheart, I know," Ivy responded, her voice strained as she fought back her own tears. "But this is something that only Mommy can do. And you are such a brave girl. You need to stay here with Daddy, okay?" She swiped at a loose strand of hair from Alice's forehead and kissed her gently. "You have to keep Daddy safe and take care of him until I come back."

James watched the heart-wrenching scene with no emotion on his face. Alice clung to Ivy, her eyes wide and tearful, looking for any sign of hope that this was not happening. But Ivy's gaze was firm. She picked Alice up and held her tight against her chest, feeling the warmth of her daughter's body against hers, memorizing the smell of her daughter and the feel of her skin against hers.

"Remember, I love you so much. And I’m going to come back to you, baby." She kissed her forehead, the smell of her shampoo and innocence filling her nostrils, a scent she trieddesperately to burn into her memory. She gently placed Alice into James's arms. "You be good for Daddy, okay?"

"Okay, Mommy," she sobbed, her whole body shaking.

Vice's hand was on Ivy's again, his grip like iron around her wrist. He yanked her to him with a brutal power. In that moment, she saw the depth of his malice. And in those eyes, she saw the truth of her fate.

“The time has come,” he murmured, his voice a dark whisper that seemed to echo through the very air around them. "Your debt must be paid in full."

With a sudden, violent jerk, he yanked her towards him. The room around them blurred, the walls of her home fading into a whirlwind of shadow and smoke. Ivy's heart felt like it was being torn from her chest as she was wrenched away from Alice; the last thing she saw was Alice's horrified face as she sobbed and reached for her.

She was dragged through the blackness, the smoke from his teleportation spell filling her lungs, making it hard to breathe. The world outside her own panic was a cacophony of sounds, distant screams, and the echoes of chaos that followed the villain wherever hewent.

Chapter 6:

When the smoke and darkness receded, the room they were now in was cold, a striking difference to the warmth of her home. The air was thick with the scent of damp earth and decay, and the walls were an unforgiving stone. The only light came from the flickering flames of torches that threw dancing shadows across the stone floor.