Taorin checked his watch as he stared at the human girl chained to the wall. What have I gotten myself into? He wondered.
Rosette. That was her name. Rosette Christopher. And she had just led his partner on a game of catch as she ran around the cave, hiding from Marai in the shadows. After being caught, her only response was, “I still have to pee.”
Taorin sighed and closed his eyes. The girl was certainly strange. And to have made a contract with a devil? On her own free will? She was even genuinely worried about him, when she was the one who was a hostage chained to a wall. And while any other human would have been terrified of himself and Marai, this girl was teasing them! He cursed her, then himself. Maybe kidnapping her was a mistake.
But either way, he was sure that the Sinner would come. The Killer of a Hundred was bound to the girl in front of him, and not just by that clock around her neck.
That clock… What secrets does it hold?
Taorin grinned and strolled towards the girl, who had finally been tied back to the wall by Marai. She looked surprised to see him.
“Hey! You’re… Tarin? Tori? Something with a T…” A small anger mark popped up on Taorin’s head as she struggled to remember his name.
“Oh yeah! That’s it!” Rosette said brightly. “So what’s up?”
“My dear, your time is already half-way up. Where is your darling Chrono? Your savior, so to speak? Where is Chrono the Sinner?”
“Beats me,” Rosette said simply, shrugging her shoulders. “But I’d bet he’s on his way to rescue me right now!” She looked very confident about this.
“Are you so sure? Would someone like him really risk his life to save a mere human?” Taorin laughed mockingly. “I don’t think so. You’re going to die here, you know that?”
“You’re wrong. Chrono will definitely come for me. You’ll see.”
“So we shall, my dear. Of course, personally, I wouldn’t mind if he left you with us. After all, it’s not every day we get such a terribly cute girl here.” Taorin bent down to trace her cheekbone with a long, skinny finger. Rosette promptly bit the finger. Taorin cursed violently, then forced his most charming smile. “Feisty, aren’t we? That’s alright. Just remember, if the Sinner doesn’t come for you within the next 36 hours…” He ran his now-bleeding finger across his neck in one swift motion. Rosette gulped.
Although she wouldn’t show it, Rosette was beginning to have her own doubts.
What if he doesn’t come? What if this Taorin guy is right? No, he can’t be. Chrono will definitely come for me. I know it. All I have to do is sit here and wait.
“Thirty hours left, Miss Christopher,” called out Taorin cheerily in a sing-song voice. “You haven’t got much longer, have you? Oh dear, you don’t think your darling Chrono would have forgotten about you, do you?” The Pursuer’s happy smile was replaced by a facade of concern. He clasped his hands together and stared at Rosette with big eyes full of false sympathy. “Oh, you poor thing. How dreadful!” Taorin gave up his act and laughed. The sound was harsh and loud, and completely devoid of any humor whatsoever.
“Shut up, you,” warned the girl chained to the wall. “He’ll come. You’ll see.” Rosette tried not to move around too much. After her last attempt at escape, the game of hide-and-seek with Marai, her shackles had become considerably tighter, and the position they had placed her in—and none too gently, either—was pretty darn uncomfortable. They hadn’t fed her since then either, and her 3.2 hours had long since been passed, causing her stomach to growl uncontrollably. Personally, Rosette had thought that the game of hide-and-seek was funny, but apparently Marai hadn’t. He’d even added a few slaps to the bill. Her lip was bleeding again, and Rosette knew that those hand-marks would be there for a while. If only Chrono could see her now.
Chrono… Where are you? We’ve never been away from each other for this long, have we? What’s taking you so long? Did you really abandon me here, leave me to die? Chrono… I wish I could be with you right now. I’m scared. I really am. And I miss you. I just want you to be here with me, to hold my hand and tell that everything will be okay. That we’ll find a way. Please, Chrono… don’t leave me here… Chrono…
Something clicked inside Rosette. She could have sworn that she could feel Chrono’s presence. Oh, hogwash, she told herself. Stop getting your hopes up. He’ll come. Don’t worry. He’ll come for me.
The girl’s head, which had but only a moment ago been staring at her rumbling stomach, snapped up. So did the heads of the other two occupants of the room—the Pursuers, Marai and Taorin.
“Chrono!” Rosette yelled gleefully, her bright sapphire eyes lighting up.
2087
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