ALISDELISGI'S POV

I was purely exhausted. I'd never used that much magic at one time. Fire alone takes a lot out of me, but using that for a while then combining all five elements was something I never imagined possible. In a sort of daze, we continued for a while before he decided to stop and rest.

Thankful for the rest, I promptly passed out under a willow tree. About an hour later, I woke up with a strange feeling. Slowly getting up, i surveyed my surroundings. Not seeing Triston, I ventured a few feet away. It was like I'd hit a brick wall, yet I could see no wall. Unsure of what was going on, I tried going the opposite direction. I got about twenty feet before I hit this invisible wall again. It was the same in every direction. There was a twenty foot radius from the tree that the invisible wall too up. Giving up on escape, I called for Triston. Receiving no answer, I called for him until I went hoarse. Suddenly appearing out of nowhere was Zmey. Pretty sure I was still asleep, I slapped myself. Three slaps later, I was positively convinced I was awake.

He came towards me and I screamed like my life depended on it, which at the time, I was pretty sure it did. I had no clue what to do, so I stopped screaming. Seeing him made me sick to my stomach as my mind threw up vivid images of what he'd done to me over a week before. As he reached for me, I spun out of his reach. It was almost like an elaborate dance that went on for what felt like hours, until I almost collapsed with exhaustion. Managing to find a the strength to keep going, I kept dancing away from him, running on pure adrenaline and energy I'd been drawing from the spirit world. Suddenly, he vanished. Unsure of what happened, I stayed alert for a few more minutes, darkness seeping in quicker from all my use of spirit. Finally, I gave in to exhaustion and collapsed.

Sometime later, I woke up in a dark room. Unsure of where I was, I tried getting up, only to realize I was tied to something. I think it was a bed post, but I wasn't sure what it actually was. Not knowing what else to do, I yelled for help until I was hoarse. Finally giving up on that course if action, I tried to assess my situation. I was in a dark room, tied to God knows what, with no clue where I was. I was extremely sore and completely exhausted.

Suddenly, there was a bright light coming from a doorway. Fear gripped my soul as Zmey entered the room. Slamming the door behind him, he flipped switch revealing a dull light. His glare turned into a wicked smile as he came over to me. Frantically, I racked my brain for a way to escape. Realizing my only option was to use my powers, I gave up because I wasn't going to die because of who I was. Laughing, he came forward with a gun. Pressing it to my head, he kept his finger on the trigger. "This time, you can't escape. I know all about your powers, woman. I'll hunt you down and kill you like I did your lover boy." He continued talking but my mind snapped when he said he had Triston killed. I felt nothing but rage and grief.

With strength I didn't know I possessed, I managed to snap the ropes. They said love will make you do crazy things, but I didn't know how true that was until now. With a yell worthy enough to be an ancient Cherokee war cry, I lunged at him, and knocked him to the ground, catching him off guard. I rained down punch after punch on his pretty face, knocking him out cold. Infusing a silver chain with the main four elements, I wrapped him up and melted the chain together with fire. For extra measure, I welded the door shut behind me so he couldn't get out, or so I thought. On my way out, I encountered twenty guards who tried to put up a fight. Needless to say, their fight was pathetic since in my rage, I couldn't control my powers too well.

Two guards came rushing headlong at me. With a strangled cry, I attacked them both with a desire for blood. For the moment, something held me back from killing them. Maybe it was the values my mother instilled in me, the fact that I'd never killed a human, or maybe I was scared of the consequences. After seeing a third guard lunging to defend his comrades, I snapped. Flames flew at the three men, burning them severely. I didn't care. Finishing with them, I knocked them out. About seven more came out, throwing themselves into danger. The first two were dealt with in the same manner as the other three were. The next five, well, different method was used.

Another came out, and I began to question the sanity of these guys. Were they that brave or that stupid? I decided a combination of the two. With a cry that would make my Scottish Highlander ancestors proud, I basically flew at him, unleashing what he probably thought was Hell. Surrounding him with earth and fire, I kind of enjoyed the look of total terror in his eyes. Gathering himself together, he managed to push his way through the fire. Ready on the other side, I beat him to a pulp, promptly rendering him unconcious.

Despite seeing the rapid destruction of their comrades, about nine more came rushing out. I sware these people were so stupid, but I couldn't help but admire their devotion. The first to reach me was burned, knocked out, and made to dream of his worst fear. The rest were dispatched in the same manner as the first five.

About five miles outside of town, I finally stopped. Exhausted as I was, I knew I couldn't, no wouldn't stop going. I wasn't going to be taken a third time. Somehow, I still couldn't process that Triston was dead. He couldn't be. I'd know, right? Surely, with a love as strong as ours, I would know. As grief and rage went through me again, I vowed to never stop looking for him until I had solid evidence he was dead. If I never found him, I would die trying. If I did find him dead, I would personally kill Zmey. Nobody was going to stop me.

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Teaser: "How much do you love me?"

Who's asking this? Has Zmey caught up with Alisdelisgi? Has she found Triston?