Warded

This was meant to be a simple job - break into the mages tower, get the amulet, and get out. It's never simple though, is it?

* * *

The door’s arcane ward hissed as you tripped the wrong symbol. You froze, ready to run if an alarm started. You held your breath, nervous, and then… Nothing. With a sigh of relief, you picked up the rune scraper, and got back to your task, taking extra care now.

You were so focused, you didn’t notice the new noise at first. In fact, you didn’t hear it until it was right behind you. You dove away from the door, ready with an excuse about being ward maintenance, until you saw what had arrived.

Floating on leathery wings, an artificial eyeball hovered in the air. It was watching you. As you stood there, unsure what to do, it pulsed. A dazzling purple. You felt your thoughts trip in their tracks. A wave of lethargy ran up your legs. You should have run.

But something about the eye held your attention. Another pulse, and another. What were you doing? You had wanted to leave, but why? Your legs were so heavy. With the next pulse, you fell to your knees. Still staring into the eyeball. Unable to look away.

The next pulse was a soft red. As the light washed over you, you felt hot. Your jumbled thoughts began to rearrange themselves. Another pulse. More heat. More direction. Arousal. You were here, alone. The eyeball didn’t count as another individual.

So why not enjoy yourself? You stripped, and began to touch, the pulses coming more rapidly. Your sense of time dissolved, all that existed was the flashing lights.

Until, without warning, you were back to awareness. You were in a spacious room, strapped to a comfortable chair.

“Well, thief, I must congratulate you on your ability to get caught. New to this? Or just unlucky?” The voice was almost conversational and coming from behind you. “I must admit, I wasn’t expecting to get a new subject quite so soon.” What did they mean by subject?

“But when I got home to find lidless so far along in the brainwashing process, well, I thought it’d be rude to leave a job unfinished. Only, this time -” A set of large crystals lowered from the ceiling before you. “I’ll be taking a more active role in things.”