Trapped!!!

She looked around trying to find Blake. He was nowhere in sight.

Something horrible must have happened to him. He would have never allowed her to be taken away like this.

As the man came closer, Jasmine felt more and more like a trapped bird, preparing to get slaughtered.

"I heard from my people that you went looking for me." The man gave a gentle laugh that caused Jasmine's hair to stand on end.

Her eyes darted about, trying to find an escape route. As he came nearer, she gave a nervous laughter.

"No, no. You must be mistaken. I'm only a tourist here. I came with family members and they will be very worried if they can't find me."

"Is that so?" The man came closer and dropped down on one knee to face her.

"I left you safe and sound at my villa with my butler for a few days and you missed me so much that you had to sneak off to come all the way across the world just to look for me?"

He clicked his tongue and shook his head.

"Tch. Tch. I don't know whether to feel touched that you went looking for me, or to feel upset that you ran away to such a dangerous place by yourself."

"No, you're mistaken." She shook her head, but the man continued talking as if she had not said a word.

"It is especially tragic since I would have sent for you within the next few days, once I set up where we need to be. You just came a few days earlier than expected."

"I didn't travel here by myself. I came with my aunt!" She insisted vehemently.

"I've already talked with your aunt, Dai Tien Ha." He leaned in to gaze into her eyes.

Up close, she could see his face a bit clearer. She had never met him before but Jasmine knew that if she had, she would have remembered his face.

It was that unique.

His dark brown hair was shoulder-length and a bit wavy and his eyes were dark coals with fire red deep within its depths. He had a strong jaw covered with a slight dark stubble of a beard that needed shaving.

He reached out and touched her nose.

"Your aunt has given her permission for me to do with you as I please."

"Liar. My aunt would never say that." She scowled at him. "I have friends who will go to the authorities if I am missing."

He leaned back and laughed.

"You don't have a clue how things work on this side of the Pacific do you?" He stood up, hands clasped before his lips in a thoughtful pose.

"I am the authority around here and I will personally guarantee your friend that every measure will be taken to keep you safe from all the thugs in this area."

Jasmine sniffed.

"You're the only thug around here."

"And don't you forget it either." He turned and snapped his fingers.

Immediately, two young men appeared through a side door and made their way towards her. Seeing no other way out, she jumped for the door, hoping against hope that it would be unlocked.

Luck was not with her as she struggled with the door-knob. The two young men had reached her by this point and had shackle her on either side. She was bodily lifted, kicking and cursing, and re-deposited on the hammock.

As she was struggling to untangle herself from all the bright pillows, Jasmine heard a click as her right hand was cuffed with a thick iron ring. It was connected to a short iron chain which was welded to the floor.

Tears sprang from her eyes as she threw herself towards him. Before she could reach him, the iron ring had yanked her back.

She swung at the air between them with her free left hand, screaming at the man who stood there watching her with inscrutable eyes.

"Relax, Jasmine. You will not be here for too long. I need to take you to another location soon. Now, you can go peacefully or I can knock you out."

He stood there, watching her struggle and shouting profanities for a few minutes.

"I was afraid of that. Gas her." He turned and walked out the door followed by his two inions.

As Jasmine tugged on the chain with frantic hands, she began to wail and cry, knowing that there was no way out for her.

The scent of plumeria and green tea grew more intense. She began to tingle all over. Even as Jasmine fought to stay conscious, her body began to wilt.

In two minutes, Jasmine had slumped to the floor.

☯︎☯︎☯︎

Darkness was all around him. It didn't matter if he opened his eyes or closed his eyes. It was an all-encompassing darkness. Whatever that had struck him in the head had made him go blind.

Blake squeezed his eyes shut and opened them again. His heart plummeted into an abyss. It was useless. There was no light anywhere in his world.

Suddenly, a tiny text popped up.

«Congratulations. Your daily allotment of Energy has increased from 4 to 5.»

Blake gasped. He could see the text message! He wasn't blind. He was just in a very dark place with no light.

He checked his green energy. Sure enough, his daily Energy gain had jumped, and it had increased because his level had increased from four to five.

For the first time, he noticed a tiny star on the top left, above all the other arrows that hid other system notifications. He touched the asterisk with his mind and a small bubble popped out.

Blake Johnston: Demon System Novice: Level 5

Blake laughed gently to himself. He actually had a rank in this stinking sordid system that had slapped him upside the head.

He dragged a wearied hand through the hair on top of his head and sighed. It had taken him this long to figure out that the star hid his system's ranking.

Well, if he couldn't see anything in this darkness other than the system's message boxes, it meant all he needed to do was to find something to light up the darkness.

Blake scrolled through his bag and found his lighter.

A quick flick showed him all he needed to know.

He was truly inside a lightless place. It was the size of a large chamber with rounded sides made of white clay that had been shaped by human hands on a throwing wheel.

Someone had trapped him within a piece of pottery similar to the ginger jar that had held Luis Olson.