The *** and the Parliament

As I started to become conscious, I realized what monumental pain I was in. I felt as though I had fallen from a great distance and broken a few bones upon landing. I thought it best not to move.

"How did you get here?" I heard a woman ask.

"Magic," answered a second voice.

"Magic as in a spell," she clarified.

"Correct."

"In that case, you and... your friend came here voluntarily?"

"Well," the second voice defended, "it's not like we expected to wind up in a dungeon."

Elliot.

I opened my eyes and turned just in time to spew vomit all over a dirt floor.

"Ah, the girl's awake," the woman said and came to stand over me. Though my eyes hadn't adjusted, I saw that her dark skin was covered in lash marks—some old scars and some new wounds. Her face like stone, she inquired, "Why are you here?"

Even if it were physically possible for me to answer her question, I would not know what to say. It was then that I realized that Elliot's and my plan had not extended beyond making it into the demons' realm. Well, we were here. So now what?

All of a sudden, the woman turned her head sharply and said, her eyes wide, "Someone's coming."