"Behold, wench and rinse your eyes well because you won't be back down here for a long while after this!"
Zarah's voice came from behind Arabella but even then, the grin on her face was somehow audible.
"Arthur…," Arabella mouthed again.
"Yes," the older woman spoke again, "Cry all the tears in your body if you must for you have caused the suffering of your family,"
Waiting not a second longer, Arabella launched forward, reaching for the metal bars, but right as the tips of her fingers curled around them, the soul was nearly wrenched out of her from the back of her head.
Zarah had gripped her by the hair so tightly to keep her in place that the shards of pain that shot through her neck almost knocked her out cold.
"Keep those filthy hands of yours away from the bars!" the old hag practically growled.
Her fist only wrapped around her raven hair harder. So much so that Arabella's scalp tingled with invisible electrical sparks.
