Lucia's limbs went slack, it was a miracle she remained on her feet, and the Sapere Aude fell from her hands to the floor with a distinct thump that went unheard. Her eyes widened, unbelieving of the scene before her eyes, staged in what was once the master bedroom of the mansion.
Hektor was strung to the ceiling, not by chains or rope, but by wild rose vines. The same type that had sealed the door shut, only these flowers were a vibrant gold instead of baleful black. His clothing was torn through where the vines were lashed, thorns digging into his skin and letting blood drip to the floor. He looked unconscious, and Lucia had no idea how long he had been hanging there, with the vines twisting around every articulated joint, his throat, his mouth, and over his eyes. Did they do this to him as soon as they parted ways for the evening?
"H-Hektor!" she squeaked, and rushed into the room. She flinched at the pool of blood under his body and the black markings on the walls. "Oh my... shit! Shit shit shit shit! Hektor don't be dead you jerk!"
He twitched. Lucia sank to the floor in relief, her hands landing in the blood but she was too distracted to even notice anymore. He wasn't dead. It took her a moment to regain her senses, and after she struggled to her feet and over to a heavy chair. He was too high into the air for her to reach, but she needed to get him down. She couldn't tell how injured he was - if he had been human she'd have been screaming her head off since there was no way he'd still be alive.
"Hang on," she said. She climbed onto the chair and grabbed the vines, sucking in her breath sharply as they dug into her palms.
They were sturdier than the ones on the door. Casting a frantic gaze around, knowing that each moment she took Hektor had to be in excruciating pain, Lucia spotted a silver letter opener on the bureau in the room. It gave her pause, since she hadn't noticed it when she first came in and she didn't think his captors would leave a possible weapon just lying there. Unless they were using it on him?
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