The Dragon War

chapter IV

The man led them to a secret underground area in a back alleyway. Kairi could hear his followers whispering to each other about something. She was starting to get a bad feeling about his and held onto Levi's hand tighter. Cade followed suit behind the two. She could hear his heart pounding into his chest causing her to look back to him.

"It's going to be okay Cade, just stay close," she told him.

Cade eyes searched everywhere. Nothing seems wrong about the place but it was the people there that gave him the creeps. They were rough looking, scars all over, and didn't look friendly at all.

    You shouldn't judge a book by it's cover Cade

The man, who they now assumed to be the leader, suddenly turned around to face them, "I hope the place doesn't give you too much of the creeps, safety before comfort as I always tell them," looking over to his men.

Levi gave the man a questioning look but didn't say anything to him.

"What is your name, you know who I am but I don't know who you are?" Kairi piped up.

The man looked at her confused, but there was shock there as well behind his eyes, "You can call me Ingram, I am the leader here."

Hearing the name caused her head to hurt. It was like her mind was fighting to remember who this man is. She decided she wouldn't tell the boys as she had nothing to really validate the feeling she was getting from this place. She was brought back from her thoughts by Cade.

"Are you okay? You seem distracted?"

"It's nothing," she reassured him.

"Now let's get you guys to your quarters!" Ingram spoke excitedly.

He had a man cladded in leather and greying hair lead them to where they would stay. The place was dark and dreary. Stone walls covered in dirt and grime from age. The only light to show them the way was the lit lanterns on the wall. The cackling of the flames was the only sound that could be heard till the man stopped in front of a wooden door and spoke up.

"This is where the men will stay. You," he pointed to Kairi, "come with me the leader wishes to speak to you privately."

She looked back to the guys. Cade seemed worried as Levi gave her a reassuring smile to go on ahead. She followed the man down more twist and turns till they stopped at another wooden door. He opened the door to reveal a large room. There was a large bed covered in many pelts at the center of the back wall. A large wooden chest sat at the foot of the bed. Across from it you could see a large wardrobe where the opposite wall center was a desk. The warm glow of an oil lamp showed Ingram sitting there with his back turned to them.

"You may leave us," he spoke up without even lifting his head up from what he was doing.

The man stepped aside and left, leaving Kairi there with his leader. Silence swallowed the room. She stepped inside the room slowly feeling the softness of a bear pelt on the pads of her feet. Her eyes turned to the fireplace, the warm glow drawing her in. As a dragon-kin her body temperature was lower than most humans but not as cold as reptiles. However it didn't make the colder months any easier for her.

"You don't remember anything from before the war began, do you?" the sudden question made her snap head up.

"No, my memories from before then are a blur. I barely remember that day," she was weary of revealing anything to this man but she couldn't hide that her memories were gone, "Would you care to fill in the gaps of how you know me?"