The Dragon War

chapter VI

The plan was simple, of course easier said than done but they knew they could pull this off. Anya had already snuck off from the two and went to Ingram's room while the boys made sure he didn't go anywhere. So far everything was going according to plan. Ingram seemed to be enjoying his time in the dining hall. Levi made sure to keep a close on him. It's been two days now since Kairi has disappeared.

Anya explained to them what Ingram's playroom actually was. Turns out he was a very sadistic bastard and enjoyed torturing others. The thought of it made Levi grit his teeth. He knew if that man had laid a finger on her he was going to kill him but that was wishful thinking. The man seemed to know who she was, and he wouldn't have gone through all this trouble to not hurt her. The real question was, what did he want from Kairi. Was it the reward for dragon-kin or more?

Finally Anya had come back. The boys followed after her making sure nobody was watching them as they left. They couldn't afford to have somebody grow suspicious of them already. Wherever it was that Ingram had Kairi it was hidden deep in this place. Levi assumed it was to make sure nobody could hear the screams. The very thought of that made his skin crawl.

"You two hide over there while I get rid of the guards," Anya told them as she handed them the keys, "I can't promise you this will work out but it's our only chance."

The two followed her orders and hid while she got the guards to leave the door. Once she managed that it was their turn. Anya stayed outside to keep watch for the guards coming back while the two went downstairs to get Kairi. The place was dark and reeked of blood. Levi had to take one of the lanterns from the entrance to be able to see where he was going. You could hear water dripping from the ceilings. It was hard to believe anything could be alive down here. The air was heavy and the smell was suffocating.

As they reached the end of the stairs they discovered the source of the smell. Bodies hung on the wall rotting away. Most of them appeared human but there were a few that were dragon-kin as well.

"What the hell," Cade asked while covering his mouth from the smell, "I hope Kairi is still alive."

"We both do," Levi answered.

That's when they found her there in a cell, her arms held above her head in shackles leaving her feet to dangle above the ground. Blood was dripping down every part of her body. Levi almost dropped the lantern at the sight of Kairi. She appeared to be unconscious as he handed the light over to Cade. Immediately he went to unlock the cell door and rushed over to Kairi.

He took her face into his hands, "Kairi please tell me you are still with us?"

She didn't respond at first but then she slowly opened her eyes and looked at him. She cracked a small smile of relief as she saw his worried face, "You're okay, thank goodness." and her mind succumbed back to darkness after barely being able to say those few words.

Levi quickly went to taking the shackles off that had now bruised her wrists before picking her up. He looked to Cade to lead them out of her but were greeted by Anya as they turned around.

"We need to leave now!"

Rushing back upstairs they followed Anya through this dark underground maze. They could hear the men behind them, the shouts and screams as they ran after the four. It was obvious Anya was packing to find a way out of there. This of course irritated Levi as Kairi's life was on the line.

"Anya do you know where you are going?" Levi asked out of frustration.

"Yes! But I am also trying to lose these idiots in the process", she screamed back at him.