Enslaved

Chapter 50

Ryuu crouched with his wings tucked in tight, the shuffling of everybody behind him barely louder than the wind as they waited for the shift change outside the castle grounds. His eyes were straining against the dim light of the moon as he tried to make out the patrol, barely blinking and breathing shallowly. Kajeel was somewhere within those walls. Kaida was in there. A hand touched his shoulder and he turned carefully, coming face to face with one of his soldiers.

"The shift is right about to change." They whispered, glancing over Ryuu's shoulder before looking back to him. "You take the tunnels to the dungeon, Kaida should be held there. We will storm the barracks and meet you at the castle. Just as we planned, right?"

Ryuu felt gratitude swell in his chest as he looked at this soldier and he nodded before turning to the entire collective rebellion. They had only left behind the too injured and the too young, not willing to risk the lives of those already injured and the lives that had barely started. They all looked up at him, their eyes flashing the reflection of the moonlight and he repressed his emotions, giving them a smile he knew they all understood.

"Fly fast, fight strong." He knew his voice was heard by all despite the low volume at which he spoke. "And never second guess that I am proud of all of you."

He saw all of them smile and he turned, opening his wings and staring the castle one more time before looking lower at the little town that surrounded it. He had to get into that town and into their tunnel system that lead all the way to the castle. Without being spotted. He took a deep breath and took off, flying low over the land and making sure that he stayed in the shadows as much as possible. He had borrowed an old, mostly intact guard uniform from one of the new members and the mark of the Emperor seemed to burn his chest where it lay, whispering at him to rip it off. He gritted his teeth and came to a stop right outside the first house, landing silently and folding his wings in tight.

He took another deep breath and started walking, keeping his head up as his eyes scanned everywhere for an opening to the tunnels. Slowly, the houses started getting closer and closer together, the sound and smell of the humans assaulting his nose to the point where he almost started coughing. He passed house after house, most of the humans inside and asleep at this hour, not seeing anything that yelled at him that the tunnels were there. He was starting to think that his intel was wrong or he would have to wake somebody up to ask them where they were and pretend there was a reason when he turned his head and looked down a narrow gap between houses and saw it, several bars on the ground that covered up a hole.

He turned sharply and walked down the narrow opening, having to stretch his wings out behind him slightly in an uncomfortable position so they did not scrape along the walls. He reached the bars and knelt, grabbing one and shaking. Dirt plumed downward in the hole as the bar shook and he smiled faintly, finally some luck. He grabbed the bar tighter and pushed with all his strength, smiling wider when the bar gave away and fell into the hole. He did that with a few more before the opening was just wide enough to fit him as long as he stretched his wings above his head as he did so.

He slid into the hole, his wings getting caught for a fraction of a second before the dirt gave away and he was inside the hole. He carefully maneuvered his wings so they were on his back as he crouched in the short tunnel, letting his eyes adjust to the pitch black. He lifted his face and took in the air, hoping something would lead him in the direction of the castle. Only foul odors met his nose and he winced, his face screwing up into a half snarl. He then closed his eyes and thought about where the hole was in direction of the castle and turned around, walking in that direction with confidence.

"I'm coming Kaida."

The tunnels were damp, dirty, and foul, everything he expected out of the humans. Even with all of that taken into consideration, they were poorly made, with whole sections one good rainstorm away from caving in and he wished he had known that earlier so he could've gone on a mission to collapse all of them right under the humans noses. He turned another corner and came face to face with another set of bars, these ones not as loose as the other ones. He snarled very quietly before grabbing one with both hands and pulling, shaking, and pushing it. Doing anything to get some leverage over it. He frowned when it barely moved and looked at the ground where it disappeared into and smiled slightly. Then he started to dig.

***

He held his knife in his right hand, his left at the ready as he rounded corner after corner of the dungeon, his eyes peeled for any sign of a hybrid. He had come out of the tunnels through a large, heavy metal circle in the ground, which he had promptly replaced as soon as he had moved it. He knew his shoes and feet were going to smell foul for years and he repressed a shudder at that as he continued to sneak around corners, his ears and eyes peeled. It was as quiet as the tunnels in here and the silence seemed to press on his ears the longer he walked. He turned his head to look down a side hallway and saw the glistening green blood nearly coating on cell and he felt his heart stop.

He walked over to the cell and noticed how the blood seemed to go up that hallway and disappear around the corner before he looked closer at the cell and took a deep breath. Wildflowers and snow. Kaida had been here, she had been hurt. Ryuu snarled loudly this time, whipping his head up and following the trail of green blood as it snaked through the dungeon. A feeling of unease swirled in his gut as he encountered no resistance, wondering where all the guards were. He stopped at a corner and slowly peeked around his, his hand tightening on his knife as he did so just in case. There was a staircase but no guards. He frowned again and followed it up, wondering where everybody was. They couldn't all be at the barracks, could they?

He followed the green blood trail up stairway after stairway and down one hallway after another, slowly coming up to the ground level of the castle and to the decorated interior. His footfalls were silent as he walked down a corridor toward a huge wooden door, the sound of people behind him abrasive on his ears after so much silence. He came right up to the door but didn't open it, knowing that all the attention would be on him if he did so and instead looked up and around, looking for an alternate way in. He spotted a hallway leading to a staircase that wound around the big room; a balcony, maybe? He headed toward it quickly and had just reached the stairs when he heard a scream and his heart stopped.

"Please, I don't know where he is!"

Kaida. His blood boiled and he nearly flew up the stairs, crouching once he got to the top, he had been right this was a balcony. His eyes scanned the floor that was nearly covered in people until his eyes found the Emperor where he was lounging on his throne, smiling cruelly down at the two hybrids that were right in front of him. He turned his gaze away from the monster of a man and looked more closely at the hybrids, recognizing the golden hair immediately. He watched as the other hybrid raised a chain and brought it down on Kaida's back, ripping through clothes, skin, and scales like water and her scream tore through his chest. His eyes narrowed in on the other hybrid and he felt his face drain of all blood as he recognized the build and hair of the other hybrid.

Ryuu stood up and flared open his wings, taking off with such force that he nearly crashed into the chandelier, only the years of experience letting him avoid it. He landed right in front of Kaida and raised his head, letting his snarl echo through the room and silence it as he looked up at the Emperor and the hybrid that dared to hurt his mate. The Emperor smiled and Ryuu ignored him, raising his knife and letting out another deathly snarl right in Kajeel's face.