Raven of Water

Chapter 22: Caged

I awoke to a splitting headache and a spinning world, making me wonder for a moment what I drank earlier to get so hungover. Then, all the memories slammed back into me like a freight train.

Kai. Betrayal. Violence. Nightmares.

Gasping, my eyes flew open, and I shot up only to find myself restrained at the wrists and ankles. With a groan, I moved, feeling the weights holding me and looking down to find I was chained to a stone floor in a cell.

I knew these cells. They were a secluded part of the warren of ceremonial tunnels used by my coven. This portion of the tunnels contained magically reinforced prison cells to hold dissidents and enemy coven members, though I couldn't remember the last time they'd been used.

Was it before my grandfather had killed those who'd challenged him? Yes, he'd kept them here before murdering them. Like he was probably going to murder me.

The chains rattled, drawing my attention to them. They were new.

Strange.

The small space was only lit by candlelight, which cast sinister shadows while the steady drip of water against stone explained the sickening mustiness I smelled.

Curious, I looked down at my restraints in the flickering light and let my magic fan out and into the items holding me, nearly crying out in agony at the pain caused by my magic connecting with the items. The power of these heavy cuffs was more sinister even than the magic of the bracelet, the leash, Kai had used on me earlier. These new cuffs didn't only block my access to my powers, but they also tortured me when I tried to push through that blockage and touch that magic from that internal well.

I sniffed as the blinding pain from the cuffs faded, leaving me to raise my hand as best I could and wipe my runny nose.

Tramping down panic, I took stock of my situation.

There was nothing in the cell, no bed, no chair, nothing. I had those thick cuffs of odd metal on either wrist and ankle, all four connected to a fat chain bolted to the floor. The ones on my ankles were both attached to the thick chain but not each other, while the ones on my wrist were joined by a thinner chain connected to the thick one by an intricate lock.

The giant, fat chain keeping me attached to the floor reminded me of the chains I used to see sitting by the dock when I visited the beach. They were the kinds of chains used on small fishing vessels, not to hold prisoners.

Fighting back tears, I stared at the thick bars of the cell. I needed to keep my wits about me to plan, to—

In the distance, the sound of a metal door opening shattered the eerie quiet of my cell, and biting my lip, I quickly laid down, careful to hold the large chain steady so that it wouldn't make a sound as more than one pair of feet approached. Willing my tears to stop falling, I turned my head away from the bars. Whoever was approaching didn't need to see my face. They needed to assume I was sleeping until I could make sense of... everything.

The arrivals stopped next to my cell, presumably staring through the bars and at me as they began conversing.

"Are you sure those things will hold her? The house is a fucking disaster because of her." Jackson's voice made my blood run cold, especially as I recalled that hazy memory of him with the needle raised and pointed straight at me.

"I already told the old man," Kai's gravelly purr was a knife in my heart, and I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from crying or moving. Unconscious. I had to pretend to be unconscious.

Without missing a beat, Kai continued. "Those chains could hold a God. They're far older and far more powerful than the bracelet was."

"If you're fucking lying—"