Taken

Chapter 29

I'm in a cell.

            Or the Arco version of a cell, at least. The walls are a smooth wood and blend seamlessly into the ceiling and the floor. A windowless door sets in the far wall and there is a single light bobbing along the ceiling, painfully reminding me of Lux who is nowhere to be seen.

            My hands are crusted with dried blood, but I'm glad that nothing new joins them when I cough again. That heavy weight is still pressing down on my chest, making it difficult to breathe, but my hands and ankles are no longer tied, leaving me to move freely about my small cell.

            Where are Leo and Vul then? And what about Lux? What did they do to my friends? Are they even alive?

            Stop thinking like that, Ari, I scold myself as I struggle onto all fours and shake my head to rid the morbid thoughts. They have to be okay, they have to be.

            I cough again and squeeze my eyes shut against the pain. What was in that sandwich, anyway?

            After a moment the pain simmers down to a bearable amount, letting me stand on wobbling legs.

            Okay Ari, think. You have to think.

            The door is locked (figures) and there is nothing in the room aside from me and the single light floating around the ceiling—

            Wait.

            I stare up at the light, squinting against its brightness as I try to figure out if it's another light pixie.

            "Hey!" I whisper-shout as I lean against one of the walls for support. "Ms. Light-Pixie, can you understand me?"

            The orb begins to float down in a tight spiral, spinning and spinning until it's inches away from my face.

            "Who are you calling a 'Ms.' love?" the pixie asks as its light dims to reveal a definite male pixie.

            Oops.

            "Oh, uh sorry," I say as I wipe the sweat off my brow. "I didn't know there were guy pixies."

            He rolls his eyes and crosses his arms over his chest. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Now what do you want, I don't got all day love."

            Well you don't have to be so rude for starters, I scowl.

            "Do you know where we are? And how I can get out of here and find my sister? And what about my friends? Lux, she's a light pixie too, do you know where she is? What about Vul and Leo? Are they all right? And—"

            "Whoa, whoa, whoa," the pixie says as he waves his hand in front of me to cease my babble. "One question at a time, love. I'm only one pixie."

            I grin sheepishly. "Sorry."

            The guy leans onto his back with his arms behind his head, floating in lazy circles around me. He has short, wild hair and impish features, his eyes pinched and glowing.

            "You, young host," he says casually while examining his finger nails. "Are in the most sacred place in Caelum. The Bratus."

            What am I doing here? Why would Rufus bring me to the place I want to be?