Descent - Mattheo Riddle

Chapter four

Lucia

"You are capable of this, Lucia. I have faith in you. You must have faith in yourself as well."

"They are here because of you. They want your power."

"The consequences would be catastrophic if they were to succeed."

A sharp pain in my head slowly woke me from my comatose sleep.

My eyes blinked open, and it took me a moment to adjust to the dim light before I could take in my surroundings. I was in a room that was only sparsely lit by a few candles on the wall. These were in front of a row of bars that looked old and rusty, but sturdy. Otherwise, all around me were bare, beige-colored, old stone walls and in front of me, on the other side of the cell, a huge wooden double door with metal fittings.

It wasn't long before I realized that I was in chains. Heavy metal chains were tied around my arms, legs, and neck. I was able to stand up, but barley other movements were possible. I tugged at the chains and tried to move to escape the hard and cold grip of my shackles, but it wasn't possible.

I let out a cry of sheer desperation, but of course that didn't help either, it only increased my frustration. Slowly, I let myself sink back against the cold stone wall; my eyes closed. The worst had happened. Lord Voldemort had me.

What if he could take my powers and make them his own? There wouldn't be much I could do about it.

After a short time, I opened my eyes again and slowly and carefully surveyed my surroundings once again. It took some time for my eyes to adjust to the dim light of the dungeon, and then I saw the small details. There were countless tiny sigils carved into the bars, into the heavy chains around my limbs and neck. Seals that I had only seen in books during my studies. Seals that prevented me from using my ancient magic.

Of course. Of course, they had been prepared for everything. This whole thing must have been planned for ages. And now I was here, now they had me and could do whatever they wanted. I was done. And if the last words I heard from my brother before his certain death were true... then the world was finally done too.

Hope Lucia... don't give up. You're trapped, but he hasn't tried anything yet...it's not too late, I heard my mother's reassuring voice. She had always been the one who had the right words and reassured us when something came up. Presumably this was now a trick of my subconscious to keep me sane.

I sighed and ran my hands through my face, although even that wasn't easy with the chains on my arms. I didn't know where I was or what time it was. Since my sense of time is not the best and I was still numb until recently, I didn't even know what day it was. Was it the same day as before? Or had I possibly been trapped for days and only woken up now?

That was rather unlikely, but you never know. I sighed, followed by another unsuccessful attempt to pull at the chains, as if they would suddenly come loose.

I leant my head against the wall and closed my eyes again, hoping I could think of a solution to this dilemma, but right now my mind was just blank. Suddenly I heard a creak, a sharp scrape across the hard floor. The big door must have been opened. My gaze shot upwards, and I saw a young man, he couldn't be much older than me, step inside.

He was tall, had thick brown hair and dark brown eyes. His features were sharp, his gaze was cold, and yet a mischievous grin played around his lips.

"Well, well.... if this isn't the source of ultimate power..."

Mattheo

A few days earlier, May 4th

The rain pounded relentlessly against the ancient walls of the castle.