Sianna and the Soulweaver

Chapter 8- The Transport Carriage

The red of his irises, those razor-sharp teeth, the pleased glint in his eyes; I know I have officially run into one of the worst of them.

"You should have stuck with Alistar." The man called Lira remarks, blowing a burst of purple dust in my face and scooping me up into his arms.

•••••••••

My head bangs against something hard, stirring me somewhat conscious. I reach for the sore spot to rub it and groan inwardly, wincing at the stinging pain. Forcing my eyes open, I try to orient myself and realize that I must be moving, the bounce of my body flinging back and forth as we bump over some sort of rubble. I want to stand up and it dawns on me that I am unable to do so; the cage I'm enclosed in does not allow for such free movement. I am so scared and I can't get up, I don't remember what happened-

"Rise and shine, princess." A man's sarcastic tone forces my eyes forward, my stomach lurching when my brain connects the blurry dots and I remember the monster man with red eyes.

Lira.

He is on horseback, leading the wheeled cage that he appears to have trapped me in. The horse has a gorgeous black mane and tail, her shiny fur glinting in the sunlight. Despite my horrifying situation, I cannot help but feel a kinship with the gentle creature; I am sure she'd rather be roaming green pastures but instead is forced to cart me and this asshole around. The horse neighs as if hearing my empathetic thoughts, turning her neck around towards me and throwing her head back in acknowledgement.

Um...whoa. I am losing it.

"You know, I have to say I admire your endurance; outrunning Alistar is no easy task. But I think we must both admit you are not doing very well at this whole escape thing, are you?" I respond with silence and yet he continues, his voice nonchalant like he's just talking about the weather. "I have to ask, did you really think that you were actually outside, like in your world―or even out in our world, for that matter? As if we'd let that happen." Again I remain quiet, although I don't really have to answer; he knows that's exactly what I thought, or at least what I was hoping for anyway.

"Young lady, you haven't felt the real wind since those two bumbling idiots of mine scooped you up and brought you through the portal. It's an illusion, that area that Alistar was escorting you through; we call it False Fields. It is meant for special events and training, residing safely here inside Heilstone Castle. There is a magical barrier to give it the impression of the outdoors, but with the added protection of our castle walls. Clever, huh?" He sounds sickly satisfied with himself, like he crafted it with his own two clawed hands or something; perhaps he did. And if what he says is true, which at this point I have to assume it is, then running has been pointless pretty much this whole time. This revelation makes me feel absolutely hopeless and more stupid than ever, another palmful of dirt tossed onto my inevitable casket.

But what else could I have done? I couldn't just throw my hands in the air and give up, I still can't do that. I won't do that.

"Let me out of this cage, please." I reach for the wooden bars blocking me from exiting, leaning my forehead against one and holding back my tears.

"Cage? Such a harsh word. I like to call them transport carriages; a fun little invention of mine, actually. Vianah and Alistar think they're a bit too harsh, off-pudding, demeaning...blah blah blah. Those morons have always been too soft on our new prospects, convincing magic bottom feeders to do our bidding with words instead of action. They like to avoid chains if they can; I tend to disagree. I mean, don't you find this a bit more effective? I don't see you running now." He laughs at his own taunting, more sadistic and evil with every sentence.