The Weaponsmaster

Chapter 38

Drea awoke with her hands above her head. The cold claws of manacles enveloped her wrists and ankles. She blinked her eyes groggily and tried to look around. There was only darkness enveloping her, throwing her back into her black dreams.

She could hear voices in her head, stopping her from falling completely asleep. Andrea, you need to wake up!

They were the voices of a man and a woman. What? she responded. She was confused, and could remember nothing. She didn’t even know her own name anymore.

Please wake up Andrea. It was the woman’s voice alone now.

But who are you? I don’t remember anything.

 There was a considerable pause. For a moment, Drea thought she really had gone crazy and was talking with herself.

She could feel someone’s unease, but she wasn’t sure if it was her own or someone else’s. The female spoke again, We needed to do something to help after we realized what we’d done…

Drea didn’t understand, but she didn’t have time to. She felt her body go limp and her mind go blank. Floods of images came back to her and she remembered all at once. Korena. Shawn. The portal.  

Anger coursed through her before she could stop it. When she spoke though, she only felt defeat, Why did you do that to me? You made me come here.

Do you remember that time with Shena? said Korena. I knew something was controlling me, and thankfully, we overcame it, but this time was different. It was so much stronger. They took Shawn too. We didn’t even realize what happened until we saw where you were.

We had to fix our mistake, Shawn said, but there was nothing we could do. The Lori would come in to use your memory to their advantage, so we hid it away. We wiped you clean so there was nothing they could find.

Drea took a breath and opened her eyes. It was still dark. She could see nothing, not even the space in front of her. She could feel the cold from the room creep into her bones, making her shudder.

Thank you, but how did they get to you?

We aren’t sure, Korena said. They did something to keep us under control, but whatever it was wore off when we got here.

Drea thought on this for a moment. Korena and Shawn had been controlled easily. Whoever their enemy was, they were strong.

Just then, a door on the far side of the room opened up, bathing Drea in light. She was blinded for a moment, and couldn’t see the Lori who was stepping towards her. She was too weak to do anything other than watch as it came closer.

“Remember me?” She did. Its voice had that same smooth feel that she remembered. Rikta.

“I didn’t tell you this last time, but I needed a way to make sure that if you did happen to escape, I could bring you back to me with little effort.” She didn’t like where this was inevitably going. Rikta smiled and grabbed her by the chin. “When you came to us, you were wounded and weak. All we had to do was administer a special type of poison. It was experimental of course, but it appears to have worked.”

He paused, trying to build up the drama. “We used that poison to control you and the beings within you. All we had to do was keep them under control, and you would be ours, and here you are.”

“But a poison would’ve killed me already,” stuttered Drea, her voice gravelly from disuse. She wondered how long she’d been trapped there.

“This poison was only meant to control, not to kill. It’s already worn off, but it’ll be easy to give you another dose.”

What a foul trick, Zen echoed in her head.

Zen! What happened to you?

Humph. The poison can’t control me, but it can paralyze me. I couldn’t give you any fire.

Do you see any way out of this?

He was quiet, but that silence was all she needed to hear. They were doomed, and she would be the Weaponsmaster to resurrect Alka after so many centuries.

“It won’t be much longer now,” said Rikta. “Soon we will take you to your death, but for now, relax. I’ll give you the poison soon.” He left the room, locking her once again in darkness.

Drea struggled against the chains, trying to melt them, cut them, anything, but nothing would work. She fell limp and noticed a warm liquid dripping down her bare arms. Do doubt it was blood from her wrists. She’d bleed out soon if she stayed there. Maybe that’s the answer, she thought, maybe if I die, it will be better for all of us.

Andrea what are you thinking? Shawn interjected angrily. She’d never really heard him get angry like that before.

I either kill myself or they use me as a human sacrifice and then I die. What other choice do I have?

You are so much stronger than you think Andrea! Korena said. Maybe you can be the Weaponsmaster to finally defeat Alka.

How can I do that in this condition? I can barely lift my head…How do you expect to get out of here without being caught again?

It doesn’t matter, but don’t give up. Shawn was adamant.

Drea tried to listen to him, though she found that she couldn’t anymore. She was feeling lightheaded from the loss of blood and couldn’t focus. Her strength was fading and her last thought became: What a terrible way to die… She blacked out, wondering if she’d ever see the light of day again.

Sometime during the night, she felt the presence of someone else come in. Even in her comatose state, she could feel the pressure on her ankles and wrists release. Gravity pulled her lifeless body to the floor. All she felt was pain, pain in her wrists, pain in her head, and pain in her heart.   

When she was about to hit the ground though, someone caught her. Drea felt herself being lifted in someone’s arms, and thought of Danny for a moment before plummeting back down to reality. It was a Lori’s energy that was around her.

She felt warmth and knew a portal had been opened. In only a few seconds, she could feel pressure all around her, compressing her. She was still being held.

            The pressure increased and her mind went blank. The arms tightened around her. She thought whoever held her said something, but she didn’t catch it. Her body tumbled into the darkness as her mind followed.