Finding Home - The Light

Chapter Twenty Seven - The Bound Captive

CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN

The Bound Captive

Sara stared in disgust at the metal braces digging into her wrists. After her outburst in the dungeon she had collapsed on the balcony, too weak to stand. She was carried back upstairs in Vladimir's strong arms, his scowling face never leaving hers on the climb up. Once they were back in the bedroom he tossed her onto the bed and brought a set of chains out of nowhere.

"You can't be serious," she said, eyeing the chains warily. "I didn't even attack you."

He secured her wrists to one of the four corners of the bed without saying a word to her. Once she was securely bound he left, passing Bazel along the way. He was carrying a familiar tray with her meager meal on it.

He slowly lifted a spoonful of soup to her parched lips and let it trickle into her mouth. She swallowed gratefully, grimacing at the slight aftertaste. She took another sip of the soup, and felt her eyelids grow heavy.

"Thank you, Bazel" she said between bitter sips.

Her eyes shot wide open focusing on the watery looking soup being fed to her. She mentally slapped herself in the forehead as she realized why she was so tired, why she couldn't concentrate, why she couldn't just freely call on the magic within her. They had been drugging her since she arrived. Sara pulled her head back as Bazel attempted to give her another spoonful. She buried her anger inside and smiled.

"I'm really tired."

She let her eyes slowly drift close, listening as Bazel gathered the tray and shuffled away from the bed. His footsteps stopped when he neared the door. She barely heard his whisper across the room.

"I'm sorry, Lady Sara."

Sara waited until the door closed and she could no longer hear his footsteps before pulling herself upright using the wooden post she was attached to. She moved as slow as she could to keep the chains from rattling loudly in the quiet room. She stood and stretched the chains to their full length, disappointed when she could take only one step away from the bed before her wrist were held back. She sat back down on the edge of the bed and looked around the large room. With nothing else to do, she closed her eyes a drifted to sleep.

The windows were still open when she awoke, letting a warm breeze into the dark room. Bright coals from last nights fire were still burning in the fireplace. There was even a pitcher of water sitting on the table next to the bed, but out of her reach. She wandered if Vladimir was careless, or confident.

She closed her eyes and concentrated on all three elements. She could feel the cool tingle on her back as the wind picked up, blowing the curtains loose around the bed. The fire spread from her stomach, heating her to her fingertips. The calm cooling sensation of the water flushed over her. She could feel the three merging around her and inside her.

Her eyes shot open when the door opened to reveal Vladimir standing in the doorway, a look close to awe on his face. She smiled when she noticed the flickering aura surrounding her. Red, blue, and purple swirled together in a shimmering light over her skin.

"Hello Vlad," she purred softly. "It seems I slept the morning away."

The aura was quickly turning red as her pent up anger threatened to pour out. She continued to smile sweetly as he slowly approached the bed. She wanted more than anything to attack , but her chains held her back.

"You're awake now," he said, cautiously returning her smile. "And you're very... bright. What are you going to do with that?" he asked indicating her swirling aura.

She thought of Travis and wished that she could use it to kill him now. But they would never make it out of Leyden alive if Vladimir were dead. She felt the magic fade from her body as the aura faded away.