Sky City Chronicles

Chapter 5: Captured

I awoke slowly, almost like trying to pull myself out of a pit with one arm. I opened my eyes and immediately saw the metal bars of a cell just a claw length or two from my muzzle. I shifted so that I could sit up, and as I moved the sound of rattling chains caught my attention. I looked down and saw the same restraints that had contained the previous prisoners had been attached to me, with one notable addition. The chains around my wrists attached to metal cases that confined my hands completely, effectively preventing me from using my claws to magic my way out of my bindings. I stood up and winced as the blows from Igneous' magic flared at the addition of weight, my vision blurring slightly as tears rushed into my eyes. I blinked them away and looked out of the bars, wanting to know if any of the prisoners I had helped to escape had been recaptured. Thankfully the cells as far as I could see were still empty, and I saw the chains I had broken still lay inside the doors, the locks blown apart by my spell, though it did little to calm the sense of doom hanging over my head.

I had failed my master. Plain and simple, I had failed him. I may have freed some dragons that might elude capture for a while, but without taking out Igneous and his generals there was little point to the victory. I limped back to the makeshift bed at the far side of the room and flopped down on the mattress to try and get some sleep. I knew there was nothing I could do at the moment, so I decided to get some sleep while I still could, hoping that once I got my strength back I could figure a way out of this trap without getting killed, or worse, converted.

I remembered how Ironscale had explained how Igneous took over the minds of dragons, "Igneous uses a dark substance known as the Bloodbane, and by simply making a dragon drink the stuff he can take over their minds with a simple spell. After that the only way to free the dragon is to destroy the one who enslaved him. That is why you must take out Igneous if we are to win this war. If he cannot be defeated then all hope has already been lost." The words rang out in my head like a chant to my failure, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get them to go away. Finally I hit myself over the head with one of the cases on my hands to distract myself from the words with some old-fashion pain. The chant went away for a little while, but soon the pain ebbed and the words came flooding back to taunt me once again.

Only when a voice spoke out from the door did the words abruptly cease, "So you're the one who caused us so much trouble yesterday." I turned and spied the female general standing at the side of my cell, two guards posted at her sides, "Without that power you have you'd already be part of my master's army, yet I can see why his punishment for you is quite sound, guilt and disappointment are wonderful torture devices because we use them on ourselves."

She smiled wickedly at me and I rolled over to face her, "Has it ever occurred to you what your master is doing to the land? Are you that clueless to not see the destruction he is causing to Drekinia?" I stepped up to the bars, my muzzle just inches from hers, "Look into my eyes and tall me that I do not have the courage to face your master. Tell me that I do not have the courage to fight every last one of you in my journey to reach him." I locked her ocean blue eyes with mine and held them until she looked away.

"What I see is not important." she said in a hushed tone. She looked at me and said in a stronger voice, "You will be fed twice a day, and given time to stretch your legs once every three days. Any actions to escape or fight will result in you being killed on sight, no matter what my master may want of you." She glared at me and then turned to leave.

I called after her as she left my field of vision, "You master is a tyrant! He will be the death of Drekinia if we do not stop him! Open your eyes and find the truth behind his words, for he will take over you as well if you do not comply with his wishes!" I huffed in frustration and limped back to the bed, flopping down with my back to the door and the rest of the room, my head in a flurry of possibilities of escape. The general's face somehow kept creeping into my thoughts until I couldn't stop thinking about her, and I had to pinch myself to get the image to go away, if only briefly.

I shook my head in frustration, "No. You cannot let yourself get distracted by her. The mission is to get out and back to Sage Ironscale so you can come up with a better plan of attack. Don't let yourself get tangled up in matters that could get you killed." I folded my wings over my sides and tried to get some rest, but no matter what I did to dispel her face, the general stayed in my thoughts until sleep finally took me. I had no idea at the time, but the same thoughts were bouncing around in her head at the exact same time, though she was a bit more affected than I.