In Dreams I Lie

Chapter Nine: The Inside of a Coffin

My kidnapper smiles at me as I answer the last question. It is a chilling smile, full of demons and other mischief. He stands, and brushes off his legs. "Nice work, Princess." Then he spins away from me and calls out to some person lurking in the shadows. "We're all done here, Altol. You can bring the antidote now."

Altol? Who is Altol? The last thing I desire at this moment is to have to deal with another thick headed kidnapper. And then there is the other concerning language. What is that antidote? If an antidote is needed, that begs the question of what have they done to me? If it's poison, I will curse myself for not being more careful in my preparations. A sharp stab, not unlike the one in the back of my neck before makes me jump. Gah, needles. The thought makes me want to cringe into a tiny ball of nothingness and fade away. Sansori doesn't mind getting her blood draw or vaccines or other such atrocities, but sticking a thin, spearlike wad of metal into my arm had never been weighted with any sort of appeal. But I have other items to worry about besides needles. The cave is wavering against my eyes, turning fuzzy like an image through water or fuel smog. The ground below me flips, then flips again, my clenched knuckles are the only thing keeping me attached. Sharp pain shoots through my head. I want to tell them to stop pulling my hair out by the roots, just to leave me in peace, I answered all their fucking questions, now didn't I, but I can't. My mouth is welded shut and my tongue is swollen to such a size that I cannot move it. The agony spreads from my head to my hands, intertwining itself with my bones and kissing my bloodstream. It builds, from pricks to burning to pure hell fire, and just when it passes the precipice, my eye shoot open.

The cave no longer exists. In it's place I see a foreboding metal ceiling, covered in a thin fur of mold. It drips water, or at least what I hope is water, into black dirty pools around the room. It is lit with torches, and yet somehow they don't give off any smoke. While the cave may have stopped turning me about, my stomach still follows it's motions, back and forth, up and down, inside and out. Shadows move in the corner of my eyes, and the boy stands over me again. It takes a moment for me to realize that I am lying down and that he is not walking on the ceiling.

Slowly, he reaches down and untethers the leather strips binding my wrists. I had no idea they were there. Normally, the abrupt change of location would have shocked me, but all that fills my mind now is the fire in my head and the churning in my stomach. Worse, twinges of magic pinch my hands and eyes. Illness or discomfort can do that. Now I split my mind, using one half to concentrate on the actions, and half pinning down the writhing beast inside.

"Welcome to reality, Princess." The boy says. To show how sick I really am, only a tiny fraction of me dreams of slapping him. "How was your stay in dream world? The cave is one of our best illusions, I hope you enjoyed it."

The matter is beginning to become clearer, despite the rebellion of my body and senses.  They must have drugged me, inducing hallucinations and then somehow controlled them. Magic was most likely involved, but still I have no idea who the sorcerer could be. Sansori would be able to track them in her sleep, but I have not used my magic in years. Not since him.

Another boy enters my line of vision, hovering above me. He has the same dark eyes of my kidnapper, but lighter hair, dark, soft brown instead of deep black. He grins, in a way that I can only describe as evil, all clichés aside.

"So you got her to sing then, Colier?" He asks. In his hand lies a needle, so I'm assuming that he's Altol, the antidote guy.

My kidnapper, oh dear, when did I start referring to him as mine? A girl shouldn't lay claim to a kidnapper. He mimics the expression on Altol's face and finishes unleashing my arm. "Like a bird through all the cussing."

I open my mouth to say something that would probably have Jerlla stick a bar of soap into my mouth at home, but to my express humiliation, my stomach chooses that moment to shoot up through my mouth and I end up loosing the small amount of food left in my body to Colier's shoes. Or at least, that's my fantasy, in reality, he dodges and it lands on the floor. At the very least I managed to keep the magic from escaping. It dies down now, slowly, as if admitting defeat for now.

"God, can't you control yourself?" He asks.

I glare at him, finally able to speak, though weakly. "Maybe you should think about how people's bodies tend to react when you poison them before you pass judgement. Or better yet, you should take some yourself, then beg at my feet for forgiveness."

"You little-" Colier I guess his name is rears back to hit me. The other boy catches him arm.

"Prince Nikoli wants her intact." While I still find Altol a monster, my gratitude goes to him. A slap now would only be met with rising magical action on my part.

Colier tosses his head in a magnificent display of spite. "Fine. But we leave her here until then. In the dark."

Hope begins to blossom slightly. They plan to leave. I will get a moment of peace in this god forsaken place.

Altol shrugs. "Fine by me."

They exit, slipping through a metal barred door in the back, leaving me sitting on the wooden slab used for my torture. The lights go out as they exit, leaving me in solid, tangible darkness.