The Deadmages by J.C.G. & C.E.M.

Chapter 2: Death Tower

FYI, these are prewritten on google docs.

I woke up eventually. How much time had passed, I knew not. The only clue as to the time was the setting sun lighting up the room.

"So, you finally woke up. Good! It was getting pretty boring, the only thing to do was see how long it would be before your spit dribbles onto the floor."

I blushed, lifting my arms to wipe my mouth, only to find them already above my head, unmovable, as they were bolted to the wall with no slack. I looked down to see my legs attached the same to the floor. I felt tired, weak, and hungry, as if I had climbed a mountain for three days without food. What I wouldn't do for some of Maddie's cooking. I groaned at the thought.

"How long have I been out?" I asked the figure hidden in the shadows.

"Longer than me. That's all I know." The shape that I had now identified as a child my age shrugged. I was curious as to who he was.

"How long have you been here? What did you do to be here? Steal a lollipop?" He gave a dry chuckle.

"Oh, if only. No, I'm here 'cause I'm a 'deadmage'. As for how long, just today. You?"

"Same. Do you know what your magic is? Maybe you can use it to escape." Curious, I look up at my wrist to see what animal I had received. I jerked away stupidly. As if I could ever escape my destiny by moving away from the tattoo. There, about the size of a silver dollar, was a snake. The tattoo was very intricate, with the snake wrapped around a tree branch connected to a tree outside of the picture. Its scales were midnight black on top with a dark green underbelly and its eyes had a look of intelligence and power about them. I began to hyperventilate, the urgency of the situation finally hitting me.

"Whoa. Hey, pal, chill out. Just relax a bit. What's your name?"

"Garret. Garrett Fowler. What's yours?"

"Blake Harper." I thought I recognized his figure.

"Oh, yeah. The deadmage before me.," I said.

"Don't call me that. It sounds stupid. I didn't steal anyone's magic and I'm not dead yet. You're lucky that these chains weaken deadmages to keep us from using our powers, mate, otherwise you would be colorblind right now." I apologized. I didn't want to offend the person I would spend the last few days of my life with. He might not talk to me after that.

I figured that the chains must be what was making me feel this fatigued. All of a sudden, it felt as if someone had given me that nasty drink that adults use to relax. I had stolen a sip of it once when I was little. What was it? Oh yes, Whiskey Fluff. A feeling of peace overwhelmed me. Before I could ask Blake the Butterfly what this feeling was, the door opened to a guard. An Earth Cobra entered the cell room, leading a group of people into the room. It was my family. I wish they didn't have to see me like this, chained up and branded as a thief. They must be so ashamed of me. My mother gasped at the sight of me and moved closer to Father. My sisters, on the other hand, were far more confused and curious.

"What are those things on Garrett's arms? Why does he look sad? Why is Mommy scared?" their questions were the only sound in the room besides the tapping of the Cobra's foot. I worked up the nerve to look up at my father but regretted it immediately. He glared at me, his eyes filled with anger, disappointment, and disgust. His fury boiled over, and one of his hands lit in flame. I flinched, afraid for my life, but he just extinguished it and began yelling at me.

"What have you done? Who did you steal magic from? No, wait. I don't want to know. How could you do this to yourself and this household? You have disgraced the family name with your crimes. For that, you deserve to die. I only wish that I could be the one to kill you. I hereby disown you." He crouched next to me and ripped the pin off of my shirt. He turned to Lucy and pinned the fox to her shirt, as she was born three minutes before Lacy. It was a not very subtle way of saying I wasn't firstborn anymore. I fought back tears. I was still their family.