Unexpected

This Usually Works

I didn't know what to do. What could I do, but stand there as he strode up to my cell and looked between the bars? My eyes flicked between my feet and his eyes, unsure of where to stay, and my heart beat faster and faster the closer he got. As he stood there, right at the bars of my cell, I decided to look into his eyes, like I had with the bearded man at the alley. His gaze, however, scanned me up and down like I was livestock, and I felt incredibly uncomfortable. I knew that I looked like a mess with crazy hair and ripped up clothes and even when I was looking put-together I wasn't used to people eyeing me.

"So this is the girl?" The man asked, though it sounded more like a statement than a question. His voice was strangely intriguing, sending a chill down my spine. It was smooth, yet had a raspiness to it and was flavored with a British sounding accent.

"Yes sir." The other man answered dully, coming up behind him and pulling out a ring of keys. Sticking one in the padlock, he unlocked the door and swung it open for the raven haired man.

At the sound of the door creaking open, my feet suddenly decided that they were ready to move and I stumbled back a few steps. The man with the scepter, however, stepped forward, and in a moment I was backed up to the wall. His scepter was at my throat, just barely resting at the base of my neck, and I could feel my heartbeat drum against the golden tip. I just kept looking at his eyes even though they were highly shadowed now, his form blocking the light from the light bulbs behind him. If he skewered me through, at least I'd look him in the eyes as he did it.

At this closer proximity the man looked me over again, his scan ending at my eyes. For a moment he held my gaze, his eyes and expression were now unreadable. In a desperate attempt I threw my hand out to push him away, but his hand whipped out faster than my own and caught my wrist. A smirk flew across his mouth and he turned his head a bit to his henchman who was still by the door of my cell.

"He was right. She has heart." He then turned towards me, his smirk growing, "She'll do."

The tip of his scepter then trailed down from my neck to the center of my chest where he pressed the tip against my shirt. My eyes flicked down to the spear to see the jewel glow brighter and a blue aura fly down to the tip and into my chest. Suddenly I felt a burst of energy as the glow entered into me and coursed through my body like a shiver. The feeling faded away as I looked up into the man's eyes and found a strange expression of confusion crossing his face. Furrowing his eyebrows, he pressed his spear into my chest again and I once again felt the adrenaline-like energy for a moment or two before it faded away.

His face was no longer just confused, but also frustrated. "Why isn't it working?" He turned away and looked at his scepter in the light.

"What's it supposed to do?" I breathed in a rush.

He seemed to ignore my question for a moment, then he whipped around to face me. His eyes were calculating now and a new look crossed his face, one that I decided that I didn't like, "This."

He spun around and strode out of my cell, snatching the keys from his henchman's hands and going up to the cell that contained the homeless man. The henchman walked up to me and grabbed my arm, forcing me to walk in front of him and follow the man with the scepter into the hobo's cell. I glanced at the door leading way from this hallway of cells and wondered for a split second if there was any chance I could wriggle out of the henchman's grasp and to the door. No. His grip on my arm wasn't rough, but it was firm and strong, and with my sore ankle there was no way I could out run him, so I didn't even struggle against him as he walked me to the homeless man's cell. I was freed from my cell for the moment at least, but I felt even more like a prisoner now as I stepped into the hobo's cage.