Deception

Chapter 38

When I came too it took me a moment to realize my ankles were chained to the floor and my wrists also chained to these bars I was leaning against...
When we hit a bump that's when I realized we were in some sort of wagon like prison being pulled by a horse, I could hear the clop of the hoofs on the coble stone trail...
That right there should have been a red flag something was off...
We were on a dirt trail with no signs of a fancy coble stone trail when they jumped us...
As me vision cleared I could see MW sitting up with James resting on her lap, she was stroking the boys back to keep him calm as he shivered and sobbed...
I looked to my left where Cam was still out cold, his head nearly on my lap pressed against my hip...
His breathing was shallow and I could see a gash at his hair line...
"The drug wore off quickly for us. Cam tried to fight them off but he got hit in the head with a club." MW explained without my asking...
"How is he?"
I inquired about James as I gently shook Cam to wake him but he just groned with a deep sigh...
"Freaked out.
I think he went into shock." MW said as she pulled some of the boys dark brown hair from his face to reveal a deep cut on his cheek...
All I could do was look upon with sympathy and hatred to these mysterious people...
............................................................................
Once Gabe and the others were out of the horid woods and on safety of their land he checked to see if everyone was there.
"Were's Cam and Johnny along with Jame and MW?..."
Gabe scanned some more and relized his apprentice Wolf along with Raven were also missing.
"We have to go back?!" Mas yelled and tried to get his horse to return into the woods but it was like moving a stone statue that was cemented to the ground.
He jumped off and proceeded to run back in there but Gabe grabbed hold of the boy in a bear hug before his foot touched the trail.
"You know its suicide!
Raven is with Wolf they'll survive this." Gabe assured but all Mas wanted was to break free and run in after his brother.
"If Jones or Carson catches him this time, they'll kill him for sure.
We screwed with so much of their plans there's no way they'll let him live." Mas cried as he struggled to break free, all the while staring as deep into the woods as he could using his spiritual eye sight..
(Which by the way is almost like binoculars but way better.)
Tears streamed down his face as he realized there was no way he could rescue him without any help.
Mas just calapsed to his knees and sobbed while Gabe loostened his grip and tried his best to comfort the boy. They mounted back up and solemnly headed to their camp.
............................................................................
Cam woke with a scream when a shrill screech off in the distance sounded, it was a sound that could literally scare you to death.
Even James was sitting up now searching the darkness beyond the bars for the sorce of the sound.
It did it again, this time it was closer and louder causing them all to cover there ears.
"What is that?!" MW screamed in disgust.
The gaurd slammed his club on the the bars next to her startling her.
"Death."
The hooded figure said.
But there was something familiar about those soul piercing midnight blue eyes.
"Raven?"
James gasped.
"Shhh...
Don't blow my cover kid.
Is everyone okay?" Raven asked as he scanned the wagon prison.
"Explain Death and we'll see how okay we are." Johnny sarcastically said.
"Are you kidding me?!
At a time like this and you still find away to be sarcastic with me?" Raven grumbled as a much larger gaurd closed in on him.
"Quit talking to the prisoners." He hissed and shoved Raven away.
"Ummm...
You don't really want that explination on Death do you?" James regreted asking.
"Oh come on you know the answer to that too?
Is everyone masters of secrets in here.... Don't answer that." Johnny looked at Cam who was smirking because technically, it was a stupid question, their whole life was a secret and MW held a lot of secrets herself.
"Just give us the cliffnote version." Cam said to James.
"Well cliff note its Death." James stated.
"Okay how about a longer cliff note?" MW said.
"Its an ugly demon like creature that not only kills but toys with its prey till it grows tired of you than ends you slowly." James explain.
"K...
I don't like the longer cliff note." Johnny said as he frantically looked around swearing to him self the creature was near.
"Look you guys have to realize something.
The vail has been literally torn, we are no longer blind to the spiritual realm and due to that we are now easier targets to physical contact with some of those demons your sunday school teacher warned you about." James explained.
"But we never went to sunday school!" Cam squeeked.
He too was searching for the thing he swore haunted his dreams as a kid.
He would wake up in night sweats crying and crawling into bed with Johnny after his dad refused to comfort him.
..........................Cam's Past...........................
It started when they were six after practicing a trick that almost ended wrong for Cam.
The locked chest wouldn't open after he did all his dad said.
Even Sebastian started to panic when the emergency release wouldn't budge.
Johnny almost became an only child that day.
After the hospital Cam told them he was somewhere else, like a wooded area, surrounded by people in dark cloaks, this thing was in the circle with him, it was taunting him, it was about to attack him when this woman came from no where wearing golden armor that glowed like the sun, as did her sword. The creature and the people in cloaks started to back away from her.
They all turned to dust as she ramed her sword straight into the ground, golden like lightning spread through the earth nothing could have escaped its light.
"Your safe now Cameron.
I will always protect you and your brother.
Always remember that you are love." She cooed as she geantly kissed his forehead.
He remembered her ocean blue eyes and golden long crurly hair.
The voise of an Angel.
..................Back to the Present...................
"Cam!?"
Johnny snapped his fingers in his face.
"Where'd you go?"
Johnny inquired as soon as Cam looked at him.
"I was just remembering that time I almost died when I was six." Cam said as his voice trailed off.
He was trying to remember what his protector looked like.
"Oh yeah the lady in gold, you said saved you." Johnny remembered what Cam told him and their dad after the hospital that day.
"I think that's when I started making up all those crazy stories you liked so much." Johnny laughed.
"Johnny...
I think it was mom that saved me." Cam looked at him seriously.
"Okay?...
You passed out.
You didn't actually go anywhere Cam." Johnny got serious and concerned.
"Not exactly sure what happened.
So I am going to assume you ened up well in a similar situation your in now when you passed out.
I can assure you if it was them you saw it was their atempt to take you than." James said.
"Why do I have this feeling you know more about it than your letting on." Johnny stared down the boy till he cracked.
"Okay!...
Elly tells us stories before bed, one night she told us about the Prince in the Chest.
Story goes...
He got locked in and no one could save him not even his brother who did everything his six year old mind could think of.
Suddenly Prince Cameron wakes up in the Dark Forest just beyond Dead Man woods.
Its in the heart of the Shadowdwellers'  land.
He had to face off their most gruesome opponent...
Death.
But before Death even had a chance to attack the boy the Queen warrior put an end to the battle saving the boy and sending him back home with his brother." James told them the shortest way he could.
Cam was so intreaged with the story because he lived it and also because he was a prince in her version.
Johnny on the other hand was skeptical.
"Why didn't she just keep the prince with her.
Better yet.
Why didn't she rescue the other prince?
Now that would have been a happy ending." Johnny folded his arms and scoffed.
Reminding Cam how hard growing up with dad really was, especially for Johnny.
"This coming from the guy afraid of just the shreek of Death.
Trust me her choice in keeping you two out of this place was the best choice.
See this way she could actually protect you from this war and Death." James said.
With out warning a creature like hand with long slender fingers with razor sharp claws griped the bars next to James and with its other free equally creature like hand gripped James' throat.
It dug its claw into James' flesh.
"Awe the fearless boy returns.
Tell me boy where is my pet Raven?" The creature hissed into his ear as it dug in deeper causing James to cry out in pain.
"I'm right here!" Raven stood fully armored with a sword but unlike Eleanor his did not glow.
MW saw Wolf in the distance looking ashamed that Raven exposed himself to Death.
The creature ripped itself from the bars causing the wagon to rock.
James was left with puncture wounds in his shoulder.
The creature charged at Raven.
At first it looked as if Raven was going to succeed, that was until a figure aproched from behind slamming him in the back of the head.
They all tried to warn Raven but it was to late.
They watched healplesly as Raven crumpled to the ground.
"Take them to their cells!
And do be gentle with the Princes."
The new figure sneerd as he drug the unconscious Raven by his legs up to the wagon.
Cam and Johnny noticed Raven's armor vanshed, he was back in his normal street clothes...