DARKLIGHT

- 4 -

My mind snapped back to reality. Then, the door behind me thudded open. In strode a tall man, dressed in black, with a Dark glow coming from his left arm, although it quickly faded. At least I could see the room that I was in better; the lights had turned on as he walked in. It was square and nondescript apart from a still humming panel layered with switches and dials near the door, though it sounded like its mechanism was slowing down. That was where I had seen tiny lights earlier. The walls looked to be made of magic-proof steel, silver and glittering, and the table I was on was the same. I knew because the same material was used in magic practice rooms in schools to keep spells contained.

Suddenly, I noticed all of the scars on the man's face and recognized him. It was the man with the dragon arkaetre who had come through the Order roof! He touched my arm the same way that I always did to activate my magic, and I felt his calloused, dry skin. My mage symbol briefly glowed a glittering white at the edge of my eyesight. He said in a proud voice, "I don't suppose you know how long you've been here?"

Stunned that he was making small talk, I stammered, "A couple of minutes?"

"You're a funny one," he snickered coldly. "Try a couple of days."

Days? I was stunned, and the man could see it in my face. I thought he had to be messing with me, but when I looked into his eyes, however evil they looked, I could see he was telling the truth. My mind was instantly filled with confusion. I couldn't understand the reason for keeping me captive and asleep for so long.

"You must understand that this is a great victory. Having such a young, powerful Order member will prove useful. I'm sure you'll be cooperative as soon as you realize what you're up against. We did expect you to be asleep for a little longer, however." He sighed without emotion, and I cringed. "Oh well. Life's not fair sometimes."

The dragon man left the room, and I was forced to worry even more than I had before. I was mostly concerned for the Order, and I wondered if they had survived the attack. Then, I realized that they had to have endured, or else there wouldn't be a point in holding Order members captive.

I must have laid there against the hard metal cot, if you could even call it that, for hours on end. Nobody walked by, and I couldn't help but notice that the electronics on the wall were now silent and dark, even though the main lights stayed on, making shining spots in my eyesight. I occupied myself by counting rivets in the ceiling panels.

Just as I was about to lose hope and doze off, the man walked in again, along with a hooded Dark mage whose symbol and face were hidden beneath their cloak, though the Dark glow from their arm shone through. "This is him, Kaces?" the hooded figure asked the man in a calm, raspy voice. It was so close to a whisper that I couldn't tell if the figure was male or female. "I assumed he would be a little older." I was a little put off. Fifteen was old, in my opinion.

"Yes, Master," Kaces smirked.

Kaces gave something to the Master, who palmed and pocketed it. Then the Master did what Kaces had done, running their wrinkled finger from my elbow to my wrist to light my symbol, and the griffin again shone, bright as day. Frustrated that it kept on showing itself, I took control of my magic and faded its Light.

"No need to get testy," the Master threatened, turning back to Kaces. "I've never seen a griffin on someone so young. He will work well."

Kaces nodded. "It is a rather rare symbol." He paused in thought. "We captured two others with griffins, too. They were adults."

"They could be his parents," the Master theorized, glancing down at me. Their face was completely shadowed by their cloak, so all I saw was a black void. I tried my best to keep a straight face, knowing that these two mages would use my family against me if they had the chance.

I had been expecting more conversation, but they both stood beside me silently, looking at each other. Just as I was beginning to think that the mages had come in for nothing, the Master took something back out of their pocket. It looked almost like a coin, with concentric circles marking the dark metal. The mysterious figure pressed the object into my skin, and I felt a long, wide needle ram its way into the middle of my symbol arm! My eyes teared up and I squirmed in pain, but Kaces and the Master simply watched me. Kaces looked clearly disturbed but stayed silent.

"Test it," the hooded figure told Kaces, and he tried to activating my white griffin symbol once more. It lit up slightly, with another burst of pain, and then the familiar bright glow turned black. I could only barely see the change, but it was enough to terrify me.

I almost didn't notice Kaces leave the room. He seemed to be in a hurry. After a good, solid look at me, the Master left too. I heard the electronics on the walls whir back to life, and suddenly began to feel very drowsy. Without activating my mage symbol, I couldn't fight the forced sleepiness, and so I slowly gave in to the pull of sleep. That was the opposite of what I would have done at the time, had I known what was going to happen to me.