Original Stories Fan Fiction / Other Fan Fiction / Romance Fan Fiction ❯ Darkness ❯ Shackles ( Chapter 6 )

Chapter Six

Shackles

 

 

The night was cool across the vast desert, the rough terrain broken only by the occasional tree that thrust itself stubbornly into the sky. Stars winked overhead and cast their dim light to magnify the moon's milky brilliance, lending light to the hundred and twenty or so that huddled, shivering outside of their wagons.

 

Soren's eyes narrowed as she took in each of the different handler's build and features. They all looked more or less like a hairy ape with their untrimmed and wild beards, broad shoulders, squat builds, and unintelligent gleam of their eyes. The only difference she could discern between them was the color of their hair and not even that varied much between black and brown. Then her eyes were drawn to a man whose bright hair shown even brighter against the moonlight sky.

 

He was handsome, in a roughish sort of way. His shoulders weren't as broad as the other handler's, but they held strength. His gait wasn't as fluid and graceful as Farin's, but it spoke of confidence and arrogance. The other handlers deferred to him as he walked among the slaves, searching…searching…searching for something. This was Jestiry, brother to the queen of Riana.

 

Her attention was snatched from Jestiry and brought back to their group as a handler grabbed her by the hair and yanked her forward. She stumbled a little, but when she caught her footing she kneed him in the crotch and slammed the heel of her foot into his toes.

 

A strangled hiss of pain passed through his teeth as released Soren's hair and lurched back a little. “Next time I'll do worse,” she said quietly.

 

An oath sounded somewhere behind her. “Fayra, you'll make this mess worse for us,” Sadi whispered. “Apologize and say it was an accident.”

 

“No,” Soren said dangerously, feeling rage flare as she turned her head to glare at the older man. “I won't submit just because someone tells me to be afraid.”

 

Even under the moonlight Soren could see that he had suddenly gone stark white. His eyes were fixed on a point just beyond her shoulder and, following his line of sight, she found herself staring at Jestiry.

 

He was kneeling next to his man with a hand on his shoulder as he was murmuring something into his ear. Whatever his man replied made his shoulders tense with fury and turn his hard gaze on the cold eyed younger woman. As he rose she noted the lean muscles that rippled just beneath his bare skin. “Stupid girl,” he said, his quiet voice setting her skin to crawling.

 

“Says you,” she said haughtily.

 

“And what I say goes around here. Out here who knows what could happen,” he shot back, his chocolate brown eyes studying her intently, “to a pretty young girl like you.”

 

She couldn't help herself. Even if she had wanted to she couldn't have withheld the laugh that burst forth from her and echoed through the suddenly quiet night. She was laughing so hard that it brought tears to her eyes, hurt to breathe, and rendered Jestiry temporarily speechless.

 

The long moments were stretched taut as she fought to regain control of herself and when she finally stopped laughing long enough to choke out a coherent sentence she said, “You honestly expect me to be afraid of you just because you're brother to a queen?!” She gave a derisive laugh before continuing. “I've seen worse and let me tell you, you are tame when compared to her.” As her aunt's image flashed through her mind's eye her laugh abruptly cut off as a strange smile crossed her lips.

 

Even in the night she saw Jestiry step forward and saw his hand flash through the air. She snapped her wrist through the air and smashed it against his arm, knocking his hand to the side as she twisted her arm to wrap her fingers around his wrist. Her neutral calm suddenly settled around her like water over a fall and washed away every trace of the emotion she had felt. Taking a step closer with her left foot she landed a punch to his throat and then brought her knee up, but missed her intended target as he twisted away from her.

 

Jestiry reversed the hold she had on his wrist and spun her around, twisting her wrist and arm behind her back almost to the point of breaking. Next, he swept her feet out from under her and forced her to the ground on her knees, bending her back forward until her hair touched the desert sand.

“Junkura,” he said quietly.

 

Fire spread slowly from her wrists and wrapped along her arms and trailed into her fingers as she tried to rear back against the sudden burning sensation, but she was hindered by Jestiry's hand on the back of her head. With every pulse of her heart the fire spread and increased until it engulfed every fiber of her body and it felt as though a dragon were breathing on her.

 

Say it, Chimadori screamed at her. Call me.

 

She opened her mouth to speak, but a strangled scream of wordless pain replaced her familiar's name. As suddenly as it had begun, it ended and she slid forward to lay face down on the sand, her body jerking slightly as an aftermath of the pain. “Care for another round?” Jestiry asked coldly. “Act up again and you'll get twice the dose you just received.

 

“Now, which of you encouraged her to be difficult?”

 

Out of the corner of her eye she saw the others draw closer together. They had each seen and felt what had happened to her at one point or another during their journey. When she tried to push herself up a booted foot slammed into her back, knocking the breath from her lungs and forcing her back to the ground.

 

“Well, someone step forward or you will all face the consequences,” he said, his voice snapping through the air like a whip.

 

“I did it,” came Sadi's quiet voice. “I encouraged her to be act out.”

 

Soren felt something cold clutch at her heart as she heard Sadi step forward. “No you didn't,” she said indignantly, raising her head to glare at him. “Didn't I tell you before that I submit to no one?”

 

“Shut it,” Jestiry ordered her as the pressure on her back increased.

 

Turning her head slightly, she glared at him from the corner of her eye. “Try it, you stupid muncura,” she said. She could feel her anger rolling off her body in rolling waves and knew that if given half a chance she would kill him. As frightening as it was to witness this side of her personality, she had never felt so free and for just this instant she would savor that feeling and the strength it fed her.

 

Jestiry glanced down at her and jerked away in surprise at the ice in her silver eyes. He took another step back as she pushed herself into a sitting position. “They had nothing to do with my actions. I acted of my own accord,” she said, her voice dangerous and cutting.

 

He smiled a soft, cruel smile. “You were one of the ones with the dragon,” he said. “You must be her queen. The other was much too young.”

 

Soren couldn't remember rising to her feet, but she found herself standing almost nose to nose with the man. “What do you mean was?” she asked too softly.

 

Careful, Soren, Chimadori warned her. I've been to check on him. Homuna is all right. He's jesting, trying to provoke you into attacking him again.

 

The tension visibly drained from her shoulders, but she stood her ground. Jestiry's smile widened a fraction before he stepped back and, without breaking eye contact, made a gesture to his men. Those around them retreated a few steps as two handlers came forward, dragging between them the inert form of a bloodied, silver haired female. They deposited Sais unceremoniously at her feet.

 

Sais didn't move, barely breathed. Lacerations and dried blood marred her tan skin. Soren tore her gaze from his and dropped to her knees beside the dragon that had saved her, feeling dread coil in her stomach. Gingerly reaching a hand out she touched Sais's shoulder and felt a slight stir in response to her touch.

 

“Keep it in mind, girl,” he said , “that you are my prisoner. If your Riagenkai will not submit then you will control her for me.”

 

Despite the shackles, despite Sais's condition, despite everything she laughed. “Sais is not my Riagenkai. She will not be controlled by the likes of you nor will I ever help you,” Soren said, tilting her head to the side and smiling a chilling smile. Warmth brushed against her left arm as Jestiry drew his arm back and slapped her with enough force to split her lip.

 

What would you have me do? Chimadori murmured to her as she wiped the blood away with her thumb. Soren stepped over Sais's prone shape, careful not to touch her, and placed her body between the older woman and Jestiry.

 

I want you to return to Homuna and stay with him, Soren ordered her. If trouble arises you'll defend him and not worry about me. I'll take care of Sais for now. Understood?

 

Chimadori hesitated, but she couldn't resist a direct command. Yes. I'll defend him with my life. Then she was gone.

 

Soren rose slowly to her feet, moving with an almost inhuman grace. Their gazes met and locked. Tension rose between them as Jestiry reassessed just how much of a threat she truly was. “She is your Riagenkai,” he said finally, “and in the end she or you will submit to me the way Hakunazra has.”

 

She regarded him with a haughty indifference as she shrugged. “So you say. We'll find out in the end,” she remarked casually.

 

Jestiry's eyes flashed with an angry light, but he made no move to strike her again. Instead he said, “Take care of your dragon. I'll be back in a few days to detain her again.” Turning his gaze to his men he added, “We make camp here tonight and move out at first light.” Then, he turned on his heel and walked away.

 

Her eyes lingered on his retreating form for a moment before she spun and knelt beside Sais. Very carefully she rolled Sais over and pulled the older woman's arm across her shoulder, wound an arm around her waist, and staggered to her feet. Slick warmth trickled down her side, but for the moment she ignored it in favor of struggling back into the wagon under the dragon's weight.

 

Soren felt someone's hands touch her back and push them forward and up into the wagon where she and Sais landed in a tangle of limbs and blood. Sais groaned and dragged her body away from Soren's, kicking her feet to finally free herself of the younger woman. A slight whimper escaped her lips as she rolled onto her back. Her breathing was harsh and ragged.

 

“Sor…en,” she gasped and Soren knelt beside her, feeling worry flit through her. “Stupid…attract too much attention.”

 

“You weren't exactly conspicuous yourself,” Soren murmured, glancing into her green-blue eyes and then looked to the wounds still staining her tattered clothes crimson but Sais was already unconscious.

 

“Josaline,” she called and the Kingen rippled into existence beside her.

 

“What did he do?” Soren asked her.

 

Josaline stared impassively at her, then her dark gray eyes shifted to Sais. “Jestiry applied some sort of poison to her wounds to keep her from healing as quickly as she normally does, then she fought Hakunazra. It wasn't very pleasant to be restrained by his Kingen and watch as my master was beaten.”

 

“Are you able to heal her wounds at all?”

 

“No. By all rights, she should have died after Karu attacked her. I've been feeding her my strength and she's been drawing off you these last few days. I assume that you've been unconscious.”

 

“Yes. Were you the one that healed my wound?”

 

Josaline's eyes flicked to Soren's shoulder for an instant before they returned to Sais's pale features. “No, you healed on your own. Like Sais has been using my strength, you have been using your familiar's strength. Normally, I couldn't care less if you died, but you are bonded to a dragon that could save my master. Draw on his strength and transfer it to Sais and the bleeding will cease. If not, she will die from blood loss before the night is out. Though, considering what the man has in store for her, death may be a blessing.”

 

Her eyes never left Sais's too still form and the crimson pool slowly forming around them as she reached for her familiar's mind. How much strength do you have left? Josaline tells me that Sais will die before the night is out if we don't get her healed soon.

 

Soren, I can smell Sais's blood from outside. She's shed a lot of it these last few days and you've depleted my strength healing yourself. If you take any more from me then I won't be of much use if Homuna is attacked. What alternative did she offer? That Kingen is far too old not to have at least one alternate path.

 

Silence reigned between them for several seconds before Soren reluctantly admitted, She wants me to draw from Farin's strength and then transfer it to Sais.

 

You have been able to command your Riagenkai's strength since you were seven years. I would have assumed that Farin would be your first choice to draw on rather than me. Chimadori's tone was clipped and Soren felt a slow heat creeping up her neck.

 

He would be my last choice.

 

Yes, well, be that as it may, Josaline and I have depleted our strength to keep the two of you alive, so that leaves you with one option.

 

Soren felt a flicker of annoyance at the smugness she heard in Chimadori's voice, but, really, what other option did she have. It was either swallow her bitterness towards Farin or watch the woman that had saved her from Kinnara die. Given those alternatives she felt she would rather swallow molten lava than watch Sais die, especially not when there was something she could do about for her.

 

Her decision made, she sat back against the side of the wagon and stretched her legs out until she was comfortable. Taking one last look at Sais she allowed her eyes to drift shut before she reached within her mind to where the barriers between her and Farin lay. Nudging ever so slightly at them she allowed them to shatter and she was immediately pulled into his mind with such violent force that she couldn't resist.

 

She caught flashes of the horrors his life with a speed and vibrancy that surprised her. Each memory sickened her more than the last. Imprisonment. Torture. His mother's blood.

 

Gently, but firmly she felt herself extracted from the tangle of his memories. You do not need to see that part of my life, his warm voice washed over her. It is no more important now than the clouds in the sky.

 

As their thoughts touched she received the impression of cool grass pressing against her back and damp dew soaking her skin. A soft breeze ruffled though her hair and then she was herself again. She could feel his patience and peace flowing from his body and into hers, allowing her body to truly relax for the first time in nearly two years.

 

I have been searching for you. Why have you been keeping me at bay? he asked, his voice too gentle.

 

You never came. I resented you for it.

 

There was silence for a time between them

 

I searched, he replied earnestly, but every time I got close Kinnara moved you again. Soren could feel his frustration of the last two years and it went a long way to ease her bitter anger towards him, if only a little. Where are you? Sais and I agreed that once I drove Karu back to Jesira we would meet near the border of Regenku. What happened to her? Are you hurt?

 

Try though she might she couldn't hide the stab of fear she felt. His presence engulfed her in an instant, soothed the hurt, and became a balm for the turbulent emotions churning within her. For the first time in a long time she felt safe, comfortable within the hands of her fierce protector. Quicker than she could think he had rifled through the necessary memories and gleamed from them the information he sought.

 

Jestiry poisoned her? Farin asked for confirmation, his voice hardening slightly. Seku is a good queen, but if her brother captured her then it would only make sense that he has the power to ensnare even a former Riagenkai.

 

Yes, she replied. She should have felt angry, invaded, or…something, but the only thing she felt was safety. He had seen nothing that she would not have told him and he had kept his search restricted to only her recent memories. Sais is not healing as quickly as she needs to survive. Josaline, Chimadori, and I are completely drained. There is not enough strength between the three of us to save her. Josaline and Chimadori agree that you are strong enough that any drain on your strength would be minimal at best.

 

A sudden, bone deep weariness plagued her and she felt a heavy sigh echo through her mind. I spent most of my strength driving Karu off, he admitted reluctantly. I did not want to kill my mentor, but I have strength enough to save the traitor. All you need do is command me to relinquish my power to you and I will.

 

Soren froze. Order him to relinquish his power to her? Could she do that? A hazy memory of Farin kneeling before her and taking her face between his hands flashed through her mind's eye. Ten years had passed since that day and the certainty that had come with it had all but disappeared.

 

Sensing her indecision he sighed again. I will not see you so uncertain, so I will make this simple for you. Do you wish me to save her or not? My strength will burn the poison from her system and allow her to recover under her own power.

 

Yes. I want you to save her.

 

There was no hesitation before his power flowed between them, no reserve, only an intimate sense of two minds twining and merging, their memories overlapping. The sense of self that separated them dropped away for one bewildering moment and then they were separate again with only a lingering sense of disappointment. Soren's body felt alive with energy and strength crackling through her very blood.

 

There, that should be enough to save the traitor. All you need do now is lay a hand to her and allow the power to flow through you and into her.

 

She hesitated, almost fearful to ask the question that had plagued her these last two years, but she had to know. Do Fayra and my mother live? How badly wounded were they when Kinnara left them?

 

They survived. The last I saw of them they were resting peacefully.

 

Alright, thank you.

 

Soren began to withdraw back to her own body, but he held fast to her. Silver-eyes, he whispered and she heard the affection in his voice. I will not be able to come for you this time. My father's officials are headed now to your court to deal with me. They will seal my strength, my will, and my voice, rendering me nothing more than a puppet Riagenkai.

 

Why? Soren asked, feeling alarm flare in her chest and override her denial that she was not his queen. Farin was supposed to be invincible. He was supposed to be the one that others ran away from. He was the one that was supposed to make everything alright. Now, when he was telling her that he wasn't as strong as she had thought, could she truly see how much faith she had always had in him.

 

He laughed bitterly. As your aunt sought to break you for the throne so too does my father seek to gain a hold over me for the sake of his throne. I am his only heir and therefore the biggest threat to his reign. There are many dragons that do not care for my father and would see me enthroned, despite my mixed blood. Askerin can only control them through their oaths to the royal line and since he cannot kill half of dragon kind, he seeks to rip the problem out by its roots.

 

Why do you tell me this?

 

You are my queen and therefore capable of releasing me from the Blood Seal that my father's men will use to seal me. It is likely that the next time you need me I won't be of any use to you. The traitor's strength will have to protect you and I have serious doubts as to how far she will go to do so…

 

Her name is Sais and she is not a traitor as you say. She risked a lot by coming back into the open and saving me from Kinnara where you failed. And I am not your queen. Her voice was suddenly cold as she cut him off. Sora had saved her from Kinnara where even Farin could not and it stung her to think that the dragon might betray her, however foul her past actions.

 

Soren could feel his dismay ripple through her as he said, You are my queen whether you like it or not. I will send Norcum after you once I reach the capital.

 

Confusion touched upon her thoughts in the same moment that anger flashed through her. Knowing that she wouldn't have a chance of convincing Farin she was no queen she quelled the anger and carefully said, Last I knew Norcum was second in command for the royal army. I thought Kaji was your ally.

 

Farin paused for a moment and she felt hot fury roll through his body. There was a subtle shift in his thoughts and then his memories of his and Kaji's last encounter flooded through her mind's eye. She watched from Farin's perspective as he pinned the former Heshen to the throne room floor and gasped aloud at the sensation of the blood rage, phantom touch and faded though it was.

 

He betrayed you, Farin said, his voice silky soft. I will not forgive him for putting you in such danger, for giving you to that bitch.

 

Soren nearly laughed as she said, Kinnara wasn't exactly close mouthed about how she found me, so I know that Kaji is the reason she found me and I'm glad that he gave me up. If he had not then Janelle would have been tortured to death. She faltered. Not that it did much good. Send Kaji if you must send anyone.

 

She could feel his struggle, but did nothing as she waited for him to come to a decision. Whatever he did, it would be of his own free will. Very well, I will send Kaji.

 

The he released her and she was floating gently back to the sanctuary of her own flesh. Farin, she said softly as the boundaries between their minds were being reestablished. If it is within my power I will free you from your father.

 

A soft, bitter laugh brushed through her consciousness. Silver-eyes, no dragon has ever challenged the Dragon King. You will be no different.

 

Then she was alone and the smell of straw was strong in her nostrils. Power still crackled and flared beneath her skin as her eyes flickered open to the sight of Sais's too still body and the intent beady, black eyes of her familiar.

 

“Thought I told you to stay with Homuna,” she said, her voice slurring slightly as she pushed herself to her knees.

 

I am with him. He just wanted to be with you, so here we are, Chimadori answered.

 

Turning her head slightly she saw Homuna curled up in the cradle of Chimadori's body. Satisfied that her two charges were safe for the moment, she turned her attention back to Sais. There was so much blood. Weariness tugged at her entire body as she crawled the short distance to the dragon's side and laid a hand to her cool, tan skin.

 

The power surged between their bodies and for a moment Soren felt a connection that was more than just touch between them, almost like the bond she had shared with Farin. Then the darkness of sleep reached up to claim her again. The last thing she was conscious of was a warm affection wrapping her in its warm embrace.