A Torturous Surprise

When Sky could see again, she found she was in a small stone room made out of the same grey stones as the rest of the castle. In one corner of the room was a small, dirty cot with a moth-eaten blanket laying on it. There was a stool in the opposite corner and a bucket shoved against the wall.

The light in the room was dim. It came from a single, flickering crystal set high into the wall. The crystal looked like it was ready to give up.

In front of Sky stood Rage. He was smiling in obvious delight. The door to the room opened and the Chancellor gestured for Rage to join him in the hallway outside. Sky couldn't hear much of their conversation. It just sounded like low, masculine murmuring.

Shortly, Rage stepped back into the room.

"What's going on? Why have you brought me here?" Sky demanded somewhat frantically. The reddish-brown stains on the floor were filling her with unease.

Rage examined the nails of his right hand. Then his arm lashed out and pain exploded across Sky's cheekbone. She staggered and spat blood onto the floor.

"You know, I really hate humans." Rage said in a conversational tone. "It's not just you, well I do hate you especially, but all humans are insects. You're fleas buzzing around annoying your betters. You should have all been culled like the Lessers."

Chancellor Draekkon called through the door, "Rage, make sure she writes it down too." The door swung shut with and ominous groan. As it clicked in place Sky felt cold dread settle into her limbs. It was a confession.

"I am going to ask you just once today, right now, whether you killed those students and if you say no, I am not going to ask you again until I feel like it. That won't be for a long time. Now, did you murder those males?" Sky stared at the sickening grin on Rage's face as her heart beat fast and erratically. He would torture her if she said no but if she said yes, she would be executed. She still didn't know the shield spells. There was nothing she could do. A part of her knew it was hopeless to resist but she needed to hold out for as long as she could. Maybe if Instructor Drakkon really had been protecting her, he'd come to help her. She swallowed fear driven bile.

"No, I didn't." Rage's mouth bowed upward even more revealing two rows of sharply pointed teeth.

"Good. I was hoping you'd say that." Faster than Sky could react, he drove his fist into her stomach, forcing the air from her lungs. Sky felt a pop and white-hot pain radiated from her chest as some of her ribs broke. She fell to her hands and knees coughing and heaving. Rage watched her for a moment, then continued.

Week 6 Day 5 Vegen

A loud growl broke through Sky's hazy dream. At some point while Rage was hurting her she'd fallen asleep. She flinched and waited for him to start again.

"Kiri." A patient, kind voice said firmly. "Rage isn't here. You are safe."

Sky opened one eye and saw a vaguely familiar figure sitting on the stool. The male was an elderly dragon with steely, silver hair, kind brown eyes, and a nose that was a little too big for his slightly wrinkled face. He was skinny as if he did not spend much time exercising.

Sky's other eye popped open and she jolted upright on the floor. Her body shook. She rubbed her eyes to clear her vision. The male remained on the stool. Her eyes burned and her throat tightened.

"Uncle Gladion?" She gasped out. The male smiled warmly at her.

"Yes, Kiri." Tears of relief flooded down Sky's cheeks and a sob burst from her lips. She vainly scrubbed at her tears, but it was no use. Uncle Gladion got up and helped her to the cot. Then he sat beside her and gently wrapped an arm around her shaking shoulders. He let her cry in silence until she was finished.

When she became sensible again she asked, "What are you ding here?"

"My great nephew finally decided to tell me what was going on." Uncle Gladion said with a wry smile.

"Who?" Sky dashed at her eyes again. Uncle Gladion reached into his pocket and withdrew a handkerchief. He passed it to her. Sky used it to dry her face and wipe her nose.

"Glace, of course." Sky gave him a watery smile. Instructor Drakkon had really gone to get help for her when he'd disappeared. She stared at her hands. She'd misjudged him. "Now, Kiri, I must ask: Did you kill those students?"

"My name is Sky, Uncle Gladion." Sky replied. She swallowed and bit her lip to stop it from trembling. Uncle Gladion smiled wryly.

"Yes, of course and you had better call me Marshall Drakkona." Sky's eyes widened and she nodded.

"Yes, Marshall, Sir." Uncle Gladion snorted.

"I suppose that works. But you never answered my question." Sky nodded again and began twisting the handkerchief in her lap.

"No. Unless my familiar really did kill the first one but with the last one I just found the body." Marshall Drakkona put a gentle hand over hers to stop her fidgeting. Sky looked up at him and saw the corners of his eyes were crinkled in a comforting smile.

"What did happen? How did you find the body?" He asked.

Sky's face scrunched up in dislike. "I think it was because of this ring, the Nousolennova. I hate it. It is changing my form."

"Yes, I figured you'd feel that way when Glace told me of it." Marshall Drakkona grabbed the handkerchief from Sky and dabbed at another tear that had just slipped out. "I know how much you dislike creatures in general."

"I'm getting better about it." Sky said with a sigh. "There's a couple of them who I think I could be friends with."

"That's good. You need some friends. What happened with the ring to make you find the body?"

"Well, I didn't realize I was hungry and then the wind blew, and it had this great smell on it. Then I think I took on a vampire form because I could see the scent moving through the trees. I followed it and found the body. I hate the fact that I thought a dead body smelled so good." Sky admitted. She looked down at her hands again. Marshall Drakkona just looked at her.

"You probably won't have to worry about that for much longer." He told her finally. Sky looked up, hope on her face. "Needing to feed is not an improvement over your original form so it is highly unlikely that you will have such a requirement when your form finally stabilizes." Sky smiled in relief. "Was that all you noticed? You didn't hear anyone leaving? You didn't see anyone?" Sky began to shake her head but stopped.

"I- I saw some sort of vapor. I'm not sure what it was. It was a purplish black color and was sort of fading. It didn't see it until after I'd returned to my original form. I looked almost like magic, but it wasn't the same color as Spoken Magic or any of the Elements." Marshall Drakkona's expression had darkened in a rather scary way. He was the strongest living mage in the world to Sky's knowledge. He was even the head of the Council of Mages. To have him looking at her in such a way was terrifying. "I'm sorry maybe I didn't see it, maybe I just imagined it." Marshall Drakkona's expression became unreadable.

"I'm not angry with you, but are you certain you saw this? Please be honest." He said.

"Yes." Sky replied. Marshall Drakkona sighed heavily.

"Alright. I am going to take you back to your rooms. You will stay in them until I come to get you. I have a few things to take care of and you need proper rest in a bed." Sky nodded in understanding and stood as Marshall Drakkona stood. He grabbed her hand and she was once again surrounded by blinding light.

Then her vision cleared, and she was outside the door to her rooms.

"I will be back soon, Ki-Sky." Marshall Drakkona said with a small smile. He disappeared in a flash of light again.