Chapter Five: The Prison of the Damned

Arianna's scream pierced the air. As if all she saw was all hallucinating all this while or day dreaming about all she saw as the underworld people. Her voice shattered, bouncing off the stone walls. A cold slab of black rock supported her body. Twisted metal chains gripped her wrists and ankles, cutting into her flesh. She attempted to shift. The chains clinked but remained tight. She lay there crying for a while, her breath coming in choppy gasps. The chains seared her wrists, glowing with wicked red symbols. She gulped, willing herself to stop her tears. She wouldn't think straight either, if there were an escape place. What would she do? She kept on battling in tears, which was all she would do at this moment.

*They won't see me break,* she thought with anger.

Once her eyes cleared, she examined her cell. The room confined her, but it looked nothing like the dungeons in stories. The walls seemed more like living bone than carved stone. Veins throbbed under a thin see-through layer emitting a faint yellow glow.

In some spots, the walls *inhaled and exhaled.*

They released a nasty, moist breeze that reeked of decay and blood.

She gagged. 

"Perfect," she croaked. "Five-star accommodations. Would recommend to no one." 

A rattling laugh echoed from the far corner. 

She jumped. 

Her eyes widened as a figure stepped forward, clapping slowly in mock applause. 

It was a man—sort of. 

Humanoid, tall and spindly, his skin a patchwork of stitched-together flesh in different colors. One of his eyes was bright red and too large, swiveling independently. 

His smile was wide and full of jagged, metallic teeth. 

"Well, well, well," he purred, his voice grating. 

"The new *pet* awakens." 

Arianna glared. 

"Is this the welcoming committee?" 

He snorted, amused. 

"Oh, she has spirit. How delightful. The Queen will be *so* pleased." 

He sauntered closer, his uneven gait clicking on the bone floor. 

Chains rattled, and she flinched as he reached out. 

His clawed finger lifted her chin. 

"Pretty little healer," he crooned. "So clean. So... *alive.*" 

His tongue flicked out, long and dark. She jerked away violently. 

"Don't touch me!" He laughed and went back, extending both hands in a dramatic show.

 "Ah, Feisty. It will make you more fun to break."

 Ariana forced herself to dazzle despite her terror. 

"Who are you?" She got cured.

 He carried out an exaggerated bow. 

"Call me Gayle. Rani's humble warden, caretaker, and -" he licked his lips with his terrible tongue, "Sometimes interrogative." Ariana felt that bile was growing in his throat. "Attractive,, He went slowly around his slab. "Rani has big plans for you, mortal Healers. Big, Treble, * Fun * Plan." He stopped to smile at him. "You will fix the things that should remain broken. You will try to reduce the old horror compared to your pathetic sun. And you will shout. Oh, how do you shout?" ,

Arianna closed her eyes, fighting tears. 

She whispered: 

"Why me?" Gael leaned closer, voice mocking sympathy. 

"Because you fell here, love. And because you *shine.* Your magic is so pure. So... delicious." 

He dragged a claw down her cheek lightly, leaving no mark but making her shudder in revulsion. 

"You can fix what we can't," he hissed. "Or you'll die trying." 

He straightened, grotesquely cracking his neck. 

"Now. Enough chat. Time to get you... *ready.*" 

He clapped once. 

The walls shuddered and opened, forming a doorway lined with spiny growths. 

Two guards entered. They are also known as the guardian of souls.

If you could call them guards. 

They were seven feet tall, skeletal but wrapped in muscle like wet rope. 

Their faces were skull-like masks with glowing green eyes. 

Black iron brands were smoked on their chests. 

They carried cruel-looking staves topped with screaming skulls that leaked green fire. 

Arianna whimpered. 

"Wait—please—" 

Gael tutted. 

"No begging now. Save your voice for the Queen." 

He turned to the guards. 

"Bring her." 

They moved with mechanical precision. 

The chains lifted of their own accord, yanking Arianna upright. She cried out as her feet dragged across the floor. The corridor beyond her cell was a nightmare. 

Dark. 

Alive. 

Pulsing. 

She saw other cells. Other prisoners. Some shrieked and wailed, clawing at their own eyes. Some were perfectly still, chained to walls that were devouring them slowly. Some whispered prayers to gods who didn't listen. The guards didn't slow. They passed a chamber full of black pools. 

Inside floated shapes that moaned through the water, twisted remnants of what might have once been human. 

Arianna squeezed her eyes shut. 

She heard Gael humming cheerfully beside her. 

"Such lovely music," he said, gesturing at the moaning pools. 

She nearly vomited. 

They dragged her into a circular room lit by green fire. Glyphs crawled over every surface, changing shape when she looked at them. 

They dumped her onto a raised platform in the center. 

Chains snaked around her, locking her in place. Gael approached with something in his hands. A collar. Iron. Covered in runes. 

Arianna struggled. 

"No! Don't—" 

He forced it around her throat. 

It bit in, fusing with her skin in places. 

She screamed as magic seared through her body. 

It felt like ice and fire at once. When it was done, she was panting, tears streaming. The collar glowed faintly. She felt her magic press down, smothered, chained inside her. 

Gael patted it fondly. 

"Beautiful, isn't it? Keeps you... *obedient.*" 

Arianna didn't answer. 

She was too busy trying not to black out. He crouched so they were eye to eye. 

His stitched face stretched in a grin. 

"Tomorrow," he whispered. "You start. The Queen has your first... *patient* already." 

Arianna shook her head weakly. 

"Please..." 

He stood and clapped. The chains tightened. The runes on the floor flared to life. 

Gael sighed happily. 

"Sleep tight, healer. You'll need your strength." 

Arianna felt the magic surge. 

Darkness swallowed her. 

Her last thoughts were of home. 

Of sunlight. 

Of laughter. 

Of all she might never see again. And then she knew nothing.