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It was the smell of jasmine, and a familiar swaying that woke me this time. Murky shapes transformed into an opulently upholstered carriage. The lack of windows and doors made it so the shades of wine were broken only by the presence of my enemy. Shocking expanses of her creamy skin were visible beneath her loosely laced tunic while a skintight pair of breeches hugged her generous curves. She leaned forward quickly, and a scream built at the memory of her touch, the cave, the invasion of my mind. Her gloved hand shot forward to cover my mouth.
“Believe me when I say shouting will cost you your life,” she threatened, eyes darting to the seamless ceiling. I paused, wondering if she was simply uninterested in hearing my screams in this enclosed space, or if we were traveling through dangerous territory. Deciding I was in no place to defend myself either way, I nodded my agreement. When she lowered her hands, I whispered my retort.
“You honestly expect me to be calm waking up with you after our last two encounters?”
“Thank you for not keeping me in a cage or dragging me behind your horse, Mistress. You’re so generous to keep me alive after threatening to kill you, Mistress.” She fluttered her eyes at me, fully committing to the role of who she’d like me to be.
“If you are lacking adoration, you’ll need to seek it elsewhere. I’ve not begged for my life, nor will I,” I responded flatly.
“Everyone could use more adoration Slayer, you should try it once in a while. Besides, I’m not the one that’s done the life-threatening here.”
“So despite your actions, because you’ve not threatened me with words, I’m to believe I have nothing to fear from you?” I scoffed, looking at the ceiling, where I could just make out a smattering of dots and lines.
“Listen little Slayer, you do not know me but I do not lie. The answers you are withholding could be of importance, so I will do what is necessary to obtain them. Tell me, if our roles were reversed, if I had something you needed, what treatment could I expect from your hands?” I held my tongue, unsure of what she already knew, and certain her claimed honesty was nothing but another clever lie. She’d already lied about the slayer’s being dead. Why wouldn’t she lie now? No, it was better to be asking the questions than trusting blindly.
“Perhaps if I already knew what you’d seen, I would elaborate.” I mused, picturing Celia’s best bluffing face as calmly as possible.
“Enough believe you’re worth sparing. However, if you’d be so kind as to divulge the remaining information I want, I’m sure you’d find the reward well worth it.” She spoke firmly, but not unkindly.
“What information is that?” I asked slowly, unsure of what games she might have planned. Wondering what role I might be able to play to stay alive, and possibly still have her ashes.
“I need to know why you want to kill me, who sent you, where you got your blade, and why you seem so convinced the only way moving forward is with a satchel of my ashes.” She said, leaning back as if certain I had no way of making that become reality.
“What would you give me for that information?” I ask, mimicking her pose with a touch less grace due to the restraints.
“No need to put on a show, little slayer. I know you think my particular death is your duty, but what I couldn’t see was why. Now, If you want to fill me in on who hired you and how your master’s came by that particular weapon, then you can be on your way.”
“You truly have no plans to kill me?” I allowed my disbelief to color my tone. Hoping she’d see my hesitation as promising.
“Oh, I know you think your thorns are a threat, but compared to my actual enemies, they have the bite of a nettle plant. So, if you’d like to tell me who hired you, or even your price, I’d happily set you free or pay you to slay elsewhere to your heart’s content. What do you say?” She pulled a heavy purse from behind her, patting its contents as if I was a sell sword.
“I… I need to think about it.” I say, stammering again, letting my eyes linger on the gold as if it held any appeal to me. Just then, my stomach growled. I frowned, realizing I didn’t know how long I’d been in the cave or this carriage. It could have been hours… or days.
Just then, a blob of cool shadow rolled across my feet before climbing her seat. It grew into a smaller version of the long-limbed nightmare I’d seen before, leaning forward to whisper into her ear. Her body stiffened and nodded, whispering instructions that had the creature disappearing again quickly. She moved forward quickly, flooding my nose with her Jasmine scent before another shadow wrapped around my eyes. I shivered at the increased awareness when she whispered into my ear.
“The food from your satchel is under your seat, as is a water-skin. Think on my offer. You’ll not get a better one.” The tip of her fang grazed the shell of my ear, triggering the insane desire to lean closer. I was relieved by the jolt of the carriage coming to an abrupt stop. The sound of rustling was followed by a rush of night air as she no doubt launched into flight. Moments later, my blindfold and restraints slipped off my skin. Years of training launched me into a defensible position. My vision blinked in and out at the sudden movement in my weakened state. Blinking away the dizziness, there was nothing beyond the empty sealed carriage.
I ran my hands across the dark velvet walls. Standing, I found the ceiling lines were subtle embroidery of constellations, several of which I didn’t recognize. There were no detectable seams or handles, making exit and entry yet another mystery I was itching to solve. In my exhausted state, however, I was happy to chalk it up to more magic.
Crouching down, I found the rest of my provisions tucked under my seat. It wasn’t much, but it was a mercy for an attempted assassin, I supposed. Chewing the aged meat, I stretched my cramped muscles, wondering how I could best sell my new identity as a sell sword and keep my true identity hidden. Had my training with Yinzu been enough or had the God intervened yet again? My throat tightened around the last of the food before washing it down with the remaining water. The pounding in my head lessened slightly, but I’d need much more to come close to satisfaction. Unable to pace, my legs bounced nervously. Why were we still stopped? Were we close to her keep? Was this carriage meant to be my holding cell? The bouncing of my leg increased to match my racing thoughts. My instincts sensed something my mind could not quite grasp. Perhaps I could pound on the carriage to demand answers… but then she'd been adamant about my silence before. Were there actual enemies nearby? Would they be the sort to help or hurt her prisoner? Although there was no proof I was her prisoner now, my bonds had vanished.
A vice tightened across my chest as helplessness stole the stage of my mind. Perhaps I was overreacting, making something out of nothing, but as alarm bells continued to sound in my mind, I found my hand raised to pound on the carriage walls. Any danger out there had to be better than the ones imagined by my mind, right?
Wrong.
An earth-shattering roar knocked me from my feet and knocked any remaining air out of my chest.
Five
The roar was still ringing in my ears when I removed my hands from their protective position. My instincts screamed at me to run, that whatever creature had made that sound was our certain doom.
I was trapped. With no way to discover whatever new terror lurked. Another roar shook the carriage, and I unceremoniously threw myself under the less than protective seat. Trying to keep my heartbeat and breathing steady, I tried to remember the specifics of the rumors of entire villages being burned to ash. The church had claimed they were warnings from the Sun God that he had heard of the increasing sin in our community. Was that roar the sound of his fury? Or some dark God?
I’d heard some of the less faithful in a tavern questioning why our God would kill innocents rather than target the Mistress who tempted away the hearts of his followers. I had found the thought interesting, although I never got a chance to discuss it as I had not wanted to reveal where I’d been to my Father. Though the request to stop visiting gambling houses was said as my Father, not the King, he didn’t take kindly to being disobeyed. Perhaps the unfaithful had been right, and it was a dragon all along. They’d meant to be extinct if ever existing in the first place but then it made more sense than our God making a mistake. Though why the priests would claim a dragon’s fire, as holy, escaped me.
Another Roar rent the air. Was it closer or further away? I couldn’t tell. What I did know was the carriage hadn’t moved an inch since The Mistress left. Were we in a secure place or in the open? Was the carriage easily accessible from the outside or would I only be able to be freed by The Mistress and her magic? The dark carriage seemed to grow smaller, and my breaths became shallower. Was I running out of air? I’d read of people suffocating in collapsed caves, sealed in like tombs. Pounding on the side of the carriage was out of the question. If the wrong person, or the potential dragon, came to investigate, I’d be handing myself over on a platter. The succubus claimed she didn’t want me dead yet, and I couldn’t say the same for whatever else was out there.
Curling my knees closer to my chest, I tried to touch my slayer’s mark, to reassure myself that I was not alone. That I was protected, and strong… but all I could feel was the rising panic. I had trained my entire life to fight, to avenge, to protect. And now I would die from my inability to reverse the fear of being helplessly confined.
