The Guardians

Chapter 43

Deandra returned from destroying yet another innocent village. She hated Alora. She wanted to kill the sorceress herself but the binding spell prevented that. She couldn't return to her brood or ask that they attack her on her behalf. There was nothing she could do to free herself. So she had to bide her time.

"It is done?" Alora asked not looking up from the spellbook she was flipping through.

"Yes," the dragon growled.

"Yes, what?"

A deep rumble sounded in her throat. She hated saying it. "Yes, mistress."

"That's my good pet. You've earned a rest. Go and lay down."

Her limbs moved without her consent. She hated being bound to Alora. She hated her. Hated her. As she lay down she thought about her brood. She wanted to return to them, badly. She wondered if anyone, aside from the girl she'd freed, had ever escaped. She didn't want to kill innocents anymore. She never had. Before the binding, the only humans she'd killed were the ones who threatened her brood. She just wanted to go home. And she wanted to kill Alora. The Matriarch was determined that those two things would happen. One way or another.

~~~

Daylen was aware of someone in the cell next to him. His days were running together. He couldn't even remember how long he'd been in that cell. It sounded like a woman. A very pissed-off woman at that. He didn't think he'd ever heard that much cursing from a woman before. He stood wobbly, wrapping the threadbare blanket around his bare shoulders, the shackles around his wrists clinking as he did so. He staggered over to the wall and listened. Yes, there was a woman in the next cell. She was screaming profanities at the top of her lungs. And judging by the clinking he was hearing, she was chained to either the wall or ceiling, not just shackled like he was.

"You're going to wear yourself out," he called when she took a breath.

"Who in the bloody hell are you?"

"Someone in the same position as you."

"I highly doubt that."

Daylen chuckled.

"You didn't put a dagger to Arlan's throat and call him a tarse several times, did you?" she asked.

"And you're still alive?"

"For now."

"No, I didn't do that. I only was once a soldier in Sari's army."

"Once? You desert?"

"So to speak."

"You deserted."

"Okay, I deserted. But I was being a pain in Arlan's ass as well."

"Hmm, I guess we both have that in common. Arlan seems to have a set mindset when it comes to women. I'm a mercenary. He called me a leather-clad whore and told me to go back to the brothel."

"Ouch. I take it that's when you put the dagger to his throat."

"Good guess." He chuckled. "The name's Shara."

"Daylen. Pity we couldn't have met in a better place."

"Pity we can't meet face to face for the moment."

"I hope we do one of these days. I just hope it's not on the way to the gallows."

"I agree that would be a horrible way to meet face to face for the first time."

He and Shara began to have conversations through the wall to pass their time in confinement and between the questioning that Arlan no longer did himself, leaving it up to Kyrie to do his dirty work. Daylen was just grateful to finally have someone to talk with again. At least for a while.