Smoke and Mirrors

Chapter 18

The pain had gone away; she couldn't understand how the creature that caused the pain could also take it away.  Her legs still looked mangled because of the bites in many places, but at least she wasn't feeling anything.
  You don't have too long.  Aries' words swam through her ears, her still not knowing what those words meant.  That phrase could have a lot of meanings, and not all of the meanings were good.
  Out of nowhere, Aries appeared in front of her, causing her to jump.
  "How did you-?" She started, but Aries began talking before she could finish the question.
  "You want to see your father, right?"
  Mystice nodded vigorously.
  She gave her an evil-looking smile. "Oh, you're going to love this! Bring him in, guys!"
  A Tongku came in, dragging Fluego's body across the floor by its' teeth.  It dropped the corpse in front of her, wagging its' tail happily.
  "What is this?" She choked out. "You think this is funny?"
  "You said you wanted to see him," she motioned to her father. "There he is.  You're looking at him, like you wanted."
  A muffled cry escaped her mouth. "You killed him!"
  "Maybe, but you can't prove that," she chuckled.
  Mystice reached for her father, but the metal chains and cuffs prevented her from reaching him, making her scream out in anger and grief.
  "How can you mourn over him?  He didn't even take good care of you!"
  "You don't know anything about him," she snapped.
  The woman scoffed. "Do you even know who truly loves you?" She grabbed the dragon's hair, pulled her head back, forcing her to look up.  "Like Val, does he really love you, or does he think you're a pain in the neck to take care of?  He's probably getting sick and tired of always taking care of your problems."
  She scowled at Aries.  Why would this waste of air be telling her stuff she doesn't know anything about?
  "And Aske. He's so dreamy, isn't he?" She batted her eyes in mockery. "But maybe he wants you, so he doesn't have to feel lonely anymore; you're just his toy."
  "SHUT UP!" She'd had enough of her insults; each and every one of them were getting on her nerves.  Aries pulled her hair; she yelped in pain, but didn't lose eye contact with her.
  "Soon, you'll see that I'm telling the truth," She let go of the blue strands, and smiled. "I have great plans for you." Then she and the creature disappeared.
  Mystice laid down as close to Fluego as possible, hugged her legs.  That night, she cried herself to sleep, wishing her dad would kiss her on the head one last time.