The Last of the Firedrakes...Or so We Thought

Chapter 15: Broken

We crouched on a roof top directly across from Tobiah's house three days after we discovered his name in my shoe. I had spent the past two days scouting out his house, guard changes, entrances, and his daily schedule.

He was about a two hour ride from Uncle Gabriel's castle and I had spent dawn to dusk on rooftops surrounding his house simply observing.  I hadn't seen Kalen since we were searching through my mother's desk.

Brick Tobiah spends his morning from 6:00a.m. To 9:15 a.m. out, God's above knows where. He spends the rest of his days at home meeting with clients. He meets with the same man every night from 10:00 to 12:00. My senses tell me this man is a courtier.

Rafe crouched next to me, both of us armed to the teeth. I soundlessly land on Tobiah's roof and waited for Rafe to join me. The wind whipps through my braid and cape as I tie my mask behind my head. Rafe soon joins me as we prepare to break in.

I am a world-famous assassin. I am not afraid.

We were shadows of the night, our identities hidden behind night-black fabric.

My eyes meet Rafe's and he nods.  We stalk over to the skylight in the middle of the roof and pry it open with a sword.

With Rafe's assistance, we push the glass pane off and jump into the top level of the house.  The room we stood in was dark, so dark I couldn't see my hand in front of my face.  The room smells like musk and cheap cologne.

Something was off.  Something was very very off.

I heard a grunt and then a thump and it sounded like something hit the floor.  Where was Rafe?

"Rafe?" I hissed through the darkness.

No answer.

I took a step forward and tripped over something soft. 

My senses screamed at me run run run run, get out of here!  Go!

The lights flipped on and I was momentarily blinded by the light. I look towards my feet and gag. I had tripped over a corpse. A corpse.

Where the hell is Rafe?

"It was such an easy trap to set," A deep, gravely voice laughs. "I thought you would have known better, being an assassin and all."

Brick Tobiah was standing by the door with two of his guards flanking him. "Grab her."

But I was ready. I had my bow out and loaded in a blink of an eye. One guard was dead before he could react. I heard footsteps and I knew I only had seconds to escape. But where was Rafe? He wasn't in this room anymore.

More guards flooded into the room and surrounded me. I had no chance of escape but I wasn't going down without a fight. Daggers slashing, arrows fired, soldiers falling. I was going head-to-head with some bulky guard when he slashed my upper arm. I continued fighting but all my senses we blurry. My limbs slowed and my daggers soon became too much for me to hold. I dropped.

"What was on that dagger?" I growled.

"The same thing we used on the Black Wolf. Gloriella." Tobiah chuckled. "Goodnight Lady Wolf."

. . .

I awoke in a dim, damp room. I was standing. Actually I was strapped to a wall. I tried to move my legs but they were still under the influence of the poison.

I scanned the room for an escape. I choked. In front of me lay two tables. Ontop of those tables were Rafe and Kalen, both asleep.

"Rafe! Kalen! Wake up!" I yelled. Kalen stirred but Rafe remained immobile.

I have no idea what to do.  Rafe and Kalen are in trouble but there is nothing for me to do to save them.  I try to regain feeling back in my legs but to no avail.

The door opens and I stiffen.

"Good morning, sweetheart," Tobiah's grins at me.  He stalks over to me and plants and wet and sloppy kiss on my lips.  I cry out and pull away.  "You will not disobey me.  Is that understood?"

I spit on his shoe.

He chuckles and walks over to Kalen.  He unsheathes a dagger and slowly pulls it across Kalen's cheek.  "Stop!" I screech.  Kalen shifts in his sleep.  "Stop it!  Stop it you're hurting him!"  There is a thin red line on his cheekbone. Blood slowly oozes out of the wound.

Kalen's eyes flutter open and he flinches.  He turns his head and sees me.  "Danica?"  He tries to sit up but the restraints keep him down.  "Dani, Dani, what is this?" 

"It's alright Kalen, everything will be fine."  I whisper.

Tobiah cackles at that.  He then picks up an arrow and approaches a sleeping Rafe.  "Don't you touch him."  I hiss.

Tobiah uses a knife to slit the front of Rafe's shirt.  Toned muscle and tan skin show through. He pokes my sweet, gentle Rafe with the tip of the arrow and he instantly wakes up with a scream. 

God's above.  "Stop it!" I sob.  "Please, torture me instead!" My time off of being an assassin has made me weak and easy to capture. Being who I am makes me a target, and I need to train harder to return to my former glory.

This cruel, cruel bastard knows exactly how to torture me.  By torturing my family, he's breaking me.

Tears stain my face as I struggle against the chains holding me in place.  White-hot anger courses through my veins.  I search for even a spark of magic, but find nothing.  What's happened to my magic?

Brick the Bastard drags the arrow down Rafe's chest all the way to his pants.  Rafe cries out. 

"Get away from him!"  I scream.

"Danica?"  Rafe calls out weakly. 

"I'm here Rafe, I'm right here." 

"How touching," Bastard Brick says.  He steps back to inspect his handiwork and is obviously satisfied.  He turns to me and drags his gaze up and down my body.  Prick.  He leaves the room without another word.

"Kalen? Rafe?"  I ask wearily.

"Yeah?"  They chorus back.

"I'll get us out of here, alright?  I won't let him hurt you anymore."  I say, and I mean it.

But they sense the hesitation.  "We'll be fine."  Kalen says.

"Yeah," Rafe agrees.

We fall into silence.  A tingling sensation travels from my head to my toes seconds before the door bursts open. 

A muscled man with dirty-blonde hair and bright blue eyes stands in the doorway.  He jogs over to where I'm strapped to the wall.

"No!  Get away from us! I'll kill you!" I cry out.

"Danica Firedrake, I'm not an enemy.  I'm here to help you."

<3
Oh a cliff hanger!
Find out what happened next!

Xoxo,
DD