Death Vengeance

Chapter 5

The throes of battle were as uncontrollable as a gasoline-drenched fire: dangerous, deadly, and plausible by only the unbridled fear in my heart. I could hear voices, whispers, in a language that I knew I should understand, but couldn't translate.

Then there was the pain: the hot, white flash of pure agony that coursed from my aching ankle to the roots of my hair. I moaned softly, confused. Where were the shouts and sounds of war and battle? Where were the screaming of dying men and the sharp noise that accompanied the brandishing of a sword? Had I gone momentarily deaf?

I bolted upright, jarred from my stupor from this momentous realization, only to have a gasp catch in my throat as I observed my surroundings. The dim, dark, ominous walls of a dungeon met my stunned eyes. This time, a sound that was similar to sob escaped my parted lips. My pulse quickened.

 "Where am I?" I whispered hoarsely, the mundane question refusing to be answered by the silence. Memories of war flashed before my eyes.

The stone walls began to creep closer and closer, closing me in and allowing me to confront my innermost fears. The metal bars were my salvation: they allowed the cool air to seep in and soothe my frazzled nerves. I breathed deeply, my breath shaky.

"They finally got you, eh?" a cold, raspy voice observed from beside me. I swung around so sharply that my hair fanned out behind me like a crimson halo. "Your mother was a good friend of mine," he continued. "We knew each other before the war. She knew the war was coming, you know; it unsettled her."

"How?" I whispered. "I don't understand. How do you know my mother?"

He chuckled and raked his fingers through his greasy auburn locks. "She was my sister," he explained, gazing at her with sad eyes. "When she knew the war was coming, she sent me to take you. However, I didn't make it past the borders before your kingdom was attacked and she...she..." He trailed off, unable continue to due to the lump in his throat. "Anyway, I was apprehended and brought here."

A dull ache throbbed in the pits of my stomach. "You're my uncle?"

He arched an eyebrow and smiled grimly. "Surprised? I'm sorry we had to meet this way, but, yes: I am your uncle."

“But how come I never met you before the war? Why did you never come and visit?” My voice became slightly raised as my temper got the best of me.

“Your father and I never got along, he believed I was a bad influence on your mother and would do the same with you”

“I don’t understand. Why would you be a bad influence?” I was now completely confused.

“I got into a lot of trouble as a child and didn’t like your father. He was always high and mighty, never respected my parents. Now I think he just acted that way because he loved my sister, but I tried to pull a few pranks on him and make him look like the bad guy in front of my sister. It worked- for a little while. Sage eventually found out and confronted me. I had to tell her the truth and she let me off the hook saying ‘I forgive you because you were trying to protect me’ then walked off. He never trusted me after that.” My uncle gave a shrug of his shoulders, as if to say there was nothing else to tell.