The room was quiet as it’s always been. Nony coughed as she huddled closer to Sli. It was cold in the dark, damp room. They had barely enough blankets to keep warm and the only source of light was a crack in the wooden wall but the light was gone now as the sun disappeared. The light hanging from the ceiling was broken and swayed constantly. Sli brought Nony closer and rubbed her shoulders as they started to shake with sobs.
Sli leaned over to whisper in Nony’s ear speaking in their Slyvan language, “Shh, it’s ok, it’s alright. We’ll get out of here soon.”
The girl called Cat came over and offered the last of her meal to Nony. The little girl looked up into Cat’s cat like eyes and smiled, “I can’t, it’s yours.”
“She wants you to have it so take it already.”
“Nalia there’s no reason to talk to Nony like that,” Sli pointed a look at the young 7 year old as she appeared by Cat’s side. Cat has never spoken a word so Nalia took it upon herself to become Cat’s voice for her.
Nalia blinked at Sli, “It wasn’t me. Cat said it.”
Cat herself ignored the other girls and offered her meager mush food to Nony. The little girl finally nodded and slowly ate.
The room became quiet again as the four girls huddled together, waiting for their fate to change. Suddenly light flooded the room as a door was slammed opened. The girls were blinded as some thugs threw a limp body into the room. They threw out moldy bread and bottled water as the girls clamored over the unconscious girl. The sound of the door slamming shut was lost as the girls cried for their friend to wake up. Finally, as their eyes readjusted to the darkness, the girl’s eyes fluttered.
Sli gave Nony to Cat as she backed the others up, “Back up, she needs air. Baylie, Baylie can you hear me?”
Baylie moaned as she turned over. Everyone gasped as they saw the shiner on her eye. She slowly sat up, Sli helping her as she tried to look at her eye in the darkness, “What happened?”
Baylie looked at her then glanced at the others. Getting the message Sli sent a look to Cat who then nodded and led the children away. Sli picked up some bread, ripping the mold off and handed it to Baylie as she grabbed a water.
“What happened Baylie?”
Baylie slowly chewed the bread, working around her sore jaw as she whispered, “They wanted Nony. Those…bastards wanted to trade me for Nony. I couldn’t let them Sli, I just couldn’t.”
Sli saw tears shinning in Baylie’s one good eye and hugged the girl. Being the oldest at 12 Baylie has always looked out for the others, especially for Nony and Nalia. Sli felt tears burning her eyes as she felt powerless to take Baylie’s place. Not only was she the oldest but she was also half-human. Her build was bigger and stronger than any of the other Slyvanian girls so she always took it upon herself to keep everyone safe.
Sli sat back on her hunches as she and Baylie ate what little bread they could find, “Did you hear anything?”
She glanced at the door and leaned over to whisper close in Sli’s ear. Their kidnappers spoke only English and Sli was the only one who knew the language well enough to understand what was being said. Baylie refused to let Sli go out when they demanded a girl and would go in their place, memorizing every strange word, sound and syllable that was being said around her. Since they knew the girls only spoke Slyvanian they felt it safe to say anything around them. Baylie sat back and drank some water as Sli thought over the words Baylie had whispered, trying to piece them together into words.
“The caller…broke deal…demands more. What could that mean?”
Baylie could only shake her head when they suddenly heard Nony screaming. Both she and Sli looked over to see Nony and Nalia fighting, poor Cat trying to pry them apart. The older girls ran over to the young ones, trying to pull the kicking and screaming kids apart.
“Shut up! Do you want them to come in here?!”
The scream was heard from the dark corner, away from the group. It was enough for Nony and Nalia to freeze and stop the fight. Nony sniffled, trying to bite back tears but finally sobbed and collapsed against Sli’s chest.
Nalia panted as Baylie held her arms, “What did you do?”
Nalia blew a strand of hair from her face, “I didn’t do anything! It was all her fault!”
Suddenly Cat appeared in Nalia’s face. She appeared to be communicating to Nalia through her eyes while Nalia’s own became to fill with tears, “But-But she started it…”
Nalia broke from Baylie’s hold. She ran into the far corner and sobbed. Cat glanced a look at Baylie then went to Nalia’s side. Sli rubbed Nony’s back, trying to calm the sobbing child enough to understand what happened.
Sli pulled Nony away to look in her teary face, “Nony, what happened?”
The little elven girl sniffled as she got the hiccups, “She-she said we-we were gonna die. She said that’s why-why they moved us into this room. We’re not gonna die are we Sli?”
Sli held the girl close, “No, no we’re not. I promise.”
“We’re only in here ‘cause of you.”
Sli looked up at the girl from the dark corner, “Quiet.”
She pointed a finger at her and stomped her foot, “It’s your fault! If you haven’t called for that damn fairy they would have left us alone!”
Baylie held Nony as Sli stood eye to eye with the girl, “Shut up! I was trying to get us out of here!”
“You’re gonna get us killed! Just because you’re the granddaughter of some stupid Chief you think you can do whatever you want.”
She spat at Sli’s feet. Sli glared and screamed as her anger and frustration boiled over. She lunged at the girl, toppling to the ground as they fought. Nony yelled at Sli to stop as Baylie held her back. Suddenly the door slammed open and two burley thugs stormed in, ripping the girls apart. They yelled at them in English to shut up as they started dragging the girls out the door. Baylie yelled as she threw herself at the men, kicking and scratching at them, yelling to let them go. One man lifted his gun and butted Baylie in the head, yanking the screaming Sli out the room.
The other girl became compliant as the men dragged them down a hall. Sli tried to kick and scratch the man to let her go but a kick to her gut quieted her. The hallway was blinding with the bright lights spilling the hallway. The men stopped at the end of the hallway and knocked on the door. The door cracked and a face poked out. He looked at the men then down at the girls.
Sli acted like she couldn’t understand their words as they spoke in English, “What is this? Boss didn’t ask for more.”
The thug holding Sli shrugged his shoulder, “They were bitchin’ so we brought ‘em. Boss said if they ever caused problems to bring ‘em in.”
The door slammed and the sounds of chains and locks rattled the air. The man yanked the door open and mentioned the thugs inside. They walked inside a dark parlor looking room and threw the girls on the floor. The doorman walked to a closed door and asked to come in. He walked in and disappeared as the door shut behind him.
Sli sat up on her knees and whispered to the girl beside her, “Just do as they say and remember everything. We need to learn as much as we can to get out.”
“Shut up,” one thug butted the back of Sli’s head with his gun.
The other girl sat stone silent as Sli moaned. Suddenly the door opened and the doorman from before came out. He grabbed the girls by their hairs and only yanked harder when they squealed in pain. He pulled the girls to the door and the thugs followed.
The man stopped and turned to them, “Wait here. Boss just wants them.”
He steps through the door and threw the girls inside. The door slammed shut behind them and they were lost in a room of darkness again. Sli wanted to hold onto the other girl’s hand but knew she would be rejected so she tried to act brave and sat on her hunches. They stayed quiet, not daring to move. Sli’s ears twitched as she heard something. She concentrated on the noise and realized someone was speaking. It was a language she’s never heard before but she tried to memorizes the sounds and the words, repeating them over and over in her head. The squeak of a chair swiveling sounded in the room as the man hung up the phone. The dim light coming from a small window on the wall shone on the desk, illuminating the man as he leaned on the desk with his hands hiding his face from the girl’s view.
“So…” Sli was shocked to hear him speak in their Slyvanian language, “…I’ve been told you two have not been playing nice.”
Neither girl moved or made a noise. The man leaned back in his chair sighing, “Come now, we’re practically family. Tell old uncle what’s going on.”
Sli was afraid the other girl may spill about the fairy but they both remained stony and silent. The man was silent as he waited for an answer.
“Very well.”
The chair creaked as he got up and walked around the desk, keeping to the shadows. The girls glued their eyes to the floor as a pair of shoes stepped into their views, “Now…which one of you squeals the most?” He took a moment to look at both of them, “Perhaps this one.”
Sli felt the hairs stand on the back of her neck as she was sure he raised a hand over her bowed head. Suddenly she was screaming in pain, her limbs thrashing everywhere as her nerves lit on fire. The other girl turned her head away, trying to ignore the screams of pain next to her.
The man stopped, Sli panting as the pain went away, “Well…?”
Again they refused to say anything. Sli felt her back arch as she felt daggers digging into her spine. She screamed as the pain became too great. Her body was thrashing as foam began to form in her mouth and her eyes rolled to whites.
“Alright!”
The man stopped as he leaned down to the girl, ignoring the panting Sli, “Well…?”
She braved a glance at his face but he was still shrouded in darkness, “The bitch stole my bread. She already had more than me and I demanded it back.”
She panted as the man tapped his chin, “You expect me to believe this?”
She blew out of her nose, “I don’t expect anything of you.”
“Hmph, commendable.” He stood and walked back behind his desk, his chair squeaking as he sat, “Fine. The rations will increase, in exchange for silence and obedience. Understood?”
He waited until she nodded, sneaking a glance at the unconscious Sli. The man called for the doorman. The door quickly opened and he gave the doorman orders in the weird language from before. The doorman nodded and grabbed the girl by her hair and Sli by her hand, dragging them out of the room.
The door slammed shut as she yelled up at him, “You’re gonna brake her arm!”
He threw the girl and Sli at the thugs, speaking to them in English. She had no idea what they were saying but soon they were being led back down the hallway, back into the room with the other girls. The thugs threw them inside and everyone cried as they came to Sli’s side. The girl quietly broke away from the group and went back to her corner. Baylie tried to keep the others away saying Sli needed air when she heard her murmuring something. She leaned closer and put her ear to Sli’s mouth, trying to understand what she was saying. Sli was repeating a strange word over and over again. It was in a strange language that Baylie has never heard before.
“…подключение … подключение … подключение … подключение …”
________________________________________________
Please comment! Love feedback, good or bad. Thanks for reading! If you absolutely love The Licensed Mage it's now available on Amazon! Check it out today!