Amelia Merlin and the Game for Okamila

Part 13: The Lizards take High Valley

A/N Thank you all for continuing to read and comment! 

"Wake up. Wake the fuck up!" Brice Gotodetsky shook his brother violently in his deep sleep. "Why aren't you waking up?" He pleaded. "Fuck it."

Leaving his brother he went to find his father but only got the same result. So he tried the next room with the Master of Wealth in it and the next room where the Master of War slept, he tried the room of the High Vates. Nothing. Nobody woke up. It wasn't possible but it was happening. Brice felt like he'd fallen into a nightmare. He walked past the kitchen and peeked his head into the storage room. 

Inside were dried carcasses hanging from the ceiling. The pink fleshy meat from all types of animals were scattered along the benches, knives resting right beside them, waiting to do their duty. The small bucket of blood sat beside the meat with flies buzzing about it in a chaotic manner. The smell got to be too much and Brice backed out of the room. 

His heart pounded fiercely has he strode through the halls. He cursed every slap his footsteps made against the stone as he walked. He walked from the kitchens to the dungeons, surely there would be some sad wretch who would wake up in there. The large oak doors that led into the dungeon were locked but Brice was exceptionally good at picking locks so in a moment it was open. The creak of the door announced his entrance and light poured into the damp, dingy place. 

He could hear someone. They were sort of shuffling about and small noises emanated from where they were. 

"Hello?" he called out and the noises stopped instantly. "I'm not going to hurt you." 

Silence fell around the dungeon and Brice felt his heart straining to hear the sounds of another person, luckily he still  could or he might have gone insane. 

"I can hear you, you know. You're breathing really loud. Just tell me who you are?" He commanded. "What is your name?"

Nothing. 

"She won't tell you what her name is. She won't tell anyone." A woman's voice sounded behind him and Brice groaned. He recognized that voice only too well. 

"I'll have you killed for this, Sapana." he said. "Let the girl go." 

"I have much more than the girl." she was boasting now. Brice knew that she was only saying shit like this to make him mad but he wasn't going to let her win this little game they were playing. 

"Oh yes? My spies keep me well informed about what you have, Sapana. They say you live in the forest now." his voice was low and dangerous. "They say you are nothing."

She laughed a cackling one, like the witches she so hated. "Your spies are terribly misinformed my dear. You can't rely on whores and children to bring you information, they really don't know what they're talking about." Brice felt his heart beating rather loudly. "I am everything, Lord Gorodetsky." 

He didn't say anything. He wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of knowing how he felt. The lizard woman would not have any power over him. 

 "How's your brother?" she said suddenly.

"Asleep. As he should be. It's the dead of night." 

"And your father?"

"Also asleep" he was getting frustrated but he wasn't going to stop playing the game. If he stopped playing, he lost. 

"Even though you tried to wake them?"

"They're deep sleepers." he brushed off her comment.

"You're not."