Heir of the Dragon

Venomous

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I opened my eyes to stare once more at grey stone. I held still, listening for any sign that the guards were near. There was always at least one by the hulking wooden door at the end of the walkway between cells, but if I was quiet I wouldn't alert him. None of them knew that I had again joined the land of the conscious. I heard nothing so I slowly sat up.

This had become steadily easier over the last few days. Kelliey had been giving up portions of her rations to feed me. She was literally the reason I was alive and she didn't hesitate to remind me that I was heavily in her debt. The tiny amount of food she was given was hardly enough to make either of us healthy and my shaky muscles and clawing stomach were more than enough to remind me. I sat facing the back wall of my stony prison waiting for the red spots to clear from my vision.

My body was weak. It gave me a horrible sense of vulnerability. Although ever since I had woken up in this pit of beasts I had a new sense of strength deep in my core. It was like a fire...a fire that had only been a small flame until recently. Somehow I felt that if I pulled it to the surface...to my bones and muscles....I could use it, that burning strength. It made no logical sense, I was starving, beaten, and torn down, but the feeling was real. Maybe it was the constant proximity to the vile half-men. Their smell burned behind my skin neverendingly. If I had the strength of that liquid fire in my core I would be going mad of it, but I was too busy fighting to stay upright.

I listened for movement in the cell beside mine, hoping for some kind of nourishment. Hearing nothing, I turned myself around toward the bars on the face of the cell. It was dark, as always. I hadn't any idea how long it had been since I had come here. The days were immeasurable. No light of sun or moon made its way through the stones. I woke when I had the strength. I slept when I had spent it. It felt like it had been weeks but I was sure it hadnt been.

Four or five days was my best assuption. My hair clung in dirty lumps all around my face. I could feel how much grime covered my entire being. It stuck everwhere to my damp skin and the pitiful remains of my clothing. I ran my finger over my calf, making a line in the filth that coated it. I was just beginning to see the color of my skin beneath it when I heard the approaching footsteps of the guards.

I slumped back onto the floor in a quick attempt to look unconscious before they could pass the rusty barred door of my cell. Their footsteps grew louder and louder until they stopped. Through my closed eyelids I could sense that they were near my cell. Panick crept through my middle. I wasnt ready to face the half-man royal. I silently prayed to any gods that would listen...please...please don't let them take me to him. I'm not ready to give up fighting to live. ...please....I heard the grind of iron deadbolts, then the squeel of hinges. My insides were flipping over eachother and I struggled to keep my heavy breathing from giving away my coherence. The stones suddenly echoed with a scream. My eyes shot open. They had come for Keli.

"NO! ...YOU CAN"T TAKE ME!" she shrieked. I could hear her struggling against the stones of the floor. The pads of her feet against stone. Skin against skin.

"Shut up!" The guard grunted. I heard the smack of knuckles against flesh and her cry of pain. My thoughts were shattered and swimming dizzily through my head. I had to get out of here. Now.

"ELLANY! They're going to kill me! Please!!" Her voice was cracking and she was breathing hard. I crawled to the bars, desperately trying to organize a thought process. One guard was standing outside her cell only an arms length from my face. Heat was pulsing up my back. They would die today. The guard turned an alarmed look at the nasty growl that had escaped my throat, his eyes widened. The yellow acid in them went from stony to boiling in an instant.

" The demon is awake!" he yelled above the sounds of Keli's hysterical cries, backing away from my reach and drawing his ugly black weapon. I was clawing at the air in front of him, my arm as far through the bars as my shoulder would allow. I let out a scream of rage. It ripped through the air piercing the stones in the walls. As soon as it left my lips it's echoes off the stones sounded foreign.