My Friend

Part 3

But even then, he looked like a king. His sword was gone, his wings were pressed against his back, and his crown was stolen. He was torn up, bloody, and bruised, and yet ... They pushed him forward and he stood up straighter, the spark of defiance bright in his eyes. He held his chin up and walked at a painfully fast pace to keep up with them. He even stepped in front of them a little, and a quick glance would tell any passing by that he was the one leading.

I was taken, too, picked up and thrown over the guard's shoulders. You've heard the expression "sack of potatoes", right? I sure felt like a sack of potatoes, banging against his back, completely helpless, and probably pretty heavy to the normal human.

Ryan tried to convince Calorignis to release me, send me back to Earth, but he refused. I was going to be used as motivation. If Ryan didn't do exactly what he was told, I'd get hurt.

"Who paid you to do this, Calorignis?" he finally asked.

"Emperor Umberlios."

"Oh, so he's Emperor now, is he? That's cute. What'd he promise you? Riches? Power? Are you going to be Supreme Lord Calorie now?"

There was a loud thump and a muffled yelp, and then Ryan was silent. I couldn't see him, but I assume he'd been hit.

We traveled for a day - I'm not exaggerating. The guards marched Ryan for an entire day, out of the city and into a desert. Calorignis was riding something, but I couldn't see what it was, because I couldn't move at all for the whole trip. I figured I wouldn't be able to move for a while afterward, even if I was free of the spell. I'd be too stiff.

Near the end of the day - even though the sky had stayed in that red sunset all day long - I heard a thump, the sound of someone hitting the ground hard. "Get up," one of the guards said. Nothing happened.

I tried to wiggle around, and suddenly found that the spell had been broken. The man holding me dumped me on the ground, and I tried to stand up. It failed miserably, and I ended up hitting my shoulder on a rock, cutting it open. From this position, I could see Ryan crumpled on the ground, the tips of his wings bent and twisted awkwardly. He was barely breathing.

"Ryan," I choked out, still struggling to get my voice to work.

"Get up," the guard ordered, nudging him with his foot. Ryan didn't move. "I said, get up." The guard kicked him roughly in the stomach and my friend let out a quiet gasp of pain. He tucked his knees under his chest and slowly raised himself up, struggling to stay upright, since his hands were still cuffed behind him.

"He needs help," I said softly.

The man chuckled and grabbed his wrists, yanking him up to his feet. Ryan staggered and almost fell over again.

Calorignis climbed off of his beast thing and casually strolled over to him. "I hope you're not causing any trouble, your Majesty," he said calmly.

"I don't cause trouble," Ryan hissed. "Trouble just happens to find me and say, 'That looks like a fun guy in need of some mischief'." One of the guards smacked the back of his head and he ducked with a curse.

"Stop hurting him," I whispered.

"You don't like that?" Calorignis laughed. "You don't like this?" He threw a punch that hit Ryan square in the jaw. Ryan didn't make a sound as he stumbled backward, but I cried out in despair. "You don't like this?" he said as he hit him in the gut and knocked him onto the ground.

"Stop it!" I screamed, dragging myself to my feet and charging him.

The grey man grabbed Ryan's black sword and swung it at me. The flat end of the blade hit my legs and sent me crashing down, skidding painfully to a stop at his feet. He crushed his boot into my back to pin me down and said, "Don't cause any trouble. I don't need you like I need King Rycréan." He chuckled at the sarcastic emphasis of the word 'king'.