Dragon Talons (Indigo Apocalypse Book I)

Chapter Fourteen: Great, The Bitch, Is, Really, Back

HUNTOR:
    I left the room, and walked down the halls, mind racing at a million miles an hour. Veevuqui and the others, how Leia got here, my suspicions about Sydney, the Dark Queen, the whole damned world. I walked out of the healing center, and saw, figuratively, Veevuqui standing in the little yard, tapping her foot, the show of irritation. I gave her an apologetic smile. "Sorry, I wanted to console their wounded." Smooth pretty lies, wrapped around truths. The best kind. Suddenly, her whole demeanor changed, suddenly, she was sweet, kind, gentle. "There's no problem Brother, come come, let's go." She took my hand and drew me along. "We'll b having our lessons in a new place today." "Oh?" I asked. She pressed her lips to my cheek, as if in apology. "Yes, there's a ship waiting, a little, how do you humans call it, a cruise." "How intriguing." I said, stroking her fingers as we walked.
I took a deep breath, remembering the plan I made with Qudorzo, and the plan I had made with my court, then Sarah and Zavala. So many pieces, so many shards to the glass pain, so many puzzles to put together. I reached into my soul, reached for the hook that bounded Zavala to me, and saw her storming through the city, saw her, as we hit the docks, as we made our way toward a huge ship, it's belly open to us. Never ask me about the parts of a ship, I neither knew nor cared enough. I knew about port and stern, starboard and gangway. Oh, and the bow of the ship. As the ramp thundered closed behind us, I stared around, the hall lead straight down, blue lanterns hung in the air, colors of turquoise, sapphire, and disturbingly, of indigo. Doors like submarine's wheeled door, followed the wood walls on either side of us, a spiral staircase stood in the center of the hall. As we moved toward one such door, I saw the fight between Zavala, and the dracons. When she was done, and watched the corpses as if realizing something, I spoke to her. I felt the ship move, and Veevuqui ran her hand over my neck as she opened the door, and we entered. "So, why are we on this ship?" I asked as my plan started. "Because we—"Because," Said a very familiar voice, "There are many, things, we, need, to talk about, Huntor Love." I knew the liquid creamy voice that flowed from a corner of the room. Knew the voice could be just as sweet, as it could be vicious. Knew how it felt to squeeze her breasts, how her mouth tasted, knew how her body responded to me. But the black haired figure that came forward wasn't her, wasn't who I thought. "Sydney?" I asked, aghast. "Beautiful huh?" She asked, running a moon-white hand through that midnight hair, that inky black hair. "I had this body made for me, made, by your mate." I snarled. She moaned. "I've missed the sounds you make." She stepped toward me, and let out a snarl, a, dracon's, snarl. "You thought you murdered me, didn't you? Thought you slaughtered me huh? NEWSFLASH BABY, I'm an immortal bitch. I can live forever because of my powers. No matter how many times you kill me, I can always come back." "I guess I'll just have to keep killing you till you get it." She laughed. "You're one insane Bitch, but I guess insanity comes with the territory." I snarled, then, attacked.
    Amanda laughed and lashed out, forcing me to duck her talons, her, black, three inch long, talons. "No." I gasped. "Yes." SHe snarled. She pulled back, and laughed. "I'm your mate Huntor, she helped make this body for me, along with the Dark Queen's persuasion." "You Bitch." I said quietly. "Thank you, I surely am a Bitch, the top Bitch, the one who will break Huntoruukos." She lashed out again, again, again, forcing me to back up. Her arm flashed out, a spin that could've taken my head off. I ducked and her talons sank into the wall. She hissed in annoyance, and tried to yank them out. I brought my arm down on her forearm. Amanda screamed in pain, and I kicked her in her stomach. She went flying back and fell, collapsing the table under her weight. "I will kill you." I said calmly. "When I do, you will die, in this life, and the next. There will be no resurrection." She laughed and attacked again. "You don't get it Huntor. You're done, all you tried is over. I'm the Bitch now. You're Bitch. I say what and when. I control you now. You are nothing now. And when we unleashed the Ragni Di Morte on the Silver Plains, they'll blame you and your court. It'll be delicious." She sang every word, proving she was truly insane. She spun gleefully, talons flying for my face. I ducked and stomped on her foot, bringing my fist into her chin. "Never underestimate a classic stun." I said. I flung Amanda across the room again. She crashed, but rose to her feet. I spun round, lashing out at Veevuqui, who remained silent, and mute. She didn't even fight as I threw her aside and flew through the door. Amanda laughed, a high cold sound as I fled, flying up the spiral stairs with that inhuman speed. I reached the upper level and kicked open the door, to find myself surrounded by dracon warriors. I froze, my hands going to the sheaths on my torso. "Surrender, and we won't harm you." "Ha," I challenged. "Take me for a fool?' "Actually, don't answer that." I drew the knives I bore. Three advanced on me and I spun, tearing through them with that brutal ease, letting the icy killing seep through my blood, letting the Head's teachings flow through my body. I spun and slashed, kicked and ducked, cutting a path through the dracons, leaving death in my wake.
    When I reached the edge, I looked over the side, useless I know, but still. There was nothing, nothing but thick white fog, the sounds of waves was like a distant memory. "Marvelous, extremely, marvelous." I slowly turned, and found the Royals there, the Snow Queen, Daqutos, and Veevuqui. "You'll certainly do well, do better than the Queen first spoke of." "What are you talking about?" I asked. "I mean to say, that you'll serve her well, you, and that disgusting black dragon of yours. You will wake her, and bring us into a new era." "Like hell I am." I said, advancing. "Oh you will, bevcause you don't want anything to happen to her, do you?" They parted to reveal Sydney, hanging between two dracons. "HUNTOR." She begged. "SYDNEY." I shouted. I ran toward her, but as the gap closed, she cried out in pain. I froze, realizing that, in this, they had the upper hand. "See, you see now, that you never stood a chance." The queen said coldly. Then, "Take them down below, separate cages, Amanda will see you shortly." Someething slammed inot the back of my head, and darkness, overtook my world. I woke up sitting in a dark room, leaning against a wood wall. The sounds of the sea could be heard against my ears. I stretched, realizing that chains cuffed my wrists and ankles, and there was a void in my soul, in my core. "Well shit." I muttered. A female gasp from the other side of the room, and then, "Huntor?" My heart sped up, flying at a million miles an hour, but the lack of my dragon, raising it's head, snarling, told me enough. "They used some kind of dragon nullifying serum, didn't they?" "Yes." She whispered. Then she added, "I'm sorry Huntor, so so so so sorry. FOr all of it, for running away, for getting myself lost, for not listening to you, for not giving you a chance to explain, for breaking the bond. I—"Well will you look at that." The door had opened, and Amanda's voice wove it's way through like a deadly serpent. "Look at that Huntor, she's sorry." The door slammed shut and a light flickered on. "Well Bitch, it's way way way too late for sorries. You've already done too much wrong to your precious mate. Now, it's my turn."
    "No, no no please please please." Sydney cried. "Too late." Amanda purred. "You must realize by now Huntor, just how powerless you are?" "I gathered as much." I commented. Amanda laughed. "I love you, you know that? You were always my favorite dance partner." She came closer. "What you're feeling is the, lack, the lack of your powers and your dragon. The Snow Queen has been very secretive, very smart and clever. She has created something called Dragonesia, can you guess what that is?" "A serum, a serum to nullify the dragon in someone." "Exactly." She sang. "And with the obsidian cuffs, well, Huntor, you're nothing but human now. Since, by the Queen, you've done everything to be seen as a demmidragon, now you are, human, and will be, when you die." "Gee Amanda, you must've missed me, if this little conversation is anything to go by." Amanda laughed. "Of course I have. And, I will, keep you for as long as I can." "But Amanda, I am to die in three days, sunset, they will use Sydney and me to wake the Dark Queen." "I know." She purred. "But I, will, have you." "Great," I muttered. "A suicidal succubus human who's determined to have me, what else is new." "I'm so glad you asked." She sang. "I have little ministrations for you, little things I'm going to put you through. Trust me, you'll love it." "Oh yeah?" I asked as she opened my cage door. "Yes," She said, closing it. Sydney began sobbing in her cell, then banging her door. "And this will effect your mate as well, so, I'm killing two birds with one stone, or, more like, torturing two dragons." She laughed, high, cold, horrifying. Sydney kicked, bashed, and slammed against her bars, to no avail. "Let's get started." Amanda said sweetly.
    I woke up in darkness, and to the sound of Sydney's quiet sobbing. I took mental stock of my injuries. Injuries that were healing slowly, very, slowly, due to the obsidian chains, the dragonesia in my blood. Two broken bones in both arms, brands on my chest and stomach, deep cuts made from those talons. Hours had gone by, hours of the torture, hours of hearing Sydney screaming, bashing the bars, crying, begging, sobbing. Then the pain had become too much for my brain to handle. I took a breath, finding that I could with ease. I took another, and another, then said, "Syd." The sobbing stopped. Then, renewed banging and bashing. "Syd, stop, stop stop stop." She didn't. "I have to help you, I have to do something, I have to kill her, I have to, I have to, I HAVE TO." She roared the last three words and bashed into the bars, probably with her whole body. I understood, understood why Amanda chained me up, put me through this. Because it fed her inner beast, fed the succubus in her. Pain and sex, it fueled her, gave her power. Sydney's pain, my agony. She fed on it. She wanted Sydney to hurt, to know she couldn't do anything to save me, to help me. "SYDNEY, STOP." I shouted. She froze, but continued ot sob. "Listen to me, she wants you to hurt like this, wants you to realize that you can't do anything to help me." "Huntor, Huntor Huntor Huntor. I'm sorry I'm sorry, my fault my fault my fault." I sighed, realizing I wasn't going to get through to her.
    The door opened, and Veevuqui's scent filled the room. Sydney's sobbing turned into snarling. "You." She growled. Veevuqui didn't answer her, instead, came and opened my cage, and stepped in. "You know, I outta gut you and make you eat your own intestines for the shit you put me thtough." I said calmly. "Since you are sprawled out on the floor with both arms broken, I doubt you'll be able to pull off any kind of threats." "Oh, I'll heal, and when I do, I will gut you and make you eat them, I promise you that." She merely sighed, and said, "It's time for your next dosage of medicine." "Uh-huh, you mean the dragonesia." She froze, and asked. "How did you know that?" "I'm a clever beast. I payed attention to your lessons and put two and two together." "I told Mother that she was dangerous to keep around. The Dark Queen shouldn't have brought her back." "Well too late for that huh?" I asked. Veevuqui didn't reply, Instead, she came closer and stuck something into my useless arm. "How very, unpleasant." I said. "I don't doubt it." She answered, rising and pulling away. "Oh, and there's one more thing. Your court won't be able to find us, to even start their half of the prophecy." "Oh, why is that?" I asked. "Because Vileneequi will put a stop to them. Will ensure they won't survive." "I guess there's only one way to find out huh?" I asked. Veevuqui didn't reply, as she walked out. "Huntor?" Sydney asked. "Yes Love?" I asked. "Is anyone coming?" "Of course they are." "But, she said that someone would ensure they didn't survive." "Do you remember Sarah? Leia? Wenzi?" "Yes." "They are coming, remember they came last time. They will save us both." "You mean, you can't get us out of this?" I winced inwardly. "No," I admitted. "No, this time, I am truly powerless. Amanda underestimated me too many times to be able to take any chances. This time, they took everything, my indigoism, my dragon, everything." Except for my wit and smarts, except for my spirit, except for what it truly meant to be an indigo, which I'd have to use at every turn, if I wanted to get us out of here alive, if only to die destroying the Dark Queen.