Dragons of Marak: Book 1, Wings & Sword

#17

 She didn't know how long she sat there. Blood drizzled from her arm onto the ground, pooling around her knee by the time the hadra dragonbound opened the door. He grabbed her roughly by the arm and pulled her to her feet. He dragged her into the room, and swatted at the vinedra on her arm. The little dragon let go, though, darting across the room to avoid his grasp. After that, he seemed to ignore the dragon. He locked the door behind them, and then went back to the elevator.

"What happened?" Luka asked her once her father's dragonbound was gone. He sounded worried.

Ana knew she should put on a mask and hide her emotions from him, but her mind was too disturbed to do it. She'd just shoved her father into a bunch of cages filled with rabid dragons! Not to mention, he'd admitted he was torturing those dragons. Jack was helping him. It all hurt so much.

"By the Uniter, what happened to your arm?" Luka said.

Ana blinked away the tears.

"Are you okay?" Luka approached. "What is it? What's wrong? What happened?"

Ana shook, sucking in her sadness. Not in front of him. She couldn't cry in front of him.

"The wound is from that vinedra," Ana said. Luka looked around the room for it. "I rescued them."

"Rescued? From where?"

Ana explained to Luka what she'd seen. She told him everything. From the caged dragons, to the dead sparkdra, to shoving her father into the cages.

Luka's eyes went wide as she told the story. "He's mad," he said. "That's a violation of rights not seen since before the Uniter's time."

Ana nodded.

As she continued to explain things, Luka ripped off his cravat. He tied it around her upper arm, to slow the flow of blood. She relaxed as the pain dulled.

"That should help for a little bit. But you need to see a doctor," he said.

"I know," Ana agreed. "But first, we need to rescue Cee and Ashwell."

"That's why I came here. But that bite looks really bad. I don't think you should wait," Luka pressed.

"I'm fine," Ana said. The pain wasn't that bad. It looked worse than it was. "What exactly happened? Why did my father bring you here?"

Luka looked hesitant to answer her question. He didn't take his eyes off her wound, but he must have seen she wasn't going to get it addressed immediately, because he dropped it.

"My mom and I were at the police station," he said. "They said they would consider investigating the Obelisk. My mom wanted them to take us with them. They said no. It seemed like they were brushing us off."

Ana was growing to hate the police. It seemed like they did nothing.

"They were going to arrest my mom for refusing to leave the station. She was getting really angry at them. So was I, to be honest. But then, your father showed up."

Luka paused.

"He's friends with the police. He got my mom released. He told me to come down to the Iron Obelisk and see how things were run. Told me I could see Ashwell too. He invited me in front of all the police officers. My mom wanted to come with me...but he said the invitation was for me only."

"And then my dad brought you here," Ana said.

"Right," Luka said. "What exactly happened to our dragons? Did you see them? Are they locked in the cages?"

Ana sighed. She realized she hadn't explained to him about the distorted realm. She started to explain it now, fully expecting that he would not believe her. Surprisingly, though, he listened to the whole thing and not a sign of doubt crossed his face. When she was done, Luka looked horrified.