Chapter 10
As she watched Ellie being dragged out of the room Daja had never felt so helpless in all her life. She became blind to everything around her; blind, that is, until a tiny voice whisper in her mind:
"Aunt? I need you to listen to me." Ellie's voice wrenched Daja from her stupor.
"Ellie? Where are you? How is it that I can hear you?" Daja was confused she glanced around the auditorium but couldn't see her niece.
"The bay leaf in you hand… I tied a thread of magic to it so that I could communicate with you. I need you take Frostpine's hand. He needs to hear this too." Daja did as Ellie asked.
"Perhaps we underestimate you girly. A cunning little thing like you mother. How did you know they were after you?" Frostpine's gruff voice echoed through Daja. There was a pause for a moment.
"I didn't. I always have a few bay leaves on me just in case. Their great for acting as an anchor and… look this isn't important right now. I made a hole in the barrier so that you two could go get help. I can't seem to reach Theo… Where is Aunt Tris?"
"She was going to be in the great library. All of the students who aren't attending the conference are supposed to be studying there." Daja replied.
"Leave it to us Ellie. We'll get help." Frostpine reassured her. Daja nibbled at her bottom lip, unsure of what to say.
"I… I want you to take care of yourself. No heroics. Promise?" she felt Ellie's amusement flow down their magical connection.
"I'm the daughter of Eugenia and Briar Moss, Daja. I make no promises and take no prisoners." Ellie said. Then she was gone, leaving Daja and Frostpine to their task.
As consciousness faded in and out Kaiser became aware of two things: The first being the nauseating stabs of pain radiating from the back of his head. The second was the feeling of a warm body lying next to him on the cold, hard ground. With his head feeling like it was stuffed with cotton wool he had to struggle to pull a rational thought out of his jumbled brain. It took all of his strength for Kai to drag himself into a siting position. Using the damp wall to lean again, Kaiser surveyed the room around him. It was a dark, cramped room with no windows. The only light came from a magical globe that was set in a small notch over the other side of the room. The person slumped into heap next to him shifted.
"Mind helping me to sit up?" Theo croaked. Kai leaned over and, with great effort, slid Theo up next to him. As soon as the dim light touched Theo's face, Kai could tell his friend was in a bad way. His lip was split and a large bruise spread across his jaw. Theo held his side and his breathing was shallow and raspy. "Just a few cracked ribs Kaiser…N-nothing to worry about."
"Shit man. Someone worked you over good and proper. And your lip has started bleeding again." Kai tore off a strip of his shirt and handed it to Theo who gingerly dabbed his swollen mouth. "So what happened?"
"Don't really know. Someone ambushed me on the way to the library. After a bit of a beating I passed out and woke up here. How about you?"
"You're not going to like this but I think Jaeger is the reason I ended up here… H-he said that there was trouble at the conference and when I ran out of the room someone hit me on the back head with something very, very heavy." Kaiser gentle touched the back of his head. His hair was caked with dry blood but the wound seemed to have stopped bleeding. "Do you think Ellie is okay?" Kai asked. Theo winched as he tried to sit up straighter.
"I have not idea. Can't think properly… I'm sure she's fine."
The harsh slap of a hand across her face brought Ellie sharply back to reality. She glared at the petite blonde standing in front of her. The metallic taste of the blood leaking from her lip caressed her tongue as she ran it slowly over her mouth.
"I swear you'll pay for that two-fold." Ellie growled at Lana. The other girl laughed.
"And how do you plan to break those chains of yours?" She inquired arrogantly. Ellie longed to wipe that smug smile of her face. Unfortunately, Ellie had to admit that the bitch had a point. The chains tethering her to the metal chair she now occupied were magical. She couldn't use her own magic to break them and, as Ellie had discovered after she was strapped in, the metal links were spelled to keep her from using her power to call for help. "Do you like them?" Lana trailed a loving hand over the cuffs binding Ellie's wrists to the back of the chair. "Sebastian made them special for your brother. He's a metal mage you know. He's more powerful than any of the other Children his age. Of course, we hadn't anticipated that your brother would so much of a weakling. The boy can't even handle a mild beating." Ellie's head snapped around to look at Lana, her dull brown eyes dripping with venom.
"What have you done to him you pale bitch?"
"Nothing really… just a few broken ribs… a black eyes… nothing that a true Child couldn't handle."
Ellie felt rage bubbling up inside her. Her magics demanded to be allowed to deal with Lana. Their voices hissed through Ellie's mind.
This insufferable minx can not be allowed to insult the family's honour like this. Ellie's red half argued.
Yes… insubordination can not be tolerated. You are a queen by birth-right. The creature must be taught a lesson! The golden magic demanded. Ellie attempted to quieten her magics.
I'm glad you to finally agree on something but please! This is hardly the time to start insisting I take notice of my noble lineage. You two didn't seem to mind me being with a common-born Harrier, why should you care about this?
The Harrier boy never tied you to a chair!
Or insulted you magical gift.
Oh! I get it. So your not really defending my honour, just yours is that it? Ellie shook her head and returned her attention to the room around her. She watched as Lana paced for a few long minutes.
"If you keep doing that you're going to wear a groove into the stone." Ellie commented. Lana's snide reply was cut off by the sound of the door being unlocked. Ellie sat with her back to the only entrance to the room so she couldn't see who came into the room. The look of fear that flicked across Lana's face made Ellie doubt if she actually wanted to.
"S-Sebastian! W-what are you doing here? I-I was just coming to look for you…" Lana stuttered.
"Leave now," Seb's voice was so menacing even Ellie was wary, "I'll deal with you later." Lana scurried out of the room. Once she was gone, Sebastian slammed the door shut and leaned against it. Ellie tensed up, not knowing what to expect. "I'm sorry you were left alone with that woman. Did she hurt you?" Ellie was shocked by the genuine concern in his words.
"Not really. Just a slap or t…" Ellie forgot was she was saying as Sebastian's hands caressed the back of her neck. His touch sent trails of fire roaring across her skin. As alarm bells began to peal in her head she swallowed hard, her mouth suddenly paper dry. Ellie' was shaken from her thoughts as Sebastian's fingers unclipped the chain around her neck, slowly pulling her necklace up and over her head.
"Who gave this to you?" He asked, leaning in so close to her ear that his warm breath sent shivers of pleasure running down her spine. Ellie jerked her head away. What was this boy doing to her? This had to be magic, she thought; I'm not the type of girl to fall for the next guy who is nice to me.
"My… My Aunt Daja."
"Liar." Seb smiled and shook his head. "Fine, keep you secret. Whoever he is, I hope he's worth lying for."
"What makes you think I'm lying?" Ellie croaked. Sebastian cradled the blue garnet in his palm and walked around to face his captive.
"It's been inscribed with a spell, you know. The silver claw does anyway; one for protection."
"So what?" she retorted gruffly.
"Just seems like whoever gave this to you didn't trust you out of his sight. A bit clingy if you ask me." Sebastian tucked the necklace in his pocket. "Unless you need the extra help…" Sebastian's voice trailed off
"As if I would need anyone to protect me, I'm a Child of Light!" Ellie cried indignantly. Sebastian raised an eyebrow.
"You are a half child until you undergo the proper ceremonies." He reminded her.