Chapter Six
By Genavere
The first thought she had when waking up was that Munto must have gotten up early. It was cold and his absence always left her with a chill she could not shake until he looked at her with those molten eyes. Maybe it was time to add more blankets. And possibly a new bed. Was their bed always this uncomfortable?
Opening her eyes slow, she realized rather quick that she was not home or in their bed. Scrambling up, she tried to run to the bars that lined her cell, to see if she could figure out where she was. But before she even made it half way, something pulled her ankle back and she sprawled out on the ground in an undignified lump.
Pain spread through her body at the impact and the memory of falling yesterday flashed through her mind.
Falling from the sky with Tormo. The attack that crystallized the other guard. Being woken up with Munto by the guards and going to the dead patch of their kingdom.
Blinking, she sat up and looked at the chain that ran from the wall to the circlet around her ankle. It only gave her room to reach the bed and around the middle of the cell before it grew too taunt for her to reach the bars even if she stretched out as far as she could.
Had something happened after the fall? She did not even remember landing.
Closing her eyes, she shivered on the cold floor as she tried to recall what happened...yesterday? Was it yesterday? There were no windows or natural light for her to know even what time it was. Only a lone Akuto flame gave a bit of dim light to the room.
What happened to Tormo? Did he survive?
It came to her that during the fall, he had grabbed her. Yes, that was right. He took the fall for them both. It impressed her with everything he did to try to protect her and his steadfast devotion. She could only hope he had not even hurt too badly and still lived.
Munto would be proud his people were so devoted.
Munto…her thoughts went to her husband as she stared at the cuff chaining her. Did he know she was gone? Was he blaming himself?
She thought of the guard who had died, but instead of his shocked face, it was Munto's.
"No," she shook her head. This was not the time to think of that. He was the strongest there was. He had the power of the Outsider and was King of all Mages. He could never…
"No," she repeated, firmer. There would be no thoughts like that, not while she and her child still lived. They would make it back to Munto no matter what.
Bringing her hand up, she carefully touched the tips of her fingers. No lingering trace of the numbness remained. That made her feel better, and gave her hope that she could do something about the chain holding her back. She could not just sit idly hoping for rescue, not when there was a chance to get out of there or to at least find a way to connect with Munto.
Going back to the bed, she looked at the chain attached to the wall and pulled at it a few times to test the strength of the wall and the connection. The chain just seemed to disappear into the wall, so there were no welds or bolts to try to work at. She frowned and reached out to touch the wall. Maybe there was something she could see if she worked the Akuto.
A jolt of pain shot through her arm the instant her fingers grazed across the wall. Yanking her hand back, she whimpered and held her hand against her chest as she stared at the wall in horror. It felt like that time she reached through the barrier to save Munto when they were young, but this was stronger. If a barrier like that had been managed to be put up around the walls…would she even be able to connect to him?
There had to be a way.
With the wall out of the question, the cuff would be where she focused next. Sitting on the floor to be further from the wall, she lifted her torn dress and travel pants to look at the metal around her ankle better.
The skin there was a bit red, which meant she must have been wearing it for some time already. Exactly how long had she been there?
Touching the metal carefully, she began trying to see if there were any weaknesses in it, or if there was enough slack for her to slip it off. Many other Heavenly Beings had bigger ankles than her, a fact she realized when she had begun dancing lessons. Though, it had only been one time she had danced with an instructor before Munto had cut in saying he would be the only one she danced with.
That memory helped her to try to push the metal down as far as she could until it began to dig painfully into her skin.
If slipping it off would not work and there was no visible lock on the cuff, then the chain was her last option. Whoever put her in it had known they would need a smaller cuff. That meant her kidnapper knew, or at the very least, studied her.
That thought sent a chill down her back.
Had there been someone watching them without either of them knowing?
Maybe they needed thicker sheets on the bed from now on, she reasoned. Along with thick curtains.
Focusing on the task at hand, she stared at the delicate chain. It definitely looked as if a master blacksmith had crafted it. If she could focus her energy into pushing Akuto into the links, maybe there was a way she could melt the metal or break it all together. If she could do that, then she could tackle the next challenge that was the door.
Slowly, a small glow of Akuto grew at her fingertips. The precision was something she had only recently begun working on with Munto closely monitoring her progress. Doing it alone without him to guide her set a whole different challenge than she had dealt with before.
Shields were easy. Her whole hand was used to bring a dome around her and whoever she was protecting, and they were the first thing he had insisted she learn in order to protect herself. But creating food or clothing had never been something she had managed to learn. More accurately, she had, accidently, destroy a whole wall once while trying to create a flower. While she had been mortified, Munto had laughed.
Now, without him there, she could only hope she did not take off a leg.
Sweat built along her brow as she pushed the Akuto slowly into the chain. Sparks of crystals flew up from the chain and disappeared as they fell to the floor. Frowning, she pulled her hand away and looked at the chain.
Nothing. There was no mark or even sign that she did anything to it. Did that mean she had done it wrong?
"I would not be so prudent to waste your time on that."
The gruff voice startled her and she dropped the chain to the floor. "Gntarl..." her voice caught seeing the large man entering her cell. She hadn't even heard the door open!
The last time she had seen him, he had been arrested by the United Armies Council for acting against their orders. Munto had sought a banishment or even to have the former commander locked up indefinitely to keep him away from the Magical Kingdom and her. While the council promised to punish him and she had asked Munto to forgive him, it seemed that whatever punishment he had received had not been enough.
"I am pleased you remember me after such a time," he lifted his arms and made a show of the place around him. "You should feel privileged, Girl of Destiny, everything you see here has all been designed to ensure the power you hold is granted directly to me."
She shuddered at how he addressed her. Granted, he was older than most people she knew, but the look in his eyes. Cold fear gripped her heart.
"Your presence here will ensure the fall of the Magical Kingdom and their fool of a king. His attitude has grown too large for someone so insignificant." He stepped closer to her, his eyes sharp and narrow. A staff he held clicked against the floor drawing her attention.
Black from the base to the spiral tip, the top portion held an ethereal crystal that twisted around with the darkness. Inside the crystal, slivers of movement could be seen that danced around the space. They were familiar to her.
Akuto shards.
This staff, she knew in her heart, was dangerous.
"Gntarl…the Akuto crisis has been over for years," she spoke slowly, using her best diplomatic voice as she pushed down the quiver of fear in her throat. "There is no reason for you to take these drastic measures."
"Drastic, you say," he slammed the end of the staff against the floor causing her to flinch. "I was humiliated and condemned. A brat who should never have been born looked down at me and took my power."
He stepped closer to her, his face darkening.
All she could do was scramble back against the bed to keep the distance between them. This was different from when he had tried to crystalize her as a teen. His mind was twisted by the need for revenge.
"Without you, his power will crumble," he explained slowly. "You are his strength, his power. The key to bring about the end of the Magical Kingdom and to rid the world of what never should have been."
"Munto is stronger than that," she lifted her head in defiance. "Even without me, he will still stand proud and ensure you are punish—"
Her breath caught and her eyes widened in shock. Lips quivering, she carefully brought up a hand to a heated cheek as she felt blood begin to drip from her chin onto her ruined clothes. Taking in a shaky breath, it took more strength than she wanted to admit to look back up at her capture.
The ring on the hand he had used to back-hand her with was stained with her blood. It was clear that he was a very dangerous enemy now.
"Your source of Akuto has always been a strength I desired, and now that you mine, I will harness it."
There was no doubt in her mind that he would try his hardest to take what he felt was his. What he had in store for her, she could only imagine, but she knew that she had to escape or neither her child or her would survive. His entire mental state had fallen to focus solely on her and revenge against Munto. "And if I refuse?"
"Then Munto will experience a loss he has not felt since his parents."
A/N - The next update likely will be a couple days out. I changed direction and have to re-write them. Plan to have the next chapter up before the weekend.
