Chapter Fourteen

Adora was terribly cold, and her head felt as if someone had tried to split her skull apart. She moaned softly and slowly turned her head to one side, not yet willing to open her eyes. She shivered when her cheek touched chilly stone. Where was she?

Above her, someone cackled. The sound sliced through her aching head like a pick-axe, and she winced. Someone else snorted. The sound was nauseatingly familiar, and suddenly Adora remembered everything. She opened her eyes, and was not terribly surprised to find Hordak leaning over her, his red eyes glowing in triumph. She sat up and glared at him.

"Hello, my dear." The Horde leader extended his hand. "Here. Let me help you up." He grabbed Adora's arm before she could pull away, and hauled her to her feet. She jerked away and snarled at him.

"Don't touch me!"

"I am sorry, my dear." Hordak grinned. "But I do ask that all Horde memebers either stand or kneel in my presence."

"First off," Adora stepped back and rubbed his touch from her flesh, "I am not your dear. Secondly, I am no longer a member of the Horde."

Skeletor, standing several feet away from Hordak, smiled at that. Adora turned angry eyes at him. "What are you grinning at, Skull Face?" In her eyes, Skeletor was just as responsible for her mother's death as Hordak, and Adora vowed to one day make him pay for the grief he had caused her family. At the moment, though, she had more pressing matters to attend to.

Adora turned back to Hordak. "Why are you here?"

"To take you home, of course." Hordak answered smugly.

"You're wasting your time, then." Adora returned flatly. "I will never, ever serve you again!"

Hordak looked at Skeletor. "Such a rebellious spirit." he said conspiratorially, as if Adora was not standing less than five feet away. "Just like her mother."

Adora stiffened. Hordak looked back at her. "Speaking of your mother..."

"We weren't." Adora snapped angrily. "Don't you even speak her name! Murderer!"

"Now, now, my dear." Hordak crooned. "It is not my wish to upset you, but there is something you should know before you decide not to return with me."

"Nothing you say could make me go anywhere with you!"

"Your mother still lives."

The words filled Adora with a primal rage. It was all she could do not to rip her former master apart with her bare hands. How dare he make a mockery of her childhood dreams? "Liar!" she hissed, and tried to turn her back on Hordak. He reached forward and pulled her toward him. She looked into his eyes, and for the first time since awakening in Snake Mountain, Adora felt real fear.

"Your mother still lives." Hordak repeated quietly. He was no longer grinning, and there was murder in his eyes. "And if you return with me, and agree to be my loyal servant, she will continue to live."

Adora tried to pull away, but Hordak's grip on her arm tightened, and she cried out involuntarily. She clenched her teeth and glared up at him. "You are lying. My mother is dead, and you killed her."

"Whoever said that Marlena was dead?"

"You did."

"Did I?" Hordak shook her, none too gently. "Think hard, Adora. Did I ever tell you anything about your family?"

He released her then. The princess stepped back and frowned. "You are lying," she repeated, but her tone was less assured now.

"Am I?" Hordak murmured. "I hope you're certain about that, my dear. Because if I'm telling the truth, and you refuse to return with me, then I will not hesitate to kill your mother. How will you feel then, Adora, knowing that Marlena died because of you?"

Adora bit her lower lip, considering his words. Surely this was nothing more than a desperate attempt to reclaim her loyalty. But what if it wasn't?

"If my mother is alive," Adora spoke slowly, deliberately, "then where has she been for the past eighteen years?"

Hordak threw back his head and laughed. Several of Skeletor's minions had gathered around their master, and they watched the Horde leader cautiously. Skeletor's eyes glowed in their sockets. He grinned with some secret joy. Adora felt her body flush with anger.

"You are going to love this, Adora." Hordak snorted between gasps of glee. "Your mother has been right in front of you the entire time. She-"

"Enough!" Skeletor roared. He snapped his fingers at his warriors. They stepped forward and grabbed Hordak. "What the-" he began, then stopped when he saw what Skeletor was doing. He struggled, but could not escape his captors. They dragged him toward the portal that his former pupil had opened.

"How does it feel to be betrayed, dear teacher?" Skeletor cackled. He snapped his fingers again, and his lackeys threw Hordak into the portal. Hordak tried to run back into the room, but the circle of light closed before he could. Adora watched the whole ordeal in horrified fascination.

Soon she felt the eyes of Skeletor and his servants upon her. The lord of Snake Mountain advanced. "'Skull Face,' eh?" he hissed. "I'll make you pay for that remark, you impudent little brat!"

Adora looked at him. Then she looked at his warriors, and knew that she could not escape. So she did the only thing she could: closed her eyes and fell to the ground.

Skeletor muttered something about 'weak females.' He snapped at one of his warriors to take Adora to the dungeons. Adora then felt herself being lifted off the ground. She suffered through being roughly carried down musty halls and winding stairs. Finally, thecreature carrying her dropped her on another cold, damp floor. She heard a door slam shut, and the warrior lumbering away. She opened her eyes and smiled.She stood, unsheathed her sword, and listened carefully. The only sound in the dungeons was that of water hitting stone. Satisfied that she was truly alone, Adora swung the weapon over her head and began to chant.

"FOR THE HONOR OF GRAYSKULL..."