The Wizard and the Void - Chapter Fourteen
Author: Milady Dragon
Daisy swam back toward consciousness, her head pounding in time with her heartbeat.
Well, at least her heart was still beating. She thought she had a right to be glad about this fact.
She tried to open her eyes, but failed on the first attempt. She lifted a heavy hand to swipe across them, and found that they were crusted shut, as if she'd slept for days like that one time she'd been so sick. Dad had spent every hour by her bedside, nursing her back to health, and if she hadn't been inclined to love him already that would have been the game changer.
The young Wizard scrubbed her eyelids enough to get them wiped clear, then finally managed to open them. Daisy found herself in a tiny room, on a bunk that was barely large enough for her; she could see Skye laying on the floor, the dragon perking up the moment she noticed that her Wizard was awake once more. Skye bounded up, landing right on Daisy's stomach. She left out a whooping breath as the air was knocked from her lungs.
Still, she didn't have the heart to scold Skye. Instead, Daisy cuddled her familiar, letting her fear overwhelm her for just a moment, because the last thing she could recall was seeing Grant Ward on that path, his Hive dragons encircling him, and a wand in his hand.
He had to have cast some sort of sleep spell on her.
There was one way to find out. Raising her arm toward her face, Daisy took a sniff of her sleeve; yes, there was the unmistakable scent of lavender, the hallmark of a basic Sleep spell.
Shifting a protesting Skye a little, Daisy sat up, risking the throbbing in her skull getting worse in order to take a look around. Her first impression of the room had been correct; it was small, with close stone walls and was really just the size of a pantry, windowless and gloomy and just a bit damp. A single glowglobe was mounted on the wall over the metal door, and as she watched it flickered fitfully, the magic in it too feeble to keep the light steady. The only furnishing was that bed, and it didn't even have a blanket for her to wrap up in.
She couldn't afford to have her fear rule her, though. Her Dad had once told her that being afraid was natural, it was just what you did with it that counted. She could lay there and freak out, or she could be ready for Ward – or whoever else was around – came for her, and try to escape. They'd left her gauntlets on, which was something. However, the teleport pendant that would have taken her back to school was missing.
The only other problem seemed to be that her magic was almost was weak as the light over the door.
Daisy thought about that. It could either be another spell, or something about the room that was making it hard to access her magic, let alone the Deep Ways, which was probably why her head hurt so badly. Being a Cardinal Wizard meant that the Deep Ways was as much a part of her as her very blood was, and to have it cut off like this was going to keep on hurting until she could get away from this place. In the back of her mind, Daisy knew that this was just a very slow way to die, but she shoved that little voice back down, not wanting it to distract her.
She needed to work out what was going on.
Really, there was only one reason that Grant Ward, of all people, would have grabbed her. Well, there were two…but she dismissed the one because, while she'd had certain feelings for him, Daisy was pretty sure those feeling hadn't extended to Ward.
No, Ward had been Garrett's Novice before that mess with Jemma and Leo. Daisy was willing to bet that he still was, despite Garrett's rather public repudiation of Ward during the hearing on his actions in front of the Quorum. The young Wizard was willing to bet that Ward was a part of this whole Hydra mess, just because Garrett was.
There left the one reason for her kidnapping that fit current events.
Hydra had her.
And they'd taken her as a lever against her Dad.
Daisy couldn't help but cuddle her dragon again, the fear this time for her Dad. He was going to be walking into a trap, and they were going to use her in order to get him to do what they wanted him to. Because he would. Dad loved her, and was just about the only thing that he'd do anything to save.
She was his one, major, weakness.
Daisy cursed herself. She should have gone straight to Baron Tony's castle, instead of to the Wizard School just because she'd wanted to figure out a way to help Dad. She'd walked right into a trap herself, because Garrett had sent Ward, believing that she'd do exactly what she'd done.
The school should have been safe. It was supposed to have been one of the safest places in the world, populated by all sorts of Wizards and soaking in the magic and Deep Ways of Gateway. But Ward had found her. He'd gotten in, despite the fact that he'd been expelled. Once that had occurred, the magic should have kept him out.
It hadn't. Daisy figured she had John Garrett to thank for that as well.
From outside the door, she thought she heard the scuff of a footstep. Daisy clambered to her feet, tucking Skye up onto her shoulders, the best to have her hands free. She might not have her magic at the moment, but she had her gauntlets, which were made from a strong, light metal that would pack a punch if she struck the right spot on a human body. Plus, Melinda had taught her self-defense almost from the moment the older woman had arrived at Shield Keep, so maybe Daisy had a chance.
She had no idea where Ward had brought her, but hopefully there was a town or something nearby where she could go to ground long enough to contact either her Dad or Uncle Nick. Anyway, she wasn't going to go along with anything without fighting every step of the way.
The heavy metal door creaked open, revealing the very familiar face of Grant Ward, his little Hive dragons fluttering around his head. Daisy remembered the first time she'd met him, and she'd thought the Hive had been the cutest things ever. She knew they'd been born in the same egg, and shared a mind that meant they could act in concert with one another. They were a very serous threat, even if she managed to overpower Ward.
Still, she had to try.
Ward gave her a small smile. "Nice to see you again, Daisy."
"Not so much for me," she snarked back. Surreptitiously, she settled back onto one foot, all the while trying to silently communicate that she was helpless. She was hoping to get him into the room, where it might be easier to fight him. Melinda had once told her that confined spaces could, sometimes, be a fighter's best friend.
"I'm sorry about the way I had to bring you here. But I knew you'd never come on your own."
"Damned right I wouldn't've! What the hells do you want, Ward?"
"You used to call me Grant."
"I used to like you, too. That was before you tried to kill Jemma and Leo." She was still so very mad about that, especially since the pair hadn't been any sort of threat to anyone.
"That was an accident – "
Daisy scoffed at that.
"And I do regret what happened."
She doubted that he'd ever regretted any of his nasty deeds, but she didn't say that out loud.
Ward took a step into the room. "We needed you here, and you would never have cooperated."
"What do you want with me?" She already knew, but another of Melinda's lessons was that playing dumb lulled your enemies into underestimating you.
"Your father has something we want. You're…leverage."
"And you didn't think to just ask him?" Daisy let her voice quiver a little; not that that was hard, since she was fairly scared in that moment. Not so much for herself, although the prospect of dying because she'd been cut off from the Deep Ways was certainly frightening.
No, Daisy was terrified for her Dad. Because, unless he hadn't left the Keep yet and they'd managed to get word to him that she was missing, he would be walking into a trap.
Ward's smile grew just that much creepier. "We doubt he'll willingly help, when he finds out what we want him for."
He took another step toward her. Silently, she urged him closer, in the same moment mentally cautioning Skye about reacting to what the young Wizard was going to do. She couldn't see her dragon, but she could feel Skye shivering on her shoulders, the tiny quivers making her distress obvious.
Daisy could completely understand how her dragon felt.
"Just tell me what's going on?" she whimpered. It was one part act, a million parts upset and scared. In the back of her mind, there was a tiny voice gibbering in terror, but Daisy wasn't about to give in to it. Her Dad was in trouble, and she was the only one who could warn him.
Sure, he had Clint Barton with him, and Daisy had liked the Elven archer almost immediately, but Clint was walking into the selfsame trap. He'd once been a bad ass mercenary but even he could be killed if caught by surprise. Loki was a prime example, even though he hadn't exactly died. From the vague description Uncle Nick had given her, and from the blood that had been on her Dad's tunic when he'd found her, that would should have been fatal.
And, while her Dad might have once been undeniably evil, he hadn't been that way in a really long time…and, really, he hadn't been like that back then, either. He'd allowed himself to be convinced that he was, when he was actually one of the very best men in the world. Daisy might have been a little biased, but even Uncle Nick agreed with her.
She knew he regretted what he'd done, but the young Cardinal Wizard couldn't hold it in her to do so. If Dad hadn't done what he'd done, he might never have found her. And Daisy couldn't see herself with anyone else like she was with her Dad.
She would do anything she could to protect him.
"We're just going to keep you nice and safe in here," Ward told her. "And, when we get what we want, we'll let you go."
Daisy doubted that. She knew about Ward, and she didn't think that Hydra would want to lose such a valuable hostage by setting her free afterward. No, anyway this went, Daisy was going to be killed. She was absolutely positive of that fact. Either they'd take that step themselves, or they'd let her rot away in this room, her magic smothered until it eventually destroyed her.
Still, she did the best she could to sell it to Ward that she believed him. "You promise?" she pleaded, clasping her hands as if she was begging. She had no idea when she became such an actress, but figured it had more to do with the life or death situation she was in than any sort of talent on her part.
"Of course," her kidnapper assured, sounding completely and utterly sincere.
Daisy wanted to believe him. But she knew better. He'd sounded that sincere standing in front of the tribunal, trying to convince them that what he'd done to Jemma and Leo had been accidental despite the overwhelming evidence against him.
Ward took a couple more steps forward, his arms coming up as if he was going to hug her. "It's good to see you again." He seemed to be completely taken in by her, which had been the entire point of the exercise.
This distraction on Ward's part was Daisy's best chance.
She threw a punch right to his face, slamming her gauntlet into that perfect cheekbone of his.
Ward's head snapped back, and she didn't let him regain any sort of equilibrium, following up her punch with a second one right to his rock-hard abs. Ward buckled forward, at which point Daisy kneed him right in the balls.
It was oh-so satisfying.
The Hive dragons were shrieking as they attempted to go to the rescue of their Wizard. Daisy threw her hands up to protect her face as she darted past the writhing Grant Ward, yet she still got a scratch across her cheek before she was out of the room and slamming the door behind her. Skye did her best to keep the Hive dragons away, but she was only one dragon attempting to fight off five.
A slide bolt was on the outside, and she slid it across the jamb and into its housing, locking Ward inside. She didn't take time to celebrate, looking around for a way out. The corridor she was in stretched in both directions, and she chose one direction randomly, even as she was prodding her magic to see if it would work yet.
It didn't, but out of that cell Daisy could now tell why that was.
Cardinals and Voids were diametrically opposite. And this entire place was awash in Void magic. It was effectively smothering her own, but Daisy didn't think that this would necessarily kill her, not like having her magic cut off completely. She might have a chance; after all, she lived with a pretty powerful Void Wizard, and knew what it was like to react to that sort of overpowering magic settled around her. She could deal with this.
She just needed to get the hells out of there.
The corridor ended in a set of stairs, going upward. Daisy didn't hesitate, running up them, sending Skye a little ahead as a lookout. The emotions coming from her dragon bolstered her own fierceness and determination, and she let it roll over her as she ascended toward whatever was waiting for her above.
The stairs took her to a partially closed door. Pressing her ear against it as Skye landed at her feet, Daisy strained to make out if anyone was on the other side. It was quiet, and she really wished she could extend her magic outward, to feel her way forward, but that wasn't possible at the moment. She would have to rely on her normal senses to get her out of wherever she was.
There didn't seem to be any sound on the other side of the door, so Daisy took the chance and pushed it open, revealing another hallway, this one lined with doors that all seemed to be closed. There was a thick, wine red carpet on the floor and portraits on the walls, and if Daisy was the one to have flights of fancy she would have sworn that everyone in those paintings was watching her. A little shiver went down her spine as she stepped into the corridor, wondering which way she should go next.
Glancing down toward one end of the hall, she could see a large window that let light in, so that had to be an outside wall. There wouldn't be any way to escape that way – unless she was keen on jumping out that window, which she supposed she could, only she had no idea how far up she was. If it was farther than a few feet, she could very well hurt herself badly enough that she'd become a sitting duck. There was no guarantee that her magic would come back to full strength either once she was outside, and it seemed like too much of a risk to take.
So, the young Wizard turned her back on it, and made her way down in the other direction.
Surprisingly, she didn't see anyone around. Surely, there had to be other people here, if they were waiting for her Dad to show up. All she could do was hope her luck held until she got out of this place.
Her luck didn't hold.
Just as she was reaching the end of the hallway, which seemed to open up onto a balcony that overlooked another floor, accompanied by a set of stairs that curved gracefully downward, someone stepped forward, blocking her way.
It was a man, but there was something off about him. Daisy was sure if her magic was working she'd be able to tell what that was, but for now she had to go on appearances.
The man was tall. He had brown hair that fell to his shoulders, and looked as if it needed a good washing, since it was lank and filthy. Dark, blank eyes regarded her, no emotion in them, and they were the only part of his face she could make out, the rest was obscured by a mask of some sort that covered his mouth, cheeks, and jaw and looked disturbingly like a muzzle. He was dressed all in black leather armor…except for the metal arm on his left side, and that gleamed dully in the ambient light from glowglobes that had been placed on the walls of the balcony.
He was bristling with weapons. There was a sword at one hip, and a whip on the other. Daisy could see knives all over his person. He wasn't bothering to hide anything he was carrying, which was possibly more frightening than all those blades being hidden.
For some reason, Skye didn't hiss or make any sort of move to attack the man.
Daisy took a single step back, knowing that there was no way she could fight this man off on her own. He didn't make any sort of move, but then he didn't have to. He was menacing just standing still. She didn't ever want to see him in motion.
"Um," she said, "look, I just want to leave, alright?"
The man said nothing.
"I was brought here against my will, and I would just really like to go home."
Nothing.
"Ah," a voice said from behind her, sounding vastly amused, "I see you've met the Winter Knight."
Daisy spun in place, not wanting to put her back to Sir Menacing but needing to confront the newcomer. The man was older, with graying reddish hair, and could have easily been someone's grandfather if not for the sheer aura of darkness that surrounded him like a cloak. His pale eyes were smiling, even though his mouth wasn't, and the young Wizard got the distinct impression that he was laughing at her. His robes were richly embroidered, and were a deep blue; it was obvious he was from money, from the tailoring and the fabrics and the understated jewelry he was wearing. His belt had the usual Wizard's wand and dagger, also looking like he'd spent a lot of money on them.
His dragon was enormous, towering over the Wizard's shoulder, steel gray with blue eyes that were glowing angrily; there was several odd scratches on its flank, as if it had been in some sort of fight recently. Skye hissed, jumping down from Daisy's shoulders and mantling her wings in challenge. Daisy was suddenly terrified for her, and she knelt down beside the smaller dragon, grabbing her and holding her closely. To Daisy's gratitude, Skye didn't fight her, but then she had to have been sensing just how scared her Wizard was.
The man's lips quirked upward in a superior smirk. "That was the smartest thing you've done so far, Miss Coulson," he told her. "Your dragon wouldn't have stood a chance against my Insight."
The gray dragon, in response to that, licked its muzzle, as if it was eager to bite Skye…or even Daisy, for that matter. The Novice wanted to move away, but with the so-called Winter Knight behind her, she didn't dare.
Daisy was literally trapped between these two men. Her heart was pounding fit to burst, and it was all she could do not to cry, because she didn't want to give them the satisfaction of seeing her so upset. Her magic wasn't working, so she couldn't even defend herself, and she very much doubted that the lessons Melinda had given her would work against the Winter Knight.
She suddenly wanted her father so badly it made her gasp, but he couldn't come to her rescue because these bastards wanted him in particular, and they weren't above using her to get what they wanted.
"Now," the man continued, "I think we can find you a more comfortable room while we chat with your father. Our friend here will see that you stay there."
Daisy hadn't even heard the Winter Knight move until a hand had landed on her shoulder. It was actually surprisingly gentle, turning the young woman around and pressing her back down the hall. Before she even knew what she was doing, she begged, "Please don't hurt my Dad!"
The man gave her a pleased smile. "I think you'll find it's a little late for that."
In that heartbeat, Daisy knew that Dad was already there. That she'd been unconscious long enough for him to arrive. She wondered if she should scream, to let him know somehow that she was there.
But she didn't dare.
She couldn't distract him from whatever it was he was doing. The last thing Daisy wanted to do was to put her Dad into even more danger than he was already in. No, she would have to wait, and see if she might be able to try to escape again.
So, she let the Winter Knight guide her back down the hallway. He stopped at one of the closed doors; twisting the handle, he pushed open the door to reveal a sumptuous-looking bedroom. Still being surprisingly gentle, he shoved her into the room, and then closed the door. There wasn't any sort of sound of a lock engaging, but then he really didn't have to do that, did he? Not if he was right outside, because Daisy wasn't getting past him without her magic.
Cuddling Skye close, Daisy collapsed onto the bed, and finally gave into the urge to cry.