CHAPTER FOUR
When Jake came to, he found himself in the middle of a dark, dingy room lit by a single light bulb handing over his head; he was sitting dead center in the room in a hard wooden chair. He tried to move but the ropes that were tied around his arms and legs were too tight. He had also noticed that for some reason he had returned to human form and could not change back.
Suddenly the door opened and a figure walked into the room. "I see you are finally awake," the figure stepped forward, by the sound of the voice, he automatically knew she was a woman. When she stepped under the light he realized she was wearing a long black gown, every inch of her skin was covered, even her hands, which were gloved in black to match the gown. Her face was hidden behind an equally black veil which reached down to her chest.
"I hope my escorts paid special attention to you, interesting isn't it, normally ogres tend not to take orders from anyone, but you'll find I can be very persuasive, she said" "If you're thinking of leaving, you should save your strength, those ropes are actually braided sphinx hair." "Who are you?" Jake said. The woman replied "the last of my race, I once belonged to a group of enchanted beings who occupied an uncharted island. I was destined to be their queen, I was first in line as an heiress to the throne." "What do you want with me?" replied Jake. "Why you don't even remember, do you?" she said. "Does the night of March 20th ring a bell?" Jake looked at her in a confused way.
"You may not know this, but not too long ago, there was still a few of us left, barely even a dozen, but we were still alive." "This group visited New York less than a year ago, I stayed behind to make sure everything at home was in order. It was their first night in the city, they were coming out of a theatre and you, yes you, Mr. Long swooped down and burned them senseless until they were dead." "I must say it was smart waiting until they were out of the crowed exiting the theatre so no one would see you." Jake then exclaimed, "I don't know what you are talking about! I would never kill anybody! I never have!" She then laughed, and said "Mr. Long, you are a terrible liar, did you really think that I would go through all of this trouble if I didn't know it was you. I have photographic evidence. Luckily, one of my people, before you killed him, took a photograph before you killed him."
The woman then reached into her sleeve and pulled out a small 3" by 5" photo, Jake looked at it and was stunned to see himself in dragon form, breathing fire almost directly at whoever was taking the shot. "How do you respond to that, Mr. Long?" she said. Jake stared at her dumbfounded, not able to believe what he had seen. "That's what I thought", she said. She then walked over to a wall and pulled out one of the bricks. She reached into the hole and revealed a small wheel with a handle. As soon as it protruded out of the wall, the light bulb overhead retracted into the ceiling and was replaced by a sort of long mechanical arm and at the tip of the arm was a sharp dagger which at this point was about a foot away from Jake, level with his throat.
The woman then grabbed the handle on the wheel and began turning, the dagger then starting creeping closer to Jake. "Ill ask you again, Mr. Long, did you kill my family? If you don't answer, I guarantee you will never say anything again. At this point, the tip of the dagger made contact with Jakes neck, he could just feel the prick of the tip. He then answered, "I don't know how you got that picture, but I'm telling you that wasn't me! I have no memory of that night. Do you think I would forget killing that many people, especially if I had never killed before?"
Instead of saying anything the woman's hand started to turn. Jake felt the prick of the black piercing his skin. He knew that he wouldn't be able to take it much longer. "I DIDN'T DO IT!" he shouted. "I feel sorry for what happened, but I know I didn't do it!" Suddenly, the woman reversed the turning of the wheel, and the daggers started to back away. "I will say this Mr. Long, I admire the showing of compassion, however, I still am not convinced, and mark my words, that this night is not over. The veiled woman then left the room, as the door closed, Jake was then left in darkness.
