Read Caged by Damnation Online
Authors: J. D. Stroube
Tags: #Children's Books, #Science Fiction & Fantasy, #Fantasy & Magic, #Fantasy, #Paranormal & Urban, #Children's eBooks, #Science Fiction; Fantasy & Scary Stories
Caged by Damnation (12 page)
Supernatural
Sanctuary? What the heck does that mean? What kind of
supernatural beings
?" Demons, angels, witches ... what else was out there? I thought back to the guards, the incisors Rafe had sported. "Wait, Rafe? Was he a vampire?"
Ash laughed hysterically, pausing only to mock me with a smile, and say, "No, not a
vampire
. A
Draconian
." When he received no response other than an irritable sigh, he explained as if he were reciting a passage from a book he had been forced to memorize. "A Draconian is a human who is a descendent of the dragons from the war of origin – the war between demons and angels. Dragons were ... I guess you could say they were the steeds of the demons, created as a weapon to use against the archangels. Most of them turned on their slavers. As a result, their blood is diluted from breeding with ordinary humans, which had left their descendants the ability to shapeshift. They can take on the shape of any animal or creature, but most of the time they're confined to the shape of a human."
"Um, why didn't I know this? Why didn't Maye tell us any of this?" When I got back to my room, Maye would be answering some of these questions. I was starting to believe the elders were keeping more from us. There was an entire species that I had no idea existed!
Ash shrugged with a sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. "S, I know you have questions. So do I, but can we please do this later? I haven't slept and this whole mess is giving me one hell of a migraine. So, unless you brought some painkillers from the medical ward down with you...."
"Okay. Alright, that's fine, and to answer your question, no I don't have any painkillers." We smiled at one another before walking towards the light at the end of the passage, where we found a group waiting, though, it was not the group I was expecting.
Liam, Isis, and Griffin were gathered in front of a large, circular door, which reminded me of the entrance to a nuclear fallout shelter, with a hatch that needed to be turned clockwise to be opened.
"Oh good, does this mean we can remove ourselves to a location that's safe from that psychotic, screaming banshee?" Isis stood with her arms crossed. Her appearance was frazzled, which was unusual for her. She wore pajama pants, a hoodie, and her hair was carelessly thrown into a ponytail.
Griffin leaned against the wall, an alert and commanding expression across his face, but his appearance was similarly dismantled. "Oh, God, stop complaining," he groaned. Isis flashed an irritated look his way, but followed his direction.
"Screaming banshee?" Confused, I looked between the three of them.
Ash winced, but explained, "Well, it's an accurate description. She wasn't too happy with leaving you and screamed until she was sedated. Let's just say we all prayed someone would come around with earplugs."
"Oh, I don't hear anything now though."
"When she wakes up, the guards release gas into the chamber. It makes her pass out again." Griffin seemed apologetic, but I knew it wasn't their fault. "She can't get out, but they were afraid she might hurt herself if she tried."
"Is she okay?" Walking to the door, I listened closely for some hint of life within, but received none. My question remained unanswered, but in a way, their silence gave me more knowledge than their words would have.
I had gone down there to find Izzy, but when I thought back to how much she had changed ... I was afraid to find out. She had attempted to protect me when that
thing
had attacked us at the house. I wasn't sure I was thinking clearly, but felt strongly that I needed to trust her, if she would only reciprocate.
A lever on the opposite wall opened the door to Izzy's cell. The door gave a harsh squeal, balancing itself against the walls and conquering the dark hole. Ash grasped my shoulder, leading me to look away from the task at hand. His lips were hesitant, breaking the silence. "I could go with you."
"No, I think she needs me to come alone. I'll be fine." I offered a smile that was more to encourage myself than to assure Ash.
The first steps I took were born of fear. Hands clenched, my teeth assaulted my lower lip in burning worry. It was cold within the chamber and tremors racked my body. I forced my hands to obey me well enough to slide against the walls, searching for a switch.
Inching along, I sought any protrusion from the cold cement walls that might indicate a light source. Finally, my fingers brushed against a circular button which felt similar to the buttons found in hospitals to alert security.
At first, the button caused the light to flicker in hiccups, lasting seconds before eventually accepting my will. Smiling, I turned and came up short. Wide, black eyes without a speck of white were staring at me. Izzy’s expression was that of a predator, fixated on me. I screamed, ready to slash out until my mind caught up with my terror. This was Izzy. She hadn’t hurt me before, and she wouldn't now.
Standing still, wary as a rabbit, I waited. Gradually, Izzy's pupils shrank until only slits remained and I allowed myself to breathe. She didn't move away as she had in the clearing, but she didn't cling to me the way she had before when the creature had attacked us either. She remained motionless, examining me, while I stared back at her.
Izzy's appearance had changed slightly since I’d seen her last. Wearing a long, white dress which resembled a modest nightgown, she stood with dignity. Her hair had coiled tightly into full body curls entwining themselves within one another and collecting over her right shoulder. Her wings had grown, the feathers having gained a downy texture like that of a marshmallow, and bits of silver and white. She reminded me of a young bird who had gained their adult feathers, finally able to fly.
I pushed away from the wall towards the center of the room – though I wasn't sure if room was the right word for that place. It was barren of comfort; the only decorations were the vents, through which I assumed gas was dispensed.
When I turned to look back, Izzy was wearing a puzzled expression. She then knelt at my feet, and lifted my hospital gown. Her hands were gentle, tracing the faint lines left from my injuries.
I was familiar with emotions warring with one another, how they could create chaos within a mind. Instinct warned me to flee, but my soul reminded me that this was
my Izzy.
How could I betray her with my absence, when she had stood with me, when she had paid for it with her life?
"I'm okay."
"Izzy..." My voice trailed off with a tremor, altering into a surprised shout, leading to Ash tearing open the cell door.
Ash's face held a mixture of anger and confusion at the sight that greeted him. He found Izzy gripping me in what I was fairly sure was the tightest hug I had ever experienced.
Awkwardly, I patted her shoulder and smoothed her hair until she released me, leaving tearstains on my hospital gown. Strangely, I thought it was an improvement to my attire.
Ash's gaze alternated between Izzy and me, but he must have realized that I wasn't in any danger, because he remained in the doorway. Isis and Griffin were peering out from behind him with expressions that clearly stated their hesitance to offer help. Isis eyed Izzy with a mixture of horror and annoyance, while Griffin alternated between worry, confusion, and his own unique irritation.
"Are you okay?" Ash's voice should have been soothing, but I had a sudden urge to find a broom and sweep him out the door like a dust bunny.
"Yeah, nothing wrong here. Why don't you guys take a break? I’ll watch Iz."
What I really meant to say was
Get out of the damn cell before you ruin the headway I’ve had made with Izzy
.
Ash spoke quietly with bitterness. "No offense, but none of us are leaving you alone with her until she remembers the difference between loving someone and attempting to kill them." Griffin backed his statement up with a loud grunt and Isis sighed in disappointment.
I began to explain that Izzy wasn't trying to kill me. Then I remembered the moment in the clearing when she had tried to maim me with her claws.
"She's okay now. Honest, she was just hugging me. Besides, she saved my life. I doubt she wants me dead or she would have let that
thing
finish me off."
Griffin stepped forward, placing his hand on Ash's shoulder in support. "Ash is right, for all we know she might be bipolar. She could go from hugging to carving your flesh in a heartbeat. Plus, she may have been trying to save her own skin and you just got lucky."
"If she had been trying to save her own skin, she would have allowed the creature to make Savannah its midnight snack," Isis sneered, letting out a petite snort. "Then again, as soon as it got a good taste of her, it probably would have turned its attention onto Izzy anyhow."
The old Isis was back.
Great, just when I was beginning to get used to the kinder version, she whips out the snide remarks that have always made me itch to smack her.
With all of the stress I had been under, I briefly wondered if I would be able to get away with a few good shots. After all, if I had the stress card, I might as well play it, right?
"I think Death, or at the very least, the Hellhounds, would have warned us if there were a chance that Izzy might turn cannibal." The irritation was rampant in my voice, serving as a hint that I was approaching the limits of my patience. Shaking my head, I reminded myself that Isis had the emotional development of a toddler. She would act out if she thought it would make her the center of attention.
"That's just it. Technically, it wouldn't be cannibalism, since she isn't really human any longer. For all we know, her kind prey on humans. I don't know about the rest of you, but I prefer to remain at the top of the food chain...."
I was anxious to maneuver the subject away from anything that gave me homicidal thoughts towards Isis. Before I could open my mouth to speak, Izzy began to sing. Following that, I was tossed into a daydream.
This wasn't like any dream I’d ever had before. It held a hint of familiarity to my vision at Josephine's. It felt as if someone were clamping down on my skull, forcing it beneath icy waters and immersing me in a series of images. I was enslaved to the emotions and pictures winding their way through my mind and couldn't shake the slideshow that held me within.
When it was over, sliding away with a hiccup, I nearly fell over from a dizzy spell that swept through me. Using the wall as support, I caught myself, trying to make sense of what had happened.
"Oh!"
"Holy hell!"
"Damn, that was weird!"
All shouted in unison from Isis, Ash, and Griffin.
A voice from the hallway wormed its way towards coherent thought, causing me to look up to find Rafe staring at us. "What happened to all of you? See a ghost or something?" His eyes flickered through the room, as if scanning for possible threats.
We all began to speak as one and it became clear that we were describing the same vision, the same hallways I had walked through to get to Izzy's cell. The twisting of the path had been nauseating until I’d seen the entrance to a room. Its forbidden nature incinerated the rest of the images.
We all admitted to remembering that there was more to the vision, but we couldn't access the rest of the memory. It seemed to be locked away. Again, Izzy let sound escape her and the image of the room implanted itself with a much stronger hold.
"Ouch." Rafe scrubbed his head, seemingly hesitant to voice what he was thinking. "Dang, that hurt. Does she do that a lot?"
The rest of us exchanged dumbfounded looks before crucifying Rafe with a venomous stare, a
group
effort.
"I take it that's a no. Your phoenix friend is talking to you in the only way she can right now. She's projecting her thoughts."
Maloc came up behind Rafe with an accusing stare, but when Rafe said he was answering questions, the elderly guard walked away.
"Does she want us to go to that room?" I asked, afraid of the answer. Truthfully, all I wanted was to go back to my hospital bed and sleep.
"I can't tell you what she wants. All I can say is that it seems like she is giving you directions." Rafe smiled, his incisors causing Isis to back away and hide behind Griffin.
Ash’s questions were for Rafe alone. "Are her directions correct? Does that room exist? Why can't we remember the rest of the vision?"
"As I told you,
I can't say.
Though I will say this, the only way to find something that's
hidden
is to search for it – though, I couldn't
tell
you if there happened to be something hidden."
Leaving us to ponder his words, the Draconian walked away crisply.
"Well, that wasn't
cryptic
at all," Griffin snickered sarcastically.
Ash smiled at me. "If I know you, and I do, I'm going to take a shot in the dark and guess that you want to follow Izzy's thoughts? You want to see if the room is really there, don't you?"
I glanced between everyone and nodded absently, wondering what could be hidden behind those doors. Why did Izzy want us to go there and what could be important enough to wipe our memories?