Dragons Descended Upon the Wicked (6 page)

The room they were in only had two cells. It was small but not terribly so. There was a wooden staircase that lead up to a door at one end of the room, the other end simply had a blank wall. One wooden chair rested next to the blank wall.

“What is your name?” asked Nick.

The young girl did not answer. She only stared at Nick with eyes like he has seen before. Eyes that held no hope, only sorrow and despair.

The wooden door sprung open. The man that had questioned Nick walked down the stairs.

“Ah, good,” said the man. “You’re finally up. Quite the nap you’ve had.”

He walked over to the wooden chair and began to drag it along the stone floor. He walked over towards Nick, bringing the annoying sound of wood scraping stone along with him. He placed the chair in front of Nick’s cell.

“When am I fighting?” asked Nick.

“So eager now, are we?” asked the man. “I wish you had that spirit last night. We could have made things go a lot smoother.”

“I only let my instinct get the best of me,” said Nick. “How will I be fighting in the arena? Will I be tried and sentenced for trespassing in Vincot without a brand on my forehead?”

The man let out an annoyingly high pitched laugh. “Oh my no...no, no, no. I am a registered master. As a master I have the right to capture those who disobey the new branding rule, and place them in the arena myself. I get paid a good amount if you win. I only lose a bit of money if you lose. There’s not much risk involved. The arena just reopened a few days ago, and there you came from the sky. Right into my palms, if you think about it.”

“You plan on using this girl in the arena as well?” asked Nick.

“Wrong again,” said the man. “I am a business man. I own slaves now, you and the girl. You are both important business transactions, covering different specialties, of course. She will be sold to another master for gold to do whatever he pleases. You, of course, will fight in the arena for me. Do you see the similarity between you two?”

“The brand,” said Nick.

“Yes, you are finally correct,” said the man. “There is an absence of the letter V.”

He pulled out a key from his pocket and tossed it up and down in the palm of his hand.

“It must be terrible,” said the man. “I have this key and you are probably just one foot from being able to take it from my hands. But you can’t. It must be frustrating. It must anger you. All I ask is you let that anger and frustration build and unleash it upon the foes in the arena. I know you are a great warrior. You can prove your worth in two days.”

Nick smiled warmly at the man.

“Does it excite you?” asked the man. “Do you feel happy instead of feeling anger?”

“What do I look like to you?” asked Nick.

“You look like a well rounded young Paplon, fit for battle,” said the man. “I’m sure I already made that fairly clear.”

“I am a king’s man,” said Nick as he raised to his feet. “I am a Hetha. I am a supreme Reza. I am what some call a dragon born. In simpler terms, I am the mistake you’d wish you never made.”

Nick placed his hands to his side, conjured a dark wave attack, and fired it at the man’s face. The Paplon fell to the floor and the key flew five feet away from both of the cells.

“Do that attack on my door, I’ll stand back,” said the Reza girl.

“There is no need for that,” said Nick as he raised his right hand and pointed it towards the keys on the floor.

“What do you mean, there is no reason?” asked the girl. “You must save me. I’ll do anything you need.”

The key levitated from the floor and Nick maneuvered it to come towards him as if he were using a fishing line. It landed in his open palm. He reached around the bars to unlock his cell.

“See? As I said, no reason to do that,” said Nick.

“What are you?” asked the girl with a shocked look on her face.

“It’s a long story, friend. I’ll let you know when we are free of this imprisonment,” said Nick.

He walked across the small room and unlocked the girl’s cell. He removed her chains before removing his own. They slowly made their way up the stairs, trying to avoid any squeaks in the wood. Nick turned the handle and the door crept open. There was a small hall with doors on either side that lead to a kitchen. Nick had seen this layout many times as he was growing up in Vincot. It was the basic layout for a home on the east end of Vincot. The man had made a prison in his own basement. They heard the sound of a wooden chair being moved in the kitchen; they were not alone.

From the corner of the kitchen wall and the hallway a bow and arrow appeared and was fired immediately. Nick raised his hand and controlled the arrow in mid air. It dropped to the floor and Nick ran down the hall with fire readied in his palms. A Paplon woman lunged from around the corner with her sword and Nick leaned backwards to avoid the attack. She swung three more times with Nick dodging each attack with ease. He raised his hands at her and unleashed the fiery blaze. Within seconds she was on fire and was rolling on the ground screaming in agony and pain. Nick grabbed the young Reza girl by the arm and ran out of the home. It was midday and the city was somewhat busy, not as active as he was used to seeing.

“Where is your family?” asked Nick.

“My mom died a long time ago,” said the girl. “My brother and my dad were recruited into the army of Hentrio two days ago. They came with swords and fire. They picked up every able bodied men and women to go to Genold City to train and become a soldier. There was no choice. My family is in a place where I cannot be with them.”

“You stay with me,” said Nick. “I will keep you safe. In the north there are thousands who have gathered. We all believe in the right cause. We fight for the late King Dedan Hudson. We will keep you safe.”

Nick lead the girl a few blocks down the road to where Penny used to live. They kept their heads down and tried to stay out of sight from the newly appointed guards in the city.

They’re taking these people and forcing them to join their army,
Nick thought as he walked down the sandy street.
I wonder what they are telling the people to convince them they are not the essence of evil. I wonder if they even need to convince them. It might be an army of slaves. I wonder what they are preparing for.

The two of them made it to Penny’s house. They stood at the front door for a moment. Nick had a flashback of picking up Penny from this exact location multiple times before everything went to hell. In that instance he thought he had lived a fairy tale of a life before, and now they lived in a twisted and tormented world. He snapped himself out of his daze and knocked on the door.

The door opened and Nick saw Penny’s mom for the first time. She had blonde hair just as Penny did. She was tall and skinny and seemed to be in her late forties. She smiled at Nick and the little Reza girl.

“Mrs. Goldstem,” said Nick.

“What can I do for you?” asked Mrs. Goldstem.

“Is your husband home?” asked Nick.

“Yes,” said Mrs. Goldstem. “But what can I do for you?”

Nick looked behind himself nervously. The longer he was outside the greater the chance that he would be seen.

“Do you mind if I come inside to talk? It’s regarding your daughter,” said Nick.

“What do you know of my daughter?” asked Mrs. Goldstem. “Why do you not have the mark on your head?”

“Please, I can explain everything inside,” said Nick.

“Get away from my house!” she screamed. “I’ll call the guards on you!”

Nick stepped into the house, pushing through the frantic arms of Mrs. Goldstem. He closed the door shut, then received an onslaught of slaps and punches. Mr. Goldstem came running towards Nick with the look one gives someone when they are searching for blood. The tall, slim human man came into the room with his short and parted brown hair, brown mustache, and brown eyes.

“Please listen,” said Nick. “I am Penny’s boyfriend. I know where she is and I can tell you she is safe.”

The hostile mood left the room quicker than an arrow being released from a bow. Their faces turned from anger and distress into the look of concern.

“Where is she?” asked Mr. Goldstem.

“She is in the north past Ralton at a place called the north bend,” said Nick. “She and I are with thousands of others who have left their homes to be free from the wicked rule of the six. I can take you there; we can all live free again.”

“Is that why you two don’t have the mark?” asked Mrs. Goldstem.

“Yes,” said Nick. “The king’s men lead the people in the north. I am now a king’s man myself.”

“No,” said the young girl. “I do not bear the mark because I hid and refused to go through with it. Our leaders took everything from me. I wouldn’t listen to what they told me to do.”

Mr. and Mrs. Goldstem looked at each other. They did not have to say a word. Nick thought that it was an ability to make decisions without talking after being in love for so many years. They nodded at each other.

“We will go with you,” said Mr. Goldstem. “You must be Nick. We’ve heard a lot about you. Our daughter ran away searching for you, and then all of this happened. We’ve been worried sick. I haven’t slept and I have barely eaten. Thank you for coming back.”

“You’re welcome; it was the least I could do,” said Nick.

“We heard about people from our city migrating to the north,” said Mrs. Goldstem. “We just knew that we had to stay here in case she made her way back.”

“How long was the journey to get down here?” asked Mr. Goldstem.

“A few hours,” said Nick.

Mr. Goldstem laughed at Nick’s response and said, “There is no way. Really, how long did it take?”

“I have a different means of transportation that I will introduce you to,” said Nick. “You will have to trust me, though.”

“Seems like there will have to be a lot of trusting going on,” said Mrs. Goldstem.

“Please pick up whatever it is you’d wish to bring with you, although it will have to be light and not bulky,” said Nick.

“We understand,” said Mr. Goldstem. “Please, just give us a few minutes.”

“No problem,” said Nick. “I’m sorry, by the way, about barging in here and startling you two. I just can’t be seen by anyone as long as I don’t have the mark.”

“All is forgiven,” said Mr. Goldstem. “I will give thanks to you when my daughter is in my arms.”

Nick nodded his head in agreement. He stood back with the little girl as Penny’s parents scrambled to pick up valuables and food for the move to the north. They knew there was a good chance that they would never come back to their house. Nick understood how hard it was to leave everything. A part of him wanted to go check on the house he grew up in, but he knew there was no point living in the past. He had to keep his mind sharp and focused on the task at hand.

He looked down at the young Reza girl and asked, “Are you sure you wish to come with us?”

“Yes, of course,” she said. “I will end up in a terrible place one way or another if I stay here.”

“Good. I do not wish to force anything upon you,” said Nick.

“You must really love that Penny girl,” said the girl. “I haven’t seen such an act of kindness before. I was about ready to hit you in your sensitive parts when you busted in the home like that.”

They both laughed for a moment.

“Can you tell me your name now?” asked Nick.

“Yes, my name is Amy Herthan.”

“Nice to meet you Amy. My name is Nick Bint.”

After a few more minutes Penny’s parents stood before Nick with a few small bags packed and ready to go. It was less than what Nick expected them to bring along.

“The next step is getting you two out of the city without a mark,” said Mr. Goldstem.

“What do you mean, we can’t just walk out?” asked Nick.

“No, nothing is the same as it was before,” said Mr. Goldstem. “There is a guard who is always on duty. The gates are closed shut and now there is only a small door that we can get in and out of.”

“What do you propose we do?” asked Nick.

“You two put these on. I will do the talking,” said Mr. Goldstem.

He pulled out two handcuffs and chains for their legs. Nick and Amy nodded their heads as they had no other logical idea that they could think of. They placed the chains around their ankles, then connected it to the handcuffs. Next, Mr. Goldstem took turns locking the handcuffs on their wrists. Finally, he attached two chains that connected to their handcuffs so that he could hold onto them and direct them, as a slave master would. The four of them took to the streets of Vincot for one last time and made their way to the main gate. Nick and Amy did their best to keep their heads down and look like slaves, depressed and without hope.

The four stood in front of a Paplon guard at the door next to the main gate. He was fat and had a long orange beard. His breast plate barely fit him.

“What is going on here?” asked the guard.

“I am making a transaction outside of the city, and I am late,” said Mr. Goldstem.

“That’s wonderful, but you know the rules,” said the guard. “You need the proper paperwork to leave with slaves. Do you have said paperwork?”

“No, I did not have time,” said Mr. Goldstem.

“Then I do not have the key,” said the guard.

Nick’s heart started to pound out of his chest. His palms became clammy. He rubbed his fingers along the chain and thought,
this is not good. We could all end up with the terrible fate of the arena.

“These slaves are an asset to Lord Vicon’s army,” said Mr. Goldstem. “ Vicon and I go way back. We were childhood friends. After he rose to power he placed me in Vincot to use my powers to find any hidden assets for his army. You probably have never seen me in the city. Isn’t that right?”

“That’s right. I have never seen you before,” said the guard. “But at the same time I’ve never seen you take any slaves out.”

“I make my transactions late at night,” said Mr. Goldstem. “I normally go through the tall lanky fellow that goes by the name of Chance. Now you can go clarify with him if you’d like. Or maybe I should tell Vicon that you are causing far too many problems. Maybe I should tell him that we should put you in the next arena match.”