-Chapter Four-

He had wings. And either there was a Weta workshop on steroids hidden here somewhere, or…

Or.

Karlene had seen some grade-A fabrication works in the costume world. She’d never seen a pair of wings that made her think, on an instinctive level, those are real. And yet some part of her animal subconscious took in the subtle shift of the feathers as the skin and muscle beneath them moved, as the wind changed and the appendages adjusted to compensate, and told her that the wings she’d seen win awards, and these things were about as different as a real wild lion and his famous animated king of the savannah cousin.

The winged man was tall, as tall as Sid but built like a linebacker. He wore more or less the same clothing as everyone else, but of obviously better quality. His hair was shorn short, nearly militarily so, and was a soft, pale gold not unlike her own natural color.

“We thought we’d save you the trouble of travelling all the way to Dazodisa, sire.” One of the men had dismounted and was grinning ear to ear as he untied the bound man from the gelding’s saddle and hauled him down. From the look of the way the young man stumbled, his legs shaking, he hadn’t been let off that saddle hardly at all since he’d been put on it. Karlene winced in sympathy.

The winged man stepped in front of the newly dismounted captive, peering down at him with an intent expression.

“Have you been dosing him?”

“Of course.”

“How long since his last?” The winged man had removed a small knife from his belt, and was reaching for the man’s bound hands.

“Barely an hour. He should be coming out of it soon,” replied the one who’d pulled the captive down from his saddle.

“What is your name?” Asked the winged man, cutting the youth’s hands free.

Of all things, the bound man snorted. “You ask that now? Rather backwards way of going about this, wouldn’t you say?” His voice was slurred, and Karlene guessed he’d been given some of the same stuff she had the night before. Karlene wasn’t sure, if Milly had asked, that she would have been able to do anything but blurt her name drunkenly. Either his dose was very close to wearing off, or he was just that much more stubborn than she.

The winged man gripped the youth’s chin and turned his face from side to side. “Oh, we know who you are. But there is power in the giving of a name. You will give me yours.”

The man only smiled blithely.

This was when she should run, she realized abruptly, while everyone -including her, for a moment- was engrossed in the peacock show going on in front of them. The wide open gate was only a few feet to her left, and nothing between her and it but a few empty crates she could -probably- jump over.

At the precise moment she’d tensed to leap and bolt, a pair of hands clamped down around her arms from behind. Another pair fumbled at her wrists. She struggled, yelping without meaning to and drawing the attention of the winged man and the dismounting party.

“I gave you a choice,” Sid said, sounding grim. Milly, the one struggling to get ahold of her wrists, had the bracelets in hand. Now, more than before, she did not want those things on her, or anywhere near her. She twisted, contorting herself in ways she never knew she could, and bit the woman’s hand hard enough to make Milly herself yelp and withdraw.

“Are we going to have to muzzle you, too?” Sid growled. “Stop biting us.”

“Stop trying to tie me up!” She snapped in reply. “Or stabbing me!”

“We didn’t stab you-”

“A knife, my skin, and blood was involved so yes you stabbed me!”

“Problems, Sid?”

Karlene froze. Thankfully, Sid and Milly froze also. They all looked to the giant winged man who, now closer, was much larger than she’d first thought. The massive shoulders she’d noted earlier were big enough to almost make him look malformed. He was taking in the sight of the three of them, mid struggle, with a cool indifference that was more frightening than any glower she’d ever seen before.

Milly snapped out of it first, and reached over to shove one of the bracelets around Karlene’s left wrist. Karlene snarled and yanked away, managing to pull free of Sid and Milly both and make a stumbling leap over the crates towards the gate. She didn’t jump high enough, and her injured foot caught on a protruding bit of wood and she fell, hard enough to knock the wind from her lungs. She twisted as she fell to land on her back, gasping like a fish, her spine a lightning rod of pain.

Just as she managed to force her lungs to inflate and take a breath, a massive hand clamped down around her bare arm and hauled her to her feet. Another hand matching the first settled on her shoulder, holding her fast, and she knew, abruptly, that she was going nowhere.

She didn’t look up at the winged giant, but saw him hold out his other hand. Saw Milly obediently set the second cuff in his waiting palm. Saw him reach down, and -no matter that she tried to pull away- slide it onto her other wrist. He made the shrinking gesture, and Karlene felt the cool caress of the metal as it settled as close to her skin as possible. Her hands twitched, fingers curling into her palms, and she felt the metal shift with her skin. There wasn’t the slightest bit of pressure on the veins of her inner wrists or the bones of her forearms, but the cuffs were there.

Why? she wanted to ask. What did they want with her? Why was she here?

She bit her tongue and glared at the dirt.

“If you bite another of my people again, I will let them do worse than muzzle you,” he said, voice booming above her like the slow roll of distant thunder, somehow calming and terrifying at once. She believed him utterly.

Sid came up to her side and took her by the arm. He didn’t move to turn the bracelets to manacles like she’d seen him do, but she had no doubt he’d do what he needed to make her cooperate.

And then, to her terror, Karlene felt the thing she’d been dreading; the beginning of a desire to cooperate. Her fury and will to fight running out of steam. She wanted to stop being afraid, and there was a voice in the back of her mind telling her that if she was quiet and cooperative she would be safe, they wouldn’t hurt her.

Very deliberately, she raised one hand and tore at the bite mark and dagger prick at her wrist. Scabs came away under her fingernails, and she felt the burn and sting give way to a throb as it began to bleed again. They’d already hurt her, she reminded herself. She ignored the voice telling her she’d been hurt worse at the gym by her own stupidity, or in the kitchen by her own clumsiness.

Keep your head down, listen, learn, and watch, she heard her mother’s voice in her head. If you’re ever taken, don’t provoke them. It’s the only way you’ll stay alive long enough for me to come get you.

Well, she’d already provoked them, but she could keep watching and listening. When she wasn’t in the rat infested cellar, at least. To keep from thinking of the cellar as much as to follow her mother’s advice, Karlene made herself look up as Sid and Milly marched her across the courtyard and back inside. Her gaze landed on the unnamed dark haired captive that had regained the winged man’s attention.

Oddly, he wasn’t looking at his captor, who was looming over him with wings half-spread in a clear gesture of intimidation.

He was looking at her.