Before blackness can consume me, something stirs within and a jolt travels up my arm. Suddenly, I am falling. I land in a heap on the flagstones and lay panting and prone at the captain's feet.

He sucks at the blood welling from four small crescents on the back of his hand, where my nails must have broken the skin. The ice of his eyes turns to steel and promise a world of pain.

Grabbing the trailing rope from my bound wrists, he pulls me roughly to my feet and marches into the castle. His pace makes no concession, but I dare not grumble as I am led like an animal along corridors and up stairways.

Finally, we stop at an arched doorway and he pulls out an iron key. The heavy oak door creaks ominously as it opens to reveal a dimly lit, stone spiral staircase leading upwards.

Higher and higher we climb, until our progress is barred by another door with strange symbols carved into the dark wood. This time he uses an ornate key with a blood red stone set in the handle to open the door.

Yanking the rope, he pulls me inside and I have to bite my tongue at the indignity of it. Mentally I curse him, but my stupidity knows it's bound and I'm not so foolish as to further provoke his cruelty.

The circular stone room is sparsely furnished with the exception of a massive gilded cage; inside it is the largest golden eagle that I have ever seen. It glares at the captain and hisses, whilst flexing lethal looking yellow talons.

My attention is torn away from it, literally, when the captain once more yanks on the rope, reeling me in so that I am standing right before him.

"Where is the Light?" he demands.

"The light?"

His eyes narrow dangerously. "The Light of Elysium. Where is it?"

I gulp and stutter, "I-I do not know. I don't have it."

There is a timid knock at the door. At the captain's command to enter, a man dressed in a grey, sack-like tunic, nervously shuffles in, head bowed, not daring to look upon the captain's face. Wordlessly he places my rucksack by the captain's booted feet and scurries out again.

Letting go of the rope, the captain starts rifling through my bag. It is galling to watch him pull out my belongings one by one only to toss them onto the floor like they are rubbish. Occasionally he finds something of interest, such as my iPhone and the dagger Dwin gave me, which he places on a table beside the cage.

When he finds the letter, I cannot remain mute. Hands out in supplication, I beg, "Please. That is the only thing that I have from my mother."

He does not even look my way, but with a smirk, places the letter on the table. Finally, he turns the bag upside down, shaking the remaining contents out. Angrily he kicks at the pile, further scattering what is left of my worldly possessions across the floor.

Scooping up the small pile from the table, he leaves without a word and locks the door behind him.

Staring numbly at the door, I slide down the wall and hug my knees to my chest. It is all too much; being separated from Zane and Darish, worrying about Roth, being kidnapped and now the captain's brutality.

I sob. I'm all alone in this hellhole. A metallic tapping sound brings my attention to the eagle in the cage. I guess that I'm not completely alone.

Wiping my eyes, I take a deep breath and approach the cage. "What is a magnificent creature like you doing here?"

The eagle cocks its head. While the cage is taller than me, it's still cramped for such a large bird. The injustice of it grates, so I run my fingers over the bars trying to find a door, however, there is no sign of a way out.

"A prisoner like me, it would seem. I'm sorry that I can't set you free."

My nose wrinkles; the smell in here is a bit pungent and the room could do with some fresh air. There are eight windows around the circumference of the room, but all of them are locked.

"Really, could it get more clichéd? Locked in a tower by evil elves!" I laugh, but there is a hysterical edge to it.

The room is a complete state and I cannot help think that it reflects the mess that my life is in. Sighing deeply, I set about tidying up.

......

With my head resting against the glass, I stare out at the vast expanse of woodland with a silver river winding its way towards distant mountains. With the pink streaked sky of dusk, the view could almost be romantic, yet all I can think is that my friends are out there somewhere.

A key snicks in the lock and heavy footsteps pound across the floorboards. Even without looking, I know that it's the captain and I wish that I could disappear.

The captain spins me around. "Lord Nero wishes to question you. You do his bidding."

Once more I'm dragged through the castle, until we reach an imposing double doorway, with two black-clad guards standing sentry. They bow to the captain and open the doors.

The captain sweeps inside and I trail behind with eyes downcast, occasionally glancing about through a veil of hair. The room has the appearance of a large medieval style hall. Torches held in twisted metal sconces flicker against the dark stone walls, illuminating rich tapestries depicting scenes of hunting parties. I try not to dwell, but some of the quarry looks human.

We pass maybe a dozen occupants. On a dais at the far end of the hall is a regal looking dark elf sat in a black throne-like chair. Either side of him, chained to the wall, are two black wolves.

Relinquishing the rope, the captain walks across a shimmering green rug and goes down on one knee before the seated elf. The wolves growl menacingly, bearing wicked looking fangs.

Unsure what to do, I take a couple of steps forward before freezing with one foot raised as my eyes take in the floor covering; it's a dragon hide. My stomach lurches and I cover my mouth whilst taking a step backward.

The captain rises and turns a glowering face to me. He marches over and his expression of fury morphs to one of cruel amusement.

Standing over the sad remains of a once beautiful green dragon, he taunts, "It is a shame that my guards had to leave the beast behind, for a red dragon hide would have pleased Lord Nero."

I've never been a violent person, but in this moment, I wish that I had Zane's powers because I would love to shove a fireball in his face. Instead I have to put up with being roughly shoved forward until we are stood in front of the dais.

"My Lord Nero. The girl, as you ordered."

Pushing down on my shoulders, the captain forces me to kneel and my knees crash on the wooden floor. I bend my head, allowing my hair to hide my face as I bite my lip to suppress the desire to cry out.

The captain pulls on my hair and forces my head up. The wolves bay, as if for blood, but fall silent at the rise of the lord's hand.

Lord Nero is dressed splendidly in fine silk, velvet and leather, all black of course. Slick black hair frames an imperious face. Metallic green-grey eyes sweep over my form and seem most unimpressed.

"You have the look of an abomination that should not have been allowed to take its first breath." He leans forward slightly, his eyes utterly devoid of any empathy. "Know that the continuation of your pathetic life is at my whim."

He brandishes my iPhone and demands, "What manner of object is this?"

What do I say? It's a magic box? Nervously I try to explain, "It is a communication device, but it has run out of power."

His eyes narrow suspiciously. "I have never seen such a device. From whence do you come?"

"I come from another world, another realm. One without magic."

Without warning he springs up, out of his seat, and backhands me with such force that I'm knocked sideways.

"How dare you speak such lies?"

Towering above me, Lord Nero looks down at me like I'm something he has just scraped off his boot.

"Where is the Light of Elysium?" he demands.

"I-I do not know."

The captain drags me to my feet and holds my upper arms in a bruising grip, while Lord Nero takes a step closer. The air around me seems to thicken and I shiver at the sensation of icy tendrils crawling over my skin.

Nero grabs my head, his fingers digging into my temples and a building pressure makes it hard for me to breathe. He looks expectant; though I have no idea what it is that he is expecting to happen. After several minutes, his jaw clenches and glares at me as if I have done something wrong.

He pulls away and wipes his hands upon his tunic. At the click of his fingers, an attendant steps forward, handing him a black leather riding crop. He caresses the crop down the side of my body causing my skin to crawl with revulsion.

I look away, but he grabs my chin and forces me to meet his unnerving gaze.

"Do you know how I deal with an untamed beast? I bend it to my will and force it into utter submission."

Handing the crop to the captain, he announces, "My captain does not feel you are showing me due respect."

The captain takes this as a sign to let the whip fly across my back, causing me to cry out in pain.

Returning to his seat, Nero questions me about the blasted Light. If I say something not to his liking then I am beaten. I'm in a no-win situation because he doesn't believe my words.

Blow after punishing blow rains down until Lord Nero gives a dismissive wave of his hand and orders, "Take her out of my sight."

.......................................