by Renee Greene
Chapter 13: Dylan Learns What a Piñata Feels Like
Dylan woke the next morning lying on the floor of the dungeon. Two ogre guards were outside the cell watching them. They were talking of going to war against King Giles and how they hoped to kill plenty from the kingdom. That wasn’t a pleasant thought to wake up to.
His next thought was more pleasant, but startling. He suddenly felt a hand on his chest. He looked up to see Pyria beside him, rubbing his chest.
“How are you?” she asked. “Did you sleep well?” She then leaned in and whispered to him, “Do you have a plan?”
He put his hand on hers to make her stop rubbing his chest. It was distracting, and having a girl over him waking him up was uncomfortable, especially since she’d been working for the enemy. He was all right with being woken up by Vanessa when he slept on the couch in her living room. Vanessa… was she even all right? He hadn’t seen her since she left for their world and he couldn’t get through. He had to see her. He had to protect her. He was really failing there.
His thoughts were broken by Pyria suddenly kissing him.
He stared at her and asked, “What was that for?”
She leaned over him and stroked his face as she answered, “To keep the guards from suspecting that we are talking of escape. What’s the plan?”
“I don’t have one yet,” Dylan admitted. “It was a hard and painful day yesterday. I’m forming one, but I need to think.” He sat up and asked, “Is there food? I’m starving.”
One of the ogres grabbed two small biscuits from the table and a skin of water and walked over to the cell. He threw the food and water on the ground and said, “Fight for it, dogs.” Then he went back to the table.
Dylan and Pyria did not fight over the food. Dylan picked up the biscuits and handed her one. He looked at his. It was moldy, but he didn’t care. Mold wasn’t deadly.
“Can you be poisoned?” he suddenly asked Pyria.
“No,” she answered. “My claws have paralyzation poison, so I have to be immune to poisons.”
“And your tail is a love potion,” Dylan added. “Is that true of all tengai?”
“No,” she explained. “We all have poisonous claws, but even our claws don’t all have the same poison. Some poisons only make people sick. Some make them sleep. Mine paralyze. Our tails vary even more. I know tengai who will paralyze with their tail, and some who make people forget. I know a tengai whose tail steals someone’s strength. He stings someone and the person’s strength goes to him. It is helpful in a fight.”
“That would terrify me,” Dylan admitted. Then he added, “Yours is a love potion.”
“Yes,” she confirmed. “One you seem to be mostly immune to.”
He raised his eyebrows. “I have no idea how.”
“Love,” she answered. “Fairy magic has limitations. Think of how chaotic our world would be if it didn’t. Love potions or spells can be broken by a kiss by someone the person loves more.”
“But I didn’t kiss anyone,” Dylan noted.
She smiled back. “You didn’t need to. Your feelings for Vanessa are so obvious and strong that the love potion could not fully take effect. Does she know how you feel?”
“No,” he answered. “I am not good enough for her. She has a pixie prince in love with her. They can fly through the air together. They can shrink and go places I could never fit. They have magic I will never have. She’s likely to have a longer lifespan too.”
Despite their dark situation, Pyria laughed out loud at him. “Are all human men as insecure as you are?”
“First, I’m not even considered a man in my world,” he explained. “I’m a seventeen year old boy. Until recently, I didn’t know fairies existed, and I have little experience with girls, so I’m confused at what I feel. I think Vanessa is incredible, and I definitely want to date her, and I love that we have a strong enough connection that I can come through the arch. I would obviously put myself in danger for her, but I would do that for you too, and I don’t have strong feelings for you, even with your love potion. Actually, it rather angers me that you would sting me with one and try to force me into following you.”
She stared at him curiously. “Yet, you will still try to save me. That is odd.”
“I will,” he assured her. “I don’t want you dying because of my choices.”
“But you could rationalize that I chose to work here, that I knew the risk, and that I stung you so I deserve it. You could rationalize that I should have seen that Evander would turn on me and use me for his own good.” Her words became cold as she spoke. Obviously his betrayal was cutting to her.
“Why do you even work with Evander and his men?” Dylan asked.
“Because I don’t have a family,” she explained. “I don’t have what most fairies do, so I felt that here I could have some sense of belonging.”
“But you could make friends and feel a sense of belonging in many fairy cities,” Dylan suggested. “Why here?”
She laughed a cold laugh and snipped, “You have no idea. Do you really think I am accepted in most fairy cities? I have paralyzation poison in my claws. If I accidentally scratch about anyone besides a faun, I paralyze him. Also, most races don’t marry outside their race.”
“Aren’t there Tengai men to marry?” Dylan asked.
“Yes,” she answered, “but Tengai marriage is not like most fairies. Families are not really families. Tengai don’t really marry, they just mate, and don’t even necessarily stay with the same mate for long. It’s not what I want. It’s tradition. It’s our culture, but I don’t want it.”
“At times fairies marry outside their race,” Dylan noted. “I know a part nymph, part sprite, part dryad girl.”
“That is rare,” Pyria noted. “Still, none would marry me. The only way for me to do that would be to use my stinger, but how would you feel knowing the person you married only did because you spelled her?”
“I wouldn’t like that,” Dylan agreed.
She tensed and added, “So, you see why I joined here, and why I agreed to spy on Giles by signing up as a fighter for him.”
“You are a good fighter,” Dylan noted. “Women in my world are not so strong.”
She leaned closer. “You are very strong. I wish we could leave here and work together, but I know you are in love with Vanessa. You could not have withstood my sting if you weren’t.”
“I don’t know it’s really love,” Dylan corrected. “I’m young. I’m not sure I know what love is.”
“I think you do,” Pyria countered. “You feel it.”
“It doesn’t matter what I feel,” he pointed out. “I am not good enough for her. She needs a fairy. I explained that.”
“Ridiculous!” Pyria replied. “All those issues can be dealt with. For example, just drinking the water here will extend your life greatly. At least I believe it will even for a human. Now, how do we get out? We need a plan. I don’t want to die tomorrow.”
He really wanted to know how to deal with the issues, but she was right, they needed to plan. “Let’s figure this out,” he agreed.
They didn’t get to talk much because Nilix and Koth came in.
“Do we get to beat him?” one of the ogre guards asked eagerly when they came in. “What answers do you want?”
“None,” Koth answered. “He is to come work with Nilix to get Evander through the arch.” He glared at Dylan and hissed, “You have only until tomorrow to get Evander through, or Pyria dies and you are beaten. Then you have forty-eight hours to try again or we will kill more people.”
Dylan tensed. There was no way to get Evander through. Evander would never connect with Vanessa or Bryan. He would never do a truly selfless act. There was no hope. How could Dylan think himself out of the situation he was in?
The ogres opened the cell. Dylan thought of trying to fight them. He and Pyria might be able to beat two ogres bare handed, and Nilix was not large, but the ankou was an issue.
Koth stepped in and
grabbed Dylan’s shoulder as the ogres tied his hands. The pain shot through him, and he couldn’t fight the ogres. It was pointless anyway. He wasn’t escaping and getting Pyria out too.
He was led up the stairs to the main cavern. There were ogres and others making weapons, and everything looked pretty much as it had before. Alex was once again tied to a chair and blindfolded.
“Is that you?” Alex asked as Dylan walked by, but when Dylan tried to answer, the ankou surged more pain through him and told him to stay quiet.
Nilix led Dylan over to the table he worked at. Dylan was glad to sit down and have Koth let go of him. It took Dylan a few minutes to get over the pain Koth had inflicted as they walked so he would not run away.
“I need my hands,” Dylan finally stated. “Can you release them, Nilix?”
With all the people in the room and the door locked, Nilix agreed. He did have various berries, wine to mix with them, and ingredients a potion master would use.
“I need a good cook,” Dylan told him. “If we want Evander to get through, I need to actually bake the drink, and if it’s not heated correctly, it could burn and be ineffective. I really need to create more of the conditions I had on my world. Do you have ovens?”
“We have a brick oven in the kitchen,” Nilix answered. “Do you need to go there?”
“Not yet,” Dylan answered. “Can we get your best cooks up here? I understand they have a new cook who is very good.”
“I will have her sent for,” Nilix agreed. “She will be here soon.” He stood up and went over to some ogres and ordered them to fetch the nymph wench from the kitchen.
Dylan turned around and saw Evander come in. Everyone in the cavern stopped and watched him enter, bowing their heads to him. He motioned for them to continue and then walked over to Alex. He leaned over and hissed something to him, but Dylan couldn’t hear what he said. Then Evander walked over to him.
“Do you have the potion to get me through?” Evander asked.
“I am working on it,” Dylan answered, trying to hide any fear. “I still have over twenty-four hours. Still, I do not think you can get through. I had eaten the strawberries and oranges, but there is an attitude needed too. You need to sacrifice for and connect with one of the Morgans.”
“You lie!” Evander hissed. “Do not try to trick me. Just make it work, and do it quickly. I grow impatient. I want my day now!”
“Your day?” Dylan asked. “You cannot pass through the portal with the hate you have in your heart.”
Evander seethed, “I merely want justice.”
“How can you want to hurt your own brother?” Dylan rebuked. “How can you hate your own family so much? Hate eats through people.”
“I only hate when I think of Giles,” Evander insisted. “He has struck me down to nothing. Look at the castle he lives in versus the ruins I do.”
“Why not put your people to work rebuilding the city instead of making weapons of war?” Dylan asked.
“We would still not have what Giles does,” Evander seethed.
“Why does it matter who has more?” Dylan asked. “Why not build your people to a great kingdom and make him envy what you have?”
“Because he has races who can build better,” Evander hissed. “If we build up, he will more. He is arrogant and wants nothing but to pull us down. If we build up, he will destroy what we have done.”
“Has he?” Dylan asked. “Have you tried?”
“There is no need!” Evander insisted, raising his voice to near a yell. “I know my brother! He is full of contempt and thinks himself perfect and blames me for all his mistakes!”
“What has he done to you?” Dylan asked.
“He took my throne!” Evander seethed. “I know how to run a kingdom better than he does.”
Dylan coldly responded, “Is that why your kingdom is so in ruins and the people fear for their lives if they ever displease you or if you have no more need for them?”
“We are in ruins because Giles holds us down,” Evander insisted. “And we all must work for the greater good. At times sacrifices must be made.”
Dylan glared at him and accused, “Is that what you call killing Pyria if I fail, a sacrifice?”
“She is a motivator, a means to a worthy end,” Evander replied with even more coldness. “If her death gets you to get us to our end, it is a necessary sacrifice.”
“No!” Dylan scolded. “You are not the leader your brother is. You are a tyrant! You are heartless and selfish, willing to kill others to fill your needs. That is wrong. What you are doing to Pyria is wrong! She followed you just wanting a place to be accepted, and you are throwing her life away on a whim.”
“Pyria is a tengai,” Evander yelled. “She is worth nothing. I am twice the leader my brother is. I just don’t have the resources he does. You will not speak to me like that!”
Dylan met his eyes and defied, “I will tell you the truth. That it is what it is, do not blame me. That is on you.”
“Enough!” Evander yelled. “I am a king. You will treat me with respect!” He waved his hand and ordered, “Teach him some respect!”
Dylan took a fighting stance, but despite all his training, he was too outnumbered. All fighting did was make the ogres who surrounded him attack harder to subdue.
He ended up having his shirt ripped off, having his hands tied in front of him, and being hung by his wrists from a chain hanging from the top of the cavern.
The ogres then all began beating him, and he suddenly felt that he knew what a punching bag and piñata both felt like, depending on if they were using their fists or clubs. The ogres all mocked him as they beat him, and he had no idea how anyone could get pleasure from seeing others in pain. He could do nothing to fight back, nor could he even block a shot. He cried out in pain, unable to stay strong enough not to.
He had no idea how long they beat him for, but it felt like a very long time, and he couldn’t take it anymore, but he had to. He couldn’t make them stop. No matter how badly he was beaten or how much he screamed, the ogres kept laughing.
They did not stop until the door to the cavern opened.
Two ogres brought Nea through the door.
She said nothing, as she was pretending to be mute, but ran over to him. She couldn’t reach his shoulders, but she stood in front of them with her hands pleading in front of her.
“Let me down,” Dylan mumbled. “We need to work.”
The ogres looked to Evander for his decision.
“Let him down,” Evander ordered.
The ogres released him, but when they cut the cords on his wrists, he fell to the ground and hit hard.
Nea knelt beside him. She couldn’t heal him, but pointed to the wounds and held her hands up together, pleading to Evander.
“Let the pixie heal him,” Evander ordered. “I need him to work.” While an ogre went to get the pixie from her cage, Evander walked over, kicked Dylan hard, and hissed, “You will never treat me disrespectfully again.”
Dylan gave no response except a groan from the pain.
The pixie girl was brought over, and she immediately began healing Dylan. His chest was badly bruised up, and likely there was internal damage. She rolled him to his back, leaned over him, and gave him a kiss, as that would heal him faster. She kept kissing him, and he did not even respond, but just lay there.
Nea watched nervously as the bruises began to fade and he finally sat up.
“Are you still in pain?” the pixie asked. “I can heal you more.” She then whispered, “Honestly, it feels good to be out of my cage.” She looked at his chest and gently ran her hands along it. “You are fully human,” she noted. “I have never healed a human before.” She blushed and added, “I have never kissed a human before.”
“What’s your name?” Dylan asked.
“Reselda,” she answered.
He next asked, “How long have you been caged for?”
“Seven months,” she answered. “I was captured by…”
An ogre grabbed her hair and slapped her across the face.
Dylan grabbed the ogre’s wrist and scolded, “Never strike a lady!”
The ogre back-handed him across the face and kicked him before he stormed off.
“I was…” Reselda looked around and said, “Rescued seven months ago. Now, let me heal you.”
Dylan didn’t stop her. The backhanded strike had cut open his cheek. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled.
She smiled sweetly back and whispered, “Thank you for standing up for me. This won’t hurt a bit.” She rubbed her hand gently across his cheek and then gave him a kiss.
“Aww…” Nilix mocked. “Now, let’s get back to work, not that I care if you’re killed tomorrow. Honestly, I’d like to see how humans taste.”
That was a disgusting thought, but Dylan did get up and go back over to the table. The ogres came for Reselda, but Dylan asked, “Can she help me too? My shoulders are still in great pain.”
That was likely true, but the ogres refused and told him they were glad he was in pain. She was taken and thrown back in her cage.
Dylan looked over at her. She looked so lonely and defeated in it. Somehow he had to help her. Yet, he was up against an impossible task, having to find a way to get Evander through the arch to save Pyria’s life.
He looked over at Nea who had not made a sound. “Can you help me?” he asked.
She nodded back, so he explained what he had told the guards.
“I am trying to make a potion to get Evander through the arch,” he then explained.
That was false. Nea knew it.
He continued, “I am glad you are not in the dungeon where Pyria is. I’m glad you are not in the cell with her.”
False and true. Nea got the hint.
Dylan continued, “I need your help here too. I would not want to see you caged. You could not open it and get someone out.”
True. True. False. Nea got the hint. Yet, she pointed to the potion and picked up some fruits, trying to look like she was helping with it.
“I will need you to cook the elixir,” he explained. “It must be done just right. Hopefully there is no distraction to keep you from doing it right. Who knows what will happen if there was?”