Of course he’d had nothing to do with the raid, but it made his agenda easier when the stupid humans attacked one another, which seemed to be the case so often. He was an opportunist and was able to sense Addel’s abilities. Between that and her obvious physical disabilities, he was sure she had nowhere to go. He offered to take her in as long as she served his cause.
What choice did she have? No town would have taken her in given her deformity. If she proved her usefulness using her innate powers, she would have been hung for dabbling in black magic. She had little choice but to go with Dragot. At the time, it almost seemed like a good idea. She was bitter at humanity for rejecting her. It seemed this would enable her to take revenge on the society that turned its back on her.
But that was many years ago, and her bitterness had long since subsided. It seemed all this had gone too far now. She hobbled back to her dingy room and flopped into her chair, placing her head in her hands. What was she going to do? There was no place for her to go. What would be asked of her next? She didn’t want to think about it. Addel had never felt this alone in her life.
The door flung open as Dragot barged into the room. His wicked grin was very telling. “Why do you look so sad, Addel?” he said in his usual mocking tone. “I have news that will cheer you up.” His grin widened even farther as she looked away. “I have received a gift from the dark lord himself, one that will allow for the final piece to fall!” He tilted his head sideways as he stared at her with those cold, yellow eyes. She felt so defeated as she sank deep into her chair. Addel knew how very weak she must appear right now, but she just didn’t care. “I think you had better follow me,” he hissed as he turned to leave the room.
With a sigh, she struggled to rise from her chair and followed him out. Her head was bent so low that she could only watch her own toes as she dragged behind, not really even thinking about where he was taking her. When they arrived in the chamber where he kept all the caged humans, she looked up for the first time since leaving her room. The harrowing scene around her turned her blood cold.
Not only were they out of their cells as they roamed around mindlessly, but some were armed with crude weapons as well. Those white eyes and open mouths continuously oozing foam sent shivers down her spine. Suddenly, a large, clawed hand grabbed her by the hair, snapping her head back. Addel screamed as Dragot pinned her high up against the stone wall with her feet dangling off the ground. He put his face right next to hers as his eyes burned with intensity... with madness. “I need a gateway that will transport my pets to the front wall of Taron,” he hissed as his nose nearly touched hers.
“B-b-but I can’t,” she muttered as she tried to turn her head away. “I...I don’t have the strength to make a gate that size or to hold it that long.” The side of her head pressed hard against the wall as she tried desperately to get some space between them.
Dragot’s smile widened as his tusks raised high from his lower jaw. His yellow eyes danced with amusement as he relished in her squirming. She could feel his hot, foul breath against her cheek, pulsing in short steamy bursts. “I’m perfectly aware of your ‘limitations,’ witch!” he growled in a low rumble. “This is why you are going to accept the dark lord’s gift: a temporary bump in power that will allow you to accomplish what I demand!”
He backed off just a bit, but still kept a firm hold on her. Suddenly his eyes turned a solid light blue as he muttered something under his breath. Globes of blue light descended down his arms and through Addel like waves in the ocean. Each pulse sent white-hot pain surging through her body. The agony was so great it became paralyzing; she couldn’t even scream! Addel convulsed helplessly as wave after wave jolted through her, each one pushing her threshold of pain to a new limit.
The slim part of her that still held to a thread of conscious thought wondered if she would go insane from the pain—pain a human body was never built to accept. Dragot just grinned as the jolts continued to pulse through his arms. “This might hurt a bit,” he whispered to no one in particular. She never would have heard him anyway.
*
The air remained hot and humid long after the sunlight no longer peeked in and out between the treetops. But even well into the evening hours, a time which should have brought the singing of nocturnal beasts and insects, still not a sound could be heard. The companions made no fire, as the harsh lessons of the last time they had done so were still fresh in memory.