Fire in Their Eyes [M]

[DragonSong]

Aya pressed back against the wall, hand over her mouth and eyes wide. She listened carefully, though with every word Cecil uttered her stomach clenched tighter, roiling with nausea.

At least he talked long enough for her to get a pinpoint on his location. Once she heard the door slam shut, she ducked out of the little alcove she'd found herself in and hurried toward Foggy's cell, checking constantly over her shoulder for danger.

"Foggy?" She pressed her hand against the steel. "I-- I want to get you out, but I don't know how-- and my mother, I have to warn her, they're going to..."

[Lowen Thorn]

He shook his head. "Cecil has the key," he muttered in near defeat. "Or Cain. Or maybe one of the other guards upstairs. Unless you-"

He sighed, not knowing what to tell her or what they should do, until a thought crossed his mind. "You broke through the grate right? Can you do the same for the bars?"

[DragonSong]

"Um..."

She stepped back and bit her lip as she eyed the bars. "M-maybe? I might be able to...bend them."

She glanced back over her shoulder, the tension of a hunted animal thrumming through her body. "It won't be quiet though."

[Lowen Thorn]

She was right. No matter what she did it was going to draw attention to them, but it didn't matter at that point.

"Just do it," he responded after a few silent moments. "Get me out of here and I'll take care of the others when they come. We need to reach your mother before the others do. I have no doubt she can handle herself but I have no idea how many are going after her. The Brigade is a deadly force under Cain's authority, and.. he refuses to quit."

[DragonSong]

Aya shuddered, biting her lip again, but she nodded slowly. "Okay... Okay."

Quickly, she moved forward and grabbed the bars, gritting her teeth as she pulled. Iron creaked and groaned and bent beneath her grip.

She had to hurry. Panting, she wrenched a hole in the bars and staggered back, eyes wide. "W-we have to move. I have to help my mother, quickly!"

[Lowen Thorn]

Wow.

It was the first time Foggy had witnessed Aya's remarkable powers face to face. He had so many questions, either for her or Aya's mother, but they would have to wait.

"Quickly," he said with a sense of urgency in his voice. "Help me get out of these shackles. They'll come for us soon."

[DragonSong]

She nodded quickly and darted forward, grabbing for his wrist. She just barely managed to check herself, pausing before she just starting yanking away at the manacles. With her new strength...

What if she hurt him?

Aya bit her lip and looked up at him, suddenly nervous. "Um. Hold still," she mumbled, and slipped her fingers beneath the metal of the shackles, carefully attempting to pry the iron bands apart.

[Lowen Thorn]

Aya's strength was not of this world.

That much was sure.

Just as she bent his iron restraints enough for him to move, he slipped out of them with a wince. "I need a weapon," he panted. "There's an armory in the next room."

[DragonSong]

Aya nodded again, looking around warily. "Alright, hurry," she muttered, gesturing for him to lead the way as she glanced back over her shoulder, toward the stairs she was sure soldiers would be pouring down any second.

[Lowen Thorn]

Free at last.

Foggy didn't waste time responding before rushing for the exit. He had to get to the armory before anyone came to check on him; surely they had to of heard the commotion that just went on. As soon as he reached the door, he flung it open and found the first sword he could find. Not the best weapon in the lineup, but sharp enough to cut through.

"This will do," he muttered under his breath before looking at Aya. "Is there another way out?" he asked. "How did you get to my cell without walking through the front entrance?"

[DragonSong]

Aya jerked her head back over her shoulder, fidgeting nervously. "Back that way. I came in through a broken grate..." She but her lip, considering. Could they reach the grate? She couldn't remember how high up it was.

[Lowen Thorn]

"That may be our best option," he said quickly. "Take me there. If I can climb up it, i'll lift you. If we try to go through the front of the building we are as good as dead."

[DragonSong]

The stable girl had enough presence of mind to quirk up an eyebrow and snip, "How about I lift you?" She ushered him toward the small alcove that she'd dropped down into, glancing back at the stairs again nervously.

[Lowen Thorn]

"If you're up for it, then by all means," he responded as he looked up at the crate she mangled open.

The sound of feet slapping the dungeons floors echoed, and it's presence grew stronger with each passing second. "We're out of time," he said quickly. "Now!"

[DragonSong]

Aya started to panic, eyes blown wide as she whirled to face him. "Go go go!" She shoved him toward the gate, trying to boost him up so he could climb out.

[Lowen Thorn]

Foggy felt his weight lift like it was almost nothing, and soon enough he was crawling through the crate to get back out into the daylight. Whipping, he extended his arm for Aya. "Take my hand!"

[DragonSong]

She grabbed for him, feet scrambling as she tried to jump and catch the bottom edge of the grate with her free hand. Jagged metal and stone bit into her palm and she cried out, gritting her teeth against the sharp pain.

[Lowen Thorn]

"Come on!"

He took the woman's hand and lifted her through the grate, bringing her back to the surface before slipping onto his back. Quickly, he got to his feet and scanned the area for any potential threat.

No one.

That felt... strange.

"Can you stand?" he asked, extending his arm to her. "We need to find your mother fast. Where would she be at this time of day?"

[DragonSong]

Panting lightly with fear and exhilaration, Aya gasped out, "If Cain blew her off, she'd head to the next up in the chain of command. Who does the Black Brigade report to?"

[Lowen Thorn]

Everything about Commander Almarin made him sick. The fact that a woman could be held in such high regard in this society; the fact that a woman had the audacity to speak to him in such a demeaning manner. Loretta Almarin. Hard-headed, hardly useful. No better than a gimp dog that just refuses to die.

The commander is going to be problematic, that much he knew. Someone with that much authority couldn't be dealt with unnoticed. Even if an accident was staged, people would be sure to ask questions.

Sorry Foggy, he said under his breath as the wheels turned.

It's truly a shame that the boy he knew as his life-long friend, Foggy Sanderlin, went mad and murdered both Commander Almarin, and her poor daughter, Aya.

This would surely rock the nation, but Cain and his able men in the Black Brigade would be there to pick up the pieces.

"Is everything ready?" he asked one of his men.

Getting the confirmation he needed, Cain prepared to depart.



"Cain is the commander of the Black Brigade," was Foggy's worried response. "He's the highest up the chain you can go in our division. We report to him, but I am not sure who he reports to."