Chapter 22: Chapter Twenty-One

I woke up some time after and could tell two of my ribs were broken. I looked down and saw that my shirt and pants had been removed. I had the beginning stages of bruising on my torso. I was attached to the ceiling again but this time I was attached to a steel beam and had thicker iron chains on my wrists and my legs had been restrained too.

“You’re awake. Good. Now we can start,” Shithead Two said, his face is swollen and already purpling.

“Why am I here?”

“You know why.”

“Because you’re a sadistic fuck who can’t get it up in the bedroom?” I said.

He let out a growl I was sure he thought would be intimidating and picked up a whip from a table. He hit my back with it and I felt the oil sizzle on my back. I held back any sound that wanted to come out just to hold back any pleasure he might get. He struck me again, “This bra is getting in the way. Let’s get rid of it.” He set the whip down and grabbed an iron knife from the table. He cut it off, nicking my skin in the process, “There we go, that’s better.”

He picked the whip back up and didn’t stop hitting me until he drew blood which caused me to finally start screaming because of the introduction of the oil to the blood. “That’s what I wanted to hear,” he kept going until I passed out from the pain.

I knew immediately that I was dreaming because I wasn’t in pain. The second thing that tipped me off was her. Daniel had shown me photos of her since I came to live with him again, but the photos didn’t do her justice when she was standing right in front of me. “Mom?” I asked, my voice cracking. She nodded, “Am I dead?”

She shook her head with a small smile on her lips, “No my daughter you are not dead.”

“What are you doing here? I’ve never dreamed of you before,” I asked, walking up to her, she opened her arms for a hug and I willingly went into them.

“I’m here because you’re in grave danger, and I always come to help when one of our kind is in danger,” she held me tightly to her.

“What do you mean? How can you help?”

She released me but held onto my shoulders, “All will be revealed in time my beautiful daughter. You’re about to wake up, I’m sorry you will have to go through what’s to come.”

“Mom I don’t understand,” I shouted but she faded away and I was left in the black until finally I found myself awake, still in the building with the hunters.

My tormentor threw a bucket of ice cold water on me. It was the first time in my life I had ever been cold, even before Niamh showed up I was never cold, but with her weakened and the iron holding in the magic, I could freeze to death given the right conditions. “Figured you could use a rinse,” he said with an ugly smile. “Now where were we?”

He picked up the iron knife again. I watched as he dipped it in oil and he brought it down on my skin. He carved into me again and again, going back for more and more oil. Soon like with the whip it was too much for me to take and I passed out from the pain.

My mom joined me again, “What did you mean when you said you help our kind when they are in trouble?”

“You know I was the Queen of Dragons, like you are now, and you know the goddess herself picks the queen, and there will never be a king because,” I nodded and she blew out a breath like it was a hard explanation, “When the queen dies she becomes the goddess. The queen is the living incarnation of the goddess, so when you pass you will take my place.”

“Why am I going through this if you can get me out of it?” I asked, upset that I was in this pain and was close to losing everything.

“I can’t act. Not yet,” I started to rebuke her but she stopped me with her hand, “I know you can feel it. You’re becoming immune to the oil. It didn’t burn as much this time as it should have, and soon the iron won’t be able to hold back your power. You are a goddess, my darling Amaya, just give it a little more time. I’m always watching over you. I will help you when the time is right.”

I started to yell at her again but she faded away and I awoke with a start as my tormentor threw not just cold water but oil on me as well. With my wounds still open and angry I screamed as the oil went into them and worked its way into my bloodstream.

My head lolled to one side as I fought the blackness that threatened to take over my vision. He slapped me hard, “Stay with me, I’ve got something good planned for you. I want you to be awake for it.”

I noticed a fire going off to the side with several iron rods sticking out of it. I closed my eyes because I knew what’s coming. The bodies that had been dumped by this group of hunters were typically mutilated beyond recognition, but they were all branded with the hunters brand because mutilating them wasn’t enough; they had to sign their handiwork too.

“What clan do you belong to?” He asked, picking up the brand, inspecting it.

I snorted and didn’t even bother opening my eyes, “What I tell you and you don’t brand me? Yeah sure. You’re going to kill me regardless. Go fuck yourself.”

He chuckled evilly, “You’ll tell me.”

He came at me with the brand. When he pressed it to my skin it didn’t just brand me it caught the oil he threw on me on fire. He just stood there and listened to me scream, until he decided the fire had done enough damage and he put it out. He splashed me again with cold water, “Stay awake! What clan do you belong to?”

I laughed. My eyes closed but before he could hit me I said in a sing-songy voice, “I’m not telling you.”

He walked away, back to the fire I presumed, he was back too soon pressing another brand to my skin, causing me to scream loudly. Thankfully I didn’t catch fire again, but I quickly passed out from the pain.

“Mom I don’t know how much more of this I can take,” I said, my voice breaking.

She wrapped me in her arms, “You can. It’s almost time. Those last introductions of snapdragon oil and iron were enough to build up an immunity. Niamh should grow stronger over the next couple of days and you should begin healing fully soon.”

“Couple of days? How long have I been in that place?”

“Three days. What’s coming next, don’t let it break you. Please don’t let it break you and know you wouldn’t be given these things if you couldn’t handle it.”

“What’s coming next?”

“The worst of it. Don’t let it break the heart and inherent trust you have inside of you,” she gave me a kiss on my forehead and a tight hug before she faded away.

I awoke with a start and immediately hated myself for the movement; I quietly screamed in pain. When I opened my eyes I saw a Shithead Four in front of me rather than the one that had tormented me the last three days. I could smell his arousal and saw a slight bulge in his pants. “So I was right. The other guy can’t get it up, he’s got to send you in to do his job for him.”

He didn’t smile, his expression didn’t change, “He doesn’t like to enter your type. Believes your kind to be filth. I mean don’t get me wrong, so do I, but I don’t let it stop me from enjoying myself.”

He unbuckled his pants, I now fully understood what my mom meant. I closed my eyes and let it happen because I still wasn’t strong enough to fight back. It was more pain than I had ever thought I could experience between my legs. “I love that your kind saves themselves,” he said between grunts and thrusts, “It’s so hard to find virgin humans and those are my favorite.”

Niamh pushed to the front of my mind and walled me off to the rest of the experience. The hunter didn’t notice the difference.

Niamh finally gave me control back, “Thank you Niamh. I’m sorry.”

“There’s nothing to apologize for Amaya. We will make our move soon. I’m getting stronger, and our powers are almost back at full power,” she responded.

My tormentor came back in, “Ready to start back again?”

“Would it mean anything if I said no?” I asked in a tired voice.

“Your wounds are starting to close up on your back. We can’t have that happening now can we?” He said picking up the whip again, but before he started this time, he dunked it in a bucket of what smells like snapdragon oil.

It didn’t take him long to draw blood with my wounds barely closed; he stopped after the floor was drenched in my blood. “There that’s better,” he set the whip down and walked back over to the fire. He picked up one of the brands and smiled cruelly. “Try to stay awake after this, it won’t stop what comes next, but it’ll be better if you’re awake for it.”

He set it just above the other two so that the three of them were in a line on my hip. I screamed and tried not to let the tears that form fall. I knew there were more brands to come, just from studying this cluster of hunters. If they branded me the same way, if I was here long enough, I would receive three more brands on my other hip.

He put the brand back in the fire and came back over to me to check on me. He slapped me hard across the face then grabbed my jaw, “Good you listened. Stay awake, we’ve got something good for you.”

He walked out and came back with the hunter that I hadn’t seen since I got here, Shithead One. I could smell his arousal as well but he wasn’t yet bulging in his pants. “Oh don’t tell me, another massive disappointment who believes he has the right to enter me.”

The new hunter punched me hard in the face and then again in the stomach. I gasped for air but he didn’t let up; he kept punching me until I was fully encased in the smell of his arousal and the bulge in his pants was unmistakable.

I coughed when he finally stopped, “Gods your mother must be so proud of you. You can’t get it up unless you beat a woman nearly to death. Aren’t you a catch?”

He punched me again and started taking off his pants. Like before Niamh locked me away in my mind and took control so I didn’t see or feel anything. When she let me out again, breathing was hard and the pain was intense.

My tormentor and this hunter walked out but came back shortly with the other one. Each of them took a brand from the fire, knowing their intention I put Niamh in a mental maze so that she didn’t break out too soon. They pressed them to my skin at the same time on my unbranded hip, causing me to pass out from the pain.

“It’s time, my daughter,” my mom said, wrapping me in a hug.

“Any suggestions?” I asked, squeezing her tight.

She pulled me back and placed her hands on my shoulders, “Use your lightning. You will be tempted to draw it out, to torture them. Don’t. Your father will be somewhere close. I’ve led him to the area. Once you get outside he will get to you in no time.” I nodded, “One more thing: a queen, a goddess, needs the power of all the dragons they rule over the heavens have decided, especially after this.” She placed her index and middle finger on my forehead and a light shined so bright I had to close my eyes against it. When it dimmed I opened my eyes and she looked at me expectantly, “well let’s see if it worked.”

I smiled and held out my hand. I asked fire to come and it came, a plant popped up in the middle of my hand, and I went through the list of other abilities dragons could have until Mom was satisfied it worked. “Is it time to go back?”

“Yes, Amaya, and remember to be ready to attack when you wake up,” she wrapped me in one final hug and then faded.

I awoke to Shithead Four, who stole my virginity, pounding away inside me. I sent enough lightning through me to kill forty people and it sent his dead body flying back. The other one who seemed to be waiting his turn in the corner tried to run for help, but I zapped him first.