Chapter 7: Surprising Relations.

Lena and who I assumed to be Conner the guy she is crushing badly over left headed for the plane with strict instructions to have it fuelled and ready to leave the minute we get there.

I followed Logan and Kyle into the mansion like palace sticking as close as I could which landed with me trapped between the two looking shorter then one of those goblins or Dwarfs. The atmosphere in here was completely different to out there, in here it seemed much more tense, there were tables everywhere with people gathered around them with arrange of coins and discoloured drinks everywhere. All eyes were on Logan and Kyle as they walked by, I started to drop off getting caught up in my surroundings.

I spotted this guy in the corner wearing a hood that covered his face, he looked completely human to me as he twirled a coin in between his fingers. There was something strange about him that had me wanting to know more, it was hard to explain but I felt like I couldn’t take my eyes off him.

That is until a scaly winged lizard creature flew past catching my attention, it’s razor sharp teeth had me fearing it instantaneously. It landed on the ground right in front of me making me stop and stumble backwards as it changed taking the appearance of a beautiful woman with red hair and colourful wings. The only evidence of what she once was only a moment ago was her razor sharp teeth that appeared when she smiled at me.

“Well what do we have here?” she all but sung, her voice like a melody.

I stayed still not moving as she came closer – a little too close for comfort – and sniffed the air.

“Ah a human, so tasty” Taste? what?! Shit where’s Logan and Kyle when you need them.

She came closer and grabbed a hold of my hand making me scream out. Why was no one helping me?!

I looked into her face watching it change again; her eyes went from green eyes you would consider normal to empty eye sockets making me scream again only louder this time.

“Logan!” I screamed as she went to bite into my arm.

She froze midway down to my arm, her grip loosened as she fell to the floor with a dagger in her back. I looked up to see Logan’s black eyes staring at me.

“You ok?” he said out of breath, what took him so long?

I nodded still a little shaken.

“Good” he came to me grabbing my hand tightly and pulling me to his chest and into his arms. In any other circumstances I would have protested to being in his arms but right now I welcomed the feeling of safety and warmth.

“Anyone else?!” He yelled out to the rest of the room.

Everyone stared at him their heads slightly bowed as they watched him carefully but no one dared to speak up against him.

“I thought I told you to stay close” He muttered before he pulled me off in the direction he had come from. Pulling me through the double doors, he slam them shut behind us and let me go.

I stumbled a little trying to gather my thoughts. Kyle came up beside me grabbing my elbow to steady me.

“Britney are you ok?”

“Yeah I think so just a little shocked”

“Marco I swear when I get my hands on you I’m going to tear you apart!” Logan shouted out to the empty room, making his voice echo like a tunnel.

“Logan calm down, she’s fine” Kyle said brushing the hair away from my face and smiling down at me trying to comfort me.

“Yes Logan do calm down, I don’t want to cause a scene, though you’ve already done that by killing one of my dear friends in the middle of the entertaining room.” A voice came from the shadows making us all turn to watch as a man walked out. His dark black hair and black eyes made me look between him and Logan. They looked similar; I wonder if they were related or was it all Volucris that looked like that?

“Marco” Logan said narrowing his eyes at whom I presume is Marco.

“It’s been a long time; to what do I owe this pleasure?”

“You know what”

“Ah yes I believe I have broken some of the Volucris rules. My bad” he smiled and walked up to us, his eyes found mine and he looked me over. “This must be the human”

“Don’t change the subject”

“Fine, I admit I did some bad things, kill some people but I’ve learnt my lesson, don’t do it. You can go now” Marco said waving his hand and walking back the way he came.

“Marco, you were already given your warning, it’s time to come back!”

“No thanks, I like it here, it’s better than that jail cell you will put me in”

“It’s not your choice!”

“Trolls, send them on their way but be careful. Don’t kill my brother.” Marco said walking back into the shadows. Brother? That explains why they look so similar.

Two trolls came to stand in front of us, each one holding a club with spikes. Kyle pushed me backwards while Logan yelled at me to hide in the corner. I did what I was told pushing myself in to the corner as much as I could. I watched as Logan and Kyle pulled out two long swords, one for each arm and shifted on their feet.

Logan’s shirt began to rip as his black wings spread out.

They broke out into a run towards the trolls; my eyes were glued on Logan as he jumped into the air his wings holding him in the air as he spun around dodging the tolls swings only by centimetres. He grabbed on to the trolls back holding on tightly for dear life as the troll thrashed back and forth like it was having a brain spasm.

I forced my eyes away to Kyle, he didn’t have wings but the way he moved made it seem he did. It was as if he was almost gliding through the air as he attacked with such grace, it was almost like a dance, moves and counter moves; it was hypnotizing. He drove the sword into the troll’s right leg causing it to scream out a high pitch sound that threatened to burst an ear drum.

I had to do something. I looked around the room trying to find something to do, some way to help but came up empty. I was only a human with little talents and no skills apart from talking, what could I do talk them to death?

 “So how much has my brother told you?” A voice came from next to me. I quickly spun around to see the one they called Marco leaning against the wall next to me turning an apple in his hand before taking a bite.

How could he be so damn calm when Logan and Kyle are struggling to take down these troll’s. Wait, why is he even still here? Shouldn’t he be running?

“Are you going to stop this?!”

“No, why would I, I haven’t seen entertainment like this in years” You know, I was really beginning see the resemblance between the two, they were both annoying and insane.

I looked back and watched as Kyle struggled to remove his two swords from the troll; it moved flinging him across the room and into the wall. I gasped starting to panic; he had no swords and wasn’t getting up in a hurry. I had to do something, there had to be some way I can help!

“Don’t worry, they’ll be fine. I just wanted to buy some time, they’ll win and then drag us both back against our will. We should make a pact to escape or something; oh I have one, you could flutter your eye lashes to distract my brother while I kill the others.”

“No, now stop this!”

“Why, it’s almost over, I bet my brother hasn’t had a good fight in months, he needs the practice” he said taking another bite of his apple. I was beginning to think Logan wasn’t that bad, at least compared to his brother.

I turned around and watched Logan climb back up the troll, raising his swords and driving both of them into the back of the troll’s neck. Green liquid began to cover the front of the trolls body staining its skin, its knees began to buckle as it fell forward crashing into the floor.

Logan looked over at me, his face a vision of pure anger as he death stared his brother. He quickly turned to face Kyle seeing him struggling to get up and fight his troll, he quickly raced over jumping into the air and killing the other troll the same way making it fall to the floor just meters away from where Kyle finally stumbled to his feet.

He walked over and helped Kyle, quickly checking him for injuries.

“I’m fine, just a sore shoulder”

“Good” Logan said walking over to me and Marco.

I couldn’t help but look at his muscular figure; his hard chest and abs were covered in bits of green blood and sweet left over from his work out with the trolls. My eyes were drawn to the tattoo in the middle of his chest; it was a single triangle, with two smaller circles inside of the triangle.

“Kyle, take Marco”

“My pleasure” Kyle muttered grabbing a smiling Marco and pushing him towards the door. Why did he look so entertained by this, he was being arrested?

“Are you ok?” Logan asked making me turn to face him; my eyes were still drawn to the tattoo on his skin.

“Fine, you?”

“What now you care?”

“Well yeah, how else am I going to get out of here?”

He chuckled looking down briefly before he looked up at me. “Come on lets go, before they leave without us” he said grabbing my hand in his and pulling me off towards the door.

“You’re not going to put on a shirt or anything?” I raised an eyebrow at him.

He looked at me a little confused before he turned and picked up his shredded t-shirt off of the floor and pulled it over his head. It made no difference; the pieces of the shirt that did stay on his body covered his collar bone and small bits of his back and chest leaving his chest in full view.

 “Nice tattoo” I couldn’t help myself, it was weird and I wanted to know why someone would get some random shapes on their chest.

“Thanks, I think?”

I raised my eyebrows at him in an attempt to get him to continue.

“It’s part of our training, when we past each stage they mark us, this isn’t the full tattoo, I haven’t finished my training.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, the small circle is for the basics in defence training, the second is for attack strategies and the triangle is for mastering the art of at least three weapons of choice.”

“And what training haven’t you completed?”

“Well, the last stage is another triangle; it’s for completing an exercise where you have to save a civilian.” What?! He has to be kidding.

“Why didn’t you complete it?” please let the reason be he was sick or something that day.

“I did complete it, it’s just my dummy was a little, banged up”

“Banged up?”

“Yeah, or missing some things”

“Missing?!” I was starting to panic now.

“Yeah, like its head or an arm, I’d bring them to the end; they just weren’t attached to the body” Oh my god. Yep it was official I was going to die.

I stared at him gobsmacked, he was joking right? He had to be; yeah this was just another joke that he was playing on me.

“What?”

“Oh nothing just coming to terms with the fact that I may be missing a head by the end of this”

“Good, let’s go” he grabbed my hand again and pulled me through the door.

Everyone was watching us carefully. I was still a little terrified of the looks they were giving us but Logan seemed almost oblivious to them. We walked out of the building and down the street back to the room where I landed.

I looked around the dirt walled room and couldn’t for the life of me think how we were going to get out of here.

“How are we…” I started but Logan just put his finger over his lips silencing my question, he pointed upwards answering my unfinished question.

I looked up and saw the dark abise that I had fallen through. I still don’t get it.

He grabbed my hands and pulled me closer.

“Relax, close your eyes and brace yourself” he whispered near my ear, his breath fanning my neck.

I did as I was told, my nails digging in to his skin as I tried to prepare myself. I felt myself being lifted above the ground, the air rushed passed me, my stomach dropped and I began to feel a little sick. I felt my feet hit the ground with force and my knees buckle from under me leaving me falling down to land on my butt.

We were back on the train tracks in tunnel.

“Come on, we don’t have time to lounge around.” Logan said after he landed on his feet.

Yeah, don’t offer me a hand up or anything!

I got to my feet and quickly tried to catch up with him as he power walked down the tunnel. If there was one thing I had learnt today, it was keep Logan near, I may need him to chase the monsters away again.