But even then, he looked like a king. His sword was gone, his wings were pressed against his back, and his crown was stolen. He was torn up, bloody, and bruised, and yet ... They pushed him forward and he stood up straighter, the spark of defiance bright in his eyes. He held his chin up and walked at a painfully fast pace to keep up with them. He even stepped in front of them a little, and a quick glance would tell any passing by that he was the one leading.

I was taken, too, picked up and thrown over the guard's shoulders. You've heard the expression "sack of potatoes", right? I sure felt like a sack of potatoes, banging against his back, completely helpless, and probably pretty heavy to the normal human.

Ryan tried to convince Calorignis to release me, send me back to Earth, but he refused. I was going to be used as motivation. If Ryan didn't do exactly what he was told, I'd get hurt.

"Who paid you to do this, Calorignis?" he finally asked.

"Emperor Umberlios."

"Oh, so he's Emperor now, is he? That's cute. What'd he promise you? Riches? Power? Are you going to be Supreme Lord Calorie now?"

There was a loud thump and a muffled yelp, and then Ryan was silent. I couldn't see him, but I assume he'd been hit.

We traveled for a day - I'm not exaggerating. The guards marched Ryan for an entire day, out of the city and into a desert. Calorignis was riding something, but I couldn't see what it was, because I couldn't move at all for the whole trip. I figured I wouldn't be able to move for a while afterward, even if I was free of the spell. I'd be too stiff.

Near the end of the day - even though the sky had stayed in that red sunset all day long - I heard a thump, the sound of someone hitting the ground hard. "Get up," one of the guards said. Nothing happened.

I tried to wiggle around, and suddenly found that the spell had been broken. The man holding me dumped me on the ground, and I tried to stand up. It failed miserably, and I ended up hitting my shoulder on a rock, cutting it open. From this position, I could see Ryan crumpled on the ground, the tips of his wings bent and twisted awkwardly. He was barely breathing.

"Ryan," I choked out, still struggling to get my voice to work.

"Get up," the guard ordered, nudging him with his foot. Ryan didn't move. "I said, get up." The guard kicked him roughly in the stomach and my friend let out a quiet gasp of pain. He tucked his knees under his chest and slowly raised himself up, struggling to stay upright, since his hands were still cuffed behind him.

"He needs help," I said softly.

The man chuckled and grabbed his wrists, yanking him up to his feet. Ryan staggered and almost fell over again.

Calorignis climbed off of his beast thing and casually strolled over to him. "I hope you're not causing any trouble, your Majesty," he said calmly.

"I don't cause trouble," Ryan hissed. "Trouble just happens to find me and say, 'That looks like a fun guy in need of some mischief'." One of the guards smacked the back of his head and he ducked with a curse.

"Stop hurting him," I whispered.

"You don't like that?" Calorignis laughed. "You don't like this?" He threw a punch that hit Ryan square in the jaw. Ryan didn't make a sound as he stumbled backward, but I cried out in despair. "You don't like this?" he said as he hit him in the gut and knocked him onto the ground.

"Stop it!" I screamed, dragging myself to my feet and charging him.

The grey man grabbed Ryan's black sword and swung it at me. The flat end of the blade hit my legs and sent me crashing down, skidding painfully to a stop at his feet. He crushed his boot into my back to pin me down and said, "Don't cause any trouble. I don't need you like I need King Rycréan." He chuckled at the sarcastic emphasis of the word 'king'.

It was night time when we reached our destination. I could tell because two moons were out, even though the sky was still sunset crimson.

The actual destination looked like a shabby pavilion some four year old built out of sticks. There were lots of pole things holding up the roof, which was full of holes and makeshift patches. Each of the poles had various chains on them. In one corner, there was a cage. A metal, sharp looking cage, suspended from the ceiling by three thick chain links. It was big enough for a human - a human with wings, to be exact. My breath caught in my throat when I saw it. The guards gave me a shove and I walked closer to it.

"Not over there," they chuckled, grabbing my shoulder and forcefully redirecting me. They picked up a length of chain and snapped it around my right wrist, locking me in place and only allowing a couple feet of movement away from the pole. I tugged on it, but it was stuck tight. I was trapped.

But I was lucky compared to Ryan. He was pushed to the cage as they unlocked it, and then his handcuffs and the metal band around his wings released him. He spread his black wings weakly, but the guards just pushed them out of the way as they lifted him up and into the cage. They slammed the door and locked it not once, not twice, but three times to make sure he wouldn't escape. He just stared at them, his eyes hollow. He sat cross-legged, his hands resting on the bottom of the cage in between in knees, his wings drooping. They barely fit in the cage, and black feathers stuck out between the bars. There were barbs on the bars, too, and every time he shifted, the feathers caught on the barbs and made him wince in pain.

I watched him until his pain was too much to look at, and then I turned my attention to Calorignis and his men. They were talking, and suddenly the grey man and his monster vanished into thin air. The guards shrugged like this was a normal occurrence and set up camp. They built a fire, even though it was already uncomfortably hot, and two of them went to sleep, the other keeping watch on the desert plain we'd just crossed. He took a drink of water and I noticed how thirsty I was. I hadn't had any water almost all day.

He noticed me staring and grinned, taking another drink, careful to let some spill onto the sand. I licked my cracked lips with my dry tongue and watched longingly. No wonder I was dizzy and exhausted. I was getting dehydrated.

I looked at Ryan, wondering if he was doing any worse, but he looked like he was doing better - hydration wise. Maybe being an aero something allowed him to go longer without water.

I swallowed with difficulty as my attention was drawn back to the water can. It felt like I was eating sand. I probably was, since I'd managed to get sand in every single part of my body. Everywhere. No joke. It was disgusting.

The man on watch fell asleep, eventually, serving only to my advantage. I crept forward, reaching out with my left hand, but I couldn't reach the water can. They weren't that far away. I probably could have grabbed it if I had another foot or two. I pulled on the chain again, but it only cut into my wrist. My hand wasn't coming out any time soon. I needed keys. I reached again, and noticed that I could touch one of the sleeping men. The keys were hanging on his belt. It took a terrifyingly long time to get the ring off of his belt loop, but after scaring myself only eight times, I leaned back and let myself rest against the pole. I tested each key and it just had to be the last one. Typical.

The chain released me and dropped onto the sand. I rubbed my scraped and bleeding wrist and then stood up again, taking a step to get the water. I remember a thought striking me like someone slapping me across the face. What about Ryan? I picked up the keys again and turned around. My friend was watching me with a smirk. I quietly slipped over to him and started testing keys in the locks.

"Nice work, Alex," he whispered. "Maybe you aren't so useless."

I rolled my eyes and instantly regretted it as a headache stabbed through my skull.

He glanced up and his hands gripped the barbed bars tightly, making himself bleed. "Hurry," he breathed. "They're waking up."

I didn't dare look back. I jammed the final key into the final lock and it popped off. Ryan pushed the door open and dropped onto the ground, landing awkwardly as his wings caught on the cage. He swore under his breath and tried to pull free, but it made too much noise. "Go get some water," he murmured as I moved to help him. "You can't fight if you're dehydrated."

I followed his advice and crept up to the stirring guards. I grabbed the can and tried to lift it, but it was too heavy, so I opened the lid and stuck my face in it. The cool water felt like heaven as I drank gulps and gulps until I felt like I was going to pass out.

Someone grabbed the back of my shirt and pulled me out of the can, and I almost sucked in a huge breath full of water in surprise. Instead, I spewed water all over him.

"Whoa there," Ryan muttered, wiping his face with his arm. "Come on - " He cut off with a yowl and lurched forward, gripping his left arm tightly as blood seeped between his fingers.

The man yanked the knife out and rested it against Ryan's neck. "Walk with me back to your cage, and no one gets hurt."

Ryan growled and threw his wings out, shoving the man away, and then grabbed my wrist with his bloody hand, pulling me into a run.

The other men had woken by then. They came and tried to grab us, but I threw a wild punch that connected with someone's face, and Ryan bashed with his wings, but then suddenly we both froze. I strained, but I couldn't move. I could see the veins in Ryan's neck as he fought the spell, but he was helpless.

Calorignis appeared back into existence, along with a black man - not the human race kind. I mean he had skin as black as the Shadows Ryan had fought at the house. He was blacker than my friend's wings, darker than the night sky. He was wearing black and gold robes with Ryan's crown sitting in his thinning black hair. He held Ryan's sword casually in one hand and a staff of pure shadow in the other. I looked at him and my heart almost stopped.

I felt like I was looking at Death itself.