Fio Draco [Excerpt]
By: Brittany Armstrong

As I entered the blue-tinted throne room, my eyes wandered to the hallway that the prisoner, Avis, had been taken down. I hummed slightly to myself, and bit my lip. If she had read about the drake hierarchy like I thought she had, she would know a lot more about those in the castle than I would ever find out on my own. And judging by how well it was locked up, I wouldn’t necessarily get another chance...

Then again, if I was found talking to the spy, who knew what Lady Elysia might be willing to do to me.

I started down the hallway towards the cells.

As I headed down the hallway, my curiosity only grew. I realized, slowly, that the entire hallway was completely lit, but I couldn’t see any sort of light source, whether candles, torches, or otherwise. The light I was seeing simply seemed to be emanating from nowhere. I looked around carefully with a great amount of interest, examining almost every empty cell and the shadows within - which appeared, in all honesty, to be the only semblance of darkness in the entire wing of the castle.

Finally, my feet brought me to the series of cells that Claudius had led me to earlier in the day, which were somewhat larger and held a single electric torch each. The first one I looked into held the person I was looking for - Avis Quinton. I had some measure of hesitation about talking to her, but I had made up my mind, and now I was already here - no turning back anymore.

I was taking a breath to speak when I suddenly noticed something wrong.

Avis was clutching her stomach, her knees pulled up to her chest on the bench she was sitting on. Bandages covered all of the space between the hem of her shirt and her waist, but it was clear, even from behind her, that the wound she had received from Annika was still soaking through the layers of linen. She was shaking, ever so slightly, in what I hoped was only pain.

As I stood, watching the woman who I assumed to be my enemy, a lightning strike of pity and sympathy ran through me, followed shortly by an overwhelming sense of guilt. Whether her ally had killed mine or not, whether she and her side of this war were right or wrong, Avis as she sat before me now could only be narrowed down to one word: Human.

With a shock of awareness, I realized that even I couldn’t be given that much anymore. Even huddled in the cell of her enemy with a stab wound in the stomach, the Negator was still better than I was. Better by tenfold. I slapped a hand to my mouth as a shuddering sob ran through me, muffling the sound to near nonexistence.

Nevertheless, Avis heard the tiny sound and instantly let go of her injury, setting her feet silently on the ground and turning to face me

"Oh. It’s you.” She said quietly, barely disguising the hoarseness that laced her voice - I presumed it was from choking back any sound she might have made. “Got a vendetta against me, have you? Coming to kill the poor weakened Negator?”

Silently, I shook my head, taking the few steps towards her, and voiced my question.

“I was wondering... What you know about my parents? Th-the old King and Queen, I mean.” I asked, my voice wavering slightly.

Avis got to her feet, seeming to put a bit too much pressure on one foot, and walked gingerly over to the cell door. I took an instinctive step back, remembering what my uncle had mentioned about Negators earlier. She seemed to scoff at my discomfort.

“Why would I tell you? You’re my enemy, aren’t you? A drake?” As she spoke, I winced uneasily.

“As of two days ago, apparently.” I said simply, trying to reveal as little as possible about myself. She scoffed slightly.

“You don’t just become one of them. You either are or you aren’t.” She leaned against the bars, wrapping a hand around the metal. “So what you mean to say is ‘yes’. You’re not human. You barely even pass for one in this form.”

My stomach clenched instinctively, and I let my eyes narrow into a glare, despite the sick feeling rising in my throat.

“Then what is human, anyway?” I snapped, my frustration finally showing itself. “What gives you the right to decide who is human, who gets to live, or die? Is that just some automatic Dragon Hunter quality, or do you have to prove you don’t have a soul first?” As I finished, I barely had time to take a breath before I felt Avis’s hand clench around the fabric of my shirt, yanking me forward and slamming my cheek against the bars of her cell.

“You, at least. Have no right to judge anyone. Freak.” She hissed against my ear. The words were spoken with such venom that I felt as though my ear was burning off from the side of my head. She let me go, shoving me several feet away at the same time, and I gasped, catching my breath. With a note of relief I remembered that she could have paralyzed me instead, and let myself relax a bit more.

“Sorry.” I muttered, rubbing at my neck, feeling as though I had just been choked. Avis leaned back, wincing as she was reminded of the wound she had suffered. I frowned, the feeling of pity from earlier returning, though somewhat less strong than it had been.

“That doesn’t quite fit the bill.” She hissed, still obviously irritated. I frowned slightly, and she sat down on the single cot in her cell, gingerly pressing a hand against the bandages wrapped around her.

“Well, what do you expect me to say?” I started. Avis looked as though she was about to interrupt, so I continued, my voice gaining volume. “In the past two days, I’ve watched my best friend get killed by one of your allies, found out that my parents, who aren’t my real parents by the way, never actually gave a crap about me! I got attacked out of the blue by a dragon, and a guy who is apparently my uncle, and in charge of training me for some kind of a war.  I’ve tried to come to an understanding about the fact that I’m not even human, and I’ve tried to find even a starting point in understanding this secret war that has been going on between you and us.

“So sure, you could say I’m a freak. Or a drake or whatever the hell we’re supposed to be called. But to be honest, I’m just looking for answers from the only person that will give them to me, and if that just so happens to be the ‘enemy’ then so be it.” As I spoke, I stepped closer and closer to her cell, and she got up to put me within her reach, but I was too wound up to care. I seethed darkly, taking a breath to continue, but Avis’ arm shot out, pressing against my forehead with a vice-like grip, and all of a sudden a chill ran through me, my anger dissipating almost instantaneously.

She tugged me gently to the ground, and I had no choice but to follow, sinking slowly to my knees and breathing lightly. For a brief second she had to let go to avoid a crossbar between us, and I felt my anger start to flare up again, but the chill from her hand was back almost before I could register it.

“Calm down,” She said softly, her voice having become something almost akin to caring. Had I not already been numbed by her ability, I figured I would have been compelled to relax by her voice alone. “I get it.” She continued, slowly letting go of me. I slumped backwards, shaking a little from the excess emotion that started to course through me once again. I stayed quiet, however, as she returned my outburst with a simple sentence. “That’s kind of my specialty, you know.”

As I stared at her with a questioning look, she sighed, and continued. “Within the Hunters, or at least Negators and Locators, we all have specialties in the same way you have elements. Mine sort of rests with frustrating people, is all. I just am that kind of a person. And then, without even meaning to, you give up a lot of secrets.” She smiled, showing teeth that held a hint of yellow, and I widened my eyes, suddenly worried. She laughed then, shaking her head slightly despite the wince of pain that crossed her face.

“Don’t worry; all of it is safe with me. Stuck in a cage, remember?” She gestured to her surroundings, as though I couldn’t have noticed them myself. Rather than get frustrated at the off-handed insult, however, I felt my lips twist upward into a smile.

“Yeah,” I said, a little hesitantly. “Sure.”

With the arrival of a sudden yawn from the bottom of my lungs, I was reminded distantly of how late in the evening it actually was. Avis voiced my concern almost instantly.

“It’s almost one in the morning. You should head off to bed, Eva.” I nodded, almost obediently, and got to my feet. As I started to leave, she reminded me of the reason I came to visit in the first place with her final words.

“And for the record, I do know about your parents. I’ll tell you if you earn it.” Letting my shoulders droop in my confusion, I heard Avis’ laugh echo after me as I headed back into the throne room.