Chapter 154: Death Flag

Unlike the horrors a certain mortified twig was facing, one dragon was filled with nothing but disgust and annoyance.

For one, he had suddenly felt the presence of a mana signature that clearly belonged to the fifth prince. But because Kael could not track his aide directly, he could not simply be compelled to head straight for the signature.

If his guess was right, he would end up in one of the cells. And if those cells were like the others he had already passed, then every so often there would be one of those guards. If he burdened himself with victims this early, how was he supposed to find Riley faster? The commotion would only draw those guards to be more vigilant.

His first encounter with them had already raised questions. Even after narrowing in on the mana reading, what he found was wrong. Extremely wrong. The readings were twisted, broken. Kael had killed the guard anyway, with nothing more than physical strength, and only then realized the reason for the distortion.

The thing he killed was no true being. It was an abomination. Something that should never have existed.

Cell after cell passed by, but not one carried even the faintest trace of Riley. Only remnants remained, signs that there had once been life inside.

With every door he left behind, Kael’s patience frayed thinner.

Just where the hell was that twig?

Well, Riley was in the same place, while desperately wishing he was anywhere else.

Because, just as the two figures finished their conversation about a botched attempt by another branch, they shifted to something Riley would have been far better off not hearing.

The taller one slid a claw against the locks as he moved down the corridor. “What about our base? When will it be our time to send the main ingredient?”

The shorter snickered. “That twerp of a prince? Not yet. Apparently, we need to secure the compensation first, because that family will insist on proof of life.”

“Grrr. That again. If not for that, we wouldn’t even have to wait for this compensation!”

“And do you really think they will get it from the dragon lord?”

“Well,” the short one drawled, voice low and oily, “I don’t. But from what I’ve heard, aren’t they desperate enough to rescue the prince? Maybe they will start a war for us while they’re at it.”

They snickered together. Riley’s spine went cold. Sweat prickled down his back. Why did he have to understand them? In a story, wasn’t overhearing something this important always the worst kind of death flag?

Then came the sound.

Metal rattled violently as claws scraped from one end of the row of cells to the other. The shriek of metal on metal made teeth ache and every heart lurch. The children’s practiced trembling no longer needed acting. They shook for real, their knuckles white as they clung to one another. Miss Risa’s lips pressed into a thin line, her body rigid as she tugged the chain taut around her wrist.

The claw scraped past their door. Almost lingered. Almost.

Then, with a tilt of the head, the shadow turned away and gestured to the cell on their right.

The silence cracked.

If anyone had beastly hearing, they would have been deafened by the thunder of heartbeats echoing in every chest.

And then came the screams.

The prisoner in the next cell wailed, pleaded, begged, their voice raw and breaking as shadows wrapped around them.

The two beings were unfazed. Indifferent. They dragged the screaming captive out with the same casualness a customer might use when selecting produce from a market stall.

The creature they dragged out was a mess. Disheveled, filthy, the voice cracked and rasping, but from the sound alone Riley was certain it was not a child.

He debated. He really did. For one desperate second he actually considered trying to do something. But then the tone of the begging shifted into something he had not expected.

“Please let me go! I-I have information! I swear I’m useful! I’ll tell you about it if you could please spare me for now!”

One of the shadows laughed. Low, cruel. “What information could you possibly give that would matter to us?”

“P-please! It’s really important!” the victim wailed, thrashing against the grip of shadowy claws. “It’s about a plot! An escape plot!”

The words echoed down the corridor like a curse.

Every child froze where they cowered, eyes wide. Miss Risa’s face went pale. Even the air seemed to go still.

Riley’s jaw clenched. He could have sworn this was exactly why no one in life was ever allowed to have nice things.

Dammit!

One of the figures, who had gone utterly still, suddenly cackled. The sound was jagged and sharp, ripping through the silence. Everyone flinched, even Riley, who tightened his grip on the taser until his knuckles hurt.

The laughter stopped as abruptly as it began. The same figure hissed, “Of course, of course. If it were just escape plots, don’t you think there would be hundreds of those in everyone’s heads? Don’t you think we know that even you are probably plotting ways to leave?”

“Because who wouldn’t?” boomed the other voice, and the sound of it scraped wrong against every ear in the cell.

“But do you really think that just because you want to leave, or you have plans to leave, it would be possible without our help?”

“In your case, didn’t we already tell you that if you ever want to leave, you’re going to have to be obedient?!”

The captive realized his desperate claim was not being taken seriously. He flailed, shrieking, “This is different! This is real! It’s an actual plot to escape! It’s possible because a man came!”

The words echoed in the corridor before the captors grew tired of him. They flung the disheveled creature against the wall with brutal force. His body hit the stone with a sickening thud.

Riley’s lungs burned. He fought not to suck in a panicked breath, fought the instinct to let fear take over. If he lost control, the taser in his grip might discharge by accident, and that would be the end of them all.

The figures closed in, claws tightening around the prisoner’s throat.

“Wait,” one drawled, its shadowy arm coiling. “Don’t crush the neck. How will that one speak with only one mouth?”

The words were delivered so casually it sent a chill through Riley’s bones. Their logic was grotesque, but then he remembered the chimera he had stuffed into a bag. That one had an extra head with another mouth. Maybe this was what they meant.

The captive clawed weakly at the grip, eyes bulging, gasping as if the air itself refused to come. His lips formed broken sounds, muttering again and again.

“Children… help… children…”

The shadows snickered, pretending not to hear.

The captive repeated it one last time, weaker, before his body sagged and he slipped into unconsciousness.

“Tsk.”

The children huddled around Riley trembled violently. They watched in horror as the broken man slid down the wall, lifeless in all but breath. Their terror only deepened as the figures turned, slow and deliberate, until their distorted gazes fixed directly on Riley’s cell.

“Oh,” one of them rasped, voice curling with amusement. “So he’s saying you’re planning an escape, huh?”

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