Worse, I could barely see. With every passing second, the Earth was getting even brighter! My eyes wanted to close on their own. I had to force the lids open to even catch a glimpse, but I would not let this monster drag me placidly to my death.
Screaming was pointless. The Wyvern was a man, and men would only laugh at a woman's pain. Instead, I focused on hitting. Reaching as far as I could, I tried to find his kidney. That should make him pause, right? But when my fist slammed into it, the best I got was a muffled huff.
Next, I did my best to lunge forward, hoping to slip out of his grip. I knew I'd tumble to the ground, but then maybe I could run again? So, shoving all of my weight forward, I tried to break free. This time, the Wyvern actually laughed - even as his arm gripped my legs tighter, pressing them into his bare chest.
"Dadzna gounavork."
His voice was deep but smooth. He also sounded amused. I wanted to beg for another chance, to plead with this monster to let me go, but his words made no sense to me, so mine would be no better for him. Instead, I finally allowed myself to cry.
I'd gotten so close. I'd made it out of the compound. I'd seen the Earth above, and I'd crawled through real dirt and leaves! That was more living than I'd done in my entire life, but it would all be for naught. The hunters had warned me to hide before daybreak, but I'd gotten distracted with all the colors around me. I'd paused to see the wonders I'd only read about.
And now I would pay for it. Callah would never get something yellow from me. Hopefully, that would convince her not to try the same. For a brief moment there, I'd dared to hope we could forge a life on the surface by ourselves, alone, without the torture of men, but I'd failed.
FifteenAyla
All too soon, the Wyvern broke from the trees. I couldn't see where we were going, but the brightness made it clear things had changed. Then, before I was ready, the monster crouched, lifting one arm to brace my back while the other moved my legs.
The world shifted and I found myself on my rump in the dirt. Only inches away was the most terrifying thing our people had ever encountered. My breath was coming too fast, and this time it wasn't because I'd been running. My eyes were streaming now, making everything into a halo of light and colors, yet the moment the Wyvern let go of me, I shoved to my feet.
Immediately, something in the sole of my right foot pushed deeper. The pain made me cry out, so I shifted my weight to the other foot. If the Dragons were going to kill me, I had no intention of making it easy for them.
Forms moved around me, but the annoying streaming of my eyes made them hard to see. Reaching up, I used the back of my hand to wipe at first one eye, then the other, but what I saw only made me wish I hadn't.
More Dragons.
Four more moved in to encircle me. Like the Wyvern, they all seemed to be male. All five of them had chests like the Righteous men - and no shirts to cover them! They were shaped so much like humans, with only two arms and two legs, and their necks were not long. They looked nothing like the creatures from my books!
But their hands did end in talons. The tails swaying behind them looked both strong and dangerous. Their feet were upright, more like they were walking on their tiptoes with their heels in the air. Of course, those toes had talons on them.
Then there were the colors. One was bright green. Solid green, except for his tan chest and a pair of red lines jutting back from his human-shaped - but not colored - eyes. The next was tan with green along his sides and horizontal black stripes over that. He was huge, maybe even bigger than the Wyvern. I was pretty sure he'd been the one who'd stood from the grass.
Turning a bit more, I saw another brown one, but this was a darker shade. Closer to the bark of the trees, but darker. Black polka dots covered his body, but it was the lavender on his belly and the royal purple marks on the back sides of his neck that made him stand out. Yet the one beside him?
I wasn't sure I had a name for all those colors. Yellow, red, orange, and turquoise assaulted my eyes. Unlike the rest, this Dragon wore pants. Black ones. That made me turn again quickly, inspecting the others one more time. I wasn't sure what they would call the covering over their groins, but it was leather, dyed to nearly the color of their bodies. Maybe a loincloth?
And they were talking. The words were flying too fast for me to even make out the sounds. With their eyes locked on me, however, I could guess the subject. Then the tan, green, and black one slashed his arm through the air and snapped something loudly.
Before any of the others could respond, he lunged at me. A scream broke from my lips and I tried to jump back, but my foot hurt too bad. I staggered. The blindingly-colored Dragon caught my shoulders, but that only held me in place as the tan, green, and black one grabbed my arm and yanked me towards him.
One more time, I stumbled on my abused feet. Pain was lancing up from them, but before the mostly tan Dragon could abscond with me, the Wyvern shoved in. So did the dark brown one with the purple. That made the solid green one press in.
I expected the monsters to pull at me until they'd ripped me apart. Instead, the Wyvern and the brown one pushed at the other Dragons. The other Dragons pushed back. Tails flailed behind them, whipping the air furiously. Their strange words grew louder and louder as the argument escalated, and I tried my hardest to pull free.
I could feel the tan one's talons poking into my skin. His grip was so hard, I knew I'd have bruises. I also didn't care. I had to get out of the middle of them. What I needed was a weapon!
My eyes landed on the chain. Heaving my entire body to the side, I swung the thing, hoping to add some force into it. The metal links made a sound as they impacted the tan Dragon's side, but little else. It was still enough to make the monsters all fall silent and look at me again.
Which was when the one in pants moved closer, crossing his arms over his chest. "Uf Zasen zes sa steiz dan sa steiz. Sou vot uf saz e moul? Saz olsou e fimeil, un viv nava zin wan bithar."
The tan one snarled in annoyance and finally released me. A jumble of words tumbled from him, with the green one adding a few of his own thoughts, but no one bothered to reply. Instead, the Wyvern simply smiled deviously as if he'd gotten his way.
Naturally, my stomach chose that moment to rumble loudly. The men all paused. Slowly, their attention shifted to me again, but not to my face. They were looking at my body. The one barely concealed by the thin white cloth of my chemise.
I crossed my hands over my breasts to hide them and shook my head. Since the Dragons had stepped back, I had room to retreat, but no good direction to do it. Hoping for some way to escape, I glanced to my left. Then my right. The five monsters had me trapped between them, though.
Then the one in pants grabbed my upper arms again. No, clasped. His grip wasn't hard enough to count as grabbing, but it still made me freeze. My heart was hammering so hard, I felt like I was about to pass out. My breath was coming in short, shallow pants. My skin felt like it had gone numb, yet I could feel the Dragon's hands.
"Please!" I whimpered.
On my other side, the Wyvern grunted as if annoyed, then stormed to the side. Terrified, I couldn't take my eyes off him. Was this when it all ended? Would they kill me now? I almost hoped so, because that would be much better than the horrors Mr. Cassidy had warned us about. I did not want them to hold me down and use my body!
Where the Wyvern stopped was a collection of leather and cloth. Blinking hard, I pushed away the glare long enough to see him open one of the lumps, proving it was a pack of some kind. Shoving his hand deep into it, he pulled something out and marched back towards me, thrusting it into my face.
"Ier."
I had no clue what his words meant, but the smell of the thing assaulted me. Sweet, salty, and strong. I couldn't even name the scents, but I did recognize the texture. The item in his hands looked exactly like pieces of meat that were cooked far too long.
I shook my head. No, if they were going to kill or torture me, then I wouldn't make it easy! I would not choke back some disgusting flesh just to appease them. The Wyvern thrust it at me again, and again I refused, trying to back away from him - but that only pressed me closer to the one holding me.
With a weary sigh, the Wyvern lifted the chunk of dry meat to his lips and took a bite, revealing teeth shaped almost like mine. Pointedly, he chewed it, then he made a production of swallowing. I stared in complete fascination.
His face was so human! Well, his nose was wider than mine, and the top of it attached to his forehead a little differently - but that could've been his coloration too. Pale stripes marked his cheeks and brow with more dipping from his lower lip, down his neck, to fade into the soft grey color of his chest and belly.
Then the Wyvern thrust the half-eaten piece of food at me again. "Ier, Orin."
Nope, I was not going to eat that. The taste of it would make me vomit, and that would make me even weaker. If I wanted a chance to get away - even a slim one - then being hungry would be better than being nauseous.
Yet once again the Wyvern sighed. This time louder than before. Tearing off the end where he'd bit into the meat, he broke the chunk apart. The half where his teeth had left their mark was tossed into his mouth. The remainder was thrust at me one more time.
