Breaking Free: Dragon's Fire

It was with pride, I walked naked to meet my fate at the hands of my captors. Strange to think that no so long ago I would have been embarrassed or even ashamed to have done the same. I’m not certain whether my newfound confidence is a good or bad thing, but in this place it was an advantage and I fully intended to use it. The men escorting me were trying hard not to seem infatuated by my naked glory, but they were nonetheless, off their guard.

From my cell I was escorted up cement stairs and then down a short hallway into a larger square room. The lighting was dim, but my eyes had long adjusted to the darkness. In the center of the room a single wooden trestle stood alone. The legs of the trestle were equipped with black leather restraints attached to the legs by short lengths of heavy chain. Anxiety settled in the pit of my stomach, but I chose not to panic.

The rest of the room seemed barren. Shadows obscured the four corners but a prickling sense on the back of my neck told me their were spectators or worse, hiding in the darkness. It had the same cold feeling as the cell and the lack of sunlight made me feel like I was still beneath the ground in some sort of a bunker. No doubt my friends and captors would be the only ones to hear my screams.

Standing next to the trestle was an unintimidating man. He wore some sort of ceremonial attire, which would have been comical in any other situation. His torso was mostly bare, covered only by two vertical strips of leather on each side, rising up from his waist and flowing over his shoulders and back down to his waist again. A blue dragon was emblazoned into the leather near each shoulder. His pants were like some sort of parachute material dyed blue to a perfect match with the dragons on his chest.

Given a choice to wear his ridiculous outfit or parade around naked, I might just have chosen naked. Then again, the blue dragons did give it a little style at least.

He stepped forward into the light until he was wholly illuminated and facing me. An evil smile spread across his face and I had to fight the reflex to try to back away from him. I noticed everyone around me was taking their cues from him and decided he must be the man behind the masks. I smiled back at him, feeling dangerous.

“Even here with your future a certainty, you remain different from your companions.” He said.

“Fitting in can be so boring.” I said, nodding at him and his attire.

His smile widened and he chuckled at my inference.

“Indeed.” He said. “I want you to know, I take no pleasure in this.”

“That’s too bad. One should really enjoy their work.” I said.

“I wonder if you will still feel the same way when we are done here.” He said.

“We already are.” I replied.

“We have yet to begin.” He said. “When we have, you’ll know it.”

“You want my help.” I said.

He openly stared at me, clearly enjoying the freedom to do so. With my stance I made sure he knew I didn’t care. It was damning and liberating all at the same time. Had I any choice in the matter he would never have seen so much of me, but the choices which had led me to the moment, failed to reveal themselves for what they truly were until it was far too late.

“You will want to help me.” He said.

“Let my friends go and I really will want to help, but this,” I said, gesturing at the trestle, “will only strengthen my desire to see you fail.”

“Is this your way of begging for mercy?” He asked.

He had a confident smirk on his face that was far scarier than anything he had planned. Facing my fear, I stepped farther into the room and consequently, closer to him and the trestle. As much as I wanted to escape, there was nowhere to run and accepting that fact left me with an open desire to simply get it all over with. I wonder if my boldness surprised him because it definitely surprised me.

“Do your worst.” I said.

Was I really challenging this bastard? I’ve probably lost my mind but I figured out a long time ago, it’s far easier to process the pain you accept than the pain you fight. If there is to be no other choice, I choose accepting the inevitable.

He stepped closer to me so that only a short distance remained between our gazes. It was only then I realized he was a short man. I was tall enough to tower over him if he got close enough but he was smart enough to stay far enough of away to look me in the eye without craning his neck. He held his right hand up in the air toward one of the corners behind me and snatched a stick out of the air. I successfully fought the urge to jump at the sound of the stick slapping against his palm.

My eyes settled on the implement of terror in his hand. It was long, at least three feet and as much as an inch in diameter with several rough spots along the shaft which were significantly wider. I recognized it as a punishment cane, but unlike pictures I’d seen, there was no crook to its handle. The grip was straight and wrapped in strips of black leather and large enough to accommodate a large hand. On the very top, a silver dragon rested with a split tongue hanging out of an open mouth filled with jagged teeth. The wings were folded into its body and the tail wound down toward the grip, ending in a silver ring that disappeared into the black leather. The dragon’s eyes were the most intriguing, they glowed a cool blue like fire captured in tear drops.

“Beautiful, is it not?” He said.

“A truly sadistic work of art.” I said.

“It is called a Dragon Cane. It is named so for the intense burn it imparts on its victims. This one is made from a rare bamboo found only in the foothills of Nan Yue Mountain.” He said.

Holding the cane between both his hands, he demonstrated its flexibility, bending it so that the center of the cane made a smooth curve.

“As you can see, it is unusually thick and flexible. As a result it is capable of inflicting an unbearable amount of pain.” He continued.

I stepped closer to him, forcing him to look up at me as I looked down upon him. There was a moment when I thought he would back away, but something made him stand his ground.

“Should I be afraid?” I asked.

“Only if you are wise.” He replied.

“Then I’m terrified.” I said.

The steadiness of my voice and the lightness of my tone stood in direct contrast of my words but despite the evidence, I was indeed terrified. The pain had been severe enough for Kyra to lose consciousness and I had no illusions that I was any tougher than her. It was not a contest in any regard, the cane would win.

He moved closer to me and then stepped to my side and began circling around behind me. I followed him with my eyes but refused to turn my head. Every nerve in my body tickled with nervous anticipation as I waited for an unknown next move. The trestle fixed itself in my vision.

“Virginia West.” He said. “You impress me and I’m not a man--”

“No, you’re not.” I said.

“Easily impressed.” He finished, as if I’d said nothing at all.

He stepped out on the opposite side of me from where he had disappeared and gestured toward the trestle before us. Some part of me had hoped it would all end differently, but as his hand waved toward the infernal device, I found my self face to face with an overwhelming desire to kick, scream, and fight. I swallowed it without acting on the impulse.

“Shall we begin?” He said.

“There are many things I’d rather do, but I sense you have your heart set on this.” I said.

“Our path was set before either of us arrived here. I can no more change this than I can change the wind.” He said.

“Whatever helps you sleep at night.” I said.

I didn’t wait to be dragged to the trestle, I stepped forward until I was upon it. My feet found their way to the outside edge of the trestle. I bit my lip and closed my eyes, telling myself there was nothing to be gained from resisting. Unsure whether or not I believed myself, I leaned over the top and reached my hands down until they rested as near the restraints as I could manage.

From my upside down perspective I watched, detached, as he waved two of my escorts forward. They knelt down, one by each leg and began fastening the leather to my ankles. I was surprised by their gentleness. In it’s own way I suspect it was a sign of respect which oddly left me with a feeling of pride.

“Would you mind making those a little tighter? I really don‘t want them to chafe.” I said.

The two men looked up at him and he nodded his approval before they tightened the straps to a point where I could not move my legs through them at all. A moment later they fastened my wrists in much the same manner and I was left stretched, immobile and waiting.

I wanted to close my eyes, but I forced myself to keep them open. There was no way to prepare for the first strike, but I did what I could. I focused my attention on controlling my breathing, keeping it even and steady. My chest burned with the pain from my already wounded ribcage. Rather than fighting it, I chose to embrace it with my every fiber and welcomed the discomfort as a distraction.

He twirled the cane in his hand as he stepped a few feet away from me. His movement reminded me of a dancer, both graceful and powerful. He raised the cane high into the air and then propelled himself forward, swinging the cane like a blade cutting through the air until it impacted the center of my buttocks.

At first the impact seemed minor and nothing more than an annoyance, but then the fire came. It built exponentially until the pulsating burn brought tears to my eyes. I tried to concentrate on breathing through the pain, but the flame would not be ignored. My breath caught in my throat and I choked on the fiery pain.

There was no chance to recover or brace for more. Before I’d even finished processing the original strike, he was completing another circuit of his dance and the cane impacted again, just below the previous stripe. I nearly screamed as the second wave of fire spread throughout my taut body. Forcing myself to breathe I passed through the delicate moment and found it was still nothing I could not endure.

I closed my eyes and withdrew from the pain filled reality. Inside my mind I found a quiet place of peaceful strength. It was there I found my refuge and my escape. A third wave of fire enveloped my body and I heard myself scream but, it was as if I was watching and listening to someone else. I could still feel everything but it was distant and numb.

A fourth, fifth and sixth strike landed and still I was able to endure it from the safety of a spectator within my own body. The seventh rattled me and for a moment I was forced to endure the full magnitude of white hot pain. I sobbed as the exploding fire ravaged through my nerves. My mind was nearly overwhelmed by the increasing discomfort and my teary eyes found themselves watching with horror as he prepared to deliver an eighth.

The impact wracked my body with an intense, white pain. He drew back for yet another and then I knew terror as I have never known it. Bound to the trestle I could not even manage to flinch in anticipation, nor was I able to escape into the safety of my mind. I struggled hopelessly against my restraints and then as the ninth stroke exploded into my body everything went white.

Somewhere, I was screaming and trying to brace myself for a tenth unendurable blow that would nonetheless have to be endured, but that was someplace far away. Bright white surrounded me, but I was free and the pain was only a distant memory. I wondered if I had simply passed out, unable to consciously cope with any further pain. A feeling told me there was something more to what was happening and it was right.

“You almost succeeded on your own.” My mysterious little girl said. “There are not many who could have done as well without years of training.”

She faded into existence in the white before me as voice resonated within the white walls surrounding me. There was a melodic quality to her voice I had never noticed before and I wondered if it had something to do with where we were.

“Where are we?” I asked.

“A safe place.” She replied.

I didn’t want to sound ungrateful for the escape she had no doubt orchestrated, but her less than answering, answers had a way of grating on my nerves not entirely unlike the cane. She looked sympathetic though and I decided to let it slide. The only thing truly important about our location was that it wasn’t where I was being whipped.

“Thank you.” I said.

She smiled like a proud parent.

“I had not intended to allow you to suffer at all, but when I realized you had attained a state of tranquility on your own I felt it was too risky to interfere until you had completely failed.” She said.

“How could you possibly know what is going on inside my head?” I asked.

“Is it really that hard to believe? You think I’m a figment of your imagination as it is so why would I not know everything you’ve been thinking?”

“True enough.” I said.

“Soon they will bring you to the tomb and you must be ready.” She said.

“For?” I asked.

The white disappeared and was replaced with a large, open cavern. The ceiling was at least 30 feet above us, but the immenseness of the cavern was hardly the most impressive part. In front of me, as far as I could see into the distance was an army of terracotta soldiers. They were in pristine condition, completely whole and undamaged. I found myself breathless to behold them even though I knew it was only an image in my mind.

“This will be your first challenge inside the tomb. You will have to find a way passed this army to the archway at the other side.” She said.

“It doesn’t look that difficult.” I said.

A ledge ran along the wall to the right and seemed to continue all the way to the archway at the other end. It was narrow, but passable with care.

“Things are rarely as simple as they seem, but we usually have ourselves to blame for the complications.” She said.

The cavern faded away and was replaced with a tunnel. Before us were two tunnels, one leading up and the other leading down. There seemed to be light coming from the one leading up.

“It is here you will separate yourself from the others.” She said.

“Why would I do that?” I asked.

“Because down that way lies the Crystal.” She said.

“And up that way?” I asked.

“A way out if they are quick enough.” She said. “Look for the black rock in the shadows. When you find it, push it inward and it will set off a chain reaction of the tomb’s many traps.”

“Won’t they be a problem for me?” I asked.

“No, this will separate you from the rest of the tomb and open an escape route from beneath the tomb into the sea. Your companions will have only a few minutes to reach the upper exit and after that anyone still inside the tomb outside of these lower tunnels will be trapped forever.” She said.

“Sounds like my friends would be better off with me.” I said.

“The journey through this part of the tomb is designed for only one. Anyone coming with you would endanger both of your lives. They will have to make it to the exit in the allotted time. It is the only way.” She said.

“So there are more dangers on the way?” I asked.

“There are but I am confident you will find your way.” She said.

The tunnels faded into white before I could ask anymore questions. The girl was gone and I was all alone and then I was back on the trestle. The men who had restrained me were unfastening the binds and he was standing to the side, watching me. Once my hands were free I pushed myself up, much to the surprise of all the men present.

“You are indeed the one of our legends. I would not have believed it had I not seen for myself.” He said.

There were tears on my cheeks and the burning pain throughout my body was nearly debilitating. I stared at him with angry eyes and hoped he felt some fear at the thoughts he could no doubt read behind them. Had I any chance at all I would have ended him where he stood, but I rejoiced instead at the thought of leaving him interred forever in a dark tomb.