“We have to go out and find more people while Dravin has Ryanne?” I say. Natalie clears her throat. “And Liam?”
“They’re not going to try anything yet. Ryanne just proved that she’s stronger than he is. He’ll be a little weary around her. He needs to change his plan if he wants any chance of standing up to her. The only thing that worries me is this Zahtri mage,” Colin says.
“You’re really willing to risk their lives? What if we get more people and this Zahtri has already killed them? Then everything we’re about to do will be for nothing,” Natalie says.
“We have to stop Dravin and now apparently Zahtri. Ryanne’s not weak. She’s proven herself so many times. She may look small and fragile, but she’s not and you know that. She’s fully capable of defending herself, and you know Liam will do everything in his power to make sure she doesn’t get hurt. Ryanne knew what she was doing when she went with them. You have to trust her,” Tom tells us.
I hate it when he’s right.
Incendia turns toward me. “Colton, Ryanne’s a beast. She won’t take any crap from them anymore. We’ll be closer to getting her back if we rally more troops. Now, quit your pouting and man up.”
I can already see that Incendia’s going to be trouble. Colin claps his hands. “Let’s do this then.”
Chapter Twelve
I slam into the wall as the Gadramick who was guiding me throws me into yet another cell. “Esh, you don’t have to be so forceful. I already said I would go willingly,” I mumble. Liam is thrown into the same cell, so they obviously aren’t worried about us escaping.
When I hear the sound of the lock turning, I turn toward Liam. “You shouldn’t have volunteered to come, Liam. This isn’t the Hunger Games. We might not make it out of this,”
“Both Peeta and Katniss made it out of the Hunger Games,” Liam retorts.
“But we’re not book characters…or movie characters for that matter! I highly doubt you’ve read the books.”
“I’d rather suffer here with you than from miles away knowing that there is nothing I can do. I knew what I was…well not in its entirety, but for the most part, I knew what I was doing when I gave you that pendant. What’s going on here, Ryanne? Why didn’t you bother fighting? You could have taken them all.”
“Dravin’s not their leader. He doesn’t run the Gadramick’s. He’s taking orders from someone else,” I tell Liam as I sit down, back against the wall. I’d already undone our handcuffs. The metal is still on our wrists, but they aren’t connected anymore. “I had a vision. In the vision, I fought and everyone was killed. I watched everyone be killed by something…I didn’t see who or what it was, but I couldn’t risk it.”
Liam sits down next to me and rests his head against the wall, “Dravin’s just a figurehead?”
“Yep, he’s basically the queen of the Gadramicks.”
“I resent that,” Dravin says as he storms into our cell. I remain seated and just stare up at him. “Just because you know our little secret doesn’t mean anything.”
“It doesn’t?” I ask him.
“No, because your little posse doesn’t know about him. How can they defend themselves against something they don’t know about?”
“You said you’d leave them alone.”
“I’ll leave them undisturbed for now, but you didn’t give a time span to follow. When the time is right, I will lead an attack. Your group has caused too much trouble for me lately. They need to be taught a lesson.”
I stand up and glare at him. “I swear to you Dravin. If I find out that you attacked them, I won’t hesitate to fight back. I can see it in your eyes. You’re scared of me now. You know I’m more powerful than you, but you don’t want your men to see it. You still need them to follow you. What are they going to do when they find out it’s not even you they’re working for? Hmm? That you’ve been lying to them this whole time?”
“Do you think they’ll honestly care that it’s not me in charge? Do you think they’ll change their minds? They’re still fighting for the same goals. Nothing has changed except for who is calling all the shots.”
“I don’t know what’ll happen, but we can easily find out. Is that part of his plan?”
You stubborn, annoying…I tune out his thoughts when the cursing starts. I smile at him because I know I’m right. An image of him punching me is projected in my mind. I drop to the ground right as he swings his fist out. Liam jumps in front of me before Dravin can attempt to attack again.