Chapter 66 Sixty-Six
"Did you miss me?" Rebecca asked, cackling as she entered the house.
Behind Rebecca, Danica could see four more harpies and two trolls waiting for commands; from the looks of it, there was no way that she would be able to escape.
"Why are you here?" Danica asked, feeling her heart begin to hammer within her chest.
"I don't think I really owe you any explanation." Rebecca responded. "Plus, what good does an explanation do a dead woman anyway?"
"Did I do something to offend you?" Danica asked while slowly peeking around to see if there was anything available to use as a weapon.
Smirking, Rebecca stopped moving. "Did you do anything to offend me? No, not really; however, your whore of a mother did something to offend our queen."
Taken aback Danica tried to process what had just come out of Rebecca's mouth. How could her mother have possibly offended the harpies?
As this thought hit, the image of her mother dead in a harpies arms rushed into her mind. Had that been the harpie queen that Rebecca was referring to?
"What did my mother do?" Danica asked, trying to keep her voice calm.
"I'll tell you all about it later." Rebecca promised as she lifted a hand and began to motion for her lackies to move forward. "For now, you're going to come with me."
Danica turned to try to make a run for it, just as the four harpies and two trolls that had accompanied Rebecca began to move forward. She had just enough time to reach the back door before she felt pressure slamming into the back of her neck, sending her world into darkness.
The sound of chains rattling and mice squeaking drifted in and out of Danica's consciousness. The air around her felt ice cold, and the vague scent of earth could be smelled.
Prying her eyes open, Danica took in the two harpies that had hold of either of her arms, easily dragging her down a long hallway that was dully lit by wall sconces that were set ablaze. The walls themselves seemed to be made of earth, similar to the walls of the hall that she and Mason had to go down to get to the elders when she had first met him.
"You awake?" One of the harpies laughed, seeming to notice Danica examining the area. "Good, it wouldn't be fun if you weren't awake for your punishment by the queen."
"Queen..." Danica husked, realizing that her throat was sore and parched.
Thinking about it, she realized that her whole body was thrumming with pain, like something was coursing within her system.
"What is this?"
"Wolfs bane." The harpie cackled. "Not harmful to normal creatures, but to wolves, it is a pretty good means of torture."
Wracking her brain, Danica tried to remember if Mason had ever mentioned wolfs bane to her. As far as she knew, he hadn't, even though it seemed to be valuable information.
"Here we are." The other harpie chirped as they reached a long corridor with a bright light at the end. "Let's go."
"Seems the queen and her audience are already waiting."
Quickening their pace, the two harpies pulled Danica along towards the well-lit room where the queen and her people were waiting. Again, she tried to determine why the harpies would have an issue with her and her mother, but with her parents early deaths, there was no way of ever truly figuring it out.
Danica had to squint as too bright light assaulted her vision as they reached a large room with prestine white walls and floors. On either side of the room sat wooden chairs that were occupied by harpies and trolls. They all looked on expectantly as the two harpies that were escorting Danica continued to move forward.
Painted on the ceiling above was a blue sky with soft white clouds that seemed to be moving as if they were real. A chandelier hung from the center of the ceiling with floating orbs of light surrounding it. The whole place screamed lush and lavish, something that would be expected from harpies.
Just ahead, sitting on a large throne made of jewels and gold, sat a woman that Danica recognized instantly. The woman watched her with a blank expression as her lackies threw Danica on the ground in front of her.
"Thank you." The harpie queen said as the two harpies hurriedly scurried away.
Lifting her head, Danica fixed her gaze on the woman's golden one, a color that was similar to her own.
"You've grown so much." The harpie queen mused while she examined Danica as if she were some type of odd creature.
"Should I thank you for allowing me this privilege?" Danica snapped, feeling rage build within her at the sight of the woman who carried her mother's dead body.
"Oh, you have courage."
"What do you want with me?"
Smiling, the harpie queen stood up, stretching her massive wings, which were a vivid redish orange similar to that of a sunset.
"What do I want?" She asked, kneeling down right in front of Danica and grabbing her chin. "Of course I want to do away with that whore's daughter."
"Go ahead," Danica challenged.
Around them Danica could hear the harpies and trolls in the audience murmuring amongst themselves. Whatever they were discussing seemed to really excited them as the murmurs grew louder and louder until they became a deafening echo around the room.
"SILENCE!" The harpie queen bellowed, causing all noise to cease. "I wonder... should I torture you before I kill you?"
Torture? The word sent chills running down Danica's spine as she tried to imagine what exactly the harpie queen would do. As the wolfs bane within her system was beginning to take effect, she could feel little pricks against her skin like a thousand tiny needles were piercing her.
"I see from your expression that the wolfs bane is beginning to do its job." The woman smirked as she let go of Danica and began making her way back to her throne. "Maybe I could allow you to suffer from this for now; the longer it is in your system, the more agonizing the pain. Shall we watch?" She asked, looking around the room.
Roars of agreement began to ring out as the entire audience craved to see Danica in agonizing pain. Feeling the wolfs bane effects intensifying, Danica bit her lip, refusing to give them what they wanted as the pain began to become unbearable and her world once again faded.