Betrayal

Cyre stared ahead into the inky blackness of the large cave ahead of her. Nothing moved in the black hole she looked into. She moved closer to Iottas, wondering if they would make it out alive.

“Cyre, I’ll go in first.”

“No, you won’t.”

“Cyre,” Iottas said gently, removing her firm grip on his arm. She shook her head; sending red curls glinted in gold all over the place. “I don’t want you to die when it isn’t your time. You’re not supposed to die now. You need to defeat Fixico.”

“But what if I don’t want to? I never wanted any of this!” Cyre’s last shouted words echoed in the cave, bouncing off the walls and even causing some of the stalactites to fall. They shattered on the hard stone floor, sending pieces flying and skidding everywhere.

Iottas hugged Cyre close. “I know you didn’t. I didn’t either. But I want to protect you. Listen to me.” He looked into her bright green eyes. They sparkled with tears. “Stay here. I’ll be back in a second.” He leaned down and kissed her on the lips. She kissed back, but it was over almost as soon as it began. Iottas turned and walked into the cave, the darkness swallowing him as a snake would swallow a mouse.
Cyre sat down on a stump outside the cave’s mouth to wait. She sat. And sat and sat and sat. Thoughts flitted through her mind. What happened if Iottas doesn’t come out and I am jut left waiting here? There was no answer to that. She was scaring herself out of her wits, imagining a huge monster coming out of the cave to have her for desert after eating Iottas as the main course. Worried sick, Cyre tried to clear all the bad thoughts from her mind as she looked at her surroundings. A mint plant grew next to the stump. Cyre picked three leaves and held to her nose. The sharp scent cleared her nose, but not so much her mind. She put them in her mouth and chewed them slowly, staring into space.
Yells ricocheted off the walls as suddenly as a dog barking, jerking Cyre back to reality. She sprang to her feet.

“Oh, god,” Cyre whispered to herself as she sprinted into the cave after Iottas. Her feet pounded the stone floor. She was being more careless than usual. Normally, she would sprint silently, the soles of her leather boots landing soundlessly on the ground.
“Iottas!” The word left her lips before she could stop it. Cyre knew that the her voice would cause more stalactites to fall; it was the same effect as when Iottas had yelled and he had caused an avalanche. She ducked under a rocky outcrop on the bottom of the edge of the cave. A stalactite landed where she would have been a millisecond before. As she ran further into the cave, Cyre noticed the yells had stopped.

Skidding to a halt, Cyre glanced around nervously. She should have reached the back of the cave. Where the hell is he? If he wants me to save his pathetic hide, he should yell! Suspicion filled her mind, but it was immediately fought back by worry and urgency.

The net landed on her without a warning, not even a sound. The harsh and rough ropes pulled her back up again, scratching her skin mercilessly, and she struggled to remain upright. Harsh laughter sounded all around her, magnified by the largeness of the cave. Cyre looked down, expecting to see Fixico. What she actually saw stung her as if she had been slapped, no, punched, in the face.

Iottas stared up at her, a cruel smile etched on his face. She could not believe it. This isn’t happening. No, she refused to believe it. I am still asleep, in the forest, with Iottas lying beside me. I am dreaming. But the more she tried to convince herself of this, the more she knew it wasn’t true. Iottas had betrayed me. Iottas had betrayed me. Iottas had betrayed me. The words rang in her head over and over again.

“I had you eating out my hand. You trusted me. And that was just what I needed.”

“Don’t talk me. Traitor.” Cyre’s voice was icy cold and her words were sharp. Iottas ignored the words.

“Lower her, Iheli. Make it fast.” There was something new in Iottas’ voice, something horrible. It made his voice sound like nails on a chalkboard to Cyre.

In obedience, Iheli, the large person behind the crank, let it go. Cyre fell and landed in a painful heap on the stone ground. Iottas came quickly to where she lay and released the sword that was buckled to her side. Iottas winked at her, and Cyre was confused. Is he being a triple agent or something? Or is he just playing with me?
Iheli picked her up off the ground and dragged even farther back into the cave. It was musty and damp, as if a mist hung in the air. Cyre wasn’t entirely sure what to call wherever she was, because it couldn’t be cave. It was impossible to have a cave this big. It was very faintly lit, so that Cyre could only see the blurry shadows of the stalagmites growing on the ground.
A sudden light blinded her eyes. They adjusted to the light when she blinked and looked around. It was an enormous room, full of rows of prison cells. This must be where all the kidnapped people are being kept, Cyre thought.
She was right. Faces, pale from not seeing the sun, peeked out from behind the bars. The bars rushed past her face as she was dragged like a sack of potatoes down on of the halls. The smell of rotten human feces, probably days or at least a week old, lingered in the room. Cyre had trouble keeping from vomiting. Only one cell door was empty. Cyre was tossed in and she lay there, groaning from the various bruises she had collected in a time span of a few minutes.
This isn’t happening. This is just a dream. Iottas hasn’t betrayed me. He hasn’t. He would never do this to me. Never. I trust him. He’s my best friend. How could he? Cyre was confused and afraid. Tears ran down her face, no matter how much she willed them to go away. They dried on her face, because Cyre felt empty. Too drained of energy to even lift up a hand to wipe them away. Blackness stole over her, and sleep covered her like a blanket.