Chapter 24

In a few hours of distress, Killan soon arrived with a group of people and took Castiel and Ethan away. Leaving Zephyr in the room, he was alone once again. No one was left in the building; the healers had finished their jobs and were dismissed from their duties for that day.

Zephyr sat in the dark, waiting for the person who would escort him to their leader. Weirdly, he felt tensed and nervous as if something bad was going to happen. His body twitched, his heartbeat was unsteady while a sharp pain struck him in the head like a arrow. He was in total shambles.

The gut instincts that warned Zephyr was persistent. It attacked him in every way that'll possibly force him stand and run away from the underground. However, where would he run to?

Creaks echoed from the floor below while the soles of shoes rubbed onto the floor, creating an unpleasant sound. It made the situation even more prickly than it already was. Soon, a patch of bright platinum blond hair peeked above the staircase.

A tall man with kind gold eyes that glowed in the dark made himself known to Zephyr. "I'm Enzo. I'm sure you know what I am here for." He did a slow fanning gesture with his fingers and made his way down the staircase again, now looking behind to see if Zephyr was following at all.

Zephyr pushed himself off the bed and glanced at the desk and spotted a valuable item that could be of help to him later. He quickly dashed towards it and swiped it off the desk and stuffed the item in his pocket. He turned to the staircase and started speed walking.

After what seems like a few miles, they both arrived at a dirt wall. There was particularly nothing spectacular about it but Enzo paused and felt against the wall and traced his fingers towards the large oak tree. He showed a slight smile before small click sounds could be heard beneath the ground.

"Careful. Watch your steps or you might fall to hell." Enzo said, sounding like he was trying to crack a joke but his sense of humour was rather unsuitable for Zephyr who was on the edge.

The continuous clicking sound got louder before a soft beep could be heard. The floors seemed to open up, revealing a silver coloured trap door buried deep into the dirt. Within the dirt, components of multiple mechanics could be seen. Wires, metals and some questionable objects that Zephyr couldn't make out in the dark.

"The floor here is fake. " Enzo said when he saw Zephyr's confused face. He bended down to the trapdoor and placed his hand on a small black glass right in the corner, if not looked closely, it would've been missed. He murmured a few words and the glass lit up in a green colour and the trap door opened up.

"Let's go." Enzo pulled back his hand from the gadget and glanced at Zephyr to make sure he enters first, just in case of an event where the boy runs away with a tail between his legs like a coward.

Zephyr carefully hovered his legs into the opened tunnel the trapdoor revealed and felt his shoes hitting a piece of wood. He hopped onto the ledges of wood and climbed down the ladder. It was a completely different place where he had entered the base of the leader before, but the entry seems to be made of the same components.

He swiftly climbed down and soon felt his leg hitting a solid floor. He hopped off the ladder and waited for Enzo to guide him further. Cause all he could see right now was small shiny specks of metal nails on the wall.

Enzo made his way down and reached out his hand in an attempt to find Zephyr. He didn't have to even walk one step before his hand hit a piece of fabric. He grabbed onto the kid's arm and pulled him, manoeuvring his way through the tunnels with ease even though there were so many options.

Suddenly, an orange light could be seen reflected on the metal floors. The light was wavering as if it was emitted from a candle. It was the exact same place as before, no doubt about it.

Enzo pulled Zephyr in and stride with his back straight and footsteps as silent as he could manage. He stopped and knelt down, Zephyr coming down with him. They both fell on their knees.

"My liege, I've brought the subject you wanted." Enzo respectfully stated, he dare not lift his head if he valued his life.

"You've done well. Leave now." The voice in front echoed.

"Blessings and honour upon the core of Thanatos. May this humble subject be graced with your presence forever, until the end of his days." Enzo bowed even lower and courteously said his goodbyes and left the room.

Once Enzo left, Draven stood up from his seat and walked over to Zephyr who sat in the middle of the room obediently.

"Scared? Petrified? Or are you plotting something beneath that skin of yours?" Draven asked, almost as if he was ridiculing the boy.

Zephyr gritted his teeth and looked up from the ground, a familiar face stood above him. Half of the person's face was covered with a white mask with black broken wings plastered on it. Only one side of the person's facial features were possible to be seen. A unique eye colour mixed with red and orange that resembled the gates of hell. Skin as pale as the snow. He looked like a vampire.

Bewildered, Zephyr let out a small chuckle. "Seeing how I recognise your foul face, it turns out you weren't lying when you said you knew who I was."

Draven suddenly lashed out his hand and roughly grabbed the boy's hair and tilting his head upwards. "Better watch your mouth or my foul face will be the last thing you'll ever see."

"It'll be an honour, really." Zephyr joked. While his face adorned a small smirk, his mind was clouded with fear however.

Draven let go of Zephyr's hair and backed off a few steps. "You'll work for me, won't you? I want you to take the place of Killan in a few years time. Having a person like you by my side would definitely be reassuring. One command from me and you'll even be able to wipe out a whole army. Your loyalty is unmeasured and so are your skills. You don't lack anything that can't be polished. You're perfect for my right hand man."

"You have too high expectations thinking I'll work for you." Zephyr bluntly said. He felt like his heart was beating as loud as the roars of a motorbike. He was undeniably scared. He had never met someone who radiated such an intense aura before. It was unusual.

"What if I were to torture those two friends of yours? Would you concede defeat?" Draven was serious. His eyes bloomed with intensity, while bloodlust leaked out of him like a waterfall.

Zephyr bit his tongue trying to mutter out the words he wanted to say. "You can kill them for all I care." He coldly stated. The fire of the candles flickered and extinguished itself in an instant.

Draven looked shocked and formed his hand into a fist, holding back his anger. It was like his hands were like pieces of rubber that he was pulling, the longer he held it into a fist, the stronger the energy released would be. If he released it now, would he break the bones of the boy? Would that teach him a fruitful lesson to obey him?

"Guess I have no choice but to take you by force. I don't plan to make you work or train under anyone else. You're mine to polish." The moment he had finished his sentence, he put up his hand and formed a weird pattern with it.

A large piece of metal fell onto the ground, clanging with the brick floor. The sound it made was deafening, enough to obliterate a normal person's eardrum. Pieces of the floor broke while dust flew in every direction. A cage dropped from the ceiling.

Zephyr looked at the metal bars in front of him and immediately reached out his hands in a futile attempt to life it up. It was heavy. Even the floor beneath the broken brick revealed to be connected to the cage. It was shut tight.

"Die." Zephyr said, using his power but nothing happened to the man. Suddenly, a piercing pain shot him in the chest. It was excruciating, he felt like he was hanging on by a thin thread.

"It's constructed with my subject's powers. The stronger the power you release in those bars, the harder it'll reflect back to you. The damage reflected is decreased like I ordered. If I hadn't done so, you would be dead by now. Tragic, ain't it?" Draven sneered and curled his lips. Finding the situation awfully entertaining. There was no way he was going to leave the room without capturing his prey.

Zephyr was trapped. The cage was made of a strange particular metal that couldn't be broken no matter how much force he applied. Without being able to use his power or get close in on the person, he was left stranded with no options to escape or defend himself. Just like a bird locked inside a cage with it's wings clipped. The freedom he craved so much for was taken away from him so easily.