Chp.28: Don't dare

Rhaegal was furious. Disappointed, but mostly furious. He just didn't know whether to be angry with the king, with Black Vulture, with all his captors or even just with himself.

He had really been convinced that the plan would work, and indeed it had. The problem was that the place where the plan was implemented was wrong. His siblings had been able to completely clear every obstacle in their path and reach the chamber where he was being held... but he wasn't in there. It had been moved a long time ago and he had never noticed. How could he call himself a dragon, the creature with the best senses in nature, if he hadn't even been able to notice that one room was different from another?

It hadn't been his fault, he knew that well. The king had chosen well where to lock him up: the shape of the room was always the same, the walls were always made of the same material, the door was identical, and even the air was not too different, even if Rhaegal had noticed that sometimes it had tiny differences. That underground labyrinth had been created to deceive and its builders must have been real geniuses. Still, Rhaegal couldn't get the thought out of his mind that perhaps he might have detected the deception somehow. A small crack in a wall, a little more dust, a different smell. The clues were there... but he hadn't caught them. Probably because focusing on the situation he was in wasn't exactly easy.

He tried to console himself. After all, even if he had discovered the cheating, it would be unlikely that anything would have changed: since he was drugged when he was moved and could not provide clues as to where he was going, his siblings would have returned to their starting point, the one where they would have had no idea of where to look. Therefore, it was likely that he would remain a prisoner anyway and that Haku would eventually be forced to come to terms... but at least his siblings would be spared that humiliation. Instead, it had gone in that very unhappy way. And even though Haku had assured him that he and their sisters had found a way to deceive the king during the negotiations and thus not lose too many benefits, Rhaegal knew that they still had to hand over some of the means that gave them the advantage. In practice, even if it would have been a minor defeat and completely postponed, it would always have remained a defeat. And that was without, of course, mentioning the wounds inflicted on their pride, which as a dragon's pride was particularly strong.

"The king had a good laugh when a scout told him what happened last night" Black Vulture told him as she peeled off one of his scale. "Your brother isn't as smart as they say, mh?"

Rhaegal grit his teeth. The tool Black Vulture was using was a razor blade that thrust under the scales cutting into the skin, and then with one swift motion thrust up and ripped it off. Even though the dragons had very thick skin and few superficial nerves, it was still a very painful operation for Rhaegal. But what made the dragon growl wasn't so much the pain, since he still had good resistance, but more the way Black Vulture had been taunting him for over half an hour. He knew that the woman's was a psychological technique aimed at breaking him down, but no matter how hard he tried he couldn't remain calm at those words.

Black Vulture peeled off another scale. "Sure, your brother is very good at tracking, I have to give him that". She tore off another. "But even a bloodhound could do it. Otherwise, he's not that smart". Yet another. "Basically, your brother is on the level of any dog!"

Rhaegal let out a hiss. "Don't you dare to talk about my brother like that" he growled in a voice so menacing that it would have made even the bravest blood freeze, and in fact even Black Vulture herself seemed to have a moment of uncertainty and the dragon could easily notice the trembling of her hands.

To Rhaegal, an offense to any family member was an offense directed at him. No, it was even worse. Family was the most precious thing Rhaegal possessed, and none could dare insult any of his brothers or sisters. He didn't care what people said about him, but he refused to let anyone badmouth his siblings. If he hadn't been tied up, he would have already grabbed Black Vulture by the face and torned her apart.

Black Vulture was silent for a second. If she had been any other human being, she wouldn't even have dared breathe a word after receiving such a threat. Though Rhaegal's words to her were simple, his tone was extremely intimidating. But she was a trained hitman and even if she was intimidated she wouldn't stop her work. "You know, the funny part is that you knew about all this. I told you that three times during our conversations. Too bad you couldn't remember it"

This fueled Rhaegal's anger at himself even more. If only he'd had the idea of ​​writing the messages on his palate sooner! He could have warned Haku about that scam if only he'd been a little smarter. Why had he had that idea only after several days!? It was so obvious, if you can't remember, then write! Since he couldn't use an avatar when being tortured, since if the main body was damaged his consciousness was immediately called back, then he would have to make sure he could remember something after the torture was over! It was so damn simple, how hadn't he thought of it right away!?

Black Vulture noticed that the dragon, even if it was visibly offended and angry, still hadn't reacted. He did it very often, reacting very little to her provocations, probably because he knew that by doing so he risked revealing something without meaning to. "It's funny, you know? I can tease you all I want and the most I get from you is a killer gaze, but as soon as I mention your brother you snap like a spring" she said in a teasing tone. "Is family so important to you? What kind of brainwashing did your brother do to convince you that the bond between you two is real?"

Those words lit a flame in Rhaegal's eyes. "Haku didn't do anything. The bond between us is real, believe it or not"

"Bullshit. Dragons have no bonds. They have no friends, no allies, no minions, and no family" Black Vulture said. "Your brother is just using you. He has convinced you that there is a real bond, a real family, but that is obviously not true. He will keep you with him as long as you are of any use to him, and then he will throw you away, just like he did." threw away all your brothers and sisters"

Black Vulture obviously didn't know that what he was saying was wrong: Haku had never left anyone behind and had never wanted to abandon anyone. He had almost died to protect the family. Rhaegal knew he couldn't yell these things at the assassin, but the rage in his heart was too much to ignore. "Don't talk like you know my brother. You don't know anything"

"Anything? Foolish boy. I know enough of your filthy species to know what you do for a living" Black Vulture replied thrusting his tool deeper into Rhaegal's skin. "You dragons have no feelings, you have no empathy, you have no morals. Don't hesitate to eat even members of your own family. I bet your brother ate your brothers and sisters while you looked the other way... or maybe you did too? How many of them did you kill, hmm?"

"Not even one" was Rhaegal's growling response.

"Oh, so you just abandoned them? Very good. After all, there's a big difference between killing someone and just letting them die, isn't there?" Black Vulture continued ruthlessly, sinking the blade deeper and deeper into the dragon's skin. By now it was reaching the most nerve-rich parts and the pain was therefore rapidly increasing. "Did you at least make sure they were dead, before you walked away and forgot about them? Or did you at least bury their bodies? No, you abandoned them and left them to rot. You are nothing but beasts"

Rhaegal was increasingly tempted to scream the truth at her, but he held back. He shouldn't give in, he couldn't give in. But the sharp object that was penetrating his flesh caused him great pain and prevented him from thinking of a sensible reply. "They died because of our parents. They abandoned them, they killed them" he said, inventing the first plausible excuse that came to mind.

Black Vulture let out a cry of disgust, and then she yanked the razor blade out of his flesh, ripping off a large chunk and staining the floor with blood. "Do you have any idea how long I've been in this job? I've heard this excuse countless times. It's the parents' fault, it's life's fault, it's destiny's fault, it's bad luck's fault… everyone hides behind similar lies to avoid facing their guilt. Pathetic. Deep down, you know you're responsible for their deaths. You know you're a monster. And you know your brother is an even worse monster than you, and he won't hesitate to kill you no matter what as soon as he gets the chance..."

Those words triggered something inside Rhaegal. Suddenly a spark lit up his eyes and his whole body shook with a tremor. "Don't you dare say another word"

Black Vulture had experienced many sensations throughout her life as an assassin, but none of them were comparable to what she felt at that precise moment. Not only her blood, but every limb of her body froze, preventing her from moving even a finger. It seemed to her that she had just been hit by a gust of icy wind. Her hands, though red from the blood that had dripped onto them, turned the same color as the flour, and surely her face was even paler under her mask. The temperature in the room seemed to drop at least fifteen degrees. Her survival instinct kicked in like never before and it yelled at her to run, run away and hide in a hole like she was a scare rabbit. She knew it was illogical, the dragon was immobilized, but she couldn't stop feeling that ancestral fear, as if a traumatic memory had just awakened inside her.

"I don't care what you do to me, or what you tell me. I don't give a shit about this bullshit" Rhaegal growled in a voice that sounded like death itself. His eyes were so murderous that they seemed capable of reducing anything they saw to ashes. "But don't say a word about my family again. If I hear you say even one syllable about it again, I swear that I will DESTROY you!"

The way he said the word 'destroy' made Black Vulture's heart skip a beat. Finally, her body seemed to regain mobility, but still she was unable to speak for a while longer. But despite this, without Rhaegal being able to see it, a slight smile formed under her mask. "Yeah... I see. Alright, I won't do it again" she replied, and though her tone was very light due to her lack of voice, it was still extremely determined.

Suddenly someone knocked on the door. Not only was Rhaegal surprised, as normally no one ever enters the room, but Black Vulture was also taken aback. "What happens?"

"Um… ma'am, a priest of the temple is here. He says he wants to enter" answered the voice of a guard. And without even waiting for the assassin's response, the door swung open revealing a rather tall human dressed in very flamboyant clothes.

Black Vulture said nothing about the intrusion; on the contrary, he made a half bow to the priest. "Noble servant of the God of Knowledge, I humbly..."

"No greetings needed. I'll just be here for a few minutes" the man said. "Please come out, miss. I have to talk to the dragon. In private"

And to Rhaegal's surprise, the Black Vulture nodded and ran out, motioning for the guards to close the door behind her. He didn't remember seeing that woman so submissive to anyone even when the king had been there. Who was that man to arouse so much respect towards him, to the point that even trained soldiers and assassins followed his orders without even asking for an explanation?

He would know soon. Now only he and the priest were left in the room.