17. Maya #2
“I do,” the man responded indifferently, his French accent rolling over my ears. When he had stormed off after I’d gotten mad about Bella, he’d been cursing in French, so it only made sense. Mr. I Put Kittens In Danger—that should be his freakin’ name.
No. I needed something easier than that.
“Why?” Malcolm bit out.
The man stepped further from the shadows, and my eyes widened to find smoky black wings spread behind him, his power running across the cement floors.
I drew my foot back when it ran across my skin, making me nervous.
If he noticed, he didn’t say anything, instead continuing his path to the table.
My eyes darted to his wrists that were covered in those black bracelets, currently sparking with red magic.
“The Master wants her kept safe and unharmed. You’ve already made her bleed, so you can understand my concern, I’m sure.
” His voice was fluid and sharp. “You wanted to talk to her, here she is. You do not touch her again until he tells you so. After tomorrow…” He hesitated and shrugged. “Well, who knows then.”
That did not sound good at all.
“Why is she so special to him?” Malcolm bit out.
“You know so little about him,” Mr. I Put Kittens In Danger stated coolly. “Why do you think he had us wait until she bonded with all her mates, witch?”
Malcolm seemed unsure. “He has hundreds of others. I don’t know why this matters. So she is from a line of?—”
“I didn’t realize you had other phoenixes and dragons…
I thought I was the only one.” My voice echoed through the space, interrupting them and pulling their attention because I really didn’t like them talking about me.
Mr. I Put Kittens In Danger moved to the other side of the room, as if my voice had somehow caused him physical harm.
Malcolm chuckled. “No, girl, you are one of many. Both back home, and especially here in the temple of fire. I suppose I shouldn’t be all that surprised… Your magic was so strong, even from a young age, that I knew you were something special.”
But did he know who I really was? Did he know how powerful I had the potential to be? That I was the daughter of the Queen of the Dreki realm? I mean, if they knew about the mating thing…maybe they knew I was a Blue Phoenix. He had seen me shift, after all.
“Why?”
“The Master’s reasoning is not your concern,” Mr. I Put Kittens In Danger bit out.
“She deserves to know.” Malcolm seemed to enjoy his discomfort.
“Why don’t you tell her, demon, why the others are here, why your Master keeps all these other phoenixes and dragons around.
Surely you aren’t ashamed of it? I mean, how many years has he had you?
Hundreds? Thousands? I am positive you are used to it by now. ”
Silence greeted him. I could practically feel the tension.
“No?” He chuckled. “Well Maya, the others here are for breeding purposes.”
“Breeding?” I could feel the vomit building.
“Yes. This is one of many reasons that you would have been far safer with me back in Louisiana…” He sighed and shook his head.
“Sure, I needed your magic, but I would have allowed you to stay alone in that basement without interruption. Now, though, you are trapped here and under a Master who has been capturing phoenixes and dragons for years to create more. Create more and more, so many more, all for the means to have more power. Isn’t that right, demon? ”
I met the gaze of Mr. I Put Kittens In Danger, and besides the cool mask he was trying to put on, I could feel the pain radiating from him.
I realized with a start that he hated this, all of this, and my eyes moved down to the cuffs.
Hadn’t Malcolm just said he was stuck here?
Maybe he would want to help us escape, then.
He could come with me, and I would forgive him for putting Bella in danger.
Maybe.
“Sometimes they take children away from their families and force them to stay here only for the purpose of procreating once older. Isn’t that horrible?” Malcolm’s voice was almost sad. “At least I saved you when you were shot down from the sky.”
What? I tried to turn to look at him, but he kicked my chair so that I was further turned away from him, causing me to wince.
“What happens after they mate?” I asked, feeling a sense of fury build up inside of my chest, thinking about the little ones in the cages back in the other room.
“Apparently they move them to a new place with whoever their designated mate becomes.” He shrugged. “Then once the children are weaned, they put them in cages so their parents will continue to behave and breed. You can understand just how the ‘Master’ of this place has become so powerful, right?”
Understatement. This entire place seemed to be set up to drain magic and power…
“Why am I here?” I directed my attention to Mr. I Put Kittens In Danger.
“You are a Blue Phoenix,” he responded quietly, making me realize they were well aware of who I was, his eyes flashing with something dark.
“One that just completed the mate bonds. The Master wants to siphon the energy that comes off of you once you go into heat and then also make sure that you produce a child so that you will do it next time as well. The chances for success are better the more children you have.”
I blinked and exhaled slowly. “He wants me to produce a child with my mates?”
Never in this place. Absolutely never.
“No, he wants you to go through heat with one of them.” He clenched his jaw. “And he plans to join. He wants to have his own line of phoenixes and dragons.”
“He’s a dragon?” I ignored the tears welling in my eyes as he snapped his head away, seemingly in pain over my question.
“Something like that.”
“So you need to choose one of your mates,” Malcolm explained happily. “The rest will be terminated, of course.”
I felt numb with fear. “Terminated?”
“Oh, of course. It would be dumb to just let six adult male dragons stay here in captivity,” Malcolm bit out, and I felt like it was directed toward Mr. I Put Kittens In Danger. “Besides, they are already mated, so they are useless for breeding anymore.”
Oh.
“Are you done?” Demon—that was a bit easier than Mr. I Put Kittens In Danger, and considering he seemed to condone all of this, was far more fitting—asked Pastor Malcolm.
“For now,” he said happily and walked towards the door with my blood. “You will take care of her, won’t you? After all, it’s your Master who wants her safe.”
The door slammed shut, leaving me with Demon.