Kidnapped

Jay sat chained to the back of the cave, looking forlornly around. Not that he was really able to see much, as the bird had left him without any light. But he could tell that it wasn’t a particularly large cave. There were two passages that led outside of the cave, the large one that the bird had flown out of, and a smaller one, hidden just to the right of where he sat. The only reason he knew about the hidden passage was from the draft that was coming from it.

His thoughts turned once again to how he had gotten himself into this mess. He had been stuck in that room with the soul of Elara, listening to the crazy woman with the knife talking to two possibly crazier people, when suddenly, he was standing in front of his house. He had started to walk up to the door, when the largest raven he had ever seen swooped out of the sky and snatched him up. They had flown for a long time, when suddenly the raven deposited him here.

The raven had then changed into a tall, lean, dark haired man, who had looked him over carefully, before scowling. "You have the stink of Spacelord powers all over you, but you’re not who I’m after!"

"What are you talking about? What do you mean ‘Spacelord powers?’" Jay asked, shrinking back from the man.

"I thought you were the old Starlord’s child. The one who’s been missing all these years. The one the new Spacelord just freed." The man spat. "But no, I can tell already. The stink’s fading."

The man chained him to the cave wall anyway, then changed back into the large bird. Cawing once, a low, evil sound, he launched himself into the air and was gone.

And so Jay had been left alone. He tried to loosen the chains from the wall, but they remained firm. When he stopped to examine how they were attached to the cave wall, he discovered that they were newly fixed in place; there wasn’t a trace of rust on any of the metal. And from the look of them, whoever had fixed them to the wall really knew what they were doing; Jay would need more than his own strength to break free of them.

His muscles gradually stiffened up, so he fidgeted in an effort to relieve the cramps. At least the fidgeting gave him something to do. Jay had never been this bored in his life. So he sat, trying in vain to amuse himself, waiting for the bird man to come back.

Jay had just finished singing his favourite song for about the fiftieth time when he heard a triumphant cawing gradually getting closer. The raven reappeared, depositing another form into the cave. The form struggled to its feet. Jay had yet another shock: the form turned out to be Elara. She looked around wildly as the bird man changed back to his human form.

"Where have you taken me?" she demanded. "What do you want?"

The bird man looked her up and down, before smiling in triumph. "Yes, you are the old Starlord’s daughter! He’ll come for you!" He said, grabbing her by the wrist and chaining her next to Jay. Then he turned back into a bird and flew away once again. His caws echoed after him like cruel laughter.

After a few moments the echoes died away. "Well, he seems happier with you than he was with me," Jay said into the silence.

Elara gasped, spinning around. "I recognize you! You’re the last person I remember from the witch’s place!"

"I’m Jay," Jay tried to hold out his hand, but couldn’t reach her. He gave up with a shrug. "I know who you are. You were the witch’s slave."

"Yes. I’m Elara." She glanced around the cave. "How long have you been here?"

"A couple of hours. I’m not entirely sure." He watched as Elara tried testing the chains that were holding her. "I already tried breaking free. Whoever put these here sure knew what they were doing; I think we’re thoroughly trapped."

An uncomfortable silence followed his last remark. Jay couldn’t think of anything else to say to the dark haired beauty. Or at least nothing intelligent.

"So what do you think that bird man wants with us?" she finally asked, breaking the silence.