Lucian woke up, barely able to see in the darkness.
His throat burned, dry and raw, and his sides ached with every breath he took. The air was thick with the smell of rotten fish and ammonia, enough to make him vomit. For a moment, he couldn't tell if he was awake or dreaming.
Crying and shouting echoed from every direction.
"Woah!" "Help!" "I wanna go home!"
His head swam as he tried to move, to push himself upright, but his body didn't respond the way he expected it to. It felt weak. Heavy. Like it wasn't fully his anymore.
Something brushed against his chest.
Then arms tightened around him.
A small body clutched him hard, shaking as quiet sobs soaked into his clothes.
"Wh... who?" he croaked. His voice was rough and cracked, each word scraping his throat like broken glass.
The person against him stiffened.
"Lu-Lucian?" the voice sobbed. "I thought you were dead."
She broke down completely, crying louder as she clung to him, fingers digging into his chest like she was afraid he would vanish again.
He blinked slowly, his eyes struggling to adjust to the dim light. Shapes swam in front of him at first, then settled.
Lizzy.
Her face was pale and streaked with dried tears. Her eyes were red and swollen, wide with fear. Her hair was tangled, and her hands trembled so badly he could feel it through the thin fabric between them.
"I'm... okay," he whispered, though he didn't feel it. He reached up and gently patted her back, trying to soothe her.
He looked around. They were inside an iron cage. Thick bars surrounded them on all sides, cold and unforgiving. The wooden floor beneath was wet and rocked gently, like it was floating on water. A single torch flickered on a nearby wall, its weak flame casting long, shifting shadows across the space.
A ship.
In the flickering light, he saw other cages too. Rows of them, filling the cargo hold. Some held children. Others held adults. Some people cried quietly. Others stared ahead without moving, their eyes empty, like they'd already given up.
The whole place felt cold and hopeless.
He shifted and reached into his coat, looking for the pocketknife.
Something was off.
His fingers touched fabric, but it felt wrong. Loose. Too thin.
He looked down.
The clothes he was wearing weren't his. The coat was gone, replaced by loose fabric that felt damp against his skin.
As he moved, his hand brushed along his side.
A cloth was wrapped tight around his arm and across his body.
Bandages?
He froze.
"Wait, wh-what day is it?" he asked, his voice rough and low.
"I don't know," Lizzy whispered, still clinging to him.
"It's been three days," a man's voice said from the next cage. "Three days since we were shipped."
Lucian turned toward the voice. The speaker was older, maybe in his thirties, tired and beaten down.
Far above, loud, heavy footsteps approached.
The iron door groaned open, and a blast of cold air swept through the dim cargo hold.
A large man descended the stairs, boots thudding against the metal with each step.
He carried a wooden tray stacked with bowls and a cloth sack slung over one shoulder. He said nothing as he walked down the row of cages, his face hard and expressionless, eyes dull as if this were just another chore.
When he reached their cage, he stopped. Without looking at them, he tossed a piece of hard bread through the bars. It landed near Lucian's feet, damp from the floor. Then he pushed a shallow bowl of watery soup through the gap, some of it sloshing onto the wood.
Lucian reached for it slowly, careful not to seem like a threat.
Behind them, a child began crying again, loud and panicked.
The man turned sharply. "Quiet!" he barked, slamming the tray against the bars of the nearest cage. The crying didn't stop fast enough.
Without hesitation, he stormed toward the source of the sound. There was a scuffle, shouting, metal clanging, then the thud of something heavy striking flesh.
"Stop crying. You lads are going somewhere nobody comes back from," he said, and smirked. "So, save it!"
The moment the man said it, Lizzy's breathing hitched against Lucian's chest. He felt her start to shake harder, her mouth opening like she was about to cry out.
He tightened his arm around her and pressed her face into his shoulder.
"Don't," he whispered.
She froze.
They stayed like that, barely breathing, until the footsteps faded.
. . .
More days passed before the ship finally docked somewhere. Lucian lost track of how many. Time blurred together, broken by hunger and restless sleep.
When they were dragged off the ship, he knew instantly this place was wrong.
The low clouds above the island were dark, stained with a reddish hue that made the sky look bruised. The port looked like a battlefield. Buildings were half-collapsed, their walls cracked and blackened. Dead bodies floated near the docks, bobbing gently in the water like trash.
And yet, people live here.
Pirate and merchant ships sat docked along the water, their sails tattered and stained. Makeshift stalls lined up on a ruined road. Traders sold strange things. Body parts. Stones. Charms. Items wrapped in cloth that moved faintly.
As they were herded into another cage, voices drifted through the noise.
"...too skinny." "Move the big ones!" "Age matters more than size." "Check the girls. Buyers don't like damage."
His stomach tightened.
Lizzy squeezed his hand, her fingers cold.
"Lucian, I'm scared," she whispered.
"I know," he said quietly, keeping his eyes on the road ahead. "Just hold my hand."
The cage rattled forward, dragged by a strange flightless bird. It stood taller than a man, heavy through the body, with a thick hooked beak and its legs were long and bare. Then it moved with a slow rolling gait that drag the cage with every step.
Thin, pale faces watched from the sides. Some looked sick. Others looked hollow.
Guards in mismatched armor patrolled silently, weapons strapped tight. Farther down, hooded figures stood in a circle, murmuring in a language he didn't understand.
Pirates laughed nearby, drunk and loud, tossing bones like dice into the dirt.
Suddenly, someone threw a knife.
It missed Lucian by inches and struck the boy beside him.
The boy collapsed, screaming, blood pouring from his neck.
Inside the cage, no one screamed.
Not even Lucian.
He didn't even know the boy's name.
He just gripped Lizzy's hand tighter.
"Shut it, kid!" one of the drunk pirates yelled. "I'm losing!"
"You damaged the goods!" shouted the big man guarding the cage.
He charged at the pirate, but as soon as his hand lifted, the rest of the group closed in around him. The street erupted. Fists slammed into flesh. Weapons clattered. Blood spilled freely.
The guards didn't stop it. They just watched.
Then the cage began to move again, rattling over broken stone, carrying them deeper into the town.
. . .
They stopped at a large, broken-down warehouse.
The smell hit Lucian immediately.
Blood. Sweat. Rot.
Stacks of cages filled the space. Some held people. Men. Women. Children. Others held beasts. Some growled. Others just watched with glowing eyes.
Screams and roars echoed from every direction. His chest tightened, his breath turning shaky as pain flared again along his ribs.
A chill crept down his spine.
Then a man walked up to their cage.
He wore a thick coat. A deep scar cut across his cheek. His lazy eyes looked like they hadn't felt anything in years.
He pointed.
"Get the girls. The buyer's waiting."
The guards opened the cage and grabbed Lizzy and four other girls.
"Lucian!" Lizzy screamed, reaching for him. "Don't let go!"
He grabbed her hand and held on.
"I won't!" he shouted.
A boot slammed into his side.
Pain exploded through his ribs. The air was forced out of him as he hit the floor hard, gasping. Something warm filled his mouth.
Blood.
"What a sweet little bird," the man laughed.
They dragged Lizzy away while she kicked and screamed. Lucian tried to crawl after her, but his body wouldn't respond. The bruise on his ribs that had been healing for days had flared up from the kick. The pain was too much, and he lay there shaking, dizzy and breathless.
"Stupid body." He gritted his teeth.
A few minutes later, they returned and opened the cage again. This time, they pulled the rest of them out. Chains were slapped onto their wrists.
Every step sent pain lancing through his side.
They were forced across the warehouse, past more cages filled with people and beasts.
They stopped near the back of the building.
A tunnel waited ahead, dark and damp, leading deep underground. A single torch flickered beside the entrance.
Lucian looked at the man shackled beside him, older, with a shaved head and blank eyes.
"Where are they taking us?" Lucian asked quietly.
The man didn't turn his head.
"Does it matter?" he said softly.
The line moved forward.
Chains dragged across the stone.
Lucian stayed quiet, watching the torchlight flicker along the wet stone walls ahead.