Starre screamed a tiny scream, and John grabbed her protectively. Stevan jumped back, and Nina clamped her hand over her mouth in horror and dismay. The guard shouted to some of his friends in Eurasian, and they joined him, all grinning broadly.
The four got into a protective circle. "Okay," John murmured, "they're bigger than I am, and I'm the biggest one here. What do we do? We're at a disadvantage if we have to fight them to get away!"
Starre, however, smiled softly. "You're missing one very important detail," she said slyly.
"And what's that?" John asked hotly.
Starre giggled. "They're drunk!" she exclaimed.
It was true. The four guards staggered around, laughing and making punching motions in the group's direction. Starre sneered, and crept around the one in the back of the group. The next instant, he fell over, Starre having punched him in the head.
"See?" she said, raising a skeptical eyebrow. The others didn't seem to notice that their comrade was now on the floor; instead, they started walking toward the others. One of them tripped, and all three laughed heartily, as though that were the funniest thing in the world.
Nina grinned. "Don't go to work drunk," she advised Stevan before grabbing one of the guards and hitting his head against the wall. "Sorry, kid," she added as the guard fell over. "You've been brainwashed, and we want to get out of here."
John and Stevan took care of the other two, and then joined the ladies to regroup.
"Now," Starre said, "how do we get out of the HQ? It'll be a bit hard; I'm suspecting that not all the guards are drunken idiots."
The four pondered that for a moment, when Stevan smiled.
"I have an idea," he said, nodding over at the four guards on the floor.
**--**--**
The HQ tower stretched farther up than Rai could see. Her body was shaking with nerves, but she was called to her bondmate even more strongly than before. She lifted her head, putting on a show of confidence, and slithered in.
The main floor was a bustle of activity. Men and women alike went from one side of the room to the other, looking busy and purposeful. Some were wearing the uniforms of the DF poliece, and some of those had various types of dragons at their sides. These ones didn't look nearly as kind and respectable as Gana. Some were even on leashes, snapping at anything and everything as they passed. Rai did her best to look fierce, and slid into the crowd.
OI! she hissed, grabbing a DF policeman's leg with her talons. Wbat floor's the prison again?
The man looked absolutely horrified. "Th-th-the sixth f-floor," he stammered raplidly.
You'll hope so, Rai replied, growling under her breath. Slithering off again, she decided that this fierce thing was kind of fun, when under the right circumstances.
She soon found a busy elevator, and she managed to squirm in just in time. It stopped at every floor, and she plunged out when she got to the sixth.
It wasn't much different than the first floor. It was bustling with people, and a loud voice on the intercom said 'All Rubies to level 28!' 28? No wonder Rai couldn't see the top.
She clawed her way through the mass of people, and managed to see a sign with lots of arrows. She thought back on the reading that Starre had taught her, and she spelled out 'prison' to herself. The sign was in many languages, but she finally found the word she was looking for. The arrow pointed down a hallway to her right, so she shoved herself out that way.
As she went down the hall, the traffic slowly thinned, until she was totally alone. She didn't like that anymore than she liked being jostled around by people, perhaps she liked it even less. She wondered exactly what she was getting into.
Suddenly, Rai heard a shout. She froze, and began to slither along more quickly. What if Starre was in trouble? She peered around a corner, and cringed.
A kin was being beaten. His hands were tied behind his back, and a club thudded between his wings over and over again. Rai bit her lip, and slithered out.
HEY! she growled, clamping down on the beater's leg with her teeth. The man screeched, and dropped the club. You have orders to go guard...the...place. You're not supposed to be here. Git.
"But this prisoner has been acting up!" the man protested, but Rai smiled a toothy smile. The man fled.
The kin looked frightened of her, but her eyes softened, and she used her talons to cut his bindings. It was an act, she explained to the stunned kin. I'm here looking for someone. Have you seen a 13-yaer-old girl, black hair, green eyes...?
"Aye!" the kin replied, happy to help. "She was dragged in here, unconcious, but that was all I saw. They took her that way," he added, pointing with one dirty finger.
Thank you, Rai said earnestly. I cannot tell you how mucn that assisted me.
"I owe you one," the kin replied, smiling broadly. "Good luck with your quest."
Rai nodded amd smiled. Good luck yourself, she said. Where are you off to after this?
The man sighed, hanging his head. "Back to the cell, I suppose," he sighed, clasping his hands.
Rai frowned, then smiled as an idea came to her. Come with me, she suggested. If we run into any more trouble, it'll give me an excuse to be up here. And I'll get you out with the rest of my family.
Tears filled the kin's eyes. "You are far too kind," he said, wiping at his eyes with his hands. "What...what is your name?"
Raistlin, the shrape replied, lifting her head proudly. Now, friend, lead the way.
The kin, however, was frozen in horror and dismay. Slowly turning, Rai found herself staring into the eyes of four DF poliece.
"Are you ready, Rai?" the shortest asked, grinning and winking one green eye. "It's time to go home."