Order of the Hidden Dragon

Chapter 47: Hostage



When Sophia woke up again, she noticed that her arms were free. And that she didn't have a headache, as one usually had after passing out. Whatever he did to knock her out didn't seem to involve anything physical, though there was a strange itching all over her body.

She wasn't really surprised when she opened her eyes and saw that she was in a cage, like the ones Muggles would use for a dog, only bigger. That seemed fitting for this man, somehow. She looked at her body and wasn't surprised when she saw a chain around her chest. Great. How long had she been out? Albus had said the chain was permanent after three days.

"It's been a day and a half," a voice said from the other side of the cage. She spun around and saw the Knocker standing there, smiling down on her. "In case you were wondering. You are the one who chased me all over Europe, aren't you? I wondered how they were able to find me suddenly, and so fast, but I figured it out eventually. They really want their Auror back, don't they? What did they promise you, to make you join them?"

Sophia didn't know what to reply. She was kicking herself for being so stupid, for not thinking that the constant movements around the town was to see who was tracking him. Of course he would target her!

She also saw another cage a few meters away that held a creature she at first didn't recognise. Then she realised that it was Yang. He had lost a lot of weight since the picture she had seen of him was taken and was dirty and ragged. He was sleeping, or at least she hoped he was sleeping. Would he have bothered to keep a dead body though?

On the other side of her cage, she saw the remains of her own computer, now quite damaged, though not beyond repair, and what had to be the computer she had been tracking. Her computer had some blinking lights, so it was on, and connected. Would any of the others be able to track it? She had shown Albus how to do that once, would he be able to recreate it? Either way, she needed to keep his focus away from that computer.

"I have no idea what you're talking about. I work in the Department of Technology. I was asked to locate the computer, and I managed that after tracing your ads on the Dark Web."

"That is strange. Why then does the Auror not recognise you? He seemed quite confused when he saw you."

"Do you think everyone who works at the Ministry knows each other? There are hundreds of us."

"And yet I know with certainty that you were not employed by the Ministry a month ago, when I left Britain."

"You seem remarkably well informed, for a man on the run. What exactly are you hoping to achieve by this? They will never leave you alone. You can keep running, but they will find you eventually. You can't continue the way you've been doing so far. The Ministry in Britain is searching for you on the Dark Web now."

"Yes. Quite annoying that. It's been such a good source of income as well. I'll just have to find something else to do then. It won't be the first time I change careers in my life. Someone always wants my services."

Sophia didn't know what to say to that. She was, in short, terrified beyond anything she had ever felt. The continued presence of the cage and the chain around her waist were constant reminders of her danger. What would the man do, to the person who had caused him so much trouble?

"But before I need to worry about that, I have some time. I need to test these devices on more people before I can truly say how well they work. And I suspect you're going to be a better test subject than the Auror." And with that, Sophia felt a sharp shot of pain go through her whole body. She wasn't even able to scream as she collapsed on the ground, unable to get her muscles to work. Several shocks later, she no longer felt her body. It was as if she floated away, seeing her limp body below her.

Wait, was she dying? Was she really dying just from a few shocks? Though she did remember hearing once that a shock of electricity could make a heart stop. Maybe this was something similar.

It seemed the Knocker also realised he had gone too far. He stopped whatever he was doing and started some sort of Healing charm. Sophia started to feel the pain again. She drew a deep breath as she was once again present in her own body.

"You are weak," the Knocker said, echoing her own thoughts. "That wasn't even the lowest of the settings I used on the Auror. And you nearly died. How disappointing." Then he left, leaving her in the cage still gasping for breath. That had been so strange. Had she really almost died? She didn't want to die. Not now, when she had finally found some purpose in her life again, for the first time since leaving Hogwarts.

As the man left, the Auror in the cage stirred. He seemed surprised to see her but then just looked resigned.

"I was hoping you were an hallucination. But he really has captured another one. Are you really from Britain?"

"Yes. The Ministry hired me to try and locate this man. Unfortunately for me, we got a bit careless, and I fell for his bait."

"You mean the Ministry is still looking for me?"

"Yes, of course they do. Potter is not one to abandon one of his own."

"His efforts should be redirected elsewhere. I am beyond saving."

"You're not dead. No one is beyond saving."

"I'm as good as. He's tortured me for weeks; my body isn't working. I can't even stand up anymore, from lack of sustenance and atrophy. The only good thing about that is that I no longer feel any pain from the shocks from the chain. I have been slowly dying for weeks, but I don't even have the energy to let myself out of my misery."

Sophia was shocked to hear this, but she shouldn't judge. If he had endured weeks of shocks like the ones she had just received, it was no wonder that he had given up. She just hoped that she wouldn't be here long enough to experience the same thing. But if it really had been over a day, why hadn't Albus found them yet?

"Do you happen to know his name?"

"No. I don't think he knows it himself. He has several aliases, depending on who he's interacting with. Now he'll probably make another and get into human trafficking, with his torture chain."

"They're not as effective as he thinks. You didn't break."

"Not my mind, but my body certainly did. He tried to sell me once, but the man wasn't interested. Said I was a hopeless cause, even for his fighting group. If I had the strength for it, I would be insulted."

"I saw the ad. That was how I was able to trace him."

"What are the chances of them managing to do that again without you?"

Sophia didn't want to think about that. She had shown Albus how to do it, but would he remember? The thought of never seeing him again was almost enough to bring tears to her eyes. Just as her life had taken a turn for the better, she had managed to ruin it.

"I thought not," Yang said. "You should hope that you die from the strain early."

"I almost died just now," Sophia said. "He brought me back somehow."

"That's too bad." Yang said in a monotonous tone. He really had given up.


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