by Nikki Rae
Eight hours in total, the further we traveled, the more any sign of humanity disappeared. The car this time was a limousine, and it had come equipped with not just a driver, but another passenger.
After spending the day planning, I’d slept on Agent Santos’ floor. I could vaguely recall her offering me the bed or couch, but I’d insisted all I wanted was a pillow. True to her character, she didn’t pry, but as we settled in for the last few hours before daybreak, I caught her gaze wandering towards me, more puzzled than concerned.
A woman like her couldn’t understand; it was better to be prepared than to run into the abyss blind.
I’d been introduced to Oleg Eicher this morning, when he’d arrived at Santos’ apartment wearing boat shoes, shorts, and a T-shirt. Since the plane, he’d changed into his suit. Blond-haired and blue-eyed, his boyish face would fit well amongst the Wolves.
We’d landed in Berlin, and so far, had entered and left too many towns to count on our way to Zurich. Our destination was a place fittingly called the Black Forest, which was an old silver-mining district which now served as a quaint tourist attraction surrounded on all sides by wilderness that stretched into the hazy horizon. I watched as the road disappeared and we slowed to a crawl through thickets of trees and brush. There was a path for vehicles to travel, but it obviously hadn’t been used often.
Oleg had chosen the seat across from me in the limo—whether it was out of respect or the fact that I’d stayed in the same clothes for two days, I couldn’t be certain. However, as the world outside became more isolated, the road uneven and less traveled, the more I noticed him fidgeting.
We hadn’t spoken much since our initial meeting, where he informed me he would be the one taking me to Gregor’s newly-built home in Todtnau. Oleg was older than me, yet younger than my Owner. Still, he’d explained how many of these missions he’d completed—all successfully.
Though he wasn’t from the Order, he’d originally joined the Chaos in Amsterdam, wanting to make a difference. A year ago, he had sided with the Rapunzel Project, as it was a “proper channel to ensure these criminals got what they deserved”. His conviction was reassuring, and his training within the government made him an asset where we were going. He would know when I had extracted enough information, when we could proceed with the next phase of the plan. When we would be free again. I could tell it weighed on him; Oleg didn’t take this responsibility lightly.
“Could we go over things once more, please?” I asked, finally facing him.
He righted his posture as well, folding his hands in front of him as he leaned forward. “Of course.”
With a brief smile, he prepared to repeat himself for the tenth time since we’d landed; perhaps I was nervous as well.
“Fabian has been contacted.” His accent was thicker than I was used to, and it was a comfort to have an actual German posing as my captor—the more suspicions we could avoid, the better. “As far as he knows, you were found by me.”
This part had been added when I told them about the phone call to Marius and how Gregor was expecting my call. We were sticking to the story that I had gotten too scared to return and planned to stay with Master Lyon. Oleg had broken into the cabin and taken me in the night. I didn’t like how I was painted in this narrative, but the Wolf would love to see this weakness. It showed I was terrified of what he would do to me and that I had to be brought back by force. That I was easily conquered when I was about to pillage his lands.
“I am defecting from House Mantis,” a powerful one, large enough that not every Member was known, “and you are my ‘tribute’. He will see this as a gesture of peace and respect and in turn, initiate me into House Wolf.”
The Rapunzel Project had meant what they said when they told me they wanted to work together. For the three hours before Oleg and I left Agent Santos’ home, they’d more or less let me lead the conversation, offering advice where they could.
Oleg thought my prolonged silence meant I was skeptical. “He will let me into his House,” he said. “Men like him feel indebted in a situation like this.”
“Especially when you’re giving him something he wants.” It was as if I had practiced this line, I knew it so well.
He nodded. “From there, I will be able to keep an eye on you until the objective is complete.”
It seemed simple, the way Agent Eicher chose to skip the details. Mainly because there were none, which was what made me most anxious.
“Gregor is unstable, unpredictable, and impulsive.”
“We have safety measures in place,” he told me again. “If we’re in immediate danger, a sniper will take him out.” Oleg tried to give me an assuring smile. “I want to reiterate: whatever I say or do while we’re in there—”
“It isn’t real,” I finished for him, and by the way his jaw relaxed, I could tell he was grateful I understood.
“Exactly.”
That was it; every other piece of our plan would have to be formed on the spot, once we were there and better able to gauge just how deep into the woods we’d gone.
Clearing his throat, Oleg didn’t seem content to sit quietly. “After,” he said, “I urge you to reconsider leaving the Order and House Chimera. We can help you do that.”
Like Santos and those other officers, Oleg couldn’t see the full picture. Had we met months ago, perhaps I would have entertained his suggestion. Now, one would have to rip me apart to keep me from the ones I loved.
“Thank you,” I said cordially, “but that isn’t necessary.”
“I don’t agree,” he countered in a polite tone, “but I respect your decision. I only want you to know we are here if you need us.”
He appeared genuine, not just feeding me lies so I would cooperate. By now, I’d made it abundantly clear that I was serious; the reason I was doing this wasn’t for them. It wasn’t about the money, immunity, or anything other than getting to Marius and Odette, killing the Wolf, and going home so we could rebuild all that had been broken or burned.
A buzzing sound interrupted the lull between us, and Oleg hit something on his phone to make it stop. He reached under his seat for the pre-filled syringe we’d both known had been hidden there. This could only mean we were thirty minutes from our destination; he was to give me half the dose of liquid Cerberus Gregor had requested.
As I stuck out my arm and he pulled off the cap, Oleg knelt before me to feel for a vein. “Don’t worry,” he said as the needle pierced my inner arm. “It won’t be too bad.”
I didn’t know what he was referring to—it could be so many things—and the drug made me not care. I was hardly conscious of him removing the foreign object from my skin. When he attempted to clean the little rivulet of blood he’d left behind, I moved away, slurring that he leave it be.
Closing my eyes, I tried to ignore the immediate effects, but already things looked fuzzy and dreamlike. It wasn’t strong enough to make me fall asleep, but it made my limbs heavier, my thoughts and reactions slower. It was scary, being out of control, but it took away the pressure of having to act incapacitated. It was better Gregor believe his instructions had been followed from the moment he saw us.
Still, I couldn’t control the fleeting hallucinations behind my eyes. There, I was held by Marius as my Owner administered the substance that would render me helpless and pliable. Even if I hated him then, I would give anything for Master Lyon to be here with me now. To be going through with the original plan where Marius, who Owned me just as much, was the one beside me, not some stranger posing as someone else. At least it would hurt less when we were separated—Agent Eicher to the Wolf’s den and me…
“We’re about to pass through the gate.” My temporary protector’s voice broke through the haze of Cerberus and I opened my eyes.
The villa was all white except for the black iron gates. Two stories, the entrance was between four large pillars, which supported a terrace. It was a long building, and it blocked everything behind it. All I could take in was what lay di
rectly ahead: the circular drive which resembled the one in front of Lyon Estate down to the fountain in the middle. Except where Master Lyon’s was tasteful, this sculpture depicted naked marble women, water cascading over their full breasts, hips, and thighs; they held hands as if dancing around the stream. Their heads had been replaced with snarling Wolves, eyes painted a glowing gold that made me avert my gaze.
“My God,” he said under his breath. “I’d seen photos, but this is much more than I expected.”
Under the light of the warm summer day, the copper rooftop appeared almost white in places and made the cobblestones sparkle and shift. When I glanced back at the figures, they seemed to move on their own.
The car noticeably slowed as we neared the front, and it was then that Agent Eicher reached under his seat again for the other items Gregor had demanded I be sent with: a blindfold, gag, rope, and as if these combined with the drug weren’t enough, a black hood. Sitting beside me, he bound my hands first, wrists together and fingers intertwined at the waist. He hesitated after that, not wanting to hinder me any more.
Unconsciously, I reached out and caught his face between my palms and forced him to look at me. Though Eicher was surprised, he didn’t look away when I let go.
“It’s important we don’t make any mistakes,” I said in a low voice. “You can’t be afraid of hurting me or making me uncomfortable.”
Squaring his shoulders, he lifted the dark strip of fabric with new resolve before securing the knot behind my head. I opened my mouth automatically, knowing what came next, and the gag was set in place, my teeth sinking into the rubbery material.
I took deep breaths through my nose as the hood was tugged over my head and drawn around my neck. Flexing the muscles in my arms, I could feel the ropes were too tight and would cut off circulation if they weren’t undone in the next few hours, but it was better than my bonds being too loose. I didn’t know if I could fight the temptation of breaking free in my current state, and Gregor most likely knew this. It was why he’d gone to such trouble encumbering me in any way he thought possible. I was the runner, the slave who’d escaped many Masters—who murdered them.
Gregor must have been terrified of me.
“We’re stopping,” Oleg announced a moment before the car did just that, the slight movement pressing me into him and then against the door. “Ready?”
I didn’t have a choice. This would begin my new reality. Nodding, I heard him open his door through the cloth of the blindfold and hood. Then I felt tension against my wrists as he lifted the rope attached to them, giving it a yank.
Judging by the strength he used, I knew someone could be watching, so I tried to appear confused, slower than the drug made me feel. Silently, this gave Agent Eicher permission to drag me from the car, and I was glad he seemed to have left his reservations there. When I stumbled out, the hand that steadied me was rough as it clamped down on the back of my neck like he was scolding me.
“Sei jetzt nicht schwierig,” he growled close to my head. Don’t be difficult now.
Two sets of footsteps, but whoever accompanied us wasn’t Gregor—the man wasn’t exactly known for keeping his mouth shut. I’d gotten the impression from Eicher and Santos that the Wolf was in hiding, that his House had abandoned him and he was alone. Even if the majority of his group had left, he wouldn’t have been able to pull this off on his own.
Under my feet, there was a hard surface which turned into something softer, but not much. From the sound of our shoes, I guessed it was wood, that we were inside the house and I hadn’t been aware of a door opening. In my head, I tried to map out how many steps it took from the door until we stopped, where the sound of another entrance creaking open broke the muffled silence.
The air was warm against my skin, the ground made of earth or grass. Distantly, I associated these smells with the greenhouse at Lyon Estate, but the intermittent chirping of birds prevented the illusion from becoming fully formed.
And then the Wolf’s voice shattered it entirely.
He spoke German, and I still wasn’t sure whether he knew I understood. If it mattered to him at all.
“Ah, Master Eicher,” Gregor said, voice somewhere in front of us. He didn’t need to project far for us to hear him. “How was your journey?”
They kept the pleasantries short, the same way my Owner had spoken to my handlers the day I was sold to him. I swayed on my feet, my condition most likely noticeable to both of them.
Oleg kicked me in the calf, forcing me to my knees. When I teetered toward the ground, he used the braid at the back of my head to pull me back.
Gregor let out a short, amused laugh, and I could only guess it was because I had to lean against Eicher’s shin to avoid falling in the opposite direction. “Shall we?” he asked.
“It would be an honor, sir.” The agent’s voice quivered just a bit, but he managed to make it sound more like he was in awe than nervous.
To keep myself conscious, I strained to hear everything around me. The breeze chilled my exposed skin while the hood created a damp heat around my head that only made the Cerberus more intense. I used it to my advantage, shivering and feigning trying to cover myself when I was bound. Perhaps needing to reinforce the role he was meant to play, Eicher jerked on the rope to pull my arms away from my body. I scraped the heels of my hands on something made of rough stone or concrete, and I guessed it was the same material I’d seen paving the driveway. Giving me more slack, Oleg signaled I should right my posture. As I did so, I took deep breaths, attempting to calm the surge of adrenaline coursing through me; the effects of the Cerberus amplified with each beat of my pulse.
Somewhere ahead, I heard pages turning.
I remembered my last transfer, kneeling and listening to selections from Children's and Household Tales, the holy text within the Order. However, I doubted the old volume had survived the bombs the Chaos had planted. When magic words were spoken from a manipulative book, it could be altered to fit anyone’s agenda. Members, whether they were Blacklisted or not, had no purpose without their long-held beliefs, the comfort that came with their power. It was more desirable to pour their faith into lies than the complete unknown.
In theory, I understood. In reality, I knew it wasn’t right. Blacklisted or part of the larger corrupt wheel of the Order, Vultures were abominations that needed to be put down.
“Read,” Gregor said once the appropriate passage had been found.
This was immediately followed by a grunt. There was someone else nearby, closer than the Wolf. Whether it was due to the drug or not, I had just begun to feel confident when the fourth of our party began to speak.
“‘The Willful Child’.”
Three words, the title of one of the many stories from The Brothers Grimm that had been taught like a prayer we were to recite. But the voice. Though it sounded ragged, pained, I would recognize Marius’ voice anywhere. This time it was harder to regain the oxygen that had been sucked from my lungs.
Clearing his throat, he read from somewhere to my left, facing Gregor.
“Once upon a time, there was a child who was willful and would not do as her Master wished.” His voice cracked, and he nearly coughed. I wanted to reach for him, but I didn’t dare.
“For this reason,” he went on, tone taking on a hollow quality I surmised was used to tell me he believed none of what he was about to say. Against my thighs, I flexed my fingers, hoping he happened to be paying attention. “The Mainworld was cruel to her and let her become ill. The child died full of its pollution and impurity.”
Another pause, and I heard Gregor shift impatiently on his feet.
“When she had been lowered into her grave and the earth was spread over her, the child fought her destined place. Only her Master himself could make her succumb to the grave. He struck her, and the child at last rested in the earth beneath his feet.”
Even I hadn’t heard this version of the story. The premise was the same: children who didn’t obey were punished not o
nly by their superiors, but the world itself. That was what had been lectured. If not for the gag in my mouth, I would have laughed at the liberties Gregor had taken with the text to fit his message. He was no different than any other Vulture. His heart beat the same, and it pumped blood for as long as I allowed it.
“Good,” Gregor said too enthusiastically. “Now have her face me for the rest.”
More pages turned as if with hesitation, but then the book slammed closed with a soft sound. Footsteps against the concrete, and then someone crouched inches in front of me. I shook with the effort of staying still, but imagining I was kneeling for Marius fixed me to the spot. I didn’t want to disappoint him, and he was the only one present I cared about letting down.
He didn’t speak as he loosened the drawstring around my neck and removed the hood. The air hit the saliva that had accumulated along my chin and throat, soaking into my dress. Then the blindfold came undone and the sudden burst of light made me fall backwards.
Agent Eicher stepped behind me to keep me from fracturing my skull, but it outwardly appeared that he was only offering Marius assistance so we could get on with the remainder of the ceremony. Blinking several times, I could make out the distorted image of my hands embedded with fine grains of sand. My eyes burned as Marius lifted my head, as it was too heavy for me to do myself.
For the longest second, all that existed besides the invasive sun was him, outlined in a halo of light that blocked everything else. He had a cut above his right brow that appeared fresh but wasn’t bleeding, and I could tell his eye had been recently swollen. The bruising was older, yellowish green instead of purple or blue. If I wasn’t drugged, maybe I would have been able to decipher the message he was trying to convey, but at present, it was all I could do to refrain from cupping his stubble-streaked jaw.
It was such a short time before he stepped aside, but he seemed to take extra care to keep close. My vision tunneled and cleared, and the first thing I recognized was the circular white stone glittering around us, then the greenery closing in on all sides as if the very walls were alive and breathing. There were two golden statues of nude figures—one male and one female. Like the ones out front, the heads had been replaced with that of wolves, but they appeared more stoic, no bared teeth. The female had shackles around her ankles, wrists, and waist, and the male wore a crown on his head. They demanded all my attention as Marius opened the book again and read another similar tale that I couldn’t focus on. Instead, my gaze settled between the bright sculptures, where two white ornate thrones had been placed amongst a wall made of snow-like flowers.