The Executioners: Book 1

by Vanora Belmont

  Sorin hadn’t said when my grandmother would be arriving. Finding that out would be the first thing to do. I would contact her in the morning. I looked at the clock on the wall. It was basically already morning and the sun would be up in the next hour. Wiping a few stray tears from my cheeks, I got up turned the TV off before dragging myself into bed.

  I pulled the covers over myself and whispered, ‘Things can only get better.’

  Chapter Five

  I woke just after three in the afternoon. I gazed at the ceiling not quite sure what to do with myself. I didn’t have a job to get ready for.

  I knew I couldn’t stay if I wasn’t working here. I needed somewhere else to live, and the only place I could think of was my grandmother’s estate. Luckily it was only a forty-minute drive away. I knew I should phone my grandmother and let her know, but I wanted to speak to her in person. Maybe I could ask Sorin to phone her and fill her in on everything that had happened.

  I dragged myself out of bed and pulled out my suitcase from the wardrobe. I wasn’t the kind of person that had a lot of stuff, so it was all I needed. I was folding my clothes into my suitcase when I heard a tap at the door and Zane walked in. He noticed what I was doing, and his face dropped.

  ‘You okay?’ I asked him as he sat himself down on my bed.

  ‘I don’t like that you’re packing. That means your leaving.’

  ‘I can’t stay here, Zane. I don’t work here now, remember? The government isn’t going to allow me to stay here when I no longer work for them,” I said.

  ‘Do you have somewhere to go?’ he asked. I nodded my head and gave him a soft smile. I think out of everyone I would miss him the most. He was my brother. Not by blood, but he was still an extended member of my family. I didn’t have any real siblings.

  ‘I’ll keep in touch,” I said. ‘This isn’t exactly goodbye, so stop looking so down in the dumps.’ I wasn’t exactly sure when I would see him next, but he would get days off and there was nothing stopping him from visiting me.

  ‘Do you need a hand with anything?’ he asked looking around the room. Apart from clothes and a few of Ammon’s things I didn’t really have personal belongings. My room was pretty much just the necessities.

  ‘No, I’m good,’ I said as I continued to fold my clothes into the suitcase. Zane was rubbing the back of his neck, a habit that signalled he was nervous. ‘What is it?’ I eventually asked.

  ‘You’re royalty,’ he said. I laughed.

  ‘Do I look like royalty to you?’ I asked. In baggy clothes and messy hair, I looked far from it. He ignored me though.

  ‘You are, though, and I’m still trying to wrap my head around it. How did you manage to keep it to yourself for so long?’ he asked.

  It was easy when it was something you didn’t want to think about. It wasn’t my fault I had been born into my family.

  ‘It was easier than you might think,’ I said. My thoughts suddenly went to my mother and father. If they had been alive right now they would be next in line to the throne, not me. They had died when I was little, though, back when humans thought it was perfectly acceptable to burn down witches’ houses, not caring if they were in them or not. I turned to look at Zane. ‘Can you do me a favour?’

  ‘Sure. What do you need?’ he asked.

  ‘Sorin,’ I said, ‘I need to talk to him. Can you get him up here?’ Zane nodded and quickly left the room.

  Sorin would need to come with me. He worked for the queen, not this team or the government. He had been ordered by my grandmother to protect me. By the time Sorin had made it up to my room I had packed and was fighting with Ammon, trying to get him into his carrier. Clearly he thought he was going to the vet and was putting up a fight. Claws were flying everywhere as I tried not to get scratched.

  ‘Fine, do you want me to leave you here?’ I asked him angrily. He just hissed back at me.

  ‘Need a hand?’ Sorin asked. Thankfully his voice caused Ammon to stop struggling. When the cat looked up at him, I quickly shoved him into the carrier and locked the door.

  There. All packed, I thought.

  ‘I’m okay now. Thanks. I’m leaving for my grandmother’s estate. I’ve not phoned her yet, but I’m assuming she’ll want you to come with me,’ I said.

  ‘You don’t need to phone her,’ he said. I gave him a questioning look. ‘I phoned her this morning and told her everything.’

  I wasn’t used to people taking care of things for me, it felt strange.

  ‘What did she say?’

  ‘To head to the estate and not to worry about anything. She’ll be over in about a week. She has business to finish in London before she can come up,’ he said.

  I let his words sink in. So, I had been right to head to her nearby estate. My grandmother was always busy. I didn’t envy her. She worked so hard to try and keep both our people and the humans happy. I wondered sometimes if it would be easier to focus on our people and let the humans look after their own. She wanted peace between the races, though. She had so much to do. It was the main reason I didn’t want any part in it.

  ‘Looks like I’m moving to the estate, then. I haven’t been there in about two years,’ I said. He walked over and lifted my suitcase with ease. I was about to tell him I could manage when I remembered that this is what he did for my grandmother and probably didn’t really think about it.

  I wanted to say bye to everyone, but as I got downstairs there was no one in the main living room. It wasn’t like I was moving to a different country I told myself. Just forty-odd minutes away. I could speak to them tomorrow because I had all their numbers.

  We headed into the garage and I grabbed my car keys. I hadn’t driven my car in a while. It was more an ornament than anything else.

  Sorin placed my suitcase in the boot and I manged to squeeze Ammon’s cat carrier behind the passenger seat. My hands gripped the wheel nervously as Sorin settled into the passenger’s side. I hadn’t driven in a while, not since I’d wrapped Alex’s car around tree a few months back..

  ‘Would you like me to drive?’ Sorin asked.

  He must have seen my hands shaking. I removed them from the wheel and nodded. He pulled himself back out the car and I slipped over to the passenger’s seat. He got back into the car and started her up.

  ‘You’ll need to give me directions,’ he said as we pulled out of the garage.

  The drive was quiet apart from me giving directions to the estate and the occasional meow of protest from Ammon. It had just gone five when Sorin pulled up outside the large house. It was actually a castle built in the sixteenth century, but I didn’t like calling it a castle. Castles made me think of something cold and damp, but it was just an oddly-shaped stone house. Though not many houses had five en-suite bedrooms and two cottages sitting behind it. If things were still the same, Mary the cleaner lived in one of them, but as far as I knew the other cottage was currently unoccupied.

  I looked over at Sorin, who was admiring the old building. ‘I imagine it’s pretty different to what my grandmother is currently living in,’ I said.

  ‘Very,’ he said as I made my way to the large front doors.

  ‘Yeah. I don’t imagine there’s many old castles in the heart of London.” I smiled. With my hands full of cat carrier, I kicked the door a few times. ‘I grew up here,’ I told him. Someone pulled the door open. I couldn’t help but smile when I spotted Mary. She hadn’t changed a bit.

  ‘Anora, welcome home,’ she said stepping aside to let us in. I opened the carrier and Ammon jumped out purring. He was glad to be back as well.

  ‘Thanks, Mary. This is Sorin. He works for my grandmother,’ I said as Sorin stepped in the door. She welcomed him in as well.

  I looked up as I heard something thump down the stairs. It couldn’t be. I smiled when I saw Titan charge towards me. I braced myself for impact, but it was no use. Two hundred pounds of Neapolitan Mastiff pinned me to the floor, wrinkles and drool hitting my face. Mary called him off and he thankfully lis
tened. I wiped the saliva from my face with the back of my sleeve and pulled myself to my feet. He sat by me as I rubbed behind his ear. Titan was a guard dog, but he wasn’t a very good one. He just looked menacing. If he came running towards you, you’d definitely think twice.

  ‘I was told you’d be coming so I’ve got your room all clean and I’ve freshened up one for the spare rooms for Mr. Dalca,’ Mary said. I nodded and had a quick look around. My grandmother must have phoned her to let her know we were coming.

  ‘Is Steve still the cook?’ I asked.

  ‘No, ma’am. He left not long after you did,” she said. “We have a Mr. Wilson, now. He comes in from eight ‘til four. We also have a new butler—Mr. Wayne—he stays in the cottage beside mine.’

  A man walked down the corridor towards us. From the black suit and white gloves, it must have been Mr. Wayne. He didn’t look very old, maybe mid-forties.

  ‘Mr. Wayne, could you please take Miss Ascome’s suitcase to her room and show Mr. Dalca where he’ll be staying?’ Mary asked. He nodded, picking up my suitcase. He then motioned for Sorin to follow him up the stairs.

  ‘I’m just heading to the kitchen, Mary. I’m feeling a bit peckish,’ I said.

  ‘Don’t be silly. I’ll get you something. What are you feeling peckish for?’ she asked. I let out a sigh and looked at her.

  ‘I can look after myself, Mary. I have been for two years,’ I reminded her.

  ‘Well, now you don’t have to. That’s what I get paid for,’ she said. ‘What would you like?’

  I told her just to make up some sandwiches like she used to when I was hungry. She knew what I liked. Sorin made his way into the sitting area as I munched down a sandwich. I offered him some, but he shook his head. I wasn’t sure if I liked this side of Sorin. He had been more open when we had tracked down that vampire together. Maybe it was because I was no longer an Executioner? Or had he stepped out of line when we had our little spat in the forest and was trying to make up for it now?

  ‘Sorin.’

  ‘Yes, ma’am,’ he said. Yup. He was definitely acting more professional and I didn’t like it. It felt wrong.

  ‘Okay. If you’re not going to call me Anora then don’t call me anything at all,’ I said. ‘I’m not my grandmother. You don’t have to be so formal with me. I don’t like it’ I stood up from the couch and bid him a good night as I headed for my bedroom. Titan, who had been lying in the hall, followed me up the stairs and into my bedroom.

  All of my stuff was still there. The suitcase was sitting by the walk-in wardrobe, but I could deal with that in the morning. I went into my wardrobe and retrieved an elegant silk nightdress. Bye baggy sweatpants and comfy tops. I didn’t own anything like that here. Everything was form-fitting and expensive. I got ready for bed and climbed into the cool bed sheets. Titan had settled by the door and was already snoring. I had no idea where Ammon was, but he was somewhere. I knew it was early, so I picked up an old book from my bedside table. I got comfy and let myself get pulled into another world for a few hours.

  Chapter Six

  The next morning, I was reminded why I had decided to join the Executioners: I was bored.

  When you had people to do everything for you it got boring very fast. At midday I told Sorin I was going for a walk around the grounds with Titan. He had wanted to come with me, but I told him not to bother. What was going to happen? I wasn’t even leaving the property.

  The grounds had a mixture of forest and fields. I wasn’t sure how much of the forest was ours, but it didn’t stop me walking through them. Even if they did belong to someone else I doubted I was bothering them. And Titan loved it. He had his nose in at everything, especially rabbit burrows.

  On the way home I walked through a part of the forest that I definitely knew was ours; I recognised it. It was beautiful, a sea of wildflowers in different shades of blue, red and white that always stayed in bloom through the frosty winter months. That was why I didn’t understand why three men were poking around the trees like they were searching for something.

  ‘Can I help you?’ I asked as I walked over to them. They looked up and stiffened, but immediately relaxed when they saw it was just me. This part of forest was home to Pixies. Maybe that’s what they were searching for? I doubted they were here to pick the flowers. Kace told me stories of a black market where creatures like fairies and pixies were sold to private collectors like ornaments.

  ‘Keep your nose out, darling,’ one of the men said with a smile.

  ‘Yeah, wouldn’t want anything to happen to you,’ his friend added. Now that sounded like a threat to me.

  ‘You’re on my land. I want you to leave,’ I said. They laughed. This wasn’t going well.

  ‘You going to make us? Even your dog’s run off,’ the man laughed. I looked around and sure enough, Titan was nowhere to be seen. Bloody wimp. It was a good thing I didn’t need him.

  ‘I’m a witch and a former Executioner,’ I snapped. ‘I don’t need a dog to deal with you.’ I couldn’t help but notice the men perk up at witch. What was puzzling was that most people had the opposite reaction: fear.

  ‘Hear that, lads? We’ve got ourselves a witch. How much do you think we could make with her?’

  He had to be joking or maybe just trying to intimidate me. There was no way these men sold witches on the black market. That was just insane.

  ‘A lot. This is the witch queen’s land, so that would make her the queen’s granddaughter. Isn’t that right darling?’ I kept my mouth shut ‘That’s what I thought.’ He gave me a nasty grin.

  ‘You can’t touch me,’ I said. ‘I’m a witch, you’re clearly humans, so you’ve got no chance.’ I wasn’t a very powerful witch, but I was strong enough to deal with these idiots. I was in a forest; the trees would help. To prove my point, I knelt down and rested my palms on the forest floor. The ground shook slightly before the roots shot up through the ground and wrapped around the three men’s legs, trapping them where they stood. They cried out in surprise.

  ‘Anora!’ I heard Sorin shout from behind me. I turned to see him running towards me, Titan leading the way. He hadn’t run away. He was going for help! ‘Are you okay?’ he asked as he came to a stop beside me.

  ‘Fine,’ I said pointing to the three men. ‘I took care of it. How did you get here so fast?’

  ‘I was already heading this way,’ he admitted. ‘You should head back home. I’ll take care of them.’

  ‘Or we can both go,’ I said. ‘They’re not going anywhere. Could let the human police deal with them.’

  Sorin walked towards the three men ignoring my comment. ‘Why were you here?’ he demanded. They stayed silent. Funny. Just a few minutes ago they wouldn’t shut up.

  ‘They said they were going to sell me on the black market,’ I answered for them, suppressing a giggle. But Sorin didn’t look amused.

  ‘You were going to abduct the Princess? Are you that stupid? You’ll be jailed for this. Do you realise that?’ Sorin said his voice dangerously low. ‘Anora, head back. I need to speak to them in private.’ He didn’t look back at me and I didn’t want to argue with him. He looked angry, angrier than I had ever seen him.

  ‘Fine, I’ll see you back at home,’ I said turning away from them and whistling for Titan. I wasn’t sure what kinds of things he wanted to question them about, but I didn’t really care. They were idiots and they deserved whatever was coming to them.

  Though I knew Sorin wouldn’t hurt them. He would be in trouble if he did. One of the rules laid down for superhumans was that they couldn’t seriously harm or kill a human.

  It took over an hour before Sorin to make it back to the house. He was on the phone when he walked through the door. I heard him mumble quietly about black market, pixies, and abduction, but I couldn’t make out much more. After a few minutes he hung up and looked at me.

  ‘How are you feeling?’ he asked. That wasn’t what I was expecting.

  I ignored the question.

  �
�You going to tell me what happened out there?’ I asked.

  ‘Human police took care of them. I phoned the queen to inform her she had three searchers on her property.’

  ‘Searchers?’

  ‘It’s what we call humans that make a living by capturing supernatural beings and selling them on the black market. It’s obviously becoming a more serious problem if they’re attempting to capture witches and not caring if they’re royal or not. They either have no brains or no sense,’ Sorin said.

  I hadn’t even realised this was still going on. I thought the story Kace had told me had been a onetime thing. Were both governments trying to stop this from happening? Clearly my grandmother knew about it, but why hadn’t our community been told? Was it because she found this warlock a more pressing matter? A warlock that was mutating humans and humans that were selling supernatural beings on the black market seemed equally important to me. If I was in charge I would have been attempting to sort out both problems. But then again, maybe they were trying to stop them and were just laying low for now.

  Sorin’s eyes hadn’t left me the entire time I had been thinking. He ran his hand over his head, pushing his hair back to sit off his face. I caught sight of the silvery-looking scar running down his temple again. I was curious about how he had obtained it, especially when superhumans always healed.

  ‘Can I ask you something a bit personal?’ I asked.

  ‘Go on,’ he said.

  ‘Your scar. How did you get it? I thought superhumans healed?’

  ‘If a wound is caused by magic, it doesn’t always heal properly,’ he said. ‘Back when I first started working for the queen, a vampire attempted to kill her. He had a knife that had been cursed by a witch. We fought and I eventually won, but I didn’t come out unharmed. The scar on my face isn’t my only one.’