The Siren Jewel: Spellbound Prison Saga

by Karri Roberts

  “Where are we going?”

  “Shut up, inmate.”

  Pissing off the guard would not be a wise decision right now. I pretended to stumble and he ran into the back of me. My heel landed firmly on his toes as I pretended to try and find my footing. He shoved me forward and I fell to my knees.

  “Son of a bitch!” he screamed.

  It was totally worth it. He lifted me to my feet and shoved me ahead of him as he mumbled profanities. Soon we were in the familiar hall that housed Miss Kemp’s office. I felt my body ease as the tension drained away. Miss Kemp would know where Lorelei was. He placed me on the bench outside of her door and hooked my chain to the wall above my head.

  “Stay put. Don’t try to pull any shit.”

  “My arms will go numb hung up like this.”

  “I don’t give a fuck.” He stomped down the hall and took up post at the opposite end. He was just lighting a cigarette when another alarm blared through the building. He inhaled on it deeply before dropping it to the ground and running back toward the cellblocks.

  I sat on the bench with only the alarm to keep me company until my arms went to sleep. I glanced around and when I was sure no one was watching, I closed my eyes and imagined my chain unhooking from the wall. I pushed my power toward that one thought.

  “Release.”

  A slight click sounded above me as the lock that held my chain to the wall opened. Confidence surged through me. Take that, binding spells! Relieved, I brought my arms down and rested my hands in my lap. I wiggled my fingers and pumped my fists, trying to restore feeling to my limbs.

  “Nice trick, Little Witch.”

  My head shot up to see Evan leaning against the wall in front of me. I hadn’t even heard him approach. A smirk graced his chiseled jaw. I flipped him off.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked.

  “I could ask you the same thing.” He sat down on the bench next to me and took my hands between his and rubbed them. “Is that better?”

  I nodded. “Thanks.”

  “No problem. I was once stuck here on this same bench, with my arms above my head for three hours. My arms didn’t feel right for a week after.”

  The alarm overhead stopped. But still the guard didn’t return.

  “You are interesting, Little Witch. So interesting in fact that you have caught the attention of some nasty admirers.”

  “Are you one of these nasty admirers?” I raised my eyebrows and gave him my best bitch stare. He chuckled, quickly bringing his hand to his mouth to try to hide it.

  “I was speaking about The Blood Coven.”

  “I think I have it covered.”

  “No, you really don’t.” His face was suddenly serious. “Just know this. They may want you to join them willingly, but don’t be mistaken. You are not a regular recruit to them. In their mind you don’t have an option and your acceptance is just a formality. They will take your power by force if they have to.”

  “Is that a threat?” I snarled.

  Miss Kemp’s heels tapped rapidly from somewhere down the hall. Evan jumped to his feet and took off in the opposite direction. He disappeared at one end of the hall just as Kemp appeared at the other.

  “Oh, Jewels! I’m so sorry. I was held up by that stupid alarm.” She unlocked her office door and ushered me inside.

  She uncuffed me and I sat opposite from her. She pulled out my file and began skimming through it. Then opened up a large, brown leather book.

  “I’m afraid we won’t get much of a lesson today with everything going on.”

  “What exactly is going on?”

  “I really can’t talk about it, dear.”

  “Well, my cellmate never returned after the first alarm. Is she okay?”

  “The mermaid? Oh, I’m sure she is. Some inmates were kept where they were at the time the alarm sounded. That is probably what happened to her. If I hear differently, I’ll let you know.” She turned the book to me and pointed to a page.

  “Can we do this later? I need to tell you something.”

  Concern creased Kemp’s face and she nodded.

  “I can trust you, right?”

  “Yes! I would never do anything to jeopardize your trust. It is the only way I can help you rehabilitate.”

  I took a deep breath and chewed on my lip as I rolled the words around in my head, trying to force my tongue to speak them out loud. Miss Kemp’s sweet eyes locked on mine as she waited patiently for me to say what I needed to.

  “I think. No. I know Mr. Blu is part of The Blood Coven.”

  “Jewels, that is a serious accusation. How can you be sure?”

  “Something weird happened in the Madness Room. I saw his memories, not my own. He knew my dad. They were friends and they had a falling out about something. Combine that with the threat I got from The Blood Coven…”

  “What threat? When did this happen?”

  “The other day. They said if I didn’t join something would happen to my dad.”

  “Oh dear. Have you told anyone else this?” She scribbled across the paper pad in front of her with a shaky hand.

  “Just my friends. Lorelei, Flynn, Teal, and Becky.”

  “Well, don’t let anyone else know what you suspect. It could cause you many problems. Let me look into this. This accusation cannot be taken lightly and must be addressed with care. I will make sure this is addressed promptly.”

  I relaxed in my chair, letting the tension drain from my body. Miss Kemp wrote a few more things down before closing the book in front of me.

  “We’ll take a break today. I really need to get on this. If what you believe is true, we could all be in danger.” She shuffled papers around on her desk and placed some back into my file. “Oh. You still do not have a trial date yet. This is very odd. I’ll reach out to your father and lawyer about this.” She smiled, but worry clouded her eyes. “I’ll use it as a chance to check on your father as well, warn him about the threat made against him. Normally this would be the warden’s job, but that seems inappropriate given the situation.”

  “Thank you. I’m so worried about him. Oh, God! Ben! If something happens to my dad, what will happen to Ben?” In that moment the realization of just how badly I needed to get out of here hit me.

  “Do not worry about your family. I will make sure they are fine.” She started to close my file but stopped. “Have you noticed any change in your powers since our last visit?” she asked.

  Before I could answer, there was a knock and Miss Kemp quickly attached the cuffs to my wrists. An unfamiliar guard opened the door.

  “Time’s up. All inmates must report back to their cells immediately.”

  He led me from the room but, instead of taking me back the way I had come, he pushed me in the opposite direction. My throat tightened into a knot and no amount of swallowing could push the lump back down.

  “This isn’t the way to my cell.”

  He forced me forward with a jab from behind, but remained silent. My necklace burned like fire on my neck and I had the sudden urge to flee. Panic seeped in and I struggled against my cuffs. He responded with a swift, hard whack with his baton across my head. Dazed and in pain, I managed to remain upright. The guard held tight to my chains and pushed me forward to what I knew was my certain doom.

  I tried to call upon my magic, but the dizziness in my head kept shifting my focus. I couldn’t hold on to a thought long enough to wield my powers. The guard shoved me down onto a stone bench and walked away. I landed hard on my side. My arms still pinned behind my back, I rolled from the bench to the floor. I struggled to roll over onto my back, trying to get reoriented to the spinning area around me. Multiple sets of shoes came into view and I realized I wasn’t alone in the dark hall.

  “Well, well. Look what we have here.” Jagged Tooth stepped from the shadows. Followed by three more figures but their faces were still masked in shadows.

  Jagged Tooth pressed his boot on my neck, cutting off my air supply. The world grew
dim and my necklace vibrated. I knew the world was about to go black when the pressure on my neck finally eased. I reached for my magic, but it was hidden from me, bound by the spells placed on this prison. I gasped, sucking the precious air into my lungs, and the world came into focus once again. He grabbed me by the collar, pulled me to my feet, and put his face so close to mine I could smell the canteen brownies on his breath.

  “I should have done this the first time I saw you. But The High One thought you would be of use. Lucky for me you’ve proved to everyone you’re as damaged as I’ve always known you were.” His fist landed on my cheek.

  The momentum flung me across the hall and into the rock wall. Blood seeped from the back of my head, down my back, soaking my shirt. A darkness loomed over me and solid kicks landed on me from all around. I couldn’t tell how many people surrounded me now. Every inch of my body withered in pain. I fought to hold on to consciousness, but it was a battle I couldn’t win. Sleep beckoned me and promised me a release from the pain.

  The beating stopped as I started to slip away and Jagged Tooth leaned over me. My eyes were already nearly swollen shut, but his rancid brownie breath made his identity undeniable. His hand wrapped around the starfish at my neck. I raised an arm to swat him away, but someone caught my miserable attempt at a slap in midair.

  “All this for such a little trinket. Night-night, Newbie.” He yanked the pendant from my neck and slammed my head against the floor. My attackers dispersed, leaving me in a growing lake of my own blood. Death called to me and I let go.

  The bright, fluorescent lights of the medical wing burned my eyes. The swelling in my face had decreased enough for me to open them. But that didn’t feel like a good thing. Every nerve in my body was responding like I was trapped in a five-alarm blaze. Sometimes the pain was so intense the doctor had to cast a trance spell on me so I wouldn’t scream like a cat in a street fight. After days in the medical wing I learned to fight the pain, at least most of the time, so I wouldn’t be put under again. I needed to be alert and on guard at all times just in case someone was sent to finish the job.

  My hand went to my throat out of habit and my heart dropped when I remembered it was really gone. Every time I woke I expected my necklace to be around my neck, safe and secure. But it was truly gone and with it any hope of me living through this imprisonment. How did The Blood Coven even know I had it? How did they see it? The entire time I’d been here I’d tried to keep a secret that the enemy already knew. They probably knew more than I did. I never had a chance.

  I gingerly set up in bed and my head spun as if I had just jumped off the merry-go-round. Thankfully, I was the only one in this room, but I was surrounded by empty hospital beds awaiting patients. The door that led to the hall was across the room and cracked open. I saw an envelope on the table next to me that I hadn’t seen when I was awake last. I recognized my dad’s swirly handwriting right away. I tore open the letter as tears streamed down my bruised face.

  Dear Jewels,

  This is not how I wanted to tell you about your mom. But I fear the current situation has left me no choice. Your birth mom’s name was Alure and she was a Siren Descendant. I hope that you don’t yet know what that truly means, but I suspect that being in Spellbound has given you a crash course on the darkest and most powerful parts of our world.

  The necklace I gave you contains The Siren Jewel, the most powerful artifact in magical history, and it is your birthright. You are the last of your mother’s family line. It has been worn by the most powerful mermaids that have ever lived.

  I kept the jewel hidden because I knew you were safer if everyone believed it had been lost when your mother was murdered. Whoever killed her was trying to steal it. I thought I could protect you from falling victim to that same fate by keeping these secrets. I was wrong. I am so sorry for putting you in this position. I’ve made things so much worse.

  Do whatever you must to stay safe. I will see you on visiting day and I will answer all your questions. I promise I will get you out of there. I love you, kiddo.

  Dad

  My birth mom was murdered? A little too fucking late for confessions. Had I known the truth before I was sent to this hell hole I could’ve avoided being beaten till I was to the edge of death. Hell, had I known what I really was years ago I could have avoided being sent to prison at all! If things had been different, I would have been at one of those magical academies right now learning all forms of magic instead of stuck defenseless in prison.

  Voices and heavy footsteps sounded from down the hall. I laid back on the bed and shoved the letter down in between the mattress and the side rail of the bed, then I closed my eyes and pretended to be asleep. I heard the groan of the door as it was pushed open wider. The voices stood in the doorway and a shiver ran down my spine when I recognized one of them.

  “I don’t care if she doesn’t need it. Keep her sedated until this is all over.” Mr. Blu’s gruff voice was undeniable.

  “Sir, I must disagree. Keeping her in a trance isn’t medically necessary and could do more harm than good.”

  “I don’t care if you use magic or drugs. All I care about is that she’s kept unconscious. This isn’t a request. It’s an order.”

  Footsteps retreated from my door and I kept my body rigid. After a few minutes of silence, I peeked through squinted eyes. The room was dim and I was alone again. The fluorescent lights above me were now off and the only light in the room came from the cracked door. I stared at the ceiling, contemplating what to do about this whole sedation thing, when a sound of metal hitting the floor across the room startled me.

  I bolted upright and scanned the darkness. A metal tray sat on the floor in the corner, but no one was around. My heart beat in my chest like a war drum. I looked around for something to protect myself with but found nothing of use. I reached for my magic, but I couldn’t focus it and trying to control it made the room around me spin. The touch of a hand on my arm sent panic through me. My head snapped to the side, searching for the origin, but no one was there. I scurried away from the side of the bed and tried to climb over the railing to get away.

  “Jewels, it’s me. You’re okay,” Lorelei’s voice whispered from the darkness beside me.

  “Lorelei? Where are you?”

  A mist floated in the air by the bed. It grew more and more opaque until Lorelei, Flynn, Teal, and Becky appeared at my bedside.

  “Mr. Blu wouldn’t let us in to see you, so we found another way,” Teal said with a smirk.

  “I heard him tell someone to keep me sedated until it’s all over. Whatever the hell that means.” My friends’ eyes darted between each other. “What am I missing?”

  “We don’t know exactly,” Flynn said. “But half the guards are gone, quite a few inmates, and no one seems to know where they went or how they left.”

  “You can feel the tension in the air,” Becky said.

  “The Blood Coven is claiming responsibility for your attack.” Lorelei took my hand in hers. A warm, fuzzy feeling flowed from her to me and my pain subsided some. “Are you okay?”

  “Okay as I can be. Here.” I pulled my dad’s letter from its hiding place and handed it to her. She read it before passing it to the others.

  “We have to get you out of here.” Lorelei squeezed my hand. “We all need to get out of here and soon.”

  “Do you remember anything about your attack?” Flynn asked.

  “Yeah. Jagged Tooth was there. He said something about The High One wouldn’t let him kill me when he wanted to. Who is The High One?”

  “It’s the leader of The Blood Coven. No one knows who it is.” Becky’s voice quaked with fear.

  “It has to be Blu. He’s had it in for me since day one and he hates my dad. He probably knew my birth mom and has known what I am all along. We have to tell Miss Kemp. She’ll help us.”

  “Jewels…” Teal’s words trailed off and sadness filled her eyes. “She’s missing. Her office was ransacked, but her personal belongings w
ere still there. Everyone assumes she was taken hostage by an escapee. But of course, Blu isn’t telling anyone much. We only get to leave our cells because some of the inmates’ lawyers forced the issue as inhuman with The High Council. They overruled him.”

  “I bet he wasn’t happy about that.” I sighed and pulled Lorelei to me. Before I realized what was happening all my friends were around me, holding me in a giant hug. Tears sprang from my eyes and I buried my face against Lorelei. “I’m so glad you guys are here.”

  Flynn pulled away from the group. Everyone turned toward him and released me. His nose twitched and he stepped forward, sniffing me. He took my hand and brought it to his face. Pressing his nose to my skin, he inhaled.

  “You’re sick.”

  “Well, yeah. I just had the shit beat out of me.”

  “No. I don’t mean that. I mean sick sick.” He looked at our friends. “Magic type sick.”

  Teal walked around to the opposite side of my bed and held her hands out above me. Becky stepped forward and clasped hands with her. They both closed their eyes and chanted. I couldn’t follow everything they were saying, but it was something about uncovering the hidden.

  A pressure weighed down on me from above and I wriggled in bed, trying to make the feeling go away. Becky’s and Teal’s eyes shot open and their chanting stopped. Their eyes were solid black and shiny. They reminded me of The Void. A few minutes passed and the invisible weight around my body grew tighter and tighter. My lungs tried to expand, but felt heavy and wet. Like I was drowning. I reached for Lorelei, but my hand hit an invisible wall and I couldn’t get it past the confines of my bed.

  The pressure suddenly vanished just as the two witches’ arms fell to their sides. The darkness left their eyes and they stood looking at each other with pale faces. Becky started to cry and Flynn wrapped her in his arms. Teal’s legs shook and she grasped the side of my bed to keep herself upright.

  “Someone is draining you of your life force.” Teal sat on the edge of my bed and rested her head in her hands.