When he’d come to speak with her in the alcove, she’d found herself torn between enjoying being in there with him, being close to him, and wanting to keep her distance to make sure Rex didn’t read too much into it.
She’d kept her secret about being able to kill the daemons successfully for a few years now, and she didn’t want it exposed yet. She knew that if Rex found out about it, he’d use it to gain power; to hurt others and inflict pain.
She hated the daemon's as much as the next person and had no problem killing them, but if he knew her power, he’d use it in ways that wouldn’t benefit others.
No, she wanted to use this power, somehow, someday, to help those who needed her the most: the weak and the desperate. She wanted to fight the darkness, not use it to kill people. Saving Nero that morning in the garage had seemed the right thing to do. She knew the daemon was here; she’d felt it and brought her sword down to confront it. She’d waited though, not wanting to reveal herself to any guards or anyone who would report back to Rex. When Nero was the last one standing, she’d jumped in.
She didn’t regret her actions, and she’d do it again in a heartbeat, but it did mean she had to ask Nero a favour to keep her power a secret, which he apparently had done.
‘Missing him already,’ said a voice behind her. She looked back to see the cloaked figure she’d seen with Nero a few times over the two days he’d been here.
‘Sorry?’ she said.
‘Nero. I can see you’re missing him,’ he said.
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ she said, standing up and turning to face him.
‘I think you do. I saw the way you looked at him, and the way he looked at you. He’s kept your secret by the way,’ he said.
‘What the hell are you talking about? Look, all I have to do is to scream and then you’re dead meat. Rex will have your head on a spike for interfering with me, you know. He doesn’t like people…’
‘Nero’s here,’ he interrupted her.
‘Sorry, what?’ Nyx said, wondering if she’d heard him right.
‘Nero. He’s here, in the dungeon. Rex brought him back this morning,’ he said.
‘He’s back?’ she asked.
‘He is,’ he answered.
Nyx narrowed her eyes as she looked at this man. ‘I will know if you’re lying. I can check that dungeon very easily, you know,’ she said.
‘Oh, I know you can. I’m not that stupid. I wouldn’t lie about something like this. I mean, why bother? What does it bring me?’
Nyx thought about that for a moment and shrugged. He was right; it would be a relatively silly thing for a stranger like this guy to do to her. He’d arrived earlier the same day Nero had, and she’d never seen him before during her sixteen years at the Watchtower. As far as she knew, he was a drifter who had nothing to gain by sending her down there.
She looked up at the masked man and tilted her head. ‘Okay, sure. I have some free time, let’s see if you’re right,’ she said and stood up. She thought for a moment before setting off, deciding to make a slight detour to pick up some food for Nero on the way. If he was down there, she reasoned, then it was likely that he’d be hungry.
She swung by the balcony where a man was cleaning down the grill. She spotted the last of the day's food on the side and picked it up, thanking the resident before heading straight down to the tunnels.
She was fairly sure she wouldn’t have a problem coming down here. She was often in these tunnels as it was where Pheen, the Oracle, had her quarters. She and Pheen had worked together for years now, and she was always welcome down here. To get down into the tunnels, you had to pass through the guard room first, as only authorised personnel were allowed down here. These tunnels held some of the towers most valuable or sensitive things, including their prisoners and several areas dedicated to food production.
As they approached, they passed close to the garage, and Nyx stopped and turned to Cryptus.
‘I think you should wait here. I’m allowed down into these tunnels, but you’re not. I’m not even allowed to take anyone down there with me. So, you’d better stay here,’ she said.
‘Okay, as long as you’re sure,’ he answered her.
‘I’m sure,’ she said.
‘Then I’ll be right here. Just shout if you need help,’ he said.
Nyx nodded and turned towards the tunnel entrance. She walked down the slope and into the tunnel before she turned right and approached the closed metal door of the guard room. She banged on it. Moments later, a panel slid across to reveal the face of a guard inside.
‘Nyx,’ he said.
‘The one and only,’ she smiled.
The guard didn’t hesitate and opened the door for her. ‘Evening,’ he said, letting her in before closing the door behind her. Nyx sensed nothing out of the ordinary and nodded to the second guard in here who sat at a nearby table. He looked up and nodded back with a friendly smile.
With as much confidence as she could muster, she wandered over to the key rack.
‘Which cell is the prisoner in?’ she asked nonchalantly.
‘Four,’ one of the guards said.
Nyx plucked the keys to cell four from the board and walked over to the back door.
‘He won’t be able to eat that,’ the guard who had opened the door said to her. Nyx paused and looked down at the platter of food she had in her hand.
‘How come?’ she asked.
‘He’s chained up, Rex left him like that,’ he said.
‘Then where’s the key to his chains? I’ll sort it out,’ she said.
The guard's eyes narrowed as he looked at her. ‘Really?’
‘I can handle myself,’ she said.
‘Oh, I know you can handle yourself, but this is a little different. I’ll come with you,’ the guard said.
Her mind raced, desperately trying to think up a plausible excuse for her to visit him alone, but she was drawing a blank. If she was legitimately just heading down here to feed the prisoner and nothing else, she’d gladly accept the help and added security that bringing a guard would provide.
‘Okay, thanks,’ she said brightly, turning away from the guards so they couldn’t see the grimace she had on her face. There was literally nothing she could do. The guard stepped forward and opened the door for her, letting her through.
‘Rex got you running errands for him again?’ the guard asked.
‘Yeah. Just giving the leftovers from today to the prisoner. They want him fresh for questioning tomorrow,’ she said, thinking on her toes and making stuff up as quickly as she could.
‘It was some good meat today,’ the guard said to her. ‘Do you know what it was?’
‘Uh, dunno,’ she said. ‘Wild dog? Rat maybe? I’m not sure.’
‘I’ll have to ask the cook,’ the guard said to himself as he led her down the tunnel, through a couple of turns, and into the cell block area. They soon reached cell four, and the guard motioned for her to step forward and unlock the door with the key she held.
Moving up, she looked through the barred window on the door at the man inside, hanging from his wrists with his head hung low. She couldn’t see his face, but, it could be him. The clothes looked familiar.
‘Yeah, they messed him up pretty bad. You don’t have to go in there, I can do it for you,’ the guard said, stepping up to her.
Nyx smiled at the chivalry the guard was displaying. ‘No, thanks, I can handle it,’ she said. She’d seen worse in her time than just a few bruises and a bloodied face, of course. The guard had misread her hesitation, which wasn’t surprising. She knew that if she went in here, there was no turning back. Once she’d freed him, they were on a one-way track to escape this place.
She took a breath and placed the key in the lock with a metallic clatter and turned it.
The man inside stirred and looked up. Nyx looked back at him, and even with the extra hair growth on his jaw, she recognised Nero. He spotted her and suddenly lifted his face with h
ope in his eyes.
She could see he was about to say something. In a panic, with her eyes wide, she shook her head slightly, hoping the guard didn’t notice. Nero paused moments before he was about to speak, so Nyx winked at him with a smile.
Nero clamped his mouth shut as she lifted the latch and threw the bolts open before pushing the door wide.
Nyx stepped back and let the guard in first, before reaching into her belt and pulling out the shiv she had hidden in there. The small self-made knife wasn’t very formidable looking, but she knew how to inflict plenty of damage with it.
She had a few of these homemade daggers around, ready for her opportunity to use them. Rex found one every now and again and confiscated them when he did. So, she was always cautious how and where she hid them, not usually carrying them on her when she was likely to be spending time with Rex as he would often have her searched for such things.
The guard walked inside the cell and stepped up in front of Nero. ‘Well, aren’t you the lucky one? Getting some food tonight, and from Nyx no less,’ the man said.
Stepping up behind him, Nyx took a breath and then lunged at him, grabbing him by the neck and then slamming the shiv against the side of his skull as hard as she could. The guard whimpered, spasmed for a moment, and then fell to the ground, the shiv still lodged in the side of his temple.
‘Are you going to kill me, or is this a rescue?’ Nero asked.
Nyx looked up at him, and then down at the guard. Well, she thought, she had officially passed the point of no return. She turned, pushed the door so it was nearly closed to hide what they were doing from view before crouching next to the guard and yanking the shiv from his skull. Blood poured from the hole she’d made. It was not a pretty sight.
Standing up, Nyx looked up at Nero. ‘What have you told Rex?’ she asked.
‘Nothing,’ Nero answered her.
‘Nothing? You didn’t say I killed the daemon?’
‘No, I swear,’ he said.
Nyx eyed him for a moment, looking for any hint of deception in his face, but saw only open honesty. ‘Okay, I believe you,’ she said.
‘Has he been asking you the same thing?’ Nero asked.
‘Not really, but I think he suspects. He has been crueller than usual with me though, which I think might be related to you,’ she said.
‘Why don’t you run? I’ve seen you fight. I know you can handle yourself. You’d do fine out there in the wastes,’ he said.
Nyx sighed and placed her hands on her hips. ‘I want to, believe me, I do, but I don’t know how to survive out there. Yeah, I can fight, but I suspect it wouldn’t be the creatures that would kill me in the end. Rex has been clever in keeping such skills from me. I’ve picked up some stuff, but not enough. Not really. I’d die of starvation or exposure or something,’ she said. ‘Oh, and I can’t drive, either.’
She saw Nero thinking, turning something over in his mind before he looked up at her.
‘Okay, if you can get me out of here, you can come with me,’ he said. It looked to Nyx that coming to that decision was not something that came easily to Nero. As if it had been something he’d been wrestling with for a while, but finally, he’d made his choice.
Nyx smiled, reached down and picked up the keys the guard had been carrying. ‘Well, then, today's your lucky day,’ Nyx said, holding the key up before her.
Chapter 14
Nero
Nero grinned back at Nyx, and it was as if a weight had been lifted from his mind and back. He’d been wrestling with this choice for the past few days, but now, finally, there was no turning back.
If he were honest with himself, the moment that Nyx killed that guard, the choice had been made for him, anyway. Either he agreed to help her, or he condemned her to torture or death, and he’d likely be beaten to a pulp himself as well. There was no going back now, not really. Where ever this roller coaster led, they were stuck on it.
But, now he thought about it, he actually didn’t mind it. Even though the choice had been forced on him and effectively made for him - as he wasn’t about to stand by and let Nyx be captured - he didn’t feel angry or upset. He found it quite freeing, actually, and the view of his future suddenly looked much different. Whereas before, looking at it now, he knew he’d been just surviving, just getting through each day one at a time. Now, he realised he had a purpose, he had a reason to do what he did.
Nyx was depending on him. She needed him, and he liked that feeling. Moments later, the chain went slack and he was able to slowly lower his arms. For now, he couldn’t lower them the whole way. His muscles felt stiff and painful, and he dropped to the floor with a groan.
‘I have some food,’ she said to him. Even though he was on a hard stone floor, laying here and letting his arms relax on the cool stone surface was like heaven. He looked up and saw the platter above him.
‘It’s not much, just the scraps of meat from dinner today, but I thought you’d like it,’ she said.
Nero took the plate from her and did his best to use his aching arms and stuff the meat into his mouth. He’d almost forgotten how hungry he actually was.
‘I need to get you out of here,’ Nyx said.
Nero tested his arms, but the pain lanced through his shoulders and sides like lightning, causing him to grunt.
‘Shit, I can’t get you out like this, you’d never make it out the tunnels,’ she said.
The door creaked behind Nyx. Nero looked over in a sudden panic, his heart in his mouth, as did Nyx, who spun to look at who was approaching. As they watched the door open, Nero noticed Nyx held her shiv behind her back, ready to leap.
Pheen, the Watchtower’s Oracle, leaned into the room, showing her face from behind the door. ‘Only me,’ she cooed into the cell. ‘Here, try this,’ she said and held out a small bottle of liquid.
Nero let out a long breath at seeing Nyx relax. Seeing that door opening up had scared him, flooding his body with adrenalin and making his heart beat like a drum in his chest.
‘What is it?’ Nyx said.
‘Medicine, for your friend there,’ she said.
‘Oh,’ Nyx answered and reached out for it.
‘Hold up,’ Nero said. ‘Lady, I don’t know you from Eve, so, I’m sorry, but, I’m not sure I want to just swallow that without any proof of what it does,’ he said.
The woman smiled. ‘Of course. Look here,’ she said, and poured some into her mouth before swallowing it. ‘Mmm, yum, that’s nice. See, it’s harmless?’
Nero saw her do it, but part of him was still unsure. What if she’d built up a tolerance to some poison and she could now just drink it and not suffer any adverse effects? He didn’t like it, but it seemed that Nyx trusted her.
‘Nyx?’ Nero said.
‘You can trust her,’ she said, taking the bottle from Pheen and taking a sip of it herself. She pulled a face, wrinkling her nose in disgust. ‘Ugh, yuk, that’s gross,’ she said. ‘I thought you said it was nice?’ Nyx asked.
‘Well, I like it. Hmm, well, I suppose there’s no accounting for taste, is there. Heheh. But anyway, it won’t hurt you,’ Pheen said.
‘Do you trust her?’ Nero said to Nyx.
Nyx nodded straight away. ‘She’s a little crazy, but yeah, I do. She’s the only person I trust in the tower, actually.’
‘Okay, give it here,’ Nero said.
‘Drink all of it to get the best effect now,’ the Oracle said. ‘Down the hatch, you pretty little thing.’
Nero looked at Pheen, and then back at the bottle, doubt filling his mind. Drinking the concoction of a crazy person seemed like madness to him, ironically.
‘We don’t have all night. We need to get you moving again,’ Nyx said to him. Nero glanced at her and saw the look in her eyes. She was mentally urging him to drink it and to help her. He was her only hope of getting out of here, and now she had killed a guard, this was it. Nero steeled himself and gulped down the foul liquid. It had a slightly syrupy feel to it, and it really w
as disgusting to taste.
He handed the bottle back to Nyx, who then passed it up to Pheen.
‘How long until it starts to take effect?’ Nyx asked.
‘Oh, not long, not long at all. Watch, just watch. He should start to feel it any second now,’ she said, turning to him. ‘So, do you, hmm? Can you feel it?’
As the woman spoke, as if by magic, the pain in his arms, shoulders, and back did actually start to drain away. It was slow going, but it was working, and as it did, the movement in his shoulders also came back.
‘How did you know?’ Nero asked, looking up at the old woman in wonder.
‘I’m only down the corridor, sweetie. I saw you arrive, but I was busy with an experiment.’ she said. ‘When Rex came back dragging that chain down the corridor, he woke me up, the little troll. So, I had a look and saw your pretty face and remembered that little Nyxy here quite liked you. Figured I’d make some go-go juice to pep you up before I went to find her, but you beat me to it, you pesky little scamp,’ she said to Nyx.
Nyx smiled up at the woman. ‘Thank you, but yes, someone else beat you to it,’ Nyx said.
‘Cryptus,’ Nero guessed. The strange man had come through for him.
Nyx nodded to Nero. ‘That’s right.’
‘Where is he?’ Nero asked.
‘Back up top. He couldn’t follow me down; the guards would get suspicious,’ she said.
Nero nodded.
‘Hey, Lander, you okay down there?’ yelled a male voice from back up the corridor.
The old woman turned to look behind her with a startled look on her face.
‘It’s the other guard. He’ll be here any moment,’ Nyx said. She turned to look at Nero, then at the body on the floor and then back to Nero, clearly thinking through her options.
He knew what she was thinking. His arms were better but had a little way to go yet. He’d be overpowered by the guard in moments.
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