by Cece Rose
He looks between her and the others that enter the room with those weird-looking scanners. His fingers twitch against the bar, and a drink appears in front of him. He quickly grabs the glass, throwing its contents at Cami. She shrieks, covering her face with her hands as she falls to her knees. I duck down behind the bar as bursts of attack magic shoot across the room in the direction of me and the assailant.
I hear a pained grunt, followed by the sound of a body thumping onto the floor. There’s more movement and magic fired, as everyone seems to panic and start scrambling. I stay hidden behind the bar, telling my curiosity to shut up for once. I know that with my luck, I’d get hit by a stray curse if I so much as peek my head over the bar to see what’s going on.
The sounds of chaos seem to go on forever, but the clock on the wall tells me that, in truth, only a few minutes pass. A sudden quiet descends on the room, as all the sound seems to die out at once. I debate taking a look over the bar, but swiftly reject the idea. Instead, I stay hidden behind the bar and try to steel my nerves by taking quiet, but deep breaths. I pocket my bracelet, not wanting to risk them picking up on its magical signature if I put it on.
I should ask Rhydian about hazard pay.
“What do we have hiding back here?” I hear the lead guy’s voice ask. I cringe, looking up as he slides over the bar to stand in front of me. He peers behind me at all the shattered glass on the floor. “I didn't notice this happen,” he comments, eyeing the shards from the broken mirror.
“Ah, I broke it just before you guys turned up,” I explain as I rise, careful to keep my hands visible and my movements slow and unthreatening. I look around and notice most of the others seem to have left. Only Cami and one other guy remain on the other side of the bar.
“What did that mirror ever do to you?” he says, a smile twisting at the corners of his lips.
“It looked at me funny,” I quip, before slamming my mouth shut. Not a good time to be making jokes.
“You work here?” he asks.
“Yeah, I do. It’s my first day,” I answer honestly. It’s not like it’s a crime to work here, even if the clientele isn’t the most law-abiding bunch.
“Are you gonna scan her, or just stand there flirting all day?” Cami snaps, irritation lacing her tone. I try not to roll my eyes. We barely exchanged two sentences, but it’s obvious she has some jealousy issues. I chance a discreet glance between the two of them, watching how she looks at him and his steadfast disregard of her. Poor guy doesn’t have a clue she’s obsessed.
“Mind if I scan?” he inquires, holding up the device.
“Would it matter if I said no?” I fidget awkwardly, eyeing the scanner. I know I’m not guilty of anything, but a tremor runs down my back all the same. Something doesn’t feel right about this.
“It wouldn’t.” He clicks the button, and a flash of light flows over me. It beeps before the light cuts out. Shit, it didn’t do that with the other guy. Why did it beep?
“Gina Thornton,” he breathes, giving me a strange look.
“Gina who?” I ask, but it seems to go unheard as he begins to check off whatever this Gina person has done.
“You’re wanted for murder, arson, robbery, and distribution of illegal goods.”
I choke. He cannot be serious.
“I didn’t do any of that. I don’t even know who Gina is!” I exclaim, stepping back as he moves closer to me.
“Should have run when you had the chance,” Cami drawls. I turn to face her just as she hurls a ball of purple magic at me. It smacks me square in the chest, and I fly back, slamming into the wall behind me.
I try to pull myself up, but find my legs feel like jelly, so I plead from the floor instead. “My name is Kayla Marie Harlow, I haven’t killed anyone. I’m not whoever this Gina—” My appeal is cut off by my abrupt yelp of pain when a bolt of electrifying magic zaps me. I cry out, the shock sending tremors throughout my entire body. Tears stream down my cheeks as my vision blurs. I somehow force myself to stay conscious.
Kier. He knows who I am. He could vouch for me.
“Please, listen to me,” I beg. “Kier Huxley. D.I. Kier Huxley. Call him, ask him who Kayla Harlow is, he’ll tell you!”
“No surprises she knows the names of some detectives, probably spent enough time getting to know them the last time she got arrested,” Cami’s voice says, just before she shocks me again, even harder this time. I scream, until my throat is raw, and no sound escapes my lips.
“Maybe we should—”
“Don’t be an idiot, Micah. She’s just trying to waste our time and distract us, so she can attempt to escape. It says here in her file she’s eluded capture before; do we really want her second escape as a mark against our names?” Cami cuts the lead guy—Micah, I guess—off, forceful with her reproach.
“I’ll cuff her,” the other man’s voice volunteers, he’d been quiet until now. I hear him clamour over to me, chains clinking as he draws closer. I curl up in a ball, no other defence against them, and no fight left in me.
“Don’t bother with the magic binding cuffs, the silver ones will do. She’s just a shifter,” Cami snaps.
A shifter? I’m a witch, damnit!
My arms are yanked behind my back and cuffed. I offer no resistance as all my energy is being spent just keeping myself awake and listening. When they take me back to their office, surely they’ll figure out I’m a witch and not a shifter. Then they’ll realise their mistake and that I’m telling the truth.
Then I’ll be set free...
Everything goes black for a second. At least, I think it was only a second. I cough, my throat still feels raw and broken. My body aches in ways I couldn’t imagine possible. I hear a faded voice, but I struggle to make out any words. I force my eyes open and see Micah standing over me, his hand hovering above my chest.
Should have worn that stupid fucking bracelet after all. What’s the worst that could happen? Ha. This. This was definitely the worst thing that could have happened.
My eyes squeeze shut of their own accord when he zaps me again. The pain lances through me, causing uncontrollable convulsions to overtake me and black spots to dot my vision until it just becomes too much, and darkness claims me.
Ten
The Tomb
A rumbling beneath me startles me awake from a restless sleep. I blink my eyes open, but find it difficult to see anything in the darkness that surrounds me. As my eyes begin to adjust to the dark, I push myself upright into a sitting position and pain shoots through my body in protest as I do. I'm in the back of a trailer pulled by an old, army-style jeep, and my hands hang above my head, secured by a loose chain to a beam running down the centre of the trailer.
I look around, noticing that I’m not alone. My eyes run over the others in the trailer, all of whom are chained up in the same manner I am. Three men and one other woman held captive alongside her. One of the men appears to be sleeping, one is staring at the other woman whom is pointedly ignoring him, and the third man is just staring up hopelessly. I follow his gaze, shocked to find rock, and not a dark night sky above us. My eyes dart around, seeing rock on either side of us too. We're driving through a tunnel, or maybe even a cave, considering the rough, rocky edges.
“Where are we?” I aim my question at no one in particular. All eyes shift towards me, other than the sleeping one. I swallow. “What?”
The woman snorts, and the guy who was gazing above us narrows his eyes on me. But it's the one who was staring at the other woman who speaks.
“Where the fuck do you think we’re going, princess?” he growls, his eyes flashing brightly in irritation as he loses his hold a little on the animal inside of him. He’s a shifter. And one that doesn’t seem to have a lot of control either.
I scoot back against the side of the trailer, feeling the cool metal press into my back. I bite my tongue, sensing that perhaps I should keep my observations to myself. The guy gives off some scary freaking vibes.
“We're in The Tomb, well in the pathw
ay to it anyway,” the woman’s quiet voice responds, after it becomes clear no one else will answer.
“What?!” I exclaim, straightening up as I look around again. There's another jeep behind ours, as well as another in front of the one pulling us. “They can't do that. I haven't even spoken to anyone. There wasn't a trial, or even any questioning. There's been a mistake!” I look forward at the jeep pulling us. “Hey, did you hear me? There's been a mistake!” I yell in a desperate attempt to get the driver’s attention as I rattle and yank on the chains holding me captive.
“Shut up!” the woman snaps, giving me an annoyed look with her steely grey eyes, before sliding her gaze back over to the sleeping man. He manages to snooze right through my breakdown.
One less witness to my panic, at least.
“I'm not going to shut up. This cannot be happening to me. I'm innocent!” I protest, the terror surging through me is overwhelming, and my objection turns shrill.
“If you don't shut up, you might just die before you even get to The Tomb,” the man who was looking at the rocky ceiling says, not that he sounds all too bothered by the prospect. If anything, he sounds entirely indifferent.
After a sharp inhale I stammer, “Are you threatening me?”
“No. But that guy over there.” He gestures to the man in deep slumber. “Is Thomas J Ramsey, also known by the affectionate nickname ‘The Ripper’. He came in without a fight when they found him to avoid his kill warrant, so I hear. Too bad they only found him after he slaughtered hundreds of innocent people.”
My eyes drift to the sleeping man, noting his complete motionlessness. His chest not even rising to breathe. I'm almost certain he's a vampire. A shudder runs down my back at the thought. My last experience with an unknown vampire didn't go so well. I swallow and force my eyes away from his latent form.
“I've never heard of The Ripper. You're just trying to scare me,” I insist.
“Keep shouting then, go on. It's your funeral. But, full disclosure, he warned if anyone woke him, they'd be dinner.”
“Well, it's a good thing he sleeps like the dead then,” I mutter, but I do make a conscious decision to lower my voice. Just in case. The jeep pulling us slows as we drive into a larger part of the caves. Torches line the walls down in this section, and I know we've reached the end of our journey. My stomach lurches when we stop, catapulting into a freefall when I hear people getting out of the jeeps. Heavy footsteps thump to the ground followed by the sound of their approach.
Six men come into view, all dressed in black from head to toe, with the exception of a dark-green slash of colour across their chests. Scanning over them, I’m confident they must be at least half troll, ogre, giant, or something like that. All of them appear almost 7ft tall, and their skin holds a slight pale-grey tinge, as if they don’t see much sunlight. Not quite big enough to be full blooded, but definitely not human, witch, shifter, or fae either. It figures the guards for a place like this would be terrifying.
One of the biggest guards steps forward, jumping up into the trailer where we're restrained. He unlocks the other woman first, gesturing for her to get out of the trailer. She complies without a word, jumping to the ground with ease. Another guard points her in a different direction, and she’s soon out of my sight, led around the jeeps.
He heads to me next, unlocking my hands and freeing me from the chains. I rub my wrists, only now realising how sore they feel from their confinement. His expression is blank as he motions for me to get moving as well.
“Look, sir, my name is Kayla,” I begin, but I'm cut off by a grunt and a sharp look from the guard in the trailer with me.
“Papers here say you are a Miss Gina Thornton,” one of the others reads in a gravely tone, as he leans over.
“That’s what I’m saying, though. There’s been some kind of mistake. You've got the wrong person,” I insist. The shifter still chained up in the trailer rolls his eyes, and I try to maintain my composure. Losing my shit won’t get me anywhere. I just have to make them listen to me.
“No mistakes,” the guard in front of me sneers. “Out. Now. You will comply, or we will knock you out and drag you in there ourselves. Trust me, girl, you don't want to go in there unconscious and unable to defend yourself.”
Defend myself? What the hell kind of prison is this?
I scramble out of the jeep, stumbling on the landing. In a strange twist of my luck, one of the guards catches me by my shoulder.
“Steady,” he grumbles, before pushing me off in the direction the other woman had walked off to. He walks behind me, just as the last guard did with her.
“Look,” I start again. “My name is Kayla Harlow. Please, you need to contact Detective Huxley. He can explain to you who I am, and that this is all a huge misunderstanding.”
“I will not fall for your tricks. Many have tried to beg, plead, or trick their way out of this punishment. Now walk faster!” the guard’s impatient response ends in a roar. He shoves me forward until we reach the other woman and her guard. She's standing against the far wall, and the guard gestures for me to join her. I lean against the wall, trying not to fidget or show my nerves.
One by one, the three men are led to join us against the wall. The once slumbering vampire brings up the rear, and he wears an disturbing smile as he's brought around, the expression sending a shiver down my spine. He relaxes against the wall, and I find myself grateful for the two men standing between us.
Two of the guards go back to the jeep, returning with several small, grey backpacks. They throw the bags at us, one landing at each of our feet.
“These are your new inmate packs. New supplies are dropped into the main pit every twelve hours. There are functioning toilets and shower rooms located in the places marked with a blue circle on your map. These are closed for three hours once a week on rotation. I am sure you will figure it out soon enough,” the bigger guard explains.
I can feel my forehead creasing in confusion. Main pits? Maps? I reach for my pack, lifting it up and unzipping it to peek inside. There's a small pillow, a thin grey blanket, a bottle of water, a small plastic zip-lock bag with basic toiletries, what looks like a few meal replacement bars, and the aforementioned map. This can’t be everything we're being given to survive. This is insane. I look down at my clothes. I’m still dressed in nothing but skimpy shorts and a suddenly way too tight t-shirt. They can’t seriously be throwing me in here dressed like this.
“There are no assigned cells. No assigned bunks. There are hundreds of cells located all over the facility, and they can lock from the inside only. Two bunks in each. Be careful not to step on someone's toes, the older inmates here don't take kindly to people trespassing on their territory,” he continues, his words sounding almost rehearsed. Or maybe he just says them so often they’re burned onto his tongue.
This can't be happening. It can't be. I open my mouth to speak, to proclaim my innocence once again, when the guard’s words spring to echo in my mind. 'You don't want to go in there unconscious and unable to defend yourself.' I gulp, choosing to keep silent despite my growing hysteria.
“All magic users have their magic locked prior to entering the facility. It is a precautionary measure against anyone attempting to break out of here. However, for those of you magically inclined, a word of warning – the other species incarcerated here are not cut off from their abilities. Shifters can still turn, and vampires still bite, so you may wish to take care and make friends, rather than enemies,” he advises, shooting a stern look towards the woman and the guy who'd been staring at the ceiling. They must be magic users.
I'm tempted to use my second sight to see what kind, and start to do so, when I realise that would be a bad idea. Whatever these guards are, they might sense it, and I doubt they'd listen to my protestations of innocence on the basis of me being a witch. From what they've said, it may be possible for magic users to find a way out of this place. So, I'll need to keep my magic unrestricted if I want to save myself from this mess.
<
br /> “There is no escaping, so don't even try. Nobody has ever escaped our facility,” he adds, as if he could hear the thoughts running through my head. “Anyone have any questions?” he demands, looking at each of us.
When nobody else speaks up, I stay silent, my hands tightening on the strap of my backpack.
“Good,” he grunts, walking to the wall. He slaps his hand on the rocks, closing his eyes in concentration. The rocks start to pull away, leaving a gap in between them. A gap that leads into a small tunnel. “You will all walk into the tunnel. Once I have shut it behind you, the tunnel will open into an entrance room on the other side. It’s probable the other inmates will hear the rocks moving, so prepare yourselves to be greeted.”
The other guards step in closer, I’m sure in case any of us fancy staging a last minute break out attempt. It’s a bit surprising to me, but no one tries anything as we're herded into the tunnel. My breathing all but stops as the wall begins to close behind us. I've never heard of any creature possessing control over rock like that, but if I get out of here I swear to look into it.
Just before the rocks finish closing us in, he offers one final piece of advice. “Try not to die or kill each other!”
Well, that’s reassuring.
I swallow thickly, my heart racing in my chest as the wall on the other side starts to open. I notice the others standing with me are just as tense. Well, other than the vampire; he's looking pretty damn relaxed. A weird, green-tinged light shines on us as the wall comes to a halt, and it takes me a second to notice the people standing across from us, watching, are also bathed beneath the greenish glow. The other inmates. Trying to discern the source of the light, I look up and notice green luminescent crystals lining the ceiling of the cave. I’m sure I would be more impressed with the natural light source if I wasn’t so worried for my life.
The vampire moves first, prowling into the circular-shaped room with confidence. He stalks around the room and eyes all the inmates with circumspect before pausing in front of a man with sandy blond hair. He stands before him for a moment, just staring, but then drops to his knees in front of the man without warning.