Dauntless

by Thomas G. Atwood Jr.

  “Are you talking about…?”

  “David Alexander and Marie LaFleur. Unfortunately, Daniel was unwilling to cooperate. They escaped with their lives and the one child they were able to liberate. You.”

  “It’s not true,” I said, dropping the picture as if it was on fire. A cold dread settled in my stomach, pressing like a rock on my chest. “It can’t be.”

  “I’m afraid it is true. More convincing may be necessary,” she said, pulling some pictures from the envelope. Each one showed people subjected to various methods of torture. “Let’s see if we can’t spark that memory anymore.”

  Each picture brought a flood of memories back, to the point where I felt myself in the room. I could smell the metallic scent of blood in the air. A faceless figure cut into a bound man, humming like a grandmother working needlepoint. I saw the blood flowing in rivers as she skinned men alive. The screams echoed in my ears, howling cries of pain and anguish that sent me crying every time I heard them. I shook my head, desperate to shake the memories. Each picture brought them back in a flood, though. I remembered how the faceless woman would walk me over while the victim held onto its last dregs of life. She’d force me to deliver the final blow, extinguishing their life. Crimson energy would leave their body, wrapping around me like a snake as their last breath left them in one final breath.

  “I don’t get it,” Aidan stated as tears flowed down my face. “If all this is true, then why doesn’t Kacey remember any of this?”

  “The mind of a child is a malleable thing,” Siren stated. “You were four when Morrigan decided to start her indoctrination. It wouldn’t take more than a few sessions for a skilled psychologist to help her to repress those memories. After that, it was a simple matter of lying to you, my dear.”

  “Why are you telling me this?” I screamed, standing upright in front of her. “What’s wrong with you?”

  “It may be advantageous for you to calm down,” she stated, sipping the last of her wine.

  “Fuck you!” Magic surged through my muscles as I hauled her from the sofa, snarling as I glared at her. Her bodyguard took a step toward her, but Siren held her hand out stopping him. “Why are you telling me this?” I repeated, shaking her.

  “I am baffled by the fact that you are unable to see why given your disdain for me. Do you think me some sweet grandmother, spoon feeding you information whenever you see fit? I am evil, girl,” she hissed, eyes blazing as she glowered down at me. “I have no qualms about what I am. I am a beast in a pit, a predator who feeds on the lifeblood of these vermin. I am telling you this, girl, because I expect you to grab Drake and slit his throat. You have been a killer since you were a child; it is high time you embraced that. Set me down before I show you what a cornered beast can do.” I set Siren back down on the couch, causing her to grumble as she straightened her dress.

  “Thank you,” she murmured. “Details of the ritual are in those documents,” she stated, handing us another envelope. “The good news is that there’s a counter agent. However, it requires someone with significant knowledge of both science and sorcery to make it work. It does also take some time.”

  “What’s the bad news?”

  “When the ritual is active, the mage joins their soul with the souls of the creatures he commands. The spell allows him to communicate with the monsters through telepathy, and increase his power by leaps and bounds.”

  “How powerful will he become?”

  “He would be able to kill you and your companions without breaking a sweat,” she stated in the same tone as if she was announcing the weather. The bodyguard walked up to her and whispered something in her ear. She stood up, grabbing a pack that the guard provided. “If you’ll excuse me, I must be going.”

  “Where are you going?” Aidan asked, suspicion lacing his voice.

  “To be frank, I have zero faith in your ability to get the job done. So I'm taking my private jet and intend to leave town as soon as possible.”

  “Wait, do you know anything about a bloodstone?” Aidan asked, causing her to glance around.

  “Yes, the human woman gave it to Kacey for safe keeping,” she stated in a flat tone.

  “No, she didn’t,” I said, glaring at her.

  “Must I do everything for you? Do you think that I’m your best friend, and we’ll dish over manicures at the salon? I’m sure if you think; you’ll be able to find it. Lord knows with all your running around, you already have. If you’ll excuse me, I intend to be gone before Drake burns this town to ash.”

  I watched her vanish into the crowd and sniffed. “Nice lady,” I said, grumbling as I paced back and forth.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Oh God, people need to stop asking me that,” I muttered, running my fingers through my hair. “I don’t know, Aidan. My parents lied to me all these years, my brother is a psychopath, and I have to track down and kill him. How are you?”

  “I’m okay,” he stated, wrapping his arm around me. “You’re going to be fine, Kacey.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “Because you’re always fine,” he said, making an exaggerated show of checking me out. I pushed him, giving a small laugh as I did.

  “Do you think Siren’s right? Do you think I’m a killer?”

  “I think you already know the answer to that.”

  “Say it for me.”

  “Of course not. You’re the victim, Kacey.”

  “Maybe,” I said, navigating my way through the packed club. The crowd continued to move and gyrate, but the sight did nothing for me. I stared at the floor as I walked to the car.

  “Did you get anything?”

  “Yeah, more than I needed,” I stated, tossing him the folder. “Let’s get back to The Mansion.”

  “Are you…?” Frank started.

  “I’m not in the mood to answer that question. Get us home.”

  We drove through the night, the headlights illuminating the icy highway. The chill of winter invaded the car, but I wasn’t aware of it. I was numb. The memories of all those people tortured and brutalized were as clear as the light of day. I remembered taking dozens of lives, Morrigan’s hand forcing me to cut out their still beating heart. I kept seeing Laurie subjected to the same torment. I was more convinced than ever I was cursed. I felt Aidan squeeze my hand in the back seat, and I beamed at him. His emerald eyes gazed into mine, and he seemed to shine through all the darkness that was hovering over me. I wasn’t fine, but I knew that everything was going to be okay, because if Aidan cared about me, I couldn’t be so bad.

  Chapter 18

  I threw open the doors of The Mansion, grumbling as I walked inside. Dad stood at the other side, a grin on his face as he saw me walk in.

  “Hey, kiddo,” he said as I walked through. “We fixed the satellite system. I thought we’d pop some popcorn and watch those ninja movies you’re fond of.” I ignored him, pushing past as I made a beeline for the kitchen.

  “What’s up with you?” he asked, staring with concern as I stormed past.

  “Who’s Morrigan?” I asked, glaring at him. His face went pale, and I spun on my heel, ignoring his sputtering attempts to explain. I rummaged around the kitchen, groaning as I came up empty in my search.

  “Hey, kiddo, we need to talk,” Dad said, walking up behind me.

  “No, we don’t. Where the hell are the knives in this place?”

  “Top drawer. I understand you’re upset…”

  “I am so past upset,” I snapped, finding a box cutter and pulling it out of the drawer. “You might want to leave; this is going to get gross.” I ran the knife under steaming hot water and plunged it into my shoulde
r. Dad shouted in surprise as I cut into myself, having to use the dull knife to saw through my skin. Agony shot through me, but I ignored it, too obsessed with my rage and sadness to notice.

  “Jesus Christ, Kacey! What are you doing?” He reached for the knife, but I pushed him away, sending him sliding across the room like he was nothing.

  “This would be the third person who told me that my mom gave me a bloodstone,” I said, my voice blank of any emotion. “I went through my mom’s belongings seven times, and I didn’t find anything. That’s when I remembered Kat said she found a lump near my shoulder. Mom used to be a mercenary, and what better place to put it then somewhere she couldn’t get to even if she wanted.” I slid my fingers into the wound, grunting with pain as I rooted through my shoulder. My fingers closed on something hard, and I pulled it out, tossing a bloodstained jewel on the counter. The wound sewed itself together, and I rolled the glowing, crimson stone around in my fingers.

  “Mother of the year,” I sneered in contempt as I stared at it. I glared at Dad. “Of course, I’m not related to either of you, am I?”

  “How long have you known?” Dad asked, leaning against the wall and crossing his arms.

  “That depends, how long was the ride home?” I spun toward him, my ponytail swinging with the movement. “You know what pisses me off? My parents both lied to me, all these years, and I had to learn the truth from a mobster!”

  “We wanted to keep you safe, Kacey! We wanted you to live a regular life. We didn’t want you to spend your time with your hands buried in the same filth we did.”

  “So you lied to me!”

  “Yes!” Dad shouted back, banging his hand against the wall. “You’re damn straight I lied to you. If I told you the truth, then you would have flown off half-cocked at Morrigan. You and I both know that,” he said, cocking a finger at me. “I did everything I could to protect my daughter.”

  “I’m not your daughter!” Pain and grief flashed through his eyes as I said that. “I’m some kid you picked up along the way.”

  “Is that what you think? Do you believe that I risked my life and had my legs shattered for some girl? Kacey, I love you more than anything in this world.” He reached out to grab my shoulders, but I ducked away from him, tears welling in my eyes.

  “Who’s my father?”

  “I’m your father.”

  “You know what I mean.”

  “I don’t know.” I scoffed, rolling my eyes at him. “I mean it, I have no idea! I give you my word, Kacey.”

  “Yeah, like that’s worth anything these days. I need some space,” I said, turning my back on him.

  Dad tapped on the wall before moving to leave. “Track me down if you need me.”

  “I wouldn’t hold my breath.”

  Kat walked into the room, giving my dad a brief grin before walking up.

  “What’s up?” she asked, flipping her blonde hair.

  “Did Frank meet with you?”

  “Yeah, I searched through the papers. Most of it was information I already knew, but this antidote could help. If I could wrap my head around the math, that is.”

  “We need Laurie, don’t we?”

  “We do unless you happen to know any other geniuses who can help us.”

  “Great, freaking brilliant. I had to screw up and get her captured.”

  “Self-flagellation isn’t going to help us rescue her sooner,” Kat stated, resting a hand on my shoulder. “You seem like you’ve had a long day. Do you want to talk about it?”

  “I’m not a big talker,” I said, shrugging.

  “You have to let it out sometime. If you keep all this bottled up, then it’s going to eat at you until you explode and do something self-destructive.” She gave me a playful nudge. “Trust me; there’s nothing you can tell me that I haven’t heard before.”

  “Twenty bucks says you’re wrong.”

  Kat laughed. “You’re on.”

  So I laid it all out for her. How Dad wasn’t my father, how my real family was a group of psychopaths, and how I learned it all from the town’s resident pimp. Kat listened to it all, leaning back in her chair as I unloaded everything on her. She waited until I finished, and reached into her purse. She fished out a twenty-dollar bill and set it down in front of me.

  “You win,” she said.

  “Thanks,” I chuckled.

  “How are you coping?”

  I scoffed. “I have no idea. With everything that’s gone on the last few days, I don’t know whether to laugh, cry, or crawl up in a ball under my bed.”

  “I recommend against that last one. We have dust bunnies the size of actual bunnies.” We chuckled together at the joke, and Kat sat next to me. “I’d love to give you some sage advice about dealing, but I don’t have it. I don’t have anything I can tell you to make this easier or any advice about how to proceed. You have to keep putting one leg in front of the other, I guess.”

  “How?” I grumbled, reaching into the cookie jar. I munched on the treat, enjoying the rush of energy the sugar gave me.

  “You do. You make the decision that you’re going to do the best you can today. Tomorrow you wake up and make that decision again.” Kat laughed as she saw me eating the cookie. “Well, look at that. You’re coming along already.”

  “What do you mean?” She gestured at the cookie. “Oh. I learned how to eat without getting sick. It’s not like I’m Merlin or something.”

  “They needed to lock Merlin up in a tower when he was your age. He couldn’t control his abilities, and they were hurting everyone around him. I was the same way. If you’ve learned how to deactivate those freakish senses of yours, then you have a leg up on us.”

  “I’m a freak, huh?” I said, smiling up at Kat.

  “It’s okay; we’re all freaks. Can I give you one more piece of advice?”

  “Sure.”

  “You might want to cut your dad some slack.”

  “You’re serious?”

  “Hey, I get it. He lied to you, and you’re pissed. You have every reason to be, but don’t let that come between you two. If you do, you’ll regret it. You only have one father.”

  “Excellent use of cliché,” I stated, rolling my eyes at her.

  “Thank you,” she returned. “I haven’t seen my dad in over twenty years,” she confessed, grimacing as she stared down at the floor.

  “Why not?”

  “We had a falling out. When I was sixteen, there was a big accident involving my abilities. I wanted to go out and learn how to use them, and Dad….” Kat grimaced. “Dad didn’t want me to. He was afraid of them. My father told me not to bother coming back when I decided to leave. He was scared. He didn’t want me to leave and go somewhere he couldn’t protect me. In the meantime, I grew up without him, graduated college, got married, and had a kid.” She let out a bitter bark of a laugh as she stared at the floor. “He has a grandson he’s never even heard of.”

  “That’s…that sucks.”

  “My point is that I would have killed to have him there for any of it. I would have killed for him to be there for the hard times,” she said, fiddling with the ring on her finger. “You don’t want to be in that position unless you need to.” An uncomfortable silence filled the air.

  “I didn’t know you had a kid,” I stated.

  “He’s about ten years old.”

  “How come I haven’t seen him around?”

  Kat grimaced. “He lives with his father. I get to see him about once a month.”

  “Divorce?” Kat nodded, causing me to scowl. “That sucks.”

  “Yes,
it does.”

  “I remember when Laurie’s parents got divorced. She’d get so sick of it that she spent almost all her time at our house.” I grimaced as I fiddled with the bloodstone. “Tell me we’re going to get her back.”

  “We’re going to get her back,” Kat assured me.

  “Good. So why’s this bauble so important?”

  Kat laughed and clapped her hand over her mouth. “Sorry. I forgot you didn’t grow up in our world."

  “Are you going to be cute, or are you going to answer the question?”

  “I can’t be both?” Kat asked, smirking at me. “The Bloodstone is a massive collection of power. It’s the mystical equivalent of a nuclear reactor.”

  “Okay, and why does Drake need it?”

  “The ritual he’s planning needs power. If he doesn’t have the Bloodstone, he’d have to knock out power to half the city to pull it off.”

  “So the bloodstone is essential to his plan?”

  “More or less, why?”

  “Because I figured out how to save Laurie,” I said, sprinting through The Mansion. I raced over to the intercom. “Everyone who can hear this, meet me in the living room.”

  I walked into the living room in time to see them filing down the stairs. One by one they sat down.

  “You don’t call meetings; I call the meetings,” Ripper grumbled, sipping from a steaming cup of coffee as he sat down.

  “Sorry, but I have a plan.”

  “It better be a good one,” he grumbled at me.

  “It is. I’ve found the bloodstone Drake is searching for.”

  Ripper moved toward me, blinking as he raised a single eyebrow. I held up the glowing red stone for everyone to see. Aidan let out a low whistle as he saw it. Dad glanced down at the floor, silent. Frank cocked his head and shrugged.

  “Well done,” Ripper whispered as he stared at the stone.

  “Thanks. We’re going to give it to Drake. Simple hostage exchange, they give us Laurie, we hand them the bloodstone.”

  “Have you lost your mind?” Ripper asked, rising from his chair. “Do you have any idea what Drake can do with that kind of power? Not to mention the fact that he’d have no reason to keep his word once he has the stone. He’d have his goons take you, the bloodstone, and keep Laurie.”