by Dannika Dark
“Hungry? I brought you an apple.”
He placed a crimson red apple on the floor. The first thing that flashed in my mind was Snow White, and I glared at him.
“We’ll be friends. You’ll see. I’m the handler; I bring all the meals and clean up around here, but I can keep you company.” He looked down the hall for a few seconds. “It gets lonely at night. Nero doesn’t care how long I’m down here as long as I’m out when he comes.” He dropped his ass to the floor, claiming a permanent seat.
Nero, that bastard. I stewed on it for a minute, but in a strange way, I was glad he caught me. This was exactly where I needed to be. If Nero was holding others against their will, I had a chance to free them. This wasn’t misfortune; it was opportunity.
“My name’s Finnegan, but you can call me Finn. What’s yours?”
Silence.
“That’s cool, you don’t have to talk. They usually don’t say much at first.”
I sat up. Finn was looking at a cheap watch with a blue band.
“Where does he keep the others?”
“They’re on the far end of the building. You’re in isolation. What did you do to piss him off on your first night?”
“How many are there?”
“Well, four like you, and three transients.”
“Transient?”
“That’s what we call them when they’re still human. Nero’s shopping for another Creator. Samil’s death threw a wrench in… whatever. I doubt he’ll be able to find someone with the same magic he had. That’s what Nero is looking for, and he’s pretty pissed about it. Samil was a real asshole, anyhow.” Finn scratched his shoulder. “Come on, I told you my name. It’s only fair you tell me yours.”
The kid spoke easy, and nothing about him came across as malevolent. There was loneliness in the way his eyes wandered around the room. Finn avoided eye contact, as if he didn’t know how to behave with strangers.
“My name is Silver. Tell me, kid—if that’s what you are—why are you involved with Nero?”
“If that’s what I am?” he laughed. “You’re funny. I have no choice because he owns me.”
“You can’t own someone,” I pointed out.
“I’m a Shifter. I was sold to Nero for a price, so that makes me his. Unless he sells me, declares me free, or dies—he owns me.”
Finn shrugged matter-of-factly and twirled an apple by the stem. “Do you want this? Mealtime isn’t for another four hours. Those in isolation are put on food restriction, but not all the time.”
“Are you the one who stuck me with the needle?”
“I never go out,” he said, dragging his eyes away. “That was probably Diego. You don’t want to mess with him, so if he comes down here, keep your distance. He’s not right in the head.” Finn tossed the apple in the air and caught it. “Diego is like an apple that looks okay to eat, but there’s a tiny hole in the skin. When you cut it open—it’s rotten inside.”
“Why am I not able to use my gifts?”
Finn set the apple down and lifted a finger. “The metal keeps the power chained up, and not just with your kind, either. I heard he paid a shiny penny for them, too.”
“That’s what I thought,” I said. “I don’t understand why you think he owns you. Slavery existed with Shifters, but that was a long time ago.” I assumed the books Justus owned were current.
“My father owed a debt and sold me to pay it off. That guy sold me, and three owners later, here I am.”
“Jesus.”
“Tell me about it.”
Finn hopped to his feet and rocked on his heels. “I’ve got to go, Silver. Strange name. Nero will come, but I don’t know when. I hope it’s not for a long while; I hate the way they are after he visits them.” He glanced down the hall and back. “Stay quiet, and try not to cause trouble.”
Little did he know.
Finn smiled and shuffled away. I peeled the label from the skin of the apple and decided to trust him.
Chapter 27
Hours later, the hall door opened. I curled the chain around my fingers anxiously. I spent the last few hours planning to wrap it around Nero’s throat if he attempted to steal my light. When the white tennis shoes came into view, Finn proudly crossed one foot in front of the other while holding a tray.
“Lunch, madam.”
“Lunch? I thought it was morning.”
“Nope. You were knocked out for a while,” he said, unlocking the door. Finn set the tray in the center of the room with a watchful eye.
“My friend will track me down. He’s a Chitah.”
“Hmm.” Finn twisted his mouth. “Nero’s guards are good about planning stuff; they wouldn’t risk a Chitah tracking them out here.” He backed up and swung the door closed.
“He’ll come,” I insisted.
“I hope he does, but I seriously doubt it. Sometimes they use the spray because it confuses their sense of smell.”
Logan was my only hope. Hearing Finn’s confident words that I wouldn’t be saved was disheartening. All that fairy tale shit I heard growing up was starting to piss me off.
“Where am I supposed to go to the bathroom?”
Two red marks spread across his cheeks. “Sorry, I forgot to... that bucket,” he pointed. “Hope you weren’t drinking out of it. You’re only allowed to leave the room once a week to clean up, but that’s the um...” He lifted a shoulder and chewed on his lip.
The food added insult to injury: peas, corn, rice, and sunflower seeds—no utensils. Nero wanted me to behave like an animal, shoveling it in with my hands.
Finn rubbed his nose. “It’s what everyone gets in the beginning. I know why. Don’t let it get to you. Soon you’ll be upgraded to spaghetti and mashed potatoes, so enjoy this while it lasts.”
The lock slid into place as Finn sat down Indian style in the hall.
I dropped to my knees and eyed the plate.
“How long have you been a Mage?”
“Less than a year. What can you tell me about the others?”
I wondered if Finn was supposed to be telling me all this, but he perked up whenever I asked him a question.
“Most are girls. Nero doesn’t like that for some reason, but that’s what Samil brought. Cheri’s new, doesn’t talk anymore. Ray’s pretty coolio. Rena’s been here the longest, and she’s really nice. She doesn’t say mean things to me—not like Lucy.” Finn scratched the side of his head and flicked his eyes at me. His ears poked out of his hair just a little bit and I caught the insecurity when he flattened his hair over them. “I feel sorry for her, but I don’t talk to her anymore. She’s always trying to start a fight.”
I studied my plate and folded it like a taco, letting the food slide in through the open end.
Finn laughed contagiously.
I gave him a shit-eating grin. There was no way I was going to be forced into primitive behavior. “Someone may treat you like an animal, Finn, but never act like one. I’m hardheaded. I take after my Ghuardian.”
“What’s that, a custodian?”
“Not exactly. The meaning is different from the human word, so you won’t find it in the dictionary. It’s an old word among Mage. After Samil’s death, I needed someone to take me in, and the Mageri appointed him.”
“Oh. The new ones usually came right after he made them. Except that changed a few months ago when they started bringing in humans. I don’t know if that was Nero or Samil’s idea; the two of them were always fighting.”
“How much do you know about what Nero is planning?”
“Enough to make me dangerous.” Finn looked about as dangerous as a dragonfly caught in a summer breeze. “None of us know the big picture; we just see our piece of it. The guards know even less than I do, but for what they get paid, I doubt they care.” Finn rubbed his nose as if the dust were bothering him. “Are you the one that killed Samil?”
I was surprised by the question. “No, I wasn’t the one. He deserved what he got, Finn. Samil was a cruel man.”
/>
He twirled a shoelace between his fingers absently. “No doubt.”
Finn brought me some water when I finished eating. The stall was hot and stuffy. I wondered what would have happened to me if I’d never met Justus. What were the chances a juicer would have picked me up? Here I sat—once again—in trouble, and yet I would have been worse off living in ignorance.
“Hey Finn?”
“Yeah?”
“Do you mind keeping me company?” My eyelids drooped.
“No problem. Everyone sleeps the first night; the drugs are still in your body. I read about it. They’ll wear off in a little while.”
Finn spoke softly in a hurried voice, and I listened to his stories about Russia, and old folklore that he found on the internet. My blinks were becoming longer, but that only made him more comfortable with talking to me.
Only a minute or two went by when I snapped my eyes open. Finn was off and running down the hall. Prickles of energy raced across my skin as I felt the flare of a Mage.
Nero stepped into the light with his hands in his pockets. Cool. Collected.
“Look what we have here. What was it you were saying about never being caught?” He stood very still, watching me through the bars. “No leathers today, I see. Tell me, did you really think you could just walk right up to me without consequence?” He clucked his tongue. “Didn’t anyone teach you not to leave the house without your Ghuardian? They said you were on a date with a Chitah.”
Nero spit, and a puff of dirt rose where it hit the ground. He removed his hands from his pockets and curled them around the bars. “You disgust me with your interbreeding. I’m placing you on food restriction, and I’ll return when you are more… cleansed.” His nose twitched, and he looked at me like garbage. “Welcome home.”
“This is not my home.”
“Possession is nine tenths of the law. Your days living under a Ghuardian are over; enjoy the accommodations.” A door slammed in the distance when he walked away.
Time moved forward at a crawl. I could wait patiently for centuries, or I could take charge of my escape. The key to my freedom was in my hands alone.
When the door clicked open, I lifted my eyes. I was anxious to talk to Finn because he was a likable kid, and he might be able to get me out of here. Instead—lifeless eyes watched me from behind the bars.
The dark-haired man stood as silent as a statue. His skin was heavy bronze, as if he spent all his hours in the sun. There was dirt on his rough hands, and mud on his boots.
We engaged in a staring match, a contest I easily won. He lifted an arm to take the key off of the wall.
“Diego, better get your ass out there, man. They’re looking for you,” Finn yelled from a distance.
Diego squeezed his fingers around the key.
“Did you hear me?”
***
Finn returned after a long stretch of boredom. The air was thick like summer heat and I rubbed at my sweaty neck. There were no windows or proper ventilation. A pair of sneakers briskly walked along the hall, and Finn took a seat by the door.
“How are you holding out?”
“I think I’ve lost twenty pounds in sweat.”
“It gets cooler in the evening. The sun hitting the roof tends to heat things up.”
“That’s the infamous Diego? Charming guy.”
Finn shifted on his ankle. “If I didn’t yell out, that clown would’ve come in here. I’m not joking around with you. He’s hardcore. Diego doesn’t react unless someone looks at him; he thinks it means something. Keep your eyes on the floor and play invisible.”
I knew he was just trying to help, so I smiled and nodded at him.
“I heard Nero put you on food restriction. Don’t worry. I’ll bring you a few apples, but I’ll have to sneak them in later. Sound cool?”
“Do you think there’s a chance he’ll move me with the others?”
“Why? Am I too boring for you?” he asked.
“No you don’t bore me, Finn,” I assured him. “What do you shift into?”
“That’s not a very polite thing to ask.”
I quickly looked up. “Well la-tee-da! I didn’t think it was such a big secret.”
Finn looped his finger around his shoelace. “I don’t go around showing everyone my animal. That’s personal.”
He was serious, and when his cheeks flushed, I knew I had stumbled upon my first Shifter faux pas. I never attended Breed etiquette classes in the school of Justus.
“Sorry, I’ve never met a Shifter. I don’t mean to be rude with my questions. I was just curious.”
“It’s like me asking what your gifts are. I may find out eventually. But you’re not going to just disclose them to me, now are you?”
He had a point.
“Do you go to school? Do you have a girlfriend?”
“Um, no. I’ve never been to school,” he said, combing his hair down with his fingernails. “I’m not allowed to leave the property so I don’t meet girls. They sometimes let me get on the Internet, so I read a lot. I’m not stupid.”
“Of course you aren’t, I can see you’re very bright. How old are you?”
“I think I’m about twenty-two. I forgot the exact day I was born, but I know the month. I’m a Leo.”
I wasn’t that much older than he was. I stopped aging at twenty-nine when my Creator made me.
“What would happen if you set me free?”
“I can’t,” he said, shaking his head. “Even if I had the key to those chains and let you go, Nero would beat the snot out of me.”
“Scratch that idea.”
He lifted his chin and disguised an emotion I couldn’t read. “You mean it?”
“No one takes a beating for me.”
For the first time, Finn was silent.
His jeans rustled as he stood up to leave. When he was out of sight, I heard him mumble to himself, “I wish I could give you a blanket.”
I loved that kid immediately.
Chapter 28
As promised, the meals were never delivered to my cell. Late at night, I stared at the ceiling listening to an animal prowling around. Toenails scratched and clawed at the floorboards, and sometimes I heard a snort, or a thunderous run. Whatever lived up there was restless. They shut the main lights down at night, which gave me a sense of time. Finn brought apples, and I hid the cores beneath the straw to bury the evidence. He was good company, dropping in several times a day to talk about movies and facts he read on the Internet. Finn was an inquisitive young man—always wanting to know about the outside world.
When the hall door opened, I brushed a piece of straw off my cheek. No one ever came in this late, including Finn.
At the far end of the hall, a light switched on, throwing shadows across the floor. A silhouette of a man drifted in front of the cell. The door unlocked.
“Finn?”
It wasn’t Finn. It was Diego.
He came inside and I swept my leg out, knocking him off his feet. I didn’t have time to think—only react. I lifted my leg to stomp on his throat when he grabbed my ankle and pulled me off balance. I hit the floor and knocked my head hard enough that I saw flashing lights.
A growl rolled through the open door like a starting motor. It was vicious, causing all the little hairs on my arms to stand up as it moved in closer. Diego stood up and I scurried across the dirt until I met with the wall, pulling the chain in my hands to use as a weapon. Diego I could handle, but something that wild made my heart beat out of control.
Diego moved slowly, and the growl became more ferocious than before. He slipped through the door and jogged out of sight.
My nerves seized up when the hall light went out, throwing me into darkness. That was the first time I ever fell asleep with my eyes open.
***
In my dream, the cavern floor was hard, but that’s exactly how I remembered it. Glowing embers from the fire crackled, and a familiar face leaned against the wall, kicking up a spray of shimmering du
st.
“Do you know who I am?”
“Yes, you’re Mr. Doublecross.”
Logan furrowed his brow. “What is that supposed to mean?”
I pointed an accusing finger at him. “Did you sell me out? What was this date really about, Logan? How much did Nero pay you to get me out of the house?”
The temperature dropped twenty degrees. “I would never do that!” he shouted, his upper lip trembling in anger.
“Can you promise me that? I will never forgive you if you were part of this.”
“On my word,” he said softly. “On my very word I would never consider it.” Logan looked down, hair falling in front of his face like a veil. “I couldn’t track you; they blocked the scent. How did they take you without a fight?”
“Drugs, drugs, drugs,” I sang.
He looked at me sideways and a sly grin spread across his face. “You seem in good spirits. I hope you realize that I’m not a dream.”
I felt more lucid than usual, so I knew he was right. “I have a new friend. Isn’t it interesting where I’m meeting all my new friends lately?”
We sat down against the uneven wall and Logan held onto my knee.
“Where are you?” he asked.
“Nero is keeping me locked up in some kind of barn. There are others here, but I haven’t seen them because he’s kept us separated. I think Nero is trying to replace Samil, but good luck on that,” I muttered.
“Nero,” he whispered. Something dark flashed across his face. “Is your friend a Mage or human?”
“Neither. He’s a Shifter.”
Logan squeezed my knee. “A Shifter is half animal, and their animal cannot be trusted.”
“Finn is just a kid. He couldn’t hurt anybody.”
Logan threw his head back and stared ahead. “I should have never let you go alone. I had a feeling before you left the table that something wasn’t right. It could have been their adrenaline, or smell…”
“Then why did you let me go?”