In her dreams she’d seen a woman in black armour, with a blood red cape trailing across the floor and incredible violet eyes. The same black mist she had seen before swirled about this woman with the purple eyes almost lovingly, caressing her every feature.
The woman was at the head of a huge, horrific army. A thousand abominations streamed behind her, horned things, winged things and things beyond imagination. Horrendous dreams haunted her nightly, and in the day the people with white coats came with their syringes.
It was worse than hell.
Every waking moment she strived to remember. To remember who she was, where she had come from, how had she got here? What had happened? What was happening?
Only her name, Taija, continued to echo through her mind.
Everyday she wandered the confines of her tiny room, her prison. When she looked hard enough in the small window set in her door she could vaguely see her reflection in the misty glass. Maybe it was due to being insane, or just the drugs they pumped into her, but she kept forgetting the large tattoo she had on her face. It was a dark red sun, covering her whole cheek. How had it got there? It looked hideous. Taija couldn’t remember how she used to be, but she couldn’t imagine tattooing her face on purpose.
Sometimes impressions, images of her with other children her age streamed through her mind. Then she had hurt them, her own friends, she didn’t know how, she didn’t know why. Rage rose inside her.
The numbers 202 kept flashing through her mind. Why, she heard harsh voices calling it in her head. But that wasn’t her name, she wasn’t just a number.
Soon they would come, led by Dr Toom, with his false words and forged smile. They would continue to experiment on her, discover who or what she was. Run tests on her like she was some rabid beast. Taija saw the way they looked at her; sometimes she could hear the voices inside their head. She knew she shouldn’t be able to, but she did.
She heard them wonder what she was, why she was so different.
They thought she was diseased, cursed, insane. Maybe she was all of those things.
She was resigned to her fate. There was no escaping this place.
A gentle rap at her door and two doctors entered; a man and a woman, each holding a clipboard, their grim expressions illustrating the gravitas of the situation.
Taija pushed herself further against the wall as the newcomers entered, wishing she could disappear inside it.
Dr Toom was the man, Dr Graev the woman. Their spectacles shone in the bright light, reflecting it back in fractured pieces. Both their expressions were unreadable. But Taija knew, they could keep no secrets from her, she could hear their thoughts.
Sometimes, before they gave her the drugs, she could do things. Things they didn’t want her to do. They tried telling her it was all her imagination, but she didn’t think so. Something was wrong with her, dreadfully wrong, but she wasn’t mad.
Her once delicate face was in tatters, lips that were once full were now serrated and scabbed, and eyes that were once filled with a daring fire were bloodshot and manic.
She glared at them defiantly, urging the doctors to come closer. She’d managed to break free of her restraints today. She hid her hands behind her, they had no idea.
“Now, now Taija,” Doctor Toom tried to assure her in his patronising tone.
She hated them; she hated all the white coats that came to her.
Because of them she could no longer remember. The drugs had numbed her mind; made her forget who she was.
Was it going to be like this forever? Was she destined to only be aware of consciousness a few moments of the day? Everyday, in-between the space when they gave her the new dose she felt like this. Almost normal. Taija wished she didn’t even have this. These moments were always full of fear and frustration, and a burning desire just to know why? But she never got her answer, and always the fear and frustration remained.
The doctors came closer, entrapping, smothering.
“That’s a good girl,” Doctor Graev cooed sickeningly as she bent over her.
Taija lashed out, wrapping her hands round the idiotic woman’s face, burning.
In these few, intolerable, yet precious seconds she was aware of that which was inside of her. That which she was slowly, but surely, learning to control.
She wished her hands white hot and that is what they became, scorching the flesh of Mrs Graev’s face.
She fell back thrashing, screaming wildly from the pain.
Toom seized Taija quickly. She tried attacking him too, but the syringe was already in, piercing her arm. She felt her strength ebbing away, her senses ceasing to function. She fell, irrevocably as always, to the drug induced darkness.
*
When Taija next awoke for a moment she thought she was back home, back at the slave barracks.
She was starting to remember. Bit by bit. She remembered fragments of her life before this. Then she realised with a sick dread that she was still in the asylum, that same white hell of a room.
This had to be worse than prison, it was worse than being a slave that was for sure. At least in slavery she wasn't confined to four empty walls. Her owners hadn't been that bad, they only beat her if she misbehaved.
There had been happiness back then too. Taija and her friends had managed to eke out what fun there was, away from the slave housing.
But the doctors had even taken her personality too. Taija remembered her friends, days of laughter and pranks. She had been confident then, and reckless, too reckless. Never the popular girl, but the feisty tomboy who loathed all things girly. Her teachers had beaten her often for getting into scraps with the other girls.
But even as a slave Taija had felt like she was living life, dealing with the hand she'd been dealt.
Now, the doctors were slowly but surely turning her into an empty shell, devoid of any emotions other than fear and fury. Taija never would've thought she'd have preferred slavery over something else, she had thought she'd already been landed with the worst fate possible. She couldn’t fight them any longer. She suspected it was only a matter of time before they disposed of her, especially after what she did to Doctor Graev. She was too mad, too strong, too dangerous.
She was so angry, so frustrated. She had to do something to let her escape the turmoil in her mind. She began to bang the back of her head against the wall. Slowly at first, rhythmically, and then harder and harder. Abruptly she snapped her neck back with a scream. As her head whipped into the wall her eyes filled with a blinding flash.
After the flash, through the haze of pain at the back of head, she started to remember.
The drugs had been masking her memories from her, but now she knew. She’d been on run when they got her, wanted by Sarume’s soldiers, for killing her owner. It had been his fault Kachina died. She’d just needed medicine. Medicine could have saved her. But he didn’t want to pay for her to get better. It was all Pytow’s fault. Taija hated him, she’d been so angry, so devastated by grief. Something had happened, when she fought General Pytow, when he tried giving her the lash she’d screamed at him. A black mist had spewed from her mouth as she screamed, other owners and her fellow slaves had seen it. Everyone had watched as General Pytow’s skin was turned inside out by the mist, as his body became a dried husk on the floor. She’d run then, the other owners too scared to stop her. She’d tried hiding on the streets, but Sarume’s soldiers had found her. They were going to execute her. But the asylum had claimed her first. They wanted to experiment on her instead. Find out how she’d killed her master and see if they could use the power themselves, either by taking it from Taija, or controlling her.
As she sat up, her head aching in agony, she heard voices right outside the door.
Taija jumped off her bed and ran to the door, anxious to hear what they were planning to do to her next.
“Excuse me young man, but you don’t have permission be here.” It was one of the nurses, her voice laced with fear.
“I don't need it,” a
deep baritone replied, thick with an accent Taija didn't recognise.
“Doctor-” The nurse cut off mid-sentence with an ear-splitting scream.
Taija leaped back from the door as she felt fluid splash across the other side. She knew it was blood, the nurse's scream had been silenced abruptly.
Seconds later the door handle turned frantically. It was locked.
Taija breathed a sigh of relief, thankful for the first time that she was trapped in this room.
Then the door burst inwards, snapping off its hinges and smashing into the floor. In its wake stood the biggest person Taija had ever seen, he was also the scariest. He was seven feet of solid muscle. Scarred skin stretched tight over a heavily jutting brow and a huge square jaw. In the middle of his shaved head stood an absurd purple Mohawk. Both his earlobes were dragged down by heavy gold rings. He looked like a teenage punk, but if he was on super-steroids. His abnormally large muscles were riddled with veins that looked ready to pop. Most of the veins were a deep purple, or black, and the flesh around the veins was grey. He didn't look older than seventeen.
He grunted at her as his bloodshot blue eyes met her own, "You can call me Mikhail, make sure you tell the Masters of Velkarath I brought you in."
Taija just stared.
What the hell had he said?
"What, I don't understand I…"
She saw the body of the nurse behind Mikhail, her head was hanging onto her torso by a thread of sinew, lying in a crimson puddle. Mikhail himself was splattered with blood, but he didn’t seem to mind.
Numbly, she realised her trembling body was pushed up against the wall as far as it could go. Yet her feet were still trying to push her back, as if she could sink into the wall to get away from him.
Why had he killed her? How could he near rip her head off?
"Come girl," Mikhail snapped, beckoning, as if she would willingly go with him.
Mikhail growled when she didn't move, stomping toward her.
"No! Leave me alone, leave me-"
He seized a fistful of her hair and hauled her up.
She screamed hysterically, but Mikhail placed his free hand over her mouth and dragged her from the room.
Taija squeezed her eyes shut as they passed the nurse’s body. She didn't want to know who it had been; she didn't want to stare into the dead woman's eyes. Mikhail's hand around her mouth was rough and callused; it stank of dirt and blood. He steered her effortlessly down the asylum corridor, casting his eyes around as if looking for something in particular. They’d barely left her room, however, when a Doctor walked across their path.
Mikhail let go of her to grab him by his throat and dash his head against the wall. The poor doctor's skull split in half as his brains sprayed out. Taija screamed in horror, running as fast as she could whilst Mikhail was distracted. He roared in fury and gave chase.
To Taija's dismay, he caught up to her in just a few strides of his enormous legs. Before he could grab her again though she turned to fight, lashing out with a kick to his stomach.
Her foot connected with what felt like a solid wall.
She yelled in agony and anger, balling her fist and smacking Mikhail in the face with all her might.
She thought she heard her fingers snap.
His eyes blazing with rage, Mikhail lost his patience and used his own hand to clip her round the head, a slight blow, but one that knocked her out instantly.
Chapter 18- Demon Dragons and Disappearances
The dread that had filled Evan for the past two days had travelled up to his throat by the morning of trial day. Their trial wasn’t until late afternoon, but Evan was already filled with anxiety.
C’mon, it can’t be that bad, if you fail you can try again in a few months time. He tried to reassure himself, but the other part of his mind disagreed. If you fail you’ll be the laughing stock of the Fortress, and your teammates will hate you. He kept forgetting that this would be a team effort, just like most missions would be.
The day of Evan’s Mid-Realmer trial was also when Veneseron’s bi-monthly Great Games took place. The Apprentices taking their trials would perform in the same arena, with an audience of thousands watching them. Evan was beside himself with nerves. Now, when he was eliminated from his trial early, it would be in front of everyone, they’d all see him fail.
For the past few days the Fortress had been afire with chatter about the trials, dragon jousting, unicorn racing and Jewelball. Newbie Venators were excitedly looking forward to witnessing Venator sports and seeing them in action, whilst Venators who had seen the Games before were eagerly discussing their favourite Arena Battle or Twinsphere teams and their players. Evan learned that Byron Binoshe had taken it upon himself to wander between the rec rooms, taking bets on all the games.
Evan himself had been looking forward to his first taste of Venator sports. Dragon jousting sounded really dangerous and Jewelball seemed to be the epitome of cool amongst Venators. But now he was too filled with dread to look forward to them. He’ll probably be to busy preparing for his trial to even watch any of the games.
In the week leading up to today Evan had seen groups of girls holding team banners and giggling whenever one of the sports players walked near them. Blake Silcorn had been talking to anyone that would listen that his cousin Stefan was going to win the Jewelball tournament for the third season in a row. Even Elijah, who wasn’t the sporty type, couldn’t stop discussing past games and guessing what would happen this time.
“The Whirlwind Wolves faced the Raging Squids in the final last season,” Elijah was explaining to Jed and Evan as they walked to the Banquet chamber. “But that was before the Whirlwind Wolves had Lok on their team and he’s the tournament’s highest scorer.”
“Excuse me, but who are the Whirlwind whathisface?” said Jed.
“The team names,” Elijah looked at him as if he was stupid. “There are six Jewelball teams from our Fortress. My favourite team, The Bemused Barbarians have already been eliminated, unfortunately. The final is today. Either the squids or wolves will win the championships. Don’t you know anything?”
Evan and Jed shared looks of bafflement. He returned to adjusting the sword at his belt nervously. They’d been told to wear the weapons they chose from Veneseron’s armoury today.
When they reached the Banquet chamber a rush of noise greeted them. The room was more crowded than Evan had ever seen it. Usually Venators came and went as they pleased, but today everyone had rushed to eat at once so they wouldn’t be late for the games.
Every bench was packed full and Venators swarmed about the food tables like flies. From the snatches of conversation Evan heard as he passed, it appeared absolutely everybody was taking about the games.
“Hey Jed, do you think most people will leave after they’ve watched the games? So they’ll be less people to see us fail in our trial,” he said weakly.
“Dude,” Jed cried, “what kind of attitude is that? You will fail if you think you are before it’s even happened. C’mon, your on my team, there’s no way we’ll fail.”
Jed grinned at him, but Evan could see anxiety behind the smile. He suspected Jed was as nervous as he was.
They made their way to a bench Emi, Xavier and Zeke already occupied.
Emillia was ashen, she looked as frightened as he felt. Xavier looked like he might throw up, whilst Zeke was wolfing down his breakfast without a care in the world.
“Hey guys,” Blake shouted at them from his bench. “Have you made a bet yet? I can tell you the winners already. The Whirlwind Wolves are so gunna’ kick ass today.
“Wow, are your whole family obsessed with Jewelball?” Jed shook his head.
“Just a few, my uncle is a Unicorn rider though and my other Uncle…”
“Okay we get it, the Silcorn’s are a big ass family,” Jed said as he plonked himself down and began eating. “Sorry, I’m a little stressed.”
“Oh I forgot, it’s your guy’s trials today too,” said Blake. “Good luck.
”
“Today is gonna' be awesome,” Elijah beamed. “It’s a shame Brooke's mission started before it. She’s become a fan of Arena Battle.”
“Yeah, it's almost like werewolves don't want to wait for the Venator games to finish before they started attacking people,” said Evan.
“Hey, stop worrying guys.” Elijah addressed them all, “you’re going to do great in your trial. I can just feel it.”
“Well I just feel nauseous,” said Xavier, pushing his cereal away.
After a rushed breakfast they all headed to the rink. Evan had only set foot on the rink a couple of times. It was a huge courtyard in the northern section of Dragonrock Castle. It had been named the rink as it was where Venators went if they wanted to travel to the city and didn’t fancy the long walk. Vehicles of all kind were stationed on the vast courtyard, from traditional horse and carriages to hovercars.
Elijah explained to them as they left the Banquet chamber that the Great Games was one of the few days where Venators didn’t have training, so everyone could get a chance to watch.
Today the rink was swarming with Venators gaining passage to the city. Evan and his friends headed toward the Instructors Aqenna and Padrake, who they’d been told to meet. They waved goodbye to Elijah as they had to be briefed for their trial before leaving.
As Evan gathered with the other Apprentices facing the trial, he saw that everyone looked as nervous as he felt. Even Porgree wasn’t eating something for once, although he held his chocolate bar tight, as if for comfort. Sabine was pacing the courtyard, speaking to herself frantically.
“Welcome Apprentices, welcome,” Padrake called over the cacophony of noise. “Maybe today will be the last day you’re called Apprentices, hmm.”
Padrake and Aqenna had been standing next to a gargantuan red carriage unlike anything Evan had ever seen. It was large square box, with gigantic wheels and instead of horses to pull it, were four elks. Evan was sure normal elks weren’t as large as these leviathans either.
“Come along,” Aqenna shouted. “It’s too noisy out here, get inside the carriage and we’ll brief you.”
Moonlight War- Act I (The Realmers Book 2) Page 21