“I never claimed to be a descendent of Artemis!” I snapped. “The Stag Clan told me I was. I didn’t come looking for this.”
Casseroux turned his eyes on me, and I felt a shiver move from my tailbone up to my hairline. “That may be so, but I can’t take any chances. You also have two men claiming to be your father, which is convenient for both of them.” He swept his gaze to Veron now. “Only one of them is telling the truth.”
“We’ll cooperate in any way necessary,” Veron said. “So, are we to take Evryn to a medical lab in the morning? For the tests?”
“Testing will be conducted in my personal tower,” Casseroux said, turning and beginning to walk back out of the suite. Clearly he considered the matter concluded. “I have staff waiting outside now to escort you,” he called over his shoulder.
My stomach felt icy and heavy. I looked up at my father. “We have to go now?”
Veron looked down at me, his face stormy. “I’m afraid so. He has absolute power. People do not say no to him.”
“But—”
“Go get dressed,” he said softly.
I stood there for a moment, numbness and a sense of helplessness spreading through my body. With my Rai being locked, I couldn’t jump realms and get out of here. And even if I could, that would mean abandoning my mother, Jaffe, Kellan, and Sabin. I couldn’t do that.
I turned on my heel and walked back to my room, where I changed my clothes robotically. My numbness turned to anger, and my anger to resolve. I clearly wasn’t going to get to leave the capital until I subjected myself to these tests. And I needed to get out of here to go save my mother and Skye, and then somehow figure out how to rescue Kellan, avert this Hunter’s war, and get on with my life. I would do what I had to do.
When I walked back out of my room, Veron and Xavyr both looked up. My father looked relieved at my placid demeanor, and Xavyr gave me an appraising look as if he was impressed I’d pulled myself together so neatly.
“Let’s get this over with,” I said.
Chapter Eight
Casseroux’s tower was made entirely of glass cast in a smoky hue. It was not as tall and imposing as some of the other towers but it emanated a quiet power, a sense of foreboding that made my skin crawl. The fact that you could see into the tower did nothing to minimize this, if anything it was a taunt, a display of authority. You didn’t have to hide what you did if no one could stop you.
I paused for only a moment at the base of the tower before following Casseroux’s creepy staff inside, Xavyr and Veron on my heels. My captors—they pretty much were, it wasn’t like this was voluntary—said very little. There were three of them, all identical, wearing long red hooded robes, a deep crimson rather than a blood red. I couldn’t see faces within the folds of their hood, which seemed rather abnormal. I mean, I should catch the flash of an eye or a glimpse of skin at least, but there was nothing. Plus, they all gave off a sweet aroma like roses or lilies, and somehow that made them even more unnerving.
We entered the simple double doors of the tower into the main atrium. It was unadorned but for a circular bench of black velvet in the center. A spiral staircase, also wrought from glass, wound around the interior of the tower, up and up and up as far as I could see.
The trio of hooded creatures turned to face Veron and Xavyr. “You must wait here.”
“No,” Xavyr said.
There was a taut moment of silence, and in that moment I knew the creatures were smiling, even though I couldn’t see their faces.
“Our master insists upon it,” said one of the creatures.
“And what our master wants is so,” said another.
Xavyr looked at them all impassively. “We have a problem, then. I am sworn to protect her, and until that job is complete she does not leave my side.”
“What’s going on here?” Casseroux’s silky whisper of a voice bounced around the glass atrium, seemingly coming from nowhere until he suddenly appeared beside me, like a trick performed by a cheap stage magician.
“I do not leave her side,” Xavyr said quietly. His words, and his voice, and the lines of his body were a threat.
“I’m sure you can make an exception,” Casseroux said, waving his hand as if bored.
“We don’t want to cause trouble,” Veron said, staring meaningfully at Xavyr.
“I’ll go alone,” I said, turning to Xavyr and meeting his eyes. “We need to leave a day from now, and I can’t do that unless we get this done first. I’ll be okay.”
Xavyr’s eyes burned into mine for several moments. Then he turned to Casseroux. “How long will this take?”
“A few hours, give or take.”
“Three. In three hours, if Evryn is not returned to me unharmed, I will come for her.” Xavyr stepped toward Casseroux, and the tension between them collided, almost visible in its intensity.
Casseroux smiled, more a thinning out of his lips than anything else. “I’ll consider myself warned.”
Xavyr turned back to me once more and I nodded. A muscle along his jaw pulsed and his hands were fisted at his sides.
“I’ll leave my servants here to keep you comfortable in our absence,” Casseroux called over his shoulder as he glided away.
I strode to catch up, since it was clear I was to follow him even though he’d said nothing. We moved to the circular staircase and traveled up into the tower. After we’d completed two loops around, there was a blur and a tight feeling in my chest and we were quite abruptly at the top of the tower, standing before a door made of red crystal. I staggered slightly on my feet. Was Casseroux some sort of wizard?
“Watch yourself, dear,” he said. “Long way to fall.”
And as he said it, I felt even more wobbly, and the floor blurred hundreds of feet below us, and I felt myself tip forward…
A cold, clammy hand wrapped around my elbow and Casseroux pulled me away from the edge. “This way.”
We passed beyond the red door, then up a short flight of steps that went up through the floor into a small room at the apex of the tower. The roof arched overhead, showing black sky and an array of stars. They weren’t white like the stars I was used to, but hues of purple and gold and green. Around the room an array of gadgets and apparatuses were scattered, most of which looked like torture devices. Long metal probes and helmets with wires coming out everywhere, a table with straps for holding someone down.
“What an interesting collection you have here,” I said, “For a man of politics.”
Casseroux turned to face me. “Politics? Whatever gave you that impression?”
“You oversee all the realms, don’t you? Where I come from, that’s usually referred to as a politician. Or is it different here?”
“I oversee the realms because I have the power to do so. More power than others.” His eyes bored into mine. “I do not curry favor, I do not cater to popular opinion. I am as far from the politicians of Earth as a snail is from a dragon.”
My skin began to crawl. “I see. Well, we’ve had ones like you on Earth, too.”
He smiled again, that mirthless and unnerving movement of his lips. “Would you like to continue the small talk, or shall we begin?”
“Let’s get on with it,” I said. “What’s first?”
Casseroux did not answer, but walked slowly around the room, his eyes darting to various objects and then up to me, as if weighing, evaluating. It was all a show, I knew. He got off on frightening people, that much was clear. But he wasn’t going to get such satisfaction from me. I examined my fingernails and did my best to appear bored out of my mind.
At length he picked up one of the largest needles I’d ever seen. “Have a seat,” he said, pointing to a metal chair that looked like it came from a medieval dungeon. Thick leather straps hung from the arm rests.
I did as instructed. Casseroux fastened my arms into the straps, and I didn’t bother telling him it wasn’t necessary. He’d just do it anyway. He stepped in front of me, flicking the tip of the needle and holding i
t to the light so I could get a good view. Then he moved around behind me so I couldn’t see him. My heart galloped in my chest but I forced my breathing to stay level.
The needle came into view in my periphery for just a moment before it jabbed into the side of my neck. I flinched—it couldn’t be helped—but then forced myself to relax as he drew several vials of blood. I could hear Casseroux breathing as he did it, a slight rasp to his inhales and exhales. To think that this man, if that’s what he was, had been lording over the universe and I’d never known made me want to vomit.
Finally, Casseroux stepped back. He moved somewhere in the room behind me where I couldn’t see around the high back of the chair, but I could hear clicks and taps and long moments of silence cut only by his raspy breathing. After what seemed an eternity, he finally spoke.
“Well, Lost One, it does indeed appear you have the blood of Artemis in your veins.”
I suppressed several witty comebacks, No shit, Sherlock rising to the top. He didn’t deserve any of them. But then, something of actual curiosity prompted a question. “Do you have the DNA of Artemis stored here somewhere? How are you comparing our blood?”
Casseroux made a thick sound in his throat which was possibly a chuckle. “DNA.” His tone was derisive. “You are again speaking only from your experience on Earth, which is but an infinitesimal speck in all the realms.”
I waited for him to go on. As suspected, his need for superiority and condescension won out. “Every being in the universe contains a magical signature, completely unique. In the case of familial relations and blood lineage, some of the essence of one signature will pass along to another. When placed together, the matching essences will glow.”
That didn’t entirely answer my question—what of Artemis did he possess to do the comparison? But I knew he wanted me to ask and so I didn’t. He also hadn’t mentioned if Veron was truly my father, another question I wouldn’t ask. I didn’t need confirmation. I knew the truth.
I waited patiently, in silence, until Casseroux finally got up from wherever he’d been sitting and moved around in front of me again. He had one of the long probe-looking things in his hands. After tapping it menacingly in one palm for several moments, he began to run it through the air around my body. I realized it was some sort of a sensor, though what it was sensing I hadn’t the slightest clue. From time to time it would beep and Casseroux would tilt his head to the side, a contemplative look on his face. This went on for quite some time. Finally, he stepped back and looked at me. Then, he moved forward and slowly unstrapped the leather bands on my arms, his breath hot in my face.
“Step this way,” he said with a sweeping gesture of his hand. He led me over to a tall metal box about the size of a telephone booth. With his long fingers, he opened several latches on the side and swung open a door on the front of the box. The inside was lined with a shiny black stone like obsidian. It had no windows.
With another gesture, he indicated for me to step inside.
I hesitated only a moment. The more fear I showed, the longer this was going to take. I positioned myself inside the box facing outward. It was quite cozy, and I was a small person. With a grim smile, Casseroux shut the door to the box and everything went black. I heard the latches on the outside slide into place, locking me within. Panic clawed at the inside of my throat. I wouldn’t put it past the sick fuck to leave me in here to suffocate. Maybe the master of the universe didn’t want any of Artemis’s descendants hanging around.
Two terrifying pitch-black minutes later, Casseroux’s voice filled the box, making me jump. “I’m going to guide you through several exercises and monitor your reaction. First, I want you to use the Call of the Hunt to find Veron.”
I slowed my breathing so I could focus. It didn’t take much—doing anything was better than doing nothing inside that box. The Call sprung up within me and a moment later I felt a connection, like magnets zinging together, between me and Veron. He was still on the first floor of the tower.
“Let’s try something else,” came the silky reply, laden with smugness. “Find your mother. And this time, I’m going to change your environment to see what effect that has on your abilities.”
I heard a faint whistling sound and the box got balmier on the inside, the air stale. But then I realized that it wasn’t the air getting stale, it was the air getting scarce. It was being sucked out of the box. Reflexively, I sucked in a huge breath, my lungs already feeling tighter. I forgot for half a moment what the task was, and already it was hard to draw any air. My mother. That’s who I was supposed to be finding. I focused on her image in my head, practically a twin of myself, and immediately felt a connection.
My lungs felt crushed together and I coughed, the sound reverberating around the box. At this point my lungs were reacting of their own accord, gasping for more air. There was no calming my breathing, no stopping the panic that gripped me. I almost lost the connection with my mother but I focused on it again. My vision went spotty. I slumped, my knees weakening, the spots in my vision bigger and bigger…
Cool air whooshed back into the box and I gulped, sucking in a huge lungful of air. My fingernails dug into the smooth sides of the box as my vision went back to solid black. I took in the air greedily and gratefully, my heart pounding in relief. And once I felt alive again, I screamed, “Are you trying to kill me?!”
Casseroux did not answer my question, but said, “Now I want you to find Kellan, the one they call Seeker. You are acquainted with him, I’m told.”
This was a bit trickier, as Kellan was obviously in the Timekeeper’s realm, somewhere I couldn’t go because of my stupid Rai. I expected the same faint response to the Call that I’d felt earlier back in Grayfeather Tower. But instead, nothing happened. It wasn’t that I was being prevented from crossing realms, but that the Call was coming back with nothing. I couldn’t find Kellan. I tried for a full minute until my breath came in ragged gasps and tears fogged my face. What did this mean? He couldn’t be dead… he couldn’t.
“Are you trying, Evryn?” came Casseroux’s whispery voice over the speakers inside the box.
“Yes!” I screamed, punching my fists into the door in front of me.
From within me, in my anger and desperation, I felt a surge of energy from the Artifex. It felt like I’d just been injected with a gallon of adrenaline, like I’d bathed in a vat of lightning and thunder. I felt powerful. Like this box couldn’t hold me. Like my Rai couldn’t constrain me. Like Casseroux would fold beneath my magic like a paper doll. And inside the box, in the darkness, I began to glow.
Chapter Nine
The glow came from my solar plexus, a pure, white light. I heard Casseroux’s footsteps approaching the box. If he found me in here like this, I was as good as dead. He’d never stop testing and torturing. With an extreme force of will, I pushed down the power within me. I clenched my hands so tightly it seemed my knuckles would snap, and the salty tang of blood filled my mouth from where I’d bitten into my cheek.
No, no, no…
The door to the box swung open and Casseroux stood there with a perplexed look on his face. “You are unlike any Hunter I’ve ever encountered,” he said, and there was awe in his voice, and suspicion, and envy.
I wasn’t glowing anymore. He hadn’t seen. “I’m the Lost One. It shouldn’t be a big surprise,” I said, trying to sound nonchalant and not like I’d almost just gone nuclear.
“No… it’s not just that.” He stared at me with his disturbing eyes. “I’m going to need to run more tests… keep you for observation.”
“That’s not going to go over well,” I snarled.
His look turned from contemplative to smug. “Oh, your body guard? Your father? They won’t stop me.”
“You underestimate them, and you underestimate me. You said three hours, and you’re about at your max. I strongly suggest that you keep your word.”
“And why should I do that?” he sneered.
“Because I’m the only one who can
find Skye and recover the Artifex. And if I don’t do that, Soo Kai of the Dragon Clan might figure out how to reactivate it and start annihilating whole realms. Or creating new ones. Who’s going to be master of the universe when she has the power of that in her hands?”
Our eyes met and I watched his as he weighed his options, saw the moment he realized there were none. Whatever he may be, he wasn’t a Hunter. He couldn’t find Skye. He needed me.
“I shall analyze the results of your scans and your blood more thoroughly. I can summon you back at any time via your Rai.”
“Of course,” I said, flicking my wrist so the bracelet tinkled.
“Once you have recovered the Artifex for me, we shall revisit our study of your… unique qualities.” The way he wrapped his lips around the words made my insides quiver, but I merely nodded.
Casseroux gestured for the door and I walked calmly toward it, despite my desire to bolt. As I reached the stairs going down through the floor, his voice came from behind me.
“I do wonder what your bodyguard would do to me if I did not return you at the promised time.” His eyes sparkled and he licked his lips ever so slightly, a dart of the tongue, as if relishing the thought. “Does he know that your heart belongs to another?”
I stiffened. “What does that have to do with anything?”
Casseroux smiled. “Go. You can see yourself out. And remember—we’re not done, you and I.”
I made my way down to the bottom of the tower. When I finally reached the ground floor my father and Xavyr stood up, their faces twin expressions of tension.
I raised a hand to forestall questions. “I’m fine. Let’s go,” I said around a clenched jaw.
They followed as I walked out of the building and headed for Grayfeather Tower. We flagged down a public transport since we didn’t have the horses, a vehicle that looked like the love child of a bus and a hovercraft. Several minutes later we were back in my suite on the balcony overlooking the city. Dawn had started to streak the sky, flares of orange and pink against the night.
Huntress Lost Page 5