Hidden Runes

by G. Bailey

  “What are you waiting for? Drive, Grumpy,” I smirk, keeping my emotions hidden because I have no idea where they are taking me or what they want. Whatever it is, I’m never helping them. I’d rather kill them first.

  Five

  Evie

  “Welcome to the island of the Protectors and the royal court,” Grumpy says in the most unwelcoming tone ever, as we drive straight towards an empty looking cliff. Finally, one of them talks to me. I know the Protector in the passenger seat is Connor, only because he spoke to Grumpy once. It’s been a dead quiet three-hour drive, and I’m starving. I also have no plans for escaping, and no idea where we even are. I look over at Grumpy, and then at the speed he is driving as I think about what he just said. I look behind us at the car following us, the one I know Hali is in and then back to the cliff. Is he really going to drive us off a cliff?

  “Are you fucking crazy? Don’t drive off a cliff–” I stop shouting when the car goes off the cliff, but it’s not a cliff at all, it’s a long road that just appears out of nowhere. A gold freakin’ road. I lean forward, looking at the five gold towers in the distance and the many gold roads that stretched across the sea leading up to the little city. It’s a hidden city, one I’ve heard of, but from no one that actually had any proof of its existence. Just rumours on the streets. Rumours from demons that say they have been here, but you can never trust a word from a demon. If anyone knows that, it’s me.

  “So, I take it you guys like gold then?” I ask sarcastically. There is a crap-ton of gold stuff. Any thief would have a field day here.

  “Do you like blue?” Connor asks pointedly, smirking as he puts his hood down, and I finally can see some of his handsome features. He has golden hair, wavy and messy, but out of the way of his gold eyes. He reminds me of a lion in an attractive way. I don’t answer him, knowing he is just taking the piss out of my blue hair.

  “Blue, are you not going to reply?” Connor asks me, and the other Protector whacks him on the arm before returning his hand to the wheel.

  “Don’t flirt with her, idiot! She is a fucking assassin,” he snaps at Connor.

  “Trex, don’t be so stuck up. They’re going to kill her anyway, if she doesn't help us; why not be nice?” Connor says, his voice downright seductive. He reminds me of succubus demons; they have sexy voices that can make you do anything they ask.

  “You mean why not try to fuck her before they kill her?” Trex replies.

  “I’m right here,” I interrupt, and then slowly drift my eyes up and down Connor’s muscular form. “Although I don’t mind the fucking idea, but that might have to wait.” Connor smirks, opening his pretty mouth to say something, but Trex interrupts.

  “Both of you, shut it. Connor, do remember you have a job to do, and you can’t afford to fuck this one up. None of us can,” Trex’s harsh words do something to Connor, as he sits back and does just as he is told. I don’t bother speaking to either of them anymore, looking around at the secret damn city as we drive up to the towers. When we get closer, I notice they are less like towers and more like city high-rises. All glass windows on one side, and gold walls on the others. The Protectors drive us straight towards the biggest tower in the middle, and I focus on the outside. There are no Protectors to be seen anywhere. It’s like a ghost town in here. Holy shit, the sidewalk is even gold. Where the hell do they get the money for a place like this? I glance up at the two angel statues outside the building, one on each side. Humans say Protectors have a tiny amount of both angel and demon blood, making them perfect to protect them from both.

  “Where are all your people? Children?” I ask, distracting myself from my thoughts. This is a place I never thought I’d ever be.

  “They know you are coming here, so they have all hidden,” Trex answers me.

  “That’s a little bit of an overreaction, don’t you think?” I ask, trying not to laugh at the serious look he gives me through the mirror.

  “No, it’s no overreaction at all. Now shut up,” he snaps, and this time, I do laugh as I sit back. After about ten minutes of driving through the town, we pull up to the largest building. I look behind us, not seeing the car Hali was in. I can’t believe I let myself get so distracted.

  “Where is Hali?” I demand.

  “She will be taken to a private room and kept safe. Only those with Protector’s blood can enter most of the buildings here. They have wards,” Connor warns me, and I have to bite my lip to stop myself from saying anything stupid. Connor locks eyes with me, only for a second.

  “She won’t be harmed. We are not the monsters here,” he promises me, almost sounding honest enough for me to believe him. Almost.

  “She is a child, and your people just held a dagger to her throat,” I bite out.

  “You know as well as I what she is, what she will be. She will be a monster, and you won’t be able to stop her. A witch’s mark is their destiny, and what she will do, will get her and everyone near her killed,” Connor retorts.

  “Hali is no monster, nor will she ever be. You and your stuck-up race judge everyone before even giving them a chance,” I say, giving him a disgusted look.

  “You say ‘your race’, like you aren’t one of us,” Trex interrupts, and I shake my head, not bothering with the annoying Protectors any more. I try to open my door the moment the car stops, but it’s locked and gets me damn annoyed enough to want to break one of the windows.

  “Child locks,” Connor says, a smirk on his lips before he gets out of the car at the same time Trex does. I’m forced to wait for Trex and Connor to speak to three Protectors in hoods outside the car, and not able to hear what they say. I roll my eyes and climb over the middle part of the seat, letting myself out Trex’s door. They don’t notice me until I slam the door shut and lean against it. They all turn to face me with shocked looks. Did they really think I’d just sit there? The other three Protectors actually take a step back, their hands going to their swords on their hips beneath their cloaks.

  “Are we going inside or what? I’m getting bored, and I want to know what the fuck you all want with me,” I ask, making Connor cough on a laugh, and Trex narrow his eyes at me.

  “Stand down, she won’t attack us,” Trex says and waves his hand at the glass doors of the building. “After you, miss–”

  “My name is Evie, none of that ‘miss’ crap,” I say, pushing myself off the car and walking towards the doors. I pass the three Protectors, and I can’t help myself.

  “Boo,” I whisper, and one jumps back, falling onto his butt. I laugh as I walk away and head into the building as the automatic doors open.

  Six

  Evie

  “Nice place, all shiny and shit. Not that I expected anything different,” I drawl, lifting my head, looking around at the very gold and shiny building. There are five elevators in the middle, made of glass, and they stretch all the way up to the top of the building. At the top, the ceiling is made of gold, but all the glass in here makes it seem bright. There is no one at the circular counter in the middle of the room, which strikes me as odd. Three Protectors, in perfect and expensive-looking suits come out of one of the elevators, and they stop dead in their tracks. They all panic, hurrying back in the elevator, and one keeps pressing the button again and again until the door shuts.

  “We don’t need any of your comments on the decor,” Trex snaps, glaring at the scared Protectors in the elevator as it goes up. He walks ahead, and I try not to laugh at his stuck-up attitude. I follow him to the middle elevator, getting in with him and Connor. We are silent as Trex presses the button for the twelfth floor. The other Protectors wait by the door, their hands on their swords as they watch.

  “Out of interest, why am I here? What could you possibly want from me?” I ask them, wondering if I can get them to tell me. I don’t like the unknown, and this whole situation is exactly that.

  “We need your help,” Connor says, and Trex grabs his arm.

  “Don’t say another word,” he growls out, and Co
nnor jerks his arm away, keeping his eyes locked on Trex. Why would they need my help? I wrack my brain trying to think of anything the Protectors could want from me, but I don't come up with anything. It doesn’t make any sense. I look back at the guys, and see them both still glaring at each other as they seem to have a silent conversation.

  “There is a lot of tension here, is it sexual? I could totally see that happening between the two of you,” I ask innocently, and Connor chokes on a laugh as Trex’s face goes red.

  “It’s best you shut up now, Blue,” Connor says, still laughing a little bit. We all go silent as the elevator door opens to a long corridor. This corridor is lit with white spotlights on the floor, that make a path to massive glass doors at the end. The glass is coloured with red swords in a circle, and a woman on her knees. The woman has runes down her arms, each one is the colour they light up when you use them. The blue for holy fire, which burns demons, and it looks like a rose. The red rune for portals, which looks like an archway in a circle. The white rune, which is shaped like a sword in a triangle and lets us heal, and finally the last rune. The black rune shaped like a skull. The black rune is one I’ve never used before, and I don’t have a clue what it does. I have a feeling like I shouldn’t use it, and I usually listen to those kinds of feelings. Well, most of the time.

  “A little advice, be respectful,” Connor suggests as we get to the doors.

  “Sorry, that’s really not a part of my plan,” I smile innocently as the doors are opened. Connor and Trex walk slightly in front of me, blocking my view of the room, but they did just what I wanted them to do. I quickly slide my dagger out of the holder on my hip and jump on Connor’s back, holding the dagger against his neck.

  “Fuck,” Connor mutters, holding his hands in the air.

  “Don’t move. You wouldn’t want me to slip,” I say sweetly next to his ear, holding the dagger close. The room is dead silent as I look around, ignoring Trex as he glares at me. There are three thrones in the center of the room, and the floor is made of red glass by the looks of it. I glance around at the five gold statues in the room; four of them are men, and there is one woman. She has long hair, and a smile on her face as she reaches up in the air for something, and for some reason, she looks familiar to me. She has runes etched on her face, and the crown rune right in the middle of her forehead draws my attention the most. It makes me freeze, but not enough to forget where I am. I pull my eyes away from the statue to the four hooded people in the room.

  “Kill him if you must,” the man in the middle says, pulling his hood down. The man has dark skin, brown eyes, and his hair is shaved off, so I can see the tattoos on his head. They look like symbols, maybe even runes, but I’m not close enough to see. He has a flame symbol on his forehead, and when the other three men lower their hoods, I see they all wear the symbol. It’s still clear to me who the leader is as they let him speak.

  “Let me go. They won’t care if you kill me. You should have held the dagger to Trex’s throat if you wanted a useful hostage,” Connor bites out. I look over at Trex, who watches me carefully. I know he is waiting for a chance to attack me. I grin, moving my dagger away as I jump off Connor’s back and hold my hands up. They aren’t going to attack me. I can see it in the way they stand. Everything points to Connor telling me the truth earlier, they need me for something, and I might as well find out what. Connor steps away from me, rubbing his neck.

  “Okay, okay. I’ll play nice. So, what do you want?” I turn away from looking at Connor to ask the men who are obviously in charge.

  “My name is Keeper Cadean, and quite simply, we need your help,” he tells me with a dead serious expression.

  “Why would I help your kind? You’ve hardly welcomed me with open arms,” I say, with a sarcastic laugh, and he nods in agreement.

  “We will never welcome you into the Protectors, because of our knowledge of who you are. We still must make a deal with you for your help,” he states, folding his hands together.

  "And who, exactly, am I?” I ask, wanting to know what they think.

  “A killer, an assassin, and a thief. You could never be trusted in the royal Protector’s city,” he states simply.

  “Explain what you want, I’m getting bored with all this,” I say, waving my hand.

  “Two nights ago, our three princesses were taken. Our princesses were five days away from a ceremony that would have made one of them our queen, and we have no other royal heirs,” Cadean says tightly.

  “Do you think I took them? Are you kidding?” I say, with wide eyes, trying not to laugh.

  “No, we do not think you took them. The princesses are the most powerful of our kind. They would not be taken by a simple assassin,” Trex laughs condescendingly, and I narrow my eyes at him.

  “I could have, if I had known they existed that is,” I mutter.

  “Our royal family is the best kept secret of the Protectors,” Trex tells me.

  “Then why haven’t you gone after them yourselves? You all have runes like me,” I say.

  “On the same night, our runes’ powers were stolen. We believe the kidnapper placed demon power into our water supply and food somehow. We won’t be able to use our rune powers until it is out of our system, which will be around two weeks,” Connor explains to me.

  “Right, so let me get this straight. Your princesses have been taken, you have no powers, and you want me to what, exactly?” I ask.

  “We have information that suggests the princesses are on the bottom level of Hell. We believe a couple of overlord demons took them for their power. We want you to rescue them,” Cadean says, and all I can do is laugh. They have to be kidding.

  “I told you she wouldn’t help us. She only helps herself,” Trex snaps, giving me a disgusted look, and I have to resist the urge to stick my tongue out at the moody fucker.

  “We have something Evie wants, and for that, she will help us,” Cadean states plainly, his voice confident enough to make me pause and look back at him. He stands still, his brown eyes watching me carefully, like he knows I’m close to flipping out and escaping this hell hole of shiny crap.

  “Like what?” I ask.

  “I know why you are hunted, and I know what your rune name is. I can tell you about your past, more about who you are, and I can make sure you are never hunted again. You help us, and you will have all the answers you have been searching for, and you won’t have to hide anymore,” he tells me, and I pause for a second, running his bargain over in my mind. I don’t know anything about my life, and he could tell me everything. I know my parents had to be Protectors, it’s the only way I could have my marks.

  “And you will let Hali walk free, pretending you never saw her?” I ask, because she has to come with the deal.

  “We will never speak of the death-marked witch, nor tell her kind she is alive,” Cadean nods. I slide my dagger back into the holder and cross my arms.

  “Getting into Hell is no problem, but surviving there is no easy task. I’ve only been to the top layer, but I do know the two layers below it are impossible to survive alone. I will need some of your people to come with me. Preferably ones you don't mind losing if they die," I say, and Cadean nods his head at Trex.

  “I will travel with you. Connor and my brother, Nix, will join us,” he says firmly. I nod, looking back to Cadean.

  “I will take Hali and leave to prepare,” I say.

  “The witch stays here until you return. Think of her as a symbol of trust between us. After all, you are the legendary assassin who cannot be trusted,” Cadean tells me.

  “I want to see her before I leave then,” I demand, and Cadean nods. I turn and walk towards the door with Connor and Trex following. I stop, letting them open the door and look back once more at Cadean.

  “I always keep my word, and you’d best keep yours. If anything happens to her, there will be nothing between every powerless Protector and me. Keep that in mind. Plus, I’m sure the demons would love to know that demon power stops
rune powers,” I say, my voice pitched low and with a smile laced with malice. He nods his head, almost in a bow, yet keeping his eyes locked onto mine. I don’t need to hear his response as I walk out of the room because I saw the fear flash in his eyes, and that’s all I need to know. They will keep their side of the deal.

  Seven

  Evie

  “Evie!” Hali shouts as she runs over to me, nearly knocking me to the floor as she hugs me. I pull away, looking her over and making sure there isn't anything out of place or wrong with her before taking a deep breath. Even if they did promise not to hurt her, I still wouldn’t believe it until I had seen her for myself.

  “Are you okay?” I ask, and she nods, her eyes flashing to Connor and Trex who have followed me into the room. She looks scared, and I don’t blame her. They are a little intimidating, especially to someone like Hali who hasn’t been around Protectors before. Or you know, giant men in cloaks with swords. She only knows I kill Protectors like them sometimes, and that I think they are bad people.

  “Ignore them, they are stalking me now, and I can’t get rid of them for a bit. Just try to think of them as big teddy bears or something,” I say, making her chuckle and Trex growl something under his breath. I whistle as I look around at the room they have Hali in for the first time. Everything is white and black, spotless and expensive. The room we are in is a multi-functional room, with a small kitchen, a lounge area, and a double bed near the windows that overlook the city. Everything looks top of the range.

  “At least you have a nice room for a bit,” I say, and she widens her eyes.

  “You’re not taking me home? I have to stay here?” she questions with a slight tremor in her voice. I walk over to the sofa, encouraging her to sit next to me. She does, watching me with those pale eyes that seem to know what I’m thinking before I’ve said it. I keep my voice low, even though I’m sure Trex and Connor can hear me.