Hidden Runes

by G. Bailey

  “I have to do something for the Protectors, and it’s dangerous. I’m not going to lie to you and say I will certainly be back here in a few weeks, but I promise I will do everything I can to get back to you,” I promise her, hating when tears begin to stream down her face.

  “I don’t want you to go,” she says, shaking her head and leaning over to wrap her arms around me. I hold her for only a few seconds, before pulling back enough that I can whisper in her ear.

  “I will send someone to save you. Even if it's not me, if for whatever reason I can't make it back, I will make sure you will be safe. Do not worry,” I tell her because I have friends, okay demons, that will do anything for money. Including breaking in here and saving Hali.

  “Don’t go,” she begs, holding onto me tightly.

  “Be safe and do as they ask, alright?” I ask, and she wipes some tears away as she lets go of my hand. “You’re my family, and you’re stronger than this. We might not share blood, but we share a spirit. I know it’s in there somewhere.” She glances away, before looking back and giving me a determined expression.

  “Yes.”

  “That’s my girl,” I grin, trying to keep my worry at bay as I stand up and walk to the door. I look back at her once, seeing her sitting on the sofa, and her expression hasn’t changed. She can do this, I can see it, and I will be back for her.

  “I’ll see you soon,” I tell her, knowing I’m going to do anything I need to, so that I can get back here. To her. Connor opens the door, sympathy flashing in his eyes for a second as I look at him before I walk past. I don’t need or want his sympathy. He was one of the people that helped capture and kidnap Hali.

  “We have a car ready, but we need to make a plan,” Trex comments as we walk towards the elevator we came up in.

  “I have a plan,” I state, and he raises a perfect black bushy eyebrow at me.

  “Do you care to enlighten us with it?” he asks sarcastically. I wait until we are all standing in the elevator before I answer him.

  “Have you ever been to Hell? Do you know anything of what you have ahead of you?” I ask them.

  “No, I’ve never been personally, but I’ve heard–” I cut him off.

  “Then you haven’t got a clue what we will need to survive there. We will need a demon’s protection to get through without being killed, and I know a demon who owes me a favour,” I say.

  “We don’t work with demons,” Trex huffs.

  “You do now,” I say, walking out of the elevator when it gets to the bottom. This floor is just as empty as the council one. It’s all glass again, and gold walls with crystal chandeliers. There are dozens of doors, which must be rooms for the other Protectors, but we only see one or two around, and they quickly run away.

  “In Hell, the first layer is freezing cold. You will need to wrap up warm and bring plenty of weapons, considering you’re powerless.”

  “We will do that, but what about the second and third layer? We heard it’s different,” Connor inquires, but I don’t have a clue, and the only demon that would know, is no one I’m going to ask.

  “Not a clue, but it is likely as bad as you are thinking it is,” I say dryly. It’s not a place I’m looking forward to going. My first and only trip to Hell when I was eighteen was bad enough.

  “Do you have a phone?” I ask them both as we stop outside the building. Connor pulls his phone out of his pocket, unlocking it and handing it to me. I quickly type an address with my number underneath it in his notes, before handing it back.

  “Be there at eight tonight. Dress in something a human or demon would wear to a nightclub. No suits or cloaks,” I say, looking down at their outfits on purpose.

  “We must leave for Hell, not go to wherever this is,” Trex growls.

  “This is our only chance. You asked for my help, so you’re going to have to trust me,” I say, going to walk away when Trex grabs my arm, pulling me to him. I look up as his green eyes stare down at me in anger and distrust.

  “If you betray us, I will kill you. I don’t need my runes to do that, do you understand me, Evie?” he asks, using my name for the first time, and I grin, pushing my body closer to his.

  “Totally. By the way, I’ve always liked a demanding guy. They are always best in bed,” I say, flirting with him to annoy him. As predicted, he pushes me away, scowling at me. I laugh, walking to the car, and look back at them.

  “See you later, boys.” I finger wave with a slight smirk.

  Eight

  Connor

  “She was not what I expected. Not at all,” Trex says as we watch the car taking Evie away, not looking away once. I think he expects her to jump out and start attacking us or something. Until today, until I met her, that’s what I’d have expected her to do as well. She is nothing like I anticipated. Shiny, soft-looking blue hair that falls in waves around her. Glowing, fiery blue eyes and a killer body. If I’d met her under any other circumstances, I would do anything to get into her knickers.

  “What do you think the keepers know about her?” I ask him, because I didn’t know they knew anything. No one knows anything of her. She is just a rumour, an outcast who kills anyone that goes near her, indiscriminately. But that’s a lie. The witch she protects is proof she doesn’t kill everyone. She held a dagger to my throat today, and if she didn’t care about killing, she would have killed me.

  “Something she is willing to fight for to find out,” Trex says, just as Evie’s car disappears through the barrier.

  “We should go and get your brother,” I state, wishing Trex hadn’t suggested bringing him on this mission. He is the last person you want to take into Hell with you.

  “Yeah, he might need sobering up before tonight,” Trex replies, turning and walking down the street. We get to the first building across, and rather than going into it, we walk around it to the back entrance. It’s hidden, but nearly every Protector knows it’s here. The smell of smoke and alcohol hits me when we walk through the door, and I pull it shut behind us both.

  “Let’s split up to look for him,” Trex suggests, knowing this place is underground and about five layers. It takes a lot to get us drunk or stoned, and this is the only place for Protectors to safely come and let off some steam.

  “Sure,” I comment, walking to the left, and he goes right. I walk down the glass-walled hallways, looking at the sofas and bars, not seeing Nix anywhere. I’m nearly to the end of the corridor when I spot him. He is sitting on a sofa, two girls at his side in dresses that leave little to the imagination. He has a bottle of vodka in his hand as he looks up at the ceiling and blows out smoke. Nix doesn’t have a shirt on, showing off his chest and arms that are completely covered in tattoos. His black curly hair falls all over the place as he hasn’t bothered having it cut in a while, and by the looks of him, I bet he has been in here for a few days doing fuck knows what. Great, he is seriously fucked. I open the glass door, walking straight over and standing in front of him. He doesn’t even notice as the girl on his right starts climbing on his lap and kissing his neck.

  “Nix,” I shout, kicking his leg, making him nearly drop his bottle as he jumps and shoots his head forward. I look at the girls, vaguely recognising them.

  “You two disappear, or I’ll tell your families you’re in here,” I say, keeping an eye on Nix’s annoyed face as the two girls jump up off the sofa and practically run out of the room.

  “Buzz kill, Con. We could have shared,” he grins.

  “Maybe another time. We have shit to do, and you need to be sober,” I tell him, and he groans, lifting his bottle and downing it. I reach over, snatching it from him and smashing it on the floor.

  “I’m not fucking around, Nix, now get your shit together,” I tell him, just as Trex gets to my side.

  “Do I have to knock you out and carry your ass out of here like last week?” he says, crossing his arms.

  “No, I can fucking walk,” he mutters, glaring at his brother as he stands up, swaying a little before promptly
passing out, his body smacking onto the floor.

  “I’ll get him,” I sigh, patting Trex’s shoulder. He glares at his brother and puts his hand on my chest to stop me.

  “She wouldn’t want this. We both lost her, and this is not how she would want anyone to react,” he points at his brother. “Our sister didn’t die saving his ass, so he could drink his life away. I will deal with him,” he says, leaning down and picking up his brother, heaving him over his shoulder. I feel sorry for Trex and Nix. They lost both of their parents, and more recently, their sister. Nix drinks the memories away, and Trex, well, he pretends nothing happened.

  “Meet you outside at seven tonight,” Trex says and carries his brother out of the room. I walk over to the bar, paying Nix’s bill before leaving. I just pray Trex can get Nix in any state to be of use to us tonight.

  Nine

  Nix

  “I’m not going to Hell to save anyone! You’re fucking kidding, right?” I exclaim, sitting up on my bed. From my seat, I can see my brother’s disappointed glare levied in my direction. The door bangs open, and Connor walks in, handing me a glass of water. I glance around at my apartment; the bed, the sofa, and the small kitchen are all that are in it, other than one other door that leads to a bathroom. It’s empty other than the discarded take away boxes and drained liquor bottles littered around. I don’t even remember how I got back here last night.

  “I’d prefer vodka,” I say, taking the drink, and holding a hand to my head as the room spins.

  “Yeah well, tough shit. We need you,” Connor replies dryly, leaning against the wall.

  “Why me, again?” I question, and Trex groans as he narrows his eyes at me.

  “Didn’t you tell him?” Connor asks.

  “I just barely woke him up, and I think he only heard the bit about going into Hell,” Trex responds, and I lean back on my pillows and look at them both.

  “The princesses have been stolen, and we need to go to Hell to get them back,” Connor says, like it’s a normal thing to wake someone up and inform them of.

  “I’m sorry they are gone, but who took them? How do we know they are in Hell?” I ask the important questions.

  “The keepers won’t tell us how they know, and they don’t have a clue who took them, apparently,” Connor replies.

  “Right, so we can go and die for them, but they won’t tell us shit?” I ask, a hollow laugh following my words as Connor and Trex don’t reply. There’s a knock on the door, which breaks up the awkward silence, and Connor opens the door. A keeper is standing still outside the door, his hood covering his face, so I can’t see who it is.

  “May I enter?” the keeper asks, and Connor holds the door open for him, letting him in. The unfamiliar keeper lowers his hood, looking around at my apartment with clear disgust before speaking.

  “What I tell you now is a secret, and many of the keepers would have me killed just for telling you,” he says, and I look him over. The keeper is old, one of the oldest I bet, with white roots and brown hair, but I honestly don’t care. I don’t have anything to do with keepers or any of their crap since they let my sister die. Connor shuts the door before walking over and sitting on my sofa as I get out of the bed and go to my kitchen. I open the doors, seeing the cabinet I usually store my alcohol in is empty, and I spot the empty bottles next to the sink. I turn and glare at my brother who just grins. Asshole.

  “Who are you?” I turn and ask the keeper, wanting his name before I kick him, my brother, and Connor out of my apartment.

  “Keeper Grey,” he says simply.

  “Well, Keeper Grey, nice to meet you, but you need to leave, and take these assholes with you while you’re at it,” I say. He shakes his head sternly.

  “I cannot do that. You need my advice and my help.”

  “I don’t need fuck from you,” I snarl. Connor narrows his eyes at me, sharply shaking his head.

  “And don’t start with the lecture I can see you’re about to launch into, Trex,” I warn, not even needing to look at him to know he is about to start off on one.

  “Fine. I will speak to Trex and Connor, and you may listen if you wish,” Keeper Grey says, moving to sit on the sofa next to Connor.

  “The princesses were not kidnapped, they just went missing. We assumed a kidnapping, instead of considering the alternative of the likelihood that they walked out of here,” he says, and there’s a tense silence. I know the princesses well enough to know that wouldn’t have happened. They are pampered here; they can do whatever they like, and one of them was about to be crowned queen. Who in their right mind would just walk away from that?

  “The princesses wouldn’t have just deserted the throne, not all of them,” Trex points out.

  “They did. Or they left. There was no forced entry. Of that, I am certain,” Keeper Grey informs us.

  “Then why do the keepers think the princesses are in Hell?” Trex asks.

  “We had no choice but to search the princesses’ rooms, and in one, we found something that only an overlord demon could have. A token of an overlord’s sin. They always keep their sin close to them, and never show or tell anyone unless they are family or very close,” he explains, and I watch Trex tighten his fists in anger and sharply look away.

  “The princesses are close to a demon overlord? How is that possible?” Connor exclaims in clear shock. Demon overlords are not our friends. We hunt them–not let them anywhere near our royals. Our most protected.

  “I am as clueless as you. I simply could not let you go into Hell without knowing all of the truth, or the simple fact that they might not actually be there,” he says, standing up. “I wouldn’t tell the assassin about this. If she knew, she wouldn’t take you to Hell, and while we are powerless, we need her.”

  “What do you know about the assassin? Who is she? Who are her parents?” I ask, and he looks towards me. I watch his expression carefully, and see many emotions flash in his eyes as he tries to decide what to tell me. I’m not the best at judging people’s reactions, but I have a feeling this assassin means something to him.

  “I know everything there is to know about her, but I am bound to never speak a word of it. I promised her father I would keep her secret and protect her. That is why I am telling you all I know, because you will be protecting her, in a way, on your travels,” he says.

  “Who is her father?” I ask.

  “I cannot say,” he replies, almost sadly, and lifts his hood, walking to the door and opening it up. “Good luck, Protectors.”

  “That was . . . weird,” Connor says as Keeper Grey shuts the door after himself.

  “I’m coming with you,” I tell them firmly.

  “Why have you changed your mind?” Trex asks, genuinely surprised, if his voice is anything to go by.

  “To keep you fuckers alive, that’s why. You will need me,” I say, and both Connor and Trex laugh.

  “If that’s what you need to tell yourself, fine,” Trex says walking away, opening the door and looking back over his shoulder. “But take a damn shower, you stink, brother.”

  I laugh, walking into my bathroom as Connor leaves, to do just that.

  Ten

  Evie

  “Do you have food?” I ask the man, who pushes me away, and I fall to the ground. The demon doesn’t even look back as he walks away. I look down, bursting into tears as rain pours down on me, and I sink further into the mud. My fifth birthday was two days ago, and it was also the last time that I had eaten. My parents had yelled as I accidently set their rug on fire. They said I wasn’t human, that I was unnatural and had to leave. I screamed and screamed for them to not leave me, but they did.

  “Hey, are you okay?” a woman asks, running over and picking me up off the ground. She holds me close, folding her cloak around me as I cry, and she rubs my back. The woman waves her hand, a blue light covering her hand, and I hear a door open. The woman carries me into the warm room, putting me down on something soft, but I’m too scared to open my eyes.

>   “Hunny, you are safe now,” she says soothingly.

  “I’m alone now,” I whimper.

  “No, not anymore,” the woman says. I open my eyes, seeing a dark-skinned woman kneeling in front of me. She has long black hair, a weird mark on her right cheek, and a big smile. She has on a long dress, big grey eyes, and I don’t think she is a demon. I don’t know what she is, but she seems nice.

  “I’m scared.”

  “I know, but if you will trust me, I won’t leave you alone. The world isn’t good all the time, but I think if you can do one good thing, it’s a step in the right direction,” she says and stands up. “Do you like hot chocolate? I have some I can make you, and then we’ll get you a meal.”

  “Yes, please,” I whisper, and she smiles before walking away. I was never alone from that day on, even when I thought I always would be.

  “Here, stop here,” I say to the taxi driver after a street light flashes in my eyes and snaps me out of the horrible memory. My human adoptive parents left me here on my fifth birthday and never looked back. I guess I was lucky they thought I was a demon, even though the blue hair should have tipped them off, and they left me here, where the Protectors couldn’t find me. The taxi driver instantly puts the breaks on and stops the taxi. He gives me a questioning look at where we’ve stopped. It looks like an empty field, but only supes would be able to see what it really is. I pay him, get out of the taxi, and watch as he turns around and drives off. I smooth down my tight, red dress, hoping that the dagger on my thighs can’t be seen. I hate dresses. The wind pushes my hair in my face and reminds me that I left my hair down, so it covers up the knife attached to my back. One bonus for having waist-length hair. Weapons aren’t really allowed here, but everyone brings them. It’s too dangerous not to. I have to wait ten more minutes for the Protectors’ car to show up. Connor gets out first, shocking me a little to see him looking normal. And hot. Very fucking hot. His blonde hair is styled to the left, and he has on black trousers paired with a loose blue shirt that has a few buttons undone. I can’t see any weapons on him, but I’m not stupid enough to think he hasn’t hidden them somewhere.