Unwrapped: A Fated Realms Novel - 1

by M J Sherlock

  ‘You throw them and then draw them into a lasso,’ said Taine. ‘We’ll use them to catch someone or throttle or decapitate them.’

  I almost choked as I imagined a head bouncing along the floor while a chicken-like body flapped around the yard. The reality would be much worse.

  Combat boots clomped down the hallway. Wyatt came in followed by Pierre and his best mate, François. Pierre visited the kitchen to reunite with Stella. He then introduced François to our group. Taine and I had met him in the summer, when he and his mates trounced us.

  ‘We will check out our rooms and will come back and find you later after your magic lesson.’ Pierre and François thundered out like rhinos leaving a watering hole. My lips twitched as the Cloaken turned up their noses at them. They were in for a shock. The assault courses we had done so far were tame compared to what Pierre would bring to the party.

  Later we practiced Cloaken magic in the reinforced basement. It absorbed lethal strikes, minimising harm to fellow trainees or the building. India took to the throwing rings as if born to it, able to elongate or shorten her rings to form whatever shape she wanted. The rest of us struggled, although this time Taine was last instead of me. He studied me, puzzled, but I kept quiet.

  We wrapped lassoes of energy around straw dummies. I was thrilled the first time I ripped off a head, right up until I connected what we were practicing with what it meant for the Venator. Then I threw up into a red bucket of sand in the corner. The others were oblivious but Annie came over to make sure I was okay.

  ‘It’s horrible, I want my parents back but I don’t want to kill.’

  ‘This is war. You may not get a choice.’

  ‘Kill or be killed?’ I sniffed.

  ‘Exactly.’ She gave me a brief pat as if I had won a competition, I was unaware of entering.

  After the Cloaken magic session, we separated off to have training in using our gifts. This was my favourite part of the day and offered relief from the more physical side of our training. I had lessons with Annie, the Seer. Taine received diplomacy lessons from Wyatt although I doubted its use with the Venator. Sofia mentored Alex on Cloaken gadgets and devices while Titus developed India’s tracking gift. I was both jealous and pleased when Titus gave India permission to leave the grounds. She extended her tracking range to ten miles.

  The beanbags in the library became Annie’s place and mine.

  ‘Who’s the statue?’ I asked Annie one day pointing to a ten-foot statue which stood in the far corner of the library.

  ‘The goddess of fate, Clotho. This place is named after her. According to Greek mythology, she spins the threads of human existence while her sisters, Lachesis and Atropos determine the length of life and when it should end. Many of the older Cloaken venerate Greek mythology.’

  Not me. Aloud, I said, ‘I wouldn’t want to get on the wrong side of that trio.’

  Since visions refused to come to order, our training sessions offered a form of counselling. We sorted through a confusion of thoughts, impressions, dreams and nightmares.

  ‘You’re coming on,’ said Annie, ‘look how you predicted the timing of Pierre’s arrival. I am rarely that accurate. You are a Seer. Stick with it, keep writing things down. You’ll amaze yourself when you look back.’

  ‘Knowing potential futures weighs on me. I hope most of what I see doesn’t happen. If it does…’ I chewed the inside of my cheek, worrying about images I had seen. Sofia lying injured, bleeding from a head wound. A hail of dust and rubble, Alex out cold. Vibrating silence where all colours bled into one and I tasted dirt in my mouth, choking. India spinning around from the force of a bullet. ‘I understand now why you used to give me such short messages.’

  Annie squeezed my shoulder. ‘Don’t let being a Seer cripple you. It’s a gift. Make the most of it, influence what you can and let go of the rest. You’ll go mad otherwise.’

  Wise words, harder to do.

  ‘The future’s not set. You can change things.’

  I shoved thoughts of my parents and future battles into my mental padlocked chest while I focused on inching forward. ‘I’ve never been so exhausted.’

  Over the next few days, Pierre and his mate took charge of physical training. They beefed up the assault course and added a fresh obstacle or changed the order, so it stayed fresh. Like the Cloaken, they timed and noted our progress and then briefed Wyatt and Zoe.

  Stella fed us a high protein diet and swore by glasses of milk and hot baths. I didn't ache half as much as I expected. On the days when it threw it down with rain or hail, I wanted to hibernate. I knew Pierre would make us run outside regardless. If only the distortion field also shielded us from the weather. Pierre’s mantra was the Venator won’t wait for nice weather to attack, so crack on.

  On another wet day, my thoughts flitted to school. Half term was over and I should have returned two days ago. What was Niall up to? Did he miss me? I pictured Katherine and Maisie ringing my doorbell. Peering through the windows, horrified at the mess left after the break-in. The school receptionist checking why I was absent. The red phone in the hallway ringing repeatedly before going to the answerphone.

  I shuddered as I pictured my once proud mother, her expression vacant while Dad sat, chained in the corner, beaten. I scrawled my impressions in my journal, reluctant to share them even with Annie as if speaking of them would make them real. With each vision it became harder to believe these were only possible futures.

  The days merged into one, only the changes in weather and Cloaken magic studies showing the passing of time. The Cloaken had started us off with pre-energised blasters, throwing rings and shields. Now we had to use our own energy to power and even create them. We graduated to creating shields first around ourselves before learning to extend them around others. My shield often wavered and fizzled out as my attention slipped or when I became too weary to hold it in place.

  We bombarded each other with fireballs, girls against boys or in random groups. If we poured too much energy into our creations, we would pass out. It took days to become familiar with our limits and yet we were running out of time. We progressed to adding intent and binding that with our energy. Competing with friends and allies needed a lighter touch than would be required in real combat. The Cloaken siphoned energy from other living things. They had years of practice and we hadn’t yet learned how so we were at a disadvantage. Still, I was proud of our progress and hoped it would be enough.

  On the afternoon of day nine, India offered to give me a makeover. She had already used diamante to decorate her own face and had borrowed a full make-up kit from somewhere. ‘Trust me, I’m good at this.’ She spread primer over my skin. Foundation soon followed and then she pulled out an electric blue pencil and began drawing on my face. It was a weird sensation, but I went with it. Being pampered was refreshing. She finished off by painting my lips and nails electric blue.

  Zoe had obviously been primed too as she turned up with a beautiful blue silk dress for me and a red one for India who had twined gold thread through her raven hair. Annie and Sophia lent us some glitzy sandals as they got in party mode too. It was a relief to get out of shapeless combat gear.

  Stella served up pizza and salad, reminding Taine and I of our stay in Paris. ‘You look stunning,’ she said when she saw me.

  After the meal, Pierre taught us, ‘Chase the Ace.’ François sat on my left and Titus to my right, with India on his other side. The goal of the game was to get rid of the Ace or the lowest scoring card. Zoe surprised me by putting on music to play in the background. She gave us gold-coloured counters to use as our three lives. At the end of the game, the person who held the lowest card lost a life. If a player had a King, they placed their card face up. This acted as a roadblock preventing someone passing on their rubbish cards. Without a King, if the person to their right wanted to swap with them, the player had to let them.

  A lot of misdirection went on. Titus got stung a few times when I passed him my duds with an innocent fac
e. He would clap his head in frustration, howling while we all laughed. François stitched me up a few times although I got my own back. In between moves, they would speak of family.

  Titus raved about his three-year-old daughter, Anne-Marie. He pulled out her photo at every opportunity, showing us her impish expression framed by crimson hair. Extreme hairstyles must run in the family. Did the Cloaken have hairdressers or could they shape their own hair and colour at will? François showed off pictures of his youngest grandsons, aged four and six. Little tykes by the sound of it. Players snatched each other’s photos and threw their own down instead. We played Chase the ace repeatedly, with India, Pierre and even Zoe being among the winners. It was a night full of friendship, fun and laughter, a life worth the fight to survive.

  Chapter 25: Royal Heirs

  I had been at Camp Clotho ten days before I asked the right questions. When Zoe had said she came from royalty, I ignored it. I realised how wrong I had been when Annie shared how the old King died. We were in our spot in the library.

  ‘Shortly after he changed the law so he could choose his successor, the King and Queen and at least half a dozen politicians were killed in a bomb blast during a private dinner party at the palace.’ Annie sounded distressed.

  ‘Were you close to any of them?’ I squirmed on the beanbag, trying to find a comfortable position as the tiny beans rolled around.

  ‘My father was killed. The others were family friends.’ Annie blinked back tears.

  ‘Sorry, it must have been awful for you.’ I reached out a hand in sympathy. ‘How long ago did it happen?’

  ‘The week after the assassination of the Guardians. Someone decided to get them out of the way first. The kingdom has been in uproar since. No one found the will and those who witnessed it were among the dead.’

  My head swirled with competing information as I considered how to unlock the thirteen-year-old mystery. The killing of both Guardians and the Cloaken elite in quick succession had to be connected. It couldn’t be a coincidence that all the witnesses to the missing royal will were dead. Had the instigator intended to destabilise the kingdom or to take the throne? There must have been a plan… I kept forgetting that while Zoe looked India’s age, she could be much older.

  Despite Wyatt wittering about secrets, I hadn’t shared the contents of the safety deposit box with anyone. I hadn’t even read the documents. Instead, I found creative places to hide both the globe and the papers. I was unable to always carry them with me yet remained anxious about possible theft. I tried discussing it with Taine, but he had little time for me. He was too busy competing, performing magic or learning from Wyatt. He now had Alex too and I was jealous despite my growing friendship with India. We were up in our room when I asked her, 'How have you got on with getting to know the Cloaken?'

  'I feel I know Titus, Wyatt, Annie, Zoe and Sofia but the others remain a blur. They are avoiding us.' India twiddled with her Étoile.

  'I’m concerned they’ll betray us.' I sat cross-legged on my quilt, trying out different hairstyles.

  'A premonition or a normal worry?' India chewed her bottom lip.

  'Hard to know but it feels strong.’ I tied off my hair.

  ‘Best talk to Zoe then. Want me to come?’ India swung her legs to the floor, taking me by surprise.

  We found Zoe in the room overlooking the herb garden. She was dressed in a navy trouser suit and sat at her desk. My body tensed and I fought to stay relaxed. Zoe was reading some papers but put them aside to speak with us.

  'How can I help?' Zoe gave a tight smile that did not light her eyes. I felt like an intruder.

  'We know only a handful of Cloaken,’ I blurted out. ‘If we don’t get them on-board now, they will move against us.'

  'A major accusation. Any evidence?' Zoe’s fingers worried at a trio of gold bracelets on her wrist.

  ‘We both feel the same.’ It sounded weak even to me.

  'What do you propose?' Zoe’s foot tapped on the floor as if it wanted to take off in a dance, twirling around in the arms of some handsome Cloaken. Did she have a partner? She seemed alone. Separate from the crowd. It made the image of her dancing even more surprising.

  'We should remind people why we are fighting,’ suggested India, ‘let’s use that flipchart Wyatt loves so much.' India nudged me and I brought my attention back into the room.

  'Agreed. I’ll let you know when the time is right.’ Zoe tilted her head towards India. ‘You would make a good diplomat.'

  For a moment, I thought India would laugh in her face.

  ‘I prefer being outdoors to being trapped in stuffy rooms with people who think too much of themselves.'

  I stifled a giggle. India avoided my eyes.

  'Not talking about me I hope.’ Zoe raised an eyebrow.

  'Of course not.’

  Yeah right. Outside, rosemary and spears of lavender swayed in the breeze. I was missing something. ‘It’s all been about you…’ I trailed off.

  'Explain,' said Zoe.

  'Guardians and the Cloaken elite dying within a week of each other can’t be coincidence. It must be about who would rule.’

  Zoe gave a half shrug.

  'We need to understand-’

  India butted in. ‘-What age were your cousins? Where are they now? Which other relatives and politicians were killed? What tied them together? Were they in favour of the new law or not?’

  ‘A lot of questions.’ I slipped my hands in the pockets of my grey hoodie.

  ‘It is, but I will start with the simplest.’ Zoe enunciated each word, every inch the princess. ‘My cousins are a year or two younger than me. They are at the palace. Morgan is serving here as a doctor. You will have met her.’

  I had a brief image of a tall, cool blond with closely cropped hair.

  ‘I have two uncles; one was hurt but not seriously. Mallory and Worth are both on the Council of Elders and are at Camp Clotho. I will see that you are introduced.’ She ticked the questions off on her hand. ‘Neither were in favour of the new law allowing my father to choose his successor, male or female, because it meant their sons were no longer in direct line to the throne.’

  ‘And who lived and who died from the other politicians?’ India asked in a posh, icy tone that matched Zoe’s voice.

  ‘Montfort and Grey were both killed, they favoured the new law. Dunham, Laurel and Stone were all fence-sitters but perhaps they voted in favour too…’ Zoe played with a pendant around her neck. ‘If that was the cause, why did the traitors not act before the law was passed?'

  'Hey, we were babes in arms or toddlers then, you need to tell us.’ My lips tilted up.

  'I apologise, I expect too much.’ Zoe’s tone softened. ‘We need to talk to Sofia. I will ask her to search the archives. Meet us in the library after dinner.'

  I pictured the papers I rescued from the safety deposit box. ‘Stella was a Guardian before the assassination. She gave me a load of ancient documents. Some bore the royal seal. Shall I ask Sofia to check them out?’

  ‘What’s in them?’ Zoe’s fingers stilled.

  ‘They were gobbledegook to me.’

  ‘Go ahead.’

  ***

  That afternoon we practiced Cloaken defence moves, combining our skills in an immense two-hour battle. For the first time I made it through to the end uninjured and with energy to spare. When we arrived, we had known little of how to harness energy and magic. Zoe may have been right to stop us leaving. How irritating. I could not stay mad at her any longer.

  We practiced creating portals, moving as individuals to defined points around the manor. Surreal. Multiple whirlpools popped up with their outer rim of blue crackling with electricity. The metallic smell of ozone filled the air tickled my throat and made me cough to clear it. Creating portals came easily and I often bumped into others, as I didn’t allow them enough time to get out of the way before I made my move.

  'Great progress,' said Wyatt. 'Tomorrow you will create portals across greater distan
ces, enabling you to flee a Venator attack or carry others to safety.'

  I hadn’t yet given the papers to Sofia. At the end of the session, I trekked upstairs, fished the papers out from underneath my mattress and headed for the library.

  Sofia greeted me with a hug. ‘You just missed Annie.’

  ‘I came for you.’ I dropped the sheaf of documents on her frosted glass desk. ‘We found these in Stella’s safety deposit box. The day we emptied it, the Venator came to steal them. Taine and I barely escaped. They could be important.’

  Flicking through, her face lit up. ‘Leave these with me and I’ll update you and Zoe this evening.’

  I hurried to the dining hall, spotting my friends already at our favourite table. I was ravenous. Stella went all out for dinner, serving up a sumptuous three-course meal. The feast included vegetable soup and fresh baked bread followed by a fillet of smoked salmon coated with herbs accompanied by jacket potato and salad. Desert was a melt in your mouth Eton Mess, a concoction of fresh berries, meringue and cream. I felt homesick. I last ate Eton Mess on Mum’s birthday in July. As we ate, India brought Taine up to speed on our suspicions. He asked many of the same questions we had.

  After I had demolished the last of the desert, I got to my feet. I invited Taine to come with us to the library. Taine beckoned Alex over. I didn’t recall seeing Sofia at dinner but thought nothing of it. We froze in the doorway. Our mouths hung open in shock. Someone had ransacked the library. A faint metallic odour hung in the air. The hub and spoke shelving lay fallen like dominoes, splaying out. Rare books lay upended. Pages fluttered across the floor, reminding me of my home after the Venator intrusion. After the shock wore off, we ran around the room checking for signs of life. Alex found Sofia on the floor near the beanbags, clutching an old scroll in her fist even as she lay unconscious with a head-injury.

  'Did you fiends do this?' asked Zoe from behind us.

  'Of course not,' said Taine, his fists clenched.

  My temper began to fizz. Why did she always jump to the wrong conclusion?

  ‘Sofia needs medical attention now.’ India guided Zoe to her.