Mistfall

by Olivia Martinez

  I looked up at them when they entered my cell. “Beating up a girl once today wasn’t cowardly enough for you? Gotta do it twice?” I taunted them.

  Something was off. The stares and movements they were making were predatory, but not in a murderous type of way. I felt a chill seep into my bones, snaking its way to my heart where the cold grabbed my soul and held it in its icy cold clutches.

  Owen stepped in front of his men to address me. “You don’t understand Mags.”

  “Understand what?” I asked, wary of what I feared was going to happen.

  “Upstairs. That was your punishment. Do you remember why you were punished?” Owen didn’t stop to let me answer. “Well, now that your punishment is out of the way, we can begin that lesson Abel wants you to learn.”

  24. Luca

  Hey, it’s Luca. Hailz and I are going to have to finish the rest of the story because Mags doesn’t speak anymore.

  The day before Mags mouthed off for the last time to my father, I had left the castle. I was in search of Sergeant Whitmore. Since Mags has told this story thus far, I should probably refer to him as Jack, my brother, John’s, best friend.

  It took me three weeks to track down the sonofabitch because he was evading me. Granted, he had good reason to, but I’ll get to that in a minute. I couldn’t be caught helping my brother and his intended escape. That’s where Jack came in.

  It turns out Jack had been doing some spy work for John.

  Let me just start by saying that I’m not my father. I didn’t always agree with his policies and found his justice cruel at times. But, I had always thought he was just.

  I was wrong. I was so wrong.

  I had been hunting Mags for the past six years or so. I saw the result of the murders and gruesome melee attributed to her. When the wolf turned up dead, I thought it was just her latest victim. My job was to make her accountable for her crimes, nothing more.

  I had been at her house when her parents and the other Iblian were killed. I didn’t order that. My father had, unbeknownst to me. Again, I was there to make her and the other accountable for their crimes. I found out later that my father had sent his wolves there earlier in the day. By the time we got there, everyone was dead. Owen told me that they fought back, that they were defending themselves. At the time, I was inclined to believe them.

  We were in the process of cleaning up the mess, so as not to attract any human attention, when Mags showed up. I gave her a minute to grieve her dead. When I made my move to apprehend her, one of the gas lines exploded. I was knocked out from the blast and didn’t wake up for several days.

  That is the truth, I swear to it.

  I also didn’t set her up to be tortured. I even tried to explain that to her the first time she was imprisoned here. She obviously had other plans that day. As much as I wanted her to pay for her crimes, I also wanted to keep her safe from some of the horror stories the other prisoners had been telling me.

  Jack explained everything to me about my father and Mags. I didn’t believe it until he showed me photos of that wolf being killed by his own pack and committing all the other crimes attributed to Mags. Not just a light bulb, but an explosion lit up in my head when I realized I was just another one of my father’s pawns.

  It was a lot to take in. Everything I had been taught to believe in was a lie. Until now I had never understood my brother’s rebellious nature. As the heir, I had been raised by my father to toe the party line and to believe that we were working towards the greater good. My brother, the spare, was paid no attention by my father, allowing my mother to raise him as she saw fit. That allowed him to see the world as it was instead of having a puppet master pull your strings, like I had been.

  Jack had a plan. Breaking John and Melissa would be easy enough he told me. Then, they would travel to Elemental Deep for the keys necessary to release John and Melissa’s magic. After that they would seek transport to America. My job was to protect Mags until I could get her the hell out of there.

  I understand that one day I’ll have to stand before the gods and be accountable for my actions. I’ll gladly pay whatever price comes now. Before I go, even knowing it won’t save me, I owe her the life I had a hand in taking away.

  Once I returned to the castle, I headed into the dungeon that held Mags. She wasn’t in her cell, which was unusual this early in the day. My father didn’t bother to harass prisoners until after he ate breakfast. I went to talk to Elijah to see what he knew.

  I know what goes on in these dungeons. The gypsies roam free and only let us believe they’re suffering. I never agreed to their imprisonment and tried to look out for them.

  “Elijah,” I greeted the old man as I reached his cell. He looked haggard, as if he hadn’t slept in weeks. I was a bit concerned that my father’s goons had been down here. “Are you okay?” I asked. “Have the wolves been giving you problems?”

  The old man looked up at me. “No. The wolves don’t like the taste of us gypsies,” he weakly joked. “I’m just mourning the loss of a friend,” he informed me.

  “I’m sorry to hear that,” I offered in condolence. I looked around to see if Seamus or Barra were around. I didn’t need those two eavesdropping. Finding neither, I turned back to Elijah. “I hate to interrupt your grieving, but I’m looking for Mags. Do you know where she is?”

  Elijah’s face turned ashen at my question. A sick feeling was growing in the pit of my stomach as I assumed the worst. Turns out, there are worse things than death.

  “Magdalene lives in the castle, but I fear Mags is no longer with us,” Elijah said ominously.

  I asked the old man what he meant.

  When I blinked, I found him standing next to me.

  “Let’s walk,” he said. “I don’t want any of the children to hear this story.”

  Elijah and I headed towards the one end of the corridor where no prisoners were currently being held. My stomach acid was churning as I flashed upon every horrifying thing I thought had happened to Mags.

  Elijah looked as if he had aged overnight. There was more white in his hair since the last time I saw him, around three weeks ago. He had been a strong and sprightly man in his sixties. Now he hobbled when he walked and was stooped over.

  We stopped in front of one of the empty cells. Elijah leaned upon the bars for support, too weakened by his grief.

  “After the beasts beat her they returned,” Elijah began as he battled to maintain his composure. “They raped her. All five of them. She screamed and cried out, begging for them to stop. She even called out to the gods, praying for them to kill her. Once they left, I went to help her. I don’t know whether the blood was from the beating they gave her or the rape, but she should’ve been dead with that much blood loss.

  They did that for two weeks straight. If they weren’t beating her they were forcing themselves upon her.” Elijah’s eyes were welled up with tears as he relived the horrifying tale. “My people will carry the sound of her crying to our graves, the attack being so brutal.”

  Elijah wiped his face with a rag as he finished his story. “A little over a week ago, Mags grew silent, even through the assaults. She did not cry or speak anymore.

  That’s when she was taken to live up in the castle. Even now I cannot hear her in my mind. She’s not there anymore Luca. What remains is merely a shell. I guess your father followed through with his promise of breaking her after all.”

  Elijah was openly weeping now, unable to hold back anymore. I found myself on my knees with my head on the ground, my own face wet. I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t speak, and I couldn’t think. It was impossible to conceive such atrocities.

  It was the wrong time for one of those fucking wolves to come down here.

  Bertram, I think it was, came up behind me. “Hey man, you okay?” He pointed to Elijah. “Did this gypsy asshole hurt you?”

  Rage burned through me, white hot, as I jumped up and grabbed the filthy animal. I threw him into the bars of one of the empty cells. />
  “What the fuck did you do to her?” I yelled.

  “Hey, Prince Luca, relax,” he said putting his hands out in front of him defensively. “The stupid bitch needed to learn to give it up. Besides, it was your father that ordered it.”

  Those were Bertram’s last words. I barely noticed myself holding my sword until Bertram was skewered upon it, shish kabob style.

  I ran. I ran and wasn’t going to stop until I found her.

  I was in one of the main hallways when I spotted one of the wolves. He had just finished with Mags in a nook behind one of the many tapestries in the castle. He didn’t notice me yet when he pushed her to the ground.

  “Good for nothing jinn whore,” he sneered as he spit in her face. “I liked it better when you screamed.

  The wolf had lifted his hand to hit her when I snuck up behind him. I grabbed him in a choke hold as I held a knife to his throat. “Where’s my father,” I demanded.

  The wolf whined. “He, he w-w-went to the P-P-Powers That Buh-Be. Please don’t-.”

  I dropped his carcass to the ground, his throat split ear to ear.

  I wiped the spit off of Mags’s face with my shirt and picked her up. Her eyes were open, but there was no one home. It was eerie, the way she looked at me. It was like she was looking through me, not at me. Wherever her mind was, it was gone from this body.

  I used my magic and called upon the wind to send a message to my two most trusted men as I made my way out of the castle. They caught up with me as I neared an exit.

  “My lord,” Will and Caric addressed me.

  “We’re leaving. NOW!” I ordered.

  “Yes my lord,” they replied in unison.

  These were good men. My men. They would follow me into the fires of Hades and that was the kind of help I needed right now.

  We met no resistance as we fled the castle on horse. We made good time to the Fae village. Thankfully it was early enough in the day, so the Fae would allow us entry.

  I know of Hailz’s marriage to the Fae Queen’s daughter. Hailz had some kind of twisted arrangement with Mags for help and I was calling it in. I could only hope that she would do what she had agreed to.

  My men and I flew like the wind to the doorstep of the small palace and were met by Hailz.

  “Please, she needs our help,” I begged.

  25. Hailz

  Can’t a girl get a honeymoon? I’m not gone a month and that Elf shows up on my doorstep with Mags all bloodied and beaten. I should have killed the fucker when I had a chance to in the Wildwood.

  Damn you Mags. You never see the evil in people until it’s too late. See where being good and trusting gets you. I swear, if you survive this, I’m going to kill you.

  “Bring her in,” I ordered. I led Luca and his men through the palace to Fiona’s and my chamber. Fiona was horrified by the state Mags was in.

  “Who did this?” she demanded of the Elves.

  Luca’s head hung low as he answered her. “My father and his men, but I’m responsible.”

  I attacked him. Of course he was responsible. If he hadn’t been such a daddy’s boy and been more like his delinquent brother, Mags wouldn’t be in such a state.

  The Elf was a good fighter. We’ve fought before. When he can see me coming, he’s adaptable to my shape shifting. Unfortunately that meant we’d have to play this game all day if I was going to kill him. I wasn’t sure if Mags had that kind of time.

  After a few minutes and well placed jabs I stopped my assault, mid-transformation. All girl except the fangs, which were precariously close to his throat. His sword was pinching me in the stomach, but since this is my story, I win.

  “Get out of here,” I demanded. “I will kill you after I’ve looked her over.”

  Luca backed away towards the door and his face contorted into one of the weirdest looks. It was like sorrow, shame, and remorse, all mixed into one. Ah shit. He went soft on me.

  “I’ll fall on my own sword if need be,” he offered, his voice raspy. I thought he was going to start crying. I’d definitely kill him if he was going to act like a girl about it.

  Let me stop you right there. I do NOT have a soft spot in my heart or anything for Mags. Actually, I’m not even sure if I do have a heart. The simple fact is that my master tasked me to protect her. If I fail, Hade’s won’t be too much fun for me anymore. I don’t need any incompetent assholes trying to fuck it up anymore for me.

  The elves left the room, leaving Fiona and I to see about Mags. We undressed her to assess the damage.

  “Fuck,” I swore.

  Normally, Fiona’s after me about my language, but this time she mirrored my sentiments exactly.

  My Fiona has a heart of gold. She’s constantly picking up stray humans. They get lost and injured, stumbling around near the Mistfall. Fiona would nurse them back to health like Florence Nightingale. Of course she’d have to wipe their memories, but she sent them home better than they were before they stumbled in.

  Right now, the love of my life was shaking all over, her mind trying to fathom why someone would to this to another being. The sad thing is that, whatever she thought, the reality was probably ten times worse.

  Oh, b-t-dubs, I will sever your fucking heads and make a totem pole out of them if any, and I repeat, ANY of you humans repeat a single word of the previous two paragraphs. If you think I’m kidding ask Mags. Well, that is, you can if she comes back or survives this. She’s seen my handiwork.

  “Pull it together Fi, I need you on this,” I told her.

  “Okay,” she whispered. Fiona took a few deep breaths and bolstered her resolve. She went into nurse mode and became all business after that.

  I looked down at Mags. Bad idea. Even my stomach was turning a little at the carnage that lay before me.

  Disclaimer: Yeah, I wouldn’t read the next couple of paragraphs if you’re squeamish or a wuss. Just warning you, it’s not pretty.

  There isn’t an inch of Mags that isn’t black, blue, or purple and that’s not even the worst of it. Lacerations covered her body, some infected and some still bleeding freely.

  “Fi, turn around. I don’t want you seeing this,” I warned her before I examined Mags any further.

  The Fae don’t concern themselves with matters outside of their own little world. They know how corrupt The Powers were. Their thought was that the rest of us needed to learn our lessons on our own. Every so often I understand why they do what they do. This was one of those times. If Fiona saw what I was about to, she would have personally led a Fae crusade against all the Otherworld.

  I had to vomit. Me. Iron stomach and master of the gruesome, even I was sickened by the trauma from the multiple sexual assaults. She was torn through and it looked like it had been done repeatedly.

  Iblis, my master, is one of the nine Kings of Hades. He is cruel and demented, a trait I admire, but the one thing he isn’t is a monster. Monsters did this to Mags.

  I covered Mags’s lower half up. Wherever her head was, she still deserved a little dignity here.

  “Fi, you can turn around now,” I rasped, shocked by the inhumane handiwork before me.

  “How bad is it?” she asked, worry lines etched across her face.

  “You don’t want to know. Let’s leave it at that,” I suggested, shaking my head.

  Fiona and I did our best on the physical injuries, working through most of the day. We mended the bones, infections, and lacerations. The damage was so bad that we were exhausted from the effort. It was unimaginable that a Fae and Ifrit jinn could be depleted on something as simple as healing. Whatever you’re currently picturing, it was worse than that.

  Fiona wanted to get Mags cleaned up and tucked away for the night. I, on the other hand, wanted that fucking piece of shit Elf to see the damage he caused. I tore off a few swaths of the already ruined bed linen and covered her across the chest and hips before I let Luca back in.

  I opened the door and pointed to Mags. “Look at what you’ve done, asshole,” I d
emanded.

  Luca turned his head when he saw how extensive the damage was. Fiona had the foresight to bring him a pail when I told him about the injuries he hadn’t seen.

  After he was done emptying the contents of his stomach, he kneeled by Mags’s side and told her how sorry he was and begged for her forgiveness. Pacing around the room, I tried very hard to fight the urge to disembowel and hang Luca by his own intestines (I planned to tie part of his intestines in pretty little bows too).

  If I couldn’t murder him I was sure as hell going to torment his soul. “You know,” I finally broke the silence, “I get it. You led a sheltered life and a lot of the truth was hidden from you, but Mags lived the same kind of life. At least her ignorance didn’t cause this kind of butchery.”

  “You’re right Hailz,” he replied, lifting his head from the bed. “This is all my fault. I don’t know what she wants or needs, but I’ll spend the rest of my life doing it. I’ll be her slave.”

  I rolled my eyes. “How melodramatic of you.”

  Apparently he wasn’t going to argue with me. I could tell that he meant what he said, regardless of the flowery overtones. If Mags does come back and doesn’t kill him, at least she’ll have a loyal bodyguard.

  “Will she make it?” he asked though his eyes remained trained on Mags and her thousand yard stare.

  “She’s a mess,” I answered honestly. “Fiona and I did everything possible to help her. We’ll have to wait and see over the next day or two. As for her mind, it’s even beyond the magic of the Fae.”

  His face turned grey at my last comment. I let him stew in the misery for a minute before I finished the explanation.

  “Fiona’s going to try and find the Dreamweavers,” I relented. “They can get inside her head, but there are only two of them left. One died outside a house in the Wildwood from an Aelfadl explosion. So, you better hope they’re fit and in excellent health.”

  I kicked him back out while Fiona and I cleaned up Mags. We put her under fresh sheets and tucked her in for the night. Fiona left to hunt down the Dreamweavers and I was left with Luca for company. I spent the next half hour explaining Dreamweavers to Luca. I tried to get rid of him after that, but he wasn’t going to be moved from Mags’s side. They boy was going to try my patience with his presence alone.