by K. N. Banet
“It must have got worse after we got out,” he mumbled.
“Yeah…” A lot worse, by the look of things. The fighting had gotten further inside after we had left. I was curious if the bloodstains were mostly inmates or guards. Did the guards come out the clear winner, or did they barely survive the night? “I’m not sorry we left to get the word out, but damn, I feel for whoever was left fighting here.”
“Agreed.” Raphael was glued to my side, and I couldn’t help but notice how he had a hand hovering over my lower back as if he was about to catch me or something. It was an old school move. His body was angled, and he could reach over me to get a door Korey obviously tried to slam in my face. It left his chest to me as I walked through behind the angry new Alpha.
On the other side of this last door, Eliphas waited, a bandage over his eyes but otherwise healthy-looking. There was another witch, a woman standing behind him, holding a phone with a look of disgust.
“I can’t believe they think we can’t handle this,” the witch muttered, her eyes falling on me.
“Well, obviously…” I lifted both my hands and gave her a look, hoping she understood what I was saying without needing me to put her in her place. “Look, I’m here because this is out of control. Any internal investigation you run won’t be as fast, and you know everyone and have biases. I don’t. I dislike everyone equally. For the most part. In the end, I just need to know how this happened, and you’re going to help me. The sooner we know how this happened, the sooner we can make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
“Why don’t you go out and do your actual job?” the witch snapped angrily. “You’re an Executioner. Go out there, fucking kill the escapees, and leave us—”
“Stop,” Eliphas said quietly. “We don’t have time to argue with Kaliya. She’s backed by the Tribunal. I’m sure she knows what her duties are.”
I smiled, and even though he couldn’t see me, he smiled back.
“Thank you,” I said to the rough-looking witch in charge. “So, let’s get started. Was there anything happening in the prison I need to know about? Before the breakout or during?”
“No,” Korey said immediately. “We were following every procedure to the letter, and there was nothing unusual going on yesterday.”
I looked at her again, seeing she had found a seat and was comfortable. She seemed more upset at my presence than she was about anything else.
“Okay, I’ll accept that for now, but when I ask again later, don’t try to lie to me again.” I looked at my roommate and sighed. “Let’s go talk to someone else. The guards and inmates still alive will probably be more willing to talk than the leaders hoping to save their reputations.”
“Excuse me, bitch—”
My fangs dropped at the sound of her growling words. My hand was on the hilt of my sword as the chair fell from her sudden movement. She took a step, and it was free, the sharp tip of the steel against her chest.
“I’m an animal, too, faster and deadlier,” I whispered. “Don’t play with me. Something here is fishy. Something was going on. Now, you can keep your secrets, but they won’t stay secret for long. I love a good mystery and fully intend to discover every little thing that’s been hidden. Answers are needed, and I’ll be damned if the new Alpha, needing to prove herself, stops me from getting those fucking answers.” I pushed the sword slightly, letting it dig into the werewolf’s Kevlar vest. “Remember what I said at the door, werewolf.”
Eliphas stood up slowly and waved a hand. Korey stepped back out of my range. When she and I were distanced, the witch looked at me.
“Ask all the questions you want, Kaliya. I have no secrets, and if there are secrets being kept by my fellow Wardens, it’s high time they come to light.”
“Thank you,” I said, nodding respectfully at the witch. He nodded back.
I walked out with Raphael, knowing where I was going. Remembering the escape, I wondered how I got so turned around. Thinking back, I realized it had been Erline. If it hadn’t been for her, Raphael and I would have got out much faster. She always did freak me out.
She’s dead now. She won’t be creeping around the halls or scaring me half to death anymore.
I went to the guards first, deciding to check the infirmary. They all looked up as I entered, some distrustful, others strangely relieved. There were fae in the room, looking confused, probably hoping for their Warden to come back, but as far as I knew, the fae leadership was still unaccounted for other than what Hasan knew.
“Hey, everyone,” I said loudly, finding an empty chair and dragging it to the middle of the room. Raphael stood at my back as I sat, an imposing force to back me up. We were probably quite the sight. At this point, I knew none of them believed he was human, if they had to begin with, like Nakul. I didn’t know how in the know these guards were, but he had been on full display during the breakout. Even now, I could smell the hint of his other side, meaning his eyes were probably black now.
“Executioner Sahni,” one greeted, stepping forward. A fae, but I didn’t hold it against him. “If there’s anything you need, please let me know.”
“I just want to talk,” I said calmly, not taking any of my anger out on them as I had with Korey. She was a leader and knew better than to give me any attitude, but these guys were grunts. They followed orders and did their jobs. Unless I had definitive proof one or more of them had been involved with the breakout, I was going to treat them with respect and care.
“Has anything strange been going on here in the prison? Was there any reason to believe this breakout was coming?”
Many shook their heads. Others were silent, but I chalked it up to intimidation. I knew I was a small fry compared to my bosses, but with civilians and lower-ranking people, I was way up on the totem pole. I only answered to the big guys and knew them by name. These grunts probably had never even seen many of the Tribunal members.
“So, this came out of nowhere for you, too?” I smirked. “Yeah, it’s been a shit show, hasn’t it? Do any of you have any solid numbers on the inmates?”
“About a quarter of the southern cellblock inmates escaped. A third of the inmates died in the explosion. The rest we recaptured,” said the one closest, who had stepped forward initially.
“I didn’t get your name,” I said, looking at him. I checked his uniform as I pointed that out, seeing his humanized clan name. “Ó Ceallaigh? Irish fae, huh?”
“You can call me Cael. Everyone here does.” He tried for a smile, but I saw it falter. He was nervous as hell.
“Cael. Reminds me of Cassius for some reason.” I sighed. “You ever met him?”
“I’ve never met the Prince, no,” he said quickly, shaking his head.
The Prince. I honestly forgot that most of them still considered him that. By fae law, he’s just another noble now.
“You might like him,” I said, a little put off that my attempt at small talk wasn’t working. “Well, Cael, thank you for the information. What do you know about the northern cell block?”
“Two were killed in the explosion,” someone said from a bed. “Two were found dead later…um...Erline and Dunter.”
“Yeah, I know about those. Is everyone else unaccounted for?”
“Yes, ma’am,” the guard in the bed said, nodding. I could tell he was a werewolf from across the room. He was a lot more talkative than his new Alpha. Hopefully, that didn’t fuck him in terms of the pack. “We can’t find Wesley either.”
“Ah…” I sighed. I knew the Tribunal would have told Korey what was going on with Wesley. If she hadn’t passed it down yet, I wasn’t going to. I didn’t want to give any of the werewolves hope Wesley might be taken alive when he could be killed. The Phoenix pack were going to try and capture him but there were no guarantees. I’d never met a werewolf who didn’t root for him. Letting them stay in the dark on the situation was for the best.
There was a resounding quiet after that, a quiet that seemed oppressive and overwhelming. I knew some of them
had answers or clues I wanted. There was no way everyone was so confused by what happened. Unless the ones who knew had died, which I found unlikely. I looked around, seeing some were unable to meet my eyes while some stared me down.
They don’t want to talk in front of each other. I’ll work the inmates until some of these guys feel like they can talk to me.
“Can we get an interview room ready?” I asked, breaking the heavy silence. “I’m going to talk to some of the inmates. All of them, if I can.”
“Yes ma’am,” Cael said, jumping into action. He snapped his fingers, and two other guards, both witches, jumped up and ran out of the room. “Follow me, Executioner.”
“Thank you.”
I did as he asked, glad that Raphael fell into step right behind me. If we continued to show a united front, we were less likely to find trouble. Not that I really expected trouble in the prison, but that was what got me into trouble only the evening prior. I had forgotten to stay paranoid. Paranoia kept me alive.
“Stay here,” I said to my quasi-partner once we reached the door to an interview room. “These are going to be simple conversations. No need to scare these guys. I can do that well enough.”
“I’ll be watching.” He pointed to another door, and I was impressed that he had guessed it led to the viewing area. He went inside while I stood at the door.
Taking a deep breath, I waved Cael away, and the fae backed off. I heard shuffling on the other side and knew the first inmate was there. As an Executioner, interviews weren’t part of my job description. Generally, I was the last person who asked questions. I just killed them at the end.
It was a different set of skills that prepared me for walking into that room. When Hisao trained me, he taught me everything. From interviews to torture, he taught me how to work people.
I was never very good at them. Let’s hope I don’t embarrass him today.
There was a formality about an interrogation room I hadn’t been prepared for. When I walked in, the prisoner in the chair paled. He yanked at the chains holding his wrists to the table. I heard the long chains between his feet skid across the concrete floor. This wasn’t like getting pissy with Korey or casually talking to the guards.
This man thought I was there to kill him, or at least looking for a reason to.
“Good morning,” I greeted, taking a seat across from him. “I’m Executioner Sahni.”
“Yeah, I know who you are,” he said anxiously, shifting around in his seat. I could smell the human in him, touched with magic—a witch but a weak one. Whatever he was in for was probably something stupid. The witches used the prison more than most, trying to uphold human laws as well as supernatural with their kind. “What do you want?”
“I want to ask about yesterday’s breach.”
“I didn’t know anything about it.” His eyes flicked around the room, unable to meet my gaze. It wasn’t because my snake eyes were out. I was too controlled over my magic for that, unlike many other animalistic supernaturals. My eyes were a nice, very dark, warm brown. There should be no reason he couldn’t look me in the eye.
“Please don’t lie to me,” I said, trying to keep my patience. I was beginning to feel like everyone was developing that bad habit, and I needed to nip it in the bud. “Lying to a representative of the Tribunal is a good way to get killed, usually by pissing off the person being lied to.” I was getting really antsy after the long night and morning I’d had.
“Look.” He leaned forward, his eyes now locking with mine. “I’m not lying to you. I had no idea anything was happening. The bomb went off, our doors opened. Other than that, it was a normal fucking night with you walking through like you own the place. I mean, you kind of do, huh? I’ve only been here a year, ya know? I’ve never seen you around, but others have. They made their jokes, and I bet they pissed you off, but I’m only in here for a five-year sentence. That’s it. I just wanted to do my time. Didn’t they tell you? I never even left my cell. I didn’t want to get fucking killed. I don’t want to get killed now.”
“If you haven’t done anything wrong, why would I kill you? I do have a set of standards, you know.” I leaned back, giving him a hard look.
He shrugged. “Everyone says you’ll kill anyone who looks at you funny. Even the guards say, ‘Don’t talk to the Executioner or she’ll kill you.’” He was sweating now, his eyes flicking around again. His palms seemed sweaty, too, as he rubbed his hands together. His feet moved more.
“It’s not illegal to talk to me,” I said softly, letting that sink in. “Who told you that? Specifically?”
He shrugged again. “I’ve heard it a few times from different people. I never really…paid attention.”
“Okay, well, I’m going to send you out of here. Thanks for talking to me.” I didn’t need to say anymore. The two witches came in and lifted the inmate to his feet, unsecured him—
I wasn’t ready for what happened next.
He reached out, breaking out of their hold, his chained hands outstretched. Before I realized what was happening, he was over the table. I tried to get out of my chair and put some distance between us, ending up on my stomach on the concrete floor. The chain between his wrists was on my neck, and he started pulling, cutting off my air. On the ground, I reached for my thigh dagger. He seemed to possess inhuman strength, and it was a futile exercise to try to stop him from choking me out by going for the chain.
Once I had my dagger, I stabbed back, hitting something. He grunted, but nothing changed.
“GET HIM!” Raphael roared, muffled by the glass. The guards near me jumped into action, trying to pull him off me. Black spots danced in my vision as I stabbed backward relentlessly. Warm liquid was hitting my back and ass now. The chain yanked on my throat as the witch was being pulled away.
One of them finally realized what they were doing and lowered the inmate just enough for me to get out of the chain and roll away. I gasped for air, blinking several times as I saw them pull the blank-eyed witch away—not dead, just not all there.
He’d been a mild-mannered inmate doing his time. Now, he was a cold-blooded, unfeeling killer.
Raphael burst into the room as I got my feet.
“You sure you don’t need me in there? I thought you could protect yourself,” he snarled at me, invading my personal space.
“He came…too fast,” I said softly, rubbing my neck. “Without warning. There was nothing to indicate he would attack.” I tried to steady my breathing. “Nothing at all. He was nervous, which is expected considering our roles. He’s a criminal, I kill criminals, but he didn’t seem uncooperative or dangerous…” I knew magic was involved, but saying that now was a stupid thing to do.
Cael came in after Raphael, but I had missed him until Raphael started to stomp around the room, not looking at me anymore.
“Is there anything we can do?” the fae asked, his eyes wide. “He’s normally very good…I thought he would be a good start because he had been well behaved during the breach…” The fae seemed lost for words.
“There’s nothing,” I said, eyeing him. Was it an act? “Just leave me alone for a minute with my partner.”
Cael nodded and walked out of the room but left the door open. I looked at Raphael, hoping he understood what I was thinking, hoping he was able to put the pieces together.
Someone had spelled the inmate to attack me. Someone had asked Nakul, then manipulated his memory. Wesley was spelled to track and attack me. There were dangerous criminals on the loose with the idea that killing me would get them a new life and identity.
This was an ugly situation the moment the explosion happened and only getting uglier by the hour.
17
Chapter Seventeen
An hour later and I hadn’t gotten anywhere with the inmates. After the first one, no chances were taken. I left the room as the inmates were switched, waiting for the new one to be secured before I walked back in for another short conversation.
With the time I wasted goin
g nowhere with the southern cell block inmates, I was able to think about other things.
Keep putting the pieces together. Keep finding the connections. That’s how you find answers. Exhaust every possibility.
I drummed my fingers on the table as the most recent inmate pleaded about his innocence. He knew nothing. My phone buzzed in my pocket, making me sigh. The only positive of my phone going off was the prison had their communications back up.
“We’re done here,” I finally said. “Take him back to his cell.” I stood up and walked out of the room before the guards got to the inmate. The door auto locked once it closed behind me, and I stood in the hall, sighing heavily. This was tedious work, but it gave me time to think.
The prison doesn’t allow visitors, yet there has obviously been someone visiting. Someone asked Nakul to kill me, someone was messing with the inmates. The prison didn’t come with something as simple as a sign-in sheet or anything because of normal protocol, which was definitely being broken.
I needed to figure out the connection. Who was visiting and tied a witch inmate in the southern block to Nakul, Wesley, and the hit on me?
I had a shortlist of who would know of any visitors in and out of the prison, but getting anyone on the shortlist to talk was the problem. Korey was openly hostile. Eliphas was a witch and could easily evade with a bit of magic to get me to forget my train of thought while I tried to interview him.
I could offer him Kartane, but who knows if that’ll fucking work. I’m already under orders from the witches on the Tribunal to kill his second. The best thing I could get are Eliphas’ eyes back if that’s even possible.
“Are you okay?” Raphael asked, stepping up next to me. “You’ve seemed tired in the last couple of interviews.”
“I’m fine, thanks. How’re you?”
“Good…Well, not good, but not as pissed as I was.”
I chuckled. He checked on me between every interview since the first guy was able to get the jump on me. I waved Cael closer.