K: The Awakening (The Shadow Chronicles Book 1)

by K. R. Fajardo

  The chief hesitated, as his confidence in his own story appeared to be wavering. “Just the word of the father and the daughter, and a large bruise left on her arm where he grabbed her.”

  He stood silent as they all turned their attention onto him. Aziel remained close by spinning, his knife between his fingers. “What do you say of this accusation?”

  But his mind had gone elsewhere, he was reeling from the news that Maya had accused him of this vile deed. Was it possible that he had been so wrapped up in her beauty and innocence that he had been deceived so easily? The more he thought about it the angrier he became. How could he have been so stupid? He let his guard down and allowed the two of them to make him look like a complete fool.

  The chief, taking advantage of his silence, spoke up again, “You see, he doesn’t deny the accusations. He is guilty!”

  Enraged yet again, Enforcer made a turn for him, only to feel Aziel’s hand grab his arm. Not wanting to cause himself more trouble than he already had, he took a moment to calm himself before addressing the Shadows, “I assure you, my lords, I have done many awful things in my life, but not this, never anything like what he is accusing me of. I do admit to causing the bruise, this I will not deny, however that is the extent to which I came in contact with the girl, I swear on my life.”

  “You see, he admits to laying his hands on her. What chance does a girl her size stand against a man of his stature?” the chief chimed in, sounding half giddy at having his accusations somewhat confirmed.

  That was all he could take. Rage overwhelmed him once again as he managed to jerk his arm free of Aziel’s grasp, knocking him back several feet in the process. Making a charge for the chief, he almost had him in his hands when Kai suddenly appeared in front of him and landed a punch square against his jaw. The utter surprise of the blow knocked him off balance long enough for Kai to grab him by the neck and slam him to the floor, knocking the air from his lungs.

  “I suggest you gain control of yourself if you wish to leave this room in one piece,” Kai demanded, holding him pinned to the floor with one hand around his neck. “Now explain to us how the inn keeper’s daughter came to have a bruise, which you have admitted to causing, if the deed he claims was not committed.”

  Gasping for air and still pinned to the floor, he desperately tried to work out a way in his mind to explain the events of the evening without creating any more problems. “She brought linens to the room, and when I turned to go back inside she grabbed my arm and I reacted. It was not my intention to harm her, she surprised me.”

  “He’s lying,” the chief yelled out. “Can’t you see, he is just …”

  However, before he could finish Aziel grabbed ahold of him by the shirt. “I have heard enough out of your mouth already. If you say another word without the permission of one of us, I will remove your head from your body myself. Do you understand me?”

  The chief, silenced by the glare of Aziel, nodded his head frantically. Satisfied they wouldn’t have any further interruptions, Aziel then turned his attention back to his companions. “My wife, Gaia, and my brother, Kai, I feel the only way we can know for sure what happened last night is to see for ourselves. Let us merge on our Enforcer here, that way we can see exactly what happened and can deal with it appropriately.”

  Gaia turned to Enforcer as he slowly gathered himself up off the floor. “Would you be willing to subject yourself to this to prove your innocence?”

  No matter what he said, they were going to do what they wanted. He had seen them merge their minds on people before and knew it would not be a pleasant experience, but he saw no other options. “Whatever my lords wish, I just want to prove I did not do this thing he is accusing me of.”

  Kai summoned the guards. “Bring us the chair,” he demanded, then turned his attention to the Enforcer as several guards disappeared from the room. The chair he was talking about was made from a heavy metal with chains and straps attached to it. It was designed to restrict all movement and prevent him, or any other poor soul who may find them self in it, from causing harm to their self or the Shadows while they were in the process of the merge. Shortly the guards returned with the chair and set it down in front of the Shadows.

  “Shall we get started then,” said Aziel stepping to the side and gesturing toward the chair.

  Enforcer took a deep breath, struggling to maintain his composure; he walked over and took a seat. Like a swarm of bees the guards descended upon him, fastening the shackles to his wrists and ankles, before tightening the last strap around his chest.

  He was staring right at the chief as the Shadows formed a circle around him. Gaia stood directly behind him and placed both hands so that they encircled his head, while Kai and Aziel took hold of her arms and placed the palms of the opposite hands together. Before she began, Gaia leaned over and whispered into his ear, “I’ve always wanted to get into your head and see what goes on in there.” The tone of her voice sent a shiver through his spine as she added, “Oh, this is going to hurt. A lot.”

  A feeling hit him that he rarely experienced … fear. What did she mean she wanted to get inside his head? And what else could she see while she was in there? But it was too late to be concerned, she had him strapped down right where she wanted him and she was about to go digging around in his head.

  “Concentrate on last night, starting from the attack in the alley and ending when the chief arrived to bring you here.”

  He obeyed; closing his eyes and he pictured himself in the alley walking alone in the dark. As he remembered the events of the night, he could feel them snaking their way into his brain. It was a sharp, piercing sensation that sent a wave of excruciating pain from his head down through the rest of his body. Every muscle tensed as he pulled against the shackles holding him in the chair. Gritting his teeth to keep from screaming, he continued to pull and fight as he felt them moving through his mind, digging deeper and deeper.

  The pain was unbearable, as if he waves of cold electric currents were being sent throughout his entire body. Just when he thought he could take no more, they released the merge, allowing his body to collapse with exhaustion into the chair. Barely able to lift his head, somehow he still managed to get his eyes open, and through his blurred vision located the guards and the chief who stood watching him with a mixture of sympathy and fear.

  Gaia raised her head and addressed the room. “Bring him here,” she demanded, pointing at the chief. He went pale as the guards grabbed him and pushed him before the three of them. “You came to us accusing this man of multiple crimes, knowing who he was and how important he is to us. He denied all the charges against him and subjected himself to a merge in order to clear his name. We have seen what has happened and everything you have accused him of is either false or falls within his scope of power. So I ask you, what do you have to say for yourself?”

  Terrified, the chief looked at the Enforcer still strapped in the chair and dropped to his knees, pleading, “I ... I ... am so sorry. I trusted the word of the father, and the daughter backed up the story. I didn’t mean to accuse him falsely. I offer up my apology to our most honorable Enforcer and beg mercy of you my lords.”

  “Guards, release the Enforcer and leave the room,” Aziel directed.

  Rapidly the guards did as they were ordered, making quick work of unfastening the chains holding him in the chair, then darting from the room, and locking the doors behind them. Enforcer attempted to get to his feet, but found himself instead falling back into the chair, his head spinning uncontrollably.

  “Be still, our most loyal servant, the effects will wear off shortly.” Gaia, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder, then addressed Aziel, “My husband, what do you think we should do with this officer of the law, who is going around falsely accusing our officials of crimes?” The expression on her face was one he had seen many times before, and he couldn’t help but pity the chief as he stood there oblivious to what was about to happen.

  “Oh, my dear, I sure we can thi
nk of something. Perhaps you or our brother would prefer the opportunity to pass judgment.”

  Gaia turned to Kai. “I think we will leave it to you this time, my brother,” she said, then reconsidering, she looked down at the Enforcer. “Where are my manners? Perhaps you would like to have him for yourself. After all, you are the one he has offended.”

  He glanced back at the chief, who despite being still clueless to what was going on, realized that he was in serious danger and began to back his way toward the doors.

  “No, my lady, I will pass on this one, he disgusts me and I have an interrogation to perform. My Lords can have him.”

  She smiled and turned to Kai. “Brother, it seems he is yours.”

  Kai didn’t need to be told twice. He turned and flashed a full set of fangs at the chief, leaving no room for doubt about what they intended to do with him. The chief spun around to run, but it did him no good, Kai was already on him, sinking his fangs deep into his neck and sending a spray of blood across the room.

  It took less than a minute for Kai to finish off the chief before allowing the lifeless body to fall to the floor, seeming very satisfied with his handy work. Aziel, meanwhile, yelled for the guards to return, “Clean up this mess, and have someone tell the officers that came here with him to go home, their chief will not be joining them.”

  Kai wiped his face clean with a handkerchief, then walked up and extended a hand to Enforcer, a gesture he was more than happy to take advantage of. He pulled himself to his feet, but as he struggled to recover from the effects of the merge, Kai slapped him as hard as he could on the injured shoulder, sending a wave of pain racing down his arm so severe it nearly caused him to collapse.

  Gaia, noticing his distress, scolded her brother, “He is weak from blood loss and the merge. Why would you want to cause him more distress?”

  Kai glanced over at the wounded shoulder and withdrew his hand with a sheepish grin. “I apologize, I forgot. Do you have any healing formula?”

  “I do, my lord,” he answered, struggling to stay on his feet. Reaching into his jacket pocket he pulled out the small vial and finished off what little liquid remained inside. It was enough and performed its purpose quickly, healing not only the shoulder and the various other injuries from the scuffle, but also aided in alleviating some of the aftereffects from the merge.

  “Look at you, you are a complete mess. Why don’t you go get cleaned up and rest a bit?” Gaia said as she pulled open the front of his jacket to get a better look at the damage. They were all three standing directly in front of him, close enough to make him feel very uncomfortable, but he dared not move and risk offending them.

  “Of course my lady, I will as soon as I finish the interrogation.”

  Gaia laughed. “You see that is your problem, always working. How long have you served us, and never before have you caused a mess such as this one. Perhaps, you are working too hard.” As she spoke the tone of her voice changed and her glare bored into him. “And perhaps that is also the reason you are losing the ability to control that temper of yours. You did after all take a swing at my husband, did you not?”

  Realizing he was on dangerous ground with nowhere to run, Enforcer swallowed hard. “For that I apologize, there was no excuse for my behavior.”

  Kai, with his usual crooked smirk, joined in the taunting. Of the three he was the thinker, the conniving one. Unlike Aziel who lived for the battle, Kai preferred to avoid fighting, although he had no qualms about beating helpless prisoners senseless. “Perhaps he is getting older and doesn’t realize how strong he has become; perhaps he has grown too strong for his own good.”

  He did not like the direction this conversation was going, but he remained rigid and silent as Kai continued his rant, “Either way, something must be done with you. I don’t mind you taking a swing at Aziel, I actually think he rather enjoyed it myself,” he said, smiling at his companion only a few feet away. “After all he hasn’t seen any action in years. It was the beheading of the Full-blood in the street that I found rather disturbing. It’s your job to keep the Full-bloods in check, by instilling fear you earn their respect, but if you continue to take it too far, I’m afraid all you will succeed in doing is angering them into another uprising.”

  Aziel was watching it all intently while he methodically twirled his knife between his fingers. Out of the trio, he was the one he feared the most, always appearing cool and calm, but in reality he was extremely impatient and easy to trigger. Of the three, he was the strongest and the deadliest. “My brother and wife, I can’t help but feel we are to blame for his digression. We spent years training him to be ruthless and unmerciful, perhaps we took it too far. Now that he has reached his full potential and extremely impressive strength, it may be more than even he can handle.” The steady, methodical way in which he spoke rattled the Enforcer to the core. “I’m not sure if I had known exactly what he would be capable of back when we recruited him that I would have agreed to sparing his life. After all, who’s to say that in time he won’t decide to turn on us as well?”

  The Enforcer had remained motionless throughout the conversation, mostly out of fear that any movement would be viewed as a sign of aggression. If there was one thing he had learned over the last half century of service, it was how to talk his way out of these situations when they arose from time to time. Yet as he studied their faces he couldn’t help but wonder if perhaps this time they were really ready to get rid of him. After all the decades of service, all of the battles, killings, and arrests he had done in their name, would it be that easy.

  His mind once again flashed back to the first time he had laid eyes on them. He had been close to thirty when he was marched into this room, bound in chains, beaten, and bloody. They had sentenced him to death after he was caught along with a group of others planning to attack the Tower. At the time there were no inspectors or enforcers, so the Shadows did most of the sentencing and a large majority of the executing themselves.

  He had been brought before them with two others, the three of them meant to fulfill the Shadow’s blood lust, and he was forced to watch in disbelief as Kai and Aziel sank their fangs into the other two prisoners. It was the first time he had ever witnessed the drinking of blood, and as he watched the life slipping from his companions, Gaia advanced slowly toward him. Exhausted and frightened, he dropped to his knees before her, closed his eyes, and awaited the inevitable. But to his surprise it never came. Instead she offered him the opportunity to join them, to serve as their soldier, their right hand, in charge of squashing what little remained of the resistance and enforcing their laws on the Full-blood population.

  Of course, he refused them in the beginning, preferring death over the betrayal of his people. However, death was not what they had in mind, instead they subjected him to month after month of imprisonment and torture, until the day finally came when he yielded. He had spent decades wondering why? Why out of the hundreds they had seen and sentenced to death had they picked him? Now, after listening to the three of them, he was certain that they knew what he had the potential of becoming and used that knowledge to mold and shape him into the killer he had become.

  He decided to be very careful in his approach of the situation. Dropping down on one knee, he bowed his head and addressed them, “My lords, I have served you unquestioningly for over fifty years, and though the means by which I came to serve you were less than ideal, I feel I have proved myself loyal on many occasions.” Taking a deep breath, he finished, “However, if you feel that I have outlived my usefulness to you then you may do with me as you wish.”

  “Well of course we can,” Aziel responded, half laughing. “However, at the moment you prove more useful to us alive than dead.”

  “Don’t forget we were just inside that thick head of yours and let me say it was quite enlightening,” Kai said, glaring. “It seems you are on the verge of a meltdown of epic proportions, and if you don’t do something about it soon … well, we will find it much in our favor to d
ispose of you right away.”

  “But for the moment we only think you should get of the Tower and wander around for a while. Relax, fight, kill. Hell, screw something, do whatever it is you need to do to regain control over that darkness within you.” Aziel paused, glaring at him. “Because if you ever disobey us again like you did in here today, you will be begging us for death by the time we get done with you.”

  Enforcer kept his head down and his response simple, not wanting to fuel their anger any further. “Whatever my lords wish of me I will be happy to do.”

  Gaia clapped her hands together in approval. “Well, there we go, it is settled. Take yourself a couple of weeks and get your head on straight. Now go get yourself cleaned up and get rid of those ripped clothes you are wearing, then be on your way. Would you like to take a horse? I’d even be willing to let you take one of those cars if you like.”

  “No, my lady, the cars are too small,” he replied, rising back to his feet. “Or I am too large, either way I would much prefer the use of a horse. I will go prepare my things and leave after I finish the interrogation.”

  “Oh fine, go do your interrogation, you probably need to feed anyway. But after that, no more. If you continue on this way you are going to lose your mind,” Gaia said with her wicked smile, “and I like it too much the way it is.”

  He bowed and turned toward the doors. “Of course.” He walked slowly, half expecting one of them to grab him from behind and sink their teeth into his neck. But they didn’t and he made it safely to the doors.

  However, as the guards opened them to let him out, Kai called to him, “Oh, do us one favor when you are on your way back.”

  He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and turned around. He knew it had been far too easy. “Anything you wish, my lord.”