The Veil: Corruption (HASEA CHRONICLES BOOK 2)

by Stuart Meczes

  “It was not us.”

  He stopped slicing my skin and stepped back. “Then who?”

  My tongue licked my lips. I could taste blood. “The leader of the reformed SOS factions.”

  “Who? Who is the leader?”

  “Yeth.”

  Vidar’s eyes widened. “Yeth is here, on Earth?”

  “Yeth is in this base. He has been for some time, in disguise. And none of you pathetic worms ever noticed.”

  Vidar’s voice became almost frantic. “Who is he disguised as?”

  We will punish you.

  I could rage coursing through my body. It was so intense it frightened me. It wasn’t my rage, but the utter fury of the darkness. My arms started to strain against the adamantine chains. The metal started to give. They aren’t going to hold!

  Vidar dug the blade into my flesh again, carving a long line. I screamed in agony as the darkness screamed in anger.

  “WHO?”

  One of the links started to break open.

  “It’s going to get free! I managed to shout.

  “Shut up you, little bastard!” screamed Vidar. “The other one, answer me now, or I swear I will cut this boy’s eyes out!”

  Another link stretched with the incredible strength of the darkness. It was only a matter of seconds before I broke free. Then Vidar would die, and I wouldn’t be able to stop it.

  “Let’s play it your way then.” Vidar lifted the blade tip and hovered it right over my eye. I tried to shut it, but he wrenched my eyelids open with one hand. The blade was close; I could see the point right in the centre of my vision. My wrists screamed in pain as they continued to strain against the adamantine.

  “An eye for an eye,” hissed Vidar. He moved the knife backwards and went to stab.

  NO!

  The door burst open. Light flooded towards me, and I blinked away from the harsh glow. A familiar voice boomed around the room, containing unbridled anger.

  “Vidar, take your hands off that boy!”

  The interrogator lowered the knife. His voice became small. “But Sage Faru, he is a traitor. He confessed!”

  “That boy is a victim!”

  There was another voice from just outside the room. From the accent I could tell it was Sage Etorre. “Sage Faru, you have a duty to keep this base safe! You cannot do this!”

  “With all due respect, Sage Etorre,” replied Sage Faru, “I am growing tired of defending my actions to you. This is my base, and I will handle my affairs. The Alliance jet is fuelled and can be ready to take you back to Castello in less than an hour. I will have my agents see to your bags once I’m done here.” There were sounds of protest, but they disappeared as Sage Etorre stormed away.

  I heard footsteps as Sage Faru came into the room. His figure seemed to fill the space, full of power and authority. I could just make out his face, which wore a horrified expression. “Dear Elementals, look at what you have done to this poor boy!”

  “But Sage Faru—”

  “SILENCE!” His voice echoed like a thunderbolt. “I had no idea this was how you conducted yourself down here. We are the Alliance, not a bunch of Barbarians. I do not condone torture. Put down that blade, NOW!”

  Vidar placed the blade down on the table and stepped away from me.

  “I have a mind to have you arrested yourself, but I have more important things to concern myself with.” He turned over his shoulder. “Delagio, Grey…please escort this despicable man from the base.” Two more figures stepped into the light, and I saw my friends grab the man and pull him away. “Vidar Calis, you are relieved from your duty as Head Interrogator.”

  “No, you must listen to me! He knows who the traitor is, he knows who…” Vidar yelled angry protests all the way, and I could hear his screams until they faded out of earshot.

  Another figure appeared in the doorway. As it approached, it morphed into Gabriella. Her face broke when she saw me. Making a sound of anguish, she ran to my side, placing her arms around me, careful to avoid my wounds. “Oh mia bambino, what did he do to you?”

  The rage subsided and anguish took its place. “It was me, Gabriella, I’m a traitor. I didn’t know. Oh god, I’m so sorry,” I sobbed.

  “Shhh now, honey, it’s okay. We are going to get through this. You won’t suffer any more.” She retrieved an ampule from her jacket pocket and tilted my head back. “Let’s get that bastard back in its cage.” She poured some down my throat, and I felt the creature slip back into the darkness with a howl.

  Sage Faru spoke. “Alexander, I am so sorry that I was not here for you. That you had to go through this alone, but it’s over now.”

  Gabriella turned to Sage Faru, her hands wrapped with mine. “Can we get him out of these awful shackles now?”

  The Sage’s face became one of deep sadness. “I am afraid not.” He clutched the paper in his hands. “What the interrogator has learned cannot be ignored.” He gestured behind him and signalled. Two more Guardians entered the room.

  “Please escort Alexander to the prison.”

  29

  Alex

  There was a low click, and the inside of my eyelids filled with blinding light. I woke up with a gasp and used a hand to shield my eyes until they adjusted. The room around me was one large cube – the walls, ceiling, and floor were all identical in size. White tiles lined every surface, which made me feel like I was trapped inside a postmodern Rubik’s cube. I was lying on a small, no-fuss cot with white sheets and a pillow as hard as a stack of newspapers. At one end of the room was a two-way interrogation window. It was set to reflection mode. Next to it stood an exit barred by solid black poles. It didn’t take a genius to work out where I was.

  Holding cell.

  How did I get here?

  My mind felt fragmented. I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to gather the pieces together to understand what had happened. The answers came slowly, and bought with them a dread that made my stomach lurch.

  I’ve been here for several hours. I was being interrogated. But Sage Faru let me out and sent me here. Why was I interrogated?

  It was me.

  I was the one who organised the attacks. The darkness has turned me into a traitor. I’m the one that everyone has been asking about. I am the reason that Mikey…

  “Mikey!” I yelled and sprang from the bed. There was a harsh tug at my ankles and I crashed to the floor, hitting my forehead against the cold tiles. I twisted around – accompanied by the sound of dull clanking – and saw that my feet were shackled in adamantine manacles. The black chain gave barely two feet of slack before it met the solid bolt on the floor beside the bed. I lifted my hands to prise them from my legs and noticed that both wrists were also bound together by the same dense material.

  I climbed back onto the bed and set to work on the wrist manacles first, trying with all my strength to snap them apart. They didn’t show even the slightest hint of giving way. I changed position, pressing both feet against the chain section and pulling upwards with gritted teeth. The movement put strain on my chest, and I gasped as pain flared up. Looking down, I saw the slowly healing flesh from where I’d been shot and sliced open.

  I switched to trying to free my leg shackles instead, but to a similar end result. I grew more and more frustrated, thinking of how I needed to see my brother – to beg his forgiveness for what I had done. I let out a frustrated scream and dissolved into furious, jerky movements that made my skin turn red raw and bleed as my chest screamed in pain.

  There was a crackling sound from overhead and a voice filled the cell.

  “Alexander, it’s Agent Noble. I know you’re upset, but please stop trying to break your chains. They’re adamantine, and you’ve been dosed with a lot of dispossession elixir. All you are going to do is hurt yourself more than you already are.”

  I stopped trying to free myself and snapped my head up to face the interrogation mirror. It had brightened, and I could see the dull outline of a suited man peering into the room. “Agent Noble?
Thank god. Listen, I need to speak to my brother. Can you get me to him?”

  “Alex you know I can’t let you out.”

  “Come on Simon, it’s me, Alex. We’re friends. Let me out of here. I have to see my brother. It’s my fault he’s in that place.”

  There was a brief pause. Simon shifted on the spot. His voice sounded tense and uncomfortable. “We are friends, Alex. You’ve have always given me and the other agents the time of day. And I hate seeing you in here like this. But I have my orders. You’re a threat to yourself and everyone else. Sage Faru has ordered us to keep you here until further notice. But he will come and see you soon, I promise.”

  “I don’t have time to wait. I have to see Mikey! He needs to forgive me.”

  “I know it’s hard. Your brother getting bitten – I can’t imagine how it feels for you. I’ll try and get a message to him if I can. For now though, please just try and rest. I’ve set the light control to the dimmer down by the side of your bed if you want to sleep. One of the agents will bring you food and something to read soon.”

  I could tell he was about to leave. I stared right through the window, right into eyes, which were barely visible in the gloomy walkway beyond the cell.

  “Simon, please,” I implored.

  There was a long pause. “I’m sorry.”

  The speaker made a cracking noise, and then I watched his shadow slip away.

  I sank back against the wall and stared at the window. It misted over and soon all I could see was the reflection of a sad-looking prisoner with a hideous tattoo wrapped around his body, lost among a sea of white tiles.

  *

  The days slipped by and there was no Faru.

  I tried to occupy my mind by re-reading some old books in my head. Since my Awakening, I’d found I could recall vast amounts of information word perfect without much effort. It was a useful skill, but it also meant that once I’d read something I couldn’t get much enjoyment from reading it again. Still, trying to remember books word for word was better than staring at the tiles or my own sorry reflection.

  So I spent hours lying on my back, rolling the dimmer switch between my finger and thumb and trying to lose myself in other people’s troubles in order to forget my own. Food came and went, bought in by agents who avoided eye contact. They set the tray down just beyond where I could reach and slid it to me. I was too hungry to be offended, so instead I ignored them and devoured every last morsel. The trays always contained a little paper cup of the elixir, which served to keep the darkness mostly at bay. A few magazines and books had been bought in, but none of them really interested me, so I’d stuck with the shelf in my brain.

  I was halfway through American Gods when the lights came on full. There was a low beep from outside, and the adamantine bars retracted into the floor. I sat bolt upright.

  Mikey walked into my cell.

  He looked strong and healthy, apart from a pale glow to his face and the silver eyes. His lips parted into an awkward smile.

  “Nice digs, bro.”

  My jaw began to quiver. I moved as close to my brother as the chains would allow; he covered the rest of the distance. What upset me the most was that I couldn’t even separate my arms to give him a hug. Mikey had to do it instead, pulling me close as my hands bunched against his chest. His body was cool to the touch, like he’d been standing outside in winter for too long.

  “I’m so sorry,” I said in a tearful voice.

  “Why are you sorry?”

  I pulled away from him and stared at the floor. “It was me who organised the attack on Indigo.”

  “What?”

  “I-I called the SOS. It was me that got them to attack.”

  “You bastard!” His fist smashed into my cheek. I reeled backwards, tripping on my chains and sprawling onto the cot.

  “Oh crap, Alex, I didn’t mean to do that!” He offered a hand and helped me to my feet. “I’m still quick to anger. Doc said that will go soon.”

  I rubbed at my cheek, which felt like it had been hit by a spade full swing. “I deserve far worse for what I’ve done.”

  He pointed at me. “Gabriella filled me in on your…condition. It’s that thing inside you, isn’t it? It made you do things you didn’t want to. That’s why you called them.”

  I nodded as tears slipped down my face. “I didn’t know about any of it, I swear. But it was still me. I did this to you. How can you ever forgive me?”

  He turned away from me and stared into the mirror. It was impossible to tell if he was studying his own reflection or looking through at something I could never see. “You didn’t do this, Alex.”

  I raised a hand. “I know, it was The Sorrow. But The Sorrow is part of me. It’s who I am. Deep down somewhere I must have known, but I didn’t do anything. I got my own brother bitten. To carry favour with a bunch of Pandemonian terrorists.”

  He shook his head and turned around. “No, it wasn’t either of you.”

  I frowned. “I don’t follow.”

  His next words hit me with the force of a grenade.

  “Alex, I let myself get bitten.”

  My heart stalled. “What?”

  He let out a long sigh. “It was a stupid decision, but I didn’t exactly have a lot of time to think about it.” He sat down on the cot and clasped his hands together. “Do you remember how I told you that Scarlett and I were having some problems?”

  I nodded dumbly.

  “I could tell that she was going to break up with me at the restaurant. She started talking about how her being a Vampire and me human was a divide that she couldn’t get past. That she didn’t want to see me grow old and die.” He rubbed a hand at the back of his neck. “It was all going so wrong. It felt like she was stamping on my heart. And then Gabriella and everybody showed up, and things went crazy. I was in the bathroom and this Vamp bursts through the vent. Knocks Del unconscious. He hasn’t noticed me, and he’s going for the kill, so I shouted at him to save Del. I loaded in a wooden round, just like you taught me. I should have killed it right then, but I made a different choice.”

  He shrugged. “I don’t know why I let it bite me first, but I did. It was an immature, bloody stupid decision, but I know I did it for the right reasons.” He looked right at me. “Scarlett is the girl I want to spend the rest of my life with. Our differences were the gap that would have kept us apart. I took the choice to close it.”

  My head was reeling. It was all I could do not to be sick. “Christ, Mikey!”

  “I know.” He gave a weak smile. “Guess we’re all a bit messed up, right?”

  “This is going to kill Mum and John.”

  Mikey pressed his fingers together and nodded. “Yeah, but I think it’s right for them to know.”

  “But what if they don’t accept you?”

  “They will. Mum used to be part of this world, remember? And John…he loves me. I’m his golden boy. But if for some reason they do flip out, then we can use Gabriella to charm them into forgetting that I told them.”

  “Looks like you’ve got it all worked out,” I said with a hint of acid in my voice.

  “Look Alex, I know I made a really selfish decision. But I can’t change that now.” He cut me a glance. “And we’ve all made bad decisions, haven’t we?”

  I had nothing to say in argument. “Okay.”

  He smiled. “Give your dead brother a hug.”

  I shuddered. “Don’t say that.”

  “Sorry. Gallows humour.” He held open his arms, and we hugged.

  Breaking free, I asked, “So how are you feeling now?”

  He nodded. “Much better. I don’t remember much from the first day or two, but I feel more like me now. Doc says another few days and I’ll be good to leave the clinic. I’ve been learning so many awesome things, like how to use my improved mind and reactions. Everything is so clear now – like super HD.”

  “Nice. So do you remember anything about the change?”

  He visibly winced at the comment. “I don�
��t remember the specifics, but I remember darkness and absolute agony…beyond anything I’ve ever experienced. I’m going to do my level best to forget all about it.”

  “I’ll never mention it again.”

  “I appreciate that. So how about you? How’s the uh…possession thing going?”

  “Quiet, which is good. Otherwise it’s like being trapped on a rollercoaster with a bit of track missing. It’s a horrible ride, and I know it’s going to end badly.”

  “Bro, why didn’t you tell me about what was happening to you?”

  “I wanted to. But the things inside me, they wouldn’t let me. It’s only since I’ve been taking the elixir that it’s removed some of its hold.”

  He gave a chuckle. “Did it come with a leaflet? Dispossession medicine, only available on prescription – don’t drink alcohol, operate machinery, or fight evil creatures from Pandemonia whilst taking this elixir.”

  “Not quite.” My face broke into a smile for a second and then faltered. “It’s getting worse too. The elixir isn’t working as well anymore.”

  He placed a hand on my back. “Don’t worry, Alex. You’re going to get through this with all of our help. Then when we get back, we are going to make things as normal as possible.”

  “Hold on, get back from where?”

  “From Pandemonia.”

  “Excuse me? You’re not going to Pandemonia.”

  He stood up. “Yes I am, bro. I’ve already spoken to Scarlett about it. We’re both coming through with you.”

  I stood up. “Bollocks are you. I almost lost you once, and I made a vow to keep you safe. No way am I taking you into Hell’s backyard.”

  Mikey folded his arms. “But you’ll take other people? Gabriella? Good to see you value their lives.”

  “Hey, that’s not fair, it’s different. They are trained.”

  “And I am being trained now! That’s what the clinic does. You have your trials or whatever, we have that. I’ll be as good as anyone else in the Alliance before you go through. Plus, this isn’t even your decision to make!”