From The Shadows : Book 2 in the Mortisalian Saga

by L. J. Stock

  “You have to understand, the offense of treason is punishable by death. There is no trial, no way to defend yourself. If I was heard accusing our ruler, I would have been killed.”

  “So, what's changed?” I asked, turning my head to look him in the eye. The man looked tired, drawn and agitated. I knew I wasn't helping, but I was pissed, and it wasn't my problem.

  “I have moved the guard further back down the corridors under the pretense that you and you guard wouldn’t talk while they were so close. They can no longer hear our conversations and have put their faith in my interrogation skills. It will also please you to know that I did my own research of your accusations.”

  “And?” I asked. “Was I telling the truth?”

  “You were. Why else would I risk myself helping a nymph escape? But I implore you to understand my position. Some of us are given positions in strongholds and never see the war. I spoke to the nymph I tried to help escape. I failed to mention that she's my aunt, but she told me everything you disclosed was the real truth. She confirmed that King Thánatos will destroy the earth if he manages to destroys you first.”

  “But you're still not going to help us, are you?” I sighed, understanding what he was trying to say. He might have enjoyed my company, but he also valued his life. If he helped us escape this place it would be considered treason and he would be murdered for his part in it. I wasn't sure I could have that on my conscience.

  There was a shuffle from the opposite end of the corridor to Rasmus and my eyes met his in understanding. We were no longer alone and we both knew it. There was someone listening in on our conversation. I hoped that Rasmus had picked it up as well, but from his silence I wasn't sure. He was listening intently to the conversation I was having.

  “I will not,” he confirmed, looking hopeless as he gazed at the bars of my cell. When he finally met my eyes again, a smile curled his lips. “But I am hoping that perhaps you and I could learn from one another?”

  Considering he'd posed his statement as a question, I wondered if my new assumptions were correct. I wanted to believe that he was offering to show me how to escape without implicating himself, and it was the slow, imperceptible nod of his head that strengthened that line of thought. If I was correct, and Grigori was willing to help us help ourselves, it meant that Rasmus and I would get out of here. I still wasn't entirely sure I trusted him or this new, unconventional lifeline he was offering, but I had to try. I would die here for certain if I didn’t.

  “What could you possibly learn from me?”

  Grigori’s brown eyes sparkled conspiratorially. They flickered once to the bars on the cell and back to me, a hint of mirth buried in the different shades that lightened the further they got from the pupil. I wasn't sure what any of it meant, but I waited with baited breath for him to answer, hoping that I was getting the right reading from his behavior.

  “Coordinates of your troops, what towns they're protecting and why.”

  My breath left my lungs in a hiss of sound, my eyes narrowing at Grigori. The warning look I gave him didn’t make his smile falter. He had an idea and was executing it now.

  “Cass!” Rasmus warned from his cell, but he wasn't seeing what I was seeing. He couldn't see the headshake Grigori was giving me. He couldn't know that I was being told to lie to him. Rasmus' reaction was needed and was being used as part of the façade. I still wasn't sure I could trust a veneficus, but I would never give him what he wanted, even if I did trust him.

  I inclined my head in tentative agreement, but he reached out and touched my lips with his fingers. He needed me to say it aloud.

  “I'm sure we can come to some kind of an arrangement, but I will not speak if there are others in the vicinity. I am betraying the people I care about and love, and I will not have an audience while I do so. If I am to betray my king and kingdom, it will be with you alone.”

  “Cass, no,” Rasmus growled from his cell, the clanking sound of him rattling the bars in an attempt to escape was loud in the small space. I hated that to him I was a traitor who was about to give away secrets of the realm even for a second, but I would appease him the moment I could. He should have known me better than that.

  “I will be moving another prisoner into your guard’s cell. We do not have the room to keep these cells singular. The prisoner in question continues to attempt escape. This is the only place we can hold her,” Grigori continued with a bow of his head.

  “Why?” I whispered as low as I could.

  “My aunt, she will teach him what he needs to know.”

  I blinked up at him in confusion. Wasn’t she the one who was caught trying to escape? To me, it seemed like it would just put him at risk.

  “Why are you helping us?”

  “Maybe one day I will be able to explain, but for now I hope you will trust me,” he said under his breath.

  “As much as I can.” It was the only honest answer I could give him.

  “I will also be improving your meals. You will need hydration again, and I am curious as to whether you are going to fight us?”

  I shuddered. The last thing I wanted was to wake up with the dizziness I’d had last time, but at the same time I wasn't sure what the situation would entail.

  “What do we have to do?”

  “Swallow.” Grigori laughed richly in that deep tenor of his. “No tricks or trying to escape using elements. Just drink the water.”

  “Fine.” I sighed, not sure that I would be able to resist with the escape in front of me like that. “Ras?”

  The silence I was met with told me he wasn't happy about what was going down. I had no idea how I was going to explain it to him. If Grigori was putting on a show when his men were supposed to have pulled back, it was a sure thing they would listen in on us, orders or not.

  “I shall arrange for your meals to be more substantial and I will return in the morning. I bid you a good night, Cassandra.”

  “Thank you.”

  He nodded and stood up, pulling the keys from his pocket as he approached the door. I felt a little better that he had thought about what I'd said. I was staking everything on how honest he was being and what he was trying to prove. If he was helping us and he was caught, he would be killed right alongside us. It was a gamble for both of us if he was telling the truth. I tried not to get hopeful about the thought of seeing the sun and Damon again, but the emotion swelled in my chest showing flickering images of what lay beyond these thick, stone walls.

  If this incarceration had taught me anything, it was that we wouldn't be able to live in peace until the prophecy was fulfilled and Thánatos was killed. He wouldn’t rest until he had the kingdom as his, and I couldn’t live with another innocent dying because of his greed. As far as I was concerned, we could get the ball rolling on that prophecy the moment I got home. I didn't want anyone else suffering on my behalf. I didn't want any more deaths on my conscience. If doing this with Grigori meant I could get out, it was the only option I had. If not, death was the only future I had to look forward to.

  I gave Grigori a nod as he strolled away. I watched him until he disappeared and then crawled closer to the bars of the cell, my stomach greasy and rolling in dread. I needed Rasmus to trust that I knew what I was doing. I needed him to know that this wasn't just for me. I was going to make sure I got both of us out.

  “Ras?” My voice was low and filled with pleading.

  There was no response from him, and I knew that whether or not he answered, he could hear me.

  “Do you remember when I asked you to trust me? You told me you did and you would. I kinda need you to dig deep here and keep a hold of that.”

  “I do trust you, Cass. I just... I hate not knowing what's going on.” Boy was that obvious. I could hear the aggression and frustration in every word he ground out. I understood. I would have been in the same frame of mind had the situation been reversed.

  “I know that, but you do realize I would never do anything to hurt you or anyone else, right?”
>
  “Of course I do.”

  I let out the breath I'd been holding and leaned against the wall. It was weird knowing that it was night. To my body it felt like mid afternoon, but then my sleep cycles made no sense anymore. I had started to sleep when I was tired. Other than that, I paced, talked to Ras and worked out to stave off the claustrophobia and boredom. It was an endless cycle of nothingness, and if Ras decided to give me the silent treatment, I knew there was no way I could survive that.

  “Cass, I just want you to know that I meant it the day I took that oath to you. Nothing has changed. I will guard your life with mine, even if you are acting strangely.”

  “Oh, you boys and your flattery.” I laughed.

  “You know me.” He chuckled. “I'm always willing to piss you off to entertain myself.”

  I could almost see the wink he would offer with that statement, followed by the slow, lazy smile that always made me feel safe. I hoped I would get to see him again soon. I missed him. I may have had his voice to keep me company but most of our conversations were more serious as the days passed. I missed my constant banter with him, the teasing and friendship we shared. I missed the comfort he'd offered me while we shared the same cell. Now I was alone and I would continue to be alone, stuck in solitude, my only respite a veneficus I was putting all of my hope into.

  There was a chance Grigori could be playing games with me. I knew that. I understood it. I wasn't delusional enough to throw all of my eggs in one basket. He was a veneficus. They played tricky games and used magic. They were also close to Thánatos, but for now it was the only option I had. If it didn't work, the outcome would still be the same—Rasmus and I would die.

  “Yeah well, you do it so well,” I replied with a laugh.

  “I try.”

  “Of course you do.”

  I pulled my knees up against my chest and ignored the sharp rise of rock that was jutting out and lodged firmly into my spine. This corner was the closest I could get to Rasmus physically and it was another one of those damned lifelines I was clinging to with both hands.

  “So did I hear him right?” Rasmus asked, his voice calmer and more stoic than it had been. “Am I getting a cellmate?”

  “Yup. Sounds that way. They're running out of cells apparently.”

  “And she's of the female persuasion?”

  “You have to be kidding me.” I sputtered the words out tangled with a laugh as I shook my head. “You're stuck in a tiny stone cell with both our lives on the line, and you're thinking about a female roommate in those terms?”

  “In case you haven't noticed, I am male.”

  I snorted in derision. “Really? I wasn't so sure.”

  The sound of his laughter eased my tension a little. It was nice to hear him laugh genuinely. We'd been in here for too long with tensions running high. It was nice to have a glimmer of hope to lighten the mood. Our escape wasn’t going to be immediate. It wasn't as though Grigori could open the door and tell us to skedaddle. There were probably layers of guards that would intercept from here on out. This liberation was going to take careful planning and timing that would need to be better than perfect. Even as his prisoner, I hoped we wouldn't get Grigori hurt in the process.

  I let the smile linger on my lips for a while as the two of us sat in companionable silence. I didn't move from the spot I was occupying until I heard footsteps coming from down the hall. As soon as the black uniform came into view, I stood slowly and retreated calmly to the back of the cell, watching as our food was delivered.

  Grigori had made good on his word. There was a generous portion of meat with a collection of vegetables, some bread, still stale, and what looked like cake. I didn't go anywhere near the tray until the guard had served Rasmus and retreated from our view. With very few words between us, Rasmus and I ate before saying goodnight. With a full stomach and the taste of chocolate on my lips, I fell into a deep sleep with dreams of Damon.

  It wasn't the usual panicked scene of him upset at the loss of me while I tried desperately to reach him. These new ones were filled with our reunions. He and I were tangled in an embrace, our lips pressed together in a searing kiss as his hands moved over me and then held me to him to make sure I was real. His stunning hazel eyes were almost green with his relief as they filled with tears that matched mine. The scene was beautiful in my mind, desperate and painful as it receded and moved out of my reach.

  When I woke up in the dim light of the cell, I immediately felt the dampness on my cheeks. My tears from the dreams had carried over to my consciousness, but there was no Damon to kiss them away now. It was so hard to breathe when the loss sank in again. I felt as though my chest was shattering. The dream had been so real, so honest and so alive that it hurt to let go of.

  I rolled onto my side and pulled my legs to my chest and let the tears flow freely. I'd left Damon in my dreams every time I woke, but it was nothing short of agony this time. Every one of his features had stood out startlingly real in my head. He’d been so close, his touch so hot and needful I felt the ghost of it on my chilled flesh. What had been comforting in my dream state now haunted me and it made the imprisonment so much more daunting.

  “Get your fucking hands off me, you cowardly bastard!” a female voice hissed from somewhere down the long corridor. Her voice was filled with venom and fight, and it echoed from the walls the closer they came. There was nothing familiar about the voice, but it stood out and demanded the attention of anyone within hearing distance.

  Glad of the distraction, I rolled onto my knees and swiped the cooling tears from my cheeks. I was hidden in the shadows as two figures emerged from the outcrop of rock. One guard, who was dressed in the regulation black with a red mask, struggled with a beautiful red head. Her crimson locks hung down to her waist in soft coils, and when she twisted her head to look into my cell, I was shocked by her ethereal appearance. She was beautiful. Her big blue eyes stood out from her smooth, childlike face and were framed by long lashes, her lips, pursed, were still full and rose colored. Her nose was petite and perfectly sculpted, as though it had been drawn just for her. I’d never seen a woman like her before.

  “Well hey there,” she sang pleasantly, her full lips curling into a smile as she struggled with the guard trying to push her toward Rasmus' cell. Her body bowed as she turned from his reach and the smile touched her eyes and lit them like fireworks.

  “Hi,” I offered, pushing to my feet and rushing forward.

  “I'm Shannon,” she said, as the guard managed to push her further toward Rasmus' cell, forcing another couple of steps from her.

  “Cass.”

  “Oh, I know,” she said jovially, elbowing the guard holding her. “Stay strong in there. Don't let them intimidate you. They’re all stupid as shit under those masks they wear. Cowards, too. Just remember that.”

  The guard gave her a hard push that made her stumble out of my view. It didn't stop me from hearing her, though.

  “You little asshole. Truth hurt?” she seethed. “Gods, you have no idea who you're messing with right now. If I ever get free, I will hunt you down and make you pay. My wrath is legendary.”

  There was a mumbling sound from behind the mask, indecipherable to me now they were farther down the hall, followed the clang of the cell being opened.

  Rasmus’ cell.

  I inched my body closer to the bars of my own cell, my face pressed against the cool metal while I listened to the door slamming back into place.

  “I know your mother, you little shitass.” She laughed, rattling the bars of her own cell hysterically. “I will be able to find you, and you’ll regret your birth, just like your mother does.”

  The guard grumbled as he moved past my cell, the words muffled by the mask an obvious curse to the woman and her temper. He retreated back the way he came, and the moment he was out of view, I leaned against the bars of my prison, pushing my face until my cheeks ached and strained to listen to the interactions in the other cell. There was no way Ras was go
ing to manage to resist against the beauty that had been placed in there with him, and it amused me to think of the way he’d be looking at her right now.

  “You must be the one they call warrior,” she said quietly and cheerfully. It was a weird contrast considering the setting we were in. “But I didn't expect you to be this handsome.”

  “How do you know about us at all?” Rasmus asked.

  “Oh, honey, I listen, and it would do for the two of you to do the same. If the plans being drawn up are anything to go by, we don't have long to get this little shenanigan done. They're planning on using you both as bait to draw out the king, and if he falls for it, we're all done for. Thánatos wants him to see you and Cassandra murdered before his eyes in a way that will make him feel it himself. It won’t be fast. The bastard specializes in torture. It's payback for all the children Thánatos has lost to the war.”

  “Wait, what?” I said as quietly as I could, hoping that it would reach them. “We’re bait?”

  “You didn't know?” Shannon asked, appalled.

  “No,” Rasmus answered for me. “We hear nothing down here. They’re not particularly garrulous while they’re in our company.”

  “Shit. Okay. We're going to have to be very careful here. If the guards see or hear anything, they'll know what we're planning.”

  “Can we trust you?” Ras asked gruffly.

  “The answer to that would be yes no matter what side I was on so I categorize that in the stupid question box.” She sighed dramatically and continued. “You think there isn't something in this for me? Believe me, I'm not here by choice any more than you are. The only reason I haven't been used to produce more masked spawn is because my nephew keeps an eye out for me. I owe him a lot.”

  “He tried to help you escape?” I asked.

  “Yes. He's not like the others. My sister was able to keep him longer than most nymphs forced into motherhood. He has something none of these other fools have, and you, Cassandra, have caught his eye.”

  “Me?” I asked, resting my head on the bars.