“Did I say you could give her an update about her friend?” Draven asked.
Crag, who seemed to be struggling to speak, managed to choke the word “No” out.
“The next time you speak out of turn, we’re going to have a completely different conversation, you and me. Is that understood?”
“Yes.” Crag grunted.
Draven released his hold on Crag’s neck, glanced over at me, and then turned around. He walked a few paces and became one with the night, disappearing completely just as everyone else had. Crag, slowly, got to his feet, shrugging his shoulders as he went. Part of me wanted to ask him if he was okay, but he had busted into my place and essentially kidnapped Fate and I, so I bit my tongue.
Crag dusted himself off, looked over at me, and gestured for me to follow him with his head. “Stay close,” he said, “If you don’t walk through at the same time I do, the magic around this place will turn your skin inside out.”
I shuddered at the thought, but the idea of seeing Fate again—knowing she was okay—allowed me to follow him as he stepped through the invisible threshold. It was like walking through a basement filled with cobwebs that hung so low they could reach my ankles. I couldn’t see, and all around me I could feel these thin strands of… something… touching me, making my skin prickle all over. But the sensation passed after a few seconds; I was through, and what I saw in front of me… I wasn’t expecting.
It was a palace, or more like a fortress. The structure was tall and formidable, square shaped, with many windows along its wall, some of them lit up. At each of the structure’s corners, black towers rose like knives into the night sky, each looking like they were trying to pierce the crescent moon above them. Fireflies danced along its walls, offering little specks of illumination to a structure that would otherwise look almost entirely black.
“This way,” Crag said, and as he started to walk, I realized he was following a cobbled path, the edges of which were lit with small, burning torches.
I shadowed his steps, trying to find a memory attached to the place, anything that may shed some light on where I was, but there was nothing there. Not a single sliver of recognition. I’d never been here before, and that made sense, because this was a place on Earth—not a place in the world I belonged to. The stars were the same, the sky was the same, the moon was the same. But there was magic here, I could feel it pulsating all around me, in the air, in the ground, in the torches burning along the path to the fortress’ front doors; doors that opened on their own as Crag and I approached.
Part of me was expecting to be bathed with warm light from inside, but the light spilling out onto the stone steps was minimal. It was dark inside the front hall, the whole, wide open space lit only with small candles here and there. There was enough light to see, enough to hint at crystalline and marble surfaces, enough to be able to tell one person from another, but not enough for me to feel entirely comfortable.
I stood by the front door, hesitating, doubting myself. Then Crag stopped and turned around. “Come inside,” he grunted.
I swallowed, pressed my lips into a thin line, then took a step through the doors and into the dimly lit front hall, the door sliding shut behind me. “Does it really have to be this dark in here?”
Crag turned his eyes up, and without so much as a gesture or spoken word, the ambient light in the hall started to grow. One by one I watched candles light themselves, each tongue of flame lending its light to the others beside it, until I could see all the golds and whites and blacks, all of the paintings on the walls, the color in the stained-glass windows at the top of the grand staircase ahead of me.
“Holy… shit…” I sighed.
“Better?” Crag asked.
“Yeah… better.”
“Come this way. You must be starving.”
“Got a bathroom? I’ve needed to pee since the car.”
He nodded, then gestured with his head. He wasn’t quite so scary anymore, not after what I’d seen Draven do to him outside. Crag’s sudden change in attitude and the shift in the light gave me a little more confidence to follow him when he asked, so I did without wasting more time standing by the front door. I was about to ask about the total lack of people—this place was so big, there could’ve been hundreds in here—when I finally spotted someone in the massive dining hall I’d been brought into.
Fate. She was alone and sitting at the end of the table like some kind of Queen, surrounded by food.
“Seline!” she yelled, her voice rising to fill the space of the hall. She held up a drumstick like it was a trophy. “Look at all this food!”
“For such a small thing, she really can put it away.” Aisling’s voice had come from out of nowhere, startling me.
I pressed my hand against my chest. “Did you have to sneak up on me like that?” I asked, frowning at her.
“I’ve been here literally the entire time…”
I screwed up my face. “Sure… so, what’s the deal, here? Fattening us up?”
Laughing, she shook her head. “No, we just thought you’d be hungry after what you’ve been through. Sit, eat, you’ve earned a rest.”
“Rest? I don’t buy it. Where’s the catch.”
She shook her head, her black locks matching the movement. “No catch. You beat the Caretaker, you’ve earned this.”
“Yeah, well, according to your boss I didn’t beat shit.”
“You aren’t the first person to get past the Caretaker on a technicality, though how you did what you did will probably be something to investigate.”
I looked over at Fate, who seemed to have had enough of her banquet and was now picking her teeth with a small bone. “Look, lady, I don’t know what you think I did out there, but that wasn’t me.”
Aisling moved in a little closer to whisper. “Probably best if you don’t go advertising that… we don’t want the other prospects thinking you had any kind of help getting in here.”
“Wait a second, prospects? What prospects?”
“You got past the caretaker, which makes you a prospect. I know, I know, you have a ton of questions—”
“—Draven talked about a war, what war?”
“Seline… I know you have been on Earth for a long time, which means I know that you know about the war of the Orders.”
“Not nearly as much as you think. Fate and I are survivors. We could give a shit about the Orders.”
“Well, it’s time you started learning. The most important thing for you to know is that the Obsidian Order… is on the right side of history.”
“That’s literally what every single warring party thinks of itself, even the asshole ones.”
“Right, but our cause is noble. We want to protect humans from anyone who may try to prey on them, whether that’s a lone supernatural using their power to hurt people or a Faction that exploits humans and turns entire communities of them into unwilling cults. There are many other Factions out there, all with ideals different to ours. It’ll be you who stands in the way of them and their depraved agendas. You’re going to learn how to identify threats, how to fight; how to be a light in the darkness.”
“I know how to fight, lady.”
She smiled brightly. “It’s been a long night for all of us. Have something to eat, you’ll be shown to your quarters after you’re done, and tomorrow we’ll start.”
“Start what?”
Aisling reached for a bunch of clothes sitting at this end of the dining table and handed them over. “Take these, make sure to wear them tomorrow.”
Glancing at the clothes she’d given me, I could see they were black and trimmed with silver. She handed me a pair of shoes to go with them. “What’s this?” I asked.
“I think I got your size right, if not just let me know and I’ll change them.”
“I’m not wearing these clothes, and I’m not going anywhere until you start answering some questions!”
“Seline,” Fate’s voice sailed over from where she was sitting. I t
urned to look at her. “They could’ve killed us already… if they were going to, I think they would’ve. Also, this isn’t a sex dungeon… I’ve asked.”
“Yeah, your friend really did ask about that…” Aisling said, “Can’t say it’s the first time someone’s asked that question.”
Frowning, I shook my head and sighed. “Fine,” I said, “Whatever. I’ll go along with this.”
“Excellent.” Aisling paused, then looked at me like she was about to tell me I had cancer or something. “Between the two of us, it’ll be better if you keep a low profile. At least for now. Tonight, well, it didn’t exactly go as planned and the boss… you just don’t want to be in his way.”
“None of us do,” Crag muttered.
“What are you talking about?” I asked.
Aisling looked up at Crag, then back at me. “The Caretaker was meant to draw out your supernatural side, that’s what it’s for. We’re supposed to be able to see what you are, and maybe help figure out where you came from. It’s like throwing someone who’s never swam before into the middle of the ocean. They learn to swim, or they drown.”
I stared at them both, lips parting slightly, eyebrows arched. “And?” I asked.
“And… I’ve probably already said too much, but it didn’t work, so just, stay out of everyone’s way until this can be figured out.”
“Figured… out? Wait, are you saying… what happens to me if they can’t figure it out?”
Aisling offered a hard smile. “Eat, then try to get some sleep,” she said, before walking away. Crag followed, watching me as he went, and leaving Fate and I alone in this massive dining hall.
I ran over to her and hugged her like my life depended on it. “I’m so glad you’re okay,” I said against the side of her face.
“Geez, will you relax? Look at this place!”
I pulled away from her and had a look around. I’d never been able to describe a place as ‘stunning’ before, since my experience with places were roach infested apartments, rat infested subways, and pigeon infested rooftops, but this place was stunning. There wasn’t just one of these dining tables, there were two, each looked like they’d fit fifty people. There were columns rising from the black, stone floors all the way to the ceiling. All of the windows were stained-glass, and they all had pictures on them—some of landscapes with impossible colors, others of floating cities in the clouds, and others still of people… with wings, and swords, and shields.
“Did these guys rob a church to build this thing?” I asked.
“I don’t think so. I think they just made it.”
“C’mon, nobody just made this place.”
“No, really. This food… like, do you know how long a chicken takes to cook? This place was dark when I got here, nobody around, and then all of a sudden there was a full chicken here, and oven baked potatoes, and this thing—I don’t know what the hell this drink is, but it makes me feel like a Viking!”
I grabbed the goblet she’d been drinking out of—it looked ridiculously huge in her small hand—and gave it a sniff. “Crap, that’s strong!” I was getting honey, and cinnamon, and maybe milk, definitely something creamy.
“Right?” She went to drink again, but I stopped her.
“I think that’s enough of that for now…”
“Ah, come on. Why?”
“Listen to me.” I squatted so I was looking up at her, and took one of her hands in mine. “We don’t know where we are,” I said, “These people are strangers, and they’ve kidnapped us. I know this all looks amazing, but we have no idea what’s coming next. We need to be on our toes, and that means we can’t get shit-faced.”
“Sure, but on that note, assuming these people are gonna kill us, I feel like there’s an argument for getting shit-faced.”
I wanted to stick to my convictions, but I realized something. Fate’s hands weren’t cold, she wasn’t coughing, and she didn’t look like she was about to pass out. In fact, she looked… happy, and strangely healthy, something I wasn’t totally used to seeing. I let my grip on her hand slacken and smiled at her. “Yeah… maybe you’re right.”
I pulled up a chair next to her and sat down. The food in front of me was still warm, somehow, and smelled delicious. When I went to pick up one of the goblets near me, it was full, and the liquid inside was a little warm too. I sniffed it, shrugged, then drank. Soon enough, I was eating the food these strangers had laid in front of me, and while I didn’t allow myself to completely relax, it felt good to have a little respite from the craziness that had been tonight.
Aisling returned after we’d eaten to escort us to our quarters. I gathered my clothes and Fate gathered hers, she’d been given a set too, and we followed Aisling as she moved through the halls with a lantern in her hand. Aisling stopped in the middle of a deathly quiet hallway, then touched one of the doors. The palm of her hand began to glow with soft, blue light. A moment later, the door unlocked and opened. She stepped aside for us to go through.
“This is you,” she whispered, “Make yourselves comfortable, and make sure to get some sleep. We’ll be back for you at dawn.”
“And… how many hours is that?” Fate asked.
“About six.”
Fate rolled her eyes and, grunting, stepped into the bedroom.
I was close to thanking Aisling as I walked past her, but… I just couldn’t. Maybe I was too wound up despite the dinner and the drink, maybe the darkness was getting to me, maybe there was just something about her—the words died on my tongue, never to be spoken. As soon as I stepped through into the bedroom, the door shut behind me, making my back stiffen and prickle. I was starting to hate that doors here did that.
“Not bad, right?” Fate asked, picking one of the two beds available to us.
The room was big enough to fit two beds an end table between them, which already made it bigger than our own bedroom. There was also a small desk, and what looked like a chest of drawers. All of the furniture was made of wood, with black finishing’s and joints. There were sconces set into the walls where candles were burning, and two other holders—one on the end table, one on the desk—where more candles were lit. I set my clothes down on the chest of drawers, then moved over to the bed which was going to be mine, and sat down.
It was comfortable, much more comfortable than our mattress back home. The springs in ours were shot to hell, many of them poked through the fabric at the top and at the bottom, and since I couldn’t replace the mattress, the best I could do was stick corks on the pointy ends to keep from getting stabbed in the night. Still, I missed that shitty mattress because it was home; this, decisively, wasn’t.
I saw Fate slipping out of her combat boots and did the same. “First sign of trouble,” I said, “We’re breaking the hell out of this place.”
“You think there’s gonna be any trouble?”
“When was the last time someone offered us room and board for nothing?”
“Well… not nothing. I mean, you did have to fight the Caretaker, and that looked like a nightmare.”
“You saw it?”
“Oh, yeah, that Aisling chick had a tablet. There were cameras in the forest, in the cabin. I was screaming for you to start a fire.”
“Wait, there’s technology here? I thought we’d been sent back to the middle ages.”
“Yeah, they’ve got WIFI and everything. This place isn’t totally medieval.”
“That means we can call for—” I tapped my pocket to grab my phone, but of course, they’d taken that. “Dammit, they took our phones.”
“Yeah, and anyway, who would we call? What friends do we have?”
“Fuck. I need to get my phone back.”
“Maybe, but maybe we should listen to Aisling and get some sleep. Whatever happens tomorrow, we want to have as much strength as possible to deal with it.”
She wasn’t wrong. Lucky for us, Fate and I were used to not getting much sleep; New York wasn’t exactly known for having quiet night hours. I let myself
fall against the pillow, but I didn’t relax; I didn’t even shed my clothes, though maybe I should’ve all things considered. Despite each of the events that had taken place tonight, from the encounter with Abvat that I believed had started this all, to the fight with the Caretaker, all I could think of was him.
Draven.
He kept popping into my thoughts like an earworm, a song you couldn’t get out of your head. I replayed everything I could remember about our interactions, from the first time I laid eyes on him in my apartment, to the last time we’d spoken tonight. I’d never in my life met anyone who inspired as much fear as he did in other people, or in me, if I could admit that to myself. I didn’t want to be near him, but at the same time, there was something about him I couldn’t put my finger on.
He was ready to kill Fate right there, on the spot, because she was unworthy… then he saw my necklace and… something changed.
The lights in the room suddenly started dimming until all was dark. My heart immediately leapt into my throat and started pulsing hard. I shook my hands through my hair, willing it to glow, and sure enough, it did, lending me enough soft light to see by. Swallowing the ball of panic wedged in my throat, I reached for the pendant against my neck and stared at it, watched the silvery blue light grow bright enough to touch the ceiling. As it did, I saw patterns start to emerge on the ceiling itself, vines of faint silver waxing and waning as the light from the pendant danced and shifted upon its surface.
It was like a light show, one that continued even after I set the small, crescent pendant back down against my neck. Before I knew it, I was dreaming; dreaming I was touching the tips of clouds with my fingers, watching the sunrise over the horizon. By morning the dream, and all memory of it, were gone.
CHAPTER SIX
The feel of a hand on my arm made me spring into consciousness with a start. I grabbed the hand that had touched me and went to twist it, but Fate yelped before I could cause her any pain. My heart thundering in my chest, I let her go and took a series of breaths to help me relax and calm down.
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