by Kate Martin
“Yes. They’re deprived of blood and left to suffer the lust the sun brings on.”
I shivered. I knew that feeling all too well. “And what about the lowest levels?”
“First time offenders, newborns without a sire to direct them who got themselves into trouble. Some of those cells also contain pieces of those who have been dismembered.”
“And where is Rhys?” My mouth was dry.
“Ninth floor. Highest without windows.”
“Why?”
“Because of his connection to Julius. We’ve assured them multiple times that Rhys won’t try to escape, but they want it to be clear that no one can gain favoritism when it comes to the law.”
I couldn’t respond. There was nothing to say. Maybe they didn’t want to play favorites, but I was willing to bet that Rhys was getting the short end of the stick just to prove that. His situation was unfair either way.
I wanted to see him badly.
“I’m ready now,” I whispered, almost afraid to say the words.
Cade only nodded and stepped forward. I followed him, sticking as close to his side as I could manage.
The front door was enormous. No joke. It stood twice as high as Cade’s head, and had I reached out with both arms I wouldn’t have been able to touch the two sides at one time. And it was thick, and it was metal. Cade’s knock rang low and deep, resonating in my teeth and bones. A loud click followed, then the sound of oversized locks shifting and turning. The door pulled opened slowly, silently compared to everything else.
A woman appeared from the darkness beyond. She was dressed all in black. At first I couldn’t place where I had seen the uniform before, but then it hit me. It was the same as what Cade and the others had worn that night I had first seen them. When they came to offer my father peace. The silver adornments looked like stars in the night sky. Her dark brown hair had been pulled back into a severe ponytail, accenting the angles of her face. Eyes as dark as her hair looked at me first, then shifted to Cade.
“Caden Lucas. There are no executions scheduled for this night.”
“I am not here for an execution.”
“For your brother then?”
“To visit, yes.”
Again her gaze slipped to me. The night was warm, but she made me feel cold. “And her? I take it she is the one.”
“That is not your business, Katya,” Cade said.
“As you wish, but I still need her name for the records.”
“Kassandra Thomas.”
It was weird, but I didn’t care that Cade answered for me without even pausing to give me the chance to do it myself.
The woman, Katya, glanced back over her shoulder. In the shadows beyond I could just make out another form, opening a book and writing something on the stiff pages. My name, I assumed. Katya stepped aside, motioning us in. Cade went first, and I kept glued to his side. I didn’t like the look in Katya’s eyes; they spoke of nothing but strict adherence to the rules, and a lack of forgiveness.
The thick door closed behind us. The locks and bolts clicked and slid shut.
Trapped.
Two more vampires, both men, came forward. They wore the same uniform as Katya, though with lesser adornments. Cade leaned down and whispered in my ear. “They are required to search us. They will not harm you. If you have any weapons on you, you should surrender them now.”
He made it sound like a formality, but I knew what he was getting at. The dagger Rhys had given me. The one I had promised to go nowhere without. I could feel it pressed against the small of my back.
Cade stepped away from me and very systematically revealed each weapon he carried on his person. A knife from his boot, another from under his sleeve, a longer blade from a sheath on the side of his thigh, and finally, a gun from under his jacket.
I had never seen a vampire with a gun before.
I watched one of the male vampires, the taller one, step up and examine each. He spent the most time with the gun. I knew little about guns, but this one was black, sleek and compact. It looked expensive.
The second vampire approached me. I looked at Cade one more time, just for confirmation. He nodded at me, looking as supportive as I had ever seen him. So for the first time, I handed over the blade Rhys had given me to protect myself with.
He found the switch to release the gold immediately, then handed my dagger off to Katya, who looked suspiciously at Cade who was currently being patted down.
“We have all the necessary paperwork and permits for that,” he said.
“This is quite the serious weapon for such a young vampire,” Katya said, finding the release and sending the supplemental portion of my blade back into the hilt.
“She has been a target multiple times in the past. We felt it necessary.” Cade dropped his arms as the other vampire stepped back, satisfied that no other weapons lay hidden in Cade’s clothes.
“As you say.” Katya handed my dagger back to the second man, then stepped towards me. She began patting me down like a cop did to a criminal. I did my best not to flinch away when her hands checked the inside of my thighs. “We’ll return your belongings upon your departure,” she said to me when she had finished.
I was just about to nod to show my acceptance of that when the two men returned all of Cade’s weapons to him. “Why does he get to keep his?” The words slipped out before I could stop them.
Katya laughed. “The Executioner has clearance to be here and armed. You, however, do not.”
I remembered how she had first remarked to Cade that there were no executions scheduled when we had first arrived, but I had thought, or at least hoped, that it had been some sort of inside joke. Apparently not.
Cade grabbed me by the wrist and headed deeper into the shadows. “We can find our own way,” he said, his words clearly an order to Katya and her men. “And we will return when I decide we’re finished.”
“As you wish,” Katya said, turning back to her desk. “Oh, one more thing.”
We stopped just short of the first door leading out of the room. There were at least six. Katya approached me. “There is someone else here who would like to see you,” she said.
“And who would that be?”
“Tabitha.”
My fangs lengthened, and it wasn’t from hunger or anything good. I had almost forgotten Tabitha sat in a cell here. Rotting, I hoped, since she had been the spark to create this whole mess. “Why would she want to see me?”
“She didn’t say, but the request was made. Should Kassandra Thomas ever pay a visit to our illustrious Infragilis, send her by.” Something about Katya’s expression looked too amused for my liking.
The door opened with a heavy creak at Cade’s twist of the bolt. “Thank you for the message, Katya.” He pulled me through the door, into the darkness of the hall beyond, and shut the door once more.
No one followed us.
There were no lights, but of course, we didn’t really need them. Enough moon and starlight came in through the small barred windows to allow us to see where we were going. Now that we were away from the intimidating stares of the prison guards, I recovered myself and exchanged my fear for anger and curiosity.
I did not, however, take my wrist from Cade. “What do we do about Tabitha?”
“Ignore her. Most likely she wants nothing but to feed you lies and taunt you. No benefit will come of speaking with her.”
For now, I was willing to agree with that. “Why did Katya call you the Executioner?”
He didn’t look at me. “Because that’s what I am.”
“I thought you worked for the General.”
“I do. But I also carry out executions. It happens so rarely the task almost never interferes with my responsibilities at home.” He stopped to open a steel door and pulled me beyond. Ahead of us lay nothing but stairs, winding upwards for as far as I could see in the dim light that filtered in from somewhere above. We started to climb.
“Why take the job?” I asked, careful of
each step I took. The stairs were wider than normal. I needed to put both feet on each before I could progress to the next.
“The Council bestowed it upon me about two hundred years ago. When the Council gives you something, you do not turn it down.”
“Oh. Do you . . . like being the Executioner?”
“It has never bothered me before.”
His choice of words was not lost on me. Before. Meaning before now. Before Rhys was taken into the system. I let the conversation die there. I didn’t want to know any more.
“So, that woman, Katya, is she the Warden or something?”
“Yes. Stay close, the stairs change here.”
I was about to ask what he meant when suddenly my right foot crashed into the side of the next step up. The stairs had narrowed to a more natural rhythm. I used one foot for each now, but they were also taller, making the process a lot like mountain climbing. I switched my grip so I could clutch Cade’s wrist.
“Why are the stairs like this?”
“To make it harder for the inmates to escape. Those of us who work here memorize the patterns, but those kept in the cells are never allowed to set foot on the stairs. They are brought in through other means, different for everyone, so that should they ever try to escape, they will most likely end up losing their balance here on the stairs.”
They had thought of everything. I shivered.
“How long has Katya been here?” I said, distracting myself from thinking about Rhys’s initial journey into this place.
“She’s served as Warden for two hundred years. She was inducted to the post the same time I was named Executioner.”
“Because of the escape you told me about? That happened two hundred years ago, right?”
“Yes.”
I could figure out the rest for myself. Someone had screwed up. A convict had escaped and so those working in the prison had been replaced. I had a feeling the entire situation had been unforgivable. I doubted I would ever find anyone involved alive. Had they been Cade’s first acts of duty?
Better not to think about it.
Cade pulled me to a stop. “There’s a hole here, about the width of three stairs. Can you see?”
I peered through the dark. Sure enough, the grey stone disappeared, giving way to nothing but darkness. Just above my head I could see another line of grey that continued upward. “Yes, I can see.”
“Can you make the jump yourself, or would you like me to help you?”
I tried to judge the distance. All the practice I had gotten in over the past months had definitely made me more nimble, but I wasn’t sure I trusted my nerves not to get in the way this time. “Maybe you should help.”
“I can either carry you, or throw you.”
“Carrying sounds fine.” My voice squeaked at the end. Cade laughed before he bent to let me climb on his back. I wrapped my arms around his neck.
He jumped.
His landing was soft and smooth, graceful. I wasn’t so much as jarred. He set me down carefully on the second step, then took my hand again. “We’re almost there,” he said, leading me onward.
When he stopped again, a tall wooden door stretched to the ceiling in front of us. The stairs ended, going no further. I realized I hadn’t seen a single door before this. “This is the ninth floor?”
“Yes.”
“Then how to you get to the others?”
“Different paths.” He grabbed the handle and pushed.
The smell was unbearable. My first impulse was to turn tail and run back down the staircase, but that wouldn’t have brought me to Rhys. I stopped breathing, and the scent receded. Cade pulled me through into the main hall and shut the door. The sound echoed off the stone that surrounded us on all sides. Then the other noises started.
Moans, groans, cries for help and, worst of all, laughter and cursing. Voices, both male and female, called out from the cells on either side of the hall as we moved past. The doors were thick metal, but that did nothing to muffle those within.
“I smell you, Executioner! Have you finally come to take me from here?”
“Who’s that with you? She smells young. I bet she still tastes like human.”
“Please, help me!”
“I’m innocent!”
“I can smell her innocence. Why don’t you leave her here with me for a few hours?”
“Executioner, come here and let me show you a good time.”
Cade pulled me close, wrapping an arm around my waist and pressing me against his side. “Ignore them,” he said. “They get bored and like to play games.”
“How can you stand this?” I whispered, hoping I was quiet enough that only he would hear.
“After the first few decades you develop a thick skin.”
But what about Rhys? Did he have to listen to this day in and day out? God. I wanted him out of this place, and I wanted him out now. Maybe he had been right. Maybe my coming here had been a bad idea. Maybe I was better off not knowing the details of what he had to endure.
We stopped at the end of the hall. A small series of three steps rose up to another level, but I could tell there would be no more than two or three cells beyond. Cade stopped without going up. He took me by both shoulders and made me look at him. “Rhys is the first door on the left. Stay here until I say.”
“But I thought—”
“Stay here. Do not move from this spot. Ignore anything anyone behind you says.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Warn Rhys.” He let go of me and was up the stairs and in front of the first door in the blink of an eye. I fidgeted and wrung my hands while I waited. The voices behind me still carried on with pleas and crude comments, but Cade hadn’t said I couldn’t listen to him.
He rapped lightly on the door with his knuckles. “Rhys.”
“Cade?” Sounds of movement came from within. “I wasn’t expecting you.” His voice sounded thin and strained; sick.
“It was an unexpected trip.”
“Can’t say I’m not glad for the company.”
“You might change your mind about that.” Cade glanced at me and I fought the urge to duck my head guiltily.
“Why would I–” He stopped short, and even from this distance, I heard him breathe. I spent one blissful moment imagining his excitement when he caught my scent, the gloating I would do in the face of Cade’s doubt.
But then that fantasy shattered.
A low growl carried across the space. “I told you not to bring her here!”
Chapter Sixteen: Promises and Bargains
I had been so anxious to see him, how could he really not want to see me? I couldn’t breathe, could hardly think. He sounded furious.
Cade glanced at me, then back through the window of the cell. “Julius’s decision, not mine.”
“This is one thing Julius does not get to overrule. Take her home.”
“I can’t do that.”
“Get her out of here. She shouldn’t be here.”
“She’s very stubborn. I doubt she would leave.”
The fear and shock that had held me disappeared. I charged up the steps and shoved Cade out of the way. The metal door loomed in front of me, rivets and reinforcements everywhere. Just at eyelevel, a small barred window allowed me to peer within, but all I saw was a blur of movement.
“Rhys, don’t hide from me.” I pressed myself against the door, desperate to see around it, or even through it. Gold lined the walls of the cell, reminding me of the gold leafing that had been so popular in centuries past. Then it had been beautiful, now it was only terrible. Just being so close to the room made my skin itch. “Rhys, please.”
“You shouldn’t be here, Kassandra.” His voice came from my left, tucked up against the door in order to remain out of sight.
“Yes, we heard you the first thousand times. I am here though, so please come out where I can see you.” My heart strained in my chest, as though it wanted to beat, but couldn’t. Not yet.
“
No.”
“I need to see you.”
He said nothing this time, and the absence of his voice physically hurt. I had gone so long without—I needed him so badly. On impulse, I thrust my hand through the small window in the door, reaching for him. The gold on the other side of the door sent heat rushing up my arm, but I didn’t care.
Rhys’s hands locked around my wrist and forearm, preventing my skin from coming in contact with the gold. Exactly what I had known he would do. His touch warmed me all the way to my core, despite his skin being ice cold. I felt complete. Knowing I had only milliseconds to act, I flipped my hand around in his grip, grabbed his wrist and pulled him into view.
I didn’t know if I had gotten stronger, or if he had gotten that much weaker, but he gave no resistance. His shocked gaze locked with mine, and my heart beat hard within my chest.
My elation didn’t last long. Dark circles surrounded his normally bright eyes, and the blue of his irises had dulled to something more like grey. He was pale and drawn, like someone who hadn’t slept or eaten in weeks. Along the left side of his face, a long burn drew a line from his ear to his jaw; funny, since I had a similar mark now. The wrist I held carried the mottled pattern of wrapped chains.
Yet he was whole, not chained or dismembered. That was what I had needed to see. I breathed a sigh of relief.
“Cade, what have you done to her?”
“Kept her alive. Taught her to keep herself alive. Nothing more.”
“She is not one of your soldiers to train.” Rhys shook, his arm trembling against my hand.
“Stop it!” I drew myself up higher on my toes and stuck my other hand through the bars, reaching for his face. “I didn’t come all this way so you could fight with Cade. Leave him alone. He’s done nothing but help me, no matter how much I might not appreciate it.”
Cade slipped away then, disappearing into the shadows of the level below. The jeers and taunts from the other cells started up again, but I ignored them. The only thing that mattered was the boy on the other side of this door.
“Rhys,” I stroked his pale cheek, grateful he seemed to have given up for the moment as he leaned into my touch, “I needed to see you. Don’t make this about other things.”