The Dove & the Darkness (Ceasefire Series book 5) Page 13
Unwanted memories creep up. Vines of bitter pain tangled in longing and tainted joy. Each barbed thorn penetrating the wall I’ve built up around my cold heart. The sound of children’s laughter. I recall the heady scent of my wife’s favorite perfume so vividly it makes me flinch. All the happiness that once echoed within those walls are now nothing more than painful ghosts.
More gently than its weight should permit, my ride lands with agileness on the smooth runway.
A party of watchers await us. At the front of the group, a tall woman stands proudly head held high. The breastplate she wears is decorated with gems mined from the mountains. Intricately engraved symbols of statues run horizontal on the sides. Woven in a braid, the length of her pure white hair hangs down carelessly over her left shoulder. Her delicate, elfin features are deceptive.
I know well the strength this savage Fury holds. Born of battle and forged by blood, she can best any opponent set before her. One of three sisters, Breanna is the eldest. Seeing me dismount, she hides her surprise at my presence well. I’ve been avoiding contact with her for months, and now I’ve turned up on her door. Not by choice. She better not get her hopes up. I have no intention of permanently remaining.
The welcoming smile pinned on her lips doesn’t reach her grey eyes. “Warden Kalia, the King's advisors are waiting for you. They're interested to hear the productivity of the prison and how the training business and bliss production is flourishing.”
Breanna ignores me completely.
Alighting her own beast, Kalia runs her hands the length of her outfit, smoothing it down. “We’ve had plenty of new intakes. There’s a growing market for those who can pay well wanting slaves conditioned and prisoners interrogated. It’s the drug, though, that’s drawing in most of the profit. I’ve brought some vials of bliss for them to sample.”
“They’ll be pleased to know that. If you’ll follow the guard, he’ll take you to the meeting room.”
Tossing me a look over her shoulder, the vampire beckons with one long finger. “Come, Soren.”
My feet hold fast. Walking through those doors is the last thing I want to do. All the emotions I’ve buried stir up. Pain, bitterness at things I could not stop. They churn sickeningly, tightening everything inside my chest.
“He will have to remain here. I will make sure your man is comfortable while you attend to the advisors,” Breanna informs her.
Kalia’s attention shifts between us with a slight frown. “Very well.”
Her thirst for power negates any feelings of lust she harbors for me. I’m not stupid enough not to realize she uses me as a pawn. The fierce Dom who keeps all the guards in line. The terror of Tartarus.
Breanna rounds on me furiously the second we’re alone. Straight into an attack.
“I’ve been sending you messages for months. Now you show up?” she mutters angrily.
I release a pent-up sigh. “Not by choice.”
“What are you now the Warden’s lap dog?”
I choose to ignore her sneer. Her frustration at me is clear. I’m more than aware I’ve left her to deal with things she shouldn’t be required to do.
“You should know better than that,” I respond instead.
“This Kingdom is falling apart. It’s King remains locked away. A recluse believed mad!”
Territories. Everyone claws for power and what they can have. She doesn’t have to say it for me to understand.
I shrug. “Not my problem.”
More unwanted memories unravel me at the seams. I shouldn’t have come back here. Things that I’ve chosen to bury are rawer than ever. Things I couldn’t control.
Turning my back on the Fury, I stalk back to the waiting Wyverns. Restless and curious at our exchange, their green eyes reflect the flames from the torches.
Footsteps chase me as Breanna follows. “We both know that’s a lie.”
Swiveling around, my glare flashes her a warning from the eye slits of my mask. “Be careful, Breanna.”
Hands on hips expression stubborn, she scowls right back at me. “If you think to warn me off with your threatening tone, think again.”
“You were always too brave for your own good.”
“Then it serves me well now. This cannot go on. A point will come when you will have to make a choice. The truth will come out.”
Rolling my eyes in irritation, I swing around and clamber onto the beast’s scaled back, taking up my position. This was an error of judgement. I should never have agreed with Kalia’s orders. Breanna is like a manticore with prey. She’ll never let this go. Harp at me until she gets exactly what she wants. It’s something I can’t give her.
Hand grabbing onto my thigh, she prevents me from leaving. “Where the fuck are you going? Are you even listening to what I’m saying?”
“Back to the prison where I belong. I made my choice centuries ago. This world will have no King. That man no longer exists and will remain where he is. Please inform Warden Kalia my presence was requested at home.”
Kicking my heels into the Wyvern’s flanks, its mighty wings beat propelling us upward.
Breanna stumbles away narrowly missing being hit. “You’re a coward, and you can’t keep running forever.”
Her shout echoes after me accusing and stark.
The journey back is a blur. I only realize we’re home when the beast sets down. Leaping off, I stride for the stairs.
“I want names,” I snarl at Lucien when I find him sitting behind Kalia’s desk in her office going through files. “Every bastard who took the girl’s mouth at the Warden’s orders.”
Glacial blue eyes meet mine solemnly. “I have always been your eyes and ears. I will never fail you at that.”
Producing a folded piece of white paper, he holds it out to me between two fingers. Snatching it from his grasp, I open it. All are Kalia’s close supporters. Jasper’s name leaves the burn of bile in my throat. Fucking pixie.
“I have seen the way you look at the girl,” he comments quietly. “And I’m sure I’m not the only one. Kalia will use her to wield power over you if you’re not careful.”
“The Warden’s control doesn’t go as far as she thinks it does. Gather up all these males. All but Jasper and have them report to the mess hall,” I command.
Lucien nods slowly. “She won’t be happy.”
“Fuck her.” Is my growled response.
Leaving him to his task, I go to my workshop to find my knife. Long, thick, I’d crafted it myself in the forge, encrusting it with precious stones. Determination and anger still feeding me, my gaze skims over the room. I’ve always enjoyed working with my hands. This place provides me with a creative outlet. With the gems and metals mined from the mountains, I have an abundance of materials to work with. Although I never leave my home, my creations have left these walls to be sold to customers.
My latest line lays idly on a table. A vibrator covered in black pearls and gold. Elegant, regal. Fit for a princess or any queen. An expensive piece for those with money to buy. Cock rings, butt plugs made from silver and other prized metals. An amber handled flogger that doubles as a dildo. Ruby nipple clamps wink at me beneath the artificial light above. Seeing them all calms me. I can get lost in here for days. Inventing and designing. Melting down what I need and carving casts and molds. Even in my life before when things hadn’t been torn from me, this was one thing I enjoyed. Creating things of beauty.
One day soon, I’ll bring Cassandra here. Show her something else that brings me pleasure besides her body. The idea of gifting her something from my collection pleases me. Seeing her wear something I’ve made or using it on her would be bring me great pleasure.
With that thought, I leave my private workshop, marching for the hall where I know everyone will be waiting. I’m not disappointed. Every face on the list bar the damn bluehaired pixie is gathered around tables talking.
When I step into the room, a hush falls over them. Lucien stands beside the door blocking the only exit.
Confusion ripples through the group, shared expressions perplexed.
“I don’t understand. Why have we been summoned?” one of the nearest vampire’s asks tensely.
I feel the weight of the knife in my hand. Imagine them laughing while they’d fucked Cassandra’s mouth. Taking something that wasn't theirs to take. Hurting her. Hot burning rage erupts. Instead of hiding it, I let it reach my expression, my eyes. No mask of indifference to hide it like I have for years.
Instinctively they back away. Hunters sensing something far superior to them. They realize quickly they’ve become the prey.
“Line up. Lower your trousers and underwear to your knees.” I instruct the group.
“But…” Another one protests.
“Do it.” My sharp rebuke draws all eyes to me. They know well my not to be fucked with tone.
The majority obeys, unzipping their slacks and shucking them down their pale thighs.
“Mistress Kalia…”
“Isn’t here, which leaves me in charge,” I point out to one moving slower than the rest, his reluctance clear.
“Master Soren, if this is about last night…”
“Shut your filthy mouth and drop your fucking trousers.” My roar gets the few procrastinating moving. Once they all have them bunched around their knees, I walk the line, eyeing their junk.
“These are the teeny, tiny cocks that the Mistress hand picked herself out of the whole extensive staff,” I scoff. “She must be losing her touch.”
A whimper escapes from one of them. The rest stand silently squirming in humiliation.
“Look at them,” I tell Lucien over my shoulder. “Pathetic excuses of manhood if I ever did see them.”
Reflexes just as fast as their supernatural speed, I have the first three gutted and staked before the others can cover themselves and reach the door.
“Get out of the way,” One screams, battling with Lucien to escape. Without a flicker of sympathy, my companion tosses him back into the hall. Dust fills the air. The left-over remnants of the fallen vampires I’ve dispatched in my wake. By the time I’m done, there’s a thick covering of it all over the tables and floors. No one is left standing. All those who did Kalia’s bidding are now nothing but ash.
“What do we tell Kalia when she returns to find some of the guards missing?” Lucien enquires, wiping away some of the residue from the front of his shirt.
“One of the prisoners escaped on the lower levels. They died in the line of duty containing it.” Cleaning my blade on a rag of clothing, I let the garment flutter to the floor. “Find someone to clean this up.”
“You're playing a dangerous game. She’s far more clever than you give her credit for. Breanna is right; you are stubborn.”
“You’ve been in contact with her at the palace.” It’s a statement not a question.
“Someone had to. You are risking everything and have little care how it affects the rest of us.”
Pushing him out of the way, I storm into the corridor, stopping only by the hand that grabs my arm. “You two need to stop interfering in my life.”
“This isn’t what you were born to do,” Lucien informs me passionately. “If you’d only stop and see…”
“Don’t.” I warn him, meeting his shrewd stare. “Nothing you say will sway me into returning to the past. It’s gone. Buried. I will not be that man again. He’s dead.”
25
Cassandra
Twisting the end of the thin tweezers, I jam it further into the lock. I don’t know how long I have before Master returns. The second he left, I searched the room for anything that could be used to pry the padlock at my throat free. I’d ignored the drapes blocking the window. From the lack of light, I know it must still be night-time. His wardrobe had been filled with items that had both aroused and frightened me in equal measure.
Rifling through, it took me a while to find something useful. Liberating one of his shirts, it made me feel better covering my nudity.
I can’t let him crumble my resistance any further. This is my chance to save myself, and I might not get one again before I’m sent to whoever had me sent here.
A soft click has my eyes widening. Checking in the mirror, I can’t contain my grin as the lock snaps open. Roughly jerking the collar from my neck, I toss it to the floor.
Fuck Master for locking me up. Screw him for making me dependent on him. Rushing out of the bathroom, my attention fixes on the door. Is it open or am I going to have to try and pick the lock to?
Cassandra. I see you.
The voice is raspy and insidious. It’s the same one I heard before and sends the hairs all over my body rising on end. Turning in a circle, I search for the source but frighteningly already know it exists in my head.
I’ve been waiting for you. We’re destined to do great things together.
The darkness speaks.
Pictures flash through my consciousness. Snapshots of carnage and warfare. Worlds burning in anguish and misery. Billions of innocent lives snuffed out like candles in the dark.
“Who are you? Who’s there?”
A remnant of the past. Your savior from the meaningless existence you’ve been living.
A lie.
Everything inside me screams that whatever it is it’s evil. I’ve lived with the Devil for so long I’m not naive enough not to recognize malevolence.
Once master of men, you will help me wreak my revenge and regain my rightful throne. You’ve always been drawn to the dark whisper just out of reach. My whisper and now, finally, you can hear me.
I sense its hatred. Its foaming malice for humankind.
Head pounding, I stagger to the door. I need to get out. Away. I have to heed the warnings. The shadowy figure in my predictions is coming. It’s a certainty in my blood. One that has sent my anxiety soaring. Visions consume me tinging everything with a veil of madness. I’m running for my life from a bogeyman.
You fear the inevitable. Why not embrace it?
“No.” Whispering the word, I pull the handle momentary relief pumping through when it opens. In the stretching hallways, I look left to right. There’s no indication of an exit. Anxiety kicks up.
You should know better than trying to outrun destiny, Cassandra.
Left. I don’t know how I know, but with certainty, I feel it. The compulsion motivates my feet. I obey the instinct. Ignore the voice, sprint toward the end, the stone floor cold beneath my feet.
Sobbing and moans muffled by cell doors drift around me as I move.
Finding a stairwell, I inch my head around to glimpse for safety. The descending steps lay silent and empty. Tiptoeing down, they spiral lower and lower.
I’m troubled I have yet to see anyone. Master can’t be the only guard here, can he?
I’m thankful for the oversized white shirt that keeps the chill at bay. The stairs seem endless as I scurry round and round.
Finally reaching the bottom, I pause to catch my breath. Nerves have me jittery. Threading loose strands of hair out of my eyes, behind my ears, I try to calm myself. Prophecies, Omens, past and present cram every corner of my concentration.
So stubborn. The unseen presence’s chuckle is sinister. Run, then see how far it gets you. Remember I warned you this was a bad idea.
My gaze latches onto a doorway to the right. Sturdy, reinforced it’s half open, the draft fresh and cold. Voices murmur softly to my left in one of the rooms.
Guards? Maybe I’ve caught them on a break?
I don’t give myself time to think. Darting from the bottom step, I pray no one will hear me. The chilly breeze has me shivering.
A blanket of solid blackness greets me at the exit. Shuffling past the threshold, I paste my back against the door using it as a guide to slip somewhere I won’t be seen. Staring out, I let me eyes adjust. For a few minutes, I can’t make out anything. There are no s
tars. No moon. Nothing to guide my way. It makes me wonder how long it is before the sun comes up. Gingerly I take a step out into the unknown. Remaining here will only get me caught, and as it’s getting harder to think clearly, lingering isn’t good.
Looking up over my shoulder, all I can do is gawk. The prison isn’t a building. The mountain rises tall and immense. A vast black shape in the dimness strewn with the orange glow of lights. Windows I realize. Hewn from the rock itself. Shapes circle above. Long, winged bodies distinguishable in glimpses from the flames cast by the torches.
Dragons or some other kind of winged monstrosity? Will they attack? Hoping they won’t detect me, I hurry off the path. Robbed of my sight, my other senses kick in as I move blindly. The smell of earth is strong as if it’s recently been rain kissed. Rocks cut into my feet making me gasp. The terrain is harsh and unfriendly. I try not to think about what might be out here with me. Hopefully I can find somewhere to hide until dawn.
A howl cuts through the stillness of the air. The sound stops me in my tracks, attention drawn unwillingly back to the mountain. Padding from the gateway is a spine-chilling sight. The light casts the colossal form in shadows. Grey pelt thick, the beast has the characteristics of a giant wolf. Three huge heads swing my way. Tongues lolling out, three sets of eyes gleam focusing on my form.
I don’t even want to know what it is. I’m certain it’s been released to find a snack, and I’m right in its sight.
Growls vibrate from each of its throats.
Staring in horror, I watch as its ears perk up, gums curling up to bare three snapping ravenous jaws. Its paws kiss the ground in the lightest of treads. There’s intelligence shining in its gaze. Movements fluid, it trots further along the path into the inky dark.
Shadows and monsters, they're coming for me.
The noise of something pursuing has me running headlong into the night. I keep going until my muscles start to ache, heart threatening to burst through my chest.
A low, long whistle fills the air. Skidding to a halt, the beast ends its pursuit at the sound.