Hell Born

by Marie Bilodeau

  I hoped I was better at hiding skepticism than I was at lying. Clay didn’t care. Clay just wanted to get the job done, get the money, and get out. But Clay didn’t want to die, either. These people with all of their various weapons and grimaces looked like they wouldn’t mind killing a Traded that wouldn’t be missed by anyone. By anyone except me.

  “You’d think he’d be willing to just hand it back to us?” The man looked extremely skeptical. Couldn’t really blame him for that.

  “Well, I mean, if it means that much to you.”

  “Tell me, Ms. Misu,” he said, surprising me that he knew my name, and then I recalled that he’d said it right before I’d gotten attacked by the shadows. Had he been the one controlling them? How did he know so much about me? This whole situation wasn’t making me super comfortable.

  “Do you think that your friend would retrieve the item to save you?”

  Well, now I was definitely uncomfortable. I shrugged.

  “Probably. But,” I added quickly, “if your well-armed guards aren’t willing to go retrieve it from wherever he brought it, then I’m guessing that he might need some help. So how about you let him and I take care of that, and bring it back to you?”

  For a few moments, his features didn’t move at all, and then one of his eyebrows rose ever so slowly.

  “You think we’d trust you enough to just let you go?”

  I smiled. “Well, you seem to know my name, and I’m guessing that’s not the only thing you know about me.” He didn’t deny it. Even less comforting. “You tell me, do you think you can trust us to retrieve the item?”

  He didn’t answer for quite some time. I was trying to think of something witty or convincing to say, but words failed me (not too surprisingly). I looked around nonchalantly to spot some kind of escape route, or a way to get armed. Neither seemed highly likely.

  The stench of damp reached my nostrils. This throne room stank. That removed some of the sheen from it. I glanced at the shadows dancing all around me. I ached to call them to me but resisted, knowing they could be ripped away and turned against me.

  The man kept glaring at me, studying me (aka creeping), and finally spoke. “We’ll just have to see, won’t we?”

  Any follow-up questions I might have had were cut short when he indicated for two of the guards to come and take me.

  “Thank you for your time!” I shouted back as they shepherded me outside of the throne room. I hoped Clay would be smart about this. I had no idea what he’d stolen, but these people wanted it back. From the knife now pointed at the base of my back, keeping me very alert, and very, very worried, I somehow felt that it was imperative that I convince Clay to cooperate with them.

  Clay could be stubborn, but he was also loyal.

  This building hadn’t seemed that big from the outside, but from within it seemed endless. We crossed three corridors, the shadows slipping around me, just out of my grasp. Two more guards joined the two escorting me.

  Seemed like a bit of overkill. It’s not like I could slip away into the shadows – they’d already proven that. And it’s not like I had anywhere better to be, really.

  We entered a corridor with cells lining each side, thick bars barring any escape. Very dungeon-like. Medieval stuff was pretty cool, but maybe more so when not about to hold you captive. They opened the door to one small cell and pushed me inside. I wanted to swear at them and demand my cheese grater back, but instead stared open-mouthed at the inside of the cell.

  Right in front of me, looking as surprised as I did, stood a very beat-up and bruised Clay. We closed the gap between us and wrapped our arms around each other.

  We were trapped. We were in trouble. We might be dead soon. But hell, at least we were together.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Clay and I had never really been huggers, so it got awkward pretty quickly.

  “I’m so glad to see you,” I said as soon as we broke apart.

  He looked perplexed.

  “What are you doing here, Tira?”

  I laughed. “I came to save you, of course!”

  “I don’t…I mean, thank you, but, Tira, these people, they’re not good.”

  He looked genuinely worried.

  “I know that,” I said. “That’s why I’m here to help you, you big doofus!”

  His eyes lowered, the right one so bruised it could barely open. I wish I’d stolen an ice pack instead of a cheese grater.

  “I think I really screwed this one up,” he said softly. He looked back up, as though having resolved to look me in the eye. “Look, uh, I just…I didn’t want to tell you, but…”

  I pulled out the sigil from my pocket.

  “Yeah…” He didn’t look surprised that I’d found it. We’d been friends a long time, and knew each other’s beats. “That.”

  There was no bed in his cell, only four walls and some bars. He sat down on the floor. I joined him, leaning against the wall.

  “Which guild is it for?” I asked. I didn’t speak loudly, but my voice seemed to echo down the corridor. I guess we wouldn’t get much privacy here, even though I couldn’t immediately see any guard outside.

  “Not sure of the name yet,” he answered, giving me a slight grin, which only highlighted his split lip, “but I know it’s a fighter’s guild. One of those leagues you hear about all the time. Like MMA fighters, except all Traded. Going in the arena and just fighting it out, and winning, and getting the prizes, and the glory, and...” he paused, as though surprised by his own outpouring. He shrugged. “I guess I was just interested in joining, you know?”

  “Why didn’t you just tell me that you’d received an invitation?” I said, hating the hurt that slipped into my words.

  “Well, I wouldn’t have left you behind,” he immediately said. “I mean, that’s why I asked you to come with me on the heist. I figured if we proved ourselves in this first real test, then you could join too, or maybe they had a friend, buddy pass or something. I don’t know how these things work yet. But, when you didn’t receive an invitation to a guild yourself, I figured this was the perfect chance to show them what you’re made of. You’re tough, you can take a good fight.”

  I gave a bitter laugh. It didn’t feel that way lately. “I couldn’t even fight someone off with a cheese grater,” I said bitterly.

  Clay thankfully didn’t ask for elaboration.

  “We’re just having a bit of a down time,” he said, trying to pump us up. “You know, leaving the school, and out in the big wide world, we don’t really know anyone or anything...so I think we’ve just got to give ourselves a bit of a break here, and prove what we can do.”

  “Prove what we can do to whom? The ones in this guild?” I asked, looking around the cell walls.

  “No, not these ones,” he said. “These guys, they’re more dangerous. But I like the fighter’s league. That’s the kind of stuff you want to be in, you know? It’s not a circus league, so you’re not stuck wearing some weird makeup or doing some weird shit on stage for people’s entertainment. You get to beat people up, and you still get some of the glory and the accolades, without having to make a fool out of yourself.”

  “But you’d get your ass handed to you in front of everyone,” I countered.

  “I wouldn’t,” he grinned with a knowing smile.

  “Oh?” I said. “Looks like you got your ass handed to you, Clay.”

  “Not by the fighters league, though. By these mean sons of bitches here.”

  “Well, these mean SOBs are the ones who have you,” I said. “Were they the ones who found us in the warehouse? What the hell were we after there, anyways?”

  “Oh,” Clay shrugged the question aside. “No, these people here, they’re a lot more dangerous.”

  “What do you mean? What do you know about this place?” I asked.

  “Not a whole lot. Except I know that the fighter’s league is afraid of them.”

  “So they sent you to retrieve an item to show your loyalty to them? Or becau
se they were too cowardly to take it on themselves?” My blood began to boil.

  Clay knew that look and put a calming hand on my arm.

  “I’m not sure, to be honest. As far as I can tell, we stole the item from a third guild, another fighter’s guild, maybe. These guys here,” he nodded at the cell, “just happened to want the item we got to first. Then there’s the league we’re auditioning for. So, three guilds. One canister. And we’re caught in the middle. I’m not sure why. But I have no doubt that you and I can figure this out together.”

  “I don’t disagree about that,” I said. “except that we have no weapons and no leverage. They’re going to ask you to get whatever you stole back from the fighter’s league.”

  “I figured they might,” Clay said, leaning back against the wall and closing his eyes. “Might as well rest up then. Get ready for the battle.”

  “That’s not a bad idea,” I said, looking at his wounds. He healed quickly, but I wasn’t sure he could heal quickly enough to be safe in battle again by tomorrow.

  “You’re so hurt, Clay.” Sorrow accented every syllable.

  “I’ll be fine,” he said not opening his eyes.

  “I know,” I said softly, and then added, “you know, they’re going to kill me if you don’t do this, right?”

  Clay’s eyes shot open again and focused on me.

  “They said that?” he asked softly.

  I nodded.

  “I won’t let them,” his voice gained strength and left no room for argument.

  The way he said those words made me believe him. He always found a way to make me believe him. Something in his confidence, his sheer willingness to tackle any problem, his refusal to admit that he might fail. And Clay rarely did fail. There were temporary setbacks, sure.

  But we succeeded, always. Together.

  “We’ll handle it together,” I said, and grinned at him. “Hey, who knows? Maybe I will get to join that fighter’s league too, and we’ll get to hang out there.”

  He nodded, as though pleased I’d finally caught on.

  “You will,” he said. “It’s going to be a good time, you mark my word.”

  “Sure, except we’re about to steal your entry exam back from them.”

  He shrugged. “That won’t screw us over,” his eyes widened, his lip curled up, “I mean, as long as they don’t realize it’s us, anyway.”

  I laughed, the sound echoing down the corridor. He leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes, pleased that I was on board.

  And I was, too. We just had to be smart. And quick. And not be seen.

  Which might be a hell of a tall order if the shadows didn’t prove more cooperative the next time I called them to me.

  #

  After an hour of silent resting, two guards came and motioned for me to follow them. Clay opened his eyes and nodded to me.

  “I’ll see you soon,” he said. I nodded back, feeling less confident than he did, and followed them.

  They brought me down two corridors. I was starting to get a fairly solid map of this place, which provided me with some comfort. That knowledge could be useful, should an opportunity to use it present itself.

  We passed from the sterile corridor to a stone one, and then back to stainless steel. This building had either been extended, or built very strangely. I spotted a few Traded, all dressed in black and looking like they had someplace to be.

  This place could use better décor and more cheer. The upstairs was so pretty. Why was it so dank down here? And why didn’t they do more fun stuff up there? I guess hauling prisoners around wasn’t much fun. Plus, upstairs had lovely windows. Not the best when undertaking shady activities.

  The guards unlocked a door and motioned for me to go in, backing away so as not to give me the chance to attack. I stepped into the room, the door closing behind me.

  Two deadbolts loudly clanked into place. But this wasn’t a cell like Clay’s. This seemed more like a guest room, with a small bed, and even a sink to freshen up. Sure, there were no windows, the bed was bolted down and the door was locked, but this place felt absolutely heavenly compared to Clay’s cell.

  I’d barely reached the bed when the door behind me opened again. I turned around, and in walked Ian—not in dog form, nor in mouse form—in human form. And for something different, he actually wore clothes - the same dark clothing that everybody else here seemed to be wearing.

  He looked remarkably uncomfortable, for someone who wasn’t naked for the first time in front of me.

  “I’m so sorry you got caught,” he sounded genuinely sorry.

  “Are you with them?” I asked.

  He nodded. Then furrowed his brow. “Mostly, anyway. But I didn’t realize this was one of their outposts. That was a surprise to me, too. I wouldn’t have brought you in here like that if I’d have known.”

  “Can you get me out?”

  He shook his head.

  “Can you get Clay out?”

  He shook his head more vehemently. “No, your friend pissed them off good. There’s nothing I can do for him right now.”

  “What did he take?” I asked. “What’s in the container?”

  He shrugged. “I’m not even sure. But I know it’s important to Sonsil.”

  “Oh. Is that the boss on the throne?”

  Another nod. “He’s not to be trifled with.”

  “I got that.” I paused. “Are they going to kill me? And Clay?”

  “Not if I can help it,” Ian said. His voice softened with something different than discomfort or grumpiness.

  “Well, at least I know that Clay’s fine for now,” I said with a grin. “Maybe I’ll be able to join his league, too, if I pull this off.”

  “That doesn’t matter right now,” the harshness in his voice took me by surprise. “What matters is that you manage to get back alive. This isn’t a game, Tira!”

  “Well, what am I supposed to do?” I asked, frustrated this time. “All that I want to do is make sure Clay’s safe, make sure I’m safe, and find somewhere for us to be. We only have two weeks, you know, after we leave school. You don’t know that, because you didn’t go to one of the schools,” I said, and then I immediately regretted my words. His face betrayed no emotion, but I felt like I’d attacked him regardless, and he’d done nothing to deserve it.

  “I’m sorry,” I said. “I’m just feeling jittery. This has all been very annoying, and they took my cheese grater. I like my cheese grater, Ian. I was going to do something with it. Don’t know what…probably grate a face.”

  “You had a cheese grater?” Ian asked.

  I shrugged. “Yeah, I stole it from the cheese merchant. Why would a cheese merchant have a cheese grater? Don’t you think they’d just, like, sell blocks of cheese?”

  Ian shook his head. “You’re difficult to follow sometimes. But listen, be careful. Stay safe. Don’t trust anyone.”

  I looked up at him. “Are you telling me that I shouldn’t trust you?”

  He stiffened a bit at that, and then seemed to reflect on it.

  “I guess that’s up to you to decide,” he said.

  “I guess it is,” I answered.

  “Just… just be careful.” He sounded exasperated. “I’m not sure that you can fully trust Clay, either.”

  I narrowed my eyes and stared at him. “Don’t question my friend. We’ve been through thick and thin together, for a long time. I know who I can trust.”

  He held up his hands before him in a gesture of peace.

  “He’s your friend, I get that. But I’m not sure he’s telling you everything you need to know. And I think he wants to be part of that fighter’s league badly enough that he might put you on the line to get in.”

  “Clay wouldn’t do that,” I said softly, too tired to spit it out. “You don’t know him like I do.”

  “Alright,” Ian offered. “This isn’t my battle to fight anyways. Just please be careful.”

  “You’ve said that like five times,�
�� I said. “I can’t do anything else but go forward and help Clay, Ian. I won’t do anything else but that.”

  I couldn’t start to question Clay now. We’d been friends for so long. I trusted him, and he trusted me. That still had to count for something out here, even when we weren’t at the school. If best friends couldn’t have each other’s backs, then what was the point of it all?

  “I’ll see you later,” Ian said. “Just be car-”

  I cut him off. “I know. I know.”

  He looked like he wanted to say something else, but didn’t quite know how, so he just walked out. The door closed behind him and the locks fell in place.

  I sat in my small room with the echoes of Ian’s warnings. I laid down on the bed, not bothering to take off my boots, and tried to get some rest.

  Whatever would happen this evening, whatever we walked into, I knew that I wouldn’t be doing it alone. Clay would be at my side. And even though I wasn’t quite sure what had happened, or what was going to happen, I knew one thing for sure: he wouldn’t let me down. He wouldn’t betray me, and he certainly wouldn’t walk me straight into a trap.

  If that wasn’t true? If that one belief that I’d managed to uphold for these last few years proved to be false?

  Then maybe it was just fine with me if I didn’t come back from this mission.

  Chapter Sixteen

  By the time the door opened again, I’d managed to rest, clean and stretch. I’d been offered some new clothing, and not just any type of clothing, either. Unless I was mistaken, this was some kind of light armor—a thin fabric, not Kevlar, which was uncomfortable and unstretchable as all get out—but something that felt just as resistant, while being lighter, more molded, and able to stretch and move with me.

  I loved it, especially the fact that it was completely black.

  The leader of the guild, Sonsil, stepped in. He was definitely older than twenty. He looked more like 30, maybe even closer to forty. It was hard to tell, and it hardly mattered. He moved with the confidence of a trained warrior and the assurance that no one would challenge him in his castle.