by Erin Raegan
Chyn lifted me from my knees and dragged me back through the stone hall toward my cell.
“No!” I shouted, struggling against him. “No, please. Don’t put me back in there.”
Chyn stopped as I tore out of his grip and fell into the wall. “I’ll come for you in the morn.”
I smacked the tears from my cheeks. “No, you won’t. You’ll forget about me and I’ll starve to death if I’m lucky. If infection doesn’t get me first.”
He nodded toward the cell and I just broke.
“Please,” I whispered. “You didn’t take me for this. You didn’t convince them to let you keep me just to lock me up. You want me for something.” I rushed to him and gripped his tunic in both my fists. “What is it? Why not let me go? I’m nobody. My dad is nothing to you. We have nothing you need, please.”
Chyn looked me over. “If I allow you a little freedom, will you obey me?”
I nodded fast, my knees nearly caving in relief. “Yes, I swear. I’ll be on my best behavior.”
His lip quirked. “You make a vow to me and break it, death is the penalty.”
I swallowed heavily. “Understood.”
He nodded once and waved me back the way we came. I followed him through the stone hall and up a narrow staircase, blinking away exhaustion and a wave of relieved terror.
I was silent as he led me through the medieval-looking hall they had brought me through my first day here. The right wall was lined with tall cages, and just like on my first day, I was quick to look away from them. I knew those had once held pain and sorrow. I didn’t want my cell again but I would die before I let them lock me away in one of those cages.
Off to the left was a set of enormous stone double doors. Two red-skinned Juldo pushed the doors open when we approached, both of them eyeing me curiously.
From there, we went up another staircase, this one wide and curved. Juldo lined the walls on either side, the same at the top of the staircase. All of them watched us with a mix of guarded apprehension and intrigue. Not one of them spoke a word.
The entire castle was eerily quiet.
Chyn marched along to another set of stone doors, two more Juldo guarding them. They opened the doors, and we walked into a bedchamber.
It was bigger than my entire apartment back home. You could have fit two of my apartments in there. The walls were lined with chests. Dozens and dozens of weapons lined the walls. I whistled low.
The bed was three times the size of a normal king and had silk sheets and a silk canopy. My eyes grew heavy just looking at it. Off to the right was a balcony with silk curtains that took up the entire wall, and to the left was an open bathing room. It had a deep, steaming pool of water.
A trickle of excitement worked through my toes. But first… “I have to pee.”
Chyn nodded toward the bathing room as he walked to a waist-high chest and divested himself of a ton of weapons that I’d had no idea he was rocking. Daggers and sharp spikes dropped to the stone chest with a clatter.
“You guys have toilets, right?” I called warily, looking around the bathing room. It was mostly just the big pool and more chests covered in decorative glass sculptures and empty vases.
I heard Chyn walk up behind me. The tips of his fingers pressed lightly into the small of my back, guiding me farther into the room. He turned me to the left, but my eyes were locked onto the other side of the room, where there was another balcony. This one’s curtains were parted and I could see miles and miles of the dark world. Dark blue greenery, enormous trees, and a beautiful array of colored flowers were scattered around. But the moon was the real showstopper. It was so big, taking up nearly the entire skyline. I saw the craters so clearly, and its pale pink surface cast the starry sky in a light glow.
The asshole got impatient with me and gave me a shove. He pulled back a hanging curtain, and there was another room with a square-looking toilet that was so big, had my ass been any smaller, I would’ve fallen right through. He left me without a word, and I relieved myself with a groan of pure joy.
On my own, I inspected the bathing room’s sculptures and tapestries, growing more and more disturbed. The sculptures were of battle or weapons. The tapestries the same, but far gorier. Aliens killing aliens. Slaughters.
I wanted to look back at the pretty moon, but I forced myself to find a palm-sized sculpture and hold its weight. I rested my fingers around its girth, weighing it, feeling it. It was heavy and full of sharp edges. I could really do some damage if I managed to catch him off guard. But then I would be breaking my promise. And I hated that. But this was about survival.
So what? I knock him out, if I’m lucky, and what then? Those others in the hall weren’t going to help me. What was Chyn to them? Their king? I could try to find an escape from the balcony, but we were hundreds of feet in the air and I never did have good balance.
I sighed. Worst-case scenario, I would piss him off and he would do to me what he did to Firyt and that Bour.
I put down the sculpture. He had essentially locked me into good behavior with that vow. If I hadn’t done that, I could have had grounds to plead my case if my plan didn’t work or he caught me after I ran. I should have negotiated.
Stomping from the bathing room, I found him sitting on a bench at the foot of the bed, untying his boots. “It was a trap.”
He peeked at me briefly then went back to his boots.
“You weren’t going to lock me back up in that cell. You told them you’d take care of me.” When he continued to ignore me, I gritted my teeth and balled my hands into fists. “You trapped me into that vow so I’d behave.”
He grinned at me then, still untying his boots.
I cursed myself beneath my breath. “You still have to feed me. I haven’t eaten yet today.” My stomach growled like a bear, right on cue. “And I need a bath.”
“So take one,” he muttered, waving toward the pool.
“And food?”
He disappeared from in front of me, reappearing seconds later with a tray he dumped on the bench he’d been sitting on. The smoky shadows hadn’t even disappeared before I was dropping to my knees and digging into the food.
There was bread! And meat and smelly cheeses and tangy fruits. None of it looked at all human-like and I didn’t notice tasting a bit of it. I ate until my stomach cramped and I had to force myself to stop. Afterward, I washed it all down with a jug of thick, fruity water.
Sitting back on my feet, I wiped my mouth with my sleeve and looked at him. He was frozen, staring at me with a teeny tiny kernel of regret in his eyes. But then he blinked and it was gone. I wasn’t sure if it had really been there at all. He turned around and walked to a chest, continuing to undress.
I was so tired, I wanted to crawl to the pool. If I hadn’t smelled so bad, I would have skipped it altogether. But I forced myself to dig through the chests until I found towels and silky robes.
There were little bowls on the edge of the pool that held a liquid that smelled flowery-ish and was thick like soap. I eyed the open doorway, but he wasn’t paying me any attention as he cleaned his weapons, so I quickly stripped and stepped into the hot water.
I should be more stressed about stripping in such close proximity to a stranger and an alien. One that I had seen stab another alien in the head. Chalk it up to exhaustion or numb terror, but all I could think about was feeling a kernel of normality. A bath was the only way I could get that.
I washed my clothes before I moved on to myself. The water was so soothing, I couldn’t stay in the bath as long as I wanted because falling asleep and drowning was a real possibility.
I dried and wrapped myself in a silky robe before draping my clothes on the chests by the breezy balcony to dry. I took a moment to appreciate the view and cool air before I hesitantly stepped back into the bedroom.
Chyn was lying in the bed on his back, his arms thrown up behind his head, and feet crossed together. His eyes were closed and he looked completely relaxed, but I knew he was good at
pretending.
I didn’t want to sleep in the robe. I would have much rather preferred a whole lot more layers, but all my worldly possessions were sopping wet.
I may have to sleep in the thin robe but sleeping in the bed with him was where I drew the line. Two fire bowls by the entrance doors were burning low and the moon provided a nice glow, so navigating to the bench at the end of the bed was easy enough. I quietly lay down and used a soft sheet folded there to cover up.
I was still staring at his prone form when sleep took me.
I vaguely remembered stirring early in the morning as bright light filtered into the room. I vaguely remembered strong arms lifting me and laying me into the softest cloud. I vaguely remembered a broad red back with a map of scars, but once the door clicked quietly shut, I fell deeper into sleep.
When I woke again, it was to more red skin in the form of a fist hitting my face. Blood spewed from my swelling lip and filled my mouth. I couldn’t seem to gather my bearings as arms dragged me from the warmth of the bed and dumped me callously onto the floor.
“Get her up, he comes,” someone growled.
Hands and snake-like limbs grasped me under my arms and lifted me to my wobbly feet. A sharp blade was pressed into my neck as menacing chills filled the room and covered my skin in goose bumps.
“You know you will not walk out of this room alive,” Chyn rumbled from a few feet away.
I blinked the dark spots out of my vision and licked my split lip, wincing.
“We are prepared to die for our brethren,” the Juldo holding me said gravely.
“You believe this will change my mind?”
“You will let her die?” The Juldo chuckled. “No, I do not believe even the assassin would let her die for his mistakes.”
“My mistake was not removing your spine sooner.”
“You will declare your claim here and now, or she dies.”
Chyn glowered. “I want no such claim.”
“It was you who defeated the master. The position now falls on you. You must allow my brothers to challenge you to claim the throne. You throw us into chaos if you let this go on much longer.”
Chyn sighed and looked down, running his eyes over me. “You do not want my claim on the throne.”
“No,” the Juldo replied solemnly. “But it does not change that it falls to you regardless. You know our way.” The Juldo dug the knife deeper into my neck, loosing a trickle of wet warmth down my chest.
I could not catch a break.
Chyn shook his head and sighed. “Send for him.”
The other Juldo—my other attacker and the snake-like Juldo guard from my cell—quickly left the room.
I was slow to comprehend the situation, but I recognized them both as the guards who had stood outside my cell and terrorized that Dahk on a nightly basis. Both of them were my abductors from Earth.
The next four or five minutes were the longest of my life.
When he returned with another Juldo, my former guard returned to his place beside me.
The newly arrived Juldo looked from Chyn to me. He also looked strangely hopeful. “You’ve agreed?”
Chyn glared at him until he stepped up to his side. Chyn held out his bare arm as the Juldo pulled a sharp blade. It was long and polished silver with gold and copper engravings so intricate, I had the distinct impression it was a written alien language. A tall bowl of fire burned beside them both, and the Juldo held the length of the blade over the bowl of fire until it glowed bright red.
After it was hot, he loosely grasped Chyn’s arm and flipped it over so the underside was facing up. He took a deep breath, watching Chyn closely. “They are no match for you,” he murmured. “Why appease them?”
Chyn looked straight at me. “Get on with it, Lyno.”
Lyno nodded, his eyes now clearly shining with relief.
I had no idea what was going on. But as Lyno held that scalding blade closer to Chyn’s arm, I felt the Juldo at my back stiffen and hold their breath.
I held my own as Chyn held my gaze. He didn’t flinch as the blade pressed into his skin. Not a word or sound left his mouth as the sickening smell of burning flesh filled the air.
When Lyno lifted the blade and backed away, he watched the brand smoke and sizzle in awe. It was the perfect shape of the blade, the engravings perfectly scarred into his arm.
Chyn was still watching me as he lifted his chin to my neck.
The blade carefully left my neck, and both Juldo stepped around me. They knelt before Chyn and bowed.
“We offer our lives as penance, Master,” one said solemnly.
“We face our death and our gods with honor,” the other added.
My stomach clenched in terror as Chyn looked at them. His face was cold and unforgiving.
“We do not greet you in kind.” There was nothing left of Chyn in his voice. It was dozens and dozens of dark, malicious voices. All of them sounded cruelly joyous and greedy, sending sharp pricks up my spine.
I’d never forget that moment. I’d never forget how chilling his gaze was as shadows and darkness bled from his eyes, his mouth, the tips of his sharp claws. Those shadows danced toward the two Juldo, slowly enveloping them. The shadows seemed to vibrate in joy for one singular moment before they struck with lethal intensity.
I’d never ever forget watching those soulless shadows suck the life out of my attackers.
6
Chyn
The female, London, gawked at the traitorously valiant Juldo writhing on the floor. She continued to stare until there was nothing left of them.
More, they whispered.
No, Chyn growled back. They’d had their fill.
The human.
Chyn clenched his jaw tightly, drawn to their hunger. Drawn to the female. Their desire for her. But he held them at bay. Barely.
He was running out of time. And now this. Master.
He’d wanted to rage at the two of them for threatening him. He’d wanted to roar at them. He could not rule the Juldo. He had no desire for it, but more, he was not long for this world. Not as he was now.
Soon he would lose his fight. Soon the gods would consume him completely. He could not allow that to happen before he chose his successor.
He could not allow that to happen before he knew what to do with her.
He could not allow that to happen before he hunted down his rogue brother.
Vyr thought he understood, but he could not. He had not lived in that time. He was not Latari. He had not watched his brothers and sisters give in and lose themselves to the gods. He had not witnessed their cruelty and destruction.
Vyr was the same as Chyn, but not. He was more, better. He could fight them, perhaps longer than Chyn had. Perhaps indefinitely.
Chyn would not allow another of his line to succumb to the gods. Vyr would live on, starting the line anew, rebirthing the Shadow Born as they should have been. But the old line—it would end with Chyn.
So Chyn needed to hunt down their rogue brother who had so quickly let them invade his being. Who had so quickly aligned with the now-dead master. Their brother was not like Vyr. He was nothing but death and darkness and he could not be allowed to live.
How the gods birthed their brother, Chyn did not understand. How the dead master had made him confounded Chyn. He was not of the human line, like Vyr. He was of the Latari line, like Chyn. But that was impossible. Chyn was the last living Latari.
Or so he’d thought.
What the gods had tried to do and failed with Vyr, they had succeeded with his Latari brother. A true Shadow Born. A cursed Shadow Born.
The Bour was involved. Somehow, the dead master and the leader of the Bour were the cause of this new brother’s birth, and Chyn would make Viytenus pay for his ignorance. But first he must take care of the Juldo.
His brothers. His mistakes.
The Juldo were divided. Half believed Chyn was the only true Juldo Master. Half believed they could best Chyn and take the throne from him. C
hyn had hoped Vyr would step onto the throne and into the role of Juldo Master, but that was no longer a possibility. And Chyn was running out of time.
The dead master had escaped the prison with the help of Chyn’s rogue brother, and Chyn then had no choice but to cut down the master himself. Placing Chyn in the way of the throne and all who coveted it. Juldoris was now on the brink of destruction thanks to their own greed and madness.
Still, this did not move Chyn to interfere. He was delaying the inevitable. He would have continued to do so for as long as possible, believing the Juldo were too far gone in their madness, too consumed by their greed for battle to be redeemed. Before he left this life, he would have seen the end of his brothers. The mistakes of his past.
But then Vyr had been born.
And now the human had changed that
She’d changed his plans completely.
He forced himself to approach her slowly. Forced himself to be something he had never needed or wanted to be in his very long life. Careful. Gentle.
He had lied to Vyr.
The gods did not want London. They did not desire her soul as they did all others. They did not hunger for her pain and destruction.
No.
They feared her.
7
London
Chyn locked me in the room and left.
I was grateful. I didn’t think I could look at him without having a nervous breakdown. After he’d so callously slaughtered those Juldo, he’d been different. More somber. Gentler. Not a sinister smirk in sight. He treated me like shattered glass.
It was unnerving.
I spent a long time staring at the smudged spot on the floor where the two Juldo had been and then died. Devoured by evil.
When my fingers tingled and my toes fell asleep from standing still too long, I forced myself to leave the room and dress in the bathing room. My jeans and shirt were stiff but clean. I finger-combed my long hair then walked to the balcony off the bathroom. I sat with my legs dangling between the balusters and rested my head against them, looking out at the alien world.
