Curse of Shadows and Light

by Penelope King

  “No, hopefully not. If we were spotted as a Hellhound, a Guardian, we would be killed. There’s no way we could survive against the entire tribe.”

  “We can hold these forms for some time,” Demetri’s voice adds, “but after a while it gets very difficult, and then impossible.”

  “Why do I feel like there’s more going on here than you’re telling me?”

  “Lucky, we need to keep it down,” Vincent says in a hushed tone. “They’ll be here very soon, and we don’t know what type of surveillance they have in here.”

  “Uh, considering Liora whacked two of their guys and we’ve been having a little pow-wow for the past several minutes, I think it’s safe to say that if they have surveillance, they’ve already seen and heard enough.”

  “I’m just happy you guys found us again,” Corrine says. “I feel so much better knowing you’re here with us, and that you’re getting us out as soon as—”

  “Wait—what do you mean ‘found us again’?” I interrupt.

  “They found us in the green ice prison too, right before the Sovereign and the demons came and took us away,” Corrine says.

  “Wait, what? So why are we here? Why did you let them take us?”

  “Lucky, we didn’t let them take you,” Vincent says. “We hid, but we were discovered before we could get you out of there. And if we don’t want a repeat of that I suggest you try and keep it down. Act natural.”

  I stew inwardly. It’s strange that they’ve been able to find us twice, both times in heavily enchanted, secretive locations. But perhaps they have more powers than they’ve let on. Demons are lying, sneaky, tricky little things, and they rarely show their true face. They only show you what they want you to see, and tell you what they want you to know. For all I know, Vincent and Demetri are actually guards from the Legionare here to keep an eye on me and make sure I never escape.

  But unfortunately, my hands are tied. I have to trust that they really do want to help. Maybe they do have a plan. Maybe it will work. Even if they couldn’t get us away from the snow prison, this time is different. Once we’re out in the open, we can leave safely.

  Then I can go home and let Liora do whatever mojo spell she wants to do to end this fractured existence once and for all.

  Chapter 27. Lucky

  They come through the walls without warning. One moment it’s just me and Corrine… the next minute six huge demons are standing in a row in front of us, all with murderous gleams in their eyes. I’ve always loathed the Belith tribe, but now my hatred is reaching new depths. Since I was able to replenish with the Source Energy Vincent brought me, I feel more powerful than ever. And it’s all I can do to restrain myself from charging at them this very second. I plot my moves: fireball that guy’s face off, steal his sword, decapitate the other two, roundhouse kick the other through the wall—

  “On your feet, prisoners!” the one in front bellows, and I roll my eyes. As if his loud voice is supposed to be super scary and intimidating.

  I get up slowly, but Corrine is frozen in place. I know the Belith will take pleasure in tormenting her for her insolence, and I’m not in the mood for that right now. I just want to get out of here. So I reach down and pull her up, and hope the guards don’t notice the two decapitated heads against the walls behind them. That’s all we need.

  I can feel Corrine’s terror radiating in waves. I know the Belith can feel it too, and it makes me sick to think of the satisfaction it will give them. I scoot closer to her and wrap my hand around hers and give it a soft squeeze.

  “It’ll be okay,” I whisper, and she gives a slight nod. Then I return my attention to the leader. “Take us wherever you want. We won’t resist.”

  There is a smattering of chortles. “As if it would make a difference if you tried!” one snickers.

  Suddenly a vision forms in my mind— one of me punching through his chest and ripping out his heart for him to see before I crush it with my bare hand.

  “Fine then. Let’s get this party started.” I hold up my hands in mock surrender.

  A massive, ornately-dressed demon who is clearly their leader, steps forward and holds up a glowing orange ring, about five or six inches in diameter. “Not so fast. After your little stunt last time, we need to make sure you don’t have any more tricks up your sleeve.”

  He taps the ring, and it opens. Then he walks over and stands in front of us. “Do not move a muscle, or it will be the absolute last thing you do.”

  All the guards behind him stand in attack position: some with fireballs in hand, others with bows or swords raised. They seem to be hoping Corrine or I so much as flinch, just so they’ll have an excuse to waste us here and now.

  “We won’t move.” I squeeze Corrine’s hand again. I have no idea what the orange glowy things are, but when the leader snaps one around Corrine’s neck like a collar, and then does the same to me, I know they can’t be anything good.

  He steps back. “There. That will ensure you don’t go anywhere you’re not supposed to. You try anything funny… running, fighting, teleporting… hell, you even sneeze wrong, and that band will remove your pretty little head from your neck faster than you can blink. You try to remove it, you die. You even touch it, you die. You attempt to perform magic on it—”

  “Wait—” I hold up my hand. “Lemme guess…”

  He narrows his eyes. “You die. There is no escape for you. Ever. As long as you understand that, you should be just fine. Well, until the torturing begins…” The room erupts in laughter, as a soldier comes over and grabs my arm. He starts pushing me forward while another grabs Corrine.

  “These collars sure put a crimp in any travel plans,” I mutter. I hope Vincent hears me. And I also really hope he and Demetri have a Plan B, as obviously porting anywhere is now out of the question. I’m quite fond of my head and would like to keep it.

  I follow my captors through the walls, and as we emerge on the other side, I see lit torches encircling a large clearing in the center of a village. Up ahead is a raised wooden stage with three chairs, and above the chairs, a long beam with shiny, silver ropes dangling from it. Corrine and I are prodded roughly into two of the chairs, and I wonder who the third is for. It’s obvious we’re the main attraction of the night.

  A large group of Belith has already gathered in front of the stage. Their excitement is palpable as they smile and point and crane their necks for a better view. They love nothing more than a public torture and execution. The crowd swells, and before long the entire town center is filled.

  I glance over at Corrine. To her credit she seems to be holding it together. Her face is stoic, her eyes blank… as if she’s resigned to her fate, or she’s in total shock. I reach down and grab her hand again. And then I feel a soft touch on my back.

  “We’re right behind you,” Vincent’s voice whispers in my ear, and unexpectedly my eyes fill with unshed tears. I wish that I could see him again right now. That if I have to die here and now, I could at least see his face one last time.

  “Any bright ideas?” I ask under my breath. The nearest Belith is standing at the end of the scaffolding several feet away, so I know he can’t hear us.

  “We have to change plans. The laser chokers threw us.” I can clearly hear the frustration in his voice. “Those are top Legionare weapons from their High Arsenal. I don’t know how the hell they got their hands on them, but it puts us in a pretty bad spot.”

  Not what I want to hear. “What, this? Being held hostage by a bunch of blood thirsty demons who are probably drawing straws to see who can torture us first? Nah… this is a day at the beach.”

  I know Vincent can see right through my bravado. “We will get you out of here. I swear it.” His voice resonates with determination.

  “How exactly?” I whisper.

  He takes a deep breath. “We know someone who can disarm the chokers. A demon wizard. But I don’t want to leave you. I can’t. ”

  “Go! You’re no use to us right now anyways. Get help a
ny way you can. If the Belith are turning us over to someone else, then hopefully we have some time.”

  “But in the meanwhile they’ll—”

  “GO!” I hiss between my teeth. “Go so you can come back.”

  The guard to my right turns to look at me, and I glance over as if I’m talking to Corrine.

  I feel a gentle squeezing on my arm, and then his hot breath on my cheek. “Stay strong. I will be back for you. Count on it.”

  “I know you will.”

  I feel his lips press softly against my cheek in an invisible kiss, and a last gentle squeeze on my arm. My heart speeds up, both from the unexpected thrill, and from the fear of what is in store. We’re alone now.

  I scan the crowd and try to steady my breathing. Some are eating, some drinking… It’s a celebration, and we’re the entertainment. They start to jostle one another, and two minor fistfights break out. They’re quickly put down, but it’s obvious the rowdy Belith are getting restless. What the hell are we waiting for?

  I close my eyes and focus on Vincent… on him finding whomever he needs to find and getting back here as soon as possible. There’s no way he and Demetri could’ve predicted that the Belith would have such powerful Legionare contraband, and I heard the anguish in his voice when he knew he had to leave us. But if they can find someone to come get us out of these things unseen, maybe we still have a chance.

  “Oh my God!” Corrine’s horrified gasp startles me back to the present, and I open my eyes and follow her shocked gaze. Someone is being pushed through the crowd. He stumbles to the ground and is viciously kicked by several Belith. Then he’s lifted up by his hair and pushed toward us again.

  He’s wearing the same bright orange collar as us. The clothes look familiar, but his face is so swollen and bruised and covered with blood, I almost don’t recognize him as Kieron staggers forward and collapses at my feet.

  Chapter 28. Lucky

  “Kieron!” I lean over to help him up, only to feel an excruciating pain shoot through my neck and down my spine. Every nerve in my body is on fire. I scream, and the guard closest to me laughs.

  “That’s just a warning. No sudden movements.”

  “Oh my God, Kieron,” Corrine moans, as he’s plopped down in the empty seat next to me.

  A guard holds Kieron’s hands high over his head and wraps the silver rope around his wrists, pulling it tight. I assume it’s to keep him upright in the chair, since they didn’t tie up me or Corrine. He looks half dead. His eyes are swollen shut, and blood is flowing from his nose. His head hangs listlessly to the side. I’m overcome with guilt, and I struggle to fight back the tears. I can barely bring myself to look at him.

  Just another causality of my dammed existence.

  “Kieron, sweetheart, can you hear me?”

  He nods weakly.

  “I know this a stupid question, but how bad are you hurt?” I ask. “I mean, is it as bad as it looks?”

  I hear Corrine sob, and I shoot her a look to quiet down. It won’t make it any easier on him to see us upset.

  Slowly he shakes his head. “Nah…” he says weakly. “You should see the other guy.”

  I can’t bear the sight of his broken and mangled face another second. I don’t care if it kills me. I don’t! I carefully lean over, wrap my arms around him, and hold him close. Then I bring my warm hands to his ribs, and rest them on the ones I can tell are broken. He coughs, as little sparks of electricity pass from my palms to his chest. Moving quickly I bring my hands up the side of his neck to his face, trying to cover as much ground as possible before—

  “Hey, stop that!” a gruff voice shouts. Suddenly I’m thrown violently onto the floor with a sharp blow to my head, and a powerful kick in my side knocks the wind out of me. Then another. And another. Excruciating electric shocks shoot down my spine. Everything starts to go blurry.

  “HEY, leave her alone!” I hear Corrine scream. I open my eyes enough to see her hitting and kicking a demon twice her size. He turns from me long enough to shove her back on her chair, then lifts me up by my hair and slams me back on mine.

  “This is your last warning. You try anything… anything… and I’ll kill you myself! I don’t care who has the bounty on you!” He draws a line across his neck and glares at us before turning back to the crowd, who’d been watching with eager excitement. Finally, a little taste of the action they’d been waiting for.

  The guard moves to the middle of the stage and motions for the crowd to settle down. A moment later, the Belith leader comes and stands in front of us.

  “Gather ‘round for tonight’s Prisoner Delight!” the massive demon shouts. The crowd hushes and moves closer. “First: There is to be absolutely no killing of the prisoners, unless it is of their own doing or by one of the guards. Any citizen committing a killing will have his hands chopped off and skin peeled from his back. Second: You may not use your powers on the prisoners, but you may use physical force. Be creative. Third: If at any time the prisoner loses consciousness, wait until he or she is healed and awake before continuing. And last but not least—have fun!”

  He exits the stage, and two other guards come up behind Corrine and me. They grab our hands and tie us up like Kieron. The ropes burn, and I know they’ve been enchanted. Corrine gasps. She bites her lip and squeezes her eyes shut, then takes several deep breaths. Suddenly, I find my heart going out to this girl who risked her life to try to help me. I can’t even imagine her profound terror right now.

  The crowd erupts in boisterous cheers and claps, and some of them begin gathering up sticks, rocks, and other large objects. Weapons. The entertainment is about to begin.

  Despite their rambunctious energy, they approach in orderly fashion, one at a time. The first is a young female Belith who slaps Corrine across the face several times and then yanks out some of her hair before running away giggling. The next is a demon who appears to be in his teens, holding a handful of rocks. He winds up and throws them as hard as he can in my face, splitting open my skin in several places. Then a heavyset female with ragged, grey hair and pointy teeth approaches. She holds a red-hot poker to Kieron’s cheek, and he lets out an anguished yell. The woman laughs hysterically and runs down to re-join the party below.

  The torture train continues. One after the other the Belith demons of various ages, sizes and shapes take their turns hitting, slapping, spitting, burning, stabbing, and otherwise tormenting us in almost every way imaginable.

  Be strong… you can endure this… you are stronger than them. Block out the pain, I chant over and over in my mind.

  “Why are they doing this?” Corrine moans. “Why don’t they just kill us and get it over with?”

  I shake my head as a large demon comes up and punches Kieron straight in the face, breaking his nose.

  “This is their fun. They want us to suffer while we wait for whatever other demon is coming to get us,” I say as one comes up and stabs me in the arm with a fork. I bite my lip and force myself not to show any reaction.

  I’d already figured it was probably someone from the Legionare who was after me—one of Abbaton’s minions following up on his orders to punish me should I ever return to Thiberoux. Although I actually was kidnapped from Mortal World and brought to Thiberoux, I’m sure they don’t care about technicalities. Not if there’s a reward involved. But why Corrine and Kieron are a part of all this is beyond me. Especially Kieron. Corrine was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. But they went after Kieron and got him. How? Why?

  Somehow we manage to endure for several torturous hours, until finally, like a child who quickly discards a new toy after the initial excitement, some Belith start wandering away, no longer interested. They’re notorious for their fondness for maiming and murder, and I suspect the strict rules are limiting their fun. This is tame compared to the game they’d really like to play.

  “Do you think they’re done?” Corrine whispers in a scratchy voice. After all the screaming I heard coming from her, I’m surprised s
he can still speak.

  I look around. My eyes are still swollen, but I can barely make out that the only demons paying us much attention now are the guards, and they’re standing several feet away talking to each other, only occasionally glancing in our direction.

  “Maybe for now,” I say. I don’t have the heart to tell her that this was just a small preview. Our nightmare is only just beginning.

  I turn to Kieron. “How are you doing?”

  He nods wearily, and manages a tiny smile. I’m so glad I had the chance to sneak in a quick healing before the Belith had their way with him. Of the three of us, he’s been hurt the worst by far, but he’s hanging in there. More than anything I want to put my arms around him and hold him close. To heal his pain with my warm hands. Even though my feelings toward him have shifted lately, I care for him just as much. I still love him, and to see him suffering so badly because of me is almost more than I can take.

  “Hang in there,” I whisper. “Help is coming soon, I promise.” But why are Vincent and Demetri taking so long to return? I’d hoped they’d be back long before now.

  “How’re you doing?” he asks.

  I shake my head. “I’m okay,” I lie. Truth is, I don’t think there’s a spot left on me that isn’t hurting. Yet for some reason the pain has dulled to a tolerable level. I don’t even feel the burning ropes around my wrists anymore.

  I turn back to Kieron, and he fixes his dark blue eyes on me. “Can I ask you something? I need to know,” he says.

  “Of course, anything.”

  “Do you still love me?”

  “Absolutely,” I answer without hesitation. But I’m a little surprised that’s what he wanted to ask me, especially right now.

  He clenches his jaw. “Okay, let me phrase it another way. Are you still IN love with me?”

  I catch my breath. The same question I had been asking myself. I look at him, unable to respond. What can I say? That I love him like a brother? Funny how that one tiny word makes such an incredibly drastic difference.