TARNISHED (Book 5.5, The Caged Series (Novella))

by Natusch, Amber Lynn

  “Impossible...,” I growled, knowing that it would take decades, possibly centuries to fall back into favor with the others.

  “Difficult, but not impossible. You must turn them back, and do it by whatever means you can, outside of trying to sell them the truth. They're not interested in that. You are not their friend; you are their leader. None are greater than you, more powerful than you. None were born of greatness to the degree that you were. If you seek their respect, you will not get it from them all. You must look to rule them. You have no other choice. In time, this will all be forgotten, but until that time, you must do as I say.”

  “And what will this wisdom cost me?” I asked, knowing full well what she would want in return. The serpent-like smile I received in return confirmed my belief.

  “Do not play dumb with me, Ani...it does you no justice.”

  “And if I refuse?”

  Her smile bled away quickly only to be replaced by a near snarling expression.

  “You would dare to cross me? I thought you to be far smarter than that...”

  “No deal was made before you so freely gave what I sought, Persephone. You are losing your edge. Perhaps your need to have me fill you is clouding your ability to do what it is you do so well―torture the souls around you.”

  “Do not anger me,” she threatened, pressing her body against mine. Her words meant nothing. She could bring me no physical harm and she knew it. Her seething anger further underscored that truth. “There will be no going back if you do this...if you dishonor me so.”

  “So be it,” I growled as I turned to leave her, festering in her own hatred. I had the answers I needed. I would not continue to play her game.

  “You will pay,” she shouted after me as I stepped through the doorway before me. “I shall live many lifetimes, Aniketos. Do not think that I won't be afforded the opportunity to make you suffer.”

  “I already suffer one female. You shall have to get in line.”

  Her screams of rage followed me as I escaped her wrath, her words washing over me like waves lapping at the shore. I feared no one. She could do nothing to punish me, helpless to assert her dominance. Her frustration was nearly palpable as she ranted on while I disappeared into the surrounding forest. The haunting melody of her wails echoed through the trees long after I was out of earshot.

  With every step, I felt my lighter self returning, the soulless warrior being replaced with the angelic man she herself had ensured I could be. Along with it, my sensibilities returned, alerting me to the fact that Persephone would never rest until I felt the repercussions of crossing her. It made me uneasy momentarily, but there was nothing she could take from me to repay her injustice.

  With a smile on my face, I walked toward the falling sun, knowing that I had betrayed the greatest betrayer of all, and there was nothing she could do about it.

  The Dilemma

  In the years after the turning point, I spent much time in my head, analyzing, scrutinizing, and replaying the events that had led me to where I was. Inevitably, my mother came up repeatedly. Ares spoke of her seldom, unless to badger me about the repugnant goodness I held. On the rare occasions throughout my long life that he did illuminate her past, it was always the same story: she abandoned you the day you were born.

  I had no recollection of my mother. No memories whatsoever. It made it hard to discount what he had told me. But, as I reconnected with the side of me that was a direct result of her genetic input, I realized there had to be more to the story―more reason behind her actions. She may have abandoned me, but there was an explanation out there somewhere as to why. I wouldn't find peace until I knew what it was.

  Before, Ares' account of her forsaking me had been enough, but those days were gone. Left to hypothesize on my own, I nearly made myself mad sorting through all the potential reasons for why she could have left me with him. Something had to have been dire for her to have done what she did. She’d made a decision and followed through with it―but why hadn't she ever returned?

  Perhaps she couldn't.

  Ares was never clear on the circumstances of her disappearance. He was an expert at making things, and people, go away when it suited him, even if he couldn't dirty his hands in the process. Unknowingly, I'd aided him in that very way for centuries under the guise of it being for the good of mankind. In truth, near the end, I did it because I enjoyed killing. Taking all that into consideration, it made me wonder if my mother was even alive.

  I didn't know if you could kill an angel.

  I had only tried once.

  If she was alive, I wanted to see her, meet her, know her. I needed something physical to ground me in my better half, to remind me of where I came from. The good as well as the bad. Ares had said she was in a dark place when he sought her out. Yet another mystery for me to ponder with no way to solve. The mounting questions were maddening.

  I was so used to having all the knowledge, the answers. To be left with nothing but curiosity and speculation was nearly more than I could bear. It was paramount that I find a way to reconnect with her, if she was still alive.

  The problem was I had no idea how.

  I knew I couldn't get any helpful information while working so close to Ares. I had once been his most trusted confidante, but those days were gone. I had no doubt that his spies were everywhere, keeping tabs on me and reporting back to him. I never cared enough to confirm that truth. But if I were going to go digging around in something he'd sought to keep secret for nearly a millennium, I was going to need to exercise some measure of discretion. Being under his thumb would not make that task an easy one. I needed to get away from him.

  Unfortunately for me, I could see no way to accomplish that.

  The New World

  “You are going overseas to the colonies,” Ares informed me brusquely. “There is a rumor there...”

  “Of what?” I asked, instantly irritated with his unwillingness to just give his orders and be done with it. It was the perfect mask for the growing elation I felt inside. Perhaps I wouldn't have to find an escape at all. It seemed as though I had been handed one.

  “You have heard of the Chameleon, have you not?” His eyes looked right through me, knowing that I had undoubtedly heard of the myth—the phantom supernatural. It had floated through the otherworldly community for longer than I could accurately remember. Why it was suddenly of the utmost importance was a mystery to me. “It has been said that he has sought to hide in the New World―far from the PC's watchful eye. I want you to find him.”

  “I cannot be expected to chase a figment of someone's imagination. He is lore, Ares. He cannot be a threat when he does not exist,” I argued, my insubordination fueling his desire to be rid of me. He was playing right into my hands. “I have work to do. Real work. Find someone else to go on your snipe hunt.”

  “You can and you will,” he said much more forcefully that time. “Your 'work' has suffered as a result of your growing conscience. If you can't be trusted to carry out the less savory part of your job, then you will go on this manhunt until you find him...or her. One shouldn't rule out the possibility that this master of illusion is a female.”

  “And Sophie?”

  “What about her?”

  “Where will she go? Will you make her journey there with me to indulge your ridiculousness when there will be no danger to me or the others?”

  “Others?” he asked, a look of sheer enjoyment taking him over. “Who said you were going any other way than alone? Does the great Aniketos suddenly now require the assistance of others to take down a single being?”

  “I assumed I would be provided with assistance,” I ground out through nearly cracking teeth. I watched as his expression darkened and swelled with pride. It appeared that the Chameleon was not the only master of illusion.

  “You don't need it.”

  “Sophie...?” I asked again since he seemed steadfast on not answering my initial question.

  “She will remain here,” he informed me
. “With me...”

  I could see that he was set on his plan and all that it implied, but instead of continuing to fight him, I silently fumed instead. He bought my act without question. The irony was that, for once, he was giving me exactly what I wanted, although unknowingly―freedom. No Ares. No Sophie. No hunting the Rouge et Blanc. I would have the time and the space I needed to search for answers regarding my mother.

  “Is there anything else?” I asked, feigning respect for his position and interest in his response. That act he saw right through, as was intended.

  “No. You will leave at sunrise tomorrow morning.”

  “And who will protect you in my absence?” I asked, unable to mask my mockery.

  “You know you are not the only one capable of the task,” he sneered. “I have released you from your protective detail―officially. Phobos and Deimos are set to return any moment. I have called for others as well. Others you know nothing of. But do not get any ideas, Aniketos...,” he continued, a smile widening across his face. “I may have undone that particular part of the deal, but the other remains. My death at your hands is still not an option for you. Not if you wish to live.”

  His words stumped me momentarily. He was severing our ties, if only partially. Either my presence truly disgusted him on a level no longer tolerable or he was scheming. What was even more puzzling was my knowledge of everyone and everything involved with the PC and Elders. It seemed impossible that he had something hidden away from me—that there was someone or something completely unknown to me that he valued enough to call upon. I did not enjoy his enigmatic response, but knew that he would not elaborate, even if asked. He most likely did it to irritate me as I was irritating him.

  “Then I will leave as you have ordered.” I turned to walk away from him, needing to hide the growing smile that was overtaking my face, knowing that I'd played him.

  “You will meet Jaysen and Trey over there,” he called after me, halting me immediately.

  “You said I would do this alone.”

  “You will, but I have no need for them. They are virtually useless here so I have already dispatched them. Perhaps they will prove to be better hunting dogs than warriors...”

  I didn't bother to respond to his insults, but resumed my exit, wondering what they had done to be relegated to such a menial task. Jaysen had always been seen as weak, his temperament and abilities long overshadowed by his brother Jerzyr, but Trey had both skill and intelligence. He must have done something to fall from favor, and I was extremely interested to find out exactly what that was.

  * * *

  After days of travel, I arrived on the shores of what would much later be known as the United States of America, in the state of Massachusetts. I was surprised to find a smiling Jaysen awaiting my arrival.

  “I see that Ares made you travel the...difficult way as well,” he said, slapping my back in greeting.

  “I never expected anything less.”

  “We followed up with every lead there has been regarding the Chameleon, but so far, nothing.”

  “And there will be nothing because there is no such being.”

  “Marcus seemed to think otherwise...”

  “Marcus is a narcissistic power-monger.”

  “True,” he countered. “But he's one of the oldest around...sometimes he knows things.”

  “Things that can benefit him, Jaysen. This can't further his station.”

  He shrugged.

  “Maybe you should meet with him. You know you have that...persuasive thing about you.”

  “Maybe...”

  “Well, it can keep for a bit. Trey has acquired a few residences for us. You can choose whichever you like. We haven't settled in to any yet.”

  “I don't plan to settle here at all,” I said aloud, though I'd meant to keep that to myself.

  “You know he won't let you back until you do as he asks...”

  “I'm aware of that.”

  “Then why not just make the best of this?”

  “I am. I'm thrilled to be here, can't you tell?”

  I let my words hang in the air between us until I finally broke, allowing a rare moment of joviality to break through my stoic demeanor. My lighter persona was a vast improvement from my dark side, but I was still not known for my levity or humor. Jaysen picked up on it immediately and tension released from his body at the sight.

  “You really are happy to be here, aren't you?” he asked with the childlike innocence he was known for when he wasn't disposing of supernatural waste.

  “You have no idea,” I replied with a wry grin. “We're going to reinvent ourselves here...and we're going to reinvent the PC as well.”

  The Darkness

  And that is precisely what we did. It took time and creativity, but slowly, I wove my way around that vast new world and familiarized myself with all it had to offer, supernatural or otherwise. As the need for more policing was realized, more and more of the brothers were sent to maintain the balance, all while I searched for the Chameleon—the greatest cover story ever known. Ares knew nothing of what I was doing until it was far too late. The brothers' allegiance had methodically turned to me, not him. They would ultimately follow his rule, but those in the New World answered to me and me alone, and he knew it. The look on his face when he came to the Americas for the first time was worth every minute of scheming and conniving I'd spent. He'd trained me to be his ultimate weapon, but what he failed to realize was that, in the process, he’d also trained me to be an equally talented strategist. That bomb dropped on him hard, his expression giving him away for one of the first times ever.

  The look sang to my soul.

  Over time, I came to really love being in the US. I adopted a new name, a new life, and, to a certain degree, a new persona. Sean didn't have the same history and baggage that Aniketos did. It was an opportunity for me to be my mother's son for once. A rebirth that let me start anew.

  But even I couldn't evade a past so tarnished.

  My reputation had long preceded me, and my dark side would never be truly silenced. Muted and stifled for the most part, it made an appearance when the situation warranted. When something evil enough called to him.

  Like the night we stumbled upon another RB.

  We hadn't encountered one for longer than most could remember. Our goal had always been to wipe them from the face of the Earth, and we thought we had accomplished exactly that. Apparently, our judgment had been in error.

  I could sense him immediately, as could the others. When we surrounded him, closing in, he smiled. He looked wild and feral in human form. We'd never seen one that way before—we'd only ever killed their wolves. There was something about him that reached deep within me, begging for my black-eyed monster to show himself. It was as if he wanted a challenge and knew that I had one for him. He appeared to be only a child, but it mattered not. He was a cold-blooded killer.

  It would take one to put him down.

  Even in human form, his eyes burned a bloody red as he growled at my approach. His concern wasn't with the others. He knew I was his adversary and treated me as such, taking a crouching position in preparation for his attack. That was as far as he got.

  With little effort, I snared him when he lunged at me, Changing in mid-leap. His teeth snapped just before my face, coming closer to harming me than any of the others ever had. He was by far the strongest that we had encountered, but it did nothing to change the outcome. Before long, his body lay in two different places, his form reverting back to human. I went over to look into his dull, blue eyes, needing to see what I knew to be true. He was dead beyond repair, and I was going to ensure that he stayed that way.

  “Burn the body,” I barked to Jaysen, who at that point went by the name Jay. “Trey...do your thing. Get rid of anyone related to him. You know the drill. And whatever you do, keep it quiet. We cannot risk any exposure here. We still lack the talents of some of our brothers...”

  They both nodded and went about the tasks I requi
red of them. As they did, I wondered if we would ever purge the world of the Rouge et Blanc and their feral killing nature. They appeared older with every one we found, as if they were somehow containing themselves or being restrained. I liked neither implication.

  If someone knew how to subdue the RB's killing tendencies, it meant that this aberration was neither a mistake nor a mishap. It also meant that the same person had been around them long enough to learn from the deaths of all the others. Had we somehow missed a relative in our hunting? I couldn't see how that was a possibility, but still my mind reeled with potential reasons for the slight evolutions we were seeing in the breed.

  The fact that we were seeing them at all was cause enough for concern.

  What disturbed me more was how quick my dark side was to respond to the threat. I immediately feared that my visions of the blonde one would start to fade yet again. I couldn't have that; it was not an option. For centuries, the very sight of her face had spurred me on. I had no clue who she was, what she was, or when I would ever meet her. Maybe I'd already missed my chance.

  As I shook off that thought, Jay approached me, looking concerned.

  “It's done,” he said in his business tone. “Is there something else? You look like something is weighing on you.”

  “We're done here?” I asked, wanting to brush off his always-astute observation.

  “With this, yes. With what's on your mind...I don't know.”

  “It is an issue all my own, Jay. It is not for you to fix.”

  “You know that my gifts—“

  “Jay,” I barked more curtly. “It is not for you to fix. Understood?”

  He frowned, not appreciating my refusal to tell him.