Hidden Runes

by G. Bailey

  “I’m sorry she died, and you had to see her like that,” I say. It’s not a pleasant way to see anyone dead. Rotting, and their arms all burnt like the princesses’ were.

  “I’m sorry she didn’t survive this; the world needs people like her in it. She was a good woman. She had three farms she bought with her inheritance, and she used to rehome animals in them. The keepers didn’t like her helping others, but she did anyway,” he says.

  “She sounds like a good person,” I reply.

  “She might have made a good queen. Emily would have, too,” he says quietly, and there’s a long silence between us as I stare over at him. His gold hair is messy now, no more of the nice style it had when we came here, but I think it brings out his gold eyes more. I like the relaxed look on him. I can’t imagine him in the suits the Protectors usually wear.

  “So . . . Protectors have low and high classes? Like humans? Rich and poor?” I ask, and he nods, leaning his head back.

  “Yes, it’s like how humans used to class themselves, but worse in some ways. Blood means everything to Protectors. It determines how strong you are, and most of the time, you are only as strong as your parents,” he informs me.

  “Why did they choose you to come here, then? I would have thought they would have sent their strongest,” I say, and wince. “No offense.”

  “None taken, because I am one of their strongest,” he says with a shrug of his shoulders, but he doesn’t say it in a cocky way. More like just stating a fact.

  “Then, I’m confused,” I say, making him laugh.

  “I’m not one-hundred percent Protector. My father was a reaper,” he says, shocking me.

  “Reapers don’t breed outside their race, and no one knows much about them. It’s unheard of that you’re half of one,” I say, and he nods with a smirk. I try to think about anything I’ve heard about reapers as I look at Connor, and don’t come up with much. Human rumours are all that come to mind. Reapers are meant to take souls and demons to Hell, but who knows if they do? Protectors take a lot of the demons to Hell these days, so how useful could the reapers be?

  “Yeah, I don’t know much about my father or my reaper side. I only know I have boosted strength, heightened senses, and I can see some souls on Earth if I’m really close to them. Usually, I can see a person's soul if I witness their death, also,” he explains. “It helped me jump up the ranks in Protector academy and leave as one of the top students. Nix, Trex, and the three princesses were the others. We all got pretty close scores.”

  “Then, maybe the rumours that reapers take lost souls to Hell is true,” I say.

  “Yeah. I mean, I know some things my mother told me. I don’t get to see her for long, and we don’t talk of my father much in the little time we have once a week,” he smiles sadly. “She told me that my father takes the worst kind of demons back to Hell and manages souls. That’s the job of a reaper apparently.”

  “What do you mean about your mother?” I ask, and he looks away, tightening his jaw.

  “She is imprisoned for the rest of her life. She has been in there since I was born, and I was placed in an adoptive home to be watched. Once they realised I wasn’t a danger, they let me see her once a week,” he tells me, still not looking my way.

  “What was she imprisoned for?” I ask.

  “Loving my father and keeping me a secret until she was in labour. Mixing Protector’s blood with other kinds is illegal to the Protectors. Blood above all else is one of our most important laws,” he explains to me.

  “Then the Protectors are as evil as I thought they were. Your mother did not deserve a sentence like that simply for falling in love,” I bite out as I shake my head in disgust.

  “Our kind doesn’t make the right decisions all the time, but they make the decisions that keep us safe,” he states firmly, and I can tell he believes wholeheartedly in the Protectors, their rules. There isn’t much point in arguing with him. I look away, picking up some of the branches and spotting a small, red bunch of flowers.

  “Can I ask you something?” Connor asks, and I look away from the flowers for a second to nod at him. “Who taught you to fight?”

  “A demon,” I say, not wanting to explain anything more. I pull two of the red flowers out of the ground, and walk over to Connor, placing them in his hand.

  “I watched a lot of people being buried in the demon underground. Every weekend, there would be burials of demons or some random person. Every time, they put a plant or flower in their hands. They said the dead should take a little bit of the Earth with them in death as their souls leave their bodies,” I say, and he closes his hand over mine on the flowers.

  “For a woman people fear, you are the kindest woman I’ve met in years,” he says, staring down at me with those addictive to look at, striking, gold eyes. I know I can’t look away, not as he draws me into him. If this was any other place, any other time, and any other person, I’d have his clothes off by now. The simple fact he is off-limits to me, is annoying as well. Everything is gorgeous and irresistible about him.

  “I’m not kind, not usually, anyway. I’m downright evil when I’m pissed off,” I warn him, and his eyes gleam with humour.

  “I’ll remember not to piss you off, then,” he replies.

  “Who says we will even see each other again when all this is over?” I counter.

  “We will, because there is no way I’m letting you walk out my life, Blue,” he vows, letting go of my hand and keeping the flowers. I don’t move as he picks up his logs before walking away, leaving me a little speechless and fearful that Azi might be right. These Protectors are good at breaking my defences down, and that is dangerous for someone like me.

  Twenty-Seven

  Evie

  “It’s time to start,” Connor says, gently touching Trex’s and Nix’s shoulders as they stand in front of the wood platform. The princesses are resting on top of it, side by side and holding hands. I watched as the Protectors placed them up there, and Connor slid the red flowers into their hands on their chests, which took some work with how damaged and old the bodies are. Azi stands close to my side, watching silently as Connor steps to my other side. I don’t know these people, and it feels wrong to be at their funeral. They should have people who loved them here. At least they have Trex, Nix, and Connor. Azi and I as witnesses.

  “Emily Ravenwood and Esther Ravenwood, today we say goodbye to you, and free your souls,” Trex says, his voice seeming like it’s louder than it is, and it echoes around us. “As royal princesses, this is not the death you deserved, and I will forever be sorry that I couldn’t save you. As my friends, people who were like sisters to me, I will never forget you. I will never forget your laughs, your kindness, and your beauty. The world never deserved either of you, but we will miss you greatly.” Trex looks at Nix, who nods once as Trex finishes his words and looks down before he starts to talk.

  “As children, you used to chase me around, telling me my hair was so soft, and that it could be plaited easily. I never did let you catch me, but I remember the night you snuck into my room and plaited it all in my sleep,” he holds up a piece of his hair he must have cut off and plaited. He places it on top of the platform, holding his hand over it as he looks up. “You finally got what you wanted. I will miss you both and you will always be remembered. Rest in peace, Emily and Esther.” With those final words, Trex and Nix step back, and Azi walks over to them, holding a ball of fire in his hand.

  “Tell me when,” he says quietly, respectfully.

  “May death guide you on your way, may angels save your soul, and may you be reborn true. We bless your death in the light of the Protectors who fell before you,” Trex says, bowing his head. I’ve never heard the words before, but for some reason, they feel familiar. I can feel they have some great meaning, something that I didn’t quite expect to recognise or connect to, but I do. I know I have Protector blood, I have their runes, but I have never thought of myself as a Protector before. Never had a connection to the
people I share my blood with, but for a brief second as Trex speaks, I felt a connection. Nix and Connor repeat the sentence, and I find myself doing the same, quietly, but I know they can hear me. Trex lifts his hand to Azi, signalling him to go ahead, and he holds the ball of fire on the wood, walking around it and setting the entire pyre on fire. We stand still, watching the fire burn, none of us wanting to be the first one to move. Trex is the first one to move in the end, picking his bag up off the floor and looking over at Azi.

  “Where are we heading then?” Trex asks.

  “It’s underground, and nowhere I should take you. Only overlords are meant to go there, but if Roth took your princess there, the rules have already been broken,” Azi says, picking his own bag up and walking around the fire to the building. I pull my bag up on my back, hearing Star’s light snoring as I follow him. Once inside, Azi stops, throwing up another fireball into the air as he kneels down to the spot where the princesses were left for us. He places his hand on the ground, into their blood and a red-light flashes once. The floor begins to shake as Azi stands up, stepping back, and part of the floor slides away to reveal a staircase. Azi goes to walk down them, but I grab his arm, stopping him.

  “What is down there?” I ask.

  “Do you trust me?” he asks, and I pause, staring at him.

  “Not with everything, not yet, but are we safe?” I ask quietly, and I let go of his arm.

  “Nothing here is safe, but I will never let anything happen to you, Vi,” he says tenderly. I don’t reply as Azi walks down the steps, with Connor following first, and I go next, hoping I’m not making a mistake by trusting a demon. The steps go down for what seems like forever, and I pull a dagger out as we walk down them. Azi keeps throwing balls of fire into the air around the staircase, lighting our way. I look at the walls on the way down, noticing drawings and what looks like runes written all over them. I feel a little shift of the staircase under my feet, and then it shakes harshly, knocking me to the floor. The shaking gets worse, and I look down at the cracks in the stone under my hands, just moments before the floor falls in.

  Twenty-Eight

  Evie

  I open my eyes and see nothing but dust and broken stone littered around me. I cough as I suck in some much-needed air and turn my head to the side a little. There are bits of light still left from Azi’s fireballs flashing in the room, but I can’t see anyone else from where I’ve fallen. I feel little cuts all over me, but nothing that needs healing right now. The room spins as I push myself up off my chest, pushing broken stone off my legs and back, and I scramble to pull my bag off my back. I open the bag up, and Star jumps out, licking my neck as I check her over.

  “You’re okay, you landed on me, lucky cat,” I sigh in relief, and she purrs in response. I put her down, feeling around for a dagger on my belt, and stand up.

  “Azi? Trex? Connor? Nix?” I shout each of their names, but nothing but silence answers me. Something is either seriously wrong, or they are all dead. But that doesn’t make sense, Azi could have made a portal to escape and come back for us. I don’t like this. I look back down at Star and pat my thigh.

  “You can follow me or stay here. You choose,” I say, and she purrs, settling down next to my bag and sticking her head inside to look for food, I suspect. I turn around in a circle, looking for anything to follow when I hear a slight noise. Like a whimper. I climb over what is left of the staircase, ducking under different bits to get to the other side of the room where I find a door. I haul some of the loose stone in front of the it out of the way, before pulling the door open, and walking into the empty corridor. There are no other doors that I can see, just a long corridor with smooth, stone walls, and I can’t see the end of them. It’s light in here from the little lights in the ceiling which oddly look modern. I’m tempted to shout “hello” like the bimbos in horror movies always do, but I know that won’t help. This place is worse than a horror film, it’s fucking Hell.

  “Help me!” a weak-sounding female voice calls from my left. I look at the empty corridor, knowing I should leave the voice alone and walk away, but I don’t. I walk left. The corridor is bare of anything as I keep walking and get to the dark end where there is a random door. It’s locked when I try the handle, so I step back, lifting my leg and kicking it. It takes three kicks before the door falls through, smashing to the floor. I walk in, pausing at the sight of a woman tied up to a wall on the other side of the room. She looks up, her long black hair covering her face momentarily, and then her blue eyes lock on to me. She only has a simple black dress on, so I can see the runes she has, and I can also see the bruises all over her arms and face. Her legs are covered in dirt, she has blood on her face near the bruises, but she is alive.

  “Erica? The princess?” I ask, and she nods her head, smiling widely. I don’t even know why I asked, it’s clear who she is. She looks just like Emily and Esther.

  “You came for me? Who are you?” she asks, her voice nervous and scared. I poke my head back out the door, seeing no one in the corridor before walking back in, and kneeling down next to her.

  “My name is Evie,” I say, and her eyes widen.

  “The deadly assassin? They sent you after me?” she asks in surprise, and I nod as I reach for the rope that is tied to a metal loop on the wall. I cut her free, and her arms drop down. I cut the rope off her wrists, acutely aware of her staring at me the whole time.

  “What are you staring at?” I finally ask.

  “You seem so . . . so human; like you’re normal, but you look so much like a Protector,” she says, and I give her a confused look as she rubs her wrists, and tries to stand up.

  “Being like a human isn’t that bad,” I say, catching her arm when she sways as she stands.

  “I’m weak. The demon has been giving me something that makes me pass out, and I haven’t eaten since I was taken,” she says, and I switch my dagger to my other arm, putting an arm under hers and holding her up as we walk over to the door and into the corridor.

  “Do you know a way out of here?” I ask her as I put my dagger away to hold onto her.

  “Yes, down here is a room I was brought through. It has a portal that I saw. I don’t know where it leads, but anywhere is better than here. Right?” she asks, and I nod, not knowing what to make of Trex’s fiancé. She does seem sweet, he was right. Sweet is the only word I could describe her as. I hold her up as we walk down the corridor and get to the door she mentioned. I let her go, resting her on the wall. I turn the door handle slowly as I slip a dagger out of my belt.

  “Stay out here, let me check it out first. Alright?” I ask, and she nods, leaning against the wall and looking exhausted. Let’s hope she survives the trip out of here. I need to take at least one princess back, save Hali, and then find the Protectors and Azi. I can’t leave them down here without trying to find them. I’ve become attached to the fuckers. I open the door, stepping into the impressive room. I stop a few steps in, realizing something is seriously wrong as I see Azi held unconscious between two men in the middle of the room. From the corner of my eye, I see the unconscious, dirt-covered Protectors all tied up near one of the walls, and I’m not sure who to run for first. I gasp as pain shoots through my back, once and then twice. I turn, seeing Erica standing behind me as she pulls the dagger out of my back for the second time. My own dagger falls to the ground as my hands go to my stomach, feeling the blood dripping through my shaking fingers.

  “Hello, little sister, thanks for walking straight into my trap,” she laughs, and I fall to the ground.

  Twenty-Nine

  Evie

  I hold in any sounds of pain as I clamp my hands over my stomach, and lie on the floor, watching my apparent sister step over me and walk to where Azi is being held. The two men holding him are strangers to me, but they look familiar. They look like Azi, and I would bet on them being his brothers. One has black hair that reaches his feet, covering most of his face, and a skinny body in an expensive suit. The other is massive, with
a bald head and a face covered in tattoos. He also wears an expensive suit, his eyes never leaving Erica. It’s clear he desires her.

  “You have done your part, and you have your prize. Leave,” she waves a hand at them. They both bow, turning with a still unconscious Azi in their arms, and walk to the back of the room. A flash of light fills the room suddenly, and then they are gone. There must be a portal there. I only need to get to it. There is a silence in the room as Erica just stares at me, and me at her. She is my sister. And that means Emily and Esther were, too. I’ve always looked for my family, and the first one I find alive, stabs me in the back. Literally. I would laugh, but any movement makes the room spin and pain roll through every part of my body like a wave. Erica pushes her waist-length black hair over her shoulder, picking up a black cloak off the ground and clipping it on. The same cloaks Esther and Emily were buried in. They have the four runes embroidered down the sides. Two on each side. I try to focus on anything else; anything but the pain and the knowledge that I’m going to die. There is no point calling my healing rune, I could never heal this myself. I glance at the dagger near me, wondering if I could just grab it and throw it at Erica. Make her go into death with me.

  “Don’t even think about it,” Erica says, walking over and picking up the dagger. She leans over me, pulling out my purple sword and checking me for any other weapons. I want to fight her off, but when I try to lift my hand, it only shakily moves.

  “Erica?” Trex’s confused voice carries over to us. I turn my head slightly, the movement shooting pain through me, but I can see Trex as he stares at me. Erica spins my sword in the air, and then throws it across the room.

  “That’s a piece of crap.”

  “Like you,” I cough out, but she ignores me to turn to Trex. Bitch.

  “Trex, hunny, I’m so glad you’re awake,” she says sweetly, and I mentally roll my eyes. Erica is anything but sweet. She is clearly a good fucking liar. Trex looks at her for a second, then his eyes go over to me and widen.