Release (The Protector Book 3)

by M. R. Merrick

  Alaric shook his head. “I’m afraid a simple drawing on your back does not help you pass the test. If you cannot summon the goddess, well…that does not say much for your ability as Protector. You will remain in our custody, as our guests of course, until the moon rises. Once I speak with the Influencers of Yore and confirm your story, we will determine your fate.”

  “Wait, what?”

  “Take them to the barracks,” Alaric said, and multiple men moved towards me.

  “No!” I screamed, calling fire and water together at once.

  The magic rocked through my body, and pain instantly carved into my palms, smoke rising from my hands. I muffled a scream as slimy hands gripped my biceps with demonic strength. I fought against them, but I couldn’t break free.

  The men began to drag me through the woods until we arrived at a small wooden cabin with a single Dunopai standing guard. He wasn’t as muscled as the others, and he was shorter too. He looked nervous as we approached and he pulled open the door.

  Inside, the walls were lined with wooden cages. The men threw me into one and secured the door with a locking contraption I’d never seen before.

  Not long after, the door opened and one by one my friends were thrown into the cells around me.

  “Is this how you treat all your guests?” I asked.

  The man smiled, his jagged teeth covered in black chunks. His donkey laugh sputtered between his lips. “Only the ones stupid enough to come here uninvited.”

  Chapter 28

  “Only you, our fearless leader, the Protector of the worlds, could manage to screw this up,” Vincent said.

  “You’re lucky you’re in a different cage than me.”

  “Is that so? Would you stab me? Oh right, they took your daggers. Maybe you could light me on fire. Wait…oh that’s right, that would only cause you to hurt yourself.”

  My heart raced and I reached behind me. I hadn’t even thought about my blades. The sheath wasn’t empty; it was completely gone.

  “And now he catches on,” Vincent said.

  “Do everyone a favor and shut up, will you?”

  My cell was tall and narrow, not leaving enough room for me to extend my legs, and I kicked my feet forward, assaulting the gate. The wooden bars rattled and the lock banged against the edge.

  Bright light burst into the room as the Dunopai guard ran inside. “Stop that,” he said, but it was quiet and unconvincing.

  I kicked harder and he poked the spear through the bars, hesitantly stabbing the air. I grabbed the shaft and pulled it inside.

  The creature fell forward but he didn’t let go. His face smacked the bars of the cage and he yanked back on the spear. I didn’t have any room to work, but I jiggled the blade, trying to break his grip, but he didn’t let go.

  I jumped to my feet and reached through the bars with my free hand. I jerked him to the side and pulled his back against the cage. His hand released the weapon as I twisted his body and gripped his throat.

  “Give me the keys,” I said.

  “I…I don’t have the keys,” he whispered. I could feel him trembling beneath my grip and I squeezed tighter.

  “Where are they and where is my Torrent?”

  “I am just a young Warrior. I am not granted access to the keys. Only the higher ranked members and the Warden have them. The Golden Torrent is caged in the Warden’s tent. Please let me go. You don’t know what they’ll do to me if they find out I was disarmed.”

  “And why should I care? We were told you would welcome us, and instead, we’re prisoners.”

  “If you truly are the Protector, the Influencers will tell him so. He is only trying to keep us safe from outsiders.” The man huffed and blue tears trailed over his orange skin. “Please…”

  I looked into the cage next to me to find Willy’s brown eyes staring up at me. He looked sad, and in that moment, the fear on this creature’s face reminded me of the day I’d met Willy.

  “Just kill him. Use the spear to break the lock and let’s get out of here,” Vincent said. He stood in his cage, gripping the bars.

  The man’s trembling turned to shaking, and the tears came in a heavy flow.

  “Pass me the damn spear and I’ll do it.” Vincent stuck his hand through the bars.

  I remembered how bad I felt for Willy earlier. How I wished I’d never met him in that alley. That thought conjured the memory, and it flashed in my mind.

  Willy was crouched against the brick wall while rain poured over him. His eyes were glassy and he sat in a puddle. His thick stutter made it almost impossible to understand him. He looked up at me and I pushed the blade against his throat. I recalled the blood that ran down the silver as it broke his skin, and he trembled just like this.

  Wishing I’d never met him made me feel even worse, but he was better off without me and away from all this.

  My mother’s face flashed in my mind. She was watching me from a distance, and the smile I wanted to be on her face was not. “You are the Protector, Chase. Of all creatures who cannot protect themselves.” Her voice was soft, warm, and every bit as lovely as I remembered.

  I looked up at the wooden bars separating me from the rest of Silas. I loosened my grip on the man’s neck and released him.

  “You cannot be serious.” Vincent dropped his hand from its extended position and let it fall limp against the bars. “Wonderful. Our get out of jail card has a conscience. Can you do anything right, hunter? That’s not rhetorical, I’m seriously inquiring.”

  The man fell to his knees and scrambled away, turning his back to the wall and facing me. Blue tears splashed his orange skin, and he wiped them along the back of his knuckles. He sniffed and his small nose slid against his fingers. Wide strands of dark red hair had fallen from his ponytail and hung around his face like a thick piece of rope.

  “You okay?” I asked, and the man nodded quickly.

  “Who cares,” Veronica said. “We’re all going to die in here because you’re an idiot.” I glared back at her but it was ineffective. Her angry blue eyes were focused and her fangs dropped from her mouth. “And I’m hungry.”

  “Since when is having mercy a bad thing?” Karissa asked. “Oh right, you’re the exception. The cold-hearted bitch who has nothing to offer except a violent hickey.”

  Veronica’s fangs receded and she didn’t respond. She pursed her lips and Vincent smiled with amusement. “Come on now. Don’t be shy, ladies. Let it all out.”

  “Shut up,” Karissa snapped.

  I looked back to the man who was watching us carefully. “What’s your name?”

  “Grayson,” he whispered. “Grayson Habrick.”

  I nodded. “I’m sorry about what happened there.”

  He shook his head. “Don’t be, it’s my fault. And it’s not like I blame you.” He got to his feet and brushed himself off. “You’re the Protector—the savior of all living things against darkness. You shouldn’t be locked up like an animal.”

  “Then let us out!” Vincent shouted.

  “I…I can’t. They’ll do horrible things to me. You don’t understand our ways so you can’t possibly know. I shouldn’t be in here…I shouldn’t be here at all. I’m no Warrior.”

  “What do you mean?”

  He shook his head. “Can I have my spear back?”

  I looked down at the spear leaning against the wall of my cage then back to Grayson. He sighed. “If they find out you disarmed me, they’ll punish me. If you weren’t going to give it back, why’d you even let me go?”

  “Punish you for being disarmed?”

  “That’s the way of the Dunopai Warriors. There are Healers, there are Callers, and there are Warriors. If you don’t become a Healer or a Caller, you have no other choice.”

  “What if you don’t want to fight?” Willy leaned against his prison, his brown eyes focused on Grayson.

  “Didn’t you hear the man?” Vincent asked. “You’re either A, B, or C. He’s not A or B, so he doesn’t get a choice, does he?�
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  “Nobody asked you.” Willy turned to Vincent and glared at him. “Why don’t you let him answer the question?”

  I tried not to let the shock show as Willy turned back to Grayson. “Go on.”

  “He’s right, you don’t get that option. If you choose not to fight, you are a deserter.”

  “What do they do to deserters?” Willy asked.

  Grayson didn’t reply, but he gave Willy a knowing look.

  Willy hunched over and lowered his eyes. “Oh…”

  I reached into my cage and grabbed the spear, sliding it between the bars towards him when the door burst open. I jumped, dropping the weapon and Grayson’s eyes lit up with fear.

  A large Dunopai walked in and turned to Grayson. “What are you doing in here? Why are you not at your post?” His eyes lowered to the spear rolling between the cage bars. “Why does he have your weapon?” The man’s glare was fierce and his brown teeth ground against one another.

  “I…it slipped and—“

  “You were disarmed by a prisoner? By a half-breed?” The man locked eyes with me. He stepped closer, his breath reeking of the same fishy smell as Alaric’s. He reached down and picked up the spear, never breaking eye contact.

  He stepped away and grabbed Grayson by the back of the neck.

  “Hey!” I shouted, and in a blur of speed the spear’s point was at my throat.

  “You shut your mouth,” he demanded.

  I stepped back cautiously and the man gripped Grayson violently and shoved him out the door. Shouting came from the other side, but in moments it had faded in the distance.

  “What do you think they’re going to do to him?” Willy turned to me.

  “If he’s lucky, they’ll kill him,” Vincent said. “If he’s not, they’ll torture him first, and then kill him. Serves him right for being careless.”

  “What about your little blood sucker over there?” I asked. “If I remember correctly, she was careless and it nearly got you killed.”

  Vincent smirked. “Almost,” he said. “Just another failure to add to your list, right, Chase?”

  I clenched my jaw and gripped the bars on the cage. “For someone who has changed, and was practically begging for my help, you’re being awfully arrogant.”

  “Well, if we make it out of here alive and an opportunity comes where you might actually be of some assistance, I’ll start being nice again.” Vincent dropped himself in the cage and threw his arms on his knees.

  “What do you think, Tiki? Can you get us out of here?”

  Tiki shook his head. “There are unseen wards drawn all over this place. Nobody is teleporting out of here.”

  “Perhaps waiting this out will be the intelligent decision,” Garrett said. “If this…Alaric will indeed speak to the Influencers, they will surely tell him who you are.”

  “If we’re lucky,” Karissa said.

  “The gods came down and spoke to Chase through Rayna. I doubt very much they would steer him wrong.” Garrett said.

  “We’ve also heard time and time again that the gods haven’t walked the earth…or any of the dimensions for thousands of years. Maybe they don’t know their people as well as they think.”

  “The gods are always watching,” Tiki said. “Athaniel is watching us, right now, as is Serephina and the others. They will not steer us wrong.”

  Cracks echoed outside the cabin, and although they sounded distant, it reminded me of the snap Rayna’s whip would make. I’d only been gone a day and I missed her. I missed having her beside me, fighting the good fight. I missed her hands and the way they felt on my skin. I missed her levelheadedness keeping me grounded.

  Kissing her in the bedroom replayed through my mind and it made me smile. Her lips had been soft, tasting of whatever flavor lip gloss she’d applied earlier that day. Her eyes had made me feel safe and at home, no matter where I was. Rayna had gotten me through all of this. The darkest of days had light thanks to her. I needed her here with me.

  My eyes opened as voices echoed from outside. I was on the bottom of my cage, leaning against the bars. I must have fallen asleep.

  The door slammed against the inside wall and the large man that had been here before entered. “Throw him in with this one.”

  A tall and slender female Dunopai unlatched the gate and threw someone in. He hit the ground and rolled to his back, revealing it was Grayson. Blue tears stained his face and both of his eyes were swollen and white around the edges.

  “There,” said the guard. “Now you two can get as close as you like.” He turned and walked away, mumbling something about another Warrior wasted to temptation.

  Grayson struggled to sit up, his arms still bound behind his back.

  “Here,” I said, reaching towards him, but Grayson cowered away immediately, his eyes welling with tears. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

  Grayson hesitated before turning his back to me, exposing his wrists. His back was split in over a dozen places, from what looked to be whip lacerations. Purple blood stained his back, and fresh drops slid from some of the wounds. He quivered as I pulled his arm back to loosen the ropes, and he gasped in relief as they fell and freed him.

  He rotated his odd, three-fingered hand and his wrists cracked. He wiped his eyes and sniffed, pushing himself back against the wall. The moment his back touched it he cried out in pain and fell forward.

  “It’s okay,” I said in a hushed voiced. “Just move forward a bit.”

  Unable to lean back, he sat perfectly straight with his legs crossed. Clasping his hands in his lap, he stared at his fingers, refusing to meet my gaze.

  “Are you alright?” Willy asked.

  Grayson shook his head. “They’ll do this to me every day now, until one of the lashings finally kills me. I wish they had caught me when you had your hand on my throat. At least then the punishment would have been death.”

  “They did this just because you dropped your weapon?”

  “And because he heard me talking to you.” He was quiet and it exaggerated the shaking in his voice.

  “Why don’t they just kill you either way?” Tiki asked, sounding confused.

  “The Dunopai believe that if you are taken hostage, you are contaminated, and therefore must be cleansed. The only way to truly be cleansed is by death. If you are disarmed, you have dishonored your people, and for that, you must be shamed.”

  “That seems a little extreme,” Karissa said, reaching through the cage beside us and touching his shoulder.

  Grayson jumped and whimpered. Karissa pulled her hand back and cringed. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to—”

  “But your kind heals quickly, right, like all Underworlders? You’ll be better by morning,” I said.

  “Afraid not. We are one of but a few breeds that do not heal like the rest. It is one of the reasons our place as keepers of the balance exists. We are not built for fighting. If they do not get worse, my wounds will begin to heal in ten to fourteen day cycles. But I’ll be shamed daily, so they will not be given a true chance.”

  “Why do you have Warriors if you are not built for fighting?” Garrett asked.

  Grayson laughed and winced with each donkey-like chuckle. “I’ve asked myself the same question for years. I think it’s a pride thing, so those who do not move up to Healer or Caller feel like they have a higher purpose. Don’t get me wrong, most Dunopai are excellent with a bow or blade. They are very strong and fast, and can deliver intense damage, but taking damage in return is not our strong suit.”

  “And who exactly are the…Influencers of Yore?” I asked.

  Grayson looked somewhat appalled. “They are you, and they are me. They are everything that is not here. The Influencers are everything that once was, and everything that will be. They are the Fade.”

  The door slammed opened and Grayson and I both jumped. Grayson cried out and more blood ran from his wounds. The woman who had unlocked my cage stood in the doorway, holding the door open. With her chin raised, she looked
up at the ceiling. “The Warden enters. Blessed be Athaniel.”

  A few moments later, Alaric and his round belly stepped over the threshold. Two guards accompanied him and took a post on either side.

  “The Callers have asked, and the Influences of Yore have answered.” He smiled as his deep voice reverberated off the walls.

  “So you can let us go now?” I pressed my face between the bamboo-like bars.

  Alaric frowned, his thick purple lips creasing at the sides. “I’m afraid I cannot.”

  “Didn’t they tell you who I was?”

  “Oh, indeed they did,” he said, stepping up to the cage. “Unfortunately, I fear you play a much larger role in this than you understand, my dear boy.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “It means that without you, the end does not come. We are keepers of the balance, and I feel it is our duty to keep you here.”

  “That doesn’t make any sense. Balance has already been lost. I’m trying to stop all this from happening.”

  Alaric nodded and paced in front of the cage. “It appears that even my understanding of the Protector’s role was misconstrued. You’ll forgive me, for legends this old are often mistaken based on one’s interpretation of the stories. As they are passed down, embellishments are made, and the story arcs in a manner that was not intended.”

  “Can you please tell me something that at least makes sense? What exactly is my role?”

  “I can, but I will not. I fear sharing this knowledge will only lead you on the path towards its fate. For now, you will remain here as our guests. You will be fed well and given plenty to drink; however, I cannot allow you to leave the barracks. I do apologize for this. I had always hoped the days of the Protector would be filled with glory and celebration. Sadly this is not a time for either.”

  Fire stirred inside me, and as it rose, pain sliced through my leg. I closed my eyes and focused on calming myself. I took a long, deep breath, and as the element faded and I opened my eyes, the door to the barracks closed—Alaric was gone.

  Chapter 29

  I rubbed my calf where a massive blood blister had formed. It was hot to the touch and I was careful not to tear it open, but rubbing soothed the muscles. My hands were raw from my previous magical outbursts and my body ached in places I didn’t know could hurt. I was falling apart.