Kai joined the others at the foot of the stairs. “Does he?” he mused, lifting Sam up off the floor.
At that moment Sam’s eyes jumped open, and realizing where he was and who had ahold of him, began to plead with Kai, “Please, my lords, everything they have said about me, it’s a lie. The Enforcer is the one who hit her, just look what he did to me.” Sam paused, glowering at the Enforcer as he continued, “I’m sure he didn’t mean to harm her so badly, but he was so angry about her accusing him of rape that he beat her unconscious.”
Jarod closed his eyes and breathed through the rage, knowing his best defense would be to remain silent.
Kai approached the chief with Sam in hand. “And you, what do you have to say about all this?”
“My lord, forgive me but Sam is the liar. When we arrived at the inn the girl was already in the condition you see now, and her mother is in a similar shape. There is no way the Enforcer did this to her.”
“He paid him to say that,” Sam shouted from Kai’s grasp. “They are setting me up.”
Before Kai could respond, Maya moved in the chief’s arms, catching all of their attention. Gaia walked over and brushed her hair from her bloodied face. “Child, do you hear me?”
Maya opened her eyes and slowly scanned from the chief, to the Enforcer, before settling on Gaia and nodding.
“And do you know who I am?” Gaia asked gently.
Maya nodded again, but she was struggling to keep her eyes open. She attempted to speak, but she was far too weak and all she could muster was a cough, which produced a stream of blood that trickled from the corner of her mouth.
“Did our Enforcer do this to you?” Gaia asked, persistent in her questioning of the barely conscious girl. Jarod held his breath and prayed she was at herself enough to remember what had happened and wouldn’t endanger them all by revealing more than necessary. Much to his relief, Maya weakly shook her head no.
“Very good. Did the innkeeper, your father do this to you?”
Without hesitation Maya nodded in agreement as a single tear rolled down her check, hitting the floor below.
“Thank you, child, now rest.”
“Why you dirty little slut,” Sam shouted, trying to get loose from Kai’s grasp. Kai responded by grabbing ahold of Sam’s head and in one swift motion snapped his neck like a twig. “Guards, come get this piece of crap and burn him on one of the stakes by the front gate, let him be an example of what happens when you lie to the Shadows.” He then turned his attention to the chief, who cringed visibly as he realized he was surrounded by the three of them. “Are you tired, would you like to put her down?”
Jarod, who was standing behind the three of them, tried to signal him a warning. It was a set up. “No, my lord, not until he is ready for me to,” he answered, motioning toward Aziel. “Until then I will be content to stand here and hold her.”
Jarod thanked the stars that the chief was a smart man.
“I like him.” Gaia smiled, waving Jarod over. “Come and relive our Terrian friend of his burden, I think he has done a sufficient job in proving his obedience.”
Jarod obeyed, and as he lifted Maya slowly from the chief’s arms he mouthed the word “bow” while his back was turned to the Shadows. The chief got the message, and as soon as Maya was cleared from his grasp he dropped down on one knee, with his head lowered. “My Lords.”
“Rise,” Gaia commanded. “As I said, I like you, your town did a great job in choosing you as their chief. Do you have a family?”
“You honor me, my lady, but sadly, no I do not have a family, perhaps it is better that way, as I have nothing to distract me from my duties to my lords and their cause.”
Jarod took it back, the man was a genius.
Aziel placed an arm around the chief’s shoulder, who struggled to control an instinctual flinch from the unexpected contact. “My wife is right, I think you will serve us well in Vicaris, you can’t do any worse than the last one anyway. Do you wish to rest here after your travel? We would be glad to put you and your men up for the night, especially after you did such a great job in assisting our Enforcer.”
“If it pleases my lords, I need to return to Vicaris. We are in the midst of housing inspections and are short of officers, but I do appreciate the offer.”
“How very disappointing, but I suppose it’s for the best, we wouldn’t want to keep you from your duties,” Gaia sighed. “However, do come back soon and keep us informed of what is going on in that area.”
“It would be my pleasure, my lady.”
“Off with you then,” Aziel demanded, waving him away. “We have other matters to attend to.”
“Of course,” the chief said, bowing and backing his way out. Jarod watched him all the way to the door. Before he exited the chief paused and looked back at Jarod, then with the slightest nod of his head, he disappeared into the hall, the doors closing safely behind him. It gave him great pleasure knowing the chief had managed to get out alive, he liked the new chief and it would have disappointed him to know he had brought him to his end.
“Now, for you,” Aziel said, standing beside him. He had become so wrapped up in watching the chief that he had made a classic mistake, he had taken his eyes off the Shadows. Now the three of them had him encircled and the knot in his stomach returned. Normally, in this situation, he would bow when they moved in so close, but he still had Maya cradled in his arms. “My lords,” Jarod said, dropping his head and gazing to the floor, “how can I be of service to you?”
“Explain something to us,” Gaia accused moving forward. “Why didn’t you give her red formula before bringing her to us? Did you not want her capable of standing before us and telling her story?”
“Forgive me, my lords, but I was out,” Jarod answered, without taking his eyes off the floor.
“Out? I was told you took two vials with you,” Aziel remarked, moving in a circle around him, studying every inch. “And I don’t see any signs of significant damage to your clothes, so I can’t imagine why you would have gone through both vials.”
Jarod was in trouble; he had never considered the implications of giving away the other vial. But as the three of them continued to walk around him like wolves surrounding their prey, all he could think about was how he was going to get Maya out of this room and to safety.
“No, my lords, I didn’t use both. I did use one, but the second was broke in a confrontation while I was traveling, much like the one before in Vicaris.”
“They are getting braver about attacking you,” Gaia mused as she continued to pace around him. “Perhaps they no longer fear you.”
“And if they no longer fear you, what use are you to us?” Kai asked.
The Shadows stopped moving and the three of them stood in a line blocking the way to the door. He had nowhere to run, the only way into and out of this room was directly behind them, not that running would do him any good, all three of them were ten times faster than he was. His only choice was to talk his way out the best he could and hope they would be lenient.
“I took care of them easily and will have no more problems in that area, my lords. They just needed a friendly reminder of who I am and what I am capable of.”
“And who are you exactly?” Kai asked accusingly, his body rigid with fury. The air in the room thickened with intensity and he needed to do something quick. In desperation, he shifted his weight, adjusted his grasp on Maya, and dropped to his knee before them.
“I am your loyal servant, my lords, everything that I am today is because of you.”
“You know what I think my brother and husband? I think maybe it is time we find someone new to represent us outside the Tower.” As Gaia continued to speak, Jarod kept his eyes focused on the floor in front of him, preparing himself for the worst. “You remember when he first began as the Enforcer, his presence alone was enough to strike fear into the hearts of the people, but now, it seems he has lost his hold over them. Why, they are attacking him on a routine basis, and …
well, the inspectors they are useless.” Gaia walked over and placed a hand on Jarod’s shoulder and whispered into his ear, “Were useless, I should say, we have already taken care of that problem.” The tone of her voice sent a chill down his spine. He never liked the inspectors, a bunch of blabbering idiots that had no idea really what they were doing, but he never would have thought the Shadows would do away with them so suddenly.
“I agree.” Looking down at him, Kai demanded with a tone of utter disgust, “Stand up.”
Jarod obeyed, slowly rising to his feet, bracing for the blow he was sure was about to come. He started to speak, to plead for mercy, but was instantaneously waved silent by Aziel. “We all know you are skilled in flattery. But we aren’t interested in flattery at the moment. Instead we are going to give you a choice.”
“A choice, my lords?” Jarod stood motionless, cradling Maya tightly in his arms.
Kai, still tense with anger, spoke first, “As we said the inspectors are no more, and it seems you can’t be sent out alone. So we have decided the girl will be your partner.”
Jarod took a moment to process what he had heard. “My lord?”
“You heard him, we can clearly see the girl has a gift and she certainly has proved her resilience,” Aziel replied with his usual smug look. “Or do you plan to tell us that you know nothing about this as well?”
“It is also very apparent that you have formed a bond of some kind with her,” Gaia added teasingly, as an evil grin spread across her face.
They were all staring at him, their darkness filling the room with a suffocating level of dread and hopelessness. He took a step back, attempting to put even the slightest of distances between himself and them. “My lords, I am aware of the girl’s talent, I would be foolish to pretend I didn’t. Yet I assure you I have no ‘bond’ with her whatsoever. I would never let anything come between me and my service to you, I swear.”
“Yes, yes, yes,” Aziel said moving toward him, closing the tiny gap he had created. “Like I said, skilled at flattery, but that isn’t what we are asking you for, is it? So here are your choices. You can change her into a predator like yourself and make her your partner, in which case you will be liable for her and her training. Or you can kill her and we will try to find another suitable candidate.”
Jarod gazed down at the lifeless body in his arms and sighed, she was so young to have been through so much, and now her fate rested in his hands. It was a big decision to make and it affected him as much as it did her. If he decided to keep her alive and change her into a creature like himself, he would be admitting to them that he had feelings for her and they would be set to use that against them until they grew tired of one or both of them.
But as he studied her badly beaten face and thought of how much she had already endured, how hard she had fought to stay alive, he couldn’t help but wonder what right was it of his to take her life. She had already told him that she would choose life in the Tower with him if that was what it came to.
“Well, what will it be?” Aziel questioned, the three of them drilling holes into him with their eyes.
“Do it,” Gaia said, smiling, “we know you know how. Drain her down and then feed her your own blood. It will heal her and give her some of your strength.”
“You better make a decision quick or we will make it for you,” Kai demanded, growing ever more impatient with each second.
But all he could do was stand and stare at her. How could he make a decision like this for her? He had no right to condemn someone else to a life of misery for his own selfish reasons, as much as he would love her company.
Aziel moved toward him again. “I am growing tired of waiting, drain her now or so help me you will spend the next two weeks staked out in the yard with her body suspended over you as the birds pick away at her flesh.”
Jarod cringed, knowing Aziel wouldn’t hesitate to do exactly what he said. He lifted her body and whispered, “Forgive me,” before sinking his teeth deep into her neck, and sending a river of warm blood flowing into his mouth. She let out a small moan, but her body remained limp in his arms.
It didn’t take him long to drain her of what little blood remained in her body, taking her to that point right on the edge of death, but not far enough to send her over, before releasing his bite.
The Shadows remained around him, watching intently to see what he would do next. Slowly he raised his wrist to his mouth. Glaring daggers at the three of them, he sank his teeth deep into his own wrist and watched as the smiles of victory spread across each of their faces. They had him, he knew it and so did they, but there was no way he was about to let this girl die, not like this, not after all she had survived already. He placed his wrist to her mouth and grimaced as she latched ahold and began to drink, taking his poisoned blood into her frail body.
The blood did its work and he watched as one by one each of her wounds began to heal, returning to him the beauty he had met the first night at the inn. When he felt she had drank enough to heal her sufficiently and to satisfy her thirst, he pulled his wrist loose from her grasp and stood. The loss of blood made him dizzy, but he held it together, not wanting to give them the satisfaction of knowing he was weakened by the process.
“What do you want me to do with her?” he asked, his voice void of any and all emotion. He felt as if he had died inside, that what little good he had left in him had been completely obliterated by what he had done to this sweet, innocent girl with whom he had doomed to live under the thumb of the Shadows, craving the blood of others, and helpless to do anything about it.
The evil smirks were still smeared across their faces as they glanced at each other, then Gaia instructed, “Take her to your room, she is your responsibility.”
“Train her well, for whatever she does is a reflection on you, and her mistakes will be yours as well,” Kai added as the three of them turned and headed out of the Throne room.
Aziel, laughing as they walked away, called out behind him, “Perhaps you can even make good on her prior accusation.”
He glared at the three of them as they continued to chuckle amongst themselves with their backs turned to him. He wanted to kill each one of them for everything they had put him through and all they would do to her. And it infuriated him to know he couldn’t. But the day would come when he would get his revenge; he just had to remain patient. So instead he obediently bowed his head. “As you wish, my lords.”
Jarod waited until he was sure they were gone, then followed them out the doors of the Throne room and exited into the hall. He carried Maya through the halls and up the winding steps, ignoring the glances and whispers of the servants and guards he passed until he finally reached his room.
Once inside, he laid her gently down onto the sofa and collapsed on the floor beside it holding his head in his hands. There he sat as minutes turned into hours, the hours turned into night, but it wasn’t until the sun crept through his window again the next morning that he began to doubt whether or not he had taken her too far, or perhaps his blood wasn’t strong enough to bring her back.
He looked over his shoulder at her as she continued to lay motionless. By now there should have already been some sort of outwardly sign of the painful transformation her body was going through as the poison in his blood invaded every cell of her being, but she hadn’t moved a muscle, not even a whimper or a moan to let him know she was going through the process. He stared at her as she lay there peacefully. Perhaps it is better this way, he thought to himself, thankful at least she wouldn’t be forced to suffer through the misery of being trapped here with him.
With a sigh he began to pick himself off the floor, but as he went to stand, he felt a hand land on his shoulder. He looked around to see her laying there awake and smiling at him through the mess of dried blood that still covered her face.
“I’m alive,” she murmured, reaching to touch his face.
“If that is what you want to call it,” he remarked, brushing away her hand and standing as
a combination of happiness and loathing consumed him. “Now you are a prisoner, no a slave as Citera would call it, like me. Trapped here to do their bidding and craving the blood of others.”
“I’m with you,” she stated happily, as if she hadn’t heard anything he had said.
“Didn’t you hear me? I have turned you into a monster like myself. In a few days the thirst will take ahold and you will have to kill someone in order to satisfy it, I have made you their slave.”
“I don’t care,” she said as she sat up and looked deep into his eyes. “I was already a slave to my own father, I can’t imagine they will do any worse to me than what he has already done. Besides, at least I have you to help me get through it, I’m not alone anymore and neither are you.”
“That may be the worst part of it,” Jarod countered, walking toward the window. “They will use that against us, holding the head of one over the other to force us to do unspeakable things.”
Maya stood shakily at first, but recovered quickly and joined him at the window overlooking the city. “They can try,” she said as she took his hand into her own. He could feel himself relax as her peaceful energy traveled into him.
But that was not the only thing he felt, this time there was something different. A confidence and strength that she had been lacking before now flowed freely through her body. He gazed down into her eyes, which were glowing with an ignorant sense of happiness. “Don’t you see? They may think they have found a weakness in you through me, but they are wrong.” She smiled, and he watched as her eyes glowed red. “I am not your weakness, Jarod. We complete each other. I give you the patience you need to control the anger, just as you give me the confidence I need to fight back. Together we will only grow stronger, together we will be unstoppable.”
Chapter 14
The Unknown Road
K: The Awakening (The Shadow Chronicles Book 1) Page 34
