Challenged by Darkness (An Urban Fantasy Novel) (Befallen Tides series Book 2)

by Anna Sanders

  What he was saying wasn’t untrue. Normally a bandit in a prison cell was a dangerous thing. They’d paw around the place haphazardly. Some would go insane. Being confined was not their thing. But Keaton was focused on the too-silent Winx.

  He glared at the stranger, and then he pointed at his foot. “I think they’ve done enough.”

  “Keaton?”

  Both men jumped. It was a female voice to the far right echoing toward them, and Keaton recognized it immediately. How had he not realized they weren’t alone? His senses must be on overload from his sad state.

  “Genevieve?” he called to her. He slid himself carefully to the very edge of the cage and peeked as best he could to the far corner. He could make out half of her form sitting in the darkness, her cell separated from theirs by a width of walkway. She looked like she was cuffed, just like them. “Yes, it’s me.”

  “Keaton!” her shrill voice sounded alarmed. “Is that really you?”

  “It is,” he answered back. “How long have you been in here?”

  “I’m not sure. Hours, I think. It’s hard to say.”

  “Are you alone?”

  “Yes. My mother and uncle are being kept elsewhere.”

  “Who put you in here?”

  “Chavez.”

  He’d been afraid of that. “What happened?”

  “He’s taken over everything, Keaton. He has overrun my Queendom with savages, and now he’s overthrowing my mother. We’ve lost, Keaton.”

  He rested his head against the cold of the bars and stayed there. “Heavens.”

  “Are you hurt?” Genevieve asked him.

  Keaton lifted his head a fraction. “I’ll be all right.”

  “Even so…” Genevieve slid over to press herself against the bars. She reached both shackled hands out and stretched, but it wasn’t nearly enough to close the distance. Keaton, knowing what she tried, reached his hand out as well. The two of them strained, but it was no use.

  “Thanks anyway, Evy.”

  She sighed. “I wish I could help.”

  Keaton glanced at his twisted, broken ankle. It wasn’t a pretty sight, so he looked back at her. “I thought that Iragall would at least keep you safe. Didn’t he take you to a secure location?”

  “Yeah, you’re looking at it.”

  Were the lixyns so inept? Keaton was irritated. “Then where are his enforcers?”

  “I don’t know. My uncle was supposed to be keeping us safe. But… that has failed. We have failed.”

  “Hey, speak for yourself, lady.” The stranger spoke up this time, directing everyone’s attention to him. “I’m right where I am supposed to be.”

  “Who is that?” Genevieve queried.

  “I have no idea,” Keaton confessed.

  “Don’t worry about me,” the stranger answered. “I’m just a shadow in the dark. A sexy, sexy shadow.”

  “Sir, if you are of any help—”

  “Oh, I should say that I am.”

  “Please. Tell me. Do you see a way out of this plight?”

  The stranger went back to observing the bars. “Nothing immediate.”

  “Then how are you so cheerful?” she demanded of him.

  He leaned his shoulder against the bars. “Come on, you’re acting like you’re not used to being thrown in prison.”

  “Will you stop with the act already?” It was Winx who spoke up now. Her head was downcast, hiding her features, but her tone was ever annoyed. “We get it. You’re braver than the rest of us. If you’re not going to tell us why you’re not afraid, then quit talking.”

  “Ah, no nonsense.” The stranger laughed. “What a serious little sub-demon.”

  “I’m not a sub anything.”

  “Sure you are. You’re not quite a demon, but still of the dark touch.”

  “She’s a daevor,” Keaton answered for her.

  “Exactly. Such serious creatures. If she were a full-blooded demon like me, she’d lighten up a little.”

  Winx glared up at him. “You’ve obviously never run into Chavez before.”

  “No, I haven’t,” the stranger admitted. “He’s still alive.”

  That grabbed everyone’s attention. The lixyn, bandit, and daevor gave him wide looks of judgment. But the stranger didn’t elaborate any further.

  Eventually, the entryway to the dungeon opened and flooded with light. Sconces were lit by two silent servants who did not speak to the prisoners. When they left, it wasn’t long before the man himself came in.

  Four guards led by Tipping brought in Orion and London, whom they tied to a pillar with their arms above their heads. They were about three feet apart from one another. It was obvious that they were about to be subjected to some type of torture.

  When Iragall saw both Keaton and Winx in the cell, a flash of disappointing sadness swept his features. Orion was stoic, not looking at his niece.

  Chavez walked in looking well-groomed and rested. He smiled at the two men being strung up. “Order, gentlemen. That’s what this has always been about.” He eyed the prisoners with that persistent look of glee. “Look how many birds I’m knocking down with one stone. The two criminals I’ve sought after for so long.” He even gave Winx a greedy glare. “At last. One by one, I’ll put an end to these traitors of the Queendom.”

  “You don’t know what you are doing,” Orion spoke up. “You’ll never gain the acceptance of the kingdoms by slaughtering the innocent.”

  “Or even slaughtering the guilty,” London piped in. “Murder has never been a good motivator for the public.”

  “They’ll yield to me eventually. When they realize that there is nowhere else to turn.”

  “No, Chavez. They will sort you out, just as all dictators are dealt with.” London shook his head. “You may run with your newly-found power. But your reign will be short lived.”

  Esteban walked over to London until he could stare into his eyes. “Don’t worry about my reign, you petulant fool. You won’t be here to see it.” He chucked the younger man underneath his chin. “And neither will your regime of do-gooders. I plan on taking out that pet project that you started. Aside from wedding the Goddess, that’s my first step as ruler.”

  Orion’s face went blank with surprise.

  “I saw that look, Orion.” Chavez chuckled as he turned to the High Chancellor. “Why the change of heart?” Orion asked.

  “Edina is the sweetheart of the Queendom, and those with the touch enjoy her prancing about. As long as she can keep their confidences and play her roles, I’ll let her live. If she wavers from that, well…” He shrugged, as if the consequent repercussions were out of his hands.

  A group of seven savages were brought in and compelled to stop in front of the pillars that held the doomed men. They slunk forward, drooling in need. The daevors controlling them, including Archibald, looked just as dead in the eyes as the creatures.

  “I wish there was another way,” Esteban projected over the growls of the savages. “If you could see my vision, we could make this world anew. But instead, you cower behind outdated principles. So I have no use for you.”

  Keaton forced himself to look away. “This makes no sense. Wouldn’t they simply heal themselves?”

  “Lixyns need to touch themselves with the palm of their hand in order to heal.” The stranger sounded disgusted.

  Winx had turned completely away with her eyes closed. Nobody was eager to see what was coming.

  Genevieve was openly sobbing. She grabbed at her bars with a despairing clutch. “Please, stop this!”

  Esteban’s gaze flitted toward her in confusion, as if he was noticing the princess for the first time. He walked over to her, his footfalls pronounced in the suddenly still room.

  “You sympathize for these men? The same ones who forced you here against your will? Your uncle, who couldn’t protect you from me, and his mewling predecessor, who poisoned you? Nobody is that good-hearted.”

  “How will killing them secure your rule?” Genevieve de
manded. “This is gratuitous.”

  “See it as a lesson. You could do well to learn from your mother. It took very little effort for her to see things my way.”

  Chavez nodded to his servants and walked away. The daevors didn’t move, didn’t blink, but their will was done instantly.

  The savages pounced the strung-up lixyns. They fed quickly, digging deeply into all areas of flesh made available to them. The resounding, gurgling shouts from the men were terrible. Because their abdomens and chest cavities were the closest to reach, the savages were literally goring the insides of the men onto the floor. They drank their blood greedily and chewed on the abundant tissue.

  Orion was the first to go into shock. His eyes rolled back into his head as his body convulsed and he frothed at the mouth. The savages were digging their hands into his open body, tugging entrails into their awaiting mouths. A surge of liquid mire slapped noisily onto the floor. London shuddered in pain, but he made as little noise as possible. He stared ahead with steely eyes, but they were fading fast. His body was quickly becoming ribbon.

  Genevieve’s sobs increased in volume. The stranger went pale, as if he could vomit on the spot. Keaton and Winx kept their backs turned.

  As the awful scene continued to erupt before them, the doorway suddenly crashed open. The prisoners looked up as long, pearl wings beat to bring none other than Roy Ardess into the fray. He jumped the daevors quickly, breaking their concentration over the savages.

  The prisoners jumped to their feet instantaneously. For a moment, they stared as Roy pummeled the daevors. The savages scattered, unsure of which body was more promising in abundance.

  The stranger grabbed Winx’s upper arm. “Are you done flipping out?”

  She tried to nod, but she was so transfixed on the battle waging before them that she might have failed.

  “Help me control the savages!” The stranger shook her. ”Now.”

  Winx reacted more out of instinct than anything else. She probed the savage’s minds and found emptiness. Quickly, she stopped them from eating the two chancellors and redirected their energy onto the daevors. They crawled over to the outnumbered Roy and attacked the guards. Archibald and his four comrades shouted in horror and beat at the creatures, nimbly avoiding being eaten alive.

  Roy reached London and pressed his palm to his exposed chest. It was evident that his injuries were too great for him to bounce back right away. Still, his body began to knit together.

  A savage that the stranger controlled backed a daevor into their cell. After having the creature tear out the daevor’s throat, he made it pick up a set of keys off of the dead man’s belt. The savage showed an intelligence that only a demon controlling it could give it as it headed over to the cell to unlock the doors.

  But before it could insert the key, it was shot in the head. Archibald had killed the savage that had been ripping at him and was now holding a pistol. He ended the other savages being used against him, and then he leveled the barrel at Roy.

  “Nice try.”

  But Roy had nothing to lose, and he threw himself at Archibald anyway. The daevor let off shot after shot, aiming for his head. But in his desperation to stop him, he missed twice. Roy was on him in a heartbeat, and soon, the gun was tossed to the floor.

  Archibald Tipping, however, was no weakling. He and Roy crashed throughout the dungeon, tripping over the dead bodies and slipping in fluids marring the floor.

  Meanwhile, the stranger slid to the edge of the cell and leaned far against it, straining to grab the keys. He held his breath and pressed hard, and his fingers hooked over the ring before he lost it. He repeated this until he managed to slide the keys underneath the stall of the cell. They slid near Winx’s thigh, and he hurriedly crawled over to her.

  “I’m going to uncuff you first,” he said. She didn’t have a chance to ask him how, because he leaned down to pick the set up with his mouth, and then he sifted them around until he had what looked like the proper key. He leaned down over her bound hands and worked the key around.

  “Who the hell are you?” she asked in disbelief when the lock clicked and her hands were freed.

  “The guy who’s saving your ass. Now focus.”

  Winx finished picking at her other shackled hand before removing the cuffs entirely. The stranger turned around so that she could return the favor for him.

  In the rest of the dungeon, Roy was hesitant to give Tipping the upper hand yet again, t but when Archibald brought his interlaced fingers together and side-swiped him in the jaw, he went down hard on the knees. Archibald picked up the dropped gun and leveled it at Roy.

  A blur of a body blazed through the dungeon, and Archibald was tossed onto his side without preamble. The gun went off loudly, sparking as the shot went wild.

  Keaton had completely ignored the pressing demands of his severe injury to press Archibald against the wall. He didn’t have a gleeful look of triumph on his face as he balled Archibald’s shirt in his fist. Instead, he looked as if he were intent with one thing: killing the daevor.

  Roy didn’t waste time. He rushed over to the decimated lixyns and untied the limp body of London. His boss fell into his arms weakly.

  “I knew that you would come for me,” he wheezed.

  “Of course. Sir.” Roy held him tightly.

  Genevieve was set free from her imprisonment, and she went straight to her uncle. She placed a glowing hand on an untouched part of his arm and waited calmly, but the results were lacking. The High Chancellor was dead. Genevieve dipped her head as silent sobs shook her.

  “Keaton.” Winx walked over to him and held a hand to his shoulder, but he didn’t pay attention to her.

  “What are you planning on doing with that chew toy?” the stranger asked him.

  Keaton didn’t answer. He only stared intently at Archibald, who was boldly staring back.

  “Whatever you’re going to do, do it quickly!” Roy hissed in their direction. “We haven’t got much time! Chavez is going to want a report on his dirty work!”

  Keaton was staring daggers at the daevor, his feral eyes gleaming. Tipping did not try to squirm out of his hold; it would have been useless anyhow.

  “You would have done it already.” Tipping’s voice was hollow. “If you were a killer.”

  Keaton didn’t respond.

  “He killed Stori,” Winx reminded him, seeing the hesitance in the animal’s stance. “I’m sure that you don’t kill lightly… but. You don’t need to feel sympathy for him.”

  “Yes.” Keaton finally spoke, and when he did it was directed to Tipping. “My family died screaming by your hand.” He growled menacingly.

  With one slow, deliberate movement, Keaton turned Tipping’s head by his chin until his cheek leaned against the wall. Then, keeping his quarry in place, he reached his hand up. A vicious claw was already sprouted and waiting in anticipation. The guard didn’t beg for his life, didn’t whimper, didn’t make a single sound. Perhaps that made it easier on Keaton when it came to destroying him.

  Winx closed her eyes against the horrid sight, but it didn’t shut out the sound of Keaton’s sharp nail digging into Archibald Tipping’s temple.

  CHAPTER 14

  Winx rifled through the guards’ bodies for weapons. She’d gotten the idea from the stranger, who was doing the same beside her.

  “Can we know your name now?” she asked.

  “Just call me Cris.” He looked over a baton before going to the next body. “And you are…”

  “Winx.”

  Their eyes met briefly. Cris gave her an uncomprehending frown.

  “You’re of the Rowan clan,” Cris said suddenly.

  Winx nodded. “You know my family?”

  Cris nodded, but he returned to his chore instead of saying more. Winx followed suit.

  The group didn’t find much except for a few Tasers and clubs. Apparently, Archibald was the only one who had deemed it worth his time to bring a gun. Of course. Cryptids couldn’t always be counted on
when it came to firepower.

  Winx stood up straight when nothing else could be found. She and Cris looked over to Genevieve, who was still crying. She was quickly ushered away from the dripping form of the High Chancellor, her time of mourning cut short for the necessity of escape.

  Roy headed to the doorway with London’s arm draped over his shoulder. He wouldn’t need to support London for long, since London gained a modicum of his former strength with each step. “Chavez has more armed guards,” London said brokenly as they hurried to the exit. “There’s no way to make it out of the mansion without the alarms blaring. If we’re going to make our escape, we had better do so quickly.”

  Cris rose an eyebrow. “Armed with what?”

  “Knowing Chavez? Savages. It’s how he took over the Queendom in the first place.”

  “What about my mother?” Genevieve’s breath hitched, and her face was blotchy red with grief.

  QueendomLondon’s face never stopped looking dour. “I’m sorry, my lady. But if we want to survive, we have to simply make a run for it.”

  “Chavez doesn’t want to kill the Goddess,” Cris pointed out when Genevieve started to cry again. “He’s keeping her alive. It’s us that he wants dead. Therefore, it’s us who need to haul cheek out of here.”

  That seemed to give Genevieve enough control to heal Keaton, and as she worked, everyone else formulated a plan. The consensus was that, since Keaton was the fastest, he should take up the front, clear the way of any barricades, and blindside any opposition. Cris would take behind him, the lixyns would rush the middle, and then Winx would bring up the rear.

  They wasted no time. Once Keaton was healed, he opened the heavy door and peered up the long stairwell. He listened. There was no sound.

  “Come on.”

  They shuffled out. Keaton took the lead, just as they’d planned. He kept quiet and slow until he spotted a line of six or seven guards down the hall, and then he blazed forward. There were a lot of surprised screams. One guard pressed a button at his lapel and shouted an alarm through an invisible microphone.