“Hey,” the voice whispered after a few minutes. “You there?”
Alice remained silent, the distant whipping continuing its rhythmic thwack, thwack, thwack. The wards turned off, coating her cell in complete darkness.
“Hey,” the voice said slightly louder. “Over here.” Something scraped across the floor, hitting her cell door. “Are you the one that broke Chester’s nose?”
Alice shuffled along the floor, the chain scraping so she could see more clearly out the gaps in the door. The wards flared back to life as she sat cross legged, facing the woman opposite who seemed to lounge in her own cell, no binds. The woman had thrown a plate.
“Fucking hate that guy,” the woman continued, tugging at her pixie cut hair, white Alice guessed from the reflection of the colours from the wards. “He’s not playing with a full deck, complete psychopath.” She paused, looking at her well-manicured nails. “He isn’t safe, and should never have been approved as a Knight.”
“You think he shouldn’t be approved as a hitman?” Alice couldn’t help her laugh, but stopped when her ribs began to ache. He had hit her there a few times too.
“We’re assassins, not hitmen. We only take on contracts that agree with the moral code.”
“Hired killers have a moral code? Now that’s amusing.”
“It wasn’t always like this, you know,” the woman said, sliding closer to her cell door. “We are… were protectors of the people. Have been for centuries. We have three tenets, protect the innocent; slay the corrupt; defend the realm.”
“Defending the realm by murdering people?”
“You have no idea what we do,” she snapped, leaning forward to grip the wrought iron. “Shit!” She let out a little yelp, snapping her hands back as steam rose from her palms.
Fae, but Alice couldn’t tell what type.
Darkness covered them once more until Alice waved her arm. Red, blue, green, yellow and purple.
“We’re not just assassins, and we’re very careful with the contracts. This isn’t about money…”
“But you do get paid?”
“You think food is free?” she laughed, carefully checking her palms. “We’re not interested in cheating husbands, stock brokers or bankers. We care about justice. Abusers, rapists and murderers. We take out evil that would otherwise fester and grow.”
Alice remained silent.
“We fight for what is right, we don’t torture.” She looked around her surroundings, upper lip lifted in disgust.
“If you’re a Knight, why are you down here too?”
“I refused to take on a job.” The woman flicked her purple eyes to Alice, head slanted. She lifted her shirt, showing a mark directly over her heart like a stylised sun. The skin looked red raw, painful. “We’re bound to the guild for a service of time. We’re connected to each other through the leader using a specialised orb that dates back to a very different time in magic.”
“Why would you choose to bind yourself to something like that?”
“Because it was a honour to be welcomed within The Knights. It gave many of us reasons to continue in our existence, to pay penance for past deeds. Now, however they seem to welcome any meat head with a hard-on for weapons and death.”
“Corruption can do that,” Alice muttered, testing her manacles once again.
They plunged into silence, the whipping no longer echoing. The second time the manacles tightened they took longer to release. Alice couldn’t help the cry that escaped, the bruises and cuts protesting at the force.
“Why do you keep trying?” The woman asked when Alice finally dropped her head.
Alice remained silent, studying the bindings at her wrist. She didn’t understand how they worked, the metal solid, shiny the whole way round with no markings or engravings. There wasn’t even a clasp.
“You’re War? Aren’t you?”
Alice jerked her head up.
“Did you know The Knights were originally created by King Arthur back in the early sixth century? Their sole purpose was to hunt down people like you. He killed innocents because he was scared of what may happen.” She moved her back towards the wall, turning her face side on. “The Elementals all went into hiding, and The Knights adapted over the centuries into defending the realm in other ways. But then Ciara was born…”
“Ciara?” An artificial light flared.
Heavy boots hit the stone floor. “MIVIANA!”
The woman hissed, jumping to her feet as a man approached, a torch wrapped around his head. “Brett you bastard, let me out.”
“You know I’m not allowed,” the man called Brett growled, folding his arms over his chest. “You should do what you’re told then this shit wouldn’t have happened.”
Miviana pouted, her face flushing as she looked him up and down. “Brett baby, you know this isn’t right,” she purred, eyes teasing. “Let me out and I’ll…”
Brett burst into a gut clutching laugh. “Fuck off Miv, you know I won’t fall for that shit. I’m not Lucas, I can keep it in my pants.”
Miviana’s expression changed to fury.
Brett turned to Alice, brown eyes hard but wary. He scraped a palm over his military cut, the hair tight to his skull. “You,” he said, unlocking her cell. “Arthur has asked to see you.”
“Oh, how lovely,” Alice said, dripping sarcasm. “Remind me to complain about my accommodation.” She remained on the floor, manacles lifted into the air as much as the chain would allow.
“Brett?” Miviana said, her voice hitched as if his name was a question. She banged her hand against the iron quick enough for her skin not to burn. “So?”
Brett hesitated, jaw clenched. “I know,” he replied before returning his attention to Alice. “You going to be a problem?” He pointed to the runes on the floor. “You try and attack and they will break your wrists.”
She nodded to show she understood.
With a click he removed the long chain, reattaching a shorter one that linked her wrists together. It gave her more movement, but not much. Her chi spiked, wild magic stirring deep inside like butterflies in her chest.
Brett looked up in alarm, his own chi stretching to feel hers, but she had already concealed what limited chi she could feel. She kept calm, not wanting him to suspect anything. She shouldn’t be able to connect to her magic, not with the specialised metal flush to her skin. Yet she could, if only a little.
“Where’s my brother?” she whispered when he was close. “Is he okay?”
There was a heavy pause. “You ready?” he asked instead, tugging on the chain.
“Sure,” she said, following him like an obedient puppy. “It doesn’t look like I have any other plans.”
Chapter 26
Alice winced when she trod on a loose stone, the multiple corridors a labyrinth as Brett guided her with a tug of the chain. Torches lined the walls, yet they were unused as they walked the dark with a small light.
“Don’t antagonise him,” Brett whispered a warning as he opened up the oversized double doors into a bright hall. A table was in the centre, large enough it could easily sit ten or more but only four chairs were placed. A man sat at the top of the table, eyes piercing as he watched Alice enter like a viper ready to strike.
Spheres floated high into the ceiling, lighting up the whole room. There were no windows, just the door Alice entered through. Tapestries decorated the stone walls, bursts of colours that made no sense from a distance and plush carpets softened her steps beneath her bare feet.
A large feast was presented, a whole turkey, potatoes, vegetables, fruits, desserts and the largest gravy boat she had ever seen. Expensive white plates were placed with four piece cutlery setting in gold, as well as candles that remained unlit, but clearly used. Not one part of the food had been touched, nor the wine that sat perched precariously on the edge.
Alice couldn’t help the rumble of her stomach at the sight, especially when she hadn’t eaten anything in close to forty-eight hours.
; “Miss Draco,” the man greeted, standing up from his chair as Alice was forced into hers. An ornate sword decorated the wall behind him, too large for a normal man to wield comfortably. “Welcome to The Knights table.”
Alice couldn’t help her comment. “It’s not round.”
The man’s features tightened, his gaze flickering behind. “Brett, if you could grab our second guest while I explain to Miss Draco about the situation.”
The presence at her back left immediately, leaving her with the man who watched her with a dangerous curiosity. He sat back down, chestnut hair neatly brushed to touch the nape of his neck. Gold embroidered his dinner coat, matching the large sun pendant and chain that draped around his neck.
A little girl dressed in a periwinkle dress sat in the furthest corner, playing with what looked like a dolls house. She sang, the lyrics soft and delicate as they carried across the large hall, oblivious to everything else. Alice couldn’t help but stare, feeling a lure that she couldn’t explain. The little girl turned, pale, blind eyes searching, settling on Alice. An intense cold settled in her gut, something she couldn’t quite explain as she examined the dark circles on the young girls sunken cheeks, like bruises.
A plate shattered, causing Alice to flinch. She fought the compulsion to approach the child, instead forcing her attention back to Arthur.
“Listen to me when I’m talking to you,” he seethed, adjusting his stiff collar.
Alice licked her dry lips, wrists heavy beneath the table. “I’m all ears.”
“I’m Arthur, descendant of the one, true king.”
Alice shrugged, trying to keep her mouth shut.
The little girl continued to sing, the music haunting.
“I’m sure you’re aware that it’s my duty to remove the Elementals from this realm, as was my father’s duty, and his father’s before him and so on.” Arthur kept eye contact as his hand disappeared into a pocket. Alice heard the whispers, the voices before she saw her seal. Arthur threw it across the wood, her chair falling backwards as she scrambled to get away, not wanting to touch it. She landed into a roll, but the chain caught and yanked her back, ripping the skin around her wrists further.
Arthur chuckled, walking down the table to pick up her seal, holding it up to the light. “How convenient you had this on you, as well as your sword.” He enclosed the seal in his palm. “You took your time to find it. Tell me, where was it in the end?”
Alice tried to move, her arm trapped by the chain.
“You’re unique, Miss Draco. You were separated from your seal at an early age, therefore you have not been influenced by it, poisoned by it. Arguably that has put you at an advantage.” He tilted his head. “What’s it like to be destined to destroy the world?”
Alice gritted her teeth. “Fuck off.”
Arthur sat at the edge of the table, looking down at her on the floor with a smirk.
“Daddy?” the little girl called, ballet slippers making no noise as she confidently made her way over. “Who is she?”
Arthur reached over to his daughter’s long, brown hair, pushing it back from her face. “This, Ciara, is Miss Draco.”
The little girl immediately looked down, even though her eyes were sightless. The pale irises looked broken, fractured. “Hello,” she said quietly. “I’m Ciara Avem.”
“Avem?” Alice’s magic coiled tight, reacting to the proximity of Ciara.
“Is she like me, daddy?” Ciara placed her hand on the table, the food closest to her immediately beginning to rot.
“She is my precious, she’s exactly like you.” He stroked her one last time, his hand covered in a few strands of hair when he pulled back. “Now daddy has some work to do, can you go play in your room?”
Ciara blinked, nodding her head. She wandered off, humming another song beneath her breath.
Alice watched her go. “Your daughter is Famine.”
Arthur kneeled, his hand gripping her chin. “She inherited the curse from her mother.” He released his fingers, turning to brush dust from his knees. “Which is why I needed another Elemental, needed you, but you took too long to find it.”
“What do you mean took too long?”
Hands gripped her arms, lifting her up as if she weighed nothing.
“Ah, it looks like our other guest has joined us.” Arthur smiled, nodding to someone at her back. “Place her at the table,” he demanded.
She was pushed back into her chair, the chain locking underneath the table. Alice froze, unable to turn as the hands pressed down on her shoulders, arms keeping her head facing forward.
“As you can see when she’s anxious she decays food in her proximity. I wonder, as you’re War, if those around you are combative? Or has the distance with your seal restrained that effect?”
“I don’t know much about being War,” she said.
“You wouldn’t know because you’ve been separated from your seal. How, I do not know because we have tried with Ciara, but every time we separated them she became sick, wasting away until she was barely bones.” He returned to his place at the head of the table. “The seal was designed to mute the Elementals powers, or to ‘quieten the voices’ as my daughter likes to say. It’s part of your very essence, just as the curse is. To remove it was to remove part of your soul. So how could you have lived most of your life not even knowing where it was?”
The hands on her shoulders gripped tighter, causing her to hiss in pain. “I don’t know.” Alice hadn’t even known it existed until recently. “You said yourself, the seals were created to mute…”
“They were created to try and mute the destructive force of the Elementals magic. Over time those seals have been passed from generation to generation, deteriorating until they barely hold the power.”
Alice licked her dry lips. “You said I took too long?”
Arthur stared, a few moments passing before he answered. “I was going to break your seal,” he said quietly. “I wanted to see what would happen when an Elemental ascended, and then experiment with how to stop them. Maybe I still will.”
“Why do you assume the power is evil?” she asked. “Who says your daughter will grow to become Famine and not embrace her power for good?”
Arthur laughed. “You really know nothing, it’s pathetic.”
Find the others.
Destroy them.
Break me.
Arthur smirked. “You can hear it? Can’t you?”
Alice struggled against the hands that gripped her.
“Your power is pure destruction. It’s destined that The Elementals combined will bring down the veil, whether you want it to or not. You are merely a puppet of fate.”
“Fate can go fuck itself.” Alice kicked off the table, forcing her weight back. Her head connected to the person behind her, hard enough the hands released her.
“Leave her!” Arthur snapped as Alice managed to keep the chair from falling, panting hard. “Join us.”
Alice turned, heart sinking as Kyle took a seat at the table, eyes blank and completely bled to red. His breathing was laboured, and the wings at his back dragged against the floor, a forgotten heavy weight. Fresh cuts marked his bare chest, his shoulders whipped until his skin tore. It was Kyle who she had heard be tortured, it was Kyle who had taken the punishment without a sound.
“Kyle?!” she called, climbing to her feet. “What have you done to him?” she asked Arthur when Kyle remained quiet, unblinking.
“Now this was just a happy coincidence.” Arthur reached for another grape. “I planned on your torture to break your spirit, but your brother was having none of it. So I asked my Knight to stop with the whip, and in return Kyle gave up his summoning name to me.”
“WHAT? NO!” she screamed, pulling at the chains. Blood scented the air, mingling with the food that continued to rot.
Kyle’s nostrils flared, but he remained unmoving.
“Zakuroth, as your summoner you are bound by your name,” Arthur smirked. “Stand before me.”
Kyle turned his head, the chair scraping as he moved beside Arthur.
“KYLE,” Alice screamed, pulling harder on the chain and manacles, even as her wrists protested. “FIGHT IT!”
Arthur reached for the large decorative sword, pulling the white ball off the edge of the pommel. He held it in his left hand, the orb beating in his palm. “Zakuroth, also known as Kyle Skye, you are enrolled into one-hundred years of service within The Knights. You are under oath, and contract to carry out the tasks handed to you by your leader, with honour. You will protect the innocent; slay the corrupt and defend the realm.”
Kyle stood silently. The fingers of his hand twitching.
“STOP!” Alice cried. “PLEASE DON’T DO THIS TO HIM! YOU HAVE ME!”
Arthur held out his right palm across Kyle’s heart, the orb in his other hand beating faster. “You are now mine.”
Alice screamed, her chi igniting in a blast that burned through the chair beneath her. It blasted the food on the table, incinerating it in seconds.
Both Arthur and Kyle were thrown back.
Alice stood panting, wild magic tingling her fingertips, testing the manacles.
“GUARDS!” Arthur shouted, climbing to his knees.
Kyle groaned, shaking his head. A brand had been burned into his chest, just above his heart. He blinked, mouth turned into a snarl. He turned to attack Arthur when he collapsed to his knees, hands gripping his head and blood rushing out of his ears.
The door burst open and four Knights ran in covered in weapons. Chester got to her first, knocking her against the table with an arm against the back of her neck.
“You are now under oath to The Knights, and within these walls you cannot harm another under the same oath,” Arthur explained as Kyle snarled. “Your brand will warn you when there is a job, and if you refuse, the pain will remind you of the vow you took today.”
“Kyle!” Alice cried. “Get out of here!”
Kyle stared, eyes between green and red as he fought the compulsion. She knew he wanted to save her, but right then he didn’t have an option.
Knight's War: A Witch Detective Urban Fantasy (Alice Skye series Book 5) Page 19
