Savage Lands

by Stacey Marie Brown

  Predictable.

  We were idiots. What better place to hide your captives than in plain sight? We never even contemplated it was in the city. So many of our fighters, taken by fae, had been closer than we thought. Cruelly close. To be right under your army’s nose and know no one would ever find you.

  My teeth sawed into my bottom lip. I would not cry. I would not show emotion.

  The tunnel went on for what seemed like hours, zigzagging deeper, going up, going down, other tunnels splintering off. Sloane didn’t hesitate on his path while my brain locked on each change. Finally, we went up steep stairs, circling up until my thighs burned, reaching a small arched door at the top.

  Sloane shoved at it, the door squeaking open. Vale rammed my head down, pushing me through the exit, stepping us out onto pavement into the cooling evening. Unlit and quiet. No guards keeping watch here.

  I twisted my head, staring up at a statue I had looked at from across the river through binoculars. The Citadella on Gellért Hill. Different from what was taught in human school, the fae claimed this statue of a lady holding a feather secretly represented the hiding fae, a sign that their power would prevail once again.

  We entered the area behind the statue and went through more carved arches.

  Where everything changed.

  Vines and weeds grew up the walls and hung overhead resembling a hidden garden. The pristine paths crumbled and broke under my bare feet. I was overcome by the sensation that we had stepped back into a different time. The fae king clearly wanted this place to look rundown and unused.

  It took me a moment to realize we weren’t alone. Wearing all black, some almost blending in with the walls like they were ghosts, silent and deadly, a dozen guards strolled the area. Weapons I had never seen before were in their hands or dangling from harnesses. Bars and gates closed off almost every opening, giving “visitors” one way in and one way out.

  The atmosphere plucked at my skin as my eyes picked up more and more soldiers, lining stairs below and above. They covered every inch, but you’d never notice them from afar. This place was impregnable.

  I gulped, feeling the thumping of my heart crank up, sweat dripping down my neck.

  Most saw Sloane and stepped to the side, eyeing me with speculation or boredom. We went down a set of stairs, descending into the mountain.

  No escape. As good as being buried alive. Panic spun my head, and darkness edged my vision.

  “Hey, Sloane.” A breathtaking dark-haired man with a long, refined nose and eyelashes a girl would stab someone for greeted him. He reminded me of a show horse. Long, shiny hair and huge dark eyes. Probably a shape-shifter.

  “Zander.” Sloane nodded.

  “I heard you were bringing us another prisoner.” The man stopped, his gaze going over me.

  “Your new guest,” Vale replied, motioning to me.

  “Her?” Zander’s lids narrowed on me then went to the guys. “She did that?” He nodded to the bruise on Sloane’s face.

  “She’s a feisty filly.” Vale winked back at me.

  “She got the drop on you?” Zander gapped at Sloane.

  “Why the surprise?” I snipped. “Is it because I’m not male?”

  “No.” He snorted, sounding like a huff. “We aren’t chauvinistic as you humans are. But for someone to do that, I’d expect them to actually be dangerous.” He leaned close to me. “Man or woman.”

  “How do you know I’m not?”

  “Been here far too long.” He chuckled. “You are not dangerous.”

  “Hey, it’s the big boy’s club.” Another man strolled out, a woman right at his side.

  “Sloane.” The woman nodded at my lead guard. “Vale. Connor.” She addressed the other two.

  “Jade. What’s up, sweetheart? I can tell you’ve missed me.” Vale winked at her. He seemed to be the more playful, cocky one of the group.

  “This is her?” Her partner stepped back, laughing, his golden feline gaze roaming over my bare legs and bloody gown. Another shape-shifter, some kind of wildcat. “Really?”

  “Don’t let her scrawny ass fool you.” Connor shook his head.

  “Oh, what? Did this little waif of a human kick your ass, Connor?” The man was far smaller and less built than Connor, but his arrogance consumed the space, reminding me of Aron. He’d be fun to put in his place.

  As if Connor could sense my thoughts, his hand clamped down on my shoulder. “I would love to see this girl spread you over the cement, but we need to transfer her. I’d rather get to the pub and see my woman.”

  “It’s only been six days since her capture; she is still healing, but don’t underestimate her,” Sloane added, pushing me forward toward them.

  The fae woman nodded. She was so stunning it hurt to look at her, but her strange reddish eyes told me she was a demon, what they used to consider “dark fae” or Unseelie. None of it mattered anymore, just like race/skin, color wasn’t relevant among humans anymore. All that was important now was humans versus fae.

  Fae came in every shape, size, and magical ability. From high fae to sub fae, the types varied far more than human races did now. In the last twenty years, the mixed species of half-human, half-fae exploded across the world, although a huge following of extremists on both sides fought to keep the bloodlines pure.

  “Don’t worry, boys; the babysitters are here. You can go back to your cushy jobs up there.” The guy waved his hand in the direction of the castle.

  “Watch yourself, Zion.” Sloane stepped closer to him. “I am your superior, and if I killed you, no one would miss you.” Sloane flicked his head to the woman. “Not even Jade would shed a tear.”

  Zion snarled, his chest puffed out, and his eyes challenged Sloane.

  “Zion, come on.” Jade yanked him away, her fingers wrapping around my cuffs, tugging me away from Sloane. “We got this.”

  The guy huffed, stepping back.

  I twisted to see my three captors. Was it strange to feel scared to leave them? They were all my enemies, but at least I felt they performed their jobs with respect. These two terrified me, especially Zion.

  The pair hustled me forward, the door to the outside world slamming with a screech. My body jerked with fear, tears burning the back of my eyes, bile hovering in my throat.

  Don’t show weakness.

  From now on, if one sliver of emotion escaped, I would be torn apart. Even faced with a life of misery and hell, your first instinct was to survive. Try to make it against all odds. But no one had ever been reported to endure this place.

  My new guards led me downstairs, deep into the earth’s crust through two more heavily guarded gates, finally reaching an unlit passage. My gaze latched on to an orangey glow shining at the end of the wide tunnel, displaying a massive chamber beyond. I was assaulted by smells and noises—shouting, banging, crying, screaming, chanting, along with smells of body odor, piss, shit, dirt, and things I had no name for.

  I scrambled backward, tugging against the hold Zion and Jade had on me, trying to retreat from the onslaught of fear. Zion’s fingers dug into my skin, dragging me out of the tunnel and onto a metal landing overlooking the space.

  Fright skimmed oxygen through my lungs, dimming my sight. My jaw locked down, a guttural scream wailing inside while everything on the outside froze.

  Even after all my nightmares of what I imagined the Halalhaz to be like—and I had a very active imagination—nothing came close to what it really was.

  “Yeah, girlie. Most piss their pants here. No shame. Happens to the best of them.” Zion leaned into me with a cruel wink. “Welcome to your new abode, human.”

  Chapter 10

  Bile seared my insides, coating my throat and tongue, while my legs crumpled. The stench overpowered me, along with the terror ripping through me. I couldn’t catch my breath, my heart thrashing against my ribs as if it needed to escape the tightness of my chest, no matter the cost.

  “Whoa, girl.” Zion pushed me against the railing, keeping
me upright. “Go ahead and throw up. All do at some point.” He nodded toward the smooth ground far below my feet. Some level of my brain understood his words, took in the sights and sounds, but I couldn’t really grasp any of it. It was like floating behind a glass wall between me and the world.

  “You act like you won’t enjoy it here.” Zion motioned out to vast space, which felt small and confined. “I think you are just being picky. I mean, what more could you ask for?”

  “Zion, don’t be a dick.” Jade rolled her eyes at him.

  I couldn’t respond, fighting the tears as I looked around the dimly lit prison. Fire-bulbs adorned the walls every three or four yards, giving off enough light to see by, but heavy shadows lingered and clustered together where the lights didn’t reach. The darkness added to the sense of confinement—the sense of death waiting in the wings.

  Would I ever see the sun again?

  The underground prison was far bigger than I thought. Shaped in rectangular boxes, the cells lining the walls all faced each other. The metal catwalk I stood on was about midway, the ground far below, and the ceiling far above. Comparable to a stacked city I’d seen in pictures of the Far East, cages were packed vertically and horizontally, reaching floor to ceiling along all four walls. There were about twenty levels with catwalks. Some were just one large cell between floors, and other levels had three to four cages stacked on top of each other before the next walkway. The one way to get in or out of those would be to climb over the others. A few cages hung from the ceiling, only accessible if a guard brought them down. Everything was metal, vibrating with noise. There was no space, no air.

  I felt claustrophobic. Trapped.

  “Looky, looky! We caught a new fish. Az istenit, a pretty one too.”

  “I get dibs first.”

  “No, I’m gonna tear into that sweet pussy first.”

  Vulgar words and sentiments were hurled at me from the inmates inside their tiny barred homes, drawing more and more of them to the front of their cells. Movement and figures consumed my vision, forcing me to glance down at my feet, trying to ignore the more violent and disgusting threats.

  Vomit pooled in my stomach again. It was all too much.

  Guards and prisoners bustled through the place, their boots clicking on the catwalks, the sound mingling with an endless stream of talking, yelling, and banging. I could taste the foul air on my tongue, feel the shrill noise piercing my nerves.

  “The commissary is down there.” Jade pointed to a passageway located on the bottom floor. “And the pit—”

  “Please.” Zion cut her off. “We’re not going to play tour guide. She will have the rest of her short life to get acquainted with this place.” Zion clutched the cuffs behind my back, yanking me to another corridor on this level. “Now it’s time for your welcome party.”

  “You really are an asshole.” Jade sighed, moving to the opposite side of me.

  “Stop being an uptight bitch,” he barked back. “You demons act like you’re above everyone now.”

  “Not everyone. Just above douchebags.”

  He snarled, baring his sharp teeth at her, his eyes narrowing.

  “Oh, so scary.” She laughed. “Do you forget every time you can’t shift in here? Remember, it’s a magicless space, moron.”

  His lip rose again, but he shook his head.

  Magicless space? It made sense to control the fae prisoners in here from using their gifts. A siren or incubus could seduce their way out of here in a moment. At least it put everyone on a more even playing field, though not much of one. No matter what level the fae were on, even the least powerful or half-breeds, they were tougher than humans—faster, immortal, and much harder to kill. All things humans would love to change.

  My brain was a blur, not taking in much as Zion and Jade transferred me down a dank hallway, the screams and shrieks following me, sputtering panic into my system, my legs dipping as they shoved me to move faster. As they heaved me through a door, my lids tapered at the assault of sudden cool light. My gaze darted around, taking in the sterile room, noting the three marked rows where observation tables stood marked with: fae, human, half-breed. Fae dressed in similar outfits as the healer earlier milled around the room, their attention snapping to me the moment we stepped in.

  “What the hell did you bring me?” A tall handsome-faced fae with honey-colored eyes snarled down at my bloody gown, an electronic pad in his hand.

  “Human. Thief,” Jade responded.

  “And no longer our problem. All yours!” Zion saluted the man, already retreating from the room. “I’m off the clock.”

  Jade and the man watched him leave the room.

  “What an asshole.”

  “Tell me about it.” Jade handed over the keys to my cuffs. “Be lucky you aren’t partnered with him.” Jade didn’t even look at me before she left as well.

  The moment she did, the guy’s demeanor shifted.

  “Full human?” His lip curled, typing into his device.

  I stared at him, my mind slow to understand.

  “I asked you a question, 85221,” he barked, driving up the anxiety swaying me on my feet.

  His jaw locked down, his buttery eyes blazing. “Oh, you’re one of those who think being silent shows you’re strong? Resilient.” He chuckled, getting into my face. “Just wait. This place will break you. Not a scrap of you will be left. You will die here, whether it’s in a week or a month. I guarantee you won’t make it very long.” A cruel grin broke over his beautiful face as he muttered to himself. “Full human.” His fingers typed in what he said, but his gaze peered into mine with speculation. I held his scrutiny.

  “Age.”

  “Nineteen,” I whispered.

  “Date of birth.”

  “November first.”

  His chin clicked up, his lids narrowing. “You were born on Samhain? The day the barrier fell?”

  “Yeah, lucky me.” I was anything but—a bad omen. The wall between worlds had crumbled as my mother delivered me—then she died.

  His brows furrowed as he typed in the info, his shoulders rolling back like my birth personally pissed him off.

  “Diseases?” He snorted, a dimple showing up in his left cheek. “What am I saying, you humans come filled with sickness and germs. Thankfully we don’t catch things easily from your kind.”

  He tossed the computer pad onto a desk, fury bristling off him as he unlatched my cuffs. Blood rushed through my pinched veins, my muscles screaming with relief as prickles moved over my joints. Seizing my bicep, he yanked me into a back room that smelled of stale water and cheap disinfectant. My bare toes slid over the damp cement floors, my stomach dropping, terrified of what was next.

  It wasn’t until now I realized how lacking our training really was. They never trained us how to handle getting caught or what it might really be like on the inside, and if we did get captured, they wiped their hands of us. We were as good as dead.

  A dozen cold cement stalls lined a wall with one large drain in the middle of the floor. Each of the three-sided showers was about four feet wide and twelve feet high.

  “Strip,” he barked, shoving me into a stall and picking up a hose hooked on the wall.

  Emotion cluttered my throat, and I began to shiver.

  “I said fucking strip,” he bellowed. “Or I will do it, and believe me, you do not want that. I don’t take kindly to having my time wasted.”

  I burned with fury and shame, and my eyes began to twitch as I tried to lift my gown.

  “You have two seconds.” He took a threatening step toward me.

  Sucking in, I reached behind and untied the gown, the thin fabric sliding off my shoulders. There was a difference between being comfortable with your body and with being naked, and being stripped of humanity—of yourself.

  “Undergarments.” He pulled a trash can to the opening, nodding at it. My jaw strained as I clenched it painfully. Struggling to swallow, I pulled my underwear down my legs, trying not to sob, tossing
them and the gown into the garbage. My stringy hair fell across my torso, giving me a bit of shelter.

  A malicious smile curled up the sides of his face as he watched me undress. He was getting off on this, and it had nothing to do with my naked form but his power to depreciate and dehumanize me. He stepped up to me, a bottle in his hand, and squirted its cold contents over me; his lips turned up like he was pissing on a vile piece of crap. My nostrils burned with the antiseptic smell.

  I was nothing more than a flea-infested animal. Humans were less than. Weaker.

  “Rub it over all over you and through your hair.” He nodded for me to step deeper into the stall. “Humans need to be thoroughly disinfected of all the little bugs and bacteria.” His hand flicked on a wall switch.

  The blast slammed my frame into the cold stone wall as icy water assaulted my skin feeling like a thousand knives, tearing the oxygen from my lungs. My hands went up to guard my face from the brutal onslaught. The pressure was so harsh. My cry drowned in my chest as the stream of water pummeled my flesh. The guard wanted to wash the human disgust off my bones as well. The force shredded my healing wounds, old and fresh blood trailing down my legs with the water.

  Whipping around, my hands pressed against the wall, sobs hiccupping up my throat.

  Naked. Shamed. Degraded.

  “Scrub,” he ordered, moving the attack down my legs and back up to my ass. I rubbed my hands through my hair, but every moment felt like moving through mud. My muscles failed, wanting to crumble to the floor.

  “Turn around,” he instructed, the water punching my stomach and moving lower. “Come on; I said wash.”

  My throat was thick with humiliation, trying to hold back the flood of sobs shaking my frame, quickly doing what he said.

  The water turned off.

  “See, you do as you’re told, and things go a lot easier for you.” He hooked the hose back up and motioned for me to follow.

  Shivering violently, I wrapped my arms around my breasts, trailing after him, my snarled hair sticking to my back, my raw flesh pricking and throbbing. My wet feet slapped the icy floor as I ducked my chin low, curving into myself.