Sentries of Camelot (Ruby Morgan Book 2)

by LJ Rivers

  “I know Teagan. She sort of sent me to help you.”

  He snorted. “Yeah, a lot of good you’ll do in there.” He paused for a moment, his hands folding over his cheeks, his fingers resting against his brow. “How is she?”

  “Worried sick about you, but alive and kicking.”

  “That’s my Teagan.” A hint of a smile lit up his face. It really was a picture-perfect face, even underneath all the dirt.

  “Any idea how to get out of here, or what’s going on?”

  “I was here for a while before they took some blood from me for testing. Then they moved me upstairs to another cage. And just now, Ulfius came to fetch me and drag my ass back down here. Something about a bad sample, and having to check my blood again.”

  “But why? Are they checking to see what powers are in your blood? Can they do that?” The thought was unsettling.

  “You don’t know?”

  “What?”

  “They are checking to see how pure we are. It seems like a Pure Mag gets slightly different treatment than the rest of us. And those poor sods with next to no magic at all, well, seems they get the silencing treatment.”

  My hands balled up, my panic coursing back. Nick had no magic at all. Were they silencing him right now? Was he dead already? I shook myself. I had to believe Nick was alive, and that I could break out and find him.

  Oliver pulled a hand through his tangled brown hair. “The bloke next to me upstairs said he’s been here a week already, and there’s been maybe fifty or so Mags come through, but only one Pure that he could tell.”

  My tired mind struggled to fit the pieces together. The water had helped, though. I grabbed the salad and stuffed my mouth. It could very well be poisoned, though why would they go through all this trouble just to poison me? Besides, I was probably going to die anyway, and I would need all the strength I could get if I were to stand any chance of avoiding that outcome.

  “We should go for Lionel’s keys,” I mumbled.

  “And how do you propose we do that? We can’t spell ourselves out of these cages. And I assume your magic is working as poorly as mine at the moment.” He narrowed his eyes at me. “What can you do?”

  I opened my mouth to speak when Mordred stepped into the fluorescent light. It made him look bigger than I remembered. His broad shoulders were squared, his wide chin set tight. He moved closer with determined steps, stopping by Kaede’s cage.

  “Up!” he bellowed.

  Kaede, who had been asleep, scrambled to her knees, and Mordred opened the cage door. He grabbed her arm, thrusting her out of the cage only to pin her onto the nearest table. There, he strapped her tight, her body stiff underneath the restraints.

  “Get away from her,” I yelled.

  Mordred ignored me, his focus entirely on Kaede. “What a beautiful specimen you are,” he said in a guttural voice. “Let’s see what hides inside those veins, shall we?”

  I couldn’t see Kaede’s face properly, but her whimpers tore at my heart. The whines soon turned to sobs.

  “Quiet.” Mordred punched his fist in her face and the sobbing ceased. The silence was almost worse than her cries, and my heart clenched in my chest. He motioned with his hand, and the door to Kaede’s cage slammed shut.

  Holy Lady. He was drugged out of his mind. On what, though? Some Telekinetic’s blood was my best bet.

  I yelped before anger flared back inside. But no fire. I needed my fire. I pushed and searched, and tried everything to find it, but there was no trace of a response from the magic inside.

  Oliver regarded me with low-set brows. “It won’t work,” he said under his breath. “Human blood.” He drew his sleeve up, and I could just about make out a puncture wound on his arm.

  Looking down, I found two puncture wounds on my own skin. They had injected me with human blood, assuming Oliver was right. Something clicked in my brain as I remembered the syringe Jen had found back when we were looking for Ilyana. It had human blood in it.

  “Why?” I said.

  “Neutralises our powers.”

  Defeated, I put my forehead in my hands, still glancing up to look at the scene in front of me. Oliver was right. There was nothing I could do. And I hated the feeling. I had no idea how human blood in my system worked, but I hoped it would wear off. And soon.

  Mordred moved around Kaede. His hand buried itself into her hair, and he jerked her head up as far as it would go against the restraints.

  She gave a low sobbing sound that stopped moments later.

  “I think I’ll just have a little taste before we ship you upstairs.”

  I found myself on my knees, as close to the bars as I could get. A taste? He was as mad as Ulfius, or maybe madder.

  “That’ll kill him,” I whispered.

  “Not if he’s already on PureX,” mumbled Oliver. “By the looks of him, I’d say he’s had a fix before coming here.”

  I didn’t understand. I did remember what I had learned about PureX, however. It was the most recent addition to the Magical drug market. My gaze moved back to the scene in front of me as Mordred’s shadow fell over Kaede.

  “Your blood samples came back with a very interesting result. We don’t get a lot of Fae in here, and certainly not someone Pure.”

  I stiffened, my hands dropping. Her powers had been a dead giveaway that she was Fae—like me—only she was a Pure. And I was stuck in a cage, unable to help her. I had never known another Fae besides my mum, my grandparents excluded since I only knew them from Mum’s stories. And Mum was the only other Pure I knew as well.

  Mordred held up a syringe, then drew the edge of the needle down Kaede’s face and over her chest, down to her stomach. That bastard. He was playing with her. His face distorted into a wicked grin as he paused, the needle now resting right below Kaede’s rib cage.

  “This will take too long,” he muttered, more to himself than anyone else. Placing the syringe on a smaller metal table, he picked up something else. It was thin, with a sharp edge. I sucked in a breath as I recognised the instrument from Mum’s clinic. It was a scalpel.

  Kaede’s muscles tensed, her veins showing through the skin on her arms. She was so thin.

  “Easy, kitten.” Mordred brought the scalpel down, sliding it into Kaede’s wrist and slicing it up the length of her forearm.

  Blood. Streams of blood gushed from the open wound. Mordred’s cold eyes glimmered with excitement. He bent down and licked his tongue across the wound. His head craned back, and he made a sound of satisfaction, a low grunt in his chest. Then he laughed, his head snapping back. Blood smeared his lips.

  Kaede was writhing under the bonds keeping her down.

  “You have to close her up,” I screamed.

  “What a rush,” Mordred said, a vicious grin on his face. “I need more.”

  “You have to stop the bleeding!”

  It was as if he didn’t hear me at all. Instead, he licked the wound again, blood now running down his chin and neck, dripping onto the floor. I tried to summon fire again—desperately reaching for what I knew was there—somewhere. Yet again, I couldn’t reach it.

  Kaede convulsed with short intervals as a scarlet pool spread underneath the table she lay on.

  I started crying. The tears streamed uncontrollably down my face. “Help her!”

  Mordred puffed himself up, flexing his arms, then he pushed his palms out, and the cage Kaede had occupied lifted from the ground to spin in the air. He flicked his fingers this way and that, the bars of the cage bending and breaking, eventually turning into a metal ball, twisted with shards and spikes sticking out. He continued to lift the ball all the way to the ceiling before he sent it crashing to the ground with full force. It slammed downwards.

  My heart jumped as the metal ball thundered into the ground next to me, the concrete cracking at the impact before the ball jammed itself about two feet into the ground. The floor shook violently, ringing metal issuing all around me, and the cage bars crackled with sparks of blue light. Met
al shards ricocheted through the air. I cried out in pain as one of the shards came through the bars, tearing at my arm in passing. Finally, the room stilled.

  Mordred proceeded as if nothing had happened. He collected a bunch of vials and began filling them with Kaede’s blood before he placed them into a small rack. He walked over to open the steel doors, and a cold gust breezed over me. He stepped inside for a short while, and came back out without the rack, shutting the door behind him. Picking up another vial as he went, he paused mid-step to look at Kaede. He pocketed the vial he was holding and shook his head.

  “Aw, fuck,” he mumbled, placing two fingers to her neck. He wiped his face, leaving stripes of red over his cheeks and the bridge of his nose. “You had to go die on me, didn’t you? Blasted Mags.”

  I sniffled, blinking hard against the tears. Kaede was gone.

  Mordred sighed heavily, lifted his hands and gestured at the table. It rattled and lifted from the ground before Mordred lumbered off, pushing the table in front of him through the air. Somewhere far in the distance, a door opened and shut, and then they were gone.

  I curled up inside the cage, unable to stop the tears from falling. Weeping, I hugged myself and wished I had never gone to London at all, that I had never seen the things I had. Most of all, I wished Kaede didn’t have to die. I thought I had known what Harvesters did, what they were. In my stupidity, I thought I could stay out of their path and live my life like any normal young woman. But I wasn’t normal, and I couldn’t unsee what I’d seen. And if I ever got out of here, I would stop at nothing to wipe these ‘Sentries of Camelot’, or whatever they called themselves, from the face of the Earth, along with any Harvesting worm I could find.

  Seventeen

  “Found it,” Ulfius called, his gangly form swaying forwards. He held a syringe in the air and waved it carelessly above his head before placing it on a small table.

  Lionel searched his keychain. He stopped, separating one key from the others, and proceeded to jam it into the keyhole of my cage before flinging the door open. I backed up on my toes, as close to the bars as I dared to get. I could feel a hint of my powers again. It wasn’t much, but it was there. The fire inside snaked around my bones, and my veins pulsated with anticipation.

  Ulfius leaned past Lionel and inserted his head into the cage. He reached for my arm. I sucked in a breath and placed my palm forward, willing the flames to come out.

  They didn’t. It was there, fizzing away in my veins. But it wasn’t strong enough.

  I wasn’t.

  A calloused, sweaty hand closed around my wrist, forcing me to tumble forward out of the cage. I raised my arm to attack when he grabbed my other wrist as well, and I kicked my feet into nothing but air. He locked my arms behind my back, lifting me onto one of the metal tables.

  “Hold her still,” Lionel hissed.

  “Should have done this when she was unconscious like last time,” Ulfius breathed through gritted teeth. “She’s mighty strong.”

  “We have to do it at the set time, or the last dosage will have gone out of her system, you bonehead. Keep her down.”

  I struggled, my feet hammering against the metal. On any other day, I was sure I could have taken Ulfius. As it was, I was too tired, too weak—too human.

  The needle of the syringe glinted at the edge of my vision and I tried twisting away from it. It came down, the tip of it pressing against my forearm. It didn’t break the skin, however, as Lionel toppled to the side, thumping to the ground with the syringe sliding away and across the floor. I shifted my gaze around.

  A familiar face stared at me. Nick! He was alive!

  He stood with a massive steel rod in his hand, grinning like a fool—the best kind. The hold on my arms loosened as Ulfius let go. He veered around my side and rammed his body into Nick. They sprawled on the ground, fists slamming into one another.

  Sliding off the table, I steadied my feet, ready to lunge forward. When I found my balance, I rushed over to help Nick. My foot caught on the steel rod Nick had used and sent me sailing to the floor. I braced myself, thrusting my palms out for protection.

  A surge of exhilarating magic filled me up before a force field spread out underneath me, alleviating the impact.

  I smiled broadly. My powers were coming back. How long until they were at full force, I had no idea, but at least they responded to my calling.

  With a swing of my hands, I rolled sideways and flung the force field out to wrap around Nick. Ulfius went for him but staggered back as he hit the field. He stumbled, diving back into the shards of metal protruding from the ball left behind by Mordred. Two sharp spikes shot through his abdomen, leaving him skewered on the ball. I shuddered as I watched the blood gush out of his jerking body.

  Something caught my eye, and I spun into a crouch. Lionel was on his feet, steadying himself on the metal table where I had just been. A purplish lump grew on his bald head. He glowered at me, then lifted one hand, holding a small device with a large red button on it. He swung his palm over it and pressed the device between his hands.

  The shriek of an alarm wailed through the building, and flashes of red light erupted along the walls. My heart raced. We had to get out now.

  Lionel dropped the device and drew a gun from its holster. I hadn’t even noticed it before. I had been too preoccupied with everything else. Looking straight into the barrel, much the same way as I had back at the skatepark, I reacted on instinct.

  The gun went off as I ripped the force field from Nick, sending it flying forwards, trapping the bullet and Lionel inside. The bullet bounced into the field, surged back, and drove a hole into Lionel’s arm.

  My anger flared into life, in spades this time. Burning, white-hot, like the fire I possessed. I squeezed my hands together, making the force field tighten around Lionel. Sprays of blood painted the veil of the field a crimson red. Tighter. I kept pushing until the force field was plastered around Lionel. He gasped for air that wasn’t there anymore. His mouth opened wide, his chest heaving rapidly. Then his breathing slowed, and the rising of his chest began to die down.

  “Ruby,” Nick yelled. “We have to go.”

  I vaguely registered Nick’s voice as I kept the force field up, waiting for Lionel to take his last breath. I didn’t stop until I was certain he was dead.

  “Ruby!” Nick put a hand on my shoulder.

  I flinched, letting go of the force field. Lionel crashed to the floor, and this time he wasn’t getting back up.

  “The alarm, Ruby,” Nick said.

  I raised my eyes to him, slowly aware of the sound of a siren still blaring all around us. “Oliver! We have to get him out first.”

  I crouched down next to Lionel. Without care for the dead man, I wiggled the keychain away from his belt and ran for Oliver’s cage.

  My hands were shaking as I tried to find the right key, and twice I dropped the keychain to the floor.

  “Hurry up,” Oliver whispered desperately. “That monster could come back at any time.”

  I had no desire to stay a second longer than I had to, Mordred being one of the top reasons. Behind me, Nick had grabbed the steel rod and stood guard, bless him. If Mordred came, he would stand no chance. How in the name of the Lady had Nick escaped?

  A click in the lock told me I’d found the right key. I swung the cage door open, carefully at first, not knowing if I would be hit by an electric shock. I sighed in relief when no buzzing came. Oliver had no intention of being careful, however, and burst out of the cage.

  “Easy.” I nodded in the direction Mordred had left earlier. “I think he has some kind of power over metal. We can’t take him on. Not yet, at least.”

  “Are your powers back?” Oliver asked.

  “Yeah, but not at full force by far. And you?”

  “I think I was due for another shot of human blood,” he said, “but by the looks of it, room service is out of order. Well done!”

  “Thanks.” Nick patted Oliver on his shoulder. “Ah, you mean
t her.”

  “I meant both of you. Now, let’s hang on to the small talk until we’re out of here. Follow me.”

  He ran past the metal ball and up the stairs. Nick followed him, and I deliberately waited to have him between Oliver and me. I owed him my life and was dead set on keeping him safe.

  I glanced at Ulfius as I passed him. The convulsions had stopped, and his eyes had lost the last gleam of life. He had clearly been at the lowest level of whatever hierarchy this twisted group operated under. I almost felt sorry for him.

  At the top of the stairs, Oliver turned left.

  “Wait,” I said. “We need to free the others.” I looked the other way, towards the cages—at least ten or twelve on each side of the gangway.

  “We’ll get caught,” Oliver said. “There are lots of guards, and as soon as they see the chaos downstairs, we’re screwed. We need help.”

  “He’s right, Ruby.” Nick glanced back over his shoulder. “Let’s get out of here and phone—whoever we need to phone.”

  I knew they were right, but leaving the others behind felt wrong. Deadly wrong.

  Oliver ran on, with Nick close behind him. I had no choice but to follow. Oliver stopped by a door at the end of the gangway and opened it carefully, taking a peek at the other side. He waved at Nick and me, holding the door open.

  “Look out!” Oliver shouted as I dashed through the opening, my foot catching the threshold. I fell forward and landed on my stomach, just as a loud, screeching sound echoed off the walls, immediately followed by an even louder crash. Fragments of the doorframe rained over me, needles of pain stinging my neck. When I looked up, the steel door that Oliver had so carefully opened was nailed to the opposite wall with a ten-foot steel bar. Something—or someone—had ripped it off its hinges and flung it across the room like a frisbee.

  I got to my knees and turned to look for the others. Oliver threw himself through the opening, almost landing on top of me.

  “They’re in the upper hall. Get them!” a familiar voice thundered from outside the opening. Mordred. If he was still juiced up on PureX, he’d have us in no time.