Chapter 39
THIRTY-NINE
Kallie
A stream of shadows lashes out, snatching the knife that was thrown to the wayside. At lightning speed, he brings the blade back to rest against my throat. “Play along. I’m gonna get us out of here,” he whispers for only my ears to hear.
“Do it! I fucking dare you!” I yell, not missing a beat. He digs the blade in deeper, just a hair but enough to draw blood.
“Just remember we need her alive,” Ambroyss muses, his voice booming through the room. My skin crawls, and I fight back the urge to vomit.
“I know, Commander. I was just having a little fun.” He plays the role so well I almost believe it. But his face is still turned for only my eyes to see, and his are pleading with reassurance.
“I must say, Kalliope, you put up more of a fight that I expected.”
“I think you’re confusing me with a docile daughter,” I retort. Callum moves the weapon from my skin and turns to face Ambroyss as his steps come closer.
“I already have one. And trust when I say, you’re nothing like her.”
My eyes blow wide. He already has one? That would mean…
no. A sister? I can’t even come to terms with it.
So I pocket it for later, knowing that, right now, the only thing I need to be worrying about is getting out of here.
“Forgive me if I don’t trust you, so I take whatever you say with a grain of salt.
” He smiles at the comment but not one that reaches his eyes.
It’s more maddening, like he’s trying to not lose his composure.
Ambroyss turns his attention to Callum. “We’re ready to start the next phase.” Callum nods in agreement. “Get her down from there. The others are prepared for the transport,” he finishes.
Transport? “Why are we moving when I have a private room right here?” Nobody answers me, but I’m not worried. If we’re changing rooms, then that gives ample opportunity to escape.
Callum’s hand grips the chain above mine, and his shadows twist around the links, circling all the way to the top until whatever magic was keeping them up disappears.
I collapse to the ground, hitting it with a hard thud.
He doesn’t give me any time to recover. “Up and at ‘em.” Callum grabs the shackles bound at my wrists, hauling me up onto my shaky legs. Ambroyss leads the way, and Callum keeps me walking between the two of them. Before we exit, Ambroyss stops and looks past me, staring at Callum, who doesn’t make eye contact.
“You gave her another dose after she woke up?”
“Just like you asked.” Ambroyss gives a curt nod before turning back around.
When the door opens, it’s not at all what I was expecting. “Where are we?”
“I decided since your little…show last time, you needed to be placed somewhere more secluded,” Ambroyss answers. The walls—if you can even call them that—are just dirt. Dense dirt.
“Are we in the ground?” I thought where I was last time was underground, but this seems like the end of a really bad horror movie.
“Like I said, we had to take extra precautions this go around. Couldn’t risk another…hiccup.” But there’s always a loophole. Always something that gets missed and slips through the cracks.
“So not only did I get my own suite, but you gave me my own tunnel! Truly I’m flattered,” I deadpan.
“One way in, one way out. Tunnels lead to other areas; however, they’re all dead ends.
So don’t get any ideas,” Ambroyss warns.
He takes a left, then a right, and another left, and I’m starting to wonder if it’s the fastest way to get wherever we’re going or to ensure I don’t remember how we get there.
Callum stays quiet behind me, leaving the chains more slack than I’m sure Ambroyss would appreciate. A tingling sensation starts in my fingertips. It is so subtle that, at first, I don’t notice it—until it begins spreading…through my arms, my chest, legs, covering my body in the feeling of power.
That’s why I needed another injection. The one he gave me before must’ve not been a high enough dose. My body probably built up some sort of tolerance from the time I spent here before. I search in the back of my mind, looking for the old bond that must have cobwebs attached to it by now.
I’m praying his end is open. Callum, the serum wore off. He yanks the chain in surprise. The sound alerts Ambroyss to look back at us. I keep my head down, not wanting to look at him any more than necessary.
“Everything alright?” he asks, eyebrow raised.
“She was messing with the clasp,” Callum lies.
“Keep her under control. We’re almost there.” Callum doesn’t respond, which seems like the best option.
We’re getting out of here, don’t worry. I’m not—at least, I’m trying not to. But the deeper we get down here, the likelihood of us getting out relatively untouched seems to dwindle. We come to a fork in the path, and Ambroyss immediately continues left, not having to think about his next move.
Voraxis? I send it down the bond like a plea, praying that he’ll answer. But seconds tick by, and all I get in return is static. I push it to the side, not letting emotions get the best of me. Because right now, it’s about survival.
“Seems like you have this place all mapped out. Care to share the blueprints?” He ignores me, but the stiffness in his shoulders tells me all I need to know. “I love what you’ve done with the place. It’s different than the typical dungeon vibe you went for with the last place.”
What are you doing? Callum inquires.
Sorry if I want a little entertainment before our impending doom.
“Alright, Daddy Dearest. Since you clearly need me for something, want to tell me what that something is? Because it seems kind of rude that I’m the key to whatever this is, and I don’t even know what this is.”
“And that’s the beauty of it all. You don’t have to know anything. You just have to be breathing.”
“At this point, just put me in a coma.”
“That’s the most useful thing that’s ever come out of your mouth.” Ambroyss sighs, directing his next order at Callum. “763, keep her quiet, or I’ll give you a matching scar on the other side,” he threatens. And now I know what he meant—the scar being my fault and all.
The next area we enter is scorching hot and stones form the walls, but there isn’t anything else down here. Ambroyss stops suddenly, looking like he’s on edge.
Get ready, Callum instructs. I’m not sure what the next move is after we escape, but maybe with me in the wind and Callum not under Ambroyss’s control, it will put his whole plan on an indefinite hold. That would be nice. Maybe we could just be for a while.
Callum concerningly steps in front of me, yanking the chain down hard, causing my knees to slam into the dirt. “What is it?”
Ambroyss stays on guard, caution painted on his face. “Something isn’t right.” He runs a hand down his face, frantically searching around us. “Get her back. Now!” he bellows.
But before I can get back to my feet, I’m knocked over with a strong force.
I pitch forward, smacking my face into the ground.
Callum drops the chains, bringing his shadows to the forefront.
Footsteps sound from the way we came, urgent and with purpose.
I spit the dirt I ate out of my mouth, trying to get back up, but Callum presses his boot between my shoulder blades.
Stay down, he tells me. And now I know for certain this wasn’t him or some master plan that he had. Someone is coming, and they’re not welcome.
“Ambroyss!” a man roars, like he’s right behind me. “I knew I’d find you down here.” I can’t place the person’s voice, but judging by Ambroyss’s demeanor, he doesn’t see them as a threat.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” he remarks, pinching the bridge of his nose at the inconvenience.
“What did you do to me?” the man asks, fury and worry mixing together.
“I made you better,” Ambroyss condescends, “but you must have a death wish coming at me like this.”
“You’re the dead man walking.”
“Actually, that’s all the guards that let you slip through the cracks.” Ambroyss blasts the stranger with wind, knocking him back a decent distance, judging by the sound of his body slamming into a wall. But more feet pound against the dirt, coming from the same direction.
I really wish I was facing the other way.
Callum looks like he’s itching to attack, but I don’t know if he’s waiting for my go-ahead or Ambroyss’s.
Do what you have to do, I tell him. Just in case.
And he does, spewing the inky tendrils out toward whoever comes next.
“Get her out of here! That’s an order!” Ambroyss barks. But Callum doesn’t listen—not even a twitch of acknowledgement—because all his focus has turned to protecting me.
I wish I could say the shift is slow, like there is enough time to say something verbal or otherwise. But I have the perfect view of Ambroyss. His eyes cast down to me, his order still going unfulfilled. Then they move back up to Callum, who’s oblivious to everything else going on.
It is like nothing I’ve ever seen. Ambroyss’s eyes glow with a deep red, matching mist appearing in his hand. He sees the betrayal, the command going unanswered.
Callum must finish with whatever ambush is going on, because he turns his head down to me, wordlessly making sure I’m unharmed.
But it’s too late.
The maroon smoke blasts him, and I see the sinister smirk spread over Ambroyss’s stupid, smug face.
No.
Callum’s face pinches with pain, his body locking up on impact. “Such a shame. Such promise,” Ambroyss muses. “But once a traitor, always a traitor.” I drown him out, drown everything out. My eyes are unable to move off of Callum’s still form.
Get up, I demand, trying to get these stupid enchanted shackles off my wrists. Get up! I manage to get onto my knees, fear encompassing me when he’s still unresponsive.
“What did you do?!” I wail in agony.
“He has proven to be more of a liability than an asset,” he says nonchalantly, like this is boring him and he has better things to be doing. The red fades from his eyes. “There is no room for traitors.”