55. Chapter Fifty-Five
55
CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
KAIUS
E ven the taste of Elodie on my tongue didn’t make walking away from her any better. I told her to stop pulling away, and yet here I was—leaving.
It wasn’t a choice, not really.
I’d be back.
This was important; it was for her after all. For answers, for justice.
Though any justice served would come in my own brand of righteousness, and that would include a lot of screaming and some of my favourite daggers. The dark shadows that filled my blood quivered in anticipation, desperate to be freed from the cage I kept them in. Soon enough, they would be.
Then I’d be back with Goldie.
Finding out her affinity meant nothing really, and it would have become obvious once she gained more control over her powers. If she had trusted me enough to tell me more about herself, maybe we could have figured it out earlier.
But then why the fuck should she?
I knew she was powerful, but to be an Anomaly was something else. I’d met few others whose magik practically crackled off their skin like hers did when she wielded it.
I hadn’t had the chance to dig through all the records of the names of Anomaly’s listed in Oraculum, though there was a high chance that whoever had taken her to the mortal realm hadn’t registered her at all.
For all we knew, Elodie might not have even been her real name.
Not that she would know with that fucking block on her.
That was what we needed to focus on, getting rid of it. Properly, not in some half-assed way like Bastian had attempted.
Fucking dangerous way.
There would be no point in any of this if removing the block like that broke her mind.
Bastian was slowly losing control, and I knew that despite what he showed, it terrified him. He had pushed himself for years to control the flames, the ones that weren’t made from the magik that flooded his veins, but from the anger that had its grip tight on him. Sure, he wasn’t really the wondrous prince he portrayed to the kingdom, and could be a mean bastard when he wanted, but I hadn’t seen him this unbalanced since we were teenagers.
He was unravelling and—to me at least—it looked as if Elodie was the one tugging at those threads.
Scrubbing my hand down my face, I made it to the side exit of the wards, my feet taking me where I needed without any guided thought. In reality, everything she had found out just opened up more questions. Questions I had made a soul tie to find the answers to.
A sliver of magik pressed into the sealed gates in the boundary wall, the huge grey stones looming high above. The guards stationed in the towers stood that little bit straighter as the gates opened under the impression of my power.
Barely a step over the palace’s wards, I willed myself to travel, my being pulling through space until my boots hit the rocky ground of a mountain pass that snaked between two craggy slopes and out of sight.
I knew that the moment even a whisper of my magik had arrived, it triggered every ward, camera and the long list of other fun shit that was put into place here to keep other Fae out. And eviscerate those who came without permission.
It was colder here in the mountains despite the respite from the wind they provided. I was glad the snow was still a few seasons away. It had taken me a while to adjust to the climate in Incaendium when I had first come here, and the frigid temperatures still found a way to seep into my bones if I stayed outside for too long.
Striding through the pass in front of me, I ensured to follow the correct path, others leading to various wicked traps and pits that Darrow had gleefully designed. There were some passageways that we didn’t dare venture down, where ancient beasts of the mountains slept in their lairs and caves, and were best not to be disturbed.
Continuing through the twists and turns, past new boulders that had broken from the mountain face to slam into the ground, past the gnarled trees that somehow managed to eke out an existence here, I let memory guide me. There were no markers—no “This Way” signs—if you didn’t know the way, you were fucked.
Soon enough, the sheer stone walls of the mountain opened out, and I stood at the mouth of the Valley of the Lost—home of the Arasauk. The valley had its own name in the old Fae language that forged the magik of the realm. Ironically, it had long been forgotten.
Xol’s rays shone down, lighting the way even if they didn’t heat it. Though it was enough that the ground was covered in a layer of wild grasses and hardy flowers that stubbornly grew through the rocky floor.
I helped it along with my own magik when necessary. I found quickly I couldn’t live in the barren valley long without some sort of greenery in the area.
It was a large space, the routes through the mountains hidden from view. Various stone buildings were scattered around. Armouries and warehouses, stables that housed the long-haired shaggy horses we kept here for trips that our trucks would be useless on, or wards prevented us from travelling. Many made so well that at the right angle, they blended into the looming mountains completely.
The biggest one was where we had established ourselves, the wide stone manor that had been constructed from the boulders thrown from the mountain— offerings the natives had called them—was pressed against the sheer mountain face. The bulk of its interior carved into the stone itself. It had been a risk, extending some of the caves that had already existed, but so far nothing had crawled from the mountain's belly to eat us up.
I suppose we were lucky.
Eager to be out of the cold, I held my coat tighter and crossed the valley, the dirt crunching under my boots with each step. I made it through the front door, grateful for the heat that washed over me and inhaling the heavy scent of incense that hung in the air—almost too heavy. I wasn’t surprised to look over and see Calida set up at the long table, situated half within the kitchen with the rest jutting out into the open dining room.
Two laptops were laid in front of her, along with numerous other devices that hummed with magik.
And sure enough, no less than four incense sticks were burning behind her, the thick smoke burning my nose just slightly.
“Boss,” she acknowledged without looking my way as she clicked away at the keypad.
“Still trying to track Marina?” I asked her, as her eyes flicked between the screens, and she nodded in response.
“Any leads?”
“Nothing yet, boss.”
I hadn’t expected there to be.
Calida’s mother was the lovechild of an Incaendium captain, and an enchanter from deep in the forests that blanketed Oraculum from a time when the mixing of kingdoms wasn’t a barrier most crossed. She claimed her grandmother told her incense would help channel her magik, but since Calida had never shown even a lick interest in the magik that claimed her heritage, I got the feeling she just enjoyed the smell.
That, and pissing off Sampson.
As if on cue, Sampson came thundering into the room, steps heavy on the floor, eyes focused on Calida and the swirling smoke that lazed through the air above her.
“Are you kidding me with this shit, Calida, why so many?” he demanded as he stalked towards the table.
“Good morning to you, too, Sammy,” she replied, and I held back my laugh as he scowled down at her.
“Put them out and don’t fucking call me Sammy.”
“I’m very busy right now. If you could keep your voice down, it would be appreciated.” She continued tapping away at the keys, her eyes shining with delight as he crossed to her, leaning down opposite with both hands slamming onto the desk. She didn’t look away from her screen.
“If you would stop burning those fucking sticks, that would be appreciated.”
“Is that appropriate language to use in the workplace, Sammy? Especially in front of the boss.” She indicated my way as her lips twitched into a shit-eating grin, and Sampson spun on his heel as he finally noticed me in the room.
“Apologies, Colonel,” he said, though his scowl remained fixed in place. Calida scoffed behind him, and he gritted his teeth.
I dismissed his apology with a wave of my hand. “Is everything ready for me?”
Sampson confirmed it was, and I nodded in thanks before striding from the room, anticipation at what waited coiling inside my body.
“It’s too early to be looking at your face, Sammy,” I heard Calida say, and they began to bicker between themselves as I continued quickly through the manor.
I encountered no one else as my boots thudded over the worn floor, which was good as I didn’t have time to stop and talk as I might have done at other times.
The matter at hand was a pressing one.
An exciting one.
It shouldn’t be. I shouldn’t enjoy it. Taking people apart piece by piece and savouring in each moment isn’t something a well-adjusted person found pleasure in.
I wasn’t well-adjusted.
In no time, I was deep within the carved parts of the manor, where we kept all the fun places. The wood-panelled walls gave way to the raw stone that the mountains were made from. Each door I passed through opened under the touch of my magik, my shadows twisting around my body in anticipation of what waited behind the last one.
There were no guards; it wasn’t necessary. If by some miracle anyone got through the doors, they would be led right into the heart of the manor. Which wasn’t the place you wanted to end up when you were supposed to be being held captive.
I felt my focus sharpen as I closed in on the door that could hold answers behind it. I was still beating myself up over what happened to Elodie, despite the fact she had told me it wasn’t my fault. I couldn’t help but feel it was, and I needed something— anything —to go on and find a reason for what happened to her. To find who was responsible.
My shadows reached for the steel door, caressing its surface as its lock unbolted and slowly swung open, the ominous creak something Darrow had added. For that ‘extra creepy dungeon vibe ’ he said.