3. The first offer
3
The first offer
Kaine
T he lamp above my bed flickered on, and the door unlocked with a click. My heart sank. Night must have fallen, though I couldn’t tell from within my dingy, cramped room in the basement. None of the four pallid walls around me had a window.
The door was the only way out. I often wondered what would happen should the house go up in flames. I would be trapped, suffocating or burning to death in this tiny space. Not the best way to go, but I’d take what I could get.
I lay in bed, trying to decide if I should get up or not today.
Most of the time, getting up was automatic. I would drag myself out of bed and arrive at the breakfast table as instructed. Easy. Safe.
But I was thinking, today might be one of those days I would resist.
It was cruel of her, really, to not command me to come on time.
Three hundred years had given me plenty of different masters and mistresses, but Cassandra was the worst. She could compel every choice away from me, if she wanted to. But she didn’t. She still gave me ordinary directions .
Arrive on time to the breakfast table, no later than five minutes after your lamplight.
Kneel, Kaine.
Hand it over, Kaine.
Slit her throat, Kaine. Now.
Each instruction daring me to disobey.
I pictured it in my head—staying in bed, rolling over, and closing my eyes.
Cassandra, tapping her foot impatiently as she glared at my empty seat.
She would rise from the table, stalk down the halls. Her lips would be pursed, and she would open my door, fury in her eyes, her voice raised as she admonished me.
Then would come the pain.
The starvation.
I really should go.
But I didn’t want to.
Today, I decided, was a day for exerting my free will.
I’d regret this later. Probably chained in a dungeon, cuffs chafing my skin.
Ugh.
Let's not think of that.
I heard the door open and groaned. She was early. And she hadn’t slammed the door. Or started her yelling fit yet.
I looked over at the door and bolted upright, scrambling backwards.
It wasn’t Cassandra at the door; it was…
…well, something disgusting.
Their face was sunken, gaunt, with leathery skin and snakelike eyes. Rows of small horns decorated their pale head like a crown. Their features shifted, escaping my efforts to pin down the shape of the nose, cheeks, chin. Long, clawed fingers extended from their faded black robes.
I slipped my hand under my pillow to grab the daggers I stashed there and turned, frowning. My cramped room was not a good spot for a fight. All for the best, I supposed.
“Peace,” they said in a deep voice that reverberated around the room. They blinked, their eyelids closing vertically.
I wasn’t an idiot. I kept a firm grip on my daggers.
“Kaine. A soul trapped far from home. Tormented by the hands of the greedy and powerful. Forsaken by the world.”
Nice to meet you too , I thought.
“How would you like to be free?” they laced their long fingers together.
“What do you mean?” I asked slowly. Perhaps this was another game Cassandra had thought up.
“I mean free . No longer beholden to the enchantment that shackles you. To gain powers unfathomable. Even shrug Lydes’ curse and walk again in the sun.”
“That’s not possible.” No way a creepy visitor was magically going to come and solve all my problems.
“Come. I have already freed your shackles of compulsion.” They blinked, pupils dilating, and a black mist seeped from their cloak, encircling us. “You will be able to leave this place with me.”
I swallowed. One of Cassandra’s first commands—with compulsion—was that I could never leave the house without her express permission. This visitor offering me a way out seemed like something she would do—torment me with a magical escape .
But I’d already decided today would be a day of pushing boundaries. I’d bite. And if, on the small chance, this visitor was telling the truth…
I should not follow that thought.
I had learned long ago that hope was a painful path.
I sheathed my daggers and tucked them away, putting a pleasant smile on my face. I’d quickly find out if they were telling the truth; one of Cassandra’s other early commands was a lot easier to test.
“Fuck,” I said, the word rolling off my tongue for the first time in fifty years. “ Fuck , that feels good! Shitfuckcunt motherfucking cocksucker BITCH.”
That was fucking bliss.
“Not you,” I clarified hastily, glancing at the visitor.
That meant I could also use my powers without her direction. I felt the cold chill wash over me as I turned invisible. The visitor blinked at me. I glanced at my hands—definitely translucent. Yet they could still see me. Then they shimmered, their form fading as well. I could only make out a slight outline.
“Lead on,” I said with a bow. The visitor turned and opened the door, stepping into the hallway. I followed, ears pricked. We went up the stairs, and I froze as I saw Cassandra storming towards us. I clutched the banister, trying to keep still, silent. Thankfully, she stalked right past both of us without a second glance.
“Let’s pick up the pace, shall we?” I whispered nervously, and the visitor nodded, sweeping up the stairs. I took them two at a time, and they matched my pace.
Hearing a screech of rage behind me, I started running. I skidded around a corner, while my companion practically glided along the floor, seemingly unfazed as I sprinted towards the back door .
I skidded to a stop and turned the handle. My heart thudded in my chest as I looked at the garden beyond, dimly lit by the moonlight.
I had gotten this far before, many years ago.
I hadn’t been able to take a step further.
I squeezed my eyes shut and stepped forward. My muscles complied, and I opened my eyes to find myself outside .
“Fucking excellent,” I said with a grin, launching forward again, running past the flower beds and topiary bushes. It felt exhilarating, and I laughed as I leaped over the fence that surrounded the mansion.
I ran, and I didn’t stop running. The only thought in my mind was to get as far away from Cassandra as I could. The visitor stayed beside me, always keeping up as I continued on. It was a busy night and people were just packed in the pubs and streets, but invisibility made it very easy to pass by without notice.
Finally, having reached the outside of the city, I couldn’t run anymore. I stopped, sitting down on a wall, chest heaving. I was drenched in sweat but didn’t even care. I was free . I could feel my body trembling, the coolness of the stone beneath me. The wind rustling through the air on this quiet night.
I’d never have to go into that stuffy, cramped room again. Never had to see Cassandra’s hateful face. A laugh escaped my lips. Was this real? I pulled out my dagger and ran my finger along the edge, drawing a drop of blood and a clean, sharp pain. That was real.
The tall figure sat beside me.
“Your freedom is enjoyable,” they said. I wasn’t sure if it was a statement or a question.
“Obviously.”
They nodded. “I am Cirae, Patron of the Forsaken.”
A God, here in the flesh? Well, it was about damn time. I didn’t pay much attention to deities. I knew there had been a lot of changes since I had been enslaved. Cirae…that was an old name. The newer gods were all so…humanoid.
“I’ve been trapped for three hundred years,” I said, not able to stop a tremble in my voice. “Why did you come now?”
“I have a task for you,” they said simply.
“Should have known,” I said, leaning back. “Nothing comes for free.”
“Indeed. I need you to go south. Travel through the Witherwoods, cross the Echoing Narrows to the island. There, you will find a tower, and in the tower, an entity. Take it from its cage and call upon me. Should you succeed, I shall bless you. Make your freedom permanent.”
“All that stuff you said before, right?” I asked. They had promised I could walk in the sun. Any time I’d been close to sunlight in the past couple of centuries the experience was horrible- bright, searing light that blinded me and a tangible heat that burned my skin on contact. But it hadn’t always been like that. If I ever met Lydes, I’d gladly sink a dagger in him for cursing maoferni to live perpetually in the dark.
The idea that I might be free to exist as I had before was extremely tempting.
“And more.” The wind blew my curls around my face, and I noticed for the first time that their cloak did not move. “You shall become one of the anointed.”
Golden eyes marked the anointed—those blessed by the Gods. I’d had the misfortune of crossing paths with one before. Like with most things, I let my mind skip over that memory. Best not to dwell on that asshole.
It was an intriguing offer, though. Anointed had powers most people only dreamed of.
“Should you fail, however, I will remove the boon I have granted to you. You will return to being beholden to your mistress’s commands. ”
Yeah… I would not let that fucking happen. Their words left some…wiggle room for me.
“Sounds easy enough. Go to this island, free the entity, summon you. And how do I summon you?”
They blinked again, and a searing pain shot through my hand. I yelped, looking down. A golden set of eyes burned into my hand.
“Use a knife to cut that brand, and I will be able to come to you. Be warned, however, other deities are also interested in this matter. There will be others called, other agendas to be filled. Most will not take kindly to my champion.”
Huh. Champion. I liked that. Kaine, champion of Cirae. No, Champion , capital C.
“Don’t worry,” I said, standing up. “I’ll deal with them all.”
They nodded.
“I believe so. It is why I selected you for this quest. Good luck.”
And with that, they vanished into the night.