The Inferno

Chapter 28 The Lockdown

I t's times like these I wished my best friend was some type of shifter.

Quickly, I dress in black, workout leggings and a pale lilac t-shirt. Although tight, the leggings fit fine, even if a tad short around the ankle. But the t-shirt, which would sit comfortably upon Alexis, is nearly cropped on me and the thought of asking Sai for a hoodie after his previous ‘dark’ episode makes me wince.

My wet hair has nearly dried into its natural waves, I quickly brush it and spend a few minutes panic styling it up before pulling it down again.

“Calm down,” I whisper to myself, staring at my flushed reflection and tugging the hem of the t-shirt down again but my breasts strain against it, it refuses to budge.

“Come on, Red.”

I scowl at his voice, easy for him to say. He isn’t about to walk into a room with four beings more powerful than him, beings who no doubt could wipe out an entire kingdom with the click of their fingers.

So could we.

I bite my lip at the words. She’s returned, the creepy voice, louder than ever.

I take a final, deep breath, nodding at my reflection, before turning to open the door.

“Don’t say a word, Alexis is tiny and this is all I have.” I stare past Sai even when I hear his laughter in response.

“Maybe my t-shirt would have been better…” The one he’s now wearing.

“Let’s just get this over with,” I groan, only looking at Sai when he holds his hand towards me. His amusement runs over me in a sudden rush of heat. “I’m so glad you’re enjoying yourself.”

His only response is another bout of laughter which increases the heat of my skin. I barely notice we’ve flitted until a new heat casts over my back and I turn towards the source.

Blinded, I raise my hand to block the penetrating light, blinking away the sudden brightness. With bleary eyes, I wearily glance around the new room. There’s sunlight blazing through every wall, all of which are made from glass, and the warm amber saturates the otherwise dark room.

Although the room is large, possibly a dining room, it feels… comfortable. The dark oak floor is the same as upstairs, but this is mostly covered by a large decorative rug, the cream intertwined with inky black, charcoal greys and metallic thread creating an intricate design.

The walls are painted in a textured slate, contrasting with the white canvases of artwork dotted around. An immense piece hangs above an obsidian fireplace, the complicated mess of abstract paint is elaborate and chaotic.

And in the very centre, is a substantial table carved from a hard, stone-like material I don’t quite recognise. When I step closer, it shimmers in a metallic wave as though it’s alive.

A hint of green catches in my peripheral, then another, there are plants everywhere. Huge, vibrant, luscious plants which bring life to every corner of the otherwise dark room. There’s even an oak tree growing out of the floor at the very back wall, encased in a cylinder of smoky glass.

“Why were the lights on upstairs, if it’s the middle of the day?” I stare out at the sun once more, seeing an array of soft wispy clouds and baby blue skies but nothing else. We must be high up.

“You needed the dark to heal,” Sai replies. He’s right behind me, his markings pulsing softly and my skin crackles pleasantly.

Before I can continue my viewing of the room, I feel a change.

It’s palpable, like the air moments before a storm. My power curls instinctively around me, binding me in thin wisps of visible black upon my body, even between my fingers as I clasp them into fists.

“Here we go…” Sai mutters, apprehension and excitement tinging the room, his own power sweeping out and around me protectively.

I want to tell him it isn’t needed but I swallow my words almost instantly.

The room physically vibrates when they appear.

As always, emerging from the shadows, which cling briefly to them all until they finally step out into the sun. The intense light casts them in an ethereal glow which makes them look like terrifying deities.

When Sai moves to stand beside them, I wonder if I had died in that cell and was now in this world’s version of hell. The Goddess always said Lucifer was the most beautiful of all angels.. .

“Your throat isn’t fully healed.” Julien is directly beside me, his hand hovering my neck. His movement is so sudden my power instantly reacts, striking out and thudding into him.

Unfortunately, the force sends me backwards rather than him. I skid against the oak floor and stare up in bewilderment as Julien watches me with confusion and concern.

Heavy, piercing, intense, stomach-churning concern which spears into me.

Pain.

I clasp my chest; my heart pounds painfully. My power flickers around my skin, fading in and out before spiking again as I coil into myself.

All of them at once, being this close… So much power.

I groan and clutch my stomach next, my spine stings. My panic sends my power into overdrive, it erratically surrounds me again; thicker, larger, spreading and spiking in warning like prey against a predator.

“What’s wrong with her? I thought you said she was healed?”

“She is? She was… I—”

“Too much,” I manage to utter, feeling their eyes landing upon me and the stinging morphs into a burning. “Your powers… c-can you—”

Even mentally, I can’t comprehend thoughts. I’m panting from the pain thrumming through my nerves. Their power, darkness, emotions, proximity, they’re all too strong and my body is crumbling under the pressure like I’m at the bottom of the ocean.

“Pull back, please—”

Instantly, the air lightens.

The pressure easing and easing until there’s only a gentle wave lapping my body. My black coils begin to lax around my sensitive skin, still visible and strong but retreating into softer, flatter shapes.

I take deep breaths, inhaling the soft mixture of emotions, feeling their presence fully but unwilling to admit just how much they’re still affecting me.

After a moment, my power begins to cautiously feed, nipping into some of the concern, panic. Easing my pain until it’s only a tingle along my spine.

But my skin feels raw, blood boiling, power alert... wanting more .

Soon, I’m hungrily devouring the remaining emotions, the ones which were previously too strong, twisting them into reassurance and removing the burn at my spine completely.

“I’m OK,” I say aloud, my voice penetrating the heavy silence. I still haven’t looked up, terrified what will happen when I meet their gazes again.

I steel myself, take a breath, grit my teeth.

I need you. Now.

I speak to that voice inside me, the one I used to fear years ago. The change in my gaze is enough to know it’s listening, always there, casting the otherwise sun-soaked room into a gradient of grey.

As I stand to my full height, and raise my face towards them, my breathing stops.

OK... blackened gazed helped, a bit… I swallow. Who am I kidding?

My heart is racing at the sight of them. Now, no longer in pain, I can fully appreciate their appearances and the hairs upon my neck stand to attention.

Piercing gazes seek out mine, I can’t spend too long on one before I have to move to another. Intense blue, crimson, moonlight grey and obsidian black, all watching me.

My legs feel weak, stomach heavy, but my coils tighten around the muscles, making me appear more stable and steadier than I actually feel.

Julien is still closer than the others, making it hard to ignore my blood practically singing to him. It’s like I can feel a physical pull towards him with each heartbeat.

I want to take a step back, but I want to be closer. I see him swallow and my eyes follow the action intently, my mouth parting softly when my body begins to heat.

“How do you feel?” Julien's velvet voice soothes my racing heart, his genuine worry sinking into me and slipping into my coils.

I sigh in relief before searching for the answer. How exactly did I feel… Scared?

No… But shouldn’t I?

“I’m not sure,” I reply, honestly.

“We need to talk.” Kane's cold tone makes my breath stutter, my gaze seeks him out and when it does, a thick numbness spreads along my skin in a soothing caress.

He moves towards the table, pulling out a large, stone carved chair and nods towards it once.

“Sit.”

I bite my tongue at his command but my power pulses, desperately eager to please and follow. I force my feet into the ground .

“Being closer to the four of you, is not a good idea right now,” I grit out, my teeth grinding at even the thought. Even the chance of their skin brushing mine. “I need time to re-acclimate my power, to you, after—”

“You’re fighting against your instincts,” he fires back, his cold, hard stare locked with mine.

“Clearly, my instincts can’t be trusted.” I force my coils to thicken in response, narrowing my gaze directly at him, my jaw tightens. “And neither can the four of you.”

That comment seems to hit a nerve.

I feel the shift, the tension which builds in the room, the slight movement of their stances indicating their unease.

“You can’t trust us? We’re the ones that found you and got you out of there.” His incredulous tone shocks me for a moment. He often lacks any expression, but then I tighten my fists by my sides ready to rebuke.

“You brought me here: into this district, into that trial, into that cell. You all did this to me.” My voice is steady, my rage only just on the cusp of every word, copying his facade of control.

I can feel his own fury building. I can see through his frozen exterior.

His black gaze hardens, the temperature drops. “Is that what you think?”

He suddenly moves, taking quick steps towards me, steps which I am not ready for or expected. I blink when he continues, my mask of calm falling quickly and almost making me stumble as I slowly step back. His predatory gaze pierces me and my power splutters with uncertainty before reforming again.

When he’s beside Julien, he finally stops, thankfully, because the wall behind me is closer than before.

“Kane…” Julien warns, his voice rumbling slightly as I watch his large hand slowly clasp Kane’s shoulder.

“She’s right.” Ezekial finally speaks.

His accent is similar to Kane’s but there’s a sharper clarity to it, not quite tinged in a dark hoarseness like his brother’s. My eyes race to his, bright and clear silver, filled with brimming emotions which make my chest ache painfully.

No one else turns to look at him, the others continue staring at me whilst he speaks and moves slowly towards us. “I messed up. That night, when I asked to see your mark, I shouldn’t have… I should have known…”

“We all made a mistake that night, Zeek,” Sai adds in, his soft voice almost indistinguishable from his regular, taunting tone.

“Blame me.” Ezekial’s gaze is fixed with mine. I can’t look away from the depth of regret and sorrow lingering there. “But please let me explain myself, would you allow that?”

With his gentle question floating in the air, I realise the four men are all right beside me and my power hasn’t even reacted. There’s no pain, no pulses, no instinctive coiling.

Ezekial’s desperate emotions are sinking into me, and my eyes return. I sigh. “OK, but can we eat too?”

◆◆◆

I sit at the table, annoyingly on the chair Kane pulled out for me, but I’m surrounded by food which keeps the annoyance at bay. I spot the chocolate pastries instantly. I’m currently pulling it apart and I force my body to not react in any audible way, even though I flush slightly in remembrance.

“I’ll start,” Ezekial addresses me. He’s sat at the far end of the five-seated table, I’m at the other end with Sai beside me, sat at a slight angle. Directly across from me is Julien and, beside him, Kane. “When my shadow latched onto you, I knew something wasn’t right.”

I study him carefully as he continues, “You shouldn’t have been able to see them, never mind use them at your will. Like I said, it meant we had met before. The others told me about your mark and I decided…I thought it would be best to…”

“He put a barrier around the room you were in so we couldn’t get in,” Sai suddenly adds, chucking grapes into the air and catching them in his mouth, before turning to smirk at me as he chews. “Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Being trapped inside a barrier? Remember how you got out of that last time—”

“Anyway,” Ezekial thankfully interrupts. I move my glare from Sai back to him. “I thought I was keeping you safe, but when I touched your mark…”

“Remember what happened to me?” Julien asks, leaning upon the table with his elbows to seek out my gaze. I gently nod and he provides a soft smile which makes my blood heat .

“That’s what happened to you?” I quietly ask, remembering the fury in his eyes, the intense feeling of hatred rolling from him in waves. “But it was different with Julien and Sai, they didn’t want to suddenly kill me.”

Ezekial’s eyes glance away for a moment, once composed he meets my eyes again. “I had the same awakening, the same intense need to… protect you, to listen to the darkness, but it also showed me a memory. A memory of you.” At this point, my pastry is completely discarded as I watch Ezekial, hanging upon his words. “I remembered the last time I saw you and I remembered who I saw you with.”

His jaw begins to grind, a small muscle ticking just beneath the skin in remembrance. “Prospero, he was dragging you away with his guards. I don’t know where we were or what was really happening but I remember being restrained, the terror on your face and the way he smiled…”

Thick anger spikes the air. The room heats. There’s a crackle and the ground shakes slightly, enough to cause ripples in the glass of water I had yet to touch.

I take it in, it’s easier than breathing now, and work to soothe the rage building from all the men. I keep my gentle gaze upon Ezekial, even when he is wincing with the memory.

“I let my anger get the better of me. In that state, I couldn’t think, I just knew I had to kill him and I—”

“He lost it, big time,” Sai chips in again, the others deliver him a narrowed glare but he just shrugs before chucking another grape into his mouth. “What? You did, mate, and when Ezekial loses his cool.” Sai lets out a long, high-pitched whistle.

“This is when mistakes were made,” Julien calmly interjects, glaring at Sai a tad longer before meeting my gaze again. “If we had allowed him to enact his revenge, it would have been…”

“A slaughter.” Kane’s icy voice pierces the air.

There’s a pause.

“We had to remove him, the three of us, which resulted in us leaving you here, alone,” Julien finishes, his red eyes searching mine.

“And because I thought he was going to come back and kill me… I left,” I continue.

“When we returned, and I, we, couldn’t feel you…” Ezekial’s hands rest upon the table, the skin of his knuckles a pure white from his ti ghtening fists.

All the men become seemingly tense in that moment, even Kane’s shoulders tightened a fraction at Ezekial’s words. I watch them all quietly, waiting patiently for someone to continue.

“Prospero had fled,” Kane explains, his gaze far away as he stares ahead at nothing. “We knew you were either imprisoned or... We went to the cells Prospero’s men have jurisdiction over, that’s when we found you.”

Instantly, I’m temporarily blinded as a collage of visions flood my mind in a bloody succession. Varying perspectives of my battered body hanging in that cell, blood pooled beneath my hunched form, a large, metal collar clinging to my throat.

I gasp at the sight and erratic emotions stain the air.

“That’s what you saw,” I murmur in horror, my returned sight scanning the stone table in attempt to ground myself.

“You saw a memory?” Julien queries, his voice one of wonder with a tinge of disbelief. When I meet his gl immering, crimson gaze, he smiles again. “You truly are a naturelle .”

I feel my face heat with his strange compliment, but quickly busy myself with the pieces of pastry, plying the layers away whilst not eating a single piece. I allow the tense emotions to settle beneath my skin as I do, and I twist and morph them into something calmer, preparing for my next question.

“What happened to the guards?” I ask, keeping my eyes upon my fingers, until I feel a sudden rush of rage. I inhale slowly, taking it in, feeding off the warmth, before looking up at the main culprit, surprised to see who my gaze lands upon first.

“They’re somewhere else,” Kane states, the muscle in his jaw ticks as I consider his words before he continues, “they’ll receive punishment for the wrongs they’ve committed.”

I’m not sure how to respond, especially as a chill runs over my body in excitement over what that ‘punishment’ may entail. As though he senses it, I see the smallest spark of metallic glitter in those dark irises and I force myself to reposition on the chair as an excuse to remove our eye contact.

“OK. So, I guess a thank you is in order…” I begin, quickly continuing when I hear the others wanting to interrupt. “But what I don’t understand is… why did you even bother saving me?” My gaze flickers across all of them, taking time to assess their expressions which had beco me almost unreadable now. Caged, forced. “You owe me nothing. I’m nothing to you. Why would my death matter?”

Some fair better than others at maintaining their composure, Kane being the supreme leader of the act.

Julien's only indication that my question caused some inner turmoil was the way he’s now playing with his thumb ring, his blood-red gaze narrowed on me. Sai’s eyebrows raise slightly, his markings flaring but quickly returning to their regular, soothing lull and Ezekial… well, he openly takes affront to my words, his light grey aura darkening into steel, eyes piercing mine, hands coiling into even tighter fists upon the table.

“We enforce punishment onto those who break the law,” Kane abruptly states, all eyes landing back to him. “That’s what we did.”

“ Bullshit ,” I blurt in a hiss, watching as he frowns at my response. “You pulled those guards apart. I saw and heard and felt everything you did. You’re saying you were just doing your ‘job’?”

Like the guards were just doing their job. Following orders. Beating me within an inch of death… I shiver in remembrance, if only I’d escaped. Maybe I’d have made it back to the cave? We could have… we .

A new, terrifying memory makes my power bloom around me.

“The girl,” I whisper, my words filled with utter dread. “What happened to the girl?” I’m frantic as I push away from the table, my chair scraping loudly as I stand, searching their faces for answers.

Finally, their temporary masks, and silence, drop, concern leaking into the air and adding to my own.

“All other prisoners have been relocated...” Ezekial begins, but I’m too concerned to listen and the image of her wide blue eyes, dark hair and gaunt face flashes before me. And I know, somehow, that I’ve shown them too.

“How the fuck is she so good at this?” Sai quietly mutters. “We never saw that girl, she was in a cell? She looks like a kid…”

“She is!” I shout, my power spikes around me, the urge to find her almost painful now. “The guards… they were… they’ve been assaulting her, they were going to when… If she wasn’t there, maybe they… I don’t know but we need to—”

“Which guards?” Kane’s voice rips through my panic, he’s closer now, his stance wary like I’m a wild animal. “What did they look like? ”

“One’s missing a hand,” I say quickly, watching Kane as his brows furrow ever so slightly. “I took his hand to try and escape, when he came into my cell I—”

“They were near you?” The room drops in temperature, the sunlight somehow disappears and everything slips into grey. “Did they touch you?”

His words drip with pure, heavy darkness. They reverberate. They sink under my skin, into my bones, and amplify my own dark thoughts.

My eyes instantly bleed out and I see Kane in a completely different light. Almost demonic now, the shape and angles of his face exaggerated by the shadows he’s created. The coolness of the room drops lower and lower as he steps towards me.

I realise where we are now: the Dark Realm. But I’m standing on my own, there’s no glacial sting. My body doesn’t shake, it feels strong; steady.

“No,” I reply, my own voice vibrating, echoing the darkness skimming the surface now.

When his hand cups my jaw, I sigh and sink into it. His thumb brushes my skin so gently, even as his words drip with pure fury. “Did they try?”

The memory flashes before us: one entering the cell, telling me to drop to my knees. I feel Kane’s body physically react then, but I reach up, clasp his hand with my own and force him to see the rest.

The guard on the floor, the pain I inflict, the blood, the glass wall, the dismembering…

Dark eyes bore into mine as he gently raises my face, tilting it up as he moves closer. I nearly whimper when his body brushes with mine, his gaze searching my face intently as he runs a soft touch over my lips. “You did well.”

Blinding sunlight shocks me out of the haze. The room returns with an intensity that takes my breath away for a moment. I feel someone’s touch upon my lower back, helping me stay steady. It’s Sai, I know instantly.

My eyes return when my breath does, but Kane is gone.

“Where did he go?”

“I think you can figure that out, Red,” Sai replies, his voice revealing a lilt of amusement .

“We’ll find the girl,” Ezekial suddenly states, my eyes racing to him and feeling the genuine worry he feels, it settles my nerves to know they’re reacting to my concerns seriously. “When Prospero fled, he may have taken some prisoners as collateral or maybe even protection. Pathetic excuse of a man…” he mutters the final sentence, his gaze slipping to the device in his hands, the same one I’d seen many times before.

“Could he have left the district by now?” I’m still very aware that Sai’s fingers are skimming the bare skin of my lower back, thanks to the cropped t-shirt, but I’m making no attempt to move away.

“The district is in lockdown,” Julien informs me, stepping into view next to Ezekial. “No one can leave or enter.”

My heart begins to race at this revelation, lockdown? Which meant…

“I can’t go home.”

Ezekial is speaking into his device, a hushed conversation full of orders which makes him exempt from the heavy silence emitting from Sai and Julien. His silver gaze suddenly flickers to Julien, one quick nod and he follows Ezekial into the conjoining kitchen.

“A few things have happened since the trial, Red,” Sai begins, removing his fingers to stand before me, my skin tingles from the absence but I pretend it isn’t.

The light humour normally tinging Sai’s every feature is almost diminished now and I swallow in preparation for his words. “When you went back to the barrier with your…” I watch him carefully weigh his words. “ Fae friend, and the witch, the group who attacked ‘The Inferno’ that night was waiting.”

I still, my nerves stinging like I’d been submerged in ice-water. “Are they OK? Is Javier OK?”

“‘Purgatory’ was pretty much destroyed, but they made it out relatively unscathed,” he quickly informs, watching me carefully as I listen.

“Can I talk to him?”

His lips pull to the side. “We’ve been in a full lockdown since, that includes communications. We can’t risk any of them getting into the district. We can’t risk anyone providing information either. We’re in ‘dark mode’. ”

I feel sick at the thought of what Javier must have endured, what I’d pushed him into. If I’d been with him… and my stomach turns knowing I can’t even call to check he’s really OK.

“He’s fine,” Sai attempts to reassure me, there’s a hint of annoyance in his tone though. “He was with your little mage.”

“Alexis…” Another stab of guilt hits me. “How do you even know this?”

“Who do you think was on the front line when shit went down, Red?” His large grin tells me he wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. “Zeek had you locked up here, the three of us went to blow off some steam, the second we stepped back through the barrier we initiated the lockdown planned for any high-level threat and, at the same time, Zeek dropped his barrier.”

I quickly piece everything together, noting how tight all the timings seemed to be, they really hadn’t a moment’s peace since the night at ‘The Inferno’.

“You got here fast,” I whisper, whilst I remember the moment the three of them appeared.

“Pissed off Zeek is not a pretty sight,” he drawls, smirking slightly at the widening of my eyes. If they were that worried about Ezekial, considering how powerful they were, I genuinely didn’t want to imagine what his unleashed fury would cause… or maybe a tiny part of me did want to imagine…

“Where did you go just then, Red?” Sai’s sultry voice drags my gaze back to him, his hand moves to rest upon my hip and my skin crackles at the sudden contact. “Want me to help ease those pesky thoughts?” His sinful, dimpled grin and teasing touch create a deep hum in my bones and I visibly relax under his touch.

I can still hear the murmured conversation of Ezekial, Julien's velvet tone sporadically joining in, but I don’t even consider moving away, or stopping him, or even saying anything as I consume Sai’s soothing touch and amplify the sensation.

“We need to get out of here,” he murmurs, markings pulsing against me. His voice is low, one of need, as his lips hover against my ear. “I need to touch you so badly my markings burn .”

I knew that sensation well .

We’re both suddenly jolted from our lust induced haze by a loud clanging. Sai abruptly pulls away but his hand remains upon my waist, his power wrapping around me protectively as we seek out the sound.

Ezekial and Julien also rush back into the dining room, all eyes landing upon the large bag Kane has just dropped onto the stone table. The beige fabric tinged with burgundy which begins to seep out from the bottom... pooling.

My eyes trail up until they meet his gaze. Cold, intense, but utterly calm as he studies me.

“What the fuck is that?” Sai points towards the bag, the one whose substance was now leaking onto the floor.

“I think we know,” Julien utters, his gaze trailing the flow of blood.

“Brother, can you at least get it off the table?” Ezekial casually queries, before asking the person on the phone to repeat themselves.

I feel his gaze upon me again, the soothing coolness urging me to look back as he pulls the bag onto the ground, another loud thud follows.

“You still haven’t eaten.” Kane’s sudden statement makes my mouth pop open. His slightly furrowed gaze is focused upon me, the serious tone of his voice making me wonder if Kane often brought body parts to the dinner table .

Before I can even formulate a reply, I note that my last thought was silently broadcasted. The roll of Ezekial’s eyes, Sai’s rumbling laughter and Julien's chuckle only confirms it.

Even Kane’s gaze seems to lighten a tiny fraction.

I have to force myself from joining in.