53. The General’s Plan
fifty-three
The General’s Plan
*SHAYAN*
I ’ve spent hours distracting Penelope. Ever since Noemi disappeared, I went all out in making sure to keep Penelope busy. Never in my life have I been more stressed. There is no holding back now, though. Either Tynan arrives with backup tonight or Royan and I will be dead. I’m not going to stand by and watch him get tortured another night.
I even took advantage of Rona being around, though she is surprisingly quiet. I carefully poked her and Penelope for details about their training and how they spend time with each other. To my relief, Penelope loves the fact that I’m interested in her person and indulges me a bit. I explained to her that eventually I need to be of help to her, and need to know the surroundings better. Another fact that seems to please her. She and Rona once more show me the underground area of the cult. This time I try to be much more aware of my surroundings, noting how the door opens to hers or Rona’s spells, but that other members enter with a bracelet they carry.
I have no plan, yet, of what I’m going to do to help Royan, but just in case a brilliant idea strikes me, I want to know how to get around here.
It's late afternoon when Penelope decides she wants to visit Royan again. “You are coming with me,” she tells Rona, her tone cold. Her eyes glint like it brings her joy to hurt her own sister that way.
Rona just nods, her lips quivering slightly.
“Shay,” Penelope turns to look at me. “You are free to accompany me or go your own ways for the remainder of the evening.”
I furrow my brows, pretending to think about her offer. “I will accompany you for now,” I say. I need to check on Royan and intervene in case things get too bad. “If it’s alright with you, Madame, I might leave you in between your questioning and try to learn more about this place on my own.”
“I like your dedication to the cause,” she says. “And how you want to be one of us. Very well,” she takes the arm I offer her. “Let’s go.”
The walk down the staircase and to the dungeons is one I dread. It reminds me of how my friend and ally is here, and has no chance to defend himself. When we finally arrive at his cell, the blood in my veins freezes. He is pale, his pallor sickish. I want to close my eyes or turn my head to look somewhere else like Rona is doing right now, but I don’t. This is my punishment. I should have watched out for him more. He is so much younger and less experienced than I am, and I had a bad feeling ever since he met his mate, yet I didn’t warn him. This is not the best I could have done to protect him.
I stare at him, hoping he will open his eyes to look at me, but they are still closed. Next to me, Rona clenches her fingers into fists.
Two men bring Penelope a chair to sit down on. Once she has sat down, she takes the doll out of her pocket again. “Let’s see if we can wake Sleeping Beauty up,” she sneers.
My blood runs cold by the chilly tone of her voice. There is not a hint of empathy in it, nothing kind, just pure hatred and despise… and joy. She likes to bring terror upon others, she enjoys the pain she brings them.
A smirk curls her lips as she twists one of the puppet’s legs. Royan jolts awake, screaming in pain, as his leg gets twisted. Penelope proceeds with other parts and limbs of his body, until Royan’s voice is too hoarse to scream. Next to me, I can feel Rona shift slightly. When I look at her, there are tears in her eyes, her body trembling slightly. There is a scar marring half her face now where Penelope scratched her yesterday.
All she had to do was keep her mouth shut. She brought this upon her own mate, but she is not the one wielding the sword. That’s Penelope. Rona just happens to be her stupid sidekick.
Royan’s breath seems to get more and more shallow. Penelope takes a needle out of her pocket, ramming it into the puppet’s upper body. Royan’s eyes fly open. He coughs.
“No,” Rona cries, burying her face behind her hands.
“Oh look, sweet sister,” Penelope snickers. “That’s how far you went for me. You sacrificed your own mate for me. This is all your doing.”
I’m too shocked to react to her cruel words, only waking up from my haze when I realize she has sent Royan into cardiac arrest.
This is it. I’m not going to stand by and watch that anymore. I’m about to dash forward and do… something… when Penelope turns to one of her men. “Bring him back,” she says shortly. “Use a bit of the antidote for the wolfsbane.”
The man hurries into the cell, and for a split second I can see the fear in his eyes before he hides it behind a mask of indifference. He slams a syringe into Royan’s neck, starting to revive him. Royan gasps loudly, his eyes shooting open again.
When he saw Penelope earlier, Royan looked terrified, but now he just looks so… exhausted, and like he is ready to leave for real. He doesn’t look scared anymore, but, numb. His eyes are hollow and void of any emotion.
He is so young. All these wolves are young. They take responsibility on so early, that I sometimes forget that they haven’t even reached their mid-twenties yet.
Penelope looks ready to strike again, sending my mind into a whirlwind of thoughts. I don’t want Royan to die here. He needs to have a chance at life. But I can’t win against Penelope. There is no one here who can!
There is…I pause in my own thoughts. There is!
I don’t waste any more time, I don’t overthink it, instead I step forward towards Penelope, squeezing her shoulder softly. “Madame, I will take off for now.”
“Of course, Shay,” she says without paying real attention to me.
I toss a glance at Royan, trying to catch his gaze. I try to convey it all in it, telling him to fight for a bit longer, to hang in there. His eyelids flutter close again. I’m not sure if he understood, and I’m certainly not staying to find out.
Out of the corner of my eyes I can see one of Penelope’s closer guards leaving, and I decide to follow him quietly. When we reach an empty corridor, leading us through an underground corridor from the dungeons to the other side of the manor, where the secret area of the cult is located, I decide to step into action.
A warrior with my handicap has something up his sleeve… quite literally. King Naseem and I used to be very close friends, before his character changed, before he became so cruel towards his daughter and his own people. But, back in the days when we were friends, he would have done anything for me.
One of his gifts is my bionic arm. I step forward, pulling a hidden switch on my arm that turns my bionic fingers into a knife. I swiftly cover the guard’s mouth to prevent him from screaming, before slamming the knife into his body. I wait for a few seconds until any life has left him, before ripping off his bracelet and tugging him behind one of the thick curtains that cover the walls, hiding him there.
I use his clothes to wipe my arm clean off his blood, returning it to its usual appearance, before continuing my path like nothing happened. I pick up my pace a bit without running, trying to look like I would if I were just on an errand for Penelope. Finally, the last days of playing her puppet pay off, because everyone here has seen me at her side already.
Some nod curtly without talking to me, a gesture I return. Until I reach the door that leads me to the inner circle of the cult. One of the cult members who passes me looks at me with a frown, but when he sees my tattoo and the bracelet, he just nods and minds his own business.
For a second, I’m scared that the bracelet is crafted for each individual, carrying their blood to identify them or something else, but it doesn’t. The door opens for me, and I step into the hallway. I walk further, keeping in the shadows and trying not to draw any attention to myself.
“Finally, a full-fledged member?” a man who I identify as one of the guards approaches me.
“Yes,” I say shortly, showing him my tattoo. “Madame sent me.”
He looks skeptical. “Oh. Why didn’t she come on her own?”
“If you want to know, you need to ask her,” I say. “Alternatively, I can tell her later that you were curious about her whereabouts.”
“Oh no, I trust her judgement completely!” he exclaims, horror in his eyes. He has his expression under control soon, though, and just nods at me. “Do you need help?”
“Just the general direction,” I say, as an idea strikes me. The last time I followed her to this place, she and Rona retrieved some crystals. “She wants me to retrieve one of the crystals.”
“Oh, for the creatures,” he nods, pointing at the door that leads to the secret passage, leading directly to the place she binds the creatures at.
Secretly, I applaud myself for this idea. I nod at the man to show my gratitude. When I walk towards the door now, I don’t attract any suspicions. I still try to remain calm and collected, fortunately my years of practice are paying off. Once the door is closed, silence engulfs me, and I let out a shaky breath. If this goes wrong, I’m a dead man. It’s the last chance Royan and I have.
I carefully step forward until I’m back in the room with the platform. Cù Sìth is still there, bound by chains. Dark dust seems to be around him constantly. He raises his head when he spots me, his eyes boring into mine.
“Man,” I mutter to myself, “and now, how to free him?”
He growls. “Just loosen the chains.”
I tense for a moment, my eyes widening in surprise. “Of course you can talk!” I groan. “Why wouldn’t you?” I hurry towards one of the chains that's been fixed on the wall. “Will it kill me to touch these?”
“No,” Cù Sìth rumbles. “You are human.”
I reach out my hand to the chains, noting how my tattoo starts to light up and turn red. I hold my breath, waiting for it to do something, to kill me on the spot, bind me or do something sinister to me, but it doesn’t.
“You are human,” Cù Sìth repeats. “This is a spell targeting mythical creatures, shifters or other paranormal beings. The witch was too full of herself and forgot who you are.”
“For once, it’s good to be a plain human,” I grunt, before ripping the chain loose. It rattles as it drops to the ground, clashing and banging onto the concrete floor. I close my eyes. Shit, that was loud. I scoot back into the shadows of the room. As expected, the door flies open, and one of the guards hurries inside. “What was that?” he blurts out. “Is someone there?”
I could swear that Cù Sìth smirks, but he remains completely quiet, not moving, until the man is close enough. Then, with one single movement, he jumps forward, ripping the head off the unsuspecting man.
Cù Sìth turns his head to stare at me. “Are you coming, warrior?”
“I am,” I say.
When we pass the window, we both stop at the view in front of us. For a second, I forget how to breathe. There is a golden dragon flying in the air; right in front of us, for all eyes to see, is a huge bear creature - with Azadeh riding on its back. Next to her is a wolf with fur entirely made of ice and behind them an army of wolves and a few werebears.
My heart skips a beat. They are here. They are here! It means Royan has a chance.
Right, Royan. “We need to hurry. We have a witch to kill!”
“That we have,” Cù Sìth growls, water and drool flowing out of his mouth as he bares his teeth.
*ROYAN*
I remember how my blood burned, how hot pain shot through my body over and over again, until I didn’t feel anything anymore.
I remember Rona, the first time I saw her and felt the magical bond between us, and then how we made love to each other. I remember the pain and sadness in her eyes when she thought I wasn’t looking.
I remember joking with Shayan, and how easy it was to follow his lead.
I remember the look on my friends’ and family’s faces when I was chosen the protector of the princess, and how proud my father was.
I remember Tessa, the first girl I ever liked and was intimate with.
I remember how I met with my friends around the campfire, and how dad told us stories.
I remember when mom died, and I cried for days.
I remember how dad got mad at me for something and yelled at me. Then, an attack happened, I got lost in the crowd, and he wasn’t mad anymore.
I remember when mom made a scarf and cap for me, and they were the most beautiful things ever.
A smile curls my lips. For a moment, the cold leaves my body, and I feel warm. Somewhere in the distance I can hear a loud screech ripping through the silence, but I’m too tired to bother.
Stay strong, dad. Stay strong and live on.
I’m going to meet mom soon.