Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
~ Shade ~
The next day the first zenali creature is brought to the academy for questioning. Ambrose is the one to notify Thane, and my mates all insist on joining me for the conversation. That’s right, a conversation, because I refuse to call it an interrogation, no matter what the shadow queen would prefer.
My mates lead me down to the dungeons beneath the academy, and I feel my throat closing as we descend the stone steps and pass the first barred cells.
The last time I was here I’d found Satine, her mind almost broken.
And the time before that…I shudder, thinking of the cell Professor Yevar had placed me in all those years ago.
I hadn’t known where I was at the time, and it’s so strange thinking about it now.
Sensing my unease, Thane clasps his massive hand around mine and squeezes. “You have nothing to worry about, mate. We’ll be with you the entire time,” his shadow whisper brushes my ears.
Ambrose and Germain walk at the head of our group, and they stop when we reach a cell at the far end of the dungeon. It’s three times the size of the other cells, and instead of bars, it has a thick iron wall at the front.
Ambrose frowns when he sees Thane holding my hand. I go to pull away, but Thane grips my fingers tighter.
“Jorvik and Virelle have brought us a shekel,” Ambrose says, gesturing to the cell.
“Apparently, it was in the area during one of the first battles with the Xalgrith. Virelle believes she saw a Xalgrith warrior talking to it. We can’t be sure this is the same creature, but the shekel still lives in the same region, and it’s the only one that has the same thick red line on its back like Virelle remembers.
Your job is to find out whether it’s the same shekel, and if so, find out what it discussed with the Xalgrith and whether it has any idea what the Xalgrith are after. ”
My pulse spikes, and I try not to fidget. “And what if it’s not the same shekel?”
Germain stares at me like I’m an idiot. “Then you fucking find out where you can find the real one.”
Whoa. Okay, then.
Knox’s shadows stir, and a growl begins to rumble in Raith’s throat, but I subtly shake my head at them. I can handle Germain’s attitude, and the last thing we need is Germain and Ambrose reporting to Queen Krosia that we were difficult.
It’s just talking, Shade. You love talking. You can do this. “Okay, got it,” I say. “Easy peasy.” I force a smile, pretending that I’m not secretly terrified.
Ambrose seems satisfied by my answer, and his shadows move to the iron door, pulling it open to reveal a sparse room.
The shekel is kneeling beside a small drain, its wrists cuffed, and the chain tying him to the stone floor.
The creature’s back is curved, bones protruding against its scaly skin, and its head is fish-like with fins for ears.
The shekel smiles at me as we move into the room, and it bares its bloodied fangs. Multiple wounds cover its body, including gashes on either side of its chest, and despite how unsettling its black gaze is, I can’t help but feel sorry for the creature.
“What’s happened to it?” I ask.
Germain gives me a horrible smile. “He was resisting.”
I frown, thinking about what I’d read about the shekels in the oracle’s journals. Ordinarily, as far as the zenali creatures go and despite their somewhat scary appearance, the shekels are one of the more peaceful species in the realm.
“Well, did you try asking nicely?” I say, because something tells me these guys lack basic manners and might need reminding.
Germain laughs and shoots a look at my mates like he pities them for being bonded to me. “You sure she’s up for this?”
Raith growls, and he tenses like he’s ready to slam Germain into the wall, but everyone goes silent when I slip my hand from Thane’s and move closer to the shekel.
The creature stares at me with its large, bulbous eyes, and I try to forget about everyone else in the room.
“Hi,” I say awkwardly, stopping a few steps away from the zenali. “I hope they weren’t too rough with you.” My voice sounds strange to my own ears, a flowing lyrical series of sounds, and I feel my power humming through my system. Like just being close to the zenali made it stir to the surface.
The creature tilts its head, observing me, and I almost wonder if I might have spoken the wrong language when the zenali speaks.
“So, it’s true,” he replies in a silky voice. He smiles broadly, excitement lighting up his obsidian eyes. “You can speak to us.”
I shift uncomfortably, feeling exposed as the others watch. “I’m sorry, do you know me?”
The shekel blinks, its two eyelids closing one after the other before it stares at me again. Its gaze is unnerving, but I stay where I am.
“Your new friends from the games have been talking about you. It’s a very peculiar story, and one that my kind have paid particular attention to,” the shekel answers. “You’re becoming somewhat of a celebrity, mistress.”
“My…friends?” I frown as I think about the games.
I’d witnessed the nasken die, so I know it can’t be him spreading tales of me.
I’d assumed the other creatures had all perished as well, but then I think of how the nemins also called me ‘mistress.’ Hope surges through me.
“Are you talking about the nemins?” Okay, so sure, those little nemins are creepy as hell, and I still shudder to think about how they’d paralyzed me, but weirdly enough, I feel happy at the idea that they might have escaped the games.
When the shekel doesn’t answer, Ambrose’s clipped voice cuts across the room. “What’s it saying? What do the Xalgrith want?”
Oh, right. The Xalgrith. Clearing my throat, I focus on the task at hand. I’m desperate to know what the creatures are saying about me, but I’ll get to that later. “Look I get that you might not want to talk if they’ve treated you badly, but I need to ask you some questions.”
The shekel stares at my lips like he’s utterly fascinated that words are coming out of me.
Well, that’s not creepy at all. “When the Xalgrith first attacked this land,” I forge on, “one of the originals believes you spoke with them. We’re trying to find out what the Xalgrith want. Do you know why they keep attacking us?”
The creature stares at me for a long silent moment before laughter spills from its mouth. “You wish to know why the Xalgrith are here? Oh, I had not expected this.”
My brow wrinkles with confusion. “Well, why did you think you were brought here?”
The creature opens its mouth like it’s about to say something, but it’s as though it thinks better of it and it closes its mouth again, pressing its thick glistening lips together.
I can practically feel the others’ growing impatience, but I ignore them. “Look, I don’t like this any more than you do, but—”
“To the contrary, mistress,” the shekel interrupts. “This is my honor. I had not expected I would get the chance to meet you before my time was up.”
A million questions keep firing in my head. “What’s an honor? Seeing me? You’re making no sense.”
He just blinks at me like he’s expecting all the answers to suddenly fall into my head. “Yes, I am glad I took my father’s place.”
“Wait…your father?” I press.
The shekel nods. “The destroyers wanted him, but I happily took his place. Our community needs him, but my loss will be less significant.”
My mind spins. “Hold on, are you saying it was your father who spoke to the Xalgrith?”
The shekel continues to stare at me like my questions are meaningless, and he simply enjoys watching me speak. “When history is written, I wonder if it will mention this conversation,” he mutters, his eyes brightening at the idea.
History? I’m seriously lost. “Does this have something to do with another prophecy?” I ask. “Something about me?”
The creature clicks his tongue, still seemingly lost in thought. “Yes… They may mention me as Borshoz the Brave. Borshoz who sacrificed himself for the community.”
“This isn’t a sacrifice,” I say. “Or an honor. I’m sorry, but we’re just…you know, talking. Did your father tell you what the Xalgrith are after? Please. Just tell me what you know and they’ll return you home.”
This time when the shekel laughs it’s a bitter, emotionless sound that fills the entire cell.
“Who will send me home? The destroyers? No, there’s no need to spin pretty lies, mistress.
I have said my goodbyes, and I will be remembered by my kind.
Borshoz the Fearless, yes, that’s what they will call me.
No, there is no escaping the shadow queen.
Not once she has set her gaze upon you. Her destroyers will see to that. ”
My head is spinning. “By destroyers, are you talking about the originals? Queen Krosia just wants me to talk to you. We need to know what the Xalgrith want so we can end this war. Don’t you want that?”
The shekel’s laughter is dry and brittle. “Talking? The shadow queen does not care for it. All she cares for is death and destruction.”
“It’s the shadow queen who’s tasked me to do this,” I counter.
“Well, if she has, it is because she is testing you. She does not believe you will find out the truth.”
I swallow, all too aware of Ambrose and Germain watching me. They might not be able to understand our conversation, but I can feel them assessing my every move and expression. “What truth?” I say softly, my heart pounding faster.
“There are very few who could tell the story,” Borshoz says. “And the destroyers will not find my father now.”
“What are you saying?” My heart deflates, because it’s obvious this shekel doesn’t have all the information his father has.
Germain must pick up on my defeated expression, because he asks, “What’s it saying? Does it know what the Xalgrith are after?”
I shake my head. “No. It has no idea.”
Germain scowls. “Then it’s useless. Let’s fuckin’ stop wasting our time.” He draws his sword and takes a step toward the shekel, and I flinch.