Chapter 8
CHAPTER
She was… a mage?
“Carolyn… you—” I stammered, but lost my words when her eyes met mine.
She was like an open book. Fear that I’d seen her, that she was exposed, flickered across her face. Slowly, the fear faded away, her face blank and something else built up in its place.
Resolve.
Was she going to kill me?
“Wait, Carolyn…” I began, raising my hands from the gun. “Let’s not do anything hasty. Talk to me.”
Her face cracked and she cackled. “Talk? Really? You intend to talk things over with a mage?”
I bit my lip. She was right, it sounded absurd; but it was the truth, I didn’t want to attack her or trick her into lowering her guard.
I opened my mouth, but no words came out. How long had she known? Why had she joined the Ashen Corps? There was so much I wanted to ask her.
She raised her arm, blue light swirling around it, the ground underneath her feet slowly freezing over.
“Carolyn—” I tried again, but her eyes widened.
Her fear was back, her arm trembling, as she saw something behind me. I swallowed hard, but before I had the chance to turn, a gun fired and the bullet pierced through Carolyn’s forehead. The blue light died, as her eyes darkened and her body fell to the ground with a thud.
I watched in horror, the ice around her slowly melting, as I drew a sharp breath and slowly turned.
Smoke still lingered from the gun he was holding, his eyes emotionless.
“Why did you hesitate?” the Lieutenant asked, voice venomous, accusing. His red eyes slowly turned to me, studying me carefully.
“She was one of ours,” I whispered.
“No, she was a mage,” he clarified, reloading his gun.
“But… she killed the demon.” My head had a hard time wrapping around what had happened, not sure what I wanted to achieve with my words.
“So what? Should I have given her a medal and thanked her for cleaning up her own mess?” he cocked a brow at me, as a mischievous smirk spread on his lips. He was right… but she could’ve killed us earlier, there had been plenty of opportunities and yet she didn’t.
Carolyn knew what she signed up for and chose to not harm anyone even when she had the chance at the base. I wanted to know what she had been thinking, what her goal was. My blood felt like it was boiling.
The Lieutenant’s eyes narrowed, and in a swift motion he seized my wrist and pulled me closer.
“What are you doing?” I gasped, wincing as his grip tightened. “You’re hurting me.”
He tilted his head, studying me, and squeezed harder. Pain shot up my arm. I gritted my teeth, ripped a knife free, and slashed at him, blade grazing his skin.
Blood trickled, finally making him loosen his grip, flexing his hand as the color returned to mine.
“There it is,” he murmured, lips curling into a wicked smirk as he brushed his blood away with his arm. “Your fangs.”
I leveled the knife at him, voice sharp.
“Let me go, or I’ll do worse.”
His eyes flicked to the blade, then locked back onto me, dark, unyielding.
“Then do it.”
Before I could move, he clamped his hand over mine, dragging the knife up to his own throat. His gaze never wavered.
“Was she your friend? The one I killed?” His tone was almost lazy, but the cruelty beneath it scraped raw. “Is that why you’re baring your teeth?”
My breath hitched. We’d barely known each other for a few days.
So why was my chest burning? The realization cut cold—he wasn’t taunting, he was testing.
Testing to see if hatred had wormed into me, if I was tainted.
All of us had been spread out, even if the moment had been brief, it was enough for a demon to strike a bargain.
“I’m not a demon,” I spat, hating how desperate the words sounded.
His smile slipped, voice dropping to something colder, truer.
“Exactly what a demon would say.”
A sound behind us, footsteps rustling the leaves on the ground. My heart lurched as our three squadmates pushed through the brush. Their eyes became wide at the sight of me holding a knife to the Lieutenant’s throat, his blood on my blade, his hand clamped over mine as though restraining me.
“What the hell?!” Mey shouted, reaching for her weapon.
I stumbled back, panic flooding me. “No! It’s not—”
The Lieutenant let go just in time, staggering a half-step away, his hand pressed to the shallow cut on his arm. He grimaced as if in pain, and raised his voice loud enough for them to hear.
“She snapped.” His words dripped with cold, manufactured regret. “I confronted her about what happened to Carolyn, and she turned on me.”
“That’s a lie!” I snarled, but the knife still gleamed red in my hand, his blood staining it. His expression was perfect, disappointment carved across a mask of control, the kind a commanding officer wore when burdened with ugly truths.
Nate and Mey exchanged uneasy looks, while Ashley looked blank as a paper.
“She killed her?”
The Lieutenant’s gaze flicked to mine, sharp, victorious, just for me. He turned to them with weary finality.
“Look at her eyes, she’s tainted, I tried to stop her.”
My stomach dropped. The weight of his trap snapped shut around me, every angle rigged. My voice broke, desperate.
“That’s not—! He killed Carolyn! He—”
“Enough,” his bark cut through mine, authoritative and merciless. “Stand down, recruit, before I’m forced to put you down too.”
The knife trembled in my hand. For a moment, all I could see was his smirk, that glint of triumph for my eyes only, hidden from the rest.
He had framed me perfectly. The worst part? A part of me wanted to drive the blade home anyway, consequences be damned.
The squad was ordered to take me back to Blackreach and put me in a cell.
Our Lieutenant stayed behind and made sure that the demons were kept off the southern tower.
Mey and Nate kept their distance, as if I was diseased or something.
Ashley remained like her usual self. I wasn’t sure what was going on inside of their heads right now.
I only knew that they believed I killed a fellow squadmate.
Had they missed her being a mage by any chance?
That she had ice slowly melting around her body on the ground?
The silence was awful, and we had to continue all the way home, walking all night simply to avoid sleeping—obviously, because none of them dared to let me take a watch.
Was I a demon in their eyes or were they simply masking themselves and following orders?
I had to keep going, let them take this moment of hesitation before telling them the truth. If I pushed too hard now, it would only make me look even more suspicious.
When we finally arrived, starved and tired, Mey took the lead to inform the first camp soldier we met.
He waved a group of guards over, who escorted me away from my squadmates.
I glanced back at my own group, and felt something building inside of me as I met their confused eyes.
There was no disgust, they just simply didn’t know what to think of the situation. I couldn’t blame them for it.
The soldiers guided me into the main building, following the long hallway past the dining room and debriefing room, before taking a turn and reaching a staircase that spiraled down.
The interior shifted quickly. If I had thought the dining halls to be damp, this was even worse.
Cobblestone walls, a dim light cast by torches that were barely able to hold on and the air reeking of despair.
Cold, like the temperature had dropped several degrees down the stairs alone, and a sudden silence.
They opened a gate of metal bars, and lazily waved for me to go inside. There was no point in making it difficult. The lock clicked behind me as they prepared to leave.
“Hey… Don’t I at least get some water and something to eat?” I tried, sending them a faint smile along with the words.
“You’ll have to wait until the Lieutenant gets back,” one of them shrugged, before they walked out.
Right, as if he would grant it…
I released a sigh, leaning back against the wall as I slid down slowly, until I sat on the cold stone floor. I wrapped my arms around my legs, the cold clinging to me like a parasite.
My body suddenly jolted at times, not sure if I had been dozing off or not. After a while I heard footsteps. I tangled my head until I saw who was outside.
Ashley?
“I snuck in,” she smiled easily and I snickered in return.
“Of course you did.”
“Why was Carolyn killed?” She cut right to the chase, no more sweet-talking.
“He shot her, because she was a mage,” I said, meeting her eyes dead on. She nodded slowly, taking in my words, showing no emotions or reactions in her features.
“So why did you cut the Lieutenant?”
“He taunted me and I have a bad temper,” I chuckled dryly. At that she shone, a smile lingering on her face.
“Happy you’re honest,” she said, tilting her head a bit, her eyes guarding the area towards the stairs. “But that doesn’t clarify why he pinned it on you, instead of simply telling us the truth,” she pouted, looking like a defiant child, before she gazed back at me. “Want me to break you out?”
I burst into laughter. “Thank you for the offer, but no.”
She arched a brow at me, crossing her arms.
“Then they’d really believe I was guilty, no?” I shot back at her, my eyes sharp as I began to wonder why she offered it to begin with.
“Suit yourself,” she shrugged.
“However, if you could snag me something to eat…” I fluttered my eyes at her.
Ashley’s head turned as her eyes searched, before she dug her hands into her pockets and brought out two apples and an uncooked potato. My stomach growled, while my body almost lunged at her, holding out my shaking hands in front of her.
Carefully, she placed the food in my palms and retreated her hands quickly. “Only because I like your attitude.”
I sneered at her. “I owe you one.”
“Well, three, if we’re counting each offering,” she rolled her eyes. “Make sure to not gulp them down at once.”
I nodded, playing with the food between my hands, teasing the hunger inside of me.
“I’ll head out before someone sees me,” she said, glancing back towards the staircase. “The Lieutenant should be back soon, but… since you’re still alive, he couldn’t have wanted you dead, right?” Her question echoed in the air, as if I had the answer.
But I didn’t.
“Well, I’ll come back to visit you,” she winked at me.
“In case you change your mind and need a jailbreak.” A smile played on her lips, and I wasn’t sure if she was joking or serious.
I simply waved to her when she began skittering out of the dungeon.
She wasn’t careful in the slightest. Then again, from what I had seen of the other recruits, not many dared to talk back to her or question her at all for that matter.
I sighed heavily; I still had no idea why the Lieutenant had done this to me either. Perhaps it was his twisted way to show dominance, to prove that he was in charge and could do whatever the hell he wished.
As if I wasn’t already well the fuck aware.