WitchHunter ✔️

Iron Bars (Or a Lack Thereof)

Hale

Victor has owed me a favor for years, ever since I'd saved his hand, so when I came to him asking for use of his boat, he was more than happy to let me do so, no questions asked. The Albatross is a small vessel, but one of the few in the harbor with a crimson stripe down the side, a ship allowed to enter the dark waters around the black prison

My Ace is kneeling on the deck at my feet, her wrists bound by loose rope, the knot simple, so she will be able to get out of it easily when the time comes. My heart thumps hard in my chest. I'm about to break a lochri out of Vjengardta. I, Hale Arsen, the future WitchMaster, am about to help a lochri escape capture.

My stomach threatens to spill my lunch all over the wood planks below me.

I grab the Ace roughly as our boat sullies up next to the dock, and one of the dockhands calls out to us. "The little birdie back again, is she, My Lord?"

"Aye. This little bitch tested me one too many times." I jerk her around roughly, but not rough enough to hurt her. I'll never hurt her again. I just have to sell this. "Special little assassin or not, you ain't too good for this place, Girl." It doesn't feel good to speak to her this way. I feel scummy.

The deckhand chuckles. "Well lucky her. Crawlott happens to be on duty currently. Aren't you excited to see your favorite prison warden, little birdie?"

The Ace stiffens in my grasp. She's afraid. Just who exactly is this Crawlott? I've never heard of him. What kind of person does it take to strike fear into the heart of my Ace?

She keeps her eyes glued to the floor.

I haul her upward, onto the dock, and we follow the deckhand up the slippery black stairs carved into the stone. I glance back just once, in time to see Candor steering the boat back out into the black water.

"Back again just a day later, eh?" The voice echoes out of the cave entrance. We stop in front of the guard house as the dark form emerges from deep inside the prison.

Crawlott is a tall man, though not as tall or broad as me. His face is weatherworn and covered in scars, and an eyepatch covers his right eye. The Ace is stiff next to me. Afraid. "Little birdie coming back to her cage." Crawlott's bare feet stop in front of us as the Ace stares at the black stone floor. Crawlott's hand suddenly whips forward, across my Ace's face. I jerk her back in surprise. He just hit her. He just hit her for no reason. "Show me your face, girl!" Crawlott growls.

The Ace's head snaps up, her eyes glazed over. She's vacant. The rage soars inside of me. I close my eyes. "She's mine to torture today, Crawlott." I return his vicious tone, opening my eyes, the fire inside under control. "Not yours."

A malicious smile spreads across the man's face, and he gives a small, angry bow. "My apologies, WitchHunter." He isn't used to being talked down to in here. This is his place, his domain. He's the big man here, far down below Fortress, where Velius rarely visits. "Typically, she's mine to do with as I please."

"So you're the one who normally has the pleasure of dealing with my Ace?"

"Oh yes, Hale Arsen. I've always made sure she understands she is being punished." He is slimy and disgusting. I want nothing more than to make him feel the pain he's inflicted on my Ace.

Crawlott reaches into the guardhouse, pulling out a single key on a thin leather strap. "Follow me, WitchHunter."

I hold my Ace close to me as we descend into the prison. I can almost feel the nerves coursing through her, willing her to turn and run back toward the surface and away from this place. It's my duty to protect her in here. Letting Crawlott get a slap in wasn't a good start.