Veritas

Chapter 59

Aislinn sat up abruptly, her pupils red like burning embers as a growl built up in her chest. Despite how exhausted and weak she'd been when she passed out, her injuries and exhaustion seemed to be gone. It seemed the poison had passed in time for her to raise Hell.

She got to her feet and reached out to Rei and Ryan through mind-link, wanting to warn them if what she'd seen was just the plan the King had concocted with his psychotic mother. Panic coursed through her when she did, though, because her words fell into nothingness. Normally, even if Rei or Ryan were asleep or blocking her out when she reached out, she could feel their presence. This time, it was emptiness, and she felt her words drift into an abyss where nobody would hear them. If this was what it was like to be a Rogue, so alone without connection, it made sense that they'd go insane.

With a painful twist in her heart as she worried about what this meant, Aislinn looked down at her hand for a much-needed wave of relief. When they introduced her to their little pack, they'd bitten her to symbolize that while not a member of an official pack, she did belong somewhere. She still had the mark, meaning her pack still lived.

She decided not to dwell on the unknown for now, and instead find her way back to her family. Finally, she took in her surroundings, realizing she had no idea where she was. For starters, she was in a cage that just by the scent of the metal she could tell was made entirely of silver. She was clearly underground, given that the air was musty and damp, and the walls, floor and ceilings were just stone as if they were in a cave. The dim lighting in the small area was provided by two torches on the wall, which doubled as the only heat source. Fortunately, as a werewolf, she wouldn't suffer the cold or the dim lighting. Unfortunately, it made it hard for her to tell where she was. She wondered whether she had been taken out of the palace, the pack territory, or even the kingdom. Without knowing how long she'd been unconscious, it was hard to gauge.

A groan drew her attention away from her thoughts, and back to the situation she found herself in. Looking over towards the noise, she saw a very naked Darius sprawled on the silver floor of a cage next to her own, unconscious but clearly in pain. She felt her blazing anger at him die down a little, and couldn't help but wince at the pain he must be in. She noted that not only were the bars of the cage silver; but, floor and ceiling, too. That explained the other scent she'd noticed when she first came to — burning flesh.

Unlike herself, Darius was painfully affected by the silver prison they'd each found themselves in. Clearly, whoever threw them in the cages meant for it to be torturous, as they were both naked. Their captor certainly wanted them to be unable to escape even a moment of the burning agony that the King was no doubt feeling, since they'd each been stripped naked and left no medium to put between themselves and the harsh metal. While somewhat sympathetic, she had to admit that she wasn't particularly distressed by his pain. It did make her wonder, though...If he was in on this plot, why would he put himself through such agony? Surely he could have pretended he'd been harmed. The thought left Aislinn confused, and doubting what she thought she knew about the King's involvement.

Once more, Aislinn focused on the situation, deciding she could ponder the oddities of things later. Still, she held onto her rage and let it simmer on the surface, unable to suppress it entirely even if she wanted to. It allowed her to have a clearer head, though, as she considered what she knew about where they were.

For starters, vampires were the one who captured them, if her last memory was accurate. Vampires hated silver as much as werewolves did, and if what she'd learned was true, they were impacted similarly by it. This was a welcome thought, since she could use that to her advantage if her captors came near her cage. A less welcome thought was that if they were taken all the way to vampire territory, they'd have a fight on their hands to get out. It would be no small task, and one that would take time. Time she didn't have if she wanted to save her family.

She blew out a frustrated sigh as she tried to formulate a plan that also involved dragging an unconscious, injured man along with her; however, her time was cut short when she heard voices in the distance. The voices were definitely male, and as the sound grew nearer, she could hear them bickering.

"I went last time, it's your turn" the first voice said.

"No, I put them in there, so we agreed you'd go the next two times" the other corrected the first.

"Bullshit! We agreed to one on and one off! I'm not going near those cages more than I need to" the first said, ending his statement with a threatening hiss.

"I'm not either, so you can explain to Him why the mutt King died on our watch" the second retorted, unfazed by the first's attempt at intimidation.

Aislinn's eyes widened, realizing the bickering pair were headed for her. From the sounds of it, neither wanted to be in the room with the silver cages, so odds were that they stripped her and Darius down and tossed them in before making a run for it. That meant they likely assumed she was still unconscious, or at least weakened by the silver. She tried to wrack her brain for ways to use any of the information; but, try as she might, she was coming up empty handed.

Desperate, she tried to think of what else she knew of vampires. It was said they lived lives of pleasure, enjoying the more dangerous aspects of life that would have killed them as humans. They loved drinking blood, doing drugs, and sex.

She only had one idea; and, as the vampires settled who was going to check on the werewolves, she knew her time was up. So, as a last resort, she pulled her talisman off and hid it in the corner of her cage. As the magical necklace was no longer in contact with her body, she felt herself grow shorter, her hair longer, her form returning to her own body. To emphasize her plan, she ran to the bars and grasped them so the vampires would see she was unharmed by the silver. Next, she thought of her parents, and the guilt she felt for their deaths, bringing tears to her eyes.

With the tears beginning to trickle down her cheeks, she put on a fearful expression and waited. Once the vampire's face emerged through the small opened in the room, she put her plan into motion, praying to the Moon Goddess it worked.