Adelaide drifted back into consciousness. Images of her failed escape flashed across her mind. She'd failed every Enchanter in this camp. She felt like she had let down the whole race of Enchanters. How many lives had been lost for nothing?
She was so done. She'd had enough. Adelaide threw the blanket off and ran into the door. It was bolted shut as always. In her fury she hadn't cared. Adelaide felt stronger than she had in weeks, perhaps months. Who knows how long she had been down here? Victoria and Rosaline must be going out of their minds. A pang of sadness crept up on her. Did everyone think she was dead? A new surge of fury swept her. Adelaide jumped on the bed and smashed the camera with the heel of her hand. The glass cracked but did not break.
"You can't keep me in here forever" Adelaide shouted. "I don't know where the caveam is. You have the wrong person".
Adelaide waited. And waited. And waited. Finally three guards she did not recognise came bursting the door. Adelaide leaned against the wall opposite the door.
"Finally" she said and then she picked up a shard of broken glass.
"There's no need for violence" the stout one said. "Brenda just wants to talk. We aren't going to hurt you".
"No because you made a promise to Brenda" Adelaide said. "I made no such promise".
And then she put the shard of glass to her throat. The sight of the small trickle of blood was too much for the guards. It sent them whimpering.
"Brenda is going to kill us. Brenda is going to kill us" one of them repeated.
Adelaide shoved past them and ran up the rocky faced tunnel. Perhaps not the best idea she ever thought of. As Adelaide stumbled along the rock, her vision blurred and only thing she could see clearly was her own stupidity.
She didn't even mean to cut that deep. Her wooziness could be due to something else. The lack of food, water, sleep...
Her consciousness came as an uninvited guest. Every moment Adelaide was awake was streaked with pain. Couldn't she enjoy oblivion a little while longer? The failed escape attempts were becoming tedious. Her resilience was cracking and although Adelaide would never admit it - she was struggling. Not just shaking under the weight of stress or the feeling of being smothered. More like she could feel her sanity slipping away – piece by piece. She would not go to the dark place again. That was not an option.
Adelaide rolled off the couch and hit her head off a coffee table. Coffee table? The sound of a door opening made her scramble to her feet. She grabbed a candelabra and swung it over the figure's head.
"Hey" a familiar cried.
The lights flickered on to reveal a shocked Kiyan who was holding a hand to his head.
"Kiyan" Adelaide exclaimed. "What the hell is going on?"
"Keep your voice down. You'll wake Anya" Kiyan whispered.
"Maybe if you wouldn't creep up me like that" Adelaide said. "Why am I even here?"
"Brenda wants you dead" Kiyan said. "That's why the guards came for you. I think she's going to execute you".
Adelaide wanted to burst out laughing. It was so hard to keep a straight face.
"No she isn't. She needs me"
"They've found the caveam" Kiyan said.
Horror washed over Adelaide.
"No. They can't have. That's impossible" Adelaide said.
"Don't you see? If Brenda isn't stopped, the killings will never stop. If my mum got hold of a demon – I don't know what would happen but it wouldn't be pretty".
"Well she's not going to because the only person who can unlock the demon from the caveam is the person who put it there and I don't plan on staying here much longer" Adelaide said.
"I'll make you a deal" Kiyan said. "If I help you escape, you have to promise you won't have me arrested".
Adelaide thought about it. Having an insider definitely would be an advantage. And even if he were to turn her in to his mother, she wouldn't be executed. The thought made her sick, but while she was here she was under Erebus's protection.
"Alright, but I want my weapons" Adelaide said.
"Done"
"And my uniform"
Kiyan looked baffled.
"Why do you need that back? You'll get another one".
"That outfit has five gold medals attached to it" Adelaide exclaimed.
Kiyan gave no indication he was impressed. Just rolled his eyes and said:
"You are insufferable".
Adelaide and Kiyan entered a small chamber behind Phlegethon which led into a larger storage room. Adelaide scrambled for her chakram and her other weapons. Though the dim light of her torch, she recognised a familiar logo peeking out at her. It was the royal Concordian logo emblazed on a hilt of a sword. The Concordian logo was on several of the other weapons and there was also Amitician logos there and even Arugain ones.
"These are from the AIA" Adelaide exclaimed.
"My mum doesn't just have a hatred for Enchanters but for the AIA as well" Kiyan said staring at the bounty of weapons before him.
"Now I know why she has such a strong dislike for me then" Adelaide laughed.
"All the more reason for you to get out of here" Kiyan reasoned. "And the best way to do that is to not cause a scene"
"How will we free the Enchanters without causing a scene?"
"We're not going to. We're going to slip out quietly"
"You're just going leave then here to suffer" Adelaide exclaimed.
"Shh. We can come back with more people. Once the AIA find out about this place they'll tear it apart, right?"
Adelaide chewed her lip.
"I guess that would be the smarter option" she said "But if we want to get out of here as fast as possible we can't take your sister".
Kiyan frowned at her.
"Of course we can. I'm leaving not her here" Kiyan raised his voice.
"She'll slow us down and then we'll all be captured. We will come back for her. You said yourself-"
"Look, princess we're leaving with Anya or we're not leaving at all" he said.
Adelaide stepped closer.
"I don't think you have many options"
A sudden bright light shown into the chamber blinding them both.
"All right. Come out slowly with your hands up" a voice said.
Adelaide clutched her weapon tight and prepared to throw a star. Kiyan put his hand up.
"I can handle it" he said and began to walk out
Adelaide folded her arms and raised an eyebrow.
"Sure you can kiddo".
Adelaide then followed Kiyan out of the dark chamber and into Phlegethon. She meet with an impish boy who was so short he looked comical in an oversized guard's uniform. The boy looked startled and uncertain. If Adelaide was Brenda she would've told this boy to pack up and go home years ago.
"Kiyan?" the boy said.
"Hello Terry" Kiyan said, keeping his face neutral.
"What-what are you doing?" Terry said.
"Getting out of this hellhole for good" Kiyan replied.
Terry paled. "With her?"
"Is there a problem?" Adelaide asked.
"No" Kiyan said putting a hand on Terry's shoulder. "Terry here was just showing us the exit".
"Are you out of your mind? No!"
"Please Terry I can't stay here any longer. We'll come back for everyone" Kiyan said.
Terry bit his lip and shifted uncomfortably. Adelaide just wanted to shake him. Make up your mind!
"Terry" she said as sweetly as she could. "Don't you want to see the sun again? Don't you want to live an ordinary life? I can make that happen".
Terry glowered at Adelaide with as much rage as a person that young could conjure up.
"No. Brenda can't be stopped. It's too late" Terry said.
"Terry you don't understand. My mum will kill her if she finds out" Kiyan said.
"Finds out what?"
"About us" Kiyan said. "Adelaide and I...we're together"
Terry's eyes widened in horror. Adelaide had to stop herself from sniggering. After all, she had a part to play as well. Luckily she happened to be a skilled liar.
"Brenda probably already knows by now. She'll send a search party out for us. I-I don't want her to hurt me again..." Adelaide broke off in sob.
Terry looked uncomfortable. He took one guilty glance at Kiyan and said:
"I think – I think I can get you out the fire exit".
After walking quickly and quietly through what felt like endless tunnels, they finally reached the exit. Terry stopped abruptly.
"Don't do this, man. It's not too late to turn back" he said.
"Open the door" Kiyan said.
Adelaide reached out and clutched the door handle. Terry grabbed her arm.
"Let go of her" Kiyan growled.
"She's not Renee" Terry snapped.
Kiyan gave Terry a cold stare. Then he walked on passed him and went through the door. Adelaide looked at Terry and winced.
"Ouch" she said and followed Kiyan through the door.
At the other end of the door, there was set of stone stairs. The stairs and walls were covered in moss and cobwebs. How long had this camp been here?
"Why didn't you mention this door before?" Adelaide asked as she ascended the stairs.
"Not all the Enchanters would've fit through here. Plus I thought it would be more fun for you to electrify yourself" Kiyan said.
Adelaide stopped. "You knew the fence was electrified and yet you let me make an idiot of myself".
"How was I meant to know what happened when Enchanters were electrocuted? For I knew you could've started sparking lightning bolts, setting the whole forest on fire. Actually I wouldn't be that surprised if you that was your intention all along".
Now it was Adelaide turn to give Kiyan a stone cold glare.
"That's not funny. People died tried to get out of that camp" Adelaide said.
Kiyan amused face turned sorrowful. "I know".
They reached a clearing where there was wide open space. Adelaide let the warmth of the sun was over her. The fresh air made her dizzy with relief. She felt she could finally breathe for the first time in weeks. And the trees! The trees were impossibly lush. The colour of green that could surely only be achieved in a painting.
The peaceful image of the wilderness was scarred with the barbed fence that run across the skyline. The place looked desolate until a guard came into view. Adelaide couldn't see his face, but she could tell who he was be the way he walked. With that arrogant prowl, it could only be Officer Mirosson.
Adelaide crept forward, one hand on her throwing star. Kiyan crouched behind a bush and beckoned her to join him. Adelaide rolled her eyes, but crouched down anyway.
"I'm really glad Anya didn't come with us" Kiyan said. "It wouldn't be safe. All the guards were supposed to be in Lethe tonight. Obviously Tristen had other ideas".
The bitterness in his voice was plain. He hates him.
"Your sister will be fine. Your mother won't let anything happen to her" Adelaide reassured.
Kiyan looked uncertain but nodded. Adelaide looked up ahead. Mirosson or "Tristin" was nowhere to be seen. She didn't have time to voice her alarm before an arrow pierced her arm. She shrieked and Kiyan threw her a panicked look.
Mirosson strode behind them holding a bow and arrow, with a huge shark grin plastered on his face.
"Cadalian. I should've know it was you. You've always had a thing for Enchanters" Mirosson said. "And as for you, you've always been a pain. But we can fix that".
Mirosson drew his arrow back. Adelaide did not wait for him to release it. Kakabael, her chakram flew across the air and straight over Mirosson's head. It was so off course it was almost laughable. Had Adelaide not been so enraged. Kakabael soared in a perfect 360° and came back full swing. Adelaide caught it in mid-air just as an arrow flew past her. Kiyan jumped up and bolted with Adelaide following suit.
Mirosson wasn't a good aim, but it was only matter of time until he hit Adelaide or Kiyan. She had to think of something fast. The pain in her shoulder began to grow worse. Blood ran down her arm. When she pulled the arrow out, she noticed the arrow head was made of lead. With the lead surely seeping into her bloodstream, Adelaide lost the power to draw magic. She'd heard cases of severe lead poisoning where Enchanters permanently lost the ability to do magic. Adelaide shuddered at the thought.
With Kiyan sprinting ahead as fast as a leopard, Adelaide was having a hard time catching up with him. Her pain rose with every step, her breathing was heavy and her vision was unfocussed. One step, just barely missed a rock, another step her foot landed in a puddle. A tree root seemed to wrap its way around her ankle, sending her crashing face first onto the ground. Adelaide rolled over with a groan and outstretched her hand. She knew fine well that she had too much lead inside her and not enough strength to do a spell but she wasn't just going to die.
Mirosson came stalking up the hill. He moved slowly as if to taunt her. She thought about trying to crawl away or begging for mercy but both seemed to be futile. As Mirosson edged closer, Adelaide briefly wondered about Kiyan and how he left her. Her anger surprised her, since she knew without a doubt that she would've done the same given the option.
"Why don't you get up and fight Warrior Queen?" Mirosson sneered. "Or do you plan to stay on your knees and beg for your life?"
Adelaide pressed her palm to the ground, trying to feel something, anything.
"I doubt you'd show mercy. Actually I doubt you've ever felt human compassion in your life" Adelaide said.
There was a slight tingle, it was like a tiny electric shock at the centre of Adelaide's palm. It was small, but still.
"What do you know of human emotions? All you people know is greed for more power" he said. His face was so contorted with anger and hatred, he looked like he was ready to explode.
"That's what you've been brainwashed into thinking" Adelaide said.
"No"
"Brainwashed by your leader"
"Brenda is not my leader" Mirosson growled.
"But she owns you"
"No one owns me" he said and raised his bow again.
The current raced up Adelaide's arm and she released it in one short burst of bright light. The small beam of light blinded Mirosson. He staggered around blind until an arrow pierced his chest making him drop to the ground like a stone.
Adelaide whirred around to see a horrified Kiyan standing behind her.
"Is he dead? Heavens above. I didn't mean to kill him" Kiyan spluttered.
"The important thing is we get out of here before more guards come" Adelaide said.
"Your arm..."
"Is fine" Adelaide snapped but as soon she tried to take another step she nearly tumbled to the ground.
"I get it. You're tough. Now would you just sit down already?"
"You can't just bark orders at me like I'm a dog" Adelaide exclaimed.
Kiyan grabbed her arm and pushed her sleeve up.
"Hey" Adelaide protested, but made not attempts to move away.
"The arrow seemed to have went right in. We need something to stop the bleeding" he concluded.
He opened his bag pack, rummaged through it and pulled out what looked like a long piece of cloth.
"You brought medical supplies? Did you foresee that I was going to get hurt?" Adelaide asked.
"Something like that" he said.
Kiyan began to wrap the cloth around Adelaide's arm. He did it with such carefulness, as if he was afraid he might hurt her. But he didn't make any mistakes.
"You've did this before, haven't you?"
Kiyan looked away.
"I was a medic"
"The camp had medics?" Adelaide exclaimed.
"Yeah, but now we have enough Enchanters that it doesn't matter if a few died...there would be more to replace them".
His words made Adelaide feel sick but his voice, a poor imitation of his mother's cool calm cruelness, it shook with such human emotion. Adelaide just wanted to reassure him, tell him he would never have to go back to that place ever again. Maybe that was the trick.
Adelaide stood up and so did Kiyan after he slung the bag pack over his shoulder. He looked back at Mirosson's body.
"You did what you had to do" Adelaide said. "Don't dwell on it. He had it coming to him".
"But he's still dead because of me. Who am I to decide who lives and who dies?"
"I've killed people before. You can't keep asking questions like that. You'll drive yourself insane".
She wasn't going to tell him that the people you kill. They never really leave you. Their faces are permanently engraved in the back of your mind. They haunt you in the deepest darkest valleys of your dreams. Each time you spill blood, it chips off a small part of your soul.
Kiyan looked stricken. He stood still for a moment. Then sprinted off in the other direction. Adelaide shouted after him but there was no response.
Adelaide found him twenty minutes later, leaning against a tree.
"It's okay to be upset but we can't hang about. I don't know about you but I am sick to death of these woods. I just want to get to a hotel" she said.
Kiyan didn't laugh. He seemed fixated on a spot on the ground.
"Does it get easy with each person you kill?" he said, his voice wavering.
Now it was Adelaide's turn to stare at the ground.
"Would you judge me if I said yes?"
A dark cloud briefly passed over the moon casting a shadow across Kiyan's face.
"I'm no one to judge" he said.
Adelaide and Kiyan walked further into the woods but night was truly under way and they would not find a way out tonight.
"I think we should stop and rest" Kiyan said.
Adelaide slumped against a tree, her eyes drooping, her limbs exhausted and throbbing.
"Guess I'll be taking the first watch then" Kiyan said.
Adelaide's eyes snapped open. "I don't think that's such a good idea".
"What if someone or something attacks us in the middle of the night when we're both asleep?"
"It's not that it's-"
"You don't trust me" he said flatly.
"Nothing personal, kiddo. It's just I don't really know you" Adelaide said.
"Has it ever occurred to you that maybe everyone out to get you?"
"Not everyone. Just a lot of people. Crime lords mostly".
Kiyan laughed. "I know. You've pissed off a lot of people".
"How do you know? You've been living a rock" Adelaide said.
"I have access to a radio" Kiyan said.
"Oh" Adelaide said. "See, you know so much about me and I don't know anything about you".
Kiyan laughed. He did that a lot for someone who grew up in such a terrible place.
"I actually don't know that much about you other than your name and the fact you're a Concordian bounty hunter".
"Really?"
Kiyan rummaged through his belongings and pulled out a blanket and hurled it to Adelaide.
"That among other things that might not be true" he said.
"Like?"
Kiyan hesitated and then said.
"Is it true that you had a fight with the singer Candace?"
His excitement was almost childlike. It struck Adelaide how ordinary it seemed. Could someone who lived in such an environment be normal?
Adelaide snorted. "Here I was thinking at least your mind hasn't been corrupted by the filthy cockroach infested sewer that is the media".
Adelaide leaned back into the tree and closed her eyes. It didn't take long for her to fall asleep.
In her dreams, she was running through a forest
The little girl with the copper hair skipped ahead of her
Adelaide ran to catch up
Her feet took her to an opening, a field
A field crowded with people
Dead people
Blood covered every inch, every crevice, every blade of grass
Adelaide was breathing hard
She dropped the axe (the axe wasn't even her weapon?)
And walked through the field of death
Every face was too mangled to recognise
And yet Adelaide knew each and every one of them
Her mother, father, sister,
Her fellow Falcons
Nicholas, Ritchie, Penelope, Cecelia, Raymond, Maxwell
And... no
Adelaide's stomach turned when she saw her next two victims
Rosaline and Victoria were sprawled out beside each other
Their bodies hacked and mutated
She bent over and emptied the contents of her stomach
Briefly she registered someone placing something on her head
It jagged into her, causing blood to spill down her face
Like red tears
"My Queen" whispered Erebus
But when she turned around it was Dominic, not Erebus
Not the persona he created
With a heart thudding she realised what he had placed on her head
A crown of thorns
With boiling rage Adelaide unleashed her fire
And burnt Dominic to a crisp where he stood
In his last dying moments, he looked younger, more innocent
Then Adelaide's anger ebbed away
And was replaced with crushing guilt
Because she hadn't killed her worst enemy
But her new found ally
She found herself staring into the little girl's big brown eyes
Her tear stained face
"What have you done?" Anya's voice echoed.
Adelaide woke with tears in her eyes. She furiously wiped them away and joined Kiyan who was perched on a rock. He overlooked the forest with a look of contempt on his face. There is in the forest stood a dozen of Brenda's guards, all holding bows and arrows.
"Heavens above, they found us" she exclaimed. "Why didn't you wake me?"
Kiyan shrugged. "I didn't think there was much point. You wouldn't have enough strength to run away".
"Well we have to do something. I'm not going back there" Adelaide said.
Adelaide rolled up her sleeves and pressed her palms to the ground.
"Wait" Kiyan said. "Don't harm them. I don't want anyone else hurt".
Adelaide's gaze flickered back to the group of guards. She spotted a gawky boy who was much smaller than the others.
"Terry's down there. Isn't he?" she said.
Kiyan nodded.
"I could daze them. They would just be confused for a little while. It would give us a chance to get away" Adelaide said.
Kiyan perked up at that idea.
"Okay do that"
"Okay, you don't want to be anywhere near me when I do this. So run as far away as you can"
Kiyan turned on a heel and ran away fast.
Adelaide closed her eyes and prayed she wouldn't do the spell wrong. The energy seeped through the earth's mantle, bubbling to the surface until black bubbles rose to the sky, forming a pentagram. It burned red and exploded into embers that scorched the sky. The impact knocked Adelaide flying. She lay there winded and watch the flakes of ash fall from the sky. One landed on Adelaide's forehead. She felt her stress and worry melt away. She couldn't remember the reason she lay in the middle of the forest. She was sure there was something important she needed to do. Sleep maybe? Yes, sleep was important. But something nagged her. Usually when she was this disorientated, she would evaluate her surroundings.
The entire forest was covered in a veil of thin snow. Black snow. There were also other people in the forest, all unconscious. Or dead. Why was she alone in the middle of a forest with these strange people? Where were Victoria and Rosaline?
Do you trust Kiyan? Don't forgot to like/comment if you like what you read.