Bitter Ashes (Bitter Ashes Book 1) (17 page)

“What do you want?” I asked coolly, ignoring his insult.

James put his free hand on one of the bars of my cell so he could lean forward and leer at me. “Just because Estus won't let me kill you, doesn't mean I can't harm you. I wanted to see you so that I could picture clearly what I'm going to do to you.”

I glared at him in response. The idea of being left to James' tender mercies made me want to scream. I'd seen what he liked to do to his victims. I doubted I would come out of the ordeal mentally or physically intact.

“It must have hurt when Alaric let me carry you off,” he said suddenly.

I knew he was just trying to get a reaction out of me, but I couldn't help the hurt expression that crossed my face. It
had
hurt, but even more than that, it had been humiliating. I never should have trusted Alaric, and I was paying for that mistake ten-fold.   

I corrected my expression to one of extreme distaste and grumbled, “Fuck off.”

James lifted his hands in a mock expression of fear. “Oooh, the little girl has some teeth after all.”

I staggered closer to where James was leaning and pushed my face against the cool steel, inches from where his hand gripped the bar. “Come closer and I'll show you my teeth,” I taunted.

James laughed at me, but he pushed away from the bars instead of leaning closer. “All in due time, darlin'. All in due time.”

With a final laugh he walked back down the hall, taking the light with him. I slumped back into my corner, feeling utterly defeated. Sophie had abandoned me, Alaric had betrayed me, and the only person who cared enough to visit my cell was a deranged sadist. I had heard that things start to go downhill when you neared thirty, but this was just ridiculous.

The darkness eased again sometime later as someone I didn't know came into view with a torch. The woman slid a hunk of bread and a single, small cup of water through the bars of my cell, then silently walked away.

As I devoured the bread so fast that I almost choked, I thought of what the food delivery might mean. Estus obviously wanted me alive, at least for the time being. He still needed an executioner to find his stupid charm, though I'd be damned if
I
was going to find it for him. He'd kill me as soon as I did. After I died, there would be no one to release my spirit, so some part of me would be stuck in my dismembered corpse forever.

The thought almost made the bread come back up, but I forced it back down with a gulp of water. By this point, I was pretty sure that Estus kept many hearts in the same place he'd shown me the heart of the last executioner. I would not be surprised if there was a drawer reserved in that room for me. There probably was one for Sophie too, if she ever came back. Alaric's heart was safe, if he even had one.

I quickly tried to turn my thoughts away from Sophie and Alaric, but the bitter feeling of betrayal flooded in regardless. I had helped Sophie free Maya, and the two of them left me to rot. I should have never trusted Sophie or Alaric. I shouldn't have trusted anyone. To the Vaettir, I was a tool, and nothing more.

I couldn't help but feel like everything that had happened was punishment for being what I was. I could trash talk the other Vaettir as much as I wanted, but it was
my
curse to take life. It was
my
curse that had gotten me into this position. It seemed so much worse than having telekinesis or turning part feline from time to time.

I couldn't blame the humans who were frightened of us centuries ago, forcing the Vaettir to go into hiding. In hiding was where we deserved to be. It was where
I
deserved to be. Still, if I had the opportunity, I would go live amongst the humans again, even if it endangered them. Call me selfish all you want. You'd be right.

I was startled as another light came into view. I had already been fed, and James had already taunted me, so there was no reason for anyone else to visit me.

My heart pattered nervously, hoping in spite of myself that this new visitor would be Alaric. He would come and tell me that it had been an elaborate ruse. He had been on my side all along, but couldn't let Estus know. I would be freed at once and we would run away together.

I was overwhelmed by a sinking feeling in my gut as Sivi came into view. The pale, fairy-like creature swayed toward my cell, though her feet didn't make a sound. Her violet eyes and translucent hair were illuminated by a small, hovering light in the palm of her hand. I wasn't even surprised by the free-floating ball of light. I'd seen things more astounding from the other Vaettir ten times over.

Sivi cocked her head as she observed me. “I told you not to trust them,” she chided. “You could have been free.”

“Lack of foresight is a real bitch,” I grumbled. “What do you want?”

“I want the charm,” she said simply. “I will free you in return.”

“What would you do with it?” I asked, actually considering the offer.

The charm would give one of the Vaettir the power to rule over all of the clans. Sivi probably wouldn't make a good leader, but I'd take her over Estus any day of the week.

“I would put us back where we belong,” she answered. “We are guardians of nature. To live in this cage is blasphemy.”

The cage she was referring to was the Salr, and she was right. It was supposed to be for emergencies only. If the Vaettir were attacked, they could retreat and be protected. They had retreated all right, but they never left again as intended.

“And what of those who would resist?” I pressed. “Many of the Vaettir enjoy their relatively new existence.”

Sivi shrugged and made it clear by her expression that I was boring her. “They will die. Those who choose this life are abominations. This is not what we're meant to be.”

I rose to my feet and walked toward the bars of my cell. At 5'9”, I towered over Sivi, and I felt a little better looking down at the tiny woman rather than looking up at her.

“What about the humans?” I asked. “The world is not how it used to be.”

Sivi spat on the ground in disgust. “The Vaettir are far greater in number now. We will not be hunted as we were in the past. Humans will grovel at our feet and beg forgiveness for what they have done.”

“And that is our natural place?” I asked skeptically. “Nature guardians who rule over humanity?”

“The humans have destroyed what we were created to protect,” she said almost sadly, then her face contorted back to anger as she added, “and they will pay.”

I shook my head. “I don't think I'll be helping you.”

Sivi pressed her face close to mine and sneered so that I could see her tiny, pointed teeth. “You would rather rot here than be free?” she snarled. “You're a fool.”

I shrugged. “At least this way, I'll be the only one to die.”

Sivi let out an ugly laugh. “An executioner that values life, how precious. You're as twisted as the rest of them.”

I didn't really like being lumped in with
the rest of them
, since they had only brought me grief, but I kept quiet. I was more concerned with the fate of humans than I was with the fate of the Vaettir. Plus, I was beginning to believe that the Vaettir really were all evil. I didn't particularly want to help any of them. If I was going to die a gruesome, torturous death, I might as well do it with a bit of dignity.

Sivi glared at me for a moment longer, then turned to go. I watched as her slender form seemed to levitate down the hallway silently. She stopped half-way down the hall and looked back over her bony shoulder at me with a malicious grin. “Remember when it comes time to choose sides, that one ruler locked you in the cell, and the other would have had you freed.”

I fell back to the ground as she disappeared from view, regretting my decision, but knowing I could have done no different. I'd done enough harm already. I'd be damned if I was going to sacrifice countless human lives just for a chance to see the sun again. A few, maybe, but not the large scale bloodshed Sivi had in mind.

I
t seemed like a full day had passed before I once again saw the light of a torch. A man and a women I had never seen before removed me from my cell, and held me up by my arms as we  walked down the hall, then ascended the enormous, stone stairway that led away from the dungeon. I was weak enough that I didn't argue or try to escape. I was just happy to be out of the darkness.

The man glanced at me nervously as we walked. He looked young, with dark hair cropped close to his skull, making his blue eyes seem wider. He seemed unsure of himself. I almost thought about trying to reason with him, but then I saw the woman's face. Her lovely hazel eyes looked at me with an expression that said it all. I was the scum of the earth, a traitor, and I deserved what I had coming to me. She tossed her ginger colored hair over her shoulder as she looked away, a gesture perfected by mean girls the world over.

I was beginning to see that Estus' power didn't only extend to telekinetic feats and a little mind reading. His real power was in the sway he held over his people. If he told them that jumping off a bridge would help their clan, I had little doubt that most of them would do it.

The couple brought me to a bathroom I'd never been to, though it was nearly identical to the one I'd used on a regular basis before my imprisonment. They shoved me ahead of them, then shut the door behind us. The woman gestured to the bathtub.

I glanced at the clean, white, tub, having no desire to hop in. “What's the point of bathing if James is just going to kill me?”

The woman wrinkled her nose at me. “You stink.”

I looked at the tub again, then back to the man and woman blocking the doorway. I could try getting past them, but I doubted Estus would send only two people to guard me if they weren't fully equipped for the task.

Deciding that it wasn't my time to escape, I turned my back and began undressing. My black silk top was in surprisingly good shape, as were the black jeans I wore. I
did
stink though. Sweating during the attempted escape with Sophie, then lying in a dungeon for several days had taken its toll.

I slipped down into the bathtub before even filling the water, wanting to cover my nudity as soon as possible. The man and woman watched me dispassionately, not interested in my state of undress either way.

I plugged the drain and turned on the faucet, then turned back to my prison guards. “So,” I began casually, “what lies has Estus told you about me?”

The woman glared at me. “You are a traitor, working for Aislin. You freed a valuable prisoner, and so, have been sentenced to death.”

I gulped. I'd known I was likely going to die, but hearing it out loud made it seem a little more real. “Is that where you're taking me once I'm clean? To be killed?”

The woman shook her head, but kept her eyes forward. “You must be questioned first.”

The man beside her was beginning to sweat profusely. Either he was nervous to be around a
traitor
, or he didn't like what was happening. Perhaps Estus' sway wasn't as complete as I'd originally thought.

“To what end?” I pressed. “I know nothing of value.”

When the woman didn't answer, the young man finally met my eyes. “That is not for us to know.”

I smirked at him, though my insides were filled with sickly acid. “Your Doyen says jump, and you say how high?”

The woman sneered at me. “Hurry up and bathe. Your very presence taints us.”

I tsked at her and began washing myself as I mumbled, “There's no need to be insulting.”

She gave no sign that she heard me, and instead stared straight ahead. A good little soldier.

I finished bathing, and stepped out to dry myself off with a nearby towel. My guards both still stood directly in front of the door. The only way I might escape them was to try it after we left the bathroom, but at that point they would both have a hold on me again, and I was almost too weak to stand.

The female guard reached down to the floor toward a pile of folded clothing I hadn't noticed until then. She straightened, unfolding the fabric to reveal a loose-fitting, black, spaghetti strap dress, and a black bra and panties to match. I didn't see any shoes among the offerings. Not bothering to ask for any, I took the clothing and got dressed. The dress fell below my knees and seemed a size or two too big.

I looked back up to my guards to see that the young man now held a length of rope in his hands. The woman stepped forward to roughly grab my wrists, then the man proceeded to tie them securely with expert knots. Maybe he wasn't such a novice after all. 

Once I was thoroughly bound, my escorts each gripped one of my arms, then opened the bathroom door to lead me back down the hall. As hard as I'd tried to stare down the young man on my right, I was given no further explanation of where I was going . . . though I didn't really need one. I knew exactly where I was going. I was about to end up where all prisoners ended up. We were going to the place I lovingly referred to as the torture room.

The moment to fight was now or never. I feebly threw myself backward, managing to free my arm from the young man, but not from the woman. He panicked, but the woman did not. She let go of my arm and punched me square in the jaw. I reeled away from her and nearly fell, then before I knew it, both of the guards had a hold of me once more, and I could feel a welt forming on my cheek.

They half dragged, half carried me the rest of the way to the blood-stained room where I'd first met Maya, chained to the wall, and covered in cuts and burns. I'd done my best to save her, but I doubted anyone planned on doing the same for me.

James was already in the room, dressed in a skin-tight, white tee-shirt and dark jeans. His eyes sparkled with excitement as my escorts chained my bound hands to the wall above my head. The woman had to stand on a stool to reach, and I would have kicked it out from under her if I'd had the energy. Too weakened to fight, all I could do was glare into James' eerie, white-blue eyes while I tried not to cry.

Unlike Maya, I was tall enough that even hanging from the manacles embedded in the wall, my feet still touched the ground, though just barely. Once I was secured, James nodded to my attendants and both left the room without a word. The sight of the door shutting behind them made my last sliver of hope drip from my body like icy water.