The White Wolf (Half-Breed Book 1) (16 page)

“These cell bars are solid, but perhaps I could break them if I froze them first,” Varg offered.

Milea examined the bars, then shook her head and said, “That won't work. It looks like there's a spell on them to prevent breaking.”

Varg looked closely and sure enough, there were small carvings in the metal bars that glowed dimly. Varg didn't recognize the spell, but he trusted Milea's intelligence and took her word for it.

“Then we're trapped,” Varg muttered.

“Varg? Milea? Erril?”

“Catrina!” Erril cried.

Catrina Rowan emerged from the back of the cell next to Milea's and Erril's. She was a bit dirty and looked exhausted, but otherwise seemed unharmed. When she realized she was among friends, the Lady heaved a sigh of relief and said, “Thank goodness! I never thought I would see a familiar face again.”

“I wouldn't thank anyone yet, because we're trapped too,” Varg said.

“Surely this is just another plan of Conley's?” Catrina said.

“Oh it is, but I'm afraid your husband is the reason we're in here,” Erril said.

Catrina exchanged a confused expression with Varg, who then nodded and replied, “It would seem that Jin offered to return you to Conley in exchange for our capture.”

Catrina's expression fell and she faced the floor in shame of her husband. “I can't believe it . . . ”

“It's all right, Catrina. We don't blame you,” Milea said.

“It's not all right. How could Conley do this?” Catrina shouted. She then looked around the room and said, “What happened to Oliva and Tain?”

It was then that Varg understood why Conley made Oliva stay behind. He then said, “Don't worry, they weren't with us. They're outside of the fortress with some of Conley's men.”

“Well at least Conley had enough sense to keep his own niece out of danger,” Catrina said.

Just then, the dungeon door opened again and two cultists stepped inside. They approached the cell with Milea and spoke directly to her.

“The Serpent wants to speak to you privately,” one of them said.

“Why me?” Milea asked.

“Because the Serpent commanded it. Now move,” the other said.

Varg's heart sank when they opened the cell door and dragged his half-elf friend out of her cell, but not before giving Erril, who tried to leave behind her, a quick shove back into the cell.

Varg approached the bars of his cell and gripped them as hard as he could, then barked, “Don't you dare! Leave her alone!”

“Keep your mouth shut,” one of the cultists spat.

“If you bastards lay a hand on her, I'll rip your hearts out,” Varg spat.

“I'll be all right, Varg,” Milea called from just outside the door. “Just keep the others calm.”

Despite knowing that Milea was in terrible danger, Varg knew she was right. The last thing he wanted was to make Erril or Catrina panic, so he released his grip on the cell bars and nodded assuringly to Milea. As the cultists led her to the door, Varg called after her, “I won't let Jin hurt you, I swear.”

The last thing Varg saw before the dungeon door slammed shut was Milea turning to him and giving him a nervous smile.

CHAPTER 15

AFTER HE LOST SIGHT of Milea, Varg desperately searched for a weak point in the cell that could allow his escape. He knew the bars of the cell were unbreakable, but he first set his sights on the lock itself. He pulled a lockpick from his boot—he always kept one hidden in there for emergencies such as this—and fiddled with the lock. To his dismay, the pick wouldn't even enter the lock and Varg blamed another spell as the culprit. He cursed under his breath in frustration and made another feeble attempt at searching the cell.

“Varg, there's no way out,” Erril reminded him.

“There's always a way out,” Varg retorted.

“Varg, I know you want to help Milea,” Catrina said, “but you mustn't waste your energy in a vain attempt to escape without thinking about this logically. Try and focus your energy on planning your next move first, then carry it out once you have it in your mind.”

Varg finally conceded and backed up against the wall. He hung his head back, trying to think of any possible scenario that could include an escape, but all he could think of was Milea. He dreaded what Jin had in store for her, but more so he feared that they would all perish there and never be able to stop the Shadow Hand from murdering more innocents. It weighed on his heart, and he knew that it was only a matter of time before it took it's toll.

His mind returned to reality when a loud thump sounded outside. Then after a few seconds, the dungeon door flung open. He expected a set of cultists to come in and retrieve Catrina, but instead Varg was elated to see none other than Oliva and Tain enter the dungeon.

“Aunt Catrina!” Oliva cried as she ran to her aunt's cell.

“Oliva, what are you thinking coming into this death trap? Get out of here now!” Catrina replied.

“Not until you're safe,” Oliva argued.

“It looks like the mission was compromised after all,” Tain interrupted.

Varg nodded. “We were set up. Conley organized an ambush with Jin to save Catrina.”

“Wh-what?” Oliva stammered.

“It's true, Oliva,” Catrina said with her head hanging low again.

“That explains why we didn't hear fighting as planned,” Tain said.

“We were worried something went wrong, so I convinced Tain to come with me inside,” Oliva explained. “It's a good thing we did.”

“
You
were worried,” Tain muttered. “I didn't want to get involved.”

Oliva ignored him and continued, “We defeated the guard—”

“
I
defeated him,” Tain grumbled.

Oliva took a sharp breath, then added, “—and Tain took the keys from his belt, so we can get you all out of here.

“You shouldn't be risking your life for me like this. None of you should be,” Catrina said.

“You needed help, and I always lend my axe to those who need help,” Varg said.

Oliva looked around in the cells, then asked, “Wait a minute, where is Milea?”

“The cultists brought her to Jin,” Varg answered.

“Then let's get you out of there so we can go help her,” Oliva offered.

Tain used the keys to unlock Varg's cell first, then Catrina's, then Erril's. The noblewoman embraced her niece as soon as she was free.

“All right, let's go help Milea,” Erril said.

“No, all of you should get Catrina to safety while I go and find Milea. Have Conley's men send word to him that everyone is safe and that they can fight their way out,” Varg said.

“What about you and Milea?” Oliva asked.

“Milea and I will find a way to escape during the chaos,” Varg assured.

“Before you go,” Oliva said, “we passed by a room that had your weapons inside. We would have grabbed them but we wouldn't have been able to carry it all.”

“Thank you, I'll be sure to grab my axe before I leave to find Milea,” Varg said. “By the looks of things, I'll most certainly need it.”

Varg made his way to the armory after Oliva pointed him in the right direction. Frost Fang lay unharmed against the wall at the end of a trail of drag marks—at which point Varg smirked at the thought of a handful of cultists struggling to carry the heavy weapon. He proudly gripped the handle and brandished the blade and hurriedly grabbed Milea's equipment before darting off down the hallway.

In order to find Jin's quarters, Varg went past the dungeon again and down the rest of the corridor. The path turned to another, and the new path led to the tunnel where they first entered the stronghold. There he followed the path again until he came to the tall circular room where the ambush took place and took the stairs up when he saw no one around. Varg stopped at the second floor and decided to check there first. He listened for voices, and heard them around the first corridor, so he daringly ventured closer to listen in on the conversation.

“I heard that elf gave you a hard time?” someone said.

Varg's heart leapt and he listened closer.

“Aye, she's a feisty one. Devon and I offered to stay, but the Serpent insisted to be left alone with her,” the other said.

The first voice chuckled. “I doubt she'd be a match for him anyway, and the only place to escape is through the window. It's far to high for her to survive the fall.”

“At least she would get away with smashing that big ugly window to pieces. I hate looking at that thing every time I walk up the mountain,” the second said.

Varg remembered the enormous stained glass window he saw from the bottom of the fortress. He quickly crept back to the stairs and continued all the way to the top. Though he was sure he could fight off any cultists who got in the way, Varg refused to take the gamble of Jin being alerted of his escape and possibly hurting Milea as a result. Therefore, he tread up the stairs carefully and looked over the railing of each floor before proceeding upward.

Varg finally came to the top of the stairs, which led to an ornate door with the same familiar symbol carved into it. He opened the door and found another corridor which led to another door. This door was left slightly ajar and allowed a dim light to peek into the dark hall. When Varg came closer to the door, he could hear voices on the other side. He decided to stop and listen when he recognized the voices as belonging to Jin and Milea. He then crouched and waited just outside the door to listen for the right moment to act.

“Please have a cup of tea. I promise you will enjoy it,” Jin said hospitably.

Milea certainly wasn't about to comply with her host's all but generous offer after he'd had his men drag her there against her will. After retrieving her from the dungeon, the cultists led her to the top floor and into Jin's quarters. The Serpent bade his men to leave, and to her disbelief, the first thing he said to her was, “I hope you find the room to your liking.”

Despite being the leader of a blood thirsty cult, Jin's chambers were decorated as though he were royalty. Milea's situation didn't seem hopeful, but she still couldn't help but admire the rich fabrics and rugs, along with the ornate hearth. She made no effort to hide it, but neither did she hide her contempt for her host. Milea was no fool, and she made sure he knew this. She stared at Jin, doing her best to avoid his yellow eyes.

To her surprise, Jin laughed and said, “Milea, there is nothing sinister in the tea. You have my word.”

Though taken aback, Milea shook her head and said, “You will understand my cautious nature, given the circumstances?”

Jin smiled. “If I wanted to kill you, I could have done it when my men ambushed you.”

“I suppose,” Milea admitted, “but you still can't expect me to trust you after all you've put us through.”

Jin shook his head, then answered, “Remember, Milea, I never started this war with you and your kinsmen. You cannot blame me for countering with force after all that's happened. Now then, how about a cup of tea?”

Jin handed Milea a small cup with steaming dark liquid inside. She held the cup under her nose and admitted to herself that it smelled enticing, so against her better judgment she blew the steam away and took a sip.

“Wonderful, isn't it?” Jin asked. “If it weren't for the imports in Rivershire we have access to I would never have come across such a delectable taste in my life.”

Milea hated admitting he was right, but she ignored her thoughts and replied, “Why did you let us live?”

“That's because I wish to extend an invitation to you and your comrades to join our ranks,” Jin explained.

Milea nearly slammed her cup onto the nearby table, then spat, “You can't be serious.”

Jin shrugged and held up his hands. “You are all adept fighters who have the potential to see the light. I was hoping that you would cease your war against the Shadow Hand and come to our aid instead.”

“Why would you ask me and not the others?” Milea asked.

“I've been observing all of you in our brief dealings with each other,” Jin said, “and it seems to me that you are the voice of reason among your ranks. I had hoped that you would relay what I tell you today to your allies and help them see the light.”

“You think I'm going to drop everything to join a cult simply because you asked politely?” Milea spat.

Jin chuckled and shook his head. “Milea, the Shadow Hand only mean to spread the truth. We are most certainly not a cult.”

"Your men practically sell their souls to your service. If that is not a cult, what is it?” Milea pressed.

"The Shadow Hand are a group of people with open hearts and minds who choose to abandon their hopeless lives full of trials and sorrow and embrace enlightenment," Jin corrected.

Milea scoffed. "Enlightenment? Your men kill for fun and steal everything they get their greedy hands on. Any act that hurts innocent people is wrong."

"Those who play the 'innocent' role are nothing more than foolish and ignorant masses who close their minds to the true nature of the world. Innocence is nothing more than an illusion created by mortal kind to cope with what they don't understand," Jin explained.

Milea scoffed. "You just force people who don't think like you do to suffer. That isn't enlightenment, it's evil."

Jin laughed. "Evil, good, both words that are passed around too lightly. Do we not all believe what we do is good? We all believe what we do is the right thing while others perceive us as evil, but in reality, we choose to accept the world as a dark plane destined for destruction. It's not evil to accept reality and embrace it in order to prepare ourselves for it."

"What are you saying, that the world is going to become a barren wasteland of anarchy and that you are trying to get to the top of the heap?”

“Not quite,” Jin replied. “The Shadow Hand have a great destiny ahead of us, and we must prove ourselves worthy of living to see the Dawn.”

“What does that mean? What is the Dawn?” Milea pressed.

Jin shook his head. “All in good time. First I must secure your loyalty before I can reveal such things. Do you honestly think I came this far by telling everyone my secrets?”

Milea became increasingly irritated by Jin's condescending tone, but something made her uneasy as well. Jin was far too calm about the way he spoke, and it was apparent that he was toying with her.

Then he continued, “Do no fret, for if you are indeed worthy, then you have nothing to fear. You will live a life with no fear, sickness, or . . . betrayal.”

Something in Milea's chest dropped and she couldn't figure out why. She felt something tugging her thoughts and swimming violently through her mind. A haunting memory assaulted her, and if the half-elf didn't know any better, she would have thought that Jin could see the scene unfolding in his mind as well.

The Serpent smiled, which only confirmed her fears. “You know betrayal, don't you Milea? You know what it's like to have your trust in someone only for them to . . . violate it. That's why something as simple as an offer of tea causes you to fear the things I could do to you if I wanted.”

How does he know this?
Milea's mind screamed. She dropped her cup to the ground and heard it shatter.

Jin held out a hand to her and said, “Join me, Milea, and I will make sure you see the Dawn and never know such pain again.”

Milea felt faint and placed her hands on her head to combat the growing pain coming from within. She tried to cry out for help, but her voice was gone. Her mind was twisting and changing violently and she began to take in Jin's words as if they were gospel. Her vision became clouded, so she clamped her eyes shut and tried to think, but her thoughts evaded her. She knew that Jin was warping her mind somehow, for she could swear she saw his pale lips curl into a twisted smile.

Varg had seen enough. He saw Milea's reaction and was worried about what Jin was doing to her, so he knew that now was the time to act. With his hand on
Frost Fang
, he charged into the open and growled, “Leave her alone, Jin.”

Jin turned to face the intrusion and broke his gaze with Milea, who then stumbled backwards and tried to compose herself. Varg rushed to her side and held a defensive position with Frost Fang, a gesture to which Jin responded by whipping out his curved blade and pointing it at Varg. The half-blood never faltered, but held Frost Fang sideways and stood in front of Milea to shield her.