Blood Chained (Dark Siren Book 3) (7 page)

Chapter 10

Whereas the Mothers’ thrones were composed of precious metals, the Primes ruled from noble chairs of stone and iron. Jehsi rested an elbow upon his, nervously watching the scene unfold. No one could fully know the resilience of Banewolf. The creature’s biology was as mysterious as its origins. But he hoped the Mothers had severely underestimated its power. Did Jethra suspect what the wolf was capable of? Was she truly on their side? This judgment was Rhane’s only way out of Golden Mountain. His blood would be the only shed. Jehsi couldn’t know his mother’s thoughts. But he was out of options. He now sat where he belonged, feigning the same glare of condemnation worn by his brothers, Silas and Cale.

Edgy and feeling exposed, Rhane kneeled before them. His sentence was sealed. There was nothing to do but wait and steady himself for what would happen next.  

The cavern court had filled with every inhabitant of Golden Mountain, thirsting to see Rhane’s blood. Justice would finally be ministered for their fallen Prime.

Rhane knew Warren watched from somewhere in the crowd. Traces of his modern scent stood out from the rest. When the accused was found guilty of war crimes and/or treason, it was customary to make any conspiring soldiers witness the execution of the warlord they served. Warren was less a conspiring soldier and more a victim. That didn’t stop the kin from forcing the boy to witness the brutality soon to transpire. Earlier, Rhane had tried to find Warren with his eyes, hoping somehow to reassure the boy. But he had failed.

Dressed in black leathers and a cape, a dealer loomed above him. He wore no mask. Execution was a service of pride, an honorable duty. Currently, all Rhane could see was the dealer’s thick boots. He suspected them to be the same pair that cracked his jaw in the Halls of Old Mother. Waiting until after Rhane’s hands had been bound, the dealer landed an all-star kick to the left side of his face. Rhane squinted. He couldn’t be sure they were the same. He’d have to see the soles again.

Next to the dealer’s boots rested the tip of Rhane’s very own sword, Bellefuron. Eyeing the bane silver blade, Rhane licked his lips. This was going to hurt like hell.

Silas stood up. “Rhane of Whytetree, Warlord of the Warekin, Vessel of Banewolf, First Son of Jehsi, former Pinnacle of this triumvirate—you have been found guilty for the death of Ptolen, Prime of Redstarr, beloved son of Pilar. Before your Primes and before a counsel of peers, you will be sentenced to the only death we can give you. We will take away all you fought for and all that you live for. Do you accept this judgment?”

Rhane gritted his teeth.
Like I have a choice.
Dragging his gaze away from the weapon, he directed his full attention to the speaking Prime. “I do.”

“So may it be.” Silas inclined his head.

“So may it be,” the other Primes echoed and mirrored his gesture.

The dealer lifted Bellefuron overhead. Rhane reminded himself to breathe until he realized it didn’t matter. He closed his eyes, wondering how much and how long he would feel the pain. The metal whispered as it cut through the air.

Then a voice he recognized all too well carried above everything else.

“Wait.”

Shit
.

He had hoped to get through this moment without having to see, hear, or speak to this woman. She certainly wasn’t there to provide comfort. She would only make things worse, finding some means to hurt him more than any blade could.

Jehsi watched his mate approach their son with a growing sense of dread. He could remember when Roma was a lovely bride, full of smiles and love. She was once the perfect complement, someone who supported his ambitions and repaired his failings. But Roma had changed. Her ambition to attain a status as Mother had become an obsession by the time the birth of their first son shattered that dream. Bitterness took over, eventually transforming Roma into a creature Jehsi barely recognized. She remained remarkably beautiful. But where love once thrived was only selfishness. Darkness had replaced her light. Roma had become a twisted reflection of her former self. But Warekin mated for life. Though Jehsi’s love for Roma had faded through the centuries, a spark of it stubbornly lingered, still burning within his jaded heart. 

“I would like a final word with my son,” Roma proclaimed, sashaying toward Rhane with an expression of triumph. After years of waiting, she would finally get what she’d wanted since the day this abomination was born. But before the dealer brought an end to that long journey, Roma wanted her chance to crush him. She circled like a starving predator, barely able to restrain the lunge for his jugular. Jehsi wanted to call out, beg her to stop. But she was the prisoner’s mother. It was her right to speak.

Rhane lifted his head, defiance written plainly on his face. As a child, he’d cowered beneath her authority and humiliations. But then Jehsi showed Rhane strength, nurturing him to his full potential. And Rhane never looked back.

Baring her teeth in a wicked smile, Roma leaned over and whispered into his ear. Jehsi watched Rhane’s gaze fly upward, saw the shock and desperation in his eyes. Unable to face him, he turned away. Too late, he found the courage to look back and give his son what he needed.

Roma had moved away.

The executioner’s blade had already fallen.

And life bled from Rhane’s severed head.

Closing his eyes, Jehsi prayed to the ancestors that somehow his son would find a way back to him. If he didn’t, the world was certainly lost.

#

After landing twice to refuel, the jet reached its final destination. Beijing. Less than a year ago, Kali had started a different journey in the very same city. That trip had ended in disaster. This time would be better. She was older, smarter, and stronger. Rhane wasn’t around to come to her rescue, but she wouldn’t need him to. Kali was there to rescue him.

According to Wesley, The Siren’s Heart had never left the continent. The one formerly in Mack’s possession was a fake, used to lure Kali to the desert. If they could locate the real statue and claim it, Wes promised it could be used as a powerful bargaining chip to grant Rhane his freedom. Trusting the Builders was a huge risk. But it was a gamble they were all willing to take.

Rock, mountain, tree, water, and spirit—locations of five objects unlocked by the decryption program Rion had written. It was also the same program rogues had stolen when they attacked the manor, nearly killing York and Rion in the process. Good thing he had been careful enough to make a backup of his work.

Wes was unable to tell them exactly where to find the artifact because doing so would violate some sort of universal code he and others like him were held to. But Rion swore he was willing to bet the Heart was hidden within in one of the five locations. His rationale was that someone had gone through way too much trouble to conceal the coordinates, splitting them into separate documents and languages, and then scattering them across continents.

There was no real strategy in figuring out which set of coordinates to begin with. The encryption had revealed ten strings of numbers. There were no instructions, no further details. Kali and the kin realized that rogues had the same information and a head start. If those creatures hadn’t already found the Heart, certainly they were close to doing so. Logically assuming the rogues began searching in a sequential manner, their best bet was to eliminate the first two locations. The last pair of coordinates—spirit—was north of Siberia, on the tiny, uninhabitable island of Matara. This time of year, Matara Island was completely submerged in the Siberian Sea. Unless rogues owned a submarine or an icebreaker with some serious diving equipment, there was no way they could get to the island or navigate the twelve feet of icy water that currently encompassed the land.

That left tree and water, both pinpointed in Asia. So they started in Beijing to track down “tree.” But the scavenger hunt would have to wait a few hours. It was 2 a.m. and Kali was huddled next to Rion on a chilly airstrip while York insisted they check into a hotel in order to establish a base of operations before initiating any recon. Kali nodded stupidly while he talked. She’d been unable to sleep the entire flight. Nervous anticipation defeated any attempt she made to get some much needed rest. The kin and Dmiri emerged from the jet alert and ready to go. Meanwhile, Kali’s head felt like it weighed twenty pounds. She could hardly hold her eyes open. Focusing on York’s words was a challenge.

York frowned. “Earth to Kalista. Did you get all that? We’re only talking mission strategy.”

“Sorry,” she mumbled. “I need coffee.”

“I told you to sleep on the plane.”

“I tried. I couldn’t.”

“So your lack of discipline is going to put us all at risk because now you’re not prepared for what’s coming.”

Kali gritted her teeth, biting back her initial reply. Another argument with York wasn’t going to help anything or anyone. “I’m sorry I didn’t sleep. But really, I’m good to go.”

“A second ago, you needed coffee. Now you’re good to go. Which is it?”

Orrin’s quiet voice interceded on her behalf. “Lay off.”

Kali touched his arm. “It’s okay. He’s right.” Then she turned to York, repeated everything he’d said verbatim, including the hotel where they would be staying, rooming assignments, teams for tonight’s surveillance, and travel arrangements to get there. “I’m good to go,” she finished.

If York was at all taken aback, he didn’t show it. “Glad you’re with us.”

Their luggage was quickly loaded into two cabs that arrived moments later. Kali followed Orrin and Rion into the first car. York and River shared the other. Bailen showed no interest in climbing inside of either.

Kali called to the canine encouragingly. “Bailen, come on, boy.”

He answered with a small whine, looking beyond the lights and off into the darkness. Dmiri stood next to Bailen with both arms folded behind his back. “I believe the little one wishes to walk.” He inclined his head toward York. “If you find it suitable, we will meet you at the hotel.”

“Whatever.” York closed the cab door. The window was down, so his instructions to the driver given in a curt blend of English and Chinese were easily heard. Rion repeated the same directions to their cabbie. Kali kept watching Bailen. She couldn’t shake the sense that the canine knew more about what was happening than any of them. Catching her eye, Dmiri smiled. “Do not worry, dark one. We will see you soon.”

Chapter 11

“I need your final answer.” York’s words crackled over the handheld radio. “Are you absolutely certain this is the right spot for those coordinates?”

“Do you think I’d be down here if I wasn’t?” Rion answered, sounding really annoyed. “This is a new shirt.”

“I dunno. Maybe your little thingy is broken.”

Someone snickered through open radio static as Kali panned the lenses left and right, making sure the roadway remained clear. It was just after four in the morning, so traffic was pretty light. But one could never be too sure. She caught Orrin smiling from his post—a precarious perch on the ledge of a five story building.  He didn’t need binoculars to see Rion and River at street level, preparing to enter the sewer. The two were dressed in orange safety vests and wore hard hats. Traffic cones framed a circle with a wide radius around them. To the casual passerby, they looked like a pair of city workers, up before the crack of dawn to do a job.

Though she couldn’t see them, York and Dmiri were below, seated somewhere within a little café in the hotel across the street. Bailen was supposed to be back at the hotel. An oversized canine wandering the streets of Beijing at night would draw unwanted attention, so all thought it best he stay behind. But Bailen was demonstrating quite a mind of his own lately. The canine could have been anywhere.

“There’s nothing wrong with my thingy. It’s compact. Small but powerful.”

Orrin chuckled lightly from the darkness behind Kali. “I do not think he hears himself.”

Nodding, her smile was full of mischief. “Let’s help him out.” She clicked on the radio. “You’re right, Rion. Size isn’t everything. It’s more about the skill in how you use it.”

“Thanks, Ka—” He stopped abruptly. “You guys are complete assholes. Rion out,” he said and dropped into the manhole.

Kali almost doubled over with laughter. Orrin’s shoulders started to shake as he fought for control. Composing herself, she reached out to Rion again. “Sorry.”

“Whatever. Pick on the geek. It’s expected.”

“How do things look down there?” York asked.

“Dark. Nasty. Rats are everywhere. And I’m pretty sure a turd just floated past me. Seriously, this is foul. I mean the smell alone could knock a lesser man’s socks off.”

“Speaking of lesser men,” York teased lightheartedly. “How’s River holding up?”

“He ain’t looking too happy,” Rion said. His amusement was practically tangible. “I think he’s afraid he might get his hair wet.”

The others shared a good laugh, but the mention of River’s name melted the smile from Kali’s face. Even Orrin’s expression returned to its usual solemn state.

“Do you see anything?”

“York, I’m not sure what we’re looking for.”

“Anything that seems out of place.”

“That’s vague.”

“Maybe ancient hieroglyphs that translate into ‘X’ marks the spot.’”

Rion scoffed. “Right.”

A sudden thought occurred to her, and Kali reached for the radio again. “Hey, I don’t know if you’ve thought of this but the GPS you designed marks exact coordinates. Maybe you shouldn’t be fanning out, away from the location, but moving deeper. Double back. Do you see a service ladder or exit that might take you down a level? It’s worth a shot.”

A mixture of a groan and a sigh buzzed faintly through the radio. “We see it. River is heading in.”

“Stay with him,” York said.

“Of course,” Rion replied without a trace of enthusiasm. “Our hands are going to be busy for a sec. Switching to a one-way open channel. At least you guys will be able to hear what’s going on.”

Intermittent background noise gave everyone an idea of events beneath the surface roadway. Footsteps clanged on metal rungs as Rion and River descended a ladder. A heavy door thudded shut. Rion muttered a curse, asking River for more light. Their footsteps became muffled as they explored the new area. And then nothing.

A warning hush from River hissed into the silence. “Someone else is here.” Everyone settled nervously. She watched Orrin, taking her cues from him. His eyes studied the street. His posture was rigid, alert. It seemed as if his ears were straining to hear what was happening down in the actual sewer. But Kali was somewhat sure that was impossible, even for him. 

A shriek fit for horror movies ripped through the open channel and Kali dropped the radio, half in surprise and half in fear. “Go,” Orrin mouthed silently, and then he was moving across the roof. Retrieving the fumbled radio, she followed him back through a door bearing the sign “Restricted Access” and down the empty stairwell.

River’s voice shouted urgent instructions. “Rion, get down!”

“Holy crap!” was Rion’s reply. An indecipherable fracas ensued. At once, Orrin was moving faster, almost leaping down the stairs. Tucking the radio in her belt, Kali did her best to keep up.

The radio went quiet again, but York’s harried voice brought it back to life. “Talk to me, boys. What’s going on down there?”

River’s response was quick and sharp. “Be quiet.”

She and Orrin were on the street now, headed toward the manhole. Kali really didn’t want to go down there…not after what Rion described.

Suddenly, River was shouting again. “On your left, Rion. Go. Go!”

York and Dmiri were nowhere in sight. Maybe they were already in the sewer. Either way, Orrin was determined to get down there. Only the sound of River’s commanding voice stopped him. “It’s too fast. Someone needs to head this thing off on the surface.”

“We’re below street level. Coming your way,” York said, sounding grim.

Orrin grabbed the radio from Kali’s belt as she lowered herself down the rungs. “Tell us where to go.”

River deferred to Rion. “Where does this tunnel lead?”

“I can’t pronounce it.”

“Try!”

“Uh…Beisihuan Xilu. Head northwest and watch for railroad tracks.”

“Got it.” Orrin looked at her and jerked his chin upward. “You just got lucky.”

Kali double-timed it ascending the ladder. One leap took Orrin out of the sewer and onto the pavement beside her. A second later, he reached an all-out run. Heads turned at the sight of two foreigners sprinting over the empty sidewalk. The last thing they wanted was to draw attention to themselves, but it couldn’t be helped. If they were going to catch this rogue, they had to move fast. At least at such an early hour, the amount of people present to witness the action were few.

She and Orrin reached the tracks Rion spoke of in minutes. Two trains were converging toward the intersection. If the rogue got near them, it could escape and end up anywhere.

“There.” Orrin pointed.

“I see it.”

In the fading darkness, Kali barely made out the cloaked figure running parallel to the tracks. It was less than thirty yards away. “I will flank it. You should circle around to cut it off.”

She nodded even as her heart pounded with fear and excitement. She rushed to get into position. They’d been on this continent for less than ten hours but were about to nab a rogue—a potential inroad into finding out exactly how far the creatures had come in their progress toward locating the Heart. However, the more Kali thought about it, the less certain she was that the kin actually wanted to catch the rogue and not simply kill it. Rhane had exacted a swift revenge for the attack on the manor, but that didn’t lessen any animosity the kin felt toward rogues. War was still gone. Rion had nearly died. And Ander
had
died. It would be in Dmiri’s right to want a little blood spilled for the loss of his brother.

Okay. So there’s no doubt this rogue is going to die. Hopefully, we can ask it a few questions first.

Realizing she no longer saw Orrin or the rogue, Kali stopped between the separate tracks. The oncoming trains whistled warnings of their approach. She ignored them, firmly focused on tracing Orrin’s whereabouts. The whistles blared again, shattering the quiet of the tiny train yard. Kali turned a full circle as the locomotives roared past, robbing sound of anything beyond their arrival.

But rigorous training bridged the gap left by a temporary loss of hearing. Fine hairs lifted away from her skin, prickling the base of her neck and all along her arms. Without thinking, she dropped low, rolling head over feet. A whispered word and a burst of gray flame was channeled from her hands, moving forward in a wall of light. The rogue shrieked. Hissing, it jumped back from the fire and away from Kali. She couldn’t believe the thing had gotten so close.

A weird kind of growling and clicking noise rumbled from deep within its throat. Crouching to the ground, the rogue slunk closer. It had found her alone. Isolated by the meeting trains, there was no way anyone could reach her. The rogue was going to attack. The rumbling grew more urgent, almost thrumming with greedy excitement.

Kali winked. And with a thought, the creature’s robes erupted. Howling and spitting like a maddened cat, it scurried away. Kali ran after it. But in an impressive acrobatic display, the rogue flipped upright and dove between the train cars, disappearing from sight.

As the next boxcar thundered by, a large brown wolf sailed over Kali’s head. The boxcar’s metal roof buckled beneath the weight of the animal and the force of its landing. The wolf jumped free. The caboose passed, and the tracks were clear again. Orrin, human once more, and Rion had pinned the rogue against the earth. York, River, and Dmiri formed a half circle around them.

York glanced her way as she approached. “Nice of you to join us. I was starting to think maybe you’d gone to get that cup of coffee after all.”

“Very funny.” She nodded toward the captive rogue. “Told us anything useful yet?”

“Nah.” York knelt down. “We were just getting ready to take the mask off.”

Dawn was approaching. And these guys didn’t like the sun. It was a useful circumstance, but still... “Is this going to take long? Maybe we should move somewhere more private.”

River flipped a gladius, his weapon of choice, from handle to point to handle again. “This will not take long.”

Beneath the bronze mask was a young face, early twenties at most. Male. Dark hair. Light eyes. With the brightening daylight, it seemed the rogue was having a harder time maintaining a human cloak. Its features continuously shifted from human to something a little less, and then back to human again. Kali shivered.

Seeing her, the rogue bared his teeth. York slapped it. “Listen up. I’m going to be very clear about two things. One: you are going to die. Quick and painless or slow and painful, it’s your choice. Two: you will have to prove useful to me before I will allow you to choose.”

The creature responded by spitting a blob of black saliva into York’s face and laughing. York wiped away the ink-like substance. Beneath the blotch, his skin had reddened and already appeared irritated. Kali inferred that maybe all rogue body fluids were toxic.

“You do not scare me, dog.”