A City of Lies Read online

  “Fair point.” Caia sighed. “But still, it’s worth a shot. He did say he’d think about it. Let’s see if he does.”

  We didn’t have any other option. We were stuck here, with just a few feet of space to move through. I placed my hands on her shoulders, squeezing gently as a reassuring gesture. My intention was to keep her calm, but all I managed to do was rile myself up. Our eyes met, and I realized exactly how small this meranium box was.

  We had plenty of time to kill before we would see Zane again, I figured, and that made me nervous, mainly because I was so close to her and I couldn’t get away. To be honest, I didn’t want to get away, but I feared that, sooner or later, I would find it harder and harder to hold onto my celibacy vow.

  Even in this box, even in the middle of hell itself, Caia was the bright, shining star around whom I orbited, the one I needed to hold tight. Even now, I wondered what her lips would taste like.

  Yeah, I’m in for a rough ride…

  Harper

  (Daughter of Hazel & Tejus)

  Caspian and I made our way through the city. We moved as fast as we could, sneaking through the dark and narrow alleys, avoiding the groups of daemons out looking for us. My stomach churned, and my feet felt heavy, but we had to get into Mose’s hut before our invisibility spell wore off. It was bad enough that some of the daemons had red garnet lenses through which they could see us. We couldn’t risk all of them seeing us.

  I held Caspian’s hand, as we kept turning left and right. He guided me through the slums until we made it to Mose’s. He pulled the drapes over the entrance, and we both stood quietly for a while, until we became visible again.

  My mind had gone into overdrive, trying to keep up with my body, as I adjusted to our new circumstances. Shaytan had seen us. None of us could have known that they could use red garnet to see those using the invisibility spell. In hindsight, though, it kind of made sense. I had a hard time imagining a throng of hunter daemons holding hands while they converged on their prey—we held hands in invisible form in order not to lose each other, or used vocal signals; the daemons would’ve had to do the same without those red lenses. At least we’d learned something new.

  Caia and Blaze had been taken hostage by Shaytan and his hordes. Caspian had a point, though, that Shaytan was interested in keeping them alive. Therefore, we had that sort of working for us.

  “There are so many things going through my head right now.” I dropped to my knees, my limbs weak and tired. I could feel another wave of tears coming up, but I did my best to keep it down, broiling in the pit of my stomach. “We don’t even know where Jax and Hansa are…”

  Caspian moved across the room, then lowered himself in front of me, so we could be on the same level. He gripped my chin between his thumb and index finger, lifting my head slowly so he could look me in the eyes.

  “They are both smart, cunning, and fast enough to outrun any of those beasts outside,” he said, his voice low but somewhat reassuring. I swallowed hard, and gave him a soft nod in response.

  “I wonder where they are.”

  To my surprise, I quickly got the answer to my question, as the main entrance drapes moved. My hands reached for my swords, as two possibilities shot through my mind – daemons, or Jax and Hansa. Fortunately, the latter became visible as their invisibility spell wore off. I sprang to my feet and immediately pulled them into my arms, holding them both as close as I could. It felt as though I could breathe again.

  “You have no idea how good it is to see you,” I breathed. Jax and Hansa both responded to my hug, and tightened their arms around me. Hansa even dropped a kiss on the top of my head, before gently pushing me away so she could measure me from head to toe.

  “Likewise, little vampire.” She smiled softly. “I’m glad to see that you’re in one piece. That you’re both in one piece.”

  Caspian gave them a friendly nod, then sat by the now-dying fire we had left behind earlier. We joined him, welcoming the temporary comfort and quiet offered by Mose’s hut.

  “Where are Blaze and Caia? Have you seen them?” Jax asked.

  Grief constricted my throat, and I choked up while trying to speak. Caspian put one hand on my knee, then filled them in for me.

  “The daemons got them,” he said. “They knocked them out, and they carried them inside the palace. My guess is that Shaytan wants them alive. Chances are he could use them as bait, to get us out of hiding.”

  It took Jax and Hansa some time to process the news. They were both floored, but gradually snapped back to a more composed state. Watching them was enough to help me get back into the right mindset. We had a lot to do, and I needed a clear head.

  “We’re going to get them back,” Hansa muttered, staring at the ashes in the fire pit.

  Jax put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her to him, pressing his lips against her temple. It surprised me to see them so close. This was the ultimate shift in their dynamic: they were now closer than ever before. Weirdly, it had taken thousands of daemons chasing after us for them to get over whatever had stood between them in the first place.

  “Rest assured, we’re not leaving here without them,” Jax replied softly.

  I could feel my right eyebrow rising slowly as I stared at them. Took you long enough…

  My only hope was that we would all make it out of the daemon city alive, so that Jax and Hansa could really take their relationship to the next level. I held hope that the universe wasn’t cruel enough to end their story here, in the bowels of Neraka.

  “What happened back there?” Hansa asked, looking at me. “What were those lenses?”

  “It’s red garnet,” Caspian replied.

  “They could see us through them,” I added. “That was entirely unexpected. It was as if Shaytan knew we would be there, somehow. I saw him looking around, then straight at us, but I didn’t think anything of it, since we were invisible. But then he started grinning… and I realized that he could see us. I swear, this is making less sense than before. The more we uncover, the less we know.”

  “We have to find a way to get Caia and Blaze out of there,” Jax said. Hansa leaned into him. “We will have to find a way to infiltrate that palace.”

  “The parameters of our mission have changed,” I replied. “We have daemons, some of them with red lenses through which they can see us. We have giant soldiers, or generals, or whatever they’re called. We have pit wolves and death claws, along with everyone else who basically wants a piece of us. Yeah, count me in.”

  “Knowing you, Harper,” Hansa smirked, “and how much you love a good challenge, I’m glad to see you so energized and eager to kick so many asses.”

  I felt the corner of my mouth twitch, mainly because she was right. I definitely looked forward to killing as many of those horned bastards as I could.

  “At least we have morale going for us,” Caspian said. “I’m sure that Miss Hellswan will get plenty of opportunities to burn all that energy.”

  His aura had a sheen of gold to it as he gave me a brief smile, his jade eyes fixed on mine. My cheeks burned, and my heart skipped a beat. He was right. I was going to get plenty of action in that palace, and many heads would fall in the process.

  You don’t imprison my friends and expect to get away with it.

  Maybe most people who looked at Shaytan saw a giant, fearsome king. All I saw was my main enemy—and there was only one thing I did with my enemies. I crushed them. No matter how big.

  Avril

  (Daughter of Lucas & Marion)

  The world around me was kind and warm. Or, at least, that’s what my dream felt like. My heart sang, as I gradually opened my eyes and realized that the warmth was not going away. I wasn’t dreaming it. I could feel it.

  A couple of seconds passed. I slowly adjusted my eyes to the semi-darkness of my room at the Broken Bow Inn. The shutters kept the sunlight out, but minuscule little rays still managed to sneak in, marking a handful of bright little dots on the wooden floor.


  I was wrapped in a pair of strong arms, beneath the bedcover. My breath hitched as I remembered the night before—Heron coming to my room, awkwardly hanging around, falling asleep on the divan… I’d tried to tell him how I felt. But he was already sleeping deeply and didn’t hear it. Instead, he got into bed with me later, and I slipped into dreamland in his embrace.

  He stirred, and I felt his firm body against mine, every muscle and every sharp line perfectly molded to my curves. My temperature started to rise, as if the sun itself were hugging me. I feared I would burn, but at the same time, I couldn’t let go. It felt too good to be true.

  I could go over and over all the steps that had brought us to this point, but I wasn’t able to identify the exact moment in which I had fallen so hard for Heron. The only certainty was that I had fallen for him, and had no idea how to deal with it… or get out of it. This is such a sweet mess…

  Reality started to kick in, ever so slowly. As much as I wanted to, I couldn’t stay like this forever. I needed to put some distance between us so that I could find the courage to tell Heron everything I had told him the night before… again. After a couple of deep breaths, I moved to get out of bed.

  But Heron wasn’t ready to let me go yet. He groaned and tightened his hold on me, his arms around my ribcage and his hands resting on my hips, as if I were a stuffed toy. Nevertheless, I felt like a very lucky toy. Damn it, I sure know how to get myself into trouble.

  His head moved, his lips inching closer to my ear, to the point where I could feel his hot breath warming the side of my neck. Five more minutes of that, and I was surely going to melt. Heron was the flame I just couldn’t stay away from. And he didn’t seem unhappy about that.

  “Thank you for letting me sleep here last night,” Heron whispered.

  My entire body hummed, every inch of me resonating with his voice. It was simply mind blowing, the extent to which my being reacted to him. I nodded slowly, unable to speak. We stayed like that for a while. It felt as though time had stopped. We were fully conscious, aware of each other, our bodies so close and our hearts beating in unison. Why would I ever want to get away from this?

  His grip tightened, his hands moving slowly and his fingers digging into my flesh. Liquid fire flowed through my veins. My breath hitched, and he reacted, exhaling sharply. I had a feeling that things were about to get a lot more intense, the air thickening around us. I didn’t know what to do—the only thing I knew was that I didn’t want any of this to stop.

  My pulse was racing out of control, and I wondered what would happen if I turned around and just kissed him. My head moved, as if taking executive action on that very thought. Our eyes met, and I nearly lost myself in the twin pools of jade as they seared into me. The tension was almost unbearable, with just an inch between our lips.

  I held my breath, hoping that he would do something—that he would read my mind, somehow, and that he would find the courage I seemed to lack. His gaze darkened, temporarily settling on my lips before he pulled himself back and got out of bed.

  I blinked several times, unable to wrap my head around the sudden change in the atmosphere. It felt cold now. He looked away and walked over to the door.

  “Let’s meet downstairs in fifteen minutes,” he murmured. “I think we have a long day ahead of us.”

  Without another word, he left. As soon as I was on my own, everything came crashing down, like a building collapsing in on itself. I broke into a cold sweat, and sat up, rubbing my eyes and trying to figure out what had just happened.

  Had I done something? More specifically, had I done something wrong?

  What had made Heron distance himself so quickly, when nearly seconds earlier we had almost kissed? It made me think that maybe it was better that he hadn’t heard me the night before. Perhaps I was better off keeping my feelings to myself, no matter how intense they were getting. He didn’t seem interested in following through on whatever this was between us. Or worse, maybe he was afraid. That didn’t work out in my favor either, because I had a hard time grasping my own emotions where he was concerned. I certainly wasn’t ready to deal with any insecurity coming from him.

  At the same time, however, that sudden change in his behavior did warrant a conversation. On one hand, the attraction between us was undeniable at this point. What was still unclear was how we felt about each other, beyond the physical chemistry. His sudden withdrawal made me think that he wasn’t as serious about this as I was.

  But then again, he didn’t know how serious I was… about this.

  Yeah… you need to talk to him.

  Scarlett

  (Daughter of Jeramiah & Pippa)

  The clock hadn’t struck nine when we all met in the infirmary. Heron and Avril stood idly next to each other, occasionally stealing glances but exchanging not a single word, while we waited for Patrik. Fiona had been kind enough to take care of breakfast, bringing in several flasks of blood, along with some pastries and coffee, the latter mostly for Patrik.

  Something had happened between Heron and Avril, but I couldn’t put my finger on it just yet. The awkwardness, however, seemed relatively familiar. As soon as I saw Patrik come in and actively avoid looking at me, the familiarity of said awkwardness became more evident. He’d been just as evasive earlier this morning, as well as last night.

  I had a feeling that whatever Avril and Heron were going through, it involved unexpected closeness—the signs were all there, in every sideways glance, in every accidental brush of their hands, and particularly in the rapid heartbeats that were so uncharacteristic of us.

  “I’ve been thinking,” Patrik said as he munched on one of the pastries. He gulped down some coffee. “While we’re waiting for Harper and the others to come back from the Valley of Screams, we are better off doing some more research about the Imen, while Scarlett and I look for the ingredients I need, to attempt a disruption of the asteroid belt.”

  “Well, GASP isn’t here yet… Not sure when they’re coming, or if they’re coming.” Fiona sighed. “And this further reinforces my, and I guess our suspicion that there is definitely something happening on or around Neraka. Whatever it is, it isn’t just preventing us from communicating with our people back home or leaving. I think it’s also stopping others from coming in.”

  “We have until midnight to get as much done about this as we can,” Patrik replied, “before Jax and his team come back or, worse, we have to go after them. That gives us a whole day to try and figure out as much as possible. Scarlett and I will go to the Spring Fair. It’s a big market day spreading across an entire city level, where they bring in the first of this season’s foods. I’ve learned it’s where I can find certain herbs and powders that I’ll need to perform a tentative spell aimed at disrupting the asteroid belt. It’s a high possibility that the asteroids, which we all know are rumored to have a certain influence on the planet’s concealment, can be dispersed with a powerful pulse. It would be like breaking the cycle, disrupting its effect. The only thing is that I’ll need your energy to perform this, as it’s part of the Druids’ dark arts.”

  We looked at each other for a while, then nodded, silently agreeing that feeling tired and hungry after that spell was performed would be a simple price to pay if it put us in touch with GASP on Calliope.

  “That’s fine,” I replied. “I think it’s the least we can do to help you.”

  “Thank you.” Patrik gazed at me softly, a warm flicker in his blue eyes reminding me of our kiss the day before. My chest tightened a little; the memory of his lips on mine made me yearn for more. I was looking at a whole day in his company, and that most likely meant that we would have to talk about what had happened yesterday.

  I wasn’t sure whether I looked forward to that or not. On one hand, it could lead to a new stage of our relationship—not that what we had was an actual relationship, but it could lead to something new and wonderful. On the other hand, it could lead to him telling me that he was still mourning, that Kyana was still an essential part
of him. A pang in my stomach signaled that I would not fare well if the latter came to pass.

  “Okay, you guys do that,” Fiona said, “and I’ll go look for Arrah, because I haven’t heard from her yet. I’ll go back to the South Bend Inn and see what she’s been up to since I returned her brother to her.”

  “Just be careful, so the other Imen servants don’t see you,” I replied. “We must remain vigilant and under the assumption that they have all been mind-bent. That may or may not be true, of course, but I think the mindset will keep us sharp.”

  “I completely agree.” Fiona nodded. “I’ll be careful. I just need to see her. Arrah has secrets to tell, and now that her brother is safe, and back with her, she’s free to tell us everything—whatever that may be.”

  Fiona then frowned, and exhaled sharply, giving me what seemed like a guilty look. It wasn’t like her, and it made me wonder what else she wanted to tell us, but hadn’t found the words to yet.

  “What’s up, Fi?” I asked in a soft voice. “Is there something else you want to tell us?”

  “Yeah…” Her shoulders dropped, and she looked at me with wide amber eyes. “I still can’t wrap my head around Zane’s visit.”

  Fiona had told Patrik about this last night. Zane coming into the city meant that the protection spell didn’t work in keeping the daemons out of Azure Heights. It had prompted Patrik to rush out and alert the Correction Officers, to make sure they stayed vigilant throughout the night. The chances of another attack so soon after the explosions were dim, but existed nonetheless.

  “Is there anything else we can do, since the protection spell didn’t work?” Avril asked.

  “I was thinking about using the swamp witches’ cloaking magic,” Patrik replied, “but I don’t know whether I will find all the ingredients needed. We will look through the Spring Fair today, and hopefully we’ll be able to work something out. Otherwise, we are stuck with being vigilant. I did set some… alarms on the lower levels last night, just to see if any daemons would pass, but none were triggered. It means that they weren’t out hunting in the city last night.”