A Citadel of Captives Read online

  “They ravaged us,” Anjani whispered. “They were so fast… so destructive. We barely made it to one of the escape pods in time.”

  “They intercepted the shuttle,” I replied. “I think that was where most of my injuries came from. I remember the guy who brought me in. Weird fella, scales and big yellow eyes. For a second there, I thought we were back in Azazel’s days, with Destroyers and whatnot.”

  “Yeah. I remember the one who brought me in, too. He kept telling me to lie still, that you were okay.”

  “That you should worry more about yourself,” I added, remembering similar advice given to me by my scaly caretaker. “They stitched us up, though, from what I can tell.”

  “Jovi.” Anjani sighed, her gaze fixed on me. “Did you see Hansa on your way in? Jax? Anyone in our crew?”

  Her lower lip trembled, and I dreaded telling her the truth, but I couldn’t lie to her. “I don’t know if they’re okay, honey,” I replied. “I didn’t see her or Jax. I only remember seeing Heath. They were wheeling him into another room. He was pretty out of it, though. But I do remember that most of us followed the evacuation protocol quickly. I think most of us made it.”

  She nodded slowly, then swallowed back tears, as she chose to focus on the two of us and the situation at hand. Her warrior nature had pierced through the surface and had taken over. Hansa wouldn’t have wanted anything less from her younger sister, after all. I ignored the knot in my throat and channeled everything I had into assessing our situation and formulating a way out.

  “What are they?” Anjani asked.

  I shrugged. “I have no idea. But they’re stronger than anything we’ve ever dealt with, for sure. They took our dragons out like it was a walk in the park.”

  “Yes, they were fast. I could barely see them,” she replied. “And they had some kind of fire powers, too. They could fly. They tore through the ship’s hull as if it were made of paper,” she added. “We need to get out of here, Jovi.”

  “I know, but… how?” I said, then tried to pull my hand up again. These weren’t regular cuffs, for sure. They were made of reinforced steel, and the chains were equally unbreakable. There were symbols engraved along the edges, but I didn’t recognize them. “I’m not sure if this is magic or just some heavy-duty type of cuff that I can’t break on my own.”

  Anjani struggled to free herself as well, but to no avail. Frustration built up as we tried harder, pulling until the metal cuffs bit into our skin and drew blood. Still, nothing. I even tried banging one of the cuffs against the bed’s metal frame, but it didn’t even scratch the surface. I cursed under my breath.

  “We might have to wait until one of them comes in, then maybe talk our way out of these cuffs,” Anjani murmured, then bit her lower lip.

  Some time passed as we waited for someone to come in. Neither of us had the will to speak, apart from the basics. The more we stayed here, the deeper it all hurt. The more useless I felt.

  The door opened, and both Anjani and I froze.

  Three creatures walked in. I recognized one of them, the male hybrid with yellow eyes and black scales, as the one who had first wheeled me into the hospital. If this is a hospital, anyway. The one in the middle was tall and handsome, with long, pale gray hair and the strangest eyes—one blue and one green. He was beautiful, and it took me a few seconds to tear my eyes off him to check out the third visitor. It was a female, with white hair cascading down her back, ivory skin with parts of it covered in amber scales, and bright orange eyes.

  They were all superb creatures, out of this world and, at the same time, quite creepy. I wasn’t sure what it was about them, exactly, that put me on edge, but they made me feel uneasy. Their expressions didn’t tell me much, but their movements exuded grace. They were tall and slender, clad in white silk tunics. The one in the middle, the male with gray hair and strange eyes, wore a heavy silver necklace around his neck—it covered his chest with long, rectangular plates, each encrusted with a variety of multicolored gemstones. It set him apart from the other two, along with the absence of any animal or reptilian features. His pointy ears were similar to the Dhaxanians, but I had a feeling he wasn’t one of them.

  “Glad to see you’ve both made it,” he said, his voice low and smooth.

  I gave Anjani a brief sideways glance, then shifted my focus to him. “Who are you?”

  “I’m Ta’Zan,” he replied. “This is Amal,” he added, nodding at the female, then at the yellow-eyed male, “and this is Monos.”

  “Yeah, well, sorry I can’t say it’s nice to meet you,” I grumbled, feeling my blood simmer.

  Ta’Zan smirked. “I wouldn’t expect you to,” he said. “You are, after all, prisoners of war.”

  “You’re responsible for what happened to us,” Anjani hissed, squirming against her restraints.

  “You’re the ones who came in, eager to wage war,” Ta’Zan replied. “We merely defended ourselves.”

  “That’s up for debate,” I replied. “We came here looking for our people. We didn’t launch the first strike. We didn’t show any sign of aggression. Your… whatever those creatures were, they started it! They attacked us!”

  Ta’Zan sighed, while Monos came to my bedside and took notes from what he read on the screen. I watched him quietly. Our eyes met for a brief moment, but he quickly looked away and chose to focus on changing my IV bags and bandages. Amal did the same to Anjani, who kept growling whenever Amal got close or touched her.

  “Do your job, Amal,” Ta’Zan said, slightly amused. “She won’t hurt you.”

  “You sound pretty sure of yourself,” Anjani retorted, glaring at him.

  “You’re free to try, but, be advised, I won’t be sad if you’re put down,” Ta’Zan replied. “We captured plenty of your silvery kind. It’s not like I’m lacking specimens.”

  Anjani frowned, utterly confused. “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “What do you want from us?” I asked, while Monos removed some of my bandages. I caught a glimpse of my stitched-up wounds—they’d used some kind of silk thread, and the cuts had already closed. He applied an ointment, then covered them with fresh bandages and white paper tape. Whatever that cream was, it was oily and smelly, but it had a soothing effect, as I’d been dealing with some serious itches.

  “Your genetic material,” Ta’Zan replied bluntly. “I’m not going to repeat myself whenever one of you asks me these questions, though. You’ll soon be placed with the others, and I’m sure they’ll bring you up to speed.”

  “The others?” Anjani breathed, her eyes wide.

  I couldn’t get past the “generic material” part as quickly as she did, though. “Whoa. What do you want with our genetic material? What… What’s this all about?”

  “Like I said, I’m sure the others will tell you,” Ta’Zan said. “I honestly don’t have the patience to elaborate on everything, over and over again. But, to keep it brief, I’m building the perfect lifeforms, and I need your genes to improve my creations. Now, be a good wolf and a good succubus while my assistants fit you with behavior controllers, so we can move you to your new enclosure.”

  It didn’t take too long for me to put two and two together, and not without getting the chills, since he’d made it sound like we were the new animals at a zoo—behavior controllers, new enclosure… All that was missing was a net and a guy in cargo shorts trying to lure us into a cage with a chunk of raw meat.

  What really stood out was his statement regarding the perfect lifeforms. I couldn’t help but wonder if they were the ones who’d taken our ships down.

  “By ‘perfect lifeforms’ you mean those things that attacked us?” I asked, my voice trembling slightly.

  Ta’Zan gave me an appreciative nod. “You’re quite observant. I’m impressed. I didn’t expect much from a half-mutt.”

  “Call me a half-mutt again,” I growled, eager to jump out of my bed and tear into him. Unfortunately, the cuffs kept me down. Lucky for him.

  “You
are a hybrid. Half wolf, half human,” Ta’Zan replied dryly.

  “You seem to know a lot about us, yet we know nothing about you,” Anjani said, as Amal finished changing her IV.

  “You should hold on to this,” Amal said to her, pointing at the transparent bag. “Once it’s finished, you can remove it. It will help speed up the healing process,” she added, then nodded at me. “You should do the same. You’re both getting out of here soon, but I strongly advise you keep the bags on.”

  I frowned, then looked at Monos, who took out a metal collar with blinking blue lights. “What’s that?” I asked.

  “Something to keep you on your best behavior,” Ta’Zan said, watching me with keen interest. He then smiled at Anjani. “I know everything about your physical characteristics, Anjani. I know your names, your worlds of origin, and your nutritional needs. In short, I know enough to find you useful for my work.”

  “That didn’t sound creepy at all,” I mumbled, my jaw stiffening as Monos put the collar around my neck. I heard the click and felt a sting in the back of my neck. “Ow.”

  “It’s connected to your brain waves,” Monos explained. “Do not attempt to do anything against us or Ta’Zan, or it will shock you. The electrical charge is powerful enough to kill you, if you persist.”

  I saw Amal put a similar collar around Anjani’s neck. She didn’t look happy about it. It just made everything infinitely more difficult. Our escape plans were slipping through our fingers.

  “Now, if you both behave and obey my orders, you will live a long and quiet life,” Ta’Zan said. “However, be advised, the moment you prove to be more of a hassle than you are a useful resource, I will have you terminated. Like I’ve said to your friends already, resistance is futile. The sooner you comply and accept your fates, the better.”

  Monos and Amal took the cuffs off, then helped both Anjani and me out of our beds. I felt the cold spread through my legs once my feet touched the floor. My knees were weak, but I could stand on my own. They’d dressed us in simple white robes, which ended just above our calves and were comfortably large. They reminded me of the hospital garb back on Earth, except they didn’t leave our rears exposed, and they were made from a soft, cotton-like fabric.

  Ta’Zan stepped back, allowing Monos and Amal to escort us out of the room. The moment I passed by Ta’Zan was a crucial one for my existence. I was tempted to rip his throat out, but my entire body buzzed. I sucked in a breath, realizing that my collar had just issued a soft electrical warning, letting me know that even my intentions to harm him were being monitored. If not for my anger and frustration, I would’ve been impressed by the technology.

  Plenty of thoughts went through my head as we stepped out into the hallway. Most of them involved hijacking the collars and breaking out of this place—but the architecture and function of each space we passed through left me speechless.

  It was definitely a hospital, with dozens of rooms on this single floor. Hybrids like Amal and Monos buzzed through the hallway, pushing gurneys in and out of different wards—I saw dozens of our people, but I didn’t know them personally. I’d only seen them in passing or during training sessions on Mount Zur: incubi, succubi, vampires and Maras, daemons, Bajangs and Manticores, werewolves… Ta’Zan’s people had captured plenty from our ranks and from different species. Genetically speaking, he’d gotten his hands on a cornucopia of specimens.

  I had many questions for Ta’Zan, but he’d already made it clear that he wasn’t going to tell me anything else. I had no choice but to wait until I could speak to someone who knew more.

  Monos and Amal stayed by our side as we walked through the hallway, with Ta’Zan right behind us. I wanted to stop and check on the GASP fighters I’d seen brought in, but Monos’s discreet nudges made me understand that I wasn’t allowed to talk to them—not yet, anyway. Most were injured and were most likely about to undergo treatment. Anjani and I were the only ones walking, from what I’d seen so far.

  “How many of us did you capture?” I asked.

  The hallway seemed endless, stretching on for several minutes as we kept walking and passing by open surgery rooms. I caught a glimpse of two hybrids operating on a Dhaxanian. He moaned and squirmed, gripping the sides of the gurney. Frost spread out before one of the hybrids shoved a syringe in his shoulder and injected a green liquid. It instantly knocked him out.

  “About six hundred,” Ta’Zan replied. “But fifty or so are in critical condition and might not make it through the night. They’ve incurred substantial damage that not even our resources can heal.”

  My stomach churned. All I could think of was who those survivors were.

  “You killed two-hundred of our people, then,” Anjani murmured, looking down. I knew her well enough to understand the amount of effort she was putting into not attacking our captors. Even with that collar on, Anjani could deliver substantial damage before being subdued. It wasn’t enough, though. We needed a smart exit plan.

  “Approximately, yes. I’d worry less about them, if I were you,” Ta’Zan replied. “They’re gone, and there is nothing you can do to change that.”

  Anjani and I looked at each other. I could see the grief glimmering in her eyes as she fought back another round of tears. I felt the same way, but we both had to focus on a solution. There was no time to cry over those we’d lost.

  Monos went ahead and opened a side door. Natural light poured in.

  As soon as we reached him, I found myself holding my breath. We stepped into a massive circular dome made entirely from a diamond-like material. The sunlight broke through and refracted into billions of colors across the grass. It was a beautiful structure, and it seemed to filter the sunlight as it came through. The place was filled with hundreds of our people, including vampires and Maras, and no one had burst into flames yet.

  “Hansa!” I heard Anjani shout.

  She dashed across the grass and threw herself into Hansa’s arms. I couldn’t help but smile, seeing both Hansa and Jax alive. They were wearing the same white robes as us and were also carrying their own IV bags. They’d clearly been injured in the melee and were now recovering.

  I moved forward, welcoming the soft ground and grass under my feet. I quickly scanned the crowd. All the survivors were fitted with electric-shock collars like mine. And they were all pissed off—vampires, sentries, Druids, Maras, fae, daemons… all kinds of creatures from all three dimensions, all warriors we’d enlisted in GASP… all survivors of what would later be remembered as the bloodiest massacre in our agency’s history.

  That is, if there is going to be a later.

  I glanced over my shoulder to see Ta’Zan simply standing in the doorway, accompanied by Amal and Monos. The hybrids didn’t seem as pleased as he was. For a second there, I thought they could maybe be swayed into helping us. I made a note of that, then turned my focus back to Jax and Hansa as I reached them.

  We hugged one another, thankful to find ourselves alive.

  “Are you guys okay?” I asked, measuring them both from head to toe, while the others in our fleet slowly gathered around us.

  Jax nodded. “For the most part, yes,” he replied, then gave Hansa a warm smile. “I guess we’re the lucky ones.”

  “Well, it’s us and cockroaches,” I replied. “We’ll survive anything.”

  “Jovi, you son of a gun!” A male voice shot through the murmuring crowd.

  I quickly spotted him, grinning as he made his way toward us. It was Varga Goode, Elonora’s brother. Relief washed over me in cold waves. I would’ve hated it if Elonora had lost him in the attack. It was bad enough she was stuck somewhere on Strava and was running for her life while looking for her grandparents (and ours, for that matter).

  Hansa

  “Varga! You made it!” Jovi croaked, welcoming Varga’s brotherly embrace. He coughed, surprised by the vampire sentry’s strength. “I see you didn’t get hurt as badly?”

  Varga shook his head, grinning. “No, but I took one of the bastards
down just as they pulled me out of my shuttle,” he replied. “Granted, the Faulties knocked me out after that, but I managed to do some damage beforehand.”

  “What good did that do?” Heath cut in, stepping out from the crowd. He leaned against a young Mara for support, grimacing from the pain. He’d taken a serious hit. Jax and I had been relatively lucky, as we were almost fully healed. Whatever was in those IV bags they’d had us hold on to, it was certainly helping with the recovery process.

  “Good to see you walking and talking,” Jovi said to him, then shook his hand. “I’d hug you, but—”

  “Six broken ribs. No, thank you,” Heath replied.

  Anjani greeted some of the other succubi who had survived. I was so happy to see her breathing. I’d experienced sheer agony over the past few hours, wondering if she’d made it. The Faulties who had taken care of Jax and me had been annoyingly quiet—even when I’d asked them about survivors, they’d kept their traps shut. The spineless bastards.

  A couple of Druids came forward—Thadeus and Ori. Jovi hugged them both, thrilled to see them alive. They were already a critically endangered species, and this fleet disaster didn’t help. Thadeus had left one of his councilors in charge, back on Persea, to join us on this mission. Ori had passed the torch to Damion for Purgaris, just until he came back.

  From the way things looked, however, I wasn’t sure when that would be.

  “You’re a resilient little wolf, aren’t you?” Ori chuckled. “I saw you and Anjani escape in the pod. Then I saw them ram into the pod. I thought you two were goners.”

  “They took every shuttle out, but not to kill us; they made an effort to keep us alive,” Jax replied.

  “What can you tell us about them? About Ta’Zan?” Jovi asked, scratching the back of his head.

  He slipped a finger under the collar, feeling the needle extending from the band and into his neck. I knew what he was doing. I’d tried it, too. The needle entry point was sore, but it wasn’t bleeding.