I stared at my pillow for a long while, watching it like it was a sleeping animal I was expected to lay my head on. Azlu was right. Sleeping was a good idea, but could I chance it? With a sigh, I decided to climb into my bunk and give sleep a chance while Azlu skittered back up to the ceiling corner.
That night, nobody died.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Seline
Harrowgate was a monster of a structure. Huge, and dull, and dark, surrounded by sharp wires and spikes, and lorded over by tall guard towers, it was a blight on an already blighted neighborhood. I could smell the rot in the air. Magic rot. It festered, lingered, unnatural and ever present.
We had only just arrived, and I already hated it here. I couldn’t imagine what Six had gone through, having been trapped here for so long.
Aaryn came up beside me, stuffing her little blue teleportation orb into the pocket of her long, black, military duster. The Knight came up beside me, toward the edge of the rooftop overlooking the prison. A gentle breeze ruffled her snow-white hair, and as I turned my head to look at her, I could almost see the calculations flashing across her clear, blue eyes.
“What are you thinking?” I asked.
“I don’t like this,” she said. “You know I don’t.”
“No one has tried harder to turn me away from this than you, but we have to get her back, Aaryn.”
“I know we do. I do. But there is a reason we don’t come here.”
I turned my eyes onto the prison again, onto its grey walls, its tough exterior. It seemed strangely quiet—there was no movement in the guard towers, or the parapets. The gate was shut, the yard was empty. It was like a gargoyle. Unmoving stone during the daylight hours, but a beast as soon as night falls.
“They hate us because we’re Outsiders,” I said. “Every chance they get, they beat us, they capture us, and they imprison us for no crime other than being what we are.”
“And you want walk into the mouth of the monster and hope it’ll spit out its food.”
I glanced at her, an eyebrow cocked. “Do you happen to have an army we could use to lay siege to this place?”
She turned to face me fully, her expression darkening and becoming more serious. “I would absolutely prefer that to this. I can have our knights here in minutes, and we can take this place by force.”
Smiling, I shook my head. “As effective as I’m sure that would be, we can’t risk an open confrontation with them. Not now that the Crimson Hunters have come back. We need to try diplomacy.”
“Said the prey to the predator.”
“I’m not prey. Not anymore.” I took a deep breath. “Do you have my back?”
Aaryn paused. “You’ve made a lot of questionable decisions, Seline, and you take more risks than I would… but I have sworn my sword to you. I will always have your back.”
I patted her on the shoulder. “Then we’re gonna be just fine. C’mon, let’s get down there.”
Together, Aaryn and I headed down the side of the building using the metal gantry that ran all the way to the alley below. We both had wings and could easily have jumped down, but the last thing I wanted to do was draw unnecessary attention to us while we were here. Even for me, even with Aaryn on my side, Devil Falls was still dangerous territory.
The putrid scent of rotting magic only got stronger as we reached ground level, and unlike any normal bad smell, this wasn’t one I would get used to. As we pushed to the edge of the alley, toward the street, I could already feel my own anxiety levels increase with the steady rising of my heartrate.
I’d never come here before.
I’d never wanted to; at least, not without an army.
Harrowgate seemed like it loomed much, much larger when looking at it from the ground up. The walls were so tall they seemed to curve above me, their barbed and spiked tips gleaming against the faint sunlight breaking through the clouds. A couple of men standing opposite to the prison’s walls watched us as Aaryn and I crossed the road to get to it.
One of them called out. “How much?”
I stopped in the middle of the quiet, dead road and turned to look at them. “How much, what?”
“Your pretty white hair. How much you want for it?”
“And some ass, while you’re at it,” the other snickered, “How much for that, too?”
Aaryn surged forward, her hand flying to the hilt of the dagger strapped to her belt, concealed beneath her coat. I grabbed her by the shoulder and pulled her back. “Why don’t you guys go jerk each other off in the alley over there, instead?” I called out.
The two men stared at each other, their faces turning red. “I should kill you for that!” one of them yelled.
“Yeah?” I finished crossing to the other side of the road, reaching the outermost wall of Harrowgate prison. “How about you come over here, then?”
He looked for a moment like he was about to make a move, but his friend elbowed him in the arm and that seemed to bring him to his senses. Both men then scurried away, turning a corner onto another street and disappearing from view.
“Charmers,” Aaryn growled.
“Welcome to Devil Falls,” I said, “I hate this fucking place.”
Aaryn nudged me on the shoulder and then pointed across from where I was standing. A set of double doors had opened, and a man wearing full tactical armor and holding a semi-automatic rifle was standing there, watching us. He leveled his rifle, and Aaryn immediately moved around me to try to get between me and the guard.
“You two need to leave right now,” the guard called out, “This is a restricted area.”
“I’m here to see the Warden,” I said.
“I’m only gonna say this once. Fuck off.”
I ran my fingers through my white hair, tightening the high ponytail and sighing deeply. “Then maybe you’d like to go back to your Warden and tell him that when the head of the Obsidian Order came to his house offering assistance with a problem he’s been having, you told her to fuck off.”
The guard hesitated. One of his hands moved to the radio attached to his chest. Turning to the side a little, he sent a message through and waited for a response. A moment later, he stepped out into the street, and keeping his rifle trained on us, he nodded toward the door.
“Move,” he said, “Quickly.”
It was a threat; or, at least, it was meant as a threat. I wasn’t scared of the neckbeard with the gun, though. I hated this place, but it was going to take way more than him scare me. I’d dropped men twice as large and five times deadlier, and Aaryn was an even better fighter than I was. She’d trained me, after all.
I moved toward the door, Aaryn taking up her position behind me, her eyes fixed on the guard with the gun. Another man greeted us as soon as we stepped through—he was also wearing full tactical gear, minus the helmet. The first thing I noticed was the button on his sidearm holster. It was unclipped, so he could easily access his sidearm if he needed to.
He extended a hand. “That’s far enough,” he said, his gruff voice grating against my ears. He wasn’t pretty to look at. In fact, he was bald, and he had a couple of scars on his already rough face. “Names,” he demanded.