Broken (26 page)

‘This dark force started evolving. First it split into two parts and took the form of a man and a woman, then it looked more like a pair of armoured angels and became four. In the beginning it hid in outback caves by day and fed from the valley at night, but now the two pairs stay close to Ebony day and night. Prince Gabriel says they’re drawn to her.’

His eyes impale me. ‘This is equivalent to opening the gates to Skade’s deepest prisons where the worst human souls transmogrify into beasts.’ He flicks a glance at the tunnel, then leans right in and whispers, ‘They must be stopped. Tell your angels to destroy them even if they have to bring a legion of Throne Warriors to accomplish the task.’

‘They can’t do that.’

‘Mixing with angels has given you leeway to order them around now, has it?’ His eyes burn with indignation. ‘You don’t understand what Prince Luca could do with them if he learns of their existence.’

‘But if angels bring an army that big to Earth, there’ll be mass hysteria and the world will never be the same again.’

‘Perhaps the time has come for change, Mr Blake, before there’s nothing left to save.’

‘Why did you bring Ebony here?’ I ask.

‘I had no choice. Just as I have no choice now.’

‘Everyone has a choice, even if it’s one they don’t wanna make.’

‘For your own sake, you must forget Ebony. Her fate is sealed. You cannot help her now.’

‘Screw you! I don’t care what excuses you make up – you have to release her!’

Mr Zee grabs my arm. ‘Stop yelling, or they will hear you. I’ve talked Prince Luca into letting
you
go.’ He points with his right arm. ‘That way will lead you to a small cave with a heavy door. It’s unlocked. Leave, Jordan, while you still can.’

‘I’m not going without Ebony.’

He glares at me. ‘I know about the deal you struck with Prince Luca.’

‘He tricked me.’

‘I thought as much,’ he mutters. ‘I wondered why you allowed him so much control.’

‘What control?’

‘Jordan, you forfeited your right to choose the time the contract ends – the day, the hour, the minute of your death.’

‘
What?
Bullshit! I didn’t forfeit that! I told you he tricked me.’

‘Listen, Jordan, Prince Luca has no need for you yet. This is why he is allowing you to leave. Go now and live your life while you still have one.’

‘But I
don’t
have one, not without Ebony.’

‘Don’t be so selfish! What about your family, or friends that will miss you?’

‘I don’t have family or friends.’

‘There’s Ms Lang.’

‘What about Amber?’

‘That girl will need you now. She lost her closest friend today. Who else but you will understand her pain?’

‘You’re wrong. She thinks I’m a moron.’

A flood of light puts an end to any further discussion as Prince Luca, self-appointed King of Skade, walks in. Dressed in sleek, tight black clothes, he might not be at peak health yet, but to look at him you wouldn’t know it. He still has a powerful presence, an aura that announces him. When his penetrating green eyes fall on you, you feel as if he’s extracting your whole life, every event you’ve experienced, every thought you’ve had. Just as he’s doing now with each step until he’s standing right in front of me, peering down his nose.

‘Jordan, my young friend.’ His velvety voice slices into me, bringing a chill to my soul. ‘Don’t you want to leave?’

‘He’s leaving now,’ Mr Zee says.

Prince Luca shoots Mr Zee a look that should freeze his heart, that’s if Mr Zee has one. ‘Is that correct?’ he asks me.

My head is nodding, but no words are coming out.

‘Jordan!’ Mr Zee hisses. ‘Leave now.’

Prince Luca tilts his head as if he’s peering at a bird in a cage. It’s so unnerving my teeth start chattering. ‘C-c-can I see her first?’

Mr Zee closes his eyes, then says softly, ‘My lord, I need a moment to talk to Jordan.’

‘Your talk is finished,’ the prince declares in a tone no one would argue with unless they were insane. Still looking at Mr Zee, he inclines his head at me. Mr Zee shudders before he shifts his eyes to me with some sort of warning in them. I brace myself, but barely finish the thought before Mr Zee grabs my arms and twists them up behind my back.

‘Argh! What are you doing?’

‘What I should have done,’ he says, ‘before our futile conversation.’

His grip is as strong as steel. I suppose it
would
be, considering he’s a dark angel, after all. I try to think positively like Ebony does. It works for her. The least I can do is try, so I remember my training with Thane and drop as low as I can, turn and keep turning until I get enough leverage to knee him in the gut. He releases my wrists. My shoulder is in agony but I have to keep going. I unfurl and kick his thigh. Amazingly, he crashes to the ground. But he gets up in one fluid movement and wraps his arms round my chest in a hold that feels unbreakable. I try to twist. I try everything Thane taught me, and everything Ebony and I have been teaching each other, and somehow I slip out of his hold, sliding between his long legs and out the other side.

With Prince Luca looking on, Mr Zee comes after me. I let my instincts take over and spin round to gain momentum and put energy into my next hit. Jumping up with the flow, I land a kick to his jaw, knocking his head sideways. His eyes widen and he makes a frustrated grunting sound, but with a piteous look in his eyes as if he’s been holding back this whole time. It fires me up.

‘Jordan, submit,’ he says.

‘No way,
sir.
’

‘I will admit your strength and agility surprise me. For a human being you are exceptionally strong. You have recovered remarkably from your injuries this morning, or you are hiding your pain very well, but you must know that if you don’t give up, I will hurt you.’

His eyes flicker to the prince as if checking his orders are still the same.

‘You’re like an obedient dog,’ I tell him. ‘All you do is follow orders.’

He growls, ‘Jordan, let me take you down quietly.’

‘No chance,
sir
. You want me, you fight me. I might surprise you some more.’

Prince Luca claps in that slow mocking style arrogant people use. ‘You are either ludicrously brave or exceptionally stupid. Either way, I’m not amused any more.’ His eyes shift sideways to the tunnel for a moment and four soldiers run out.

Oh crap.

More soldiers follow, Prodigies I recognise from the battle on Thane’s front lawn. Prince Luca barks orders in a language I have no hope of understanding and the first four start kicking me. I drop to the ground, instinctively curling into the foetal position, but it doesn’t stop them.

I catch Mr Zee’s eyes from the floor, but all he does is watch with an unreadable expression.

The prince barks another command and the soldiers drag me down the tunnel. About halfway along, a lantern marks the entrance to another tunnel breaking off on my right, and another on my left further down.

This place is starting to resemble an abandoned underground city. Eventually a short tunnel leads to a door in a rock wall. It opens into an enormous cave. Roughly circular with a high ceiling, there are candles and lanterns burning on shelves, on tables and in nooks around the walls, giving the place an unsettling fairy tale look.

A fairy tale from hell.

There’s furniture that’s mostly iron, like a table with thirteen chairs, and screens that create private areas along the sides, like bedrooms or something.

I absorb this all in one or two glimpses, because once I spot Ebony looking unconscious on a reclining chair with her wrists cuffed, there’s room for nothing else in my head.

A hit of adrenalin helps me kick my way free. Still, it’s not as if I can grab Ebony and make a break for it, at least not while she’s out cold with her hands chained to the floor. So the first thing I gotta do is wake her.

They jump me just before I reach her. I kick and punch my way free again. ‘Ebony! Ebony, wake up!’

With the help of another two soldiers, they drag me to a solid rock wall. They remove the remnants from my previous chain that Zavier destroyed when he stopped me from choking him. Two Prodigies hold me up while another pair locks my wrists into wide metal cuffs attached to chains bolted into the wall behind me.

Shit, this really sucks!

I pull hard on the chains, but I soon figure nothing will budge these. My body aches everywhere from the beating, which will feel a lot worse when the adrenalin stops. I start to feel hopeless again.

But I can still wake Ebony. If she can make a run for it, this might be her only chance! ‘Ebony.
Ebony!
’

Prince Luca lands in front of me, so close his body heat burns the soft hairs on my face. His eyes narrowed, he stares like he hasn’t figured me out yet.

‘What drugs did Zavier give her?’ I ask him. ‘Look at her – she’s out cold.’

Mr Zee runs a finger over his left brow. ‘She’s fine!’

Prince Luca asks him, ‘What did you give her, Zavier?’

He takes a deep breath. ‘Midazolam.’

The prince nods. ‘Quantity?’

He doesn’t answer and Prince Luca’s voice grows eerily stronger. ‘Zavier, you will answer the question.’

‘Humans were arriving; I didn’t have time to measure the dose.’

When he still doesn’t answer, rage flares up inside me so great all I can think of is killing him. I yank on the chains over and over, willing my hands free. Stuff the fact he’s immortal. Stuff the fact they chained me to a cave wall. I want to jump on him and strangle him with my bare hands.

Obviously he’s given Ebony too much Midazolam. That’s why she’s unconscious. I’ve seen a drug overdose before. I remember the colour draining away from my mother’s face when I tried to wake her to take me to school. ‘You killed her!’

‘Jordan, listen to me,’ Mr Zee says, ‘Ebony is not dead.’

‘If Ebony doesn’t survive this overdose, I
will
kill you. I’ll find a way.’

‘It was necessary.’

Prince Luca walks over to Mr Zee. ‘You don’t have to explain your actions to the boy.’

Mr Zee goes silent and glances away. But just then Ebony stirs. Seeing her eyes flutter open makes me go weak with relief. ‘Hey!’ I call out. ‘Ebony, over here.’

Two soldiers approach her carrying a black garment. ‘What are you doing with that?’ I ask, chills running up my spine.

Mr Zee comes closer. ‘It’s all right, Jordan. It’s called a
lamorak
and it will protect Ebony in the Crossing.’

I gotta wake her up. ‘Ebony!’

Her eyes open. ‘Jordan? Oh, Jordy, are you all right? Do you know what happened?’ I yank on the chains. ‘Why are you . . . ? Who did that to you?’ She looks around the cave.

‘You!’ she yells as she lays eyes on Mr Zee. ‘You brought me here?’

‘Ebony!’

She drags her eyes back to me. They soften like melting butter. ‘Jordy, I need to tell you how . . .’ She swallows, licks her dry lips and tries again, ‘I’m so sorry. I tried to save you.’

She spots the two soldiers opening the
lamorak
near her feet. ‘What’s this?’

Prince Luca crouches beside her. ‘My sweet young princess, this may not be a gold carriage to whisk you away to your new world, but the
lamorak
will protect you in the Crossing. It is imperative that you wear it.’

She peers at him through eyes narrowed to slits. ‘Where do you think you’re taking me?’

‘Don’t be afraid, Princess. Now that you’re moving into your destiny, I take full responsibility for your protection.’

I shout out, ‘This isn’t her destiny. You’re forcing her. And that’s against the rules.’

At that, he leaps over Ebony, grabs my chin and forces me to look up into eyes so angry they flash a glowing yellow colour before turning black.

‘Stop!’ I shout. ‘I mean, whatever you’re thinking of doing, just, eh, stop for a sec. Hear me out.’

Amazingly, he does.

‘Ebony’s lungs aren’t ready for Skade’s atmosphere. You know that. It’s why you stashed her on Earth in the first place. It was supposedly for eighteen years, right? She’s nowhere near that yet and . . . and . . . as future queen she’ll need to be in perfect health. Right?’

It hurts to hold Prince Luca’s gaze. Finally he reduces the intensity of his glare and his eyes turn green again. ‘What do you propose, Jordan?’

‘Give her the time she needs, leave her here until she turns eighteen, and take me instead. You’re going to take me eventually anyway, so why not now?’

‘I already have you under contract. No one can take
you
from me.’ He looks pointedly at Ebony. I notice loose skin around his neck, and a reckless thought runs through my mind that he needs to concentrate on his appearance more if he wants to impress his new ‘princess’, as he sickeningly calls her.