Pine Needles (Veil Realms Series) (12 page)

Rayden and the other man
refuse to have their clothes stripped from their unkempt bodies, bickering with the women and becoming more of a nuisance. Without giving a second thought I pop off, “They only wish to give you a bath. No harm can come of that.”

The three women turn slowly and gape at me and then in the guards’ direction with concern.

“I don’t need a damn soul to bathe me! I need someone to get me the fuck out of here.”

Rayden’s bluntness
reminds me how I always admired his candidness. Still unaware of who I am, I give him a slight nod and detain myself from any further interference. The man standing next to Rayden smirks with an even shrug as he says, “For all we know it could be our last.”

His statement rings true, if something is not done but how did Rayden get through the veil? He must have discovered a way. And if he found a way in, then he knows a way…
He begins undressing and mumbles something else over to Rayden, whatever it was it is enough to convince him to remove his clothes as well without any further arguing. The women scrub and shave their faces, groans of pain and complaints are broadcast several times, but the women simply ignore them.

Cleaned and dried
, the two men stand unclothed as the women collect their things. Rayden takes a noncommittal glance a time or two in my obscuring direction as if he is trying to figure me out. The last of the three women deposit leather hide pants to the floor and abruptly slip out of the entrance.

“What
in the hell are we suppose to do with these? Where’s our damn clothes?” Rayden grumbles out and while he fumes and kicks the bundle of hide before him creating an unknown distraction, but one I have been waiting for. I pivot toward the guards and promptly thrust my hands forward. The two unsuspecting guards propel backwards, up-heaving their bodies off the ground and soaring them across the huge area. Colliding hard into the indurate limestone wall of the chamber they crumple into an unconscious heap upon the floor.

Dashing over to the guards I scour their habitual garments for k
eys. Quickly I obtain them and sprint back to Rayden and the other man. As I unlock the manacles, Rayden scowls at me with scrutiny, “What the hell are you doing?”

Paying no mind
to his question I toss the garments the women left at him and close the distance between us and reply, “Here you will need these.”

It feels fictitious to be standing just a few feet away from him, I watch him dress
unthinkingly and take another step toward him. “You said you wanted someone to get you out of here…Rayden.” With purpose I say his name with an air of confidence. 

“Now, how the hell do you know—” The man that remains beside Rayden flicks his uneasy eyes back and forth from Rayden and then to me. For a split second I’m crestfallen to the thought invading my mind,
what if he doesn’t remember me
?
What if he has moved on with his life and somehow, someway became helplessly caught in this out of control world
?

An echo of voices snap
s my immediate attention to the entrance. Reeling around, I peek out through the unlit corridors. Rayden advances and peers out too, brushing a glimpse at them I whisper, “We need to hurry.” I begin to move when his hand grips my upper arm.

“Selene…?” His tone says it all, he does remember. Straightening my stance I stare into his expecting expression. In the next moment I’m in his arms, the comfort of being surrounded with his familiarity is indescribable.

“I came here to find you. I can’t believe I didn’t fucking recognize you at first.”

His callous hands move from my face down to my shoulders closely examining my appearance. “Look at you
. It looks like they soaked you in gold, and your eyes. God, I don’t want to think about what they have done to you.”

His arms
embrace me again, lost in our own small bliss, the man that came with Rayden speaks softly with a prying tone, “Did… did you just kill those guards?”

Rayden and I both leer over to the guards, still collapsed and motionless. I
take a relieving breath and answer his inquiry quickly, “No, I didn’t and that’s part of the reason we need to leave now.”

Rayden and the man each grab a lit torch from the insets and together the three of us begin to creep out into the catacombs.
Retracing the same path as before, but halt as we reach the strident hall, slave women huddle along carrying baskets of Quine fruit through the passageway. Shrouding ourselves in darkness we edge along the deeply carved niches, waiting for them to pass.  

Rayden and the other man have ditched the torches to give us more
discretion as we screen the next passage. Skirting the immense column I catch sight of two women ambling through the corridor, and instantly I note Nevaeh’s voice.

She’s c
arrying bowls of lustrous Quine as she instructs a young fair-haired girl with hints of fading fuchsia tips. Taking one step out I raise a hand behind me to stop Rayden as I reveal myself. “Nevaeh…”

Two perplexed expressions stare at me, but once Tiffany recognizes who was beckoning their attention she rushes over and throws her slender arms around me.

“Selene, Oh my God, Selene… I never thought I would see you ever again.” Locking my arms and hugging her tightly back. Relief hums through me to finally know she is safe and alive. Gripping her shoulders I search her afflicted, weary eyes and announce, “We are leaving this place right now, Tiffany.”

Rayden and the man act on my cue and reveal themselves from the shadows. Turning
, I hold my hand to Rayden, presenting the set of keys. He quickly removes them and launches his way to the cell the women were amassed in. In haste I walk down the corridor toward the cells actively scanning for heat perception from any advancing guards.

Nevaeh fervently clasps my arm
bitterly she asks, “What are you doing, Selene?”

“We are leaving, escaping
, or whatever you want to call it. You know these prisoners will die Nevaeh.” I dart my eyes back down the barren corridor and ask her, “Where are all the cell guards?”

Her hold
becomes more like a death grip, making me look her dead in the eyes as she pleads, “Selene you cannot do this… do you not understand the repercussions? This will unfold into war for Sirius?” 

My breath hitch
es with guilt and I turn away from her as I confess, “I can’t allow her to slaughter anymore, Nevaeh. Besides, Sirius is their leader no one would dare to cross him.”

An embitter look shatters across her face
when I look back at her. Shaking my arm, her tone rises, “You do not see… this will cause war, a war between the horde of warlords and Sirius. They will sense this as an unallowable weakness, a weakness which will fall upon Sirius. You, Selene, belong to him. And you are his whether you believe me or not, but they will destroy him because of your actions.”

I st
and conflicted, giving a stern glance over Nevaeh’s face. Regardless, I force the words through my clenching teeth, “So you will not come?” Blinking back my tears I wait for her answer.

“No. I will not.
Sirius has protected me as he would have done for you.” Even though her tone is cutting her eyes say differently, we are both engaged in our own battle of wills. As her grip on me loosens it feels more like this is a farewell than a simple brush off. I call for Tiffany to come closer, “Tiffany?”

Nevaeh reaches out and embraces her before she steps away. “The guards are aboveground for the Quine harvesting tonight. Selene…
no matter what you may decide now, I believe soon you will see what he means to you.” Nevaeh says backing away from us. Her face grows darker in the shadows and the etching of disappointment lingers in her somber eyes.

Her closing words rally through my rioting mind as we run along the tedious passageway.

Chapter Fourteen

Predatory Instincts

“Where to Selene? I hope you know how to solve this maze of fucking hell,” Rayden says taking a quizzical glimpse over at Tiffany.

“Rayden, this is Tiffany. She was captured with me.” He nods acknowledging her and accepting my words. I consider the thought in asking him about the others, the man an
d two women, but rule against it. Muffled tears and on the verge of breaking down they cling to the men desperately.

None strike an appearance that I kno
w except, the sandy haired blonde who seized Rayden’s arm with consoling eyes solely focused on him. I remember her. “This is Louisa, Jack, and—”

Movement catches my attention with
my intrinsic vision indicating the guards are advancing. I hook Tiffany’s arm and ease her behind me. “We have to go.” Demonstrating a manner in which to carry ourselves, I rest my index finger over my sealed lips.

Wordlessly we travel along the widespread sundering corridors
. Venerable golden carvings trim the elaborate doorways. Pacing us through unleveled surfaces guided only by the lonely flickering torches above. Reaching the next level we progress without any conflict, thankfully. We quickly ascend to a divided staircase.

To the left would lead us to more multifarious corridors, I pause waiting as our group huddles together in the whispers of the foreshadowing light. Gripping Tiffany’s trembling hand
, threading my fingers through hers I chase my vision upward, searching the next empty, winding stairway. It’s preoccupied with voices that drivel in the flat air.

More guards thicken the area, as they trudge by
us. Doubt, fear, and mind-numbing terror try to strangle any encouraging thoughts of our impending escape. Burying my ruminating emotions I incline my head forward for us to keep moving. Well over a dozen steps more to go and I can see the flecks of a nightly glow honoring the vestibule above.

A lucent moon hangs cynically over a dreamlike sea colored sky. Tiffany breaks the silence with her low-key voice, “The guards were over by the Orchard.” Stepping gradually backward I attempt to recall the path to the Orchard. The stone structure seems different somehow. Bronze effigies stand on either side of the abounding columns. Metaphysical beasts surround the threshold like sentinels. This realm evolves and renews its own land and it dawns on me that I’m clueless in which direction I should lead everyone.

Tiffany withdraws her hand from mine and peers off in the distance, worriment drips with each whispered word, “Selene…
the guards are coming.”

“This way,” I have no time to try and decode the ever changing landscape. Charging in the opposite direction of the Orchard, our fleeting footfalls sprint along the soft magenta tone dirt.

“Do you know where you are going?” Rayden implores as he keeps pace with me.

With a bit more hostility in my voice than I want I retort back, “Yes.” I didn’t mean to sound so abrading to him. He casts me an unconvincing look. How can this man still know me, is it the slight curve of my nervous lip, the resignation in my eyes? Can he truly tell after the aloof deprivation that has separated us all this time? “We need to find shelter, food, and a good stretch of distance from the mounds.” Holding my voice steady I avert my eyes from his. Darkness consorts with a set of heavy low-line trees ahead, and my ultimate goal is to maintain our course.

“Selene we need to slow down some, Louisa, and Cass, they can’t keep up.” Tossing a glimpse back I realize Rayden’s concern. Jack has his arm around the slender, pale woman and Tiffany accompanies Louisa. She wasn’t as blanched as the other woman, but I could tell she was overexerted. Bringing myself to a halt I begin steadily examining the area.

Sympathy is not a luxury I can afford at the moment, if we do not keep moving then it’s a death sentence for us all. Reigning in my stride I examine and reexamine the region that skirts around. The forever infrared haze illuminates images off to our left
. Blinking a few times I’m able to identify the anatomy, rodents perhaps. The heat from the Ketibal’s moderate-size bodies scamper through the primeval forest. Tracking them could guide us to the viands, just a few more yards we trek through the mammoth congested vines and ever-green leaves.

A loud snap and then a crunch
clamor behind us and instantly the noise has me frozen in place, carefully I raise a hand ceasing everyone’s movement. Almost in a crouching like position I browse the vicinity, listening for sounds, and smell for any distinction of anything remotely close. Just then one synapses fires off and then another inside me. It triggers an irrational connection with a more acute awareness, more alive, sharper sense than ever before. Recollecting the times I would watch Sirius analyze his surroundings I can fully relate now.

Forging ahead I spot a collapsed tree, bedraggled roots sprout outward as if a monstrous hand from above simply reached down and yanked it fro
m the Earth. Deep splits severe the dirt crusted sides, it’s not enough to keep everyone in but it would be a safe place to rest.

“Here
, we can stop and use this tree for cover for the time being while you regroup,” I state pointing to the semi-hollow tree. Jack helps the woman in and the others follow.