Taken (Book Six) (Fated Saga Fantasy Series) (6 page)

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Jae Mochrie awakened to a strange sight; a roof over his head. It took him a moment to remember that he had been falling (to his death) and then had been sucked into a vortex of some kind. He sat up, pushing his dangly hair out of his face and saw that he was still dressed in his clothes, which were a bit torn up after his fight with Darcy.

“I kil
led her.” The memory of it came crashing down on him. He leaned forward, thinking he might be sick.

He glanced around
, unfamiliar with his surroundings. He was in some kind of room with thick, carved wooden walls. There was a window and a door. He wondered if he could leave, or if he was a prisoner in this room.

“It’s no mor
e than I deserve,” he asserted.

Jae quietly got up, taking a peek through the
window. There was someone outside, not far away. He turned the doorknob and to his surprise, it opened. He glanced upward but all he could see were the tops of very tall pines, with tiny slices of cloudy sky sneaking through. He had no idea what time of day it was.

A voice startled him.

“Oh, you’re awake.”

There was a
middle-aged man with a scruffy beard sitting on a tree stump, drinking something hot. Steam lifted from the cup. Jae realized at that moment how chilly the air was and rubbed his arms.

“Look just inside the door, you’ll see a jac
ket,” the man said. “Grab it. I’ll pour ya a coffee.”

For a reason he could not explain, a cup of hot coffee sounded great. He grabbed the jacket and threw it on; it was a little large for him but instantly made him warm. The man hande
d him a steaming mug with a muddy brew inside. Jae slid to the ground, sitting close to a fire pit. He wasn’t sure who this man was, but he didn’t get the impression that he meant him any harm.

“So, um...” started Jae, unsure where to begin.

“Expect you’re wanting to know where ya are?”

“Definitely,” said Jae. “I-I don’t know how I got here or where here is. Am I dead?” he blurted out.

“Dead? No, definitely not that. You might wish you were though,” the man spoke frankly.

“I was afraid o
f that,” mumbled Jae in return, surprised by the ease of the conversation.

“So you were trying to end it all were ya?” the kindly man asked. “Oh, name
’s Curtis Bevins by the way.”

“Jae. Jae Mochrie.”

“Mochrie... I remember that family.”

“You do?”

“Yup. You’re not as far away from home as you might have thought, young man.”

“Yeah, I was afraid of that, too.”

“So back to my original question...”

“Well, um
, I guess I
was
trying to end it all. I had to.”

Curtis’ eyes looked saddened. “This life is too hard. Too hard especially for the young folk. Don’t know why it took me so long to see it.”

Jae shrugged, unsure what he meant.

“It’s no matter. My own regrets.”

“I didn’t regret what I did... when I did it,” said Jae.

“I expect you thought it was the only way to make your point,” spoke Curtis wisely.

“It was!” said Jae. “I had to show everyone. They needed to know. And I couldn’t live, not after what I did...” Curtis stopped him.

“Best to keep the details to yourself. I
reckon that’s why she brought ya here, to see what all you know.”

“Juliska Blackwell?
” said Jae fearfully.

“Hm, no.
No. I speak of Amelia Cobb.”

“The leader of the banished Svoda?” questioned Jae.

Curtis confirmed with a nod that warned Jae he was in danger. He trembled, spilling a bit of coffee.

“I- I thought Juliska had captured me, because... well, never mind that but you’re telling me I’m with the banished Svoda?”

“Sure enough.”

“That’s why you remember the Mochrie’s? You remember them from before, when we all lived together on the island?”

“Correct. Something I thought... well... you’ll find out soon enough. Here, have some more coffee.” Curtis seemed reluctant to continue explaining.

“What would your leader want with me? Is this some kind of prison? Are you a prisoner?” Jae asked.

“Not going anywhere anytime soon. I think it’s best to let Amelia tell you what she wants, as I’m not particularly sure... if I had to wager a guess, she probably wants information.” When Curtis saw Jae’s horrified face he added more quietly, “Be cautious, boy! She’s tricky. Cunning.” More loudly, he added, “Didn’t used to be like that. I always considered her a dear friend. Even went on a date once.”

“Great! This is how she treats old friends,” he waved his free hand around wildly. “I’ve run away from one evil whacked out leader for another. She won’t get anything from me,” he added, less confidently.

Curtis tossed him a sympathetic smile.

“So what are you in here for? Are there others or is it just us?”
asked Jae, changing the subject.

“Right now, just the two of
us. I fear there may be others that join soon. As to why, that is a more complicated a story. Let’s just say I stopped agreeing with my leader’s ideas about where our future is heading and this, this is my punishment... banished from the banished.”

“Nice,” said Jae.
He took a deep swig of coffee, thinking about his family. He wondered what was going on, back on the island. Had they understood him? Had his attempt at death made any difference? Was everyone safe? Was his family safe? His friends? And what of this Curtis guy? Could he trust him? Seemed odd that there would be just two prisoners. Jae eyed him questioningly.

“So Mr. Mochrie, if I may ask, do you know how you got here? You were brought in, unconscious, a few hours ago.
I was told you belonged with Juliska’s band and that you’d tried to off yourself, but that is all.”

“Magic brought me here I guess.”
Jae didn’t know how much he wanted to explain and he was not yet ready to relive his experience of jumping off the cliff. “Let’s just say I’m here because
I
also stopped agreeing with our leader... only I caused a lot of trouble and hurt a lot of people while I was at it.”

“
I need no specific details,” Curtis reminded. “As I said, best to keep it to yourself, but it seems we have a little in common, my young friend.” Curtis tipped his coffee mug in Jae’s direction. They went silent, each taking sips of the steamy mud Curtis called coffee, when they heard someone approaching. Jae looked toward a tall wooden fence, which appeared from the inside to have no entrance or exit. It was one solid piece of wood.

“Hold fast,” Curtis warned him in a low voice.
“Don’t say anything you can’t take back.”

Jae swallowed but with great difficulty. He acknowledged that he had heard and understood Curtis.
Trust him or not, it was sound advice that Jae intended on following. No matter what, he would not do anything else to put his family or friends in more danger than they might already be in.

He stood
up, ready to face whatever was coming through the door to drag him away for questioning. However, he was caught off guard when the fence suddenly broke in two, a clear seam opening, and the silhouette of a small frame standing in the opening. The silhouette stepped forward out of the shadow.

It was a woman, he assumed Amelia Cobb. She was medium height, not too short and not too tall. Not thin and not heavy. Her hair was short and choppy. If he had not seen her
face, he would not have found this woman dangerous at all. In fact, her demeanor was friendly until he glanced into her eyes; the one thing she could not hide. They were dark brown, and sharp, screaming out her true desire: power.

She came i
n alone, first aiming her attention at Curtis.

“Good morning,” she said to him as if they were old friends.

He tipped his coffee mug towards her in reply.

“I don’t suppose you’ve changed your mind and would like to rejoin us?” she asked him.

“Sorry,” he replied.

Jae noted that he
actually sounded sorry.

“Very well.” Her eyes landed on Jae. “Hello. I hope you’re feeling better... I’m sure you must be quite confused. My name is Amelia Cobb, I believe you know me as the leader of the banished Svoda.”

Jae just nodded.

“May we speak?” she asked him politely. “I think I can answer many of your questions.” She motioned for him to follow inside to a nearby room. It was sparsely furnished, just a table and a few chairs, with a small fireplace and cooking utensils.

“Please, sit,” she told Jae.

He did so, still not speaking. She took the seat across from him.

“I hope you feel rested,” she said.

“Um, I guess,” he replied.

“Jae, I’m not going to make any more small talk. You’re an intelligent young man... made a terrible mistake, a mistake of youth, but you’re not an idiot. Which is why I brought you here. You see, I think we can help each other.”

“I don’t see how I can help you,” Jae responded. “What I am is... wrong.”

“With that, I agree. But it was not you that made you wrong... this was done to you, Jae. Juliska used you as her puppet. Yes, I can see in your face that you feel responsible but I think your actions prove that you feel true remorse for your choice.”

“You mean by trying to kill myself.”

She nodded.

“I still don’t see how this helps you,” Jae said. “I won’t use what I’ve become to hurt anyone else.”
Even as he spoke this, he knew that transforming into the beast was inevitable. He could not control it for long.

“You misunderstand me. What I need from you is information, not your services.”

“What kind of information?”

“Information to help me end Juliska Blackwell’s reign of terror.”

Jae’s first concern was for his family. He had no idea what was happening on the island but he had no reason to trust Amelia.

“So let’s just say that somehow you take Juliska out of power, what then? What happens to everyone?”

Amelia stared for a moment. Clearly she had hoped this would go much easier.

“They know the truth,” she began. “They will be free.”

“Free like me?” he asked, disliking her vague answer.

“You are not my prisoner, Jae. But you must understand that with your... condition, I cannot simply
allow you to wander.”

“So you take Juliska out of power and everyone just goes about their lives. Do they stay on the island? Do they come here? What if they don’t want you as their leader? I’m assuming that’s your plan, to be Banon...”

Amelia sat back and huffed, her friendly demeanor quickly dissolving into impatience.

Jae continued. “What I think
, is that I am a prisoner here. And I’ve just been demoted from Juliska’s puppet to your puppet. Except I’ve decided I’m cutting the strings. I’m not playing by anyone else’s rules anymore. You should have just let me die. And frankly, what’s to stop me from transforming and just flying away from here?”

Amelia laughed, standing from her chair. She looked down at him, shaking her head.

“Clearly I misjudged your intelligence. You do realize that if you transform, Juliska will know you’re still alive, don’t you? You are bonded to her until your death... I thought you knew that, seeing as you threw yourself over that cliff.”

Jae didn’t respond.

“What exactly do you think will happen if she finds out you’re still alive? Do you think she’ll just kill you? End it all on your behalf? Put you out of your pathetic misery?”

Jae still did not respond.
When he had thrown himself off the cliff it had been to end his misery and to pay for what he’d allowed himself to become. He did not know, had never been told about, the bond. He knew what he had become was for life, but not that Juliska would know if he transformed. How stupid could he be? Of course this would be true... of course Juliska would create a bond. He really was a prisoner here. If he transformed she would know he was still alive and he would be forced back into her service. It was only a matter of time until this would happen. He could already feel the anger surging inside him, screaming to transform.

He still could not give in
to Amelia. He would not put his family or friends in any more danger than they were already in. He didn’t trust this woman, any more than he did Juliska Blackwell. Were all leaders this corrupt? Was there anyone that wasn’t taken in by the need for more power? He folded his arms in defiance.

Amelia understood his silent message and turned to leave. Before she did so though
, she stopped and turned to him, her voice overly pleasant as she spoke.

“Just one last thought to leave you with. If you could break the bond that Juliska has over you, would you? You can never take away the monster inside of you, but if you could control it, yourself, would you choose to?”