Page 11 of Of Blackened Blood (The Blackened Blade #3)
“Not all tales come from made-up stories. Look at what we once were to humans. We were a story, a dark tale to keep little kids obedient. But we’re real. Why can’t they be too?”
“We’re also told they’re human.” Creed shakes his head. “But those men last night weren’t human, Micai.”
“Maybe they’re not human, Creed.” I straighten myself, meeting his eyes. “Maybe they wanted us to believe they were. Maybe they twisted the story to suit themselves a long time ago. Maybe they were something else all along.”
My brows narrow with the thought and realisation.
Maybe they planted the story? Twisting and tainting the truth to their liking and placing it in plain sight ... so it could easily be dismissed if something was found in the future.
Creed sighs. “It’s just a fairy tale to make kids behave. It’s not real, Micai.”
“And if it is? I’ve heard things ...” I feel my expression fall, a cold chill running through me with the memories.
“Of a place hidden away, where supes are dragged down dark corridors and starved in small cells. Where they’re forced to wear thick shackles made of cold metal that drain their energy.
Where you can scream for days, and no one hears you .
.. no one but the echoing halls and ears of other prisoners.
” My voice slightly shakes as I continue.
“Where you’re thrown into dark rooms with beasts more feral than even the wildest ever recorded by the clans and made to battle them .
.. And every day is a struggle just to breathe and survive. ”
I can feel a deep frown marring my lips, my eyes going blurry as I fall back to the days trapped in that cell, to that hell of a prison.
And then it hits me.
They’re out there . There are people locked in those cells right now .
A swell of pain washes over me with the realisation.
I need to help them. I need to get them out of there.
If I don’t, who will?
“What if I’m right, Creed?” Panic lances through me, the words tumbling out of my lips. “All of those taken people ... will you just leave them there to die? In that hell with no one, not even a shred of hope to keep them company?—”
My words are cut off as I feel hands fall on me; Mallyn on my back, Ezra holding my hand now clenched tightly on the table in front of us, and Annex with his hand on the back of my neck, brushing through my hair.
All their soft and gentle touches quickly ground me and soothe the panic that was growing, reminding me of where I am and that they are beside me.
“Micai.” Ezra squeezes my hand. “We believe you.”
Annex and Mallyn nod.
“It’s a possibility and a lead to look further into.
” Ezra turns toward Creed. “Most fairy tales carry some truth, Creed. Maybe this one holds a lot more, like Micai said. Maybe a prisoner in the past got free, and that’s how the tale all began?
It’s something rather than a faceless and nameless shadow. ”
Creed’s gaze narrows toward me, his eyes never having left me since earlier.
“How does your fairy tale hold that many details?” Creed leans closer, only the table keeping him at bay. “Things that I’ve never heard before ... your version sounds too detailed to be a fairy tale told to scare a little kid.”
I take a deep breath, calming myself. “It’s no nightmare. It’s hell. And if I’m right, then the supes you’re looking for are imprisoned there. By the people that are attacking us now.”
“That didn’t answer my question. You seem so certain this place exists ... how?” Creed probes me again, but what could I say?
Oh, I know it all because I was the one imprisoned there. Do I say I know it’s real because I experienced it all myself and that’s how I know all these details? That I suffered there slowly being tortured, starved, and battling to survive each day until I finally died a miserable death?
But how could I ever tell them all that?
“Creed.” Ezra’s tone holds a hard warning in it, but Creed’s questioning gaze never leaves me.
“Learn from your mistakes,” Ezra adds, his expression darkening before I place my hand over his, calming him.
I turn back toward Creed. There is no anger or accusation in his eyes, just a genuine query.
And a part of me wanted to answer truthfully. To tell them everything, to free myself of the heavy burden that haunts me at times and plagues my nightmares. But how could I?
I think it would hurt them more than help them.
My lips part ... but nothing comes out. What could I possibly say?
My brows pinch together as my eyes fall to the floor. But ... all those people still trapped there ...
I look back toward him, fear and anger wrapping and twisting themselves around each other inside me before I slowly take a deep breath and steady my emotions.
Creed stares at me, neither of us blinking or backing down.
I need him to see the truth in my gaze. That this isn’t a joke or game to me.
And as much as I hate to admit it, Creed could be an invaluable force in gathering information about The Facility with his group and all their connections.
We would be able to find it before more people suffer or die. And take it down together.
“Let’s say you’re right. Let’s say it is real.
” Creed rolls his shoulders before pinning me down with a heavy gaze, a more serious expression taking over his features.
“Where do we even begin? An organisation like that must have existed for a lot longer than any of us could even imagine. They must have resources in every crevice they could reach. Not to mention that no one else believes they truly exist. How do you track and kill something so well hidden in the shadows?”
“You bring it into the light,” I answer. “They had to have started somewhere too. Everything has a beginning?—”
“And an end,” Creed adds, a small grin tilting his lips. “Fine. Let’s follow this lead for now. It’s something .” He gives Ezra a look as the anger from moments ago ebbs from his expression, his turquoise eyes softening.
“We better start getting information on them quickly though,” Creed calls, making his way toward the fridge and grabbing one of his gross protein sludge mixes. “Because they’ve already made it clear they know who we are and want us gone. The next time, it will be our turn to return the favour.”
Creed turns his eyes toward me after a large swig of his green gloop.
“You’ve made it clear you’re not going anywhere, that they mean as much to you as you do to them”—he gestures toward the guys—“but can you really handle everything we do here?”
“Creed.” It’s Mallyn who steps in now, his tone cold and cutting as he reprimands Creed. But the dickhead ignores him and continues.
“I’m not trying to scare you away; I’ve tried that already and failed.
But I need to know if you’re all in.” He places his drink down on the counter and takes a step toward me.
“Because what we do here isn’t small-business shit.
We walk into the fire willingly, and getting burnt along the way is a natural occurrence.
Can you handle the dark shit that we do?
” He raises a brow. “We kill and draw blood almost every day; danger and death follow us whether we want them to or not.” He takes another step closer.
“We have our goals here and nothing will get in our way. Your sister or The Facility , they’re a pit stop for what we have planned, I promise.” He takes a final step toward me, now standing mere inches from me, his expression completely devoid of any of his usual malice or sarcasm.
“So, I’ll ask again ... Are you willing to blacken your blade and soul with us, Micai? Because once you’re in, you’re one of us ... and there’s no going back.”
I can tell by the look in Creed’s eyes that he means it; he’s offering me a place with them. Some part of him— willing or not —has decided to accept me.
And it’s about fucking time.
I sit back down on my seat, a small sigh leaving my lips as I fold my arms and meet his steady gaze.
“That’s one of the many things you’ve gotten wrong about me, Creed.”
I lean back in my chair, a smirk stretching my cheeks as his brows pinch downward with my words.
“I’ve been in a long time now; you just didn’t see it. And I believe I told you before ...” I lean forward, grins growing on Annex’s, Mallyn’s, and Ezra’s lips as I continue.
“I’m not going anywhere.”