The Dark Fey Chronicles Court of Roses

1

The sound of keys rattling down the hallway woke me and instantly had me up off the thin straw mattress and in a state of panic before I was even able to catch my breath. The damp, moldy walls were cold through the thin tattered shirt. The small cell I was in was so small that I could touch either end of the room with each hand.
However, right now, for the millionth time since I was in need of this pit, I found myself wishing and not for the first time, that it was bigger.
I have been here for over a year now. I had watched myself waste away, my
toned muscles had vanished, my suntanned skin was now pale and the tattered jeans slipped from my hips. My hair was brittle and almost straw-like. I looked at myself in the small puddle that was growing slowly from the dripping water from the ceiling. My skin was as pale as a ghost, my eyes sunken in with large bruise like shadow, making me look more dead than alive. I sighed. Soon enough I would be.
Footsteps echoed down the hall, the heavy smokers cough bellowed back at me as the guard approached. This time, and I had only heard it once before, there was a second set of footsteps coming down the hall. Sweat erupted over my forehead and I shuddered in fear. I was not ready for the tournament that was about to come.
The guard, with his heavy footsteps, heavy breathing and wheezing and much to my dismay, stopped at my cell door.
A low growl rumbled in my chest as the key slid into the lock. The ankle bracelet clacked against the stone wall behind me.
"Shut it, bitch, or I will whip you bloody!" the guard warned me. I pressed my lips together to keep my growls in.
The door slammed open, thudding against the wall behind it and the guard walked in. My eyes zeroed in on the metal rod in his hand and I swallowed. The sound of heels echoed down the hall. The fat, greasy man before me belched and raised a beer bottle to his lips and took a swig.
When I first arrived here, I had been surprised to find that the guards were nothing but middle aged, drunk humans. Hunters would bring Wolves or any other kind of Dark Fey they could catch and dump them here at a Human run, underground prison to be sold on the black market as breeders or slaves. The Humans in turn, would get a cut in the Hunters payments. And it was always a hefty sum.But my attention was now on the woman in the hallway and my heart was trying to beat out of my chest. The woman, Doctor Maria Larson, was dressed in her white lab coat, a black pencil skirt and a purple blouse. Her long black hair was pinned up in a loose bun and her eyes were fixed on me, a small smile on her face.
"Shall we, Miss Darkbloom?" she asked me. I growled at her and the guard stepped forward now, raising his hand with the thick rod of silver in his hand. I shuddered. Silver. The only weakness to anyone with Dark Fey blood. It was toxic to us for some unknown reason. It was painful whenever we came in contact with the gleaming metal.
Just a small brush on the skin of a Dark Fey was as painful as a burn was to a Mortal. I did not want to feel that pain. Not again. I felt my feet move forward on their own accord and I walked to the door, not wanting to feel the hit sting of the rod on my skin. My bones and muscles screamed in protest. I was hungry, starved and my body was fading away. I had not shifted in over a year. I jumped when the radio that was attached to the guard's hip made a noise of feedback. The guard didn't seem to like that much. I saw his hand come up from the corner of my eye and come down hard on the back of my head, smacking me.
"Move it, bitch!" he snapped at me.Larson sighed. "I can take her from here," she said and reached into her pocket and pulled out a handgun. Fear washed through me once more, locking me into place.
Larson nudged me out the door. "Come on, Darkbloom, don't make me use this one you!" she warned me. "The guards are half drunk right now and won't be able to help themselves!"
That's all it took for me to get me moving. I already knew the way down to Larsons lab. It was underground in a soundproof room.
The thought of one of the drunken guards coming back into my cell later filled me with dread. I'd rather deal with anything Larson threw at me than face a horny, drunk guard.
My feet moved and I started walking down the hall but the guard reached and grabbed me by the back of the neck before we reached the first security door.
"Don't try anything, Pretty, or you will regret it!" he warned me. Doctor Larson sighed.
"I'd listen to him," she advised me. "The Guards are particularly drunk today-
"I will be on my best behavior!" I promised.
We set off down the damp smelly hall but the guard yanked me to a stop when the loud buzzer sounded at the door, unlocking it from the other side.
"Today, we will be testing your endurance, Lexi, so I hope you got some rest!"
Was she serious? I hardly ever slept anymore. Not since I ended up in this place. Sleep was a luxurious dream to me now. I guess being a shifter has its perks.
Considering I'd only been a shifter for three years, I still had trouble shifting and I didn't like doing it much.
We waited for the door to open but it remained locked. Then, a light above the door illuminated and Larson sighed.
"Back to your cell, Mutt!" the fat guard said. "We will be back for you!"
Larson crossed her arms. "I can take her down-"
The guard cut her off as he shoved me back down the hall. "We have a visitor"!
Larson laughed. "It is a full moon!" she argued. "Her blood is at its most-"
"She is to go back to her cell!" the guard snapped at the Doctor. "We have a client coming in to see the stock!" The greasy guard glared at me and I knew I had about two seconds to obey. Otherwise he would follow me in and I wouldn't be getting much sleep. I almost ran back down the hall and into my cell thankful for whatever or whoever was here. Whenever there was a visitor or better, a potential buyer for a Dark Fey creature, we were all locked in our cells. Dark Fey from other parts of the prison were moved to my cell block and crammed into the small cells. There we waited for the buyer to come and inspect us to see if we met their standard and or needs.
The door slammed closed behind me and I retreated back into the darkest corner of my cell. This was the best news I had gotten in over a year. Larson's time was limited and she only came here once a year. Hopefully I will be brought to the Wall before then.
The Wall sounded like a blessing at this point. I wondered what the commotion was about. I was young, but I wasn't a fool! I knew what the clients were looking for. Pack breeders for the female wolves that were unable to produce a pup. Pack sluts to pass around among the unmated males of a pack. Any spawn produced from these affairs were considered bastards and had no real place in a Pack other than work.
Most were put to work as guard detail or cleaning detail, depending on gender and who fathered you. I shuddered in my cold, damp cell as the door at the end of the hall opened again and the smell of other female wolves wafted down the corridor. The other prisoners were here now, ready to be crammed into the cells. I sighed and walked to my bed, curling up in the corner of the wall and waited. I could hear the girls crying and whimpering as they were forced into the cells.Before I knew it, Doctor Larson was at my cell door, wrenching it open and shoving girls, some just pups, no older than ten, into the extremely small room, that was getting smaller by the second. Before I knew it, my cell was full of girls, some in their underwear, some in nothing but sheets, tied into knots to keep it from slipping off their frail, brittle bodies.
Some of these Dark Fey had been here much longer than I had. Some were much worse off than I was.
The first time I had been crammed into a cell like this, it had only been with three other girls.That was over a year ago.
I had not seen them sense. Now, there were about thirty girls and children in here with me. I glanced to my right when I heard a sob. There was a small girl. Perhaps ten or even younger. She was crouched on the floor, her arms warped around her skinny knees and her head burrowed no to the fold of her arms. There was no point in trying to console her. We all felt the same. Scared. Starved. Ready to die. I closed my eyes and looked away from her as her sobs filled the quiet space.
I had tried to help a girl once, her cries were the same ones as the small girl beside me. I had held her and rocked her only to have her ripped from my arms by a Hunter and dragged kicking and screaming down the hallways. I never saw her again. After that, I had blocked everything and everyone inside this room out. There was no point.
There was a loud buzzing sound at the end of the hallway and the locked door opened. I felt a sob hitch in my chest as the fear started to take hold. No! I told myself. I am
Not going to be afraid of whatever comes through that door!
"Is there any Dark Fey you are looking for in particular?" I heard Larson say.
The whole cell block fell silent. "Yes," came a female voice. "I am looking for a female shifter!"
There was a laugh. "Shifter, huh? Well we keep them at the end of the hall behind the silver doors so they can't try and get away," the guard said. I pressed back against the wall, wishing I could disappear. The door before me opened and the girls inside the room backed away quickly. "Outside!" the guard snapped at us.
The girls filed out of the room, one by one. Once outside we were lined up against the wall. When I stepped from the cell, I was pushed face first to the wall so I could look around me. I couldn't see her but I could feel her eyes locked on my face and she held out her arm, keeping me from going any further.
"This one!" she insisted.
I felt my heart stop and my body locked into place. The guard stammered a little. "We have better ones, Miss, ones that are more willing, young and fertile!"
The woman shook her head. "This is the one I want!" she insisted.
The guard grumbled and looked down the hall. I knew he was looking for Larson but she was gone, most likely back to her dungeons below. "I am sorry, she is still being processed-"
The woman turned to face him now. "Then I process her!" she commanded him. It was odd.
Why would a Pound guard be taking orders from a Dark Fey? "And be quick about it! I would like to leave as soon as possible!"
The guard reached and grabbed me by the back of the neck. "Like I said before," he said. "She is not for sale! She should not have even been in here-"
The woman turned to face us. "That's quite alright," she sighed, pulling out her phone.
"However the Trackers will be waiting for you once you leave your shift!"
I felt my heart sink. Trackers. The only Dark Fey I feared. They were ruthless bounty hunters and stopped at nothing to get their targets. To be Hunted by one, was to die. Either by their hand or by the one who gave them the contract. However, it was rare they would hunt one on their own. Dark Fey Wolves would never hunt another Dark Fey Wolf. A Dark Fey Fairy would never hunt another Faerie. There had to be some kind of loyalty. Otherwise the Dark Fey world would die out in a quick number of years. And to oversee all of this was-
"The Modori expresses his regret that he could not be here himself." the girl said, bringing me back to the grim reality around me.
I watched the blood drain from his face. "The-...King?" he stammered.
The woman stepped closer, into the light and for the first time, I could see her face. She was much shorter than I had realized and her face was small but absurdly beautiful. Her eyes were a crystal clear color. They really had no color and if I didn't know better I would have guessed she was blind. Clearly she was not.
"Oh, did I not mention that?" she said thoughtfully. "Yes, he would be rather angered by the fact that you would keep me from doing his bidding! He may even see it as an obstruction of official Royal Cort business!"
The guard, not as white as a sheet, looked down at me. "But she is not-"
The girl sighed and looked down at her phone again. "Very well," she said and began typing. The guard stammered for words. "N-no!" he objected. "I will make the sale!" The fat guard, with his hand around the back of my neck, pushed me forward into the wall and patted me down. My feet rocked unsteadily on the cold, dirty marble floor.
"What are you doing?" the woman asked as his hand groped my hips and butt. I shuddered, feeling sick. "I have to search her-"
The woman cut her off. "I am sure she had nothing on her!" she insisted.
"Release her at once and go fetch the paper work, you fool!"
The guard grumbled but said nothing. He retreated down the hall, pulling me with him. I stumbled up the metal steps, the rough, jagged edges poking into my bare feet. I wondered who this buyer was. The girl had mentioned the Modori King. I had heard that name before but I couldn't recall where. If it was King buying me, it would only mean that I was being bought to breed because his Mate could not.
I blinked at the harsh light in the lobby when the guard pushed open the door. The sun was setting. It had been so long since I had seen the sun. I felt my feet drag to a stop as I gazed out the window into the tree line. "Would you like an injection to keep her from shifting?" the guard asked.I felt my heart drop. Obscura Matira. The drug that kept Demons from using any kind of magic. It was extremely toxic to us and weakened us to the point that we could not defend ourselves. The woman sighed and snatched the pen from the desk.
"That won't be necessary," she assured him. "I thought that Obscura was outlawed!"
The guard smiled. "We tend to bend the law a little-"
The woman scribbled on papers before her and dropped the pen back on the counter. "I'm sure the Mordori will be pleased to hear you think so!" She did not wait for the man to reply. Turning away from him, the woman turned to look at me. I was able to fully see her for the first time now. She was rather short, her white blond hair was pulled back into a high ponytail and it flowed down to her hips. The black leather biker jacket was snug and zipped up about half way, exposing the soft purple satin on the inside, and her feet were fitted with black biker boots. Her face was lovely and open, her big, wide violet-white eyes were on me and she smiled.
"Follow me," she instructed.
She didn't wait to see if I was following her. I hesitated. I didn't know this girl. I didn't know what she was or what she wanted me for. The guard behind me grunted.
"What's wrong, Bitch?" he asked me. "You gonna miss me?"
I shuddered in disgust and hurried after the girl. Once outside I felt my feet drag to a stop once more. The girl was waiting outside for me, tapping away on her phone. I breathed in the fresh morning air and felt a sob hitch in my chest and I fell to my knees.The girl turned to look at me.
"Are you alright?" she asked me as she reached to touch my shoulder. I shied away from her touch. She sighed.
"What is your name?" she asked me.
I didn't answer. I didn't speak. I was too stunned to speak. I was outside. I hadn't been outside in two years. I gasped for air now, feeling like I could not breathe, even though my head was telling me I was getting plenty of oxygen.
"My name is Liv," she told me. She waited for me to speak but I pressed my lips together. Silence was safest. "What is your name?" I looked away.
"How old are you now?" Liv asked me. I sighed. Did she not get that I was not going to tell her anything? "What tribe are you from? Why would I tell her that? If she was indeed an envoy from the King, why would she be searching Pound Cells for Pack Breeders or fighters? I shuddered at the thought of being passed around a pack.
"How long have you been in that cell?" Liv asked me. Did she ever give up?
I looked up at her now. "What do you want from me?" I demanded. "Tell me now so I'm not surprised later!"
My voice was hard, rasp and came out in a harsh, sharp tone. I was sold. I was her property. Hers to command as she pleased.
Liv laughed. "She speaks!" She was teasing me? "As for your question, I am the sister of the King and I can see what has yet to pass. I have seen you many times and I have been looking for you for over a year!"
Caught off guard by her answer, I backed away from her a little.
"What do you want with me?" I asked her, fear bubbling in my chest.
"To help you!" she told me.
I narrowed my eyes. Help me? She didn't know me, she didn't understand what was going on with me. She was a stranger to me. And no one was that nice. Not for no reason. I looked down at the ground. I could run. But there was no telling how far I would get before she caught up with me. I was in no condition to run anywhere.
"Look, I have a hotel booked about twenty minutes from here with a warm bed and a shower!" she told me in a bored voice. "At least let me take you there and get you cleaned up!"
I hesitated. I knew this would play out one of two ways. I would be stupid to go with her and take her word that the King would free me. I was a marked product of the Black Market. To some Tribe leaders I would be seen as nothing more than a breeding machine for the females that were unable to provide their mates with pups. That would be how I spent my long, immortal life. Or I could run. I could run and try to find my family and tribe. If they were still alive. I sighed. The odds of me making it out of the city alive were close to zero. Hunters and Dark Fae alike would be on me like flies on shit.
"Not to be rude but, we are pressed for time and we have a plane to catch!"
I narrowed my eyes at her, wishing I could just shift and run. I wondered if I would even be able to shift. I had only shifted once before. I was only sixteen and I was a late bloomer. Shifters normally shift between the ages of twelve and fifteen. I was soon to be seventeen. I had shifted into a bird and then shifted back over a week later because I was too freaked to shift. I had always thought I would never shift.
"Lexi," I said in a low voice.
Liv smiled. "Well, Lexi, I promise you, nothing will ever harm you again if you just trust me-"
I scowled at her. "Trust is earned! Not given!"
Liv nodded. "True," she agreed. "How about a leap of faith then?" she asked me.I sighed and shook my head. "What happens if I disagree?" I asked her.
Liv smiled and nodded, looking at me, her face calculating. "That is really up to you," she admitted. "But answer me this! How long are you going to last on the streets of New York by yourself? And in your condition?" she asked me. "I am trying to help you!"
I shook my head. "But why?" I demanded. "No one is this nice for no reason!"
Liv nodded now. "OK," she said and nodded. I turned and saw a limo pulling to a stop behind me. "Let me get you somewhere... safe, and I will tell you all you need to know!" she said again. "Then I will tell you everything!"
I sighed and turned to look at the limo again. She had a point. I would not last long on the streets. Not in this condition! Liv walked forward and opened the back door for me. I stared into the dark inside of the limo, wondering what to do. Would the Spirits not answer my please? I decided to just do it. I forced myself forward. If I was walking into a lifetime of enslavement then so be it. I had nothing left to lose. I knew that my Tribe was more than likely dead. Hope is a dangerous thing for me nowadays. I slid into the back of the limo. Liv followed. She smiled and reached forward, grabbing her laptop.
"What would you like for dinner?" she asked me.
I looked at her, shocked she would ask me that. She had said I was not a slave of any kind but I was sure she was just saying that to keep me calm. It was working. Only because I was letting it. If this was to be my fate, I would find a way to end it all.
"I am in the mood for Sushi!" she said as the car started moving.
My mouth watered. It had been so long since I had had Sushi, or even a proper meal for that matter. I watched as Liv pulled out her phone and began typing away on it, her face illuminated from the lit screen. The odd feeling in my belly would not go away. I was regretting having gotten into the car with her. What the hell had I been thinking? I was on the way to a Hotel, not knowing what was waiting there. As we pulled away from the curb, I saw Dr. Larson hurrying down the steps of the pound and running toward the limo, trying to flag us down. I smirked, raising a hand and finger to flip her off. The pure shock and astonishment on her face was the best damned thing I had seen all year.