The Afflicted

ADALIAH

AUSTIN, TEXAS

8:30 AM

DECEMBER 20th

"Why didn't you tell me you went to Los Angeles? You knew I wanted to go." I'm practically screaming now. Call me a spoiled brat if you want, but I've been waiting to go to LA for the longest time; that's betrayal for going without me.

"It was for your safety, Adaliah. Don't get mad at me." Too bloody late.

"And why the hell not?"

"I'm sending you to LA in two weeks with a bunch of other blue bloods." I have never been to another state aside from Louisiana, and I've been wanting to go to LA since I was little. All the danger and horror just called to me for some reason. Maybe I'm desperate to see if the horror out there matches the horror in my head.

"What's going on in LA?"

"Jalon Hills, open up! This is official business of the Glorious Emperor of the Nation of Jewels!" I recognize the voice right away. Chief Officer Allia Hale. Resident Bastard of the Nation of Jewels. I can't wait until he gets capped one day, hopefully by me.

"For whom are you here for?" Jalon asks politely.

"Adaliah Della. The Glorious Emperor has requested her presence along with Rachella Hills," Officer Hale barks. The last part catches Jalon off guard.

"May I ask why my wife is needed? She's pregnant," Jalon adds, not that the Officer is listening anyway. He's probably replaying some porn set he watched earlier. Have I mentioned how much I hate the male gender?

"We have not been graced with that information," Officer Stellan Jepsen hisses. Jepsen and Hale were the ones who are always sent to fetch me when I am needed by the Emperor. They're probably the only ones stupid enough to come near me. It'll be their demise one day.

"Jalon, it's okay. I'll be fine," Rachella calls out. She stands with the grace of a ballerina and walks over to her husband.

"Please be careful. I love you," Jalon whispers, kissing her once before she is led out the door.

"I love you, too!" she calls back.

I am yanked by the arm and shoved into the back of a Keeper car. Damn barbarians, so rough all the time. "Careful, Officers. I like it rough."

The two barbarians look at me with disgust before slamming my door and walking away.

"For your safety, Ms. Della," the driver, Nathan, I remember, explains as he cuffs my arms and legs to the back of the seat.

"I appreciate it. Does my family know about this?" Surely, they know if the officers showed up at Jalon's.

"Yes, they are waiting for you and your sister." A new voice rings out nice and clear.

"Who are you?" I ask.

"Gunner Hale. You may know me as The Glorious Emperor Gunner Hale," his voice is sweet like honey but laced with a forced politeness.

"Why did you want my sister and me?" I chirp, unwilling to admit the man has quite a nice voice.

"Is that how you greet your Glorious Emperor? I have a favor to ask of you and your family," Gunner jabs, all friendliness vacant from his voice.

We ride silently the rest of the way to the Capitol, where my sister and I will be detained until needed. As we go around the hill, I can see a massive white structure at least forty stories high and two hundred years old. A massive black wrought iron gate circles the perimeter of the building surrounded by a moat and drawbridge like medieval castles. With the thing being over twenty feet tall, it'll be a nightmare to climb over to escape. The Castle of Jewels was nearly destroyed six hundred years ago when the first Empress killed her brother, the first Emperor, to be the sole ruler of the Nation of Jewels. It's rumored that the Emperor's soul wanders through the Nation, hunting for the Empress' heart buried deep beneath the soul of the Nation. To this day, no one has found either the Empress or the Emperor's graves. We pull up the long driveway, through the gate, and into a circular driveway leading to the front door with a huge blue and gold fountain directly at its heart.