Challenged - Skinwalker Book 2

Chapter 46

Since she was finally awake and alone, Sierra decided to wander over to the kitchens for some food. Once her massive appetite was satisfied, she headed upstairs for a shower and a fresh change of clothes. She checked the roster for appointments, but discovered that she'd been wiped off the board until further notice. That meant that her afternoon was free to spend talking to Jason - something she desperately wanted to do. But before she could, she just knew that she wouldn't be able to focus until she'd been down to check out the dungeons. She wasn't sure if it was because she was morbidly curious to see an ancient jail, or if she actually just wanted to face down the man who'd assaulted and almost suffocated her.

She headed down the stairs, across the courtyard and through the little wooden door on the left of the garages. It led to a downward-spiralling stone staircase that looked eerily foreboding. Just the sight of them made her pause nervously. She'd been imprisoned twice in her short time as a were-creature and the idea of a place designed specifically for that purpose brought goose-bumps to her flesh. Sierra swallowed and bolstered herself mentally, then forced herself to finish the descent.

The holding cells were less medieval than she'd imagined they would be - heck, they even had working toilets! It was more than she'd been given. But the sight of the two prisoners clad in thick iron cuffs and heavy chains was somewhat less reassuring. She supposed it made sense - they were incredibly strong and could probably snap any normal restraints without too much effort. They couldn't transform if they were bound like that because it would cause severe bodily damage. If they were able to change, it wouldn't take much for them to barge their way out of their cells - judging by the damage done to Professor Gilbert's front door.

Sierra suddenly realised that at least one of the men had murdered the professor - and that he'd been more than prepared to do the same thing to them. A feeling of righteous vindication surged through her as she considered their fates. Sure, they looked miserable and the older man's head was still badly bruised from Kal's assault with the rifle butt, but after what they'd done, the two of them deserved some sort of sentence. She turned to leave, satisfied.

"You think this is right?"

Sierra paused with her foot on the first stair, then turned and went back to face the old man, passing the first cell and its inmate along the way.

"Yeah, I think you should face some sort of judgment," she admitted. "You killed an innocent man - you wanted to kill us too."

"Sometimes it is better that a few should die instead of thousands," the old man replied enigmatically.

"Riigghhtt... So you were just doing your civic duty?" Sierra scoffed in disgust.

He regarded her studiously for a moment. Her flesh crawled in response. She turned to leave again and nearly jumped out of her skin when the younger man leapt at the thick steel bars and tried to grab her through them. He'd hit them so hard that they were still vibrating from the impact. Sierra wasn't entirely sure the ground wasn't echoing that vibration too - or was that just her heart? Having failed to actually get at her, the monster sniffed her scent instead, the look in his eyes totally creeping Sierra out.

The old man shouted at the younger one in mandarin, with the result that the younger one turned sour and retreated to the back of his cell obediently. Sierra's eyes strayed back to the old Chinese man, the blood still felt cold in her veins and her breathing was shallow.

"That animal deserves to be in a cage!" she grumbled defensively.

"He is no mere animal. He is a Xiniu," the old man informed her with a note of pride in his voice. "We are a very ancient species."

"I don't care what he is, I care what he did," Sierra shot back judgementally.

She got set to leave again.

"You don't know what it is, do you?" the old man asked suddenly.

Sierra hesitated.

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

"The thing in the box - the Golden Lotus - the thing we were willing to die to protect," the old man replied.

That revelation caught Sierra off-guard. She hadn't even considered that there might be a reason behind their hostility - never mind that there could be something special in the box. She decided to try not to let her uncertainty show.

"Of course we know about the Lotus," she shot back, crossing her arms resolutely.

What the hell is a Golden Lotus?!

He watched her studiously again, like he was reading her heart and mind - invading spaces he was not invited.

"Whatever you are, you are still innocent," he observed, "and that makes you ignorant."

"Hey!" she shot back defensively.

He ignored her and continued. "In time, you will see for yourself that the Order is corrupt," he surmised. "Then we shall see if you still think that this is right - that this is just," he concluded as he wrapped his hands around the iron bars of his cell meaningfully.

Huh? I'm pretty sure I can trust my team mates with my life. I already have, actually. They're... well, they're already a lot like family! Wait a minute... why is he telling me this? Why is he even talking to me?

Sierra hesitated, then her eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"Unfortunately you never have to go far to find corruption, but that doesn't mean that justice will always fail. As long as someone is willing to stand up and fight to do the right thing, there is always hope for the world," she informed him smartly.

He looked surprised by her response - thrown even - and she smiled inwardly at her little victory.

Ha! I come from South Africa, Mr Messed-up-morals Miyagi - don't even try and argue about corruption with me...

Feeling somewhat elated despite the fact that she still had some nagging doubts, Sierra turned and headed back to ground level. She even bolted the last few stairs, determined to try and put the incident behind her. She had a really nice, really long call to look forward to and she was damned if she was going to let some creepy old Chinese man ruin it for her!