Dark Retaliation: Greenwood Academy

Prologue: The Lost Ones

PROLOGUE

Location X, Earth 2079 . . .

THE LOCATOR

Lady Karyinae Xytere barged into the old mansion, her expression stern. Three men rushed to her at once, all clad in dark leather fighting gear. They all dropped to a knee, bowing before her.

"My Lady." The first man greeted her. He had darker skin than the others and wore his dreadlocks in cornrows.

"Where is she?" Lady Xytere demanded. Tonight there had been another attack on Kenta's life. This time from someone close to her.

Merkun raised his head to meet her eyes.

"Princess Kenta?"

"No. Tryar."

"We had no choice but to detain her, My Lady," he said. "Shall I take you to her?"

"Lead the way."

Merkun led Lady Xytere down a flight of wooden stairs to the basement. The creaky stairs emptied into a mouldy passage. Karyinae ducked under the low doorway and looked around. The air was thick with dirt and grime. It was humid and the walls had water stains and moulds adorning them.

"You locked her in a rotting cellar?" Lady Xytere said, grimacing at the roaches scurrying past her feet.

Merkun turned to her and bowed. "We had no choice, My Lady. We had not expected an attack. This is the best we could do."

Karyinae looked passed him, down the passage before her. She could hear the weak clinking sound of metal chains in the distance. She ventured further, Merkun following close behind. The lighting in the cellar was poor. The bulbs on the ceiling coming up at intervals, shedding barely enough light. It would probably have been frustrating for others to see under the dull glow, but she could see perfectly. Her vision rivaling that of a cat. Finally, she came to a halt. A dark figure knelt before her. Chains set deep in the ground, bound her hands. Her head was bowed; her long black hair sweeping the mouldy floor.

Karyinae crouched before the fragile-looking woman. She was in battle gear: A sleeveless leather bodysuit with a pauldron over her shoulders; a corset of Zartinium threads around her waist, and boots that went up to her knees. Her arms were bruised and covered in scars. Around her wrists were burn marks, and the shackles were hindering its healing.

Karyinae sighed. "You could have gone easy on her. We both know she acted out of her control."

"I'm sorry My Lady," Merkun said. "At first we thought she had betrayed us. Our priority is protecting Kenta and I..." he paused, "I mean we, would do anything to protect her."

Karyinae caught the woman's chin and raised her head so she could look at her face. Her breathing was shallow. She was a pretty young thing. Her pale face framed by long straight tresses. Lady Xytere stroked her face with a thumb. She didn't deserve to be treated like an animal for things she did under someone else's control. She looked so exhausted, worn out. A shell of the girl she'd trained for years. Her eyes opened slowly then, just enough to see her irises. They looked sad and withdrawn.

"Mother?" she uttered in a whisper before falling back into the blackness that held her prisoner. Karyinae sighed. She let go of her chin and her head sagged.

"Get her out of these chains." Lady Xytere commanded, standing up. "I will take her back to Zaphar with me. Hopefully, they might be able to sever his grip on her mind." She turned from Tryar back to Merkun. "Send word to the Calypse Division. Tryar was on leave a week ago. That was the only time he could have gotten to her. Tell them I believe Lord Ra'ave is still on Zaphar, Vetranz to be precise. That is where she went. Have them track down all her movements in the past week. Something might turn up useful."