The Savages

Chapter 15: A Silver of Hope

The room exploded with blinding light. Edgar's body jerked upright, his eyes snapping open. Through the thick bars of his cage, a fierce battle was being fought between a large group of masked figures and Tully - the only member of the family not bound and gagged. He could only assume they were beta clones, given more than eighty percent of Unai's population consisted of them. He remembered reading it briefly in one of the books Verician had in his library before all hell broke loose, forcing him and his brothers to attack the beta clones threatening their recovery mission. They were still no closer to establishing Kasperskies' whereabouts, despite the polite assistance of prince Verician. It only made his heart sink, thinking of the possibility he would never get to see his brother again.

He looked to his right, locking eyes with Teemu. It was the first time that he ever saw fear bleeding through the dark blue of his irises, a sturdy ocean at twilight now tainted with years worth of pollution blackening its shiny waters. He was usually so confident and self-assured; able to find a way out of tough situations when no one else could. Edgar felt a minor pain in his jaw as it clenched, wishing he could cut through the ropes binding them both to lean over and hug him.

No preparations could have readied them for this. Tully tried, Clarence tried, and Teemu tried - all of it for nothing. They would meet their fate here in what Edgar presumed was an underground labyrinth, noticing that there were multiple tunnels further up toward the back of the dank space. Any one of them could save their lives if they somehow managed to escape, but one wrong choice would earn them an instant and cringeworthy death. He pictured, in his mind, one of the beta clones working for the silver-haired man piercing him through the heart with a broken off shard of metal. It made his blood run cold.

"I don't care how much you torture me, I'll never tell you where they are!" Kasperskies' voice had yelled from somewhere close, shooting through Edgar's veins like the adrenaline rush he got when chasing down his victims. Unfortunately, that was the only time he heard his brother's voice before the room became unbearably bright, sending him temporarily blind. Now he wasn't entirely convinced the voice had been real. What if, out of desperation, his mind was plaguing him with hallucinations?

He blinked hard, begging his eyes to adjust. As his vision slowly came back into focus, he noticed a cloaked figure standing inches away from the silver-haired man, extending out the long, pointed tip of a sword to his throat. Edgar watched on eagerly, sitting up as straight as his restraints would allow. The shadowy figure, who seemed to be on familiar terms with the silver-haired man, was undoubtedly a skilled swordsman. His grip was firm, as if the blade were an extension of himself, unwavering with the presence of fear. The silver-haired man grit his teeth, trying to act like the shadow posed no threat, but Edgar could see the smallest cracks starting to splinter his stone-hard exterior. He felt a pleasantly cold shiver rake up his spine, grinning from ear-to-ear at the prospect of witnessing his downfall.

The clones behind the silver-haired man all stood their ground, backing away slowly when the shadow hastily waved his sword at them in warning.

"If I were you, I wouldn't move," a deep, masculine voice threatened from beneath the hood of the cloak. "You will release all of these clones you are keeping hostage, or die by my blade."

"You are sorely mistaken if you believe me to be the negotiating type," the silver-haired man smirked, cutting his sharp, youthful face like dual blades. He looked to be in his mid-thirties, yet spoke with a certain level of wisdom only attained through years of experience. It was possible the man was not human, given that his irises were almost pitch-black. "How about this: you turn around and get the hell out of here, or I will call for more allies. You best run while you still can, demon."

"Says the one who is not much better than me," the cloaked man fired back. "Let's just face it, Zavion; you won't do anything, if you want to keep your worthless life. Now hand over the clones. If my demands are not met, I will take out all the cronies hiding behind you like the cowards they are."