Chapter 34
Hel
The damned place was a maze. We’d snuck out of our rooms with little problem, but we had no map of the building to follow.
“Dammit, I think we’ve been down here already,” Elex said.
“They all look the same,” I said, frustration edging my voice.
“We’ll find him, don’t worry,” Elex said, and I felt his reassurance flood our Bond. I could smell my father’s scent throughout the building, but it was challenging to figure out which scents were old and which were new. Since Bonding with Elex my senses had expanded, but I hadn’t had much time to practice understanding what they were telling me.
“I thought Master B said there would be a stairway here,” Elex said, his eyes scouring the walls around us. We had learned from Allard that some few Elusians could sense the use of Mageian power so we were avoiding its use as much as possible out of fear of discovery. I nodded and closed my eyes, letting my senses expand. A breath of air flickered from between the wood.
“There is. There!” I exclaimed. Elex closed his eyes and the rings of power appeared around his arms. After a moment there was a click from in front of us and the door slid noiselessly to the side.
We found ourselves in a stairwell that crawled up several stories through the build, and led down into the depths. Inside the hidden stair were landings and stairs that led off in multiple directions. It was only dimly lit, but I could just make out small sliding windows placed at intervals throughout. On each floor there were doors that led off in different directions. From time to time we heard movement from either above or below.
“I think I know what this is,” Elex said, looking around the area thoughtfully, his voice loud in the echoing chamber. He walked over to one of the small windows and softly slid the window open,peering in for a moment. He stepped back and nodded for me to take a look.
The smell of blood and other things emanated from the opening. Within I heard the sound of a man’s muffled sobbing and a woman screaming in ecstasy. The color of the room was a deep green. Throughout the room a number of floggers hung suspended. A man knelt in front of a woman; her skirts were hiked up around her waist. A flogger in hand, she slashed forward, bringing the tails down on the bare back of the man with his face buried between her legs.
My rage began to build as the man screamed, only for the woman to grip his head and force him back between her legs.
I must have made some kind of noise or move because my Bonded gripped my arm.
Look closer,Elex ordered, switching to sign language. Learning sign language had been a huge boon for this operation.
I turned my gaze back to the pinhole and took a deep breathe. The woman’s head fell backward, her brown curls falling back like a waterfall. I realized with a start that she was the courtesan who had been at Hestus’ side, which meant the man pleasuring her was one of the “guests”, so he was here voluntarily.
I stepped back and silently slid the window shut as Elex touched my arm.
When Luke and I were held here before, Hestus had a watcher keeping tabs on Maalik to make sure he didn’t go too far,he signed.These windows must be how they keep tabs on their guests.
It turned my stomach to think about what Elex and Luke had suffered at the hands of their former captors but I had to direct my energy toward completing the mission.
So how do we find my father?I responded.
Elex pointed down. Kyris had said the eunuchs were normally housed in the basement of the building.
I nodded, but we paused to check each spyhole we passed, just in case. Kyris said he was often summoned to treat the injuries of Mageians or guests, so he could have been in any of the rooms. The scenes we saw were—challenging. Sometimes I saw Elex wince as we passed an area where the Mageia were being Suppressed.While the Suppression wasn’t directed at him, the amount of power in the area could bleed through and affect him, unless he was actively working to block the Suppression. Many were Mageians being forced to serve a Calling. Every atom of my body wanted to tear through the walls to free them, every instinct demanding action.
We made our way to the basement. Kyris had given us a very basic outline of the building, but we hadn’t had time to get a complete map from him. The basement was where the bathing pools were, as well as the sleeping area for the eunuchs. While Luke and Elex could make a rough map using their magic we didn’t want to draw attention to us by using their powers.
Eunuchs were given a certain amount of freedom during the day, even able to run errands in the company of one of the guards, like Nigelo had earlier that day. In the evenings, though, they were chained to their cots to prevent them from trying to escape. We needed to find Kyris and Stergiou, as well as find a way to free them without alerting the whole House.
I saw Elex peer through one of the spyholes. Even in the dim light I could see his face go pale and a slight tremor run through his body. I had to physically move him aside, his body rigid as I peered through the spyhole and view the room. It was carpeted in a deep blue and seemed similar to the other rooms we had seen, except for the torture implements that were scattered throughout the room. In one corner of the room crouched a young woman, her back to the wall. She was naked and covered with whip marks.Shit.
I felt Elex create the Air shield that deadened sound around us.
“Her name is Maia,” he said, his voice as cold as death. “She’s a Fire Mageia and was a friend of ours in the Legion.”
I felt the quavering rage in his body and I knew immediately this wasn’t going to be a stealth mission anymore.
“Sometimes you gotta roll a hard six,” I whispered, squeezing his shoulder.
He looked at me in confusion. “What the hell does that mean?”
I almost laughed.
