The Veil Read online

  A spiked fist smashed into my spine and I gasped, temporarily stunned. The Pitguard tore me off his shoulders and threw me to the floor; the torch skittered out of my grip and rolled towards the edge of the bridge. I landed on my feet but my weak legs gave out and I collapsed down to the stone. The Pitguard had ripped off his gauntlets and was doubled over, clawing at his burning face and trying to douse the flames.

  “I can’t see!” he wailed. “I can’t see!”

  Using the wall to support me, I climbed back to my feet and ran towards him again. It was when I got closer, I saw the stitched on ear and realised it was the Pitguard who had hit me in the operating theatre, and the one who had thrown me into the drowning pit. I grabbed at his horns and used them as levers, jumping up with an extended knee as I dragged his head down. The blow caught him under the chin and he staggered backwards. I held on tight to his horns, driving my knees into his bowed over face again and again,, knocking the consciousness out of him. He swung out wildly with his fists and landed a few blows, but I just kept hitting him. Eventually his attacks became weaker and I let his horns go as he collapsed at my feet. His face was a blackened, blistered mess, one of his eyes burned beyond recovery and the other bloodshot and streaked with pulsing veins. Gritting my teeth, I leaned over and used all the strength I had in my aching body to drag him by his horns towards the precipice of the bridge.

  I moved around to the side of him and knelt down, snatching his keys and a curved blade from his belt and then stood back up, pressing my boot to his side.

  “Time to clean you up,” I hissed.

  “No!” he croaked, raising a hand and staring blankly upwards as smoke coiled from his ruined face.

  With a heave of exertion I heaved my foot against his body and he rolled right over the edge of the bridge. A moment later I heard a splash from deep below. I hunched over myself and took several deep breaths, trying to stop myself from throwing up as dizziness swam through my head.

  Come on Ella, you need to go.

  I collected the torch and unsteadily climbed back to my feet, moving down the bridge until I reached the door at the end. I tried several keys from the keyring I’d taken from the Pitguard, swearing under my breath as each one either didn’t fit the lock, or failed to turn. Eventually I found the correct one and the latch clicked open. I peered around the opening and ducked back, my heart thundering.

  I’d seen a central area with several routes leading off to different areas and levels. I’d also seen four Pitguards. Two had been dragging a prisoner Goblin in chains, who fought against them and begged for his life. The others had been standing around talking near a set of stone steps, smoking something from narrow pipes and chatting.

  I can’t take on four Corporeal Lamiae right now. Not on my own. I hope to god they didn’t see me.

  I ducked down and peered through the keyhole – as I should have done in the first place – my hands coiled around the torch and blade. The Pitguards carried on talking for a few minutes as I waited, acutely aware that at any moment another Pitguard could appear from the opposite direction. If they see me before I notice them, they’ll have more than enough time to call reinforcements before I can kill them.

  Come on! I willed the lingering Pitguards.

  Eventually they stopped smoking, blowing the final puffs of dark, purple smoke from their pipes, and then dropping them down into a grated hole in the floor – probably straight onto a prisoner in one of the cells. With a quick nod to each other they parted, one climbing the stairs and the other heading to the right, where the previous Pitguards had carried the pleading Goblin. I opened the door as much as I dared and peered from side to side.

  Clear.

  I slipped out and moved left, following the Physicker’s directions. The new area was a vast marbled hallway lined by tall statues of various Umbra leaders in warrior poses – carved from adamantine and looking like solidified oil – separated into sections by sweeping archways. Huge chandeliers hung from the high ceiling, bathing the area with their candlelight and creating dark shadows at the edges. I ditched the torch in a flaming bowl held by one of the warrior statues and then kept to the safety of darkness, creeping forward down the hallway as fast as I could without creating any noise, and using the small alcoves behind the statues to hide myself when I needed to rest.

  When I was over halfway down the long passage, I heard footsteps approaching from around a corner and ducked behind one of the statues. Gripping the blade tight in my hand, I waited until The Pitguard had passed and then stepped out behind him, wrapping my hand around his waist and pulling him behind the statue before he could react. I raked the blade across his throat and kicked out at his legs, bringing him down to his knees. Wrapping my hand under his chin, I wrenched his head backwards, ripping open the wound, and sending blood jetting onto the alcove wall. He made a gurgling sound as the life seeped out of him. I kept holding him, my teeth clenched together as his twitching body finally fell silent and still. I let him go and stood back up, staring down at the mess in front of me, confused.

  That was risky. I could have let him walk right past and slipped by unnoticed. Why did I just kill him?

  The answer wasn’t hard to find.

  I want them to suffer for what they’ve done to me…for what they are doing to my friends and everyone else here. I stared down at my blade – which dripped dark blood down onto the marble – and made a decision. No more. Not unless it’s necessary. Don’t let your anger take over. Just get the hell out.

  I wiped the dripping blade on the dead Pitguard’s cloak and then added his blade to the other, feeling better with a weapon in each hand. Moving out from behind the alcove, I stuck to the shadows once more as I moved down the long hallway towards a door at the end. Once again my back was completely exposed as I knelt down and tried different keys. My hands were trembling as I stuck each one into the lock and a few times I almost dropped them.

  “Stop!”

  My muscles jerked as I heard the harsh voice from behind me. I turned and saw a Pitguard who had emerged from a door I hadn’t noticed further down the passage. He pressed a hand to his ear and started shouting into it. “We have an escaped prisoner in the East Quadrant. I repeat we have an escaped prisoner!” He started running towards me, his footsteps beating against the polished stone.

  Merda, Merda!

  I kept trying keys as he drew closer. I could hear him nearing, screaming at me to stop. I jammed a key in and it connected. Without stopping, I wrenched the door open and piled through, using the same key to turn the lock behind me. I barely registered that I was in another, similar but empty hub area before breaking off left once again and sprinting as fast as my legs could carry me towards a set of stairs at the end.

  I jumped down the steps three at a time, losing my footing towards the end and slamming a shoulder into the wall at the bottom. I gasped in pain and then turned, sprinting down a long dusty tunnel dusted with red sand and lined by fences made from tall wooden stakes bound together. From somewhere nearby I could hear the collective sound of thousands of people, chanting and baying. The words of the Physicker came back to me.

  You will no doubt hear crowds and see a set of large doors, but do not go through them.

  I kept sprinting down the tunnel, sweeping past countless doors at either side. At the end of the passageway I could see a Pitguard, running towards me and drawing his blade. I pushed myself harder until he was right on me and then slid to the ground, passing underneath his legs. I jerked up with both blades, catching him in the groin. He yelled in agony and stumbled. I climbed back to my feet and spun around, bringing the weapons down onto his neck like an executioner. It wasn’t a clean hit – the blades caught bone and stuck there – but it was enough. His lifeless body collapsed into a kneeling position, and I only had enough time to pull one of the blades free before I heard the screaming voices of an approaching horde and saw a sea of faces running down the tunnel after me.

  I ran as fast as my tired le
gs could carry me, the booming shudder of thousands of nearby voices pulsing through my body. I reached the end and saw the large doors at the end that the Physicker had warned me about. As he had said, there was a much smaller door made from wood to the side of it. It didn’t even have a lock, so I ripped it open and sprinted through. On the other side was a last, final corridor made of stone. I could see daylight from beyond, pure and brilliant, and desperate hope rushed through me.

  I can make it!

  I forced myself to run harder and faster than I had ever run in my life, moving on screaming legs towards the light at the end. I burst out into the daylight, shielding my eyes from the brilliant glare that overwhelmed me. I was stunned when a thundering round of applause broke out around me. I lowered my hand and as my eyes adjusted, my stomach lurched.

  I was standing in a giant pit, bathed in baking hot sun and surrounded by countless Umbra faces that cheered from spectators stands high above. I spun around in time to see Pitguards on a raised platform above the door I’d emerged from drop an adamantine gate down from a set of chains, barring my way back. Fear pounded through me as the realisation of what had happened took hold.

  No, no, no!

  A second later, I saw Grey emerge from a similar door on the other side of the arena. He stumbled in and then stared around with the same confused expression that I’d no doubt been wearing. He was followed closely from another exit by Troy, who looked around him wildly and then produced a screaming sound of anguish.

  No…they tricked us!

  A guard with a smooth patch of burned skin where his mouth should have been raised his hands from a nearby platform and the crowd fell silent. A figure appeared on a stone balcony ahead, and I saw a suit of armour gleaming with orange streaks and a metal mask, topped with long black hair.

  That was the knight. The one I saw in the Atrius. She’s the one who took me.

  The atmosphere was palpable as she walked to the front of the balcony, opening her arms wide out as she addressed us in her tortured voice.

  “Greetings Guardians, I am Highwarden Lilith, otherwise known as the Scorched Knight. Welcome to my colosseum.”

  28

  Scarlett

  We tore across the Darklands whilst a stream of Bloodseekers – who rode on the backs of large Hiveminds – thundered behind us. They were naked apart from ragged loincloths, and carrying weapons carved from the bones of their previous victims. Their eyes shone with the madness of hunger, their Bloodseeker sentience giving way to the unavoidable pull of predatory instinct. They had flanked us, knowing that we would be distracted by their Hivemind kin and unprepared for a secondary attack.

  The chase forced us to change direction, heading away from the Lightshuttle until we managed to create just enough distance that we were able to start curving back around to the right route. I stormed forward on Picera, turning to fire everything I could at the chasing horde, pulling extra ammo out of my reserve supplies. Our shots caused Hiveminds to crumble to ashes and sent their riders flying off their backs, or took out the Bloodseekers themselves, which in turn killed the Hiveminds through their powerful telepathic connection. Mikey and I commanded the Gargoyles to bathe our pursuers in the washed-out flame, but for every Vampire we killed, countless more poured in from the sides – whooping and snarling as they joined the chase. The lust for blood had made them hysterical, and their frenzy was making them fast.

  “We aren’t going to make it!” yelled Lightwarden Udan over the thundering cacophony of stamping hooves, crackling fire and battle cries.

  “Yes we are!” I shouted back.

  “No! We need to distract them!”

  I watched in horror as he turned and shot two Vengeful. They let out gasps of pain as they tumbled from their horses and were immediately set upon by the masses, screaming as they were ripped limb from limb. I had to turn away and close my eyes against the awful sounds of their yells.

  “You murderer!” screamed Mikey.

  “It worked!” he shot back.

  And he was right. The snarling Vampires were fighting over the remains, the temporary distraction giving us the extra edge we needed to break away from the pack. But that didn’t change a single thing. Regardless of what the Lightwardens saw the Vengeful as; I saw Udan’s actions as cold-blooded murder.

  He is going to pay for that.

  The Vampires who were lucky enough to get their fill stayed behind, whilst the rest continued the chase. I cracked Picera’s reins and the Unicorn gave a high-pitched whinny as she galloped even harder, kicking up dirt and shoots of dry grass. Soon we were all a good twenty seconds ahead of the chasing Vampires. I saw the Railport on the horizon – a crumbled, broken thing with a sagging roof and bloodstains over its windows and walls. The Lightshuttle hung from the sweeping tracks next to a platform at the top of a long flight of metal steps. Next to the stairs was a vast cargo elevator operated by an electronic pulley system. The shuttle itself was covered in grime and moss, like the carcass of some great beast that had long since returned to nature. We tore towards the platform and I jumped off Picera’s back, rolling and skidding to a halt.

  “Everyone get on!” I yelled as I ran over to the pulley system. I waited until everyone had crowded onto the elevator plate and then pressed the button to work it.

  Nothing happened.

  Shit! I had no choice but to start heaving at the chain manually. It took all of my strength to pull it down, the weight of so many almost defeating the winch system. The rusting chain groaned and shrieked as I tugged at it. I glanced over my shoulder and saw the approaching horde, their weapon-wielding arms raised and poised to attack.

  Come on you bloody thing!

  Mikey dropped down next to me.

  “What are you doing?” I hissed.

  “Helping!”

  He grabbed the chain above me and together we yanked down, heaving at the pulley until the rest of the convoy was hurtling up on the elevator towards the Lightshuttle platform. All the while the chasing masses drew closer.

  “Use the Gargoyles!” I shouted.

  Mikey raised one hand out to the circling Protectors at the same time I did, and together we commanded them to attack. They reacted in an instant, swooping down towards the mounted Bloodseekers and unleashing streams of fire. The Vampires jumped from their Hiveminds and landed on the Gargoyle’s backs - howling as they shattered their fangs and weapons on their stone skin.

  “Come on!” growled Mikey as we continued to heave against the pulley. I felt something hard and sharp thud into my shoulder blade and gave a loud hiss of pain.

  “I’m hit!” I gasped and sank backwards. Mikey shot me a concerned glance. “I’m okay, keep going!” I shouted as I reached a hand over my shoulder and yanked out a ten-inch blade carved from the rib of some unfortunate soul. I could feel blood seeping down my back.

  There was a clicking sound as the chain stopped moving. “It’s done!” called Mikey.

  “Then climb!”

  Mikey vaulted onto the chain, crossing one hand over the other and throwing himself upwards as fast as he could. I jumped up behind him and followed. As I tore upwards, I felt the chain shudder and looked down to see a female Bloodseeker stalking after me, a shank blade pinned between her fangs. Her long black hair was ragged and caked with dirt, and the smell that emanated from her bare skin was the acrid stench of someone who has spent a lifetime away from civilization. I kept furiously climbing up the chain, trying my best to create a distance, as more Vampires abandoned their Hivemind rides and surged towards the chain. In a matter of seconds the ground below us had become a pool of Bloodseekers, which converged from every direction, scratching and biting at each other as they fought to get to the chain. Seeing how crowded the area was, some of the Bloodseekers changed tact and swarmed towards the staircase instead, bounding up three at a time, and screeching with pure bloodlust.

  I felt a momentary sense of relief when I saw Mikey being pulled onto the elevator platform by Aran and Sophia. As s
oon as he was over I saw his arm dip down towards me.

  “Take my hand!”

  I stretched out and our fingertips only grazed before the Bloodseeker caught hold of my boot and yanked me downwards. Gasping, I slid down several feet before I stabilized myself. I could feel the Vampire’s sharp nails digging into the leather of my trousers, cutting into my skin and pulling me down with incredible strength.

  “Get the hell off me!” I hissed, driving the heel of my other foot into her face. Her head snapped back and she shrieked in a blend of fury and pain, shouting something in a guttural language I didn’t understand. While she was still recovering, there was a crack from overhead and I saw Sophia’s bladed whip streak down past me and snap into the Bloodseeker’s face. The Vampire lurched backwards and her grip faltered, sending her tumbling all the way down into the crowd. She hit hard, knocking several other Vampires over like bowling pins. But the horde kept climbing – becoming a clambering ball of limbs and fangs – and I could feel the groans as the chain strained from the overpowering weight.

  “Sophia, get the others into the shuttle!” I ordered. The whip was snapped back and she disappeared from view.

  “Scarlett, jump!” urged Mikey, dipping as low as he could over the edge of the elevator.

  I leapt off just as the chain snapped.

  There was a stomach lurching moment of gravity, before his hand closed around mine. The chain whipped down in a blur, scattering the bundle of Vampires clinging onto it and carving through a dozen Bloodseekers as if they were butter.

  Mikey hauled me onto the collapsing elevator, which was breaking apart from its supports. Grabbing his hand, we both jumped as the floor gave way beneath us with a scream of protest, tipping onto its axis. We landed hard on the platform and I rolled, narrowly avoiding the stabbing dagger of a Bloodseeker. I pulled my Pinknife blades free from my belt and drove them up into the Bloodseeker’s eyes as I stood.