The Veil Read online

  “Jesus Ella your hand!” breathed Grey.

  “It doesn’t matter!”

  “It does.” Before I could say anything he grabbed it and I screamed as he used his boiling hands to cauterize the wound. When he let my hand go, it released a coil of acrid smoke and I saw that large red welts on both sides had covered the hole.

  When I could actually speak again, I said, “We’re not done yet, guys. I’ve got an idea.”

  “What’s the idea?” asked Troy.

  I nodded at the arrows littering the arena and stared back at Troy and Grey. “I’ll distract. Troy you lift them, and Grey, you set them on fire. Let’s give that bitch a grand finale to her messed up show.”

  A smile crept across Troy and Grey’s faces and then while the crowd was still going wild we sprinted back into the centre of the arena, turning until we were facing Lilith. The Scorched Knight had stood up and was once again giving her slow sardonic clap, as the sound of the crowd ebbed away.

  “Is that all you’ve got? Pathetic!” I shouted up at her.

  Lilith stopped clapping. She walked forward to the edge of the balcony, clasping her gauntleted hands around the balustrade. “My dear Huntmaster, I wouldn’t turn to arrogance just yet. There are still plenty more challenges to come.”

  “There’s nothing you can set on us that we can’t deal with, you metal freak,” I hissed. The crowd gave hisses of anger and starting hurling insults at me. Lilith’s hands tightened on the balustrade.

  I placed my hands behind my back and gave a thumb up.

  Troy raised both of his hands, collecting up a cloud of weapons in seconds. He let them hover over our heads and Grey thrust out with his own hands, igniting the arrows in a ball of fire.

  “Guards!” screamed Lilith when she realised what was about to happen. The Pitguards aimed their rifles and the archers scrambled to load arrows, but we were faster.

  “Fire!” I shouted.

  Troy thrust his hands towards the Scorched Knight and the arrows fired up at her in a storm of flames. In an instant, her mouthless guards had formed a line in front of her, and most of the arrows thundered into their heads and chests, setting their carcasses on fire. Some of them fell backwards into Lilith, others stumbled forwards and tumbled over the balcony, their lifeless bodies hitting the sandy arena with a burst of embers. A few of the arrows knocked into the Scorched Knight’s armour, creating harsh clanging sounds that reverberated across the stunned colosseum. But it was the one that hit her cloak that mattered. The material ignited in a burst of flame and Lilith let out a tortured scream as she thrashed around, trying to douse the flames with her gauntlets.

  “Burn, you bitch!” I screamed.

  But the Scorched Knight didn’t burn. Instead she ripped off her cloak and threw it into the crowd, where it blanketed over an unsuspecting Devil, setting his fur on fire. The creature let out a bleating scream and tripped over as he struggled to get the burning item off him, crashing down into more of the crowd and creating a stream of burning Umbra in his wake. The spectators became frenzied, trampling over each other in their desperate attempt to escape the blazing fire that was spreading from body to body. Soon half of the Populace stands were empty as the panicking Umbra fled for the exits. The remaining spectators stared in shock across the arena to a section that now contained only trampled and burning bodies, slowly being reduced to charred bone in the intense fire.

  But the person I had wanted to kill was still very much alive.

  Lilith was cowering on the balcony, her hands covering her head like a scared child. It took a tap on the shoulder from one of her silent guards for her to come back to her senses. I watched as she slowly unravelled, standing up and turning to face us amongst a sea of her charred guards. An army of archers were ringed around us, their weapons raised and ready to fire. My guts twisted in horror when I realised my plan had been poor, nothing more than a desperate attempt to get revenge.

  “Ready to fire on your command, Highwarden Lilith!” shouted one of the Pitguard archers, his arrow pointing right at my head.

  “I’m sorry,” I whispered to Grey and Troy.

  “Don’t be, Huntmaster,” said Grey. “At least we hit the dickhead.”

  Much to my surprise, Lilith waved her hand slowly, giving the signal for the archers to lower their weapons. The remaining spectators were hushed with anticipation, no doubt waiting to see what the retribution for such a heinous act would be. “You are guests at my great colosseum,” she said. “Guests are supposed to be gracious to their hosts.”

  Guests? This woman is even more insane than I thought.

  She pointed a finger down at us. “Have you acted graciously? No you have not. You attempted to harm me in my own establishment. With fire no less!” she shouted.

  “Shame we didn’t hit your mouth,” replied Grey. “I’m fed up with listening to your annoying little voice. So either come and fight us, or do us all a favour and shut the hell up.”

  Well that was ballsy.

  Lilith stretched her arms out wide. “If you desire so much to challenge me, then what sort of host would I be if I refused your wish?” As the crowd gasped in shock, the Scorched Knight held out a metal-clad hand to the one of the remaining mouthless guards. “Sunslicer.”

  The guard opened an ornate box near the throne and came back holding a long katana, wrapped with gas tubes around the thick hilt. He sank to one knee, offering it out to the Knight. Lilith snatched the weapon up and then shoved him away from her. Then moving with alarming speed, she hopped up onto the stone balustrade of the balcony.

  “Populace, these audacious Guardians wish to do battle with me,” she announced in her strained, gravely voice as she turned around with the grace of a cat. “I am inclined to accept. What do you say?”

  The remaining crowd burst into thundering applause and cheers.

  “As I thought.”

  Lilith stepped over the balcony and landed in the arena with a thud. She held Sunslicer out and clicked a button on its side. A second later the entire blade had ignited in crackling fire. She lifted the weapon and aimed it right at us.

  “Guardians, arm yourselves!”

  “Go!” I shouted and we all split up. I ran towards one of the silver swords, whilst Grey and Troy retrieved theirs from the dead Skinshifters. “Back to me!” I yelled once we were all armed.

  We closed together into a tight unit and moved into our respective stances. I could hear the nervous breaths as they escaped from Troy’s lungs, could hear the creaking of knuckles as Grey wrapped his hand tightly around the hilt of the blade.

  “Don’t leave her standing,” I commanded, over the howl of the wind that had picked up in the deadly silent stadium.

  “Hell yes. Either she dies or we do,” said Grey.

  “Agreed,” grunted Troy.

  Lilith lowered into her own stance – one foot in front of the other, her weight on her back heel, arms raised at angles and her blade held horizontally over her head, flaming tip aimed towards us. For what felt like an age, we stayed locked in our positions, each watching their opponent…and waiting.

  Lilith moved forward like a spectre, covering yards in seconds and striking out with an upward blow that released a stream of fire towards us. We all lunged out of the way and the streak of flame ripped between us, smashing into the wall behind in a burst of smoke and embers. The Scorched Knight rotated on the spot as we began to flank her. Grey attacked first, slipping forwards and jabbing out with his sword. Lilith pivoted around on the spot and trapped the blade under her arm. She spun around again – yanking the sword free from his grip – and then smashed her foot into his head with a devastating spinning kick. He spiralled away as Lilith kept spinning like a ballet dancer, unleashing his own blade towards him. It raked past his face, slicing a gash on his cheek. He hissed and shrank back from the fight, clutching his wounded face with one hand and scrambling for his lost sword with the other. Troy and I took over.

  We both attacked at the same
time. Troy’s sword came in a moment before mine and Lilith ducked down, letting it sail over her head. Mine came in from the side and she unfurled, swivelling around. The screech of metal rang out across the colosseum as the blade glanced harmless across her armour. In a flash, Lilith had jumped up and kicked out at Troy hard enough to knock him off his feet. She landed on one foot and spun in the opposite direction, catching the side of my neck with her heel and sending me sprawling to the ground.

  “Pathetic,” she taunted as she dropped her sword to her side and paraded around us, watching as we picked ourselves up off the arena floor. “You are Guardians. Fight like Guardians!”

  I grit my teeth as I leaned backwards, flipping to my feet. She’s just another opponent…albeit a skilled one. Don’t get angry, use your training. Lowering into an attacking stance, I stalked towards her, blade poised and ready to strike. Lilith attacked first, narrowing the gap instantly, and striking with Sunslicer in a rising arc of flame. I struck out with my own blade and deflected the strike, before lunging forward and yanking down on the ponytail of her helmet, which dislodged it enough for me to drive the V of my thumb and index finger into her throat. Lilith let out a strangled sound and sank backwards, heaving – her grunts muffled by the visor. I ran forward and delivered a sharp uppercut to her chin, feeling two of my knuckles crack as they connected with solid metal. The crowd let out a collective gasp as her helmet flew right off her head and rolled along the rust-coloured sand.

  Lilith was a monstrosity.

  My stomach lurched in disgust as I registered what I was seeing. Her face was a smooth patch of tight pink skin, potted with red puss-filled sores and coated in oil-like grease. Instead of a nose, there was a malformed hole, which quivered as she breathed, and she had no lips – only sore covered gums that held oversized teeth, and no eyelids – just black pinpricks pupils sitting in a pool of red.

  Lilith’s wide mouth stretched into a menacing grin, which wrinkled up her nauseating face like dried fruit. He throat puckered in as she spoke, the muscles of her neck thick and vibrating like taught rope.

  “Better.”

  She slipped back and retrieved her helmet, setting it over her head once more. “I underestimated you, Huntmaster. Now that you have decided to fight properly, I will return the favour.”

  It was then that I learned the true skill of the Scorched Knight.

  We all rushed Lilith, and when we attacked it was with everything we had. She moved like a shadow between us, weaving and dodging every single one of our strikes, as if we had telegraphed them a week in advance. I struck out with my blade and Lilith blocked it with hers. Troy tried to punch her; she grabbed his fist and then drove her metal helmet into his face. Grey thrust his blade towards her throat and she knocked his attack away with ease, stamping her foot into his chest and sending him stumbling backwards and wheezing.

  “I’ve had enough of this!” growled Grey, as he doubled over and struggled to regain his breath. I received a glancing blow to the face and as my head snapped around to the side, I saw him uncoil, one of his hands producing a ball of fire so bright that despite the blistering sunlight, it bathed his whole body in its orange glow.

  “Burn!”

  He wound back his arm and prepared to cast the flame. Lilith whipped around the side of him and sliced down with her sword in one fluid movement. I watched in disbelief as his hand separated from his wrist and slapped down to the ground, the fire winking out. His face went pale and his eyes wide with shock as he stared down at the stump where the end of his limb had once been. His chin started to quiver and then he produced a scream so loud and haunting it bored right into my bones. The crowd cheered as he sank down to his knees, still screaming as blood streamed from the wound and pooled around him, soaking into the sand.

  “Grey!”

  I rushed towards him, but was stopped by white-hot pain that ran up my side. I looked down to see the uniform tear from the armpit to my waist and a long, burning wound opened up, producing a river of blood that spilled down from the wound. It was a moment before I reacted, and when I did, it was a single thought.

  This is bad.

  Lilith moved away from me and surged towards Troy. I tried to keep moving, but my knees gave way and I buckled, hitting the ground hard. Sand rushed up my nose and into my mouth as I breathed it in, my cheek pressed against the arena floor and gasping, as the pain of my wound consumed me. I watched in horror as Lilith struck down Troy with a series of lightning fast attacks and then set him on fire with her Sunslicer, her tortured laugh joining that of the ecstatic crowd as he writhed about, screaming with agonized yells as the flames licked his skin.

  It was then that I realised that we had lost, and that winning had never really been an option. This Knight is like Yeth. Far more powerful than us…trained over centuries to a level that we just can’t compete with. Only Alex could have fought her, and he’s not here…. it’s over.

  “Douse this one, collect the girl, then take them both back to the catacombs,” Lilith ordered the Pitguards above her. “I am not done playing with them yet.” A few of the guards scrambled away and did something to open large portholes high up on the walls of the arena. They spewed out a ton of water – most likely designed to clean away the blood when a show was over. It hit Troy and his body rolled away from the blast, putting out the flames and releasing thick rolls of steam. Water started to pool around me and I tried to lift my face away, reminded of the awful sensation of drowning.

  Lilith walked over to Grey, who was still on his knees, a low, dreadful moan escaping his throat as he struggled to deal with the agony. I felt harsh hands on me, pulling me to my feet and the Pitguards starting to drag me, howling and struggling from the arena.

  “Halt! I want her to see this,” said Lilith.

  The hands stopped pulling and instead held me fast, rooting me to the spot. Lilith was facing me, Sunslicer raised and pointing directly at me. “Actions have consequences Guardian, always remember that. Watch now and see the consequences of your actions.” She raised Sunslicer high above her head.

  Utter horror filled me up. “No, please!” I screamed, reaching out towards Lilith in desperation.

  The Scorched Knight brought her sword down, severing Grey’s head.

  *

  I was carried screaming and thrashing back into the catacombs, calling out Grey’s name over and over, even though I knew it was pointless.

  He’s dead, he’s dead, he’s dead.

  I was dragged into the darkness of a new cell, injected in the neck with an imitation booster, and then had adamantine chains locked into place around my throat and hands. I was only vaguely aware of the cruel laughs of my captors as they left me, trembling in a dark corner of the pitch-black cell and locked the bars behind them, their laughter drifting into silence as they walked away.

  Grey is dead. Grey is dead because of me.

  I lost control then, tearing and thrashing at the chains until both my wrists were bruised and I had strangled myself half to death against the impossibly strong metal, the madness threatening to consume me.

  “You’re wasting your time,” came a calm voice from the darkness. “Believe me I’ve tried.”

  I stopped moving, my heart hammering in my chest. “Who said that?” I managed to say between my wracking sobs.

  “I’m through here,” said the voice.

  I pressed my head to the wall, and could feel a slight breeze coming in from a break in the cold stone, leading into the adjacent cell.

  “Who are you?” I said, my voice coming out in ragged bursts, as I struggled to hold myself together.

  “Someone who has been here long enough to know that desperation isn’t the answer. It will only lead you to death that much quicker.”

  “They killed him,” I croaked and then descended into sobs as the gravity of the situation hit me all over again. Despite the booster, the wound on my side was seeping blood, but the pain barely registered. “Lilith killed my friend.”


  There was a long sigh. “I’m so sorry to hear that. The Scorched Knight is a whole new breed of crazy…cruelty is all she knows. I’ve seen her kill many people I cared about in my time here.”

  When I had stopped crying, I took a deep breath and asked, “What species are you?”

  “Human. Well, Chosen specifically...not that it matters much in a place like this. All you are here, is entertainment.”

  “Are there many Chosen in this place?”

  “Not any more. Most escaped a while back. I was one of them…well almost. I’m Lilith’s most prized possession, so she focused all her efforts on catching me.” He gave a sigh. “I was so close. Nothing can compare to the misery of almost being out of this hellhole, and then being dragged back in.”

  I know how that feels.

  “How long have you been in here?” I asked, my teeth chattering from a mixture of physical and mental shock.

  There was a long pause. “I don’t remember. Time doesn’t mean much more to me any more. A long time I think.”

  “How can you continue…how come you haven’t just given up?”

  “I don’t know…I’ve thought about it many times but my survival instincts always take over. I guess it’s because I’m a Chosen,” he replied.

  I pressed my head against the wall, closing my eyes and trying not to let the misery fill me up. He’s a Chosen like me, a fighter…and yet he’s still here. If he hasn’t managed to get out in how ever many years he’s been here, then what chance do I have?”

  “I’m a Chosen too,” I said.

  “A Chosen?” His voice became more animated. “What country are you from?”

  “I’m from Italy, but I serve in England.”

  “England? Wait, do you serve at the Warren?”

  “Yes.”

  His voice rose as he became even more impassioned. “Do you know him?”

  “Who?”

  “A boy named Alexander.””

  A wave of emotion washed over me and suddenly I was pressed against the wall, my face as close to the hole as I could get, my heart threatening to beat out of my chest. “The person you’re talking about, what’s his last name?”