Page 20 of Beginnings

Chapter 6

Connor

Water dripped.One. Two. Three…Pause...One. Two. Three…Pause. It was the same goddamn rhythm all day, every day. I peered at my expensive watch. At least the bloody thing still worked. My phone had been taken and smashed right after my arrest for Miss X’s murder.

I marked off another day. It was one minute past midnight. That made it ninety two days since I’d been shoved in this stinking shit hole. Owen was down here, too. We talked every day, mostly about nothing but it helped keep us both sane. I had no idea what Doherty was up to, but it was clear we weren’t getting any kind of trial, fair or otherwise.

We’d been bundled into the cells at the SBI and kept there for less than a day. In the middle of the night we’d been darted and left to fall into unconsciousness. When I woke up, I’d been incarcerated in this underground cell. I had no idea where we were. It wasn’t somewhere I’d ever been before. The place was old, really old, almost like an old fort’s underground prison. The floors were stone blocks, as were the walls, while the front of the cells were constructed of iron bars. It was freezing and stank of old piss, shit and mold.

My cold fingers explored the collar around my neck. The fucking thing was impregnated with silver, enough to leave superficial burns and keep my wolf from breaking free, but not enough to do any permanent damage.

“Owen?” My dry throat made it difficult to talk. Guards came once a day to push a bucket of water in through the barred door of each cell and throw us enough food to keep us alive. It depended on the guard as to how much water was in each bucket. Yesterday's bucket had only contained an inch of filthy water in the bottom. It wasn’t fit to drink, and I was dehydrated, so dry, my tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth. I groaned as my stomach growled, and my wolf snarled, wanting to be free to hunt for food. The weaker I got, the weaker he became, too.

The water dripping in the background was torture to my fluid starved body.

“Yo, Brady!” I rasped.

Owen sighed. “What, man?”

“That’s ninety two days we’ve been in this shit hole. Any ideas how to get out yet?”

“Nah, man. Like I said a hundred times before, this bit of our prison is shitty, but that door at the top of those steps would need a bomb to blow it open. And then we’d need weapons to take out whoever’s up there. Why? You got some weapons shoved up that a-hole of yours that you just now decided to tell me about? In fact, how about you tell me how I ended up in this shit hole courtesy of you, you selfish shit! Seeing as you haven’t given me any explanation yet...let alone the goddamn truth!” His voice rose to a bellow.

“Yeah, I got three machine guns shoved up my arse, you dick! And I just thought it’d be nice to chill down here for a while, you know, spend some quality time with you. I already told you, I have no fucking idea what happened! And I don’t know why Doherty dragged you down here with me, either. So when are you going to stop being pissed at me about it?”

“Never, you fucker! Now shut up and let me get some sleep.”

I didn’t answer. Instead I went back to counting water drops while trying to ignore the moans from the poor fuckers who’d been brought down here last night. I’d counted the cells when the guards flicked the lights on, which was, usually, only when they brought another prisoner down. Otherwise, the only sliver of light in the place was from a small barred window near the top of the stone stairs which didn’t illuminate much at all.

There were eight cells down here. Only the one directly opposite mine was empty. Once that was filled, I suspected we’d be moved elsewhere. My gut tightened. I was a trained agent, but I was utterly out of control here, and the alpha in me hated it.

My eyes had long since adjusted to the dark and I didn’t falter as I stepped up to the cell bars and peered through. In the cell next to the empty one, a pair of luminous ice blue eyes regarded me. At first I’d been unnerved by the fae. The fae weren’t supposed to be able to get into this world, not without the say so of their royal family—it seemed this one had broken the laws of both worlds and was paying for it. His unwavering attention had such a level of coldbloodedness and detachment that it scared even me. I knew a little about the fae, but the thing that stuck in my mind was that they were vicious and uncompromising warriors. They showed no mercy to their enemies. I wondered how this one got caught. It was hard to see his build clearly in the darkness, though he moved fluidly through the shadows of his cell.

“Evening, Walker.” I grinned. He just stared at me, unblinking and ghostly. “Yeah, fuck you too, you creepy son of a bitch,” I muttered, still grinning. Well, he’d been less than forthcoming about his name, and I needed to call him something. Besides, he looked so much like a white walker from Game of Thrones that it was a perfect name for him.

“Got any faerie magic you can use to get us out?” I knew he would remain silent. Maybe he didn’t understand me, though I had to wonder if he could even speak.

“Hey, keep it down would ya? I’m trying to get my beauty sleep,” Owen complained.

I snorted and grinned. “Jesus, you’re going to have to sleep a lot then, Brady! You’re one ugly assed mother fucker and sleep hasn’t helped you so far!”

“With all due respect, sir...fuck off!” he growled back.

There were some answering yells to the same effect of shut up and let us sleep.

I swallowed against my dry throat and grinned at Walker, who blinked. “Ha!” I banged the bars. “That was a laugh, wasn’t it? Or your version of one! I knew it! You’re not totally dead, Walker, just a bit zombie-like.”

He tilted his head and his ridiculously pretty, white hair fell to one side and over his shoulder, almost reaching down to his waist. His gaze slowly shifted from me to the steps that led up to the blast door. My whole body stiffened. Another prisoner; that was the only reason the guards came at night.

The locks on the door clattered and light flooded the stairwell. I winced, quickly looking away. Walker hissed and lifted his hand to shield his eyes, catching his fingers on the cell bars. His skin sizzled. He spat words I didn’t understand and snatched his hand back. The scent of sweet, burned flesh permeated the air. Yeah, the bars were iron, a fae’s worst nightmare.

“Watch yourself there, Walker. You might need to fight should I ever figure out how to get us out of here.”

He blinked, and I was sure he nodded slightly before he stepped back from the bars.

Black booted feet jogged down the steps until I could see standard issue SBI cargo trousers. The guard flicked on the lights and there were shouts of discomfort from my fellow inmates. Walker hissed and stepped back into the shadows. None of us had seen sunlight since we’d been down here, and Walker had already been staring at me when I woke up in my cell. He’d been here alone before any of us arrived.

“Settle down!” yelled a voice.

---