Page 17 of White Charms and Dark Secrets

Arumbling beneath me startles me awake from a restless sleep. I blink my eyes open, but find it difficult to see anything in the darkness that surrounds me. As my eyes begin to adjust to the dark, I push myself upright into a sitting position and pain shoots through my body in protest as I do. I'm in the back of a trailer pulled by an old, army-style jeep, and my hands hang above my head, secured by a loose chain to a beam running down the centre of the trailer.

I look around, noticing that I’m not alone. My eyes run over the others in the trailer, all of whom are chained up in the same manner I am. Three men and one other woman held captive alongside her. One of the men appears to be sleeping, one is staring at the other woman whom is pointedly ignoring him, and the third man is just staring up hopelessly. I follow his gaze, shocked to find rock, and not a dark night sky above us. My eyes dart around, seeing rock on either side of us too. We're driving through a tunnel, or maybe even a cave, considering the rough, rocky edges.

“Where are we?” I aim my question at no one in particular. All eyes shift towards me, other than the sleeping one. I swallow. “What?”

The woman snorts, and the guy who was gazing above us narrows his eyes on me. But it's the one who was staring at the other woman who speaks.

“Where the fuck do you think we’re going, princess?” he growls, his eyes flashing brightly in irritation as he loses his hold a little on the animal inside of him.He’s a shifter.And one that doesn’t seem to have a lot of control either.

I scoot back against the side of the trailer, feeling the cool metal press into my back. I bite my tongue, sensing that perhaps I should keep my observations to myself. The guy gives off some scary freaking vibes.

“We're in The Tomb, well in the pathway to it anyway,” the woman’s quiet voice responds, after it becomes clear no one else will answer.

“What?!” I exclaim, straightening up as I look around again. There's another jeep behind ours, as well as another in front of the one pulling us. “They can't do that. I haven't even spoken to anyone. There wasn't a trial, or even any questioning. There's been a mistake!” I look forward at the jeep pulling us. “Hey, did you hear me? There's been a mistake!” I yell in a desperate attempt to get the driver’s attention as I rattle and yank on the chains holding me captive.

“Shut up!” the woman snaps, giving me an annoyed look with her steely grey eyes, before sliding her gaze back over to the sleeping man. He manages to snooze right through my breakdown.

One less witness to my panic, at least.

“I'm not going to shut up. This cannot be happening to me. I'm innocent!” I protest, the terror surging through me is overwhelming, and my objection turns shrill.

“If you don't shut up, you might just die before you even get to The Tomb,” the man who was looking at the rocky ceiling says, not that he sounds all too bothered by the prospect. If anything, he sounds entirely indifferent.

After a sharp inhale I stammer, “Are you threatening me?”

“No. But that guy over there.” He gestures to the man in deep slumber. “Is Thomas J Ramsey, also known by the affectionate nickname ‘The Ripper’. He came in without a fight when they found him to avoid his kill warrant, so I hear. Too bad they only found him after he slaughtered hundreds of innocent people.”

My eyes drift to the sleeping man, noting his complete motionlessness. His chest not even rising to breathe. I'm almost certain he's a vampire. A shudder runs down my back at the thought. My last experience with an unknown vampire didn't go so well. I swallow and force my eyes away from his latent form.

“I've never heard of The Ripper. You're just trying to scare me,” I insist.

“Keep shouting then, go on. It's your funeral. But, full disclosure, he warned if anyone woke him, they'd be dinner.”

“Well, it's a good thing he sleeps like the dead then,” I mutter, but I do make a conscious decision to lower my voice. Just in case. The jeep pulling us slows as we drive into a larger part of the caves. Torches line the walls down in this section, and I know we've reached the end of our journey. My stomach lurches when we stop, catapulting into a freefall when I hear people getting out of the jeeps. Heavy footsteps thump to the ground followed by the sound of their approach.

Six men come into view, all dressed in black from head to toe, with the exception of a dark-green slash of colour across their chests. Scanning over them, I’m confident they must be at least half troll, ogre, giant, or something like that. All of them appear almost 7ft tall, and their skin holds a slight pale-grey tinge, as if they don’t see much sunlight. Not quite big enough to be full blooded, but definitely not human, witch, shifter, or fae either. It figures the guards for a place like this would be terrifying.

One of the biggest guards steps forward, jumping up into the trailer where we're restrained. He unlocks the other woman first, gesturing for her to get out of the trailer. She complies without a word, jumping to the ground with ease. Another guard points her in a different direction, and she’s soon out of my sight, led around the jeeps.

He heads to me next, unlocking my hands and freeing me from the chains. I rub my wrists, only now realising how sore they feel from their confinement. His expression is blank as he motions for me to get moving as well.

“Look, sir, my name is Kayla,” I begin, but I'm cut off by a grunt and a sharp look from the guard in the trailer with me.

“Papers here say you are a Miss Gina Thornton,” one of the others reads in a gravely tone, as he leans over.

“That’s what I’m saying, though. There’s been some kind of mistake. You've got the wrong person,” I insist. The shifter still chained up in the trailer rolls his eyes, and I try to maintain my composure. Losing my shit won’t get me anywhere. I just have to make them listen to me.

“No mistakes,” the guard in front of me sneers. “Out. Now. You will comply, or we will knock you out and drag you in there ourselves. Trust me, girl, you don't want to go in there unconscious and unable to defend yourself.”

Defend myself? What the hell kind of prison is this?

I scramble out of the jeep, stumbling on the landing. In a strange twist of my luck, one of the guards catches me by my shoulder.

“Steady,” he grumbles, before pushing me off in the direction the other woman had walked off to. He walks behind me, just as the last guard did with her.

“Look,” I start again. “My name is Kayla Harlow. Please, you need to contact Detective Huxley. He can explain to you who I am, and that this is all a huge misunderstanding.”

“I will not fall for your tricks. Many have tried to beg, plead, or trick their way out of this punishment. Now walk faster!” the guard’s impatient response ends in a roar. He shoves me forward until we reach the other woman and her guard. She's standing against the far wall, and the guard gestures for me to join her. I lean against the wall, trying not to fidget or show my nerves.

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