Chapter 4

An elevator ride and short walk later I walked into the warm summer air. Instantly I felt calm, and my head cleared. I relaxed. Until my cellphone rang. Groaning, I fished it out of my pocket and check the ID. Tara Cole. We’d been dating for almost a year and a half. She was great, really. She wasn’t Khloe. I hit the red ‘send to Voicemail’ button and searched for my black Audi in the parking lot. Right now what I need wasn't an arrogant, chatty girlfriend complaining about what Mila Cauldro wore to school today. What I needed were answers and I knew just where to go to get them.

When I finally remembered where I parked the Audi, I paid the toll fee and head to downtown Ward 2. It was midday and the streets were packed with people walking and driving so it took longer than usual to get through the streets in a car. An hour and a half later, I pulled into the parking lot of the Inquisition Headquarters for this ward and parked the car.

The Inquisition Headquarters was massive. Being in Section 01, it was the main headquarters for all other sections. The first two floors were nothing but office space. Beneath it was the ‘Basement.’ It held the forensics lab where Leonna and Luis hid away. The Basement also included the underground jail cells where prisoners were kept until they were transferred to one of the bigger prisons to await Burning. When I walked in, two guards were dragging a blond headed woman to the elevator doors. She wasn’t struggling, but she wasn’t unconscious either, the way they usually were after a round of interrogation. Her head lifted up and she looked toward me with bright brown eyes.

“The shadows linger near. Keep close your darkest desire.” She raised a long index finger to her lips and made a ‘shushing’’ sound.

“She’s been talking like that all day.” One of the guards said. I just gave him a thin smile, watching as the elevator doors closed after them. Her words replayed in my head. Shadows linger near. What did that even mean? I tried to ignore it, but her words, her voice echoed through my head like a megaphone. I needed to speak to her. To ask her what she meant.

I headed to the elevators and press the close doors button before anyone else could rush on. As soon as the doors closed, I relaxed against the metal walls, trying to calm myself down before I talked to her. The Elevator dinged twice and before I knew it, they opened up to the dark Basement floor. I stepped out, feeling the cool air hit my face. The Basement was kept colder than anywhere else in the building for whatever reasons Leonna needed. The hallways were empty. Very few people worked down here other than a few guards who watched the prisoners and the interns that worked with Leonna and Luis. The quietness was a bit nerve wracking.

I made my way past the doors that led into the forensic lab and made my way further down the hall. I stopped at a metal door and swiped my pass key, listening to the ding as it was approved before the metal door swings open. This was where the jail cells are. The first couple were empty and recently cleaned from its former inhabitants. The bleached smell reminds of a hospital and for a second my stomach turned. Before I have time to dwell on this though, I stood at her jail cell. The guards from before were already gone, replaced with two faces I recognize, Owen Kirstersen and Chris Hacking. They both looked up when I joined them.

“What’re you doing here Evergreen?” Chris questioned, staring at me suspiciously.

“I want a minute alone with the suspect.” I said casually. It wasn’t like he had much authority to argue. I was above him on the pay grade. Chris was stubborn though and didn’t like much authority. I fully expected the coming argument.

“You aren’t on schedule to interrogate. Much less on the list of people allowed to speak with her.”

“I’m not asking to interrogate her. I’m telling you I am going to speak to her.”

“C’mon man. What’s it going to hurt? He’s Maxx’s son. He isn’t going to do anything stupid.” Owen jumped in. “We can clear it up with Maxx later.”

Owen gave me a long, dark look before finally nodding.

“Right. Let’s go get that cleared up.” He said calmly, reaching back to unlock the door. I stood by and waited for them both to leave through the metal door before looking down at the woman. She was laying on the small bed the Inquisition provided for the cell. Her back curved off the mattress and her hands are extended outward, she reminded me somewhat of a cat stretching out to nap. Her eyes are closed, and I thought for a moment that it must be an awkward position to sleep in.

Her eyes peeked open, and I realized she wasn’t sleeping. She peeled gracefully off the mattress and sat up to eye me.

“The Dark Prince decides to join us. What’s the special occasion?” Her lips curved into a smile of amusement, though it was friendly.

“The Dark Prince?” I laughed, “How unique Lil.”

“We all have our roles to play.” She paused, eyeing me with a curious expression, “Your role is quite interesting…you are most interesting.”

“My role in what?” I leaned back against the cement wall, like I wasn’t hanging on her every word. That her words weren’t sticking like a brick to the pit of my stomach. She turned, facing me as she stood up off the bed. She closed the distance between us with flawless grace. This was first time I see them, the ears hidden beneath locks of blonde hair. Pointed, like a cats. I couldn’t help it; I reach out to touch one. It twitched and she snapped back.

“Careful dear. Sensitive things ears are. Very good for learning.” She offered me a friendly smile. I let my hand drop and we both continued to examine each other. I couldn’t help but wonder what she was thinking.

“You feel it too, don’t you?” She pulled away.

“Feel what?”

“The air is changing.” Lil frowned at this as her arms made dramatic sweeping motions, “Soon we will all be in danger, but the ignorant will not see until it is too late. The heir of the moonlight comes to bare truth and peace, but even her followers will call her dark and wicked. Only her Knight will know the way to the light to help her guide her people to the new sun-“ She paused there and looks at me with a curious smile.

“Are you a Knight Wes Evergreen? Or are you the Dark King’s son?”

“And what’s your role in all of this?” I asked, voice shaking lightly, unsure how to respond. Lil just gave a small, sad smile.

“My role is almost over and soon I will plunder in the fields of my Goddess. But the battle has yet to begin. Everything you know will be questioned; you will have to make choices that argue everything you believe-“

“Why are you telling me this?” I cut her off, feeling the panic of her words rising in my chest.

“Because it is my job. As a Familiar it is my job to lead witches in the direction their supposed to go. I guide them on their path and give them direction. This is your direction.”

“Well, no offense, but your GPS sucks.” I snapped before I could stop myself. Lil pulled back, a frown prominent on her face as I stood up. Just then Owen found his way back to the door.

“Times up pretty boy.” He pounded his fist on the bar doors. I roll my eyes and step towards it.

“I’m done anyway.” I gave Lil one last glance.

She waved her long, graceful fingers and bid me good bye. “Farwell Dark Prince.”

I said nothing, stalking out the door once it opened. Lil’s words echoed in my head, swarming. As I stepped into the coolness of the elevator to ride back upstairs, I took several deep breathes before laughing.

“What were you thinking?” I said aloud, shaking my head. Lil was crazy. Most of all, she was a witch. I was not. She had nothing to offer me. Her words were that of a witch gone insane. Most of them did in the prison cells.

War was coming? War was already here. We were fighting them. Lil was just trying to catch me off guard. I was no knight. I was no dark prince. There was no coming war. My thoughts drifted back to Khloe in the hospital. It was all just crazy talk. I made my way back to the Audi outside. Just crazy talk. Right?