Riley POV
I'm out. The first thing I do is head back towards the cages. The ring that was in my pocket I picked back up off the floor and repocketed for some strange reason. I made my way carefully down, knowing that in order to free Marigold and Tiana I was going to need help and that meant freeing the poor creatures from the cages below. As the lift door opens, I tense, expecting there to be some sort of outcry, or some sort of protest, but the scientists are so busy with their research they don't even look up. My eyes are gleaming as I take in the scene, my mouth opening automatically as my siren side surges to the surface, her anger rising, the sound halting all those walking in their tracks, causing them to go into a trance while I move closer to the cages, a haunting melody filling the air as I weave my voice throughout the room, coaxing the cages to open, the doors unlocking as I stare at them, the creatures sitting up in shock, their eyes beginning to focus as the doors swing slowly open.
Rage fills me. I turn my attention to the scientists as creatures begin to poke their heads out of the cages tentatively, some with wary eyes on me. My voice grows louder. The scientists are still dazed, but now my tone changes. It's no longer haunting, it's angry, it's filled with vengeance, and it's dripping with venom and hate. I let my voice express without words what I feel, letting my song speak for itself, blood slowly beginning to trickle from the scientists' ears. They aren't innocent. They've all taken part in torturing these poor races, these poor creatures in the cages. They've been complacent in hurting them, keeping their silence as they performed their vile research and tests, brutally wounding them without a care in the world. No more. I refused to let them hurt yet one more creature with their hands. Blood begins to spurt out of their noses. Creatures begin to shuffle slowly towards me as I continue to stare at the scientists, my eyes narrowed, my song beginning to turn dark and violent. I was here for revenge and to ensure these people never made it out of this compound. They sank to their knees, their faces contorting into expressions of pain, even as they stood lost in my spell and then, with a big gasp, they gave a last breath and collapsed on the ground, unable to draw oxygen as I shut off their airways and let them die.
The only scientist not present was Gerald. My song petered down and then stopped. A fae gently touched me on the arm. "Words cannot express my thank you for freeing me" he said, as I stared sadly at his torn wings, at the dried blood that remained instead. "What can we do to assist you?" he asked, even as he stood there, practically swaying on unsteady feet.
I suspected it had been a long time since he had eaten or had proper nourishment. "Leave" my voice was barely a whisper "While you can. This compound will be gone before too long. I only ask that you help my friends if you see them before me. My friend Marigold and a child by the name of Tiana are somewhere in this building. Once I have them, I will be taking down this building and anybody left inside of it," I warned.
"Good", a vampire said bitterly, "we too have to find somebody. Our prince had been taken along with us, and we haven't seen him in days" he added.
I fingered the ring in my pocket and slowly withdrew it. The vampire's eyes narrowed. "Where did you get the ring of our prince?" he demanded icily.
"I'm afraid that your prince is dead" my voice was sympathetic. "This ring was on the floor of a room that was for killing. I picked it up by instinct. I am sorry for your loss," I added, handing the ring to him as he examined it with an expression of grief on his face.
"It is my fault. If I had not dropped my guard and allowed us to be captured..." he began.
"It is no one's fault but these elders" I snarled as he fell silent and eyed me warily, "who had no right to do what they did to any of you," I added at the small group who had clustered together protectively "you should all get back to your packs. Work together to leave the building. Alpha Jaxon is no longer a threat," I added lowly, "but I have no idea who still remains in this building and how many more elders might be here."
The vampires shot each other looks that were both menacing and malicious. "I don't think they will be hard to handle", the one holding the ring in his hand said with a vicious curl of his lip, "the king will have to be informed of his son's death. I hope you find your friends" he added, beginning to head towards the lift.
"Thank you" A Lycan lumbered past me, its eyes suspiciously shiny.
"Your friends are no doubt in one of the rooms behind reception" another ventured to guess. "Come with us."
"The lift can't hold all of us. I'll take the stairs", I motioned towards the fire exit that I had failed to see the first time and gave a wry grin "be safe, all of you."
"You too, siren. We owe you a debt of gratitude" the vampire called, putting the ring in his pocket, "and we won't forget what you did for us today. Tell us your name so that we might find you again one day" he added, stepping into the elevator.
"Riley" I said loudly, drawing myself up "The Siren Queen."
His lips curled into a grin before the doors closed shut, taking them all. I ran for the stairs.
It didn't take long to get back to the main floor. Surprisingly, the fire stairs weren't guarded. I got to the main hallway and began to bang doors open. I could see the other races up ahead, heard shouting as the Elders and scientists were swiftly dealt with. I slammed the door open to a room, blinking my eyes to adjust to the brightness of the light. I saw Tiana and Marigold both in a cage, collars on their necks. I gave a low growl, surprising the Elder who had been sitting on a chair and eagerly looking towards a computer screen.
"How did you escape" he managed to utter, before my eyes glowed, and I lashed out, my claws getting him across the neck and causing blood to spurt out everywhere.
I was lucky, taking him by surprise. I heard a strangled noise and looked to the corner, to see Gerald sitting there, motionless.
"You left the scalpel and scrubs for me. You saved me" I said, fixing my gaze on him, "so I won't kill you. Leave now, while you can. I don't know why you betrayed your people, but I thank you". I dipped my head slowly, aware that Tiana and Marigold were watching me.
I had the remote for the collars in my pocket. I picked it up and touched the button, freeing Marigold and Tiana from theirs. The collars clicked open and fell to the ground. Gerald passed me a key. I used it to open the cage, Tiana flinging herself into my arms with a sob. I gave a low growl as I took in the needle marks where she had had blood taken from her. Marigold also had the same marks.
"I'm so glad you're here" Tiana sobbed, while Marigold nodded gratefully, "I was beginning to think you were never going to come," she added with wide eyes.
"I swapped their sedative with a placebo," Gerald said softly "I won't be leaving the building."
"You'll die" I warned, stepping back.
"So be it" he shrugged "What I've done, been forced to do, it can't be undone. It haunts me" his voice was low. "I can't stop the nightmares, can't stop seeing their faces in my mind. I have seen evil in its truest form. Death is the very least of what I deserve."
I had the sense it wasn't worth arguing with the man. He had made his decision, and it wasn't made lightly. There was such a look on his face it was difficult to describe what it was. A mixture of pain and grief. I saw him look at Tiana with remorse on his face. No doubt hurting a child went against his very morals. I hugged the girl and looked at the man, nodding once. If he was determined to die, then I would not stop him. I pointed to the collars. "Get them", I rasped as Marigold and Tiana looked at me. "We're going to need them," I added.
There was a grin on Marigold's face as she bent to retrieve the collar. Tiana looked bewildered as she did as asked. Gerald passed over two more remotes silently. Marigold pocketed them. We headed into the hallway and were greeted with chaos and destruction.
Bodies. Several in the long corridor. Blood splattered the walls, the floor, the ceiling. White coats fluttered to the ground torn and ripped. The furniture was broken. As we gingerly made our way to reception, we could see gouges in the walls, artwork destroyed, the doors leading out broken and almost torn off their hinges.
"Whoa" Tiana said, holding onto Marigold's hand tightly, while Marigold did her best to prevent Tiana from seeing too much "look at all this mess."
"We have to get out of here, but how are we going to get back?" I pondered and then saw the keys on the reception desk, the receptionist long dead.
I reached past and plucked them up, examining the keys. We headed out to the garage and I pressed the immobilizer. A car immediately made a noise to the left of us, and we moved, practically sprinting to the car which happened to be a normal run-of-the-mill 4WD. I could see several other cars missing and surmised that we weren't the only ones pilfering a car. Tiana hopped in the backseat. I started the car, and we drove slowly out, heading down the dirt track and then pausing. I got out of the car. Marigold joined me, Tiana climbed out. We held hands, staring at the building. The only people in there now were dead or about to be. I opened my mouth and began to sing. Marigold's joined me in harmony and after a pause, TIana's voice joined in. Dark and filled with malice, we watched as our song began to do its work, the building slowly beginning to crumple right in front of our eyes until almost nothing but a large pile of rubble remained. Anything the building contained, any secrets, any data, any vital information, was now lost forever and it would stay that way. Nothing could be retrieved from that disastrous pile. We stopped, getting back in the car silently. It would only be a matter of time until the elder's realized their compound was gone. I intended to get back home before that happened.
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