The Dying Light (Bloodwitch #1)

Charlie did not remember returning home from the Infirmary Station. He was only dimly aware of finding himself standing in front of the open door leading to their basement rooms. June was there too, sweeping the threshold, a broom in her hand and a look of surprise on her face.

‘Are you making up for last night, getting home so early?’ She continued sweeping.

Charlie blinked, and raised his head up to the bright, cloudless sky, tracing the path of a solitary bird. ‘Granny, are the kids around?’ He swallowed hard. ‘Something’s happened.’

‘They aren’t back yet.’

‘What?’ Charlie’s heart began to hammer in his chest. ‘Where are they?’

‘They’re late. You’re setting a bad example for them, you know.’

‘When did you last see them?’

‘Well, it must have been hours ago …’ June paused. ‘Why, is something wrong?’

Charlie had already turned and started to sprint away. ‘Stay here. I’ll be back later.’

‘Where are you going?’

‘I’m going to find the kids,’ Charlie said, without looking over his shoulder. ‘And I’m going to make Faulkner sorry he ever thought about threatening my family.’

The Pen gang’s hideout was located deep in the slums of the inner city. Charlie wandered through the twisting cobbled streets, avoiding the eyes of anyone who looked as though they might be heading in his direction. He had to fight to keep his breathing steady. There was a small part of him that knew he was about to do something extremely foolish. But then again, he had little left to lose anymore.

He ducked down a winding alleyway full of tall, narrow buildings, the roofs of which sloped into one another, giving the impression that they were about to collapse in on their neighbours. He had not been back to this part of the city since he had escaped the clutches of the Pen gang three years ago.

The entrance to the hideout was an innocuous wooden door set into a stone archway. He had hoped that he would never have to set eyes on it again. He had certainly never planned on stepping back across that threshold willingly. But they had left him with no other choice.

Taking a deep breath, Charlie stepped out of the chilly evening air and entered an uncomfortably warm, low-lit room, heaving with bodies. Groups of men and women were gathered together, pressing against one another due to the limited space, drinking from tall glasses and laughing beneath clouds of cigarette smoke. Countless gang tattoos flashed at him across exposed skin, marking the members of the Pen boys and their allies. Charlie felt his scarred shoulder prickle beneath his black t-shirt.

There was too much noise inside the hideout for anyone to notice him coming in. His hands deep in his pockets, Charlie kept his shoulders hunched and his eyes on the floorboards. He forced himself to edge his way through the crowds towards the bar. Once he was there, he would be able to sneak into the back rooms to search for Ruby, Leo and Dima.

He was sure it would not take long for him to find them. The layout of the Pen hideout had not changed at all during the seven years he had been imprisoned there. He knew where the new arrivals were kept isolated until they lost their will to fight back. Until they were considered ready to be trained. His stomach twisting, he forced away the memories of dark rooms and long nights that came surging into his mind. He lengthened his stride.

He must not be caught here.

‘You’ve been in the wars, haven’t you? Want me to take care of you for a while?’

Charlie stilled at the sound of a familiar lilting voice. ‘I thought we were past all that?’

He looked up, finding himself face to face with a teenage girl he had not seen for three years. She wore an extremely short strapless dress that plunged below her neck. In her high-heeled shoes, she was close to his own height. Her straight, silver-blonde hair was longer than he remembered, and her face had sharpened in the time he had spent away from the gang.

‘It’s you …’ Maya’s bright blue eyes widened, and she took a step back, glancing around, her brows knitted. ’What are you thinking, showing your face around here again?’

‘I’m here to see your boss.’ Charlie went to move past her. ‘Get out of my way.’

Maya put a hand on his chest. ‘Have you lost your mind? If anyone recognises you –’

‘Faulkner,’ Charlie said, just about managing to keep his voice calm. ‘Where is he?’

’Saints.’ Maya grabbed his hand and pulled him into the shadows of an alcove. She pushed him back against the wall and pressed her body close to his as he tried to edge away from her. ‘Why have you come back?’ Her words rushed out in a desperate whisper, her face drawn. ‘You got away …’

‘I’m looking for three kids. Two boys and a girl, about five or six years old.’

‘Kids?’ Maya frowned. ‘Wait, you mean –? Don’t tell me you’re this stupid, Charlie.’

‘They would have been brought in today. Have you seen them?’

Maya narrowed her eyes, worrying the corner of her mouth. ‘No, I haven’t seen them.’

‘But you know where they are.’

‘They’re not here,’ Maya said, shaking her head. ‘You won’t be able to reach them.’

‘There’s nowhere in Penumbra I won’t be able to find them.’ Charlie paused, understanding what she meant. ‘Unless …’

‘Anyone seen the boss’s girl?’ came a rough voice from somewhere behind them.

‘You need to leave,’ Maya said, backing away from him. ‘Now – before they find you.’

Charlie stepped forward, his voice urgent. ‘Maya, what do you know about this?’

‘Don’t ask me about this, Charlie.’ She stole a look over her shoulder before facing him again, gripping her arms. ‘We were friends, right? I’m trying to look out for you.’

‘If you were my friend then you would help me.’

Maya considered his words for a while. ‘Elysia,’ she said finally. ‘They will have been taken to Elysia. The fortress at the top of the mountain.’

‘You know that for sure? How? Why?’

‘Faulkner is heading up the operation on this side of the Wall,’ Maya explained. ‘Shipments cross over into Elysia every single night. They bring them in from all over the country. There are people disappearing everywhere, even here in Penumbra. Women. Kids.’

‘What do they want with them?’ Charlie asked, frowning as he thought back to what he had seen at the Skoto Gate the previous night. ‘What’s Faulkner up to?’

‘I don’t know. It’s true!’ she added quickly, throwing a scowl at him when he rolled his eyes. ‘None of us know what happens to them once they get to Elysia.’

‘Faulkner knows,’ Charlie said, as he strode past her. ‘And I’m about to find out.’

‘I can give you a name,’ Maya said. ‘He’s one of the leaders on the Elysian side.’

Charlie paused. ‘What name?’

‘Ivanov.’

‘Got it.’

Maya touched his elbow. ‘You’re getting into something dangerous.’

‘I am no stranger to dangerous things,’ Charlie said, pulling his arm away from her.

‘You talk big, but whatever Faulkner is up to in Elysia, you need to stay out of it.’

Charlie glanced at her, his hands in his pockets. ‘What d’you mean by that?’

‘These aren’t people you should take on if you’re planning to live long enough to see your next birthday,’ Maya said, a troubled expression clouding her face. ‘Let’s put it that way.’

Charlie smirked. ‘I guess we’ll have to see, won’t we? It was good seeing you, Maya.’

‘Just think carefully before you do anything crazy for once, yeah?’

‘Thanks for the advice.’ Charlie did not look back at her as he walked away.

‘Why thank me?’ he heard her mutter behind him. ‘I know you won’t take any of it.’

Charlie stalked off towards the bar. He could not afford any more delays. Keeping close to the wall, he slipped behind the bar and along the narrow wooden passageway that led into the bowels of the gang’s hideout. The corridor was not quite wide enough for two people to pass side by side, and he felt an unpleasant constricting sensation bearing down upon him.

His heart hammering, he kept walking, his fists clenched at his sides. He was trying to fight the terrified voice warning him that at any moment he was about to run straight into Faulkner.

The hideout was built like a labyrinth, with rickety wooden staircases set between every few doorways. They led the way up and down, this way and that, deeper into the maze. It was as though the building had been purposefully designed so that anyone who was not certain of their route would find it impossible not to lose their bearings. Once they were disorientated, they were easier to catch. As a child, Charlie had experienced that horrifying sensation of being snared in a trap many times, until he had finally managed to escape.

His feet had come to a halt in front of a familiar wooden door. His knees were trembling. He reached out one hand for the wall, his shoulder collapsing against it as he just about managed not to fall. Panicked, Charlie stared at his hands, which were shaking in front of him.

He could not think straight. The passageway was closing in on him. Something in his mind was dredging up memories he had fought for years to keep buried. The sights and sounds of those long, dark nights mingled with what he now saw before his eyes. He forced himself to keep moving. He had to get out, but he did not know the way.

‘I assume this means you’re up for it again?’ an amused voice behind him said. ’I heard there were only two things that you were ever good at: fighting and – don’t let him get away!’

Charlie wheeled around, trying to dodge out of the grip of the men surrounding him. But the corridor was narrow, and he was blocked in. They forced him down, a firm hand on each of his shoulders keeping him on his knees, as his hands were secured behind his back with a length of thick rope. Unable to break free, Charlie glared up into Marko’s smug face.

‘Well, well, well,’ Marko sneered. ‘Look who’s back. Couldn’t stay away, Carroway?’

Charlie ground his teeth, his anger flaring. ‘What have you done with my family?’

Marko laughed. ‘Wouldn’t you like to know …’ He examined his fingernails, looking bored. ‘You’ve wasted your time coming here, you know, and now that you’re back, there’s no way Faulkner is letting you out of here alive. I doubt he’ll even let you out of that bedroom.’

Charlie mastered himself quickly. He refused to let any emotion show on his face.

‘What do you want us to do with him?’ one of the men restraining him asked.

‘Where’s Mikhail?’

‘He’s got business at the Wall tonight.’

‘Then take him underground,’ Marko answered, tapping Charlie’s face with the side of his gun, ‘and get a message to the boss. Let him know his lost puppy has found its way home. I’ll be seeing you real soon, Charlie,’ he added, as the men dragged Charlie to his feet.

Struggling fruitlessly against the rough hands on either side of him, Charlie was led down a dark flight of stairs into a cold, empty cellar. It was lit by a solitary bulb hanging from the low ceiling. They shoved him inside with such force that he lost his balance and fell sideways onto the concrete floor, his shoulder taking the impact of the fall.

‘Remember how he likes it?’

Laughing amongst themselves, one of the men switched off the light. The door closed, plunging him into total darkness. Charlie was left alone, with only the sound of his ragged breathing for company.

By the time the door opened again, Charlie was soaked in his own cold sweat. As the light flickered back on, he edged himself up onto his knees, his eyes narrowed as he watched Marko close the door and approach him.

‘They’re all excited to have you back,’ he said, leering at Charlie with a malevolent gleam in his eye. ‘No one up there has forgotten about your particular talents, I promise you.’

‘Don’t sell yourself short,’ Charlie shot back. ‘You’re the real cocksucker here.’

Charlie’s head snapped to the side and he spat out blood as Marko’s fist connected with his face. He heard his own laughter, empty of emotion, as Marko seethed in front of him.

‘Offended? Come on, why else would Faulkner be keeping you around?’

‘He sees something in me,’ Marko hissed. ‘You lost your place. You’re just jealous.’

This only made Charlie laugh harder. ’Jealous? This is a fucking house of horrors.’

Marko was regarding him with a curious expression. ‘I heard you always fought back, every single time, no matter how many of them there were,’ he said, his voice dropping to a low murmur as his eyes trailed down Charlie’s body. ‘Is it true, what they say he did to you?’

Charlie recoiled, uncomfortably aware of the ropes binding his hands behind his back.

‘I guess I can always see for myself,’ Marko continued, his lip curling. ‘Can’t I?’

‘What are you doing down here?’ The door creaked open. Maya stood there, furious.

‘Guarding the prisoner,’ Marko answered, casting her a sullen look.

‘He’s no prisoner, he’s the boss’s property,’ Maya said, leaning against the doorframe and throwing Marko a look of open disdain. She spoke to him in a way that only one of Faulkner’s favourites could get away with. ‘Faulkner won’t want him damaged. Get out of here and go pick a fight with someone else.’

‘Who do you suggest?’ Marko asked, drawing far too close to her for Charlie’s liking.

‘Oh, well, you’d have to tie me up first,’ Maya said, completely unruffled as she regarded him with her cool, steady gaze. ‘I know how much you hate a fair fight. Sorry, honey, but I’m not in the mood for that tonight. Maybe some other time – if you can afford it.’

‘He needs to pay for daring to show his face around here again.’

‘Sure, if you want to be the one to explain that to the boss when he gets back.’

Charlie watched as Marko glared at Maya, who returned his gaze with a pleasant smile and a little shrug. With a last look in Charlie’s direction, Marko barged out of the cellar, slamming the door behind him. Maya’s nonchalant expression fell from her face at once and she rushed to Charlie’s side, untying the ropes that bound his hands and helping him to his feet.

‘What are you doing?’ Charlie demanded, his voice low, his eyes on the door.

‘You always had my back when we were kids,’ Maya muttered, her cheeks glowing.

Charlie massaged his wrists where the ropes had cut into them. ‘If they find out –’

‘They won’t.’ Maya strode over to the door. ‘Get out of here and don’t come back.’

Charlie stood there without knowing what to say as Maya left the cellar, leaving the door slightly ajar behind her. He waited until the sound of her footsteps had disappeared, planning to head up the stairs once there was no risk of her being seen with him. It was then that he heard the sound of muffled banging and shouting coming from somewhere behind him. He hesitated, his brow furrowed, then followed the noise to a small door near the far corner of the cellar.

Charlie tested the handle, only to find that it was locked. Inside, the banging and shouting grew louder. He pressed his ear to the door and heard cries for help. A wild, desperate hope soaring in his chest, he abandoned any thought of leaving the cellar before he discovered who was trapped inside the hidden room. He shoved his shoulder against the door a few times, to no effect, then lashed out at it with his foot. Finally, he managed to kick it open.

The light from the cellar cast the smaller room into sharp relief, and Charlie felt his eyes widen as he took in the scene in front of him. Wire cages were stacked on top of one another, filling the room almost entirely. Most of the cages were empty, but a large one close to him drew his attention.

Fingers were poking through the wire mesh, the sight of which made his skin crawl. When he crouched down, the faces of four girls stared back at him. He swore softly under his breath as mingled fury and nausea churned in his stomach.

‘Help us,’ the girl closest to the wire mesh said, pointing to the lock at the front of the cage. She fixed her fierce eyes on him, her jaw clenched. ‘Please. Get us out of here.’

‘Don’t talk to him,’ a younger, frightened-looking girl whispered. ‘He’s one of them.’

‘No. I’m not,’ Charlie said, his voice firm. ‘How long have you all been kept here?’

The older girl seemed to be sizing him up. ‘I hear you’re looking for your family.’

Charlie paused. ‘How do you know that?’ Then, he understood. ‘What are you?’

‘You don’t want to take a guess?’ Her heavy-lidded eyes glittered. ‘I have information.’

For a split second, Charlie was torn. It was treason to help a witch. Then he thought of Ruby, Leo and Dima, and all his doubts melted away. ‘I’m looking for three little kids – two boys, one girl,’ he said in a hurried voice. ‘What do you know about them?’

‘Get my sisters and I out of these cages and I’ll tell you everything I know.’

Charlie narrowed his eyes. ‘What’s stopping you from getting out yourselves?’

‘We’re not strong enough,’ the girl said at last. Charlie thought it cost her some pride to admit that to him, and he noticed that she was the only one among them not wearing a collar. ‘They’re keeping us underground, away from the sunlight. We’re getting weaker every day.’

One of the younger girls let out a quiet sob. Charlie looked at each of them in turn. The girl who appeared to be their leader was probably close to his own age. She was wearing some kind of uniform. The others were much younger, perhaps not even into their teens. He remembered being trapped like this.

Charlie drew a bobby pin from the longer section of his hair. ‘Start talking.’

‘The Volya Research Facility,’ the girl said, following his movements as he began to pick the lock at the front of their cage. ‘It’s part of the Elysian Castle compound. The mountains. That’s where they will have taken your family.’

‘How do you know that for sure?’

‘It’s where all the prisoners are sent, sooner or later.’

‘Why there?’

’That’s what I’m trying to find out,’ the girl said, a touch of impatience in her voice. ‘My coven sent me to learn more about what’s going on at the Facility, but I won’t be able to protect myself in this state. I need to get my sisters out and regroup with the Lilith coven first.’

Charlie hesitated, his fingers slowing. ’You’re one of them? One of the … terrorists?’

‘I am Jasmine Darkwood, the last daughter of a ruined clan,’ the girl answered, her face hardening. ‘The Witchkillers have taken everything from my people. Someone has to fight back.’

‘The Great Protector keeps the Wall standing for us,’ Charlie found himself saying.

Jasmine cast a pitying look over his face. ‘The only difference between the Lilith coven and Nikolai the Merciless is that he has the law on his side. Why don’t you wake up and open your eyes? Can’t you see what’s going on here?’

The lock clicked free, and Charlie tossed it aside, opening the wire door of the cage before standing back to let the four girls out. The three younger ones inclined their heads, avoiding his eyes. They bunched together at the door to the cellar, waiting for Jasmine to join them.

‘Thanks for your help,’ she said, levelling him with her cool gaze. ‘The four of us are in your debt.’

‘Try not to get caught again,’ Charlie replied. ‘I won’t be here next time.’

Jasmine blinked, before her face split into a dark smile. ‘What’s your name?’

‘Charlie Carroway.’

‘You’re not worried about us giving you up as soon as we get out of this place?’

Charlie raised his eyebrows, making no attempt to hide his scorn. ‘I can take care of myself. Tell whoever you want.’ He stared around the room of wire cages. ‘Besides, I want Faulkner to know exactly who’s responsible for this. I don’t plan on sneaking out of here.’

Jasmine’s malicious smile broadened, her eyes flashing. ‘Good, because neither do we.’

‘We need to get armed up,’ Charlie said, as they headed up the stairs out of the cellar. ‘I know where there’s a weapons cache. First we take what we need, then we escape together.’

‘Not necessary,’ Jasmine answered at once. ‘Stay with us. We’ll cover you.’

‘It’s this way,’ one of the girls called to her. ‘Jasmine, it’s almost time.’

At these words, Jasmine surged to the front of the group, the three younger girls behind her, and raised one unarmed hand out in front of her face. Charlie thought he saw a bright blue light appear in the centre of her palm, flickering red, orange, and yellow. He no longer felt cold.

‘As soon as you get the chance, run,’ she said, turning her stern gaze on him. Her dark skin was bathed in a warm light that seemed to emanate from her own body. ‘I won’t be able to control it after so long under the ground. It’s got to be all or nothing.’

She turned away from him, and Charlie felt a burst of heat on a sudden gust of wind. A wall of flame rose in front of his eyes.

Then the explosions began.