Eternity in the darkness - Chapter 77

Opening the car door I got inside to sit next to Ruka who was already in the driver’s seat, talking to Sebastian. When I sat comfortably he started the vehicle and turned the steering wheel.

“No, that’s enough for now…yes…continue with that we’ll be down there in twenty minutes… Eve is coming with me…” he spoke on the phone. Pulling down the window, I peeked my head out to feel the air blowing on the face while my hair moved backward, “No that’s not necessary…okay,” he cut the call.

The only lights on the road were the light emitted by the headlights of the car as we drove. I saw the trees pass by in a quick motion, the sky was covered with clouds here and there. I felt myself smile as I closed my eyes to welcome the breeze. The feeling I felt now was exhilarating, long drives at night were refreshing.

“You’ll catch a cold, love,” I heard Ruka say and on cue my nose itched lightly making me sneeze. Touching my nose with my fingertips and felt the cold.

“Where are we going?” I asked him curiously as he took a different route that I hadn’t been to.

“Deep inside the woods there’s an underground cell where we keep rogues or other beings that don’t abide by the rules,” he said and I hummed, “To be honest I don’t think it’s a good idea taking you there.”

“Why not?” I asked him turning towards him.

“What’s inside is not a pretty sight to witness, Eve and you picked the wrong day to come. But…” he said looking at me, “You want to see how I work and what I do so I’ll take you there but it’s your choice if you want to get inside.”

“Okay,” I nodded to what he said and pondered on it.

I knew how he worked, it didn’t take a genius to figure that out after seeing him covered in blood holding a body a few days back. The so-called interrogation was pure brutal. I wanted to see what Ruka worked on and with the matters such as the lost stones, I was curious.

Thinking about what happened in the bathroom my face felt hot. I had read such things only in books but for it to actually happen was a totally different matter. I didn’t know if I should applaud for Ruka or me for having self-control. Maybe he was worried about what Annesana had said.

“Why did Memphis ask about the stone? Is he part of the people who are gathering the stones?” I asked him as we went through a narrow road.

“He is part of the Naxals according to what Leo and the others gathered,” he answered and before I could ask what Naxals was he spoke, “They are similar to rouges but different at the same time. Finding their location is a hard thing to do. They are many types, the one he is part of is dangerous.”

“So these Naxals are the ones that attacked the school in Romania and he’s part of them?” I asked him worried, by the sound of it, their personality sounded somewhat odd.

“I don’t think so,” he shook his head and stopped the car in the middle of nowhere.

“What do you mean?” I asked him while he opened the door and I did the same.

“The problem is what my men informed isn’t the right information. Memphis isn’t part of Naxals but another group. What people project and what people actually are, are two separate things, Eve,” he said opening the backseat door and pulled a muffler out. Coming towards me he put it around my neck, to prevent me from the cold night. He rested his hand on my lower back,

“Stay close, love. There are other creatures apart from us now,” my head snapped around to see our deserted surroundings.

I didn’t find anything as my eyes inspected the dark forest, I could hear the crickets as Ruka led the way. Driving here was not possible as there were a lot of trees planted and big rocks on the ground. The trees had strange shapes and its branches twisted, long. There was a little amount of fog in the air but we could see the way. After walking for a few meters we reached a cave-like place. I heard a twig snap behind us as though someone had walked on it. When I turned my body moved closer to Ruka, I saw shadows creeping behind trees which were a few feet away from us.

“I didn’t know there were other creatures until a year ago,” I mumbled to myself.

“The heart of the dark forest provides a sanctuary to many known and unknown supernatural creatures. A human would never stumble here as its difficult to find this place and if the person does…” he left the sentence hanging in the air and I gulped.

“The pixies that you so called are part of this place. They are menacing creatures,” he touched something on the wall and the place lit up with light.

“But they didn’t seem that way,” I said confused, “They were like little fairies,” I told to only hear him chuckle.

“Menacing in a sheep’s clothing,” he held my hand, “They attract their prey with their beauty and light. That day the little thing was leading you to a trap, I’m glad I found you sooner,” he said squeezing my hand.

“Your Highness and queen,” I saw a man standing with an eye patch in place with a gruff looking face. Hearing the word queen titled to me sounded strange.

“Vernon,” Ruka greeted the man, “How’s the work today?” he asked.

“It was smooth as usual. We had a woman and two men added to the prison today. The third general is interrogating one of them in the twenty-fifth cell,” he informed to Ruka, “Second in command left here a few minutes ago.”

“Yes, I asked Sebastian to go home. And don’t call my mate as queen, Vernon. She feels uncomfortable, Eve is fine,” he smiled and I saw Vernon’s eyes go wide before his expression turned back blank, he nodded his head.

“Yes, your highness,” he quickly replied.

As we went inside I saw there were many cells on both the sides with thick vertical bars covering them. The cell walls were covered with patches of dark red color and claw marks, the whole place was rusted. Walking further I saw skeletons inside, some in sitting position and some standing with chains around. When we came to an end I heard voices. It was Leo talking and another guy talking.

“It’s better if you tell us why you killed one of the teachers in the woods,” I heard Leo interrogate.

Moving closer I saw Memphis hand bound by chains. There was a deep gash on the side of his head and his body bruised.

“She was a tasty meal,” was the snarky reply Memphis gave to only get stung by two electric rods on his body by another man. His body jerked due to the shock but I doubted there was only electricity running in the rods.

“That’s enough, Leo,” Ruka said beside me.

Memphis’s c.o.c.ky face was no more in place knowing who was in the room now. At first, I thought he was going to talk but after the long silence in the room and Ruka raising his hand, I saw Memphis’s body go to invisible shocks.

“Are you going to answer?” I heard Ruka ask him but Memphis sent a glare, “Or maybe not.”

Memphis was gritting his teeth and I heard him scream in pain. Was this the franchixer’s side talking? It was like Ruka’s whole persona took another light when the franchixer was evident. Cold eyes without any remorse and heavy air surrounded us. The look on his face was pure evil.

“Ready to talk?” Ruka asked tilting his head to the side.