Beasts of the Forest by Dele Daniel

Author:Dele Daniel [Daniel, Dele]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Stewart & Potter
Published: 2019-12-24T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 19

“Move it!” one of the guards yelled, pushing us along.

I flinched, feeling a sharp pain in the middle of my back as one of the guards pressed the barrel of a gun into it.

A group of royal guards kept us surrounded, all of them heavily armed. I could only presume the guard with the biggest gun was the leader, for he was the one doing all the talking. He also happened to be standing closest to me.

I suppose I had garnered quite a reputation among the Kingfishers.

“Let me forewarn you all,” the lead guard said, “if any one of you dares to try anything, I’ll blast your faces right off.” He held up his oversized gun, ensuring we understand that he was a man of his word.

After the pure shock of being spit on, my mouth had gone dry and I couldn’t speak even if I wanted to. My entire body felt jittery as the guards bustled us along, pushing and shoving to navigate us through the palace’s basement.

Just a few paces away from me, I caught Remington’s eye several times. Despite our recent falling out with each other, we had always been able to silently communicate, having known each other so well since childhood. But now, we were both at a loss for words, both verbally and nonverbally.

The farther we got into the palace basement, the darker and damper the air around us became. When we were brought to a stop, all I could do was stand there and stare, completely repelled by what I saw.

Our group was big, but we’d all grown deathly silent. One of the guards stepped forward, the keys jingling in his hand sounding unnaturally loud in the surrounding silence. He moved toward the cell before us and unlocked it. Its barred metal door screeched as he pulled it open.

The whole time, I marveled in terror over why the king’s palace had such a horrific enclosure in the first place. The capital already had a jail, so what was this place for? Who else had King Henry locked away in here? The aura around the place felt tainted, creating the feeling of literally stepping into a bad memory. My skin broke out in goosebumps as I intuitively recognized that this place had been the setting of unspeakable evil deeds.

The guard with the keys began to whistle a happy tune as he turned a hateful gaze in my direction. “I hope enjoy your accommodations, Chief,” he said, pausing to take a bow. His words were immediately followed up by roars of laughter from the other guards.

Without further ado, they began shoving us all inside. It quickly became apparent that there simply wasn’t enough room to comfortably accommodate everyone—and it was just as apparent that they did not care in the slightest.

After we were all crammed inside, the guard slammed the barred door shut. The clang it made echoed throughout our empty surroundings. The sound was then followed by the guard’s keys jangling once more as he locked us inside.

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