A Legion of Bane & Embers: Chapter 4
What's that about two chapters this week?!
Hello, Little Hillion!
Last week was a whirlwind, and I know I didn’t hold up on my promise of a new serial chapter, so to make amends, this week, you get two!
I’ve been looking back over the chapters, and it’s been so much fun exploring the characters a little more and giving you a fun and unique world in Cindervail (while also planting some easter eggs for this novella and future ones, too!).
xoxo,
KL Hill
Chapter 4 - Atlas
I file into the large cathedral, the pews already filling halfway back by the current Knights, with new recruits seated up in the balcony. I adjust the lapel pin on my suit jacket, making sure it’s on full display, as I look around the room, taking in the faces of both humans and monsters alike, all proud members of the Knights of Cindervail.
Monsters have lived among us since the dawn of time, but their glamour makes them seem nothing more than human. Even as the veil thins and more creatures from the darkest depths of Hell crawl through the rips and cracks, we have formed one legion of knights who vow to protect this city and destroy the enemies that are determined to take it over and are trying let their evil seep past the city limits.
Wards keep them, and us, from leaving, but with the tear in the veil growing larger and its location fleeting, it's all the magic can do to keep them in. Bigger and more vicious monsters, born of your worst nightmares, crawl through, making our workload that much more difficult.
“Seat taken?” My gaze cuts to Elara as she stands over me, her eyes sharp. “Or are you saving it for the reason why you haven’t returned my calls in three days?”
Shit. “Elara, I-”
She holds up her hand, cutting me off as she lowers herself into the open spot next to me, her body stiff as she makes sure not to touch me. A large man with wolfish eyes slides in. He doesn’t bother with pleasantries and keeps his eyes straight ahead, even as the tension between Elara and me grows.
“Elara, let me-”
Once again, she cuts me off, giving me a sidelong glance and forcing me to sit in silence next to her as the crowd moves about around us. She’s only sitting next to me so it doesn’t raise any questions from the other Knights, since it’s an unwritten rule that partners sit next to one another as a sign of unity and respect.
Fuck me. I should have at least let her know why I couldn’t see her. Tell her that I was spiraling and needed to be alone, locked away in my room, far away from everyone. Thankfully, we weren’t called with any orders since we took down that Gargoyle and were given a few days off to recoup.
A large man walks onto the stage from a side door, dressed in a classic tunic with the Knights insignia stitched in gold across his chest. Crossed arrows with a dagger pointed downward in the middle, encircled by in a halo of vines with blooming blood red roses, their thorns pointed out.
Our Grand Master, Ransley, is over seven feet tall. He has broad shoulders, and his ink-black hair is pulled back from his face, revealing his pointed ears, which highlight his Fae origin. The last I heard, he was well over 600 years old and used to pass through the veil between his world and ours until the veil to Hell split open, forcing him to close his access to the Fae realm and lock himself here. Thus, he created the Knights of Cindervail.
Rumor has it that only he and a few dozen other faes stayed behind to protect the city, while the others fled back to their realms, but only a handful of them show up at every meeting. So either they chose not to become Knights, or they have perished on past missions through the years. Again, these are just rumors circulating in the various clubhouses across the city where Knights gather after their missions or just to shoot the shit together.
I’ve never stepped foot outside the city. While others have been given permission to travel beyond the wards for mission or research or to leave entirely, I don’t see a reason to with not having any real family of my own, and since becoming a Knight and pledging my vows to the Knighthood I haven’t had the time to even consider leaving. It has given me purpose and provided me with my small circle of friends who, through the years, have become like family.
The crowd stands in respect for Ransley and the high-ranking officers who have followed him onto the stage. We all bow together, placing our hands over our hearts and pressing our palms to our signet pins, which represent our legions and our Chancellor.
Cindervail is the only place in all the realms where humans and immortal beings have come together to stand united, protect our homes, and work to find a way to close the tear in the veil permanently. The city is divided into sectors for each legion, but there are no strict rules about where we can live, giving us the freedom to move around the city that we vowed to protect as we please.
I press my fingers against the tips of the horns that extend beyond the roses and thorns of my legion’s crest, which features a lit torch in the center, symbolizing the way back to the Vail. Our Chancellor, Brander, is a Minotaur who is highly respected and has seen his time in battle to prove that he is worthy of leading us. He has battled hordes of demons alone and has defended the city for over 200 years.
“Rise for the Vail.” Ransley’s voice echoes into the high, cathedral ceilings, filling the room.
“Where evil will fall,” we say in unison, straightening and looking to our leaders. Ransley nods his head, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips as he gazes out over the crowded pews where we all sit, signaling the start of our meeting.
“Elara,” I whisper, but she doesn’t bother to look in my direction. I bring my hand to her leg and squeeze her thigh. Her leg jerks beneath my touch, just enough to force my hand away and not draw attention to us. She throws me a glance that would warn off any demon in her way before turning her attention back to the front. My hand drops away, and I turn my gaze back to the stage, pretending to listen as Ransley goes on about the latest hordes of demons that have entered the city.
“Come to my house tonight,” I grumble under my breath. The large man on the other side of her glares at me with flashing eyes as he quietly snarls, proving that he’s more than human. But even then, Elara doesn’t take her eyes off the stage.
I let out a long sigh through my nose as I settle back against the pew, trying not to think about the vampire that I left alone in my basement for the last three days. I blink slowly, attempting to clear the image of myself standing in front of the basement door, my body trembling as I fight the urge to rush down there to the parasite that has done more than sink his teeth into me but has fully infected my mind.
He claims that his allure doesn’t affect me, but vampires are known to lie and deceive to get what they want and saunter right into your life, ruining it for the rest of eternity. Emilian’s no different. There’s a reason why there are only a handful of vampires among the Knights: they have walked the Earth for centuries, creating their own coven inside the city, and have complete control over their instincts. The rest of the bloodsuckers fled the city before the wards were erected, not wanting to be trapped and possibly captured or killed. This is why Emilian is literally kept on a tight leash.
I watch Elara sidelong, a half-assed explanation pressing against my clenched teeth. She deserves that much because I genuinely care about her not only as a Knight but as a friend. And the sex? The sex was better than I could have imagined.
But even seeing how easy it is to be with her, there’s still a nagging feeling in my chest, one that wraps around my lungs and squeezes the air out of them as it pulls me under. I can’t pinpoint what it is, and it’s driving me insane.
The crowd claps, bringing me back to reality, and I look around, but instead of the meeting coming to an end, one of the Chancellors, an Orc named Cadogan, begins his spiel about whatever has been happening in his sector that I couldn’t give a shit about.
I curl my fingers in, pressing my nails into my palms to help me focus, but with every blink, all I can see is a pair of red irises against pools of inky black voids staring back at me through prison bars.
☾☾
My fingers curl around the stake in my pocket. I run the pad of my thumb up and down its smooth length, fidgeting as I make my way back to my townhouse. The clouds roll past the moon, my breath filling the air in front of me from the crisp evening.
Elara left the meeting without saying a word, sliding past the large man on the other side of her and disappearing in the crowd. It’s only a matter of time before she unleashes on me, giving me an earful about what a selfish prick I am and how all I ever do is push everyone away. And she’d be right.
Even though my circle of friends is small and I’m very selective about whom I share anything with, Elara is a social butterfly. The only way I could deny her beauty is with my eyes closed. So, if she chooses to end our partnership as Knights, which would require us to be assigned new ones, even with a decent replacement, I’ll be the one left a little lonelier. Not her. She’ll continue to thrive and move on with her life, leaving me behind in the dark.
Most people keep their distance from me, especially once the word got out that I’m the Knight with a vampire pet, hunting the streets for his next victim. At least, those are the stories that were told in the other clubhouses, making me sound like one of the monsters that stepped through a rip from Hell with his pet in tow.
If only they fucking knew.
My legs feel as if they’re being weighed down by bricks as I trudge up the steps to the front door, my boots scuffing across every step. I scrub my hand over my face while sliding the key into the lock and stepping through the threshold into the silence. Shutting the door behind me, I toss my keys onto the entry table, the metal sliding against the polished wood. As I lock myself inside, I slide the deadbolt behind me, and the sound is like thunder.
I lean against the thick wooden door, sliding down it to the floor as the gravity of my situation weighs on me.
I groan loudly, curling my knees up and resting my elbows on them, dropping my head forward. How could I be so fucking stupid? First, I should never have fucked Elara; that was reckless of me, especially given that we’re partners who swore to protect one another. In a mission, I would protect her with my life, but romantically?
I was thinking with my dick and looking for a way to silence the chaos that plagues my mind while warming it. While the Chancellors will turn a blind eye and force us to figure out our own solution, I have no doubt put an even bigger wedge between me and the other Knights. What good am I if they think that I’m just trying to get close to a new partner only to fuck them and find another one. Even without the vampire looming in the shadows of my life, my reputation is only going to get worse.
“So. Fucking. Stupid,” I mutter, hitting my head on the door with every word. I pull out my phone and try to call her, but it only rings once before it sends me straight to voicemail, proving that she’s, in fact, ignoring me. And like the pathetic fucker I am, I leave a message. “Elara, please call me. We need to talk. You know where to find me.”
I end the call and let my hand drop to my side, allowing the phone to slip from my fingers and clatter onto the floor. The grandfather clock in the dining room chimes, ominously filling the house. Even though I know the time, I count the chimes, trying to calm my racing thoughts. “8…9…10…11.” After the last toll rings out, the house falls silent.
I rise to my feet and make my way to the kitchen, passing the basement door as I do every day, telling myself that I have no reason to go down there, that I need to sleep and figure out how to smooth over this huge rift I’ve created with Elara. But my blood runs cold as a chill swirls in the air from the basement door, which has been left cracked open.