Chapter 15
I woke up groggily to the sound of birds chirping nosily through my bedroom window. Glancing at my watch, I realised it was almost 9.30AM. feeling panicked, I quickly jumped out of bed and ran to the closet to get dressed. I was supposed to be downstairs meeting all my Warriors and the Beta in five minutes, to take James and Julianne to the crypts. Two days had passed since I made my decision on what to do with them and all my pack leaders had tried to talk me out of such a drastic punishment. They believed instant death was the right thing to do but, in my eyes, it was only an easy option out. I was made to suffer as so were my parents, so why couldn't James and Julianne? Yesterday, I had escorted my parents, alongside Alistair and Healer Nicholson down to the big city to a big care home for humans. These humans also had mental health problems and memory problems, and they too, would need round the clock care. I followed my mum and dad as they were led to their rooms. Due to the care home policy, they would be in separate bedrooms, but the home was nice enough to put them side by side. Not like my parents recognised each other anyway. The home was nice and was well suited for them. It was situated within a gated community, that had security on the gates to make sure no one wondered off. They had a small, heated indoor pool, cinema facilities, large comfortable lounges, group activities every night and a large library filled with books. They also ran art classes, group classes and therapeutic classes such as foot and hand massages, manicures, and pedicures. They also had a hairdresser visit once a week to give regular cuts to the residents. I knew they was going to be content there and it made the pain in my heart a little easier. It was hard saying goodbye but as i said my goodbyes, I could see that both my parents didn't really know what was going on or where they were. It was easier to remember them as they were in my mind than see them like that.
Six minutes later, I was fully dressed and stood in the great lobby in front of Alistair, Blake, Marii, and a large group of Warriors. They were all dressed in fancy ceremony outfits that were only worn when someone must be committed to the crypts. A rare punishment in our world.
"Are you really sure you want to do this to them, our Luna?" Alistair asked for the final time, looking at me warily. He already knew my answer.
"How many times have I got to repeat myself Alistair?" I replied coolly, staring at him sternly. "Blake accepts my decision, so why can't you? Jared, Jenson, please bring the prisoners out."
"If you are sure," Alistair breathed before nodding to Jonas. "I just want you to be sure. It is a rare punishment. One that is not executed much due to the brutality of it."
"Oh, I understand the brutality of it," I smirked as I crossed my arms impatiently. "They both deserve to pay for not only what they have done to me, but what they have done to my parents. They may not be dead, but their minds are essentially dead and so are their wolves! There is no crueller fate!"
"I have to agree with my mate," Blake blurted out as he walked towards me and protectively wrapped his arm around me. "I wouldn't normally agree to such a punishment, but I think this seems fitting. Jail time would normally suffice but not this time!"
"Okay! Your word is my command!" Alistair nodded before turning to Jared and Jenson. "Bring them up. Let's get ready to roll. We don't need to drag this out any more than we need to!"
Our heads all simultaneously turned as we watched the two warriors disappear behind the staircase and down into the depths below. After what seemed like an eternity, the two warriors finally emerged, each frogmarching a visibly weakened prisoner. They had only been encased in silver for a mere number of days and already the effects were visible. James could barely stand and was being dragged across the lobby by Jared, while Julianne was stumbling as if she were heavily intoxicated. She was a fighter, I thought to myself. Silently, I followed the group and stood back as I watched the prisoners being safely locked up in a transportation van ready for Alistair to drive them to our sacred crypts.
"We will follow you in the car," Blake's voice called out as he made his way over to the car and proceeded to open the door for me, beckoning me to get inside.
The sound of gravel crunching under the tyres met our ears as we skidded out of the packhouse compound and towards the city. Many of the city's residents where human so they took little notice of our convoy snaking its way quickly through the streets. The ones that did notice, however, where from our world, who was fully aware of what was going on. They immediately stopped what they were doing to bow their heads as we whizzed on past. Was it a mark of respect to us, or to offer their sympathies at what fate we were passing down to our prisoners?
It was not long before the hive of shops, bustling highstreets, office blocks and skyscrapers had turned into quiet sleepy suburbs, with quaint little houses, parks filled with children and humans walking their dogs, before farm and woodland crept up on us, signalling that the edge of our territory was not far away. As we made our way out of the city and up to the mountains, a huge temple facade that was carved into the mountain face, began to rise above us. Huge stone pillars raised above us with intricate carvings of wolves and runes carved into the red stone. Burning torches led the way to the entrance that was heavily guarded by the largest, fiercest looking wolves I had ever seen. As our vehicles pulled up to the entrance, the wolves began snarling in our direction, their thick fur standing up on edge, making them seem bigger than they already was. As soon as Alistair jumped out of the van, the wolves sensed his importance as they immediately stood down, and one by one, they shifted into their human forms.
"Can I help you?" one of the large guards grunted at Alistair, while peering at the van inquisitively, while licking his lips hungrily.
"Yeah, I'm dropping two more toys off for you to play with," Alistair smirked while gesturing to the van. "Worst of the worst, this lot. If I had my way, it would be certain death for them, but my Luna wants it done this way." "What did they do?" a second guard quizzed? "Can't be that bad surely?"
"I don't have time to go through everything," Alistair drawled, looking somewhat bored. "Here is their paperwork. You'll find all the answers to your questions in there. Plus, their crimes and information about their victims. I'm sure it will make for pleasant reading!"
"Okay, so you will be wanting two cells then!" the first guard gruffed, as he turned to open the door to the crypt.
"No! I blurted out suddenly, feeling the heat rise in my cheeks as multiple pairs of eyes landed on me. "No. I want them placed together. I want them to see each other suffer. Like my dad did when he was chucked in with my mother. He would have known it was her. I want these two to feel the same pain and humiliation as my parents did!"
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"Very well!" the first guard nodded approvingly. "I do infact have the perfect cell available on the ground floor. Get your prisoners and let's get them inside!"
I turned around and watched my warriors fling the doors open to the van. Moment later, James and Julianne were thrust into the burning sunlight, making them squint in pain as they desperately tried to cover their faces. Slowly, Julianne looked up and her face filled with horror when she saw the entrance to the crypts. She finally realised what was about to happen as she suddenly burst into a flood of tears as she weakly gazed at me begging me to make it stop. Please, Libby, please!" Julianne babbled nosily. "Please don't let them take me in there. I will do anything to make it right. Please! You can stop this!"
"You don't have the right to talk to me!" I spat, glaring at Julianne in hatred. "After what you have done, and what you have subjected my parents to, you have no right! This is your punishment, and it is rightly deserved! You are nothing but a coward!"
I glanced across at James, who had managed to lift his head and take in his surroundings. He sighed as he bowed his head. He had clearly resigned himself to his fate. He knew there was no point in fighting it. I stood back as they were dragged into the crypts and into the eternal darkness that would eat away at them. Silently, hand in hand, me and Blake followed. He gazed at me proudly as his thumb skimmed my knuckles.
"Are you sure you want to carry on with this?" He murmured. "I won't try to stop you if do."
"No, I need this to be done. I need justice, my mum and dad need justice and they need to pay!"
Inhaling deeply, as if I were trying to muster all the strength I could, I silently followed the guards, Alistair and James and Julianne into the crypt. The brilliant bright sunlight and warm air instantly turned into a murky coolness, dimly illuminated by sparsely placed torch's flickering eerily in the dim. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I could see that we were now standing in the middle of a large cavern. Six tunnels carved into the rock led into further darkness - no doubt more crypts - just like this one. I stood in silence as my eyes swept across the tomb, taking in the eery carvings, flickering torches, and many chambers that I could see that lined the walls. Some, I noticed had lit torches outside their bars, while others did not. I did not realise one of the guards had been watching me before he came over and pointed to a chamber with a lit torch. But it was the odd groan and helpless wail that came from some of the occupied cells that threw me. "The lit torches means that there is someone locked up inside. Many of our residents, shall we say, come from the correctional centre when they are deemed irredeemable."
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"Do you have many here?" I asked curiously looking around in wonder.
"Not many. Not as many as we did." The guard shrugged casually. "We had many from the great war, but they have all passed now and their bodies returned to the soil. Its good that we dont get many now, but the ones we do, they have to go. some where. And this is the safest place to put them. For themselves and us."
"I see," I murmured, feeling slightly creeped out as another eery wail echoed out. "Well, let's not waste any more time. I now hand these two mongrels over to your care!"
"And they will be very well looked after, don't worry," the guard smirked before winking at his comrades who began walking towards James and Julianne.
"Please, don't do this!" Julianne feebly murmured once more as a guard ripped her roughly away from Jenson and marched her towards an empty cell, as James was quickly dragged behind her.
I watched as the guard wrenched open iron door, revealing a small cell, with a large, silver cage in the middle of the room. An intricate sprinkler system dangled above the cage, no doubt to provide a constant suplly of wolfsbane to keep the prisoners subdued. As if the silver wasnt enough. I spied that the cage had a silver bottom, just like the cage had that we found back at Julianne's house. I glanced over at Julianne, no pity in my face whatsoever and saw that her eyes had widened in shock and horror at the fate that was becoming of her.
"Come, Luna. You do not need to see the rest," Alistair murmured gently, placing his hand gently on my shoulder while looking at Blake knowingly.
As much as I wanted to watch Julianne suffer, I did not want the memory etched forever in my mind, so I allowed Blake to gently guide me back out of the cell and into the main crypt. As we neared the exit, a heart wrenching scream echoed around the crypt, causing every little hair to stand up on my body. My blood ran cold, as I paused and turned to face the source - the direction of the very cell we had left.
"Don't worry, they always start of like that," Blake muttered. "It is just the silver and wolfsbane doing their job. She will be silent soon enough!"