Page 1 of Twisted Empire

1

Elias

The last vestigesof the setting sun dipped below the horizon, the golden orange hues giving way to a dusky purple scattered with a few glittering stars. The forest stood silhouetted against the twilight sky, rising tall and dark, not a sound from within.

“Go and get her, then bring her here!” A deep, authoritative voice called out from somewhere to my right. Davenport, maybe. “Members, head into the maple grove!”

All around me stood the other members of the third level, dressed in black robes. A few had bronze masks covering their faces. The masks had thick bull horns sprouting from the top, designed to make them look as formidable and terrifying as possible to the prey.

Deep, rhythmic drumbeats echoed throughout the circular grove as we all trudged into it. Some of the mansion staff were dragging an enormous golden gong out to the center. When it was in place, the members began to gather around it. Another couple of workers appeared with golden hunting horns, taking their places by the gloomy entrance to the thick forest at the north end of the grove.

“How long did the last girl make it?” a member to my right said to another in a low voice. “I had to skip that hunt. Fucking market was crashing.”

“You didn’t miss much. She only lasted fifteen minutes,” his friend said with a chuckle. “Longest a girl has ever lasted in that forest is six hours. She climbed all the way to the top of a tree and hid there.”

“Jesus, who got her?”

“King. Shot her right off the branch she was huddled on.”

“Nice. I saw him shooting on the range here the other day. Never misses a shot.”

“Yup. It makes it pretty shitty for the rest of us, though. He gets most of the girls. I’ve never caught a single fucking one. Probably because I’ve always preferred the idea of knives over guns.”

“I bet he’ll hold back on this one. His son will want to make this kill to prove himself and all. Plus it’s his slave we’re hunting.”

The second guy nudged the first one and nodded over at me, realizing I was right next to them. They kept their mouths zipped after that.

I put my mask on and moved off to the left so no one would know exactly where I was standing.

The heavy drumbeats kept going, steady and throbbing in the dim grove. As the light ebbed further away, so did the warmth of the early spring day, until all that was left was the chill of dusk and the promise of a freezing night in the forest.

Someone lit a circle of burning torches around the grove. At the same time, a muffled screech echoed from somewhere behind me. I turned to see two guards struggling to keep their grip on tonight’s prey.

“This fucking bitch,” one of them muttered, putting a hand around her throat, presumably to frighten her so she’d stop trying to move. She’d just kicked out at him and narrowly missed his groin. “Bet they can’t wait to be done with you, stupid cunt. Nothing but trouble.”

She was dressed in a flowing white gown, material so thin it was almost see-through. On her feet were flimsy brown sandals. An ivy wreath sat upon her head and a golden mask covered her face. Beneath it, I knew she was gagged with a white silk scarf, wrapped around the back of her head. Her dark hair was tangled and messy and her skin was pale and peppered with goosebumps. Fear radiated off her like cold from ice.

“Ah, Tatum.” My father stepped forward, lips curling into a dark smile as he stared down at her. “Looking forward to having one last chance to run from us?”

She moaned and shook her head. Then she tried to say something, but it was unintelligible with the gag. A tear rolled out from under the mask, running down her neck and into her cleavage.

“Oh, that’s right. You can’t talk back anymore, can you?” My father chuckled. “Don’t worry. We’ll untie you right before it begins and you can take that gag right out. We want to hear you scream, after all.”

A sour taste appeared in my mouth. I looked away, peering at the main forest entrance. The branches spiked out into the darkening sky from the top of it, looking like skeletal hands reaching for us. Only a few feet in, it was so dark that no one would be able to see where they were going if they didn’t have a flashlight or burning torch in hand.

This part of the woods was vast, treacherous. I had no idea what would happen once I stepped foot in there tonight. All I knew was that it wasn’t going to be a peaceful journey. Not for me and especially not for the terrified girl behind me.

I looked back at her. She seemed to know it was me despite the bull mask, and she tried to surge forward, moaning my name. It came out like ‘Elish’ but I could still tell she was crying for me. Trying to tell me it was her, trying to make me stop this from happening.

The guards kept hold of her. Through the holes of the mask, I could see the desperation in her blue eyes as she tried once more to extricate herself from their grip.

“Careful, Tatum,” I heard my father say. “You’ll wear yourself out with all that kicking and screaming. I’m sure you’d rather use that energy to run and hide.”

He sniffed derisively, then ordered the guards to take her up to the dark mouth of the forest. She wouldn’t stop moaning and crying with desperation, but she didn’t try to lash out or run again. One of the guards cut the ties on her hands while the other held her in place.

My father waved a hand, and the men with golden horns lifted them to their lips and blew. The sound was a startling challenge, and in moments the large crowd of excited men stood silent. Waiting.

“Tatum, you’ll get a ten minute head start,” my father called out as a staff member began to hand out mini burning torches to every member. “That time will begin on the sound of the gong. Are you ready?”

---