Chapter Two
The past few days flew by, and all too soon it was Monday. I dreaded going into the prison since I wasn’t sure what to expect. To be honest, I’d never seen the prison. No one does or knows the exact location unless you work there. It’s some sort of protection so that the free half-breeds can’t determine its location. In fact, once you quit or retire from the prison, your memory’s wiped so you can’t remember the location.
We were on Interstate 10, heading toward the northeast part of New Orleans. I had protested riding with Dad, but I had no clue where to go, and he refused to tell me. So here I was, staring out the passenger side windows, watching the cars and trees as we flew by.
“Now, I need you to not make any mistakes.” Dad’s hands clutched the steering wheel so hard the knuckles turned white. “I’m risking a lot by taking you on.”
Somehow I managed to keep my snide remark to myself. It had to be due to my years’ worth of self-restraint. He didn’t get me this job. The Elites were the ones who made the hiring decisions. Granted, I’m sure it helped that I was his son, but it couldn’t be the only reason. “Got it.”
“Okay, I just have to make sure we’re on the same page.” He glanced over at me, his dark eyes meeting mine. “You can’t half ass it like you’ve done all your other jobs. You aren’t the only one at risk now.”
I wanted to reach over and punch him. Maybe the money wasn’t worth this after all. My teeth ground together as I nodded. It wouldn’t be wise for me to speak at this point.
He sighed and turned his attention back on the road.
Doing my best to avoid his gaze, I turned my attention back to the scenery around us. We were driving over Lake Pontchartrain, which was definitely out of the heart of the city. “I thought the prison was close by.”
“That’s good.” Dad nodded, and his shoulders seemed to relax. “It validates that the location is still under wraps.”
Did he really say that? I guess it was better than ‘on the down low’.
The car once again fell into an awkward silence, and I rubbed my sweaty palms down my black pants. At least the uniform wasn’t too uncomfortable. It was a black shirt with black pants, an improvement on my first job out of high school; a stupid hot dog outfit.
“Being selected for both a hunter and guard is rare.” Dad tapped his fingertips along the steering wheel and grinned. “Your tests showed similar high marks in both areas, so you’ll split your time fifty-fifty.”
He’d told me this a hundred times. The only conclusion I could come to was that he thought I was either deaf, dense, or had memory issues.
We’d been in the car at this point for forty-five minutes. How much longer was this going to take? I was worried that I might not get there with any sanity left. “How much longer do we have left?” At this point, there was no excuse for me not knowing.
“Around fifteen more minutes. It’s in Abita Springs.” Dad grabbed his phone and checked his emails.
Had I done that when I was driving, I’d have endured, at minimum, a thirty minute dissertation on safety, but since it was him, it was okay. That figured.
I’d only been to Abita Springs a time or two, and it was for camping. There is a lot of forest and wildlife in the area.
The rest of the car ride was taken in silence, which didn’t surprise me. My parents and I had a strained relationship, to say the least. We all loved each other, but they’d grown up with immense pressure to become something, constantly striving for the next achievement, and they placed the same damn pressure on me.
Dad turned down a gravel road that narrowed to one lane and the trees thickened on both sides. “We’re almost there.”
It was so isolated here that I couldn’t help but wonder if we were even heading to the prison. Dad continued down the road for another five minutes with only trees passing us by. After a few minutes, a large, modern building came into view. The concrete walls I was expecting but not the multitude of glass windows. If I had to guess, it would’ve been a college, not a detention center for some of the most lethal supernaturals in the world.
“Weren’t expecting this, were you?” Dad’s attention was focused on me and my reaction.
“Not at all.” The whole time, I’d pictured a human prison and this didn’t have that feel at all. At least from the outside. “If they are so dangerous, how does this contain them?”
“Because there is a spell inside that eliminates all magic.” Dad’s eyes brightened, and a smirk crossed his face. “They aren’t so lethal without their powers.”
“But what about us?” There has to be some big people in there that could probably whoop my ass even if it hurt to admit.
“Don’t worry.” Dad smirk somehow got bigger. “There are always workarounds for the privileged.”
I wasn’t sure if that comforted or worried me, but it didn’t matter. I had to stop whining and face this situation like a man.
There was a small parking lot to the left of the building and Dad turned into it, pulling into the first spot closest to the building. “Perks of being a warden.”
As I climbed out of the car, I glanced around. There was a large steel fence surrounding the building, and at the top, there were four sets of circular wire with thick jagged spikes coming out of it. Two were set horizontal to the top of the gate, one coming out each way, and there were two other sets situated at forty-five degree angles. I’d expected just one large circular mass of spikes like I’d seen in the
