by Julie Hall
Not in defiance but as a broken person would.
“It’s true.” I heard a note of steel in Joe’s voice as he forced Morgan’s attention. “Not too late.”
Tears leaked from Morgan’s functioning eye.
Joe pressed a kiss to the crown of Morgan’s head, not unlike a father would his son. He then placed a hand over each shackle holding Morgan upright, and they broke one at a time. His body slumped into Joe, and he took a step back to support the weight. Although conscious, Morgan couldn’t stand unassisted.
Shoot, what are we going to do? We can’t drag around his dead weight and search for Logan.
“Kaitlin”—Joe’s voice was quiet yet strong—“come here.”
Kaitlin rushed to Morgan’s other side. He mustered enough strength to tilt his head in her direction.
“Extreme measures to get me in your arms, luv,” he mumbled.
Oh my.
Was I more shocked by what he’d said or that he’d managed to speak at all?
Joe rolled his eyes and shook his head with a soft smile on his face.
As for Kaitlin . . . whoa. Her face puckered as if she tasted something particularly disgusting. For a moment, I thought she might take a swing at him. That was certainly a one-eighty mood flip.
“Kaitlin.”
Her attention snapped back to Joe, ending the murderous stare directed at a partially conscious Morgan. “You’re going to take him back, and Audrey and I are going to go ahead.”
“What?” Kaitlin was already shaking her head. “No! I can’t leave you guys down here alone. We already lost the rest of the group.”
“Yes, you can, and you will. Audrey.”
I jumped at my name.
“I want you to go ahead and continue checking these cells room by room. Logan is here somewhere. Go find him.”
“Alone? But I can’t even see the rooms.”
“Don’t use your sword to light your way. You won’t need to, and it might attract attention. I’ll catch up to you.”
My feet might as well have been superglued to the floor.
“You can do this. Keep one hand on the right side of the wall. When your fingers touch an opening, the illusion will shatter. This was something you were always going to have to do. I’ll be there soon. You can’t get back without me, remember.”
I nodded, half-numb. The fire in his eyes was telling me something I wasn’t picking up.
“Audrey, I’m so sorry.” Kaitlin was practically in tears now. “Please, find him. If he’s anything like this . . .” Her voice caught. She didn’t need to spell it out for me. Seeing Morgan in this shape she could now imagine what Logan was like.
Why was I still here?
“Right.” I nodded. Resolute. “I’ll see you soon.”
“Soon,” she repeated.
With a final glance at Kaitlin and Joe, I bolted into the darkness.
9
Broken
He was close. I suspected he was still unconscious because the phantom pain was missing, but every step I took brought me closer to Logan.
His nearness wasn’t just something I hoped for. It was something I knew to be true.
His soul cried out to mine, latched on, and dragged me forward. I didn’t even bother putting my hand against the wall as I blindly ran forward. His presence was like a lighthouse beckoning me home.
I was so close . . .
And then I was there.
I pitched my body against the stone, expecting resistance where there was none, and fell to the ground, sliding forward on my hip and shoulder. A single torch lit the room I’d busted in on. The light was secured to the stone wall to the left of the shackled man.
Logan’s head hung forward much in the same way Morgan’s had. His body was . . . I could hardly finish the thought. As if a wild beast had attacked, Logan’s flesh was shredded in spots.
His once silky hair was no longer blond, now red-stained, matted clumps. His whole body sagged forward, suspended by the shackles on his wrists. One of his shoulders hung at an odd angle. It was dislocated.
My heart shattered.
His body jerked as if in reaction to my broken heart. Broken for his pain. Broken because I hadn’t been there for him when he needed me. Broken because even now that I was present, I didn’t know what to do.
His eyelids fluttered before his gaze locked onto mine. A garbled sound came out of his mouth.
With a cry, I scrambled to my feet and ran to where Logan hung from the wall. My hands fluttered around the air in front of him before I fisted them and brought them back to my sides. I couldn’t chance touching him anywhere for fear I’d cause more pain.
A muffled noise came from his mouth again. His words were so faint and distorted I couldn’t make them out.
“What can I do? How can I help?” I asked as I stared into Logan’s pain-laced eyes while my body throbbed with the aftershocks of his agony.
His throat worked as if he were trying to swallow, but lack of moisture made it impossible. Chains scraped against the uneven stone wall as he tried to move one of his hands closer to me but failed.
“Don’t cry.” His weak words finally made sense.
I reached a hand and wiped at the tears I hadn’t even realized were free flowing down my face.
Don’t cry? I didn’t know if I would ever stop.
This picture of him hanging here, beaten beyond what a normal person could endure, would forever remain burned into my psyche.
“I’m going to get you out of here. We’re going to get you out. Joe is with me. Oh, or rather Jesus, but I know him as Joe too. Never mind, not important.” Apparently I still rambled when I was nervous.
I brushed a clump of red-stained hair off his face, so I could see his eyes and know that he understood what I was saying. His beautiful blue eyes, so filled with pain yet also with longing and tenderness for me.
This man was truly amazing. He was the injured one, yet he was desperate to offer me comfort in any way he could.
Forget my insecurities and hang-ups. I loved him. We were getting out of here, and I was going to shout that word at him as soon as we were safe.
I threw a glance over my shoulder. Where was Joe? We needed to leave this awful place, like five minutes ago.
No sounds of pounding feet on the stone floor of the hallway reached my ears, which made me both relieved and nervous.
Focus, girl. One thing at a time. Get Logan out of those shackles. Then worry about the next step in this super messed up rescue attempt.
Focusing on the chains that held Logan suspended, and the manacles secured around his wrists and ankles, I quickly realized I wasn’t going to be able to use strength to pull him free. If that were possible, he would have already freed himself. His dislocated shoulder said as much. The echoes of his injury shot down my arm.
Reaching behind me, I pulled my sword from its sheath. The warmth from its flames was different than the oppressive heat of Hell. This fire wasn’t stifling; this blaze was filled with life.
“Time to see what damage some holy flames can do to these chains,” I muttered to myself.
Logan had slumped forward once again. He’d either passed out or was close to it. I didn’t want him to fall on me while his feet were still bound, so I started on the restraints down there first. “Here goes nothing.”
I swung my blade like a golf club, aiming so the sharp edge would break the chain from his ankle. We could worry about getting the actual manacles off later. Right now I just needed to get him off the wall.
At the point of contact, the chain shattered, freeing his left leg. I really wanted to do a victory dance, but there wasn’t time for that.
This was going to work.
I took a swing at the chain attached to his other leg, and that fell away with ease too.
Almost there. Almost free.
Chewing my lip in indecision, I took a precious moment to consider my next step. When I broke the chains holding him up, he was going to fall
forward, so I needed to be careful. Whatever way I sliced, it wasn’t going to be a pleasant experience for Logan. But if I could somehow keep him from crashing to the ground, that would have to help a little.
Just as I brought my sword up to hack at the first chain attached to his wrists, a sharp sound caused me to whirl around toward the entrance of the cell.
Alrik stood in the entrance, leaning against the wall. He clapped—slowly, mockingly.
I clenched my sword hilt, itching to lash out.
“You,” I spat at him.
His eyebrow arched, and his hands finally stopped moving.
“This is touching.” A cocky smile rode his lips. “I see you finally came to your senses and noticed what was right before you the whole time. He makes a pretty damsel in distress, doesn’t he? Well, at least he did before Satan turned him into a bloody pulp.”
The bones in my hand cracked as I gripped my sword even tighter.
“I gotta be honest, little Aud, I didn’t think you’d make it this far. I may even be a bit impressed.”
“Do not call me that,” I growled. “You are the worst kind of scum this universe ever spit up.”
He tsked. “Sticks and stones, little Aud, sticks and stones.”
If it didn’t mean leaving Logan exposed, I would have attacked Alrik. Human or not, I was confident my sword would inflict damage on his blackened soul.
“He was your friend,” I said.
“Was he?”
“It couldn’t have all been a lie.”
He lifted a shoulder. “Some of us are just more convincing than others. You, my dear, have a horrible poker face.” He tilted his head, his smile widening. “Oh, I am getting you worked up, aren’t I? A whole head full of black-and-red hair doesn’t lie.”
I couldn’t care less what color my hair was right now let alone what it broadcasted to him. I had a super good reason to be angry and wasn’t trying in the least to hide it.
“When I get Logan to safety, I’m going to make sure you suffer in every way he did . . . tenfold.”
Alrik laughed at me—laughed until tears streamed down his face. He ran a hand across his eyes to clear them before responding. “Hon, when this is all over, you’re going to be rocking in a corner, a drooling puddle of nothing.”
His attitude and words stoked the coals of anger in my soul. How long had he been spying on all of us, reporting back to his real master? How long had he been our true betrayer?
I asked. “How long?”
He didn’t pretend to misunderstand me. “From the very beginning, of course. I have a few neat tricks up my sleeves that none of you knew about.”
He lifted a hand in front of his face, and before my eyes, it transformed into a familiar ominous mist before solidifying back into a hand.
I only just kept myself from gasping. That was the same mist that had chased me through the forest when I’d tried to follow Logan. Even then, I’d known something about that fog was off, but I’d been the only one to see it. Alrik had been spying on us for ages.
“That’s right. I see the hamster finally turning the wheels in your head. This handy skill let me slip in and out of lots of interesting places.”
I understood where he’d come by the ability. When souls chose darkness, they developed a new power—one given to them not by the Creator but by Satan. Morgan had been able to manipulate shadows. Logan thought his electricity came from the same place, but I had my doubts. Alrik’s ability reminded me of the grotesque substance that had poured out of the demons’ mouths during the battle at my family’s home. That fight was only days ago but felt like years for all that had happened since.
“Why?” My cool had long ago been lost, but the volume of my voice finally matched the boiling magma churning in my gut. That one word echoed off the chamber walls. “Why would you do this? Why would you turn yourself into this . . . this monster?”
And for what?
What could possibly be worth not only betraying the people who cared about Alrik but also risking the fate of his soul? What could be so important that he’d knowingly ban himself from our realm, let alone the Creator’s love?
Alrik had to know that once he’d crossed that line and lured Logan into a position to be captured and taken to Hell, he’d be exposed for the traitor he was.
The betrayer’s face hardened, and his joking demeanor disappeared. “That,” he said, “is none of your business.”
He shoved off the side of the wall and straightened to his full impressive height. I had to tilt my chin up to keep holding his gaze, and that annoyed me.
The sense of another presence nearby slid over my skin like the scales of a snake, forcing an involuntary shudder.
“Time’s up, little Aud, the boss is here. A bit of advice: Play nice and just agree to his terms. It will be easier on everyone that way.” He looked pointedly at Logan before stepping to the side.
I swallowed hard as Satan himself walked right into the cell, wearing his fraudulent angelic skin. A pretty covering to conceal the twisted form of the evil being inside.
At his arrival, I wanted to both scream in frustration and cower in fear. I should have just stabbed Alrik and figured out a way to haul Logan out of here when I had the chance.
Where is Joe?
I was in no way prepared to face Satan with an unconscious hunter pinned to the wall behind me. An unconscious hunter I loved. Joe was the powerhouse. I was simply the semi-hysterical human trying to get her man back, and more than a little scared to admit the lengths to which I would go to protect Logan. Breaking some of the Hugo-approved rules was a definite possibility.
I needed backup, STAT.
“Sorry I missed the reunion.” A smirk curved Satan’s lips. “It would have been entertaining to watch.” He examined one of his hands, turning it this way and that at an unhurried pace. Where a human’s nails should have been, sharpened claws gleamed and dripped red fluid to the ground. “But as you can see, I was busy elsewhere. I’m looking forward to picking up where I left off.”
No doubt he was trying to intimidate me. I’m not too proud to admit that it was working. My only hope was that my face didn’t betray my fears.
I lifted my sword higher so the flames danced blue between us, the blade’s holy fire my only comfort.
The last time we’d had a physical showdown, I ended up feeling like a squeezed tube of toothpaste, but I was ready this time. If I had to hack through him and every other forsaken creature in this grotesque realm to get Logan to safety, then that’s what I would do. I braced myself for the hardest fight of my life.
“Don’t point that at me like you intend to use it.” Satan flicked his wrist, and an unseen force tried to bat my weapon away.
I held firm. His eye sockets narrowed, and his jaw worked back and forth.
“Well, it must be time to have some fun with your boy-toy. Wakey-wakey, sleeping beauty.”
Satan lifted a clawed hand and raked it through the air in front of him. Logan’s pain-filled yell threw me off. I cast a glance over my shoulder to see a very conscious Logan with a fresh set of tears on his chest, blood running freely from the injury. How?
I almost dropped my weapon as I swung around to face him. With tears running down my face, I tried to use the remaining rags hanging off his body to stanch the flow of blood, but I only managed to coat my glove-covered hands in it instead.
Logan grunted, and I looked up to see a fresh slice appear on his cheek. He sealed his jaw and gritted his teeth as he fought to keep from shouting in pain.
I snapped like a rubber band. With a banshee cry, I used my sword to break the remaining chains holding him captive. A moan slipped past Logan’s lips as his battered body slammed into mine, forcing me to take a step back. I lowered him to the floor then tensed to deal with the threat behind me. Satan and Alrik first. Then I’d drag Logan out of this place, fighting off demons with one arm if I had to.
Bring it.
The righteous anger building inside
me was a breath away from shooting forth like steam from a teapot. But before I could spin around to face my foes, a warm, wet hand landed softly on my cheek. I halted.
“Shouldn’t . . . have . . . come.” Logan’s voice was weak but clear. His eyelids were heavy and he blinked slowly, battling to remain conscious.
“I will always fight for you.” I stared intently into his eyes, willing him to absorb my words. “Always. Just like you would for me.”
A strange wheezing sound started in his chest. With a gasp I leaned forward. Was he having trouble breathing?
No.
He was laughing.
“Took you . . . long enough,” he got out between breaths.
“Are you kidding me right now? You’re going to give me crap at a time like this?”
“Always.” His eyes slipped shut as he succumbed to his body’s demands.
Our audience had been suspiciously quiet.
“I hear that was a long time coming,” Satan said conversationally to Alrik.
I jerked my gaze over my shoulder.
Alrik dipped his head. “Indeed.”
With one look at the smirk on Satan’s face, my frustration and anger increased and my fear diminished. I was sick of this twisted being messing with my life . . . or rather my afterlife . . . and the people I cared about.
I lifted my chin as well as my sword. The blaze turned entirely blue. The openings where Satan’s eyes should have been narrowed slightly.
“You’re not hurting him anymore,” I said.
His head cocked in that creepy bird-like manner of his and sent a slimy shiver down my spine. Alrik stayed a silent statue behind him, acting as a sentry for the door.
“It’s so . . . interesting, that you think you have control over that.”
I lifted my sword higher to act as an unspoken reminder. This sword held the power of the Holy Spirit. This sword he was afraid of, even if his pride would never allow him to admit it. This sword—wait, what?
He stepped closer to it without a lick of apprehension in his movements. This shouldn’t happen.
His odd behavior threw me off my game. He came within inches of the flames and stopped to inspect the blade. His head tilted one way and then another as though appraising the weapon rather than fearing it.
