Solace

by Raven Dark

  Sheriff glanced around him, clearly looking for an advantage, and I found myself doing the same. There was a man standing less than a foot to the right of me. I could have grabbed the sword on his hip and sliced his head off before he could have blinked.

  And then half a dozen Hellhounds would be on us before even I could deal with more than two of them.

  Sheriff glanced at Setora. I followed his gaze to where Steel held her in his arms, her face pale, her body trembling. Fuck, I wanted to take away her terror, to take it into myself. Obviously realizing there was no way to avoid endangering her except to follow Saketh’s orders, Sheriff lifted his hands into the air. The rest of us did the same.

  I heard T-Man and the Brothers of Brimstone muttering and swearing behind me. Beast growled, and I heard a thwack of a fist meeting flesh. I looked back as Beast crumpled to the floor.

  “Fuck, was that really necessary?” Sinister knelt beside him, his hand on Beast’s bleeding head, glaring up at one of Saketh’s scar-faced Hellhounds.

  “It wouldn’t have been if he had cooperated,” the scarred man said. “Can’t have dissension in the ranks of slaves.”

  “Slaves?” Pretty Boy snarled. “Fuck that. You’ll have to—”

  “Pretty Boy, stop,” Sheriff ordered smoothly. “Keep your head.”

  Pretty Boy growled but lifted his hands.

  “Saketh,” Setora snapped, and the force in her tone took me aback, making me look at her. She was trying unsuccessfully to get Steel to put her down. “Saketh, let them go. You have me now.”

  “No, no no,” he crooned. “That won’t work now any better than it did the last time, Violet. You won’t save anyone this time…what is it they call you now? Liberator?”

  She didn’t rise to his bait, thank the Maker, not that Steel would have given her a choice. Hopefully, she knew it was a losing battle.

  “Put them on their knees and cuff them,” Saketh ordered, looking at his crew.

  Before any of us could react, we each had a guard patting us down. Two men cuffed an unconscious Beast and dragged him to the front of the group, throwing him before Saketh on the floor. Steel was trying to fight off two guards who were making a grab at Setora. One finally got a hold of her as the other guard kicked Steel’s knees from behind, then cuffed him. Setora cried out for Steel and scratched at the guard’s face until he dropped her with a curse. She crawled toward Steel but didn’t reach him in time.

  Instead, a man with a bright red mohawk grabbed Setora by the arm, dragging her over to where Cherry was being cuffed. Cherry looked like she wanted to claw the men’s eyes out, but she remained stone-faced, her hands behind her back, and told Setora to stay calm.

  “Hey! Leave them alone.” T-Man went for the guard until the guard on him pushed him to his knees.

  “There is no point in resisting, Legion,” Saketh said, sitting back on the throne once more. Mayhem’s throne. “Unless you want the same thing that’s happened to this one here to happen to you.” He nodded to Beast, still on the floor.

  I checked on Cherry and Setora, relieved when I saw they were together and unharmed. For now.

  “Saketh, what do you want? When we get out of this, I’ll have you ripped apart,” a cuffed Sheriff snapped as another Hellhound kicked him to his knees. “You’ll lose your other leg, and then your arms.”

  Saketh ignored him, addressing the man holding me. “No, Braun, bring him here. I want the Yantu front and center where I can see him at all times.”

  I resisted a smile. He wouldn’t have given that order if he didn’t see me as a threat.

  The guard holding me walked me over to Saketh.

  “Kneel, Yantu.”

  I calmly went down on my knees in front of Beast’s prone form. Beast’s eyes were closed; he lay on his back, his arms behind him.

  “General Saketh,” another Hellhound with an eye patch over his left eye said from the back of the group. “This one is some kind of a warrior, too.”

  “Good, bring him here.”

  The one with the eye patch brought Reaper to the front of the room and shoved him to his knees.

  Saketh hobbled closer to him. He looked Reaper over, putting his cane under Reaper’s chin. He peered at his face, looking over his bright green eyes and unique dreadlocked red hair.

  “Ah, a Ganth. From the south, are you not, warrior?”

  “Very good, Dreg,” Reaper said, barely a rasp.

  “Yes. I’d know that accent from anywhere.” He clacked around Reaper until he stood behind him and lifted up one of Reaper’s cloak sleeves, exposing the long arm bands that normally kept his throwing knives in place. Then he eyed the tattoos that lined Reaper’s arm, strange swirling works of art and symbols I’d never seen before I’d met him. Including an elaborate flame, one of many tattoos worn by some Brothers of Brimstone.

  Saketh looked at his men. “He’s an assassin. From the Iron Rocks Guild. This will be interesting,” he said slowly. He yanked Reaper’s head back. “Killed many men for money lately, Ganth?”

  Reaper said nothing, meeting his eyes with a face of stone.

  Saketh released him. “Between you and the Yantu, my gladiator fights will be the talk of every zone.” He grinned at Steel. “You, too. We’ll see how long you last this time, Gladiator.”

  Saketh walked around to me and put his cane under my chin. “How many men can you take on alone, Hawk?”

  “I will not fight for pleasure, Saketh. Especially not yours. Nice peg leg, by the way.”

  Saketh tsked at me, ignoring the insult. “You will fight if you don’t want to see your slave take fifty of my men up the ass.”

  At first, I thought he meant Setora, and so did Sheriff, by his reply.

  “You touch her, and I’ll cut your head off,” the General snapped.

  Saketh went over to Setora, who was awkwardly sitting up. He bent down, then slowly and deliberately ran his finger over her trembling cheek. She flinched but remained still and silent. Determined.

  “Oh, I would not think of defiling the Worldmaker like that. She will be only for me. No, I meant this one.” He reached down and grabbed Cherry’s hair.

  Cherry hissed in pain, stiffening with the effort not to fight him.

  T-Man’s teeth ground so loudly I could hear them from here.

  Saketh released her hair, then turned and moved onto the twins, kneeling beside each other.

  “I don’t remember seeing you two before. Or the big one on the floor, nor the Ganth.” He snatched up Sinister’s hand, looking at the back of it where he wore the same flame tattoo as Reaper. He looked at the identical tattoo on the back of Savage’s hand. “That tattoo is from a different club. You four aren’t Legion, are you?” he asked the twins.

  Sinister didn’t answer, giving him only a defiant stare. Savage looked at him, but Saketh was facing his brother, so he couldn’t have replied.

  “Answer me, both of you,” he snapped, grabbing Sin’s chin and glancing at Savage, then at Sin again. “You aren’t Sheriff’s, are you?”

  “What does it matter?” Sin said.

  Good question. I could only guess he assumed their loyalty to the Legion wouldn’t be as strong, and he could use it to his advantage.

  “Whose banner did you once wear?” Saketh was looking at Sin again by the time he spoke. Dread made an ice-cold fist in my gut.

  “Answer me,” Saketh said, grabbing Savage’s chin, then looking at Sin again. He glared at Sheriff. “Why doesn’t he answer me?”

  “He can’t,” Sin snapped. “He’s deaf, you stupid git. He has to read your lips. Leave my brother alone!”

  Saketh released the twins and gave a horrible, twisted grin, then a cackle. “This just gets better and better! I will have extra fun with him.”

  Sin’s glare at Saketh’s back as the Dreg made his way toward the front of the room again could have burned a man’s face off. Savage remained facing forward now, looking unafraid. Determined, defiant. Ready.

  Saketh h
obbled to the front of the room, stepping over Beast to the throne. “Now.” He turned to us and seated himself. “Now that you are all neutralized—”

  “Where the fuck is Mayhem?” Sheriff bit out.

  “Oh, I was getting to that.” He waved at one of his men who crossed the room and pulled down a lever on the wall. He smirked at us. “Look up.”

  I lifted my eyes to the ceiling. An iris-shaped hatch was opening twenty feet above me, the center of a false ceiling revealing another room above. As soon as it was open, dozens of cages dropped out of it on chains, only, where the cages they’d held the Lone Rebels in before were wicker, these were made of steel. They were probably cages Mayhem kept in here for captives, and Saketh had used them to cage Mayhem’s own people in them.

  The cages dropped to within ten feet of the ground. Each one dangled heavily with a man trapped inside. All of the captives had visible bruising, and all of them looked to be out cold.

  “Fucking hell,” Pretty Boy murmured. “Didn’t we leave this party already?”

  “You will find yourselves in similar homes for a while,” Saketh told all of us. “Until you learn to obey. But first, I will see the Yantu fight.”

  “Hawk, no!” Setora shouted. “Don’t! Saketh, don’t do this.”

  I looked back at her, my heart heavy. If I didn’t fight, he’d make life worse for her, and he’d do what he’d threatened to do to Cherry. He’d make us all watch while his men defiled her.

  I stood up slowly.

  I expected Saketh to choose a half a dozen men for me to fight. He’d made Steel face off with four after all. Instead, he nodded to Reaper.

  “Get up, Ganth.”

  Fuck. I knew what was coming next. So did Reaper, because he met my eyes with a knowing, apologetic look. He stood up.

  A hell of a jam, this was. Either I fought Reaper to the death, or Setora and Cherry’s worlds ended.

  “Saketh, you fucking low life piece of shit,” Sheriff growled. “You can’t make them fight each other. It’s against club code for another General to force Brothers to fight against their will.”

  “I can do whatever I please, Sheriff. They’re mine now.”

  “Fuck, I’ll kill you.” His voice was death.

  “Clear the floor.” Saketh nodded to his men. “Uncuff these two.” He kicked Beast away from him. “And put this animal in a cage. Something tells me he’s going to be a problem unless he’s on lockdown.”

  Shit, we needed a way out of this now. I glanced up at the cages. The people in them were still out cold, but it looked like some were starting to move. Drugged? Otherwise, how did Saketh keep them all from trying to get out or even saying anything?

  “Wait, Saketh.” Doc stepped forward as best he could with a guard holding him. “Beast needs medical attention. Let me take care of his head before you lock him up.”

  “He can wait. The fight begins now.”

  Everyone backed off to the edges of the room except Reaper and myself. We faced each other, but then I turned to Saketh.

  “Your gladiator customs dictate the two of us are permitted to choose a weapon, do they not?”

  If I could get to that lever, I could lower the cages. We might be able to free Mayhem and his people, giving us an advantage. There were swords on the wall near there. But the others…

  “Nice try, Yantu. You need no weapons, and neither does the Ganth. I’ve seen you fight. The body, a weapon, the mind its master, isn’t that right?”

  Damn it.

  My mind raced for a way out as I faced Reaper. The Brothers of Brimstone had just become one of us, and now he and I had to face off like enemies with my having barely started to get to know a kindred spirit. I wouldn’t kill him, but what else could I do?

  Saketh leaned back in his throne. “Begin,” he ordered with glee.

  Now what?

  There was a clanging sound above me. I looked up while slowly approaching Reaper, Reaper doing the same. One of the cages was jostling, then others as the captives began to wake.

  That’s when the idea hit me. I almost smiled.

  I looked at the cage hanging closest to me, then at Saketh, doing quick calculations of distance. Saketh was ten feet from it, but the cage was too high. I’d have to have been part monkey to reach it.

  Reaper and I began to circle one another slowly. His eyes flicked to the same cage. His hands moved in circular fighting forms, protecting his face and chest, but I distinctly saw him cup them for a moment.

  I blinked back to let him know I understood.

  Reaper lunged in, aiming a jab of his fist at my face. I weaved and aimed for his head. He bent backward.

  We jabbed and kicked and bobbed and weaved. Reaper caught me in the face, his fist hitting my jaw so hard my head felt like it was going to implode.

  Damn, he was strong. And fast, like lightning.

  I kicked him in the chest and he fell back. He slammed into the floor and looked at me with stunned respect.

  Reaper vaulted to his feet. We circled. The circle grew smaller until he was right under the cage. He blinked at me twice, his body tensing as if for a blow.

  I backed up and ran at him.

  Reaper dropped to his knee, his hands cupped in front of him. I stepped on his hands. He knifed to his feet and threw me hard, upward toward the cage. I grabbed the bottom it. The man inside it yelped in startled surprise. Ignoring the pain screaming in my arms as my body dropped under my own weight, I swung myself on the cage as if I meant to flip over Reaper’s head.

  “Hawk what the fuck are you doing?” Sheriff yelled.

  I swung again, and let go, only I didn’t flip over Reaper and land. Instead, I threw myself off the cage, and landed right behind Saketh’s throne, right beside the guard there.

  The startled guard went for his blade. Before anyone else could react, I grabbed the weapon from him and whipped around, putting the blade across Saketh’s throat.

  Saketh cursed and tensed but knew better than to try to get up.

  “No one move,” I ordered coolly. “Anyone twitches wrong and your leader dies.”

  None of the Hellhouds moved a muscle.

  “Thank fuck,” I heard Pretty Boy say.

  “Clever, Yantu,” Saketh hissed. “Very clever. Now what will you do?”

  I ignored him. “Reaper. Relieve the Hellhounds of their weapons. Uncuff our men and get those cages down now.”

  “You heard him.” Reaper looked at all of them. “Weapons on the floor, all of you.” He snatched the keys to the cuffs from a guard and went over to the Legion, uncuffing Sheriff.

  “Not a wise move, Hawk,” Saketh told me. “There are too many of us. One slip, and the scales tip. It’s over.”

  Again, I ignored him. He wasn’t going to scare me into fucking this up.

  Sheriff and Reaper uncuffed the others, and Reaper went and lowered the cages. The Legion took the keys from the guards and started unlocking them, helping the men out of them. Some of the men swayed, whatever drugs Saketh’s men had given them wearing off.

  “Doc,” I called, and he looked at me. “Take care of Beast.”

  “Right.”

  Sheriff rubbed his wrist and took up one of the weapons on the floor. “Good work, Captain. You and Reaper make a great team.”

  I nodded my thanks. “Sinister, get over here and hold him, will you?” I called.

  Sin trotted across the room. I gave him the sword and he took my place behind Saketh, holding the blade to his throat just as I had been.

  “If he moves, kill him,” I said.

  Saketh’s head twitched as if he was going to try to look over his shoulder at him.

  “Give me a reason, ass-wipe,” Sinister snapped.

  Saketh froze.

  I went to help get the rest of Mayhem’s men out of their cages and onto their feet, assisting the ones who were too drugged to walk on their own off to the side of the room while Sheriff began rounding up the Hellhounds. The rest of our men cuffed or tied them up
.

  Suddenly a loud bellow filled the Hall, and I turned from checking on one of Mayhem’s men. Half of the Mayhem’s Angels had grabbed the Hellhound’s weapons from the floor and ran toward them. Swords swiped, heads flew, and blood sprayed everywhere. Hellhounds dropped like felled trees. In seconds, the members of the Dark Legion, including me, jumped into the fray. We took out every Hellhound we could reach while Blade, Grim, and T-Man kept Setora and Cherry protected.

  One of the Hellhounds broke loose and came at me, apparently not caring that Sinister could kill his leader any moment. He grabbed a sword from the floor and swung at my head. I kicked the blade away and grabbed him, snapping his neck.

  “I kinda love you right now, Brother.” Pretty Boy grinned at me before slicing off the head of a Hellhound near me. “You’re scary as fuck, but I love you.”

  “Don’t get sentimental on me now.” I took out another Hellhound.

  “Ah, it’ll pass.” He took out the last Dreg and grinned.

  By the time the fight had ended, the floor was littered with the dead and the stone slabs were stained red. I stalked straight for Saketh. Sinister backed off, letting the sword drop from his hand.

  “Get up,” I snarled, yanking the Dreg out of his seat.

  “I must say, Yantu. I’ve enjoyed the show. Not sure how it ends, but I know you haven’t come to end me. What will the Yantu do?” he asked in a sing song voice.

  The man was a fucking lunatic.

  I didn’t bother answering him, just turned and dragged him over to the middle of the floor where Sheriff stood talking to some of the Angels, a sword still in his hand.

  I tossed Saketh at Sheriff’s feet. “General,” I said when Sheriff turned to me.

  Saketh lifted his shoulders and glared at Sheriff.

  “Saketh, I told you you’d die by my hand.” He raised the blade.

  “Get it over with then,” Saketh hissed.

  “There is a special place in hell for men like you, Saketh. This is for every man or woman you have tortured or killed.”

  Sheriff sliced off his head in a single stroke. Blood sprayed, and his head rolled.

  Sheriff dropped the blade. “Would have been better if he’d begged for his life, but there it is.” He clapped me on the back.