by Vivi Anna
He reached down and grabbed her by the ankle. Before Kat could protest, he pulled her across the floor and back toward the bed. He dropped her leg when he reached the bed and bent down to grab her around the neck. Lifting her up, he spun her around and forced her against the edge of the bed, pushing her face down into the mattress.
Although every muscle and every inch of flesh ached, Kat struggled against his hold. Even as he nuzzled against her ass, she tried to push him away. But his grip on her held firm. All she managed to do with her squirming and kicking was arouse him more. By the time she felt his cock nestled between the cheeks of her ass, it was as rigid and unyielding as stone.
She held her breath, waiting for him to invade her. She knew he wouldn’t go slowly. He wouldn’t care if she felt pleasure or not. She had missed her chance of that earlier before she ripped off a piece of his cheek.
“Oh, by God, how I’ve dreamed of this. To take you like this. Like an animal. Like you deserve.”
He rubbed his member up and down her slit. “If you please me, maybe I’ll still let you live.”
“Fuck you,” she grunted. “I’d rather be sodomized by Sar before I ever pleased you.”
Leaning down over her back, he licked her ear. “Hmmm, we can arrange that if you like.”
Squeezing her eyes shut, she took in a deep breath as his cock rubbed at her opening. But before he could ram it in, the door opened, and two large beefy guards marched in.
“What the fuck do you want?” he barked but didn’t release his death grip on her neck.
“The mistress wishes to speak with you,” one of the guards grunted, his eyes wide at the scene before him.
“Tell her I’m busy.”
“She wishes it now,” the guard countered. “And we’re supposed to escort you there.”
Kat let out her breath. Could she really be getting a reprieve? She couldn’t be that lucky.
With an angry sigh, Baruch released her and took a distancing step away. “Let me get dressed,”
he said to the guard, and then he glared down at Kat. “We’ll finish this when I get back.”
He picked up the silk black robe from the floor and wrapped it around his body.
Relief surged over her. As she allowed her muscles to relax, tears welled in her eyes, and she sagged onto the mattress. She was still alive. For only another day, perhaps, but still whole.
Gripping the satin sheets in her hands, she pulled them to her body, trying to stifle the shakes that had erupted over her. Adrenaline rushed through her body as she thought about what had almost happened. She had stared down death many times and survived, but this had been the first time she had actually felt fear. Not of dying. No, she wasn’t afraid to go to the otherworld and atone for her sins. And she had many. It was that she had, for the first time in her life, welcomed it. She had surrendered to it without fighting.
And that thought scared the shit out of her.
When she heard the men march out of the room and the door close and lock, she let her tears fall.
Get them out, she raged. Because, next time, she wouldn’t be afraid. She’d fight with every ounce of will she had. If Baruch wanted to kill her, she’d be damned if she was going alone.
16
Baruch was seething with barely controlled rage by the time he reached Satarah’s meeting room. How dare the woman summon him at will! He was no servant. He served no one but himself in all things. She would come to realize that very soon. But, for now, because he still wished to make her complacent with false security, he would hold his temper in check. He would release it when he returned to Kat. By the time he was through with her, she would be begging him for mercy. It was too bad he had none to speak of.
A guard opened the door, and Baruch marched through, the other two guards that summoned him following behind. He stormed over to where Satarah sat like a queen receiving guests in a large-leather backed chair.
“What is the meaning of interrupting me?”
Grinning, she eyed him from head to toe and then raised her eyes back to his face. “Lovers’
quarrel?”
He touched his face. His fingers came away tacky with congealed blood. He’d forgotten about the large chunk ripped from his cheek. It would heal within a day.
“It’s not your concern.” He wiped his hand on his robe. “Why have you called me?”
“I have heard some interesting news from my scouts around the city,” she started and then paused, obviously trying to drag out her announcement for the most dramatic effect.
“Yes, and?” He waved his hand at her impatiently. He was in no mood for her theatrics.
“It seems we have some unexpected visitors.” She picked up the metal goblet on a small table by her side and took a drink from it. When she set it down, she smiled again. “A young girl with pale skin and a rather large man with a scarred bald head.”
Baruch swallowed, but he would make no show that her announcement bothered him. Hades couldn’t be alive. It was impossible. No man was that impervious to death.
Nodding, he turned to the guard at the door. “Could someone please fetch Sar for me?”
The guard at the door tipped his head and then exited, shutting the door behind him.
Satarah took another sip from her cup. “Would you like to sit and join me while we wait for your servant to come and explain why a man he was supposed to have murdered is running around my city?” She gestured to the chair on the other side of the small round table.
Baruch accepted her offer. If he refused and continued to stand or pace restlessly like an angry animal, she would know her news had hit its mark. He wouldn’t let anyone get the better of him.
He sat and picked up the second cup on the table. He took a sip of the contents. Sweet wine swished in his mouth. The delectable flavor soon turned sour as he thought about the implications of Satarah’s news.
If Hades was alive and in Inferno City, that would mean Sar had lied to him, and that, however slight the chance, Hades could find Kat and steal her away again. He couldn’t let that happen.
Even if he had to tear apart every piece of metal in the city to find Hades, he would. And he would rip out the man’s throat himself.
“Perhaps I will get my prize after all,” Satarah considered as she swirled around the wine in her goblet.
“Don’t count on it,” Baruch growled. He was growing tired of playing at civility with the woman. The time for games was ending rapidly. “If we find that Hades is alive and in this city, I will kill him myself.”
“You promised he would be mine.” She glared at him, her eyes flaring white fire. “This will be the second time you have broken that vow to me.”
He leaned forward in his chair and met her gaze. “I’d advise you to keep your powers in check, Satarah. You do not want me as an enemy. I could slice you in half before you even had a chance to cast one of your petty spells.”
A nonexisting wind started to blow around Baruch, lifting his hair from his shoulders. He could see a soft glow under Satarah’s hands as she gripped the arms of her chair.
“I would not underestimate me, Baruch.”
Before he could respond, the door opened, tentatively breaking the tension in the air. Baruch could feel the hum of confrontation over his skin like a musical vibration. Any longer, and he was sure a fight would’ve ensued. The fire in her eyes didn’t dim, and he suspected that she was rethinking their alliance. He’d have to watch her now. Careful that she didn’t stab him in the back, literally.
Turning, Baruch watched as Sar shuffled in, his beady black eyes darting everywhere. Baruch could smell the fear floating off him like a cloying perfume.
“What can I do for you, master?”
“Was Hades dead when you left the northern village?”
Sar nodded eagerly.
“Are you sure? Did you watch him die?” Baruch could see Sar’s eyes shift back and forth. The little rat was lying.
He shuffled from foot to foo
t and licked his lips. “He was swinging by a rope when we left the village, master. Another five minutes and he was dead.”
Rising, Baruch glided toward Sar. “But you didn’t actually see him die?”
He licked his lips again and bowed his head. “He couldn’t have survived.”
Baruch breached the distance between them in a blink and grabbed Sar by the throat. He squeezed hard and lifted him off the floor. The little man kicked and flailed against Baruch’s hold, even clawing at the fist crushing his throat, but Baruch was much too strong for him. Sar’s struggles were useless and only increased the pressure at this neck.
“You have failed me, servant.” Baruch walked to the wall and slammed Sar against it. The metal vibrated from the impact. “You know the punishment for such a crime.”
“If you’re going to kill him, do it elsewhere. I just had this room cleaned.”
Baruch glanced over his shoulder at Satarah. She still sat regally in her chair, eyes still alit, but he could see that she was disturbed at the display of violence by the way she looked to the side, away from the scene. Maybe the woman wasn’t as bloodthirsty as he once thought. Maybe she just talked a tough game.
Baruch smiled. He could use that to his advantage. Maybe it wouldn’t be as hard as he initially thought to take over Inferno City.
“I apologize if this offends you.”
She chuckled. “Oh, I’m not offended, Baruch. I just don’t want to have this beast’s blood all over my fine things.” She waved her hand toward some of the opulent furnishings in the room. “It took my people several weeks to acquire this stuff. I’d hate to have to toss it all away because of some insignificant servant’s mistake. I have a room for this type of behavior modification.”
Baruch looked back at Sar. Eyes bulged in a dark purple face. He no longer clawed at Baruch’s hand. Instead, his limbs hung limply from his body. He was all but dead. Two more minutes pressing down on his trachea, he’d stop breathing altogether.
Sar had been his best minion. Always loyal and eager to please. He’d done everything Baruch had ever asked him to do. It seemed like such a waste to end his life this way. When there were so many more inventive ways to do it.
The man had failed him one too many times. First had been letting Kat get away in the Vanquished City. Yes, the man had lost some fingers and had almost bled to death, but to Baruch that was just an excuse. Now there was the possibility that Hades may still be alive and was looking for his prized treasure, Kat. Somehow it always boiled down to her.
With that in mind, Baruch lowered Sar to the ground and relinquished his hold on him. Sar slumped lifelessly. He looked dead, but Baruch knew his heart still beat. He could feel it.
Turning on his heel, he glided back to where Satarah still sat. “You know, I think I will make use of one of those rooms after all.”
Picking up his cup, he drained the wine in one swallow. He had the most ingenious idea for doling out Sar’s punishment and finally ending Kat’s defiance. He could literally kill two birds with one stone.
Then when he was done with them, he could take his rightful place as master of Inferno City. No one dared get in his way.
17
“You’re not eating.” Leucothea nodded toward the whole piece of bread Hades clenched in his hand.
“I’m not hungry.” He tossed the bread onto a low wooden table in Onyx’s hidden home away from home. They were hiding in a cramped, airless room with no doors. The only way out was through a grate in the ceiling.
They had escaped without incident after the guards had burst into the dark man’s lab. Onyx had placated the guards, and they had left without searching the room. That surprised Hades immensely. He still didn’t trust Onyx. There was definitely something sinister about him. He just couldn’t put his finger on it.
“You need to eat, Hades.” Leucothea rose from where she sat, grabbed their pack, and walked to where he reclined on a shag white rug against the wall. She crouched next to him and took out the salve and bandages. “Take off your shirt.”
He complied without complaint, although he knew it didn’t make a difference anymore. No amount of cream or bandages was going to make him better. The damage inside his body was irreversible.
From the constant stabbing pain in his chest and the way it hurt when he took in a deep breath, he knew his broken ribs had punctured one of his lungs. The blood he spit up glaringly confirmed his suspicions. Only intensive medical treatment could cure him. And he didn’t see that happening anytime soon. Not in this place, not now.
He just prayed he would live to see Kat one last time before he faced the jury for all his sins. No doubt, that would be a long trial. The thought brought a wry smile to his face.
“Why are you smiling?” she asked while smearing the white salve over his still black-and-blue side.
“Because I’m ticklish.”
“Yeah, right.”
While she ran her finger along his last rib, Hades hacked violently. He covered his mouth, but what came up was too much to conceal this time. Not while she was there, so close to see. Before he could wipe away the blood, Leucothea grabbed his hand and stared down at the crimson glob.
“How long?” she accused.
He pulled his hand away and wiped the gore on his pants. “Since the beast’s attack.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Hades busied himself by rebandaging his ribs. He didn’t want to talk about this. There was no point. “Because it’s done. There’s nothing you can do.”
Before Leucothea could respond, the grate in the ceiling swung open, and Onyx jumped down into the room. He had a bag slung over his shoulder.
“Looks like you two have caused a stir.” He wandered to the big armchair in the corner and slumped into it. “Guards are everywhere searching the streets for two mysterious strangers.”
Hades stood and slipped his shirt back on. “Any chance of them finding us here?”
Onyx shook his head. “Nah, they aren’t that smart. I’ve had this place for three years now, and nobody’s been able to find it.”
“I need to know where Kat’s being held now. With guards running around, it will be all the more difficult to get to her.” He coughed again, doubling over in pain. More blood spewed from between his lips, landing on the floor in front of him.
Onyx leaned forward in his chair. “Looks like you need some medical attention.”
Hades glared at him. “I’m fine. All I need is to get out of here and find Kat.”
“By the looks of it, I’d say you won’t make it another ten feet without collapsing.”
“What, are you a doctor?” Hades sniffed.
“Yes, I am, actually.” Onyx reached for his bag and unzipped it. “Well, I was before I became this.” He ran a hand along his body to indicate his smooth, unnatural black skin. Digging in the bag, he came away with a vial full of a milky white liquid. “I have something here that might help you.”
Hades picked up his shotgun propped against the low table and checked the chamber for shells.
“I don’t need that kind of help. All you need to do is point me in the right direction, and I will do the rest.” He fed the gun a few rounds and pumped it. “You can even stay here if you like. All nice and cozy.”
“Hades, don’t be a fool. Onyx is right. You won’t last another day.”
“I don’t plan to stay here for another day.” He slung the weapon around his shoulder. Time was running out. He could feel it slipping through his fingers like sand. “Point me the right way. I’ll go get Kat and meet you back here. Then we’ll all get the fuck out of this city.”
“It’ll be better if you wait till dark. Less people up and around.”
“Day, night, how the fuck can you tell the difference down here?”
Onyx smiled. “Oh, I can tell. Trust me.”
“No, I don’t trust you.” Hades didn’t like the way Onyx had grinned. He was hiding something major, and Hades had a notion they were
going to find out what that something was very soon.
And it wasn’t going to be pleasant. “This has been too convenient for my liking.” He took a step toward Onyx and lifted his gun. “Now we’re stuck in a room without a way out. I don’t like that one bit.”
Leucothea took a step in front of him, blocking his path to Onyx. “He’s trying to help us.”
“Is he?” Hades went to take another step forward, when suddenly the world started to spin.
Holding out his hand for balance, Hades stumbled sideways. His legs felt like rubber, and he could barely keep himself upright. Pain rippled over his body, causing his chest to convulse. He had to cough again. Hacking into his hand, he noticed the quantity of blood had increased and was a lot darker.
Onyx was up and trying to keep Hades from falling. Hades wanted to push the aid away, being the stubborn bastard he was, but even he knew when he was fighting a losing battle. He let the man sit him down in the big cozy armchair he had previously occupied.
His body felt hot. Like a raging fire. When had it gotten so hot in the room? He wiped a hand over his forehead where sweat had popped out on his skin. His flesh was blistering. Obviously he had acquired a fever. Not a good sign.
“You’re not going anywhere, I’m afraid,” Onyx stated as he uncapped the vial he was holding.
“Open your mouth.”
Hades panicked and tried to push out of the chair. The dark man was going to poison him. He was working with Satarah.
That was why he had directed them here, so they could be lulled into a false sense of security.
But he wouldn’t let it happen. They wouldn’t take him alive.
When he tried to stand, Onyx pushed him back. “Leucothea, you’ll need to sit on him so I can get this down his throat.”
Hades glanced at the little Neried. Shock lifted his brow. She was in on it. Of course. That was why she wanted to come with him. To capture him. She was so innocent looking, so naive, no one would suspect her treachery. Kat would be so disappointed.
