Grave Signs (Hellgate Guardians Book 4)

by Ivy Asher

  “You have no shame. Clearly, you also have no interest in personal hygiene, so really, I shouldn’t be surprised. Just know that your tricks simply aren’t going to work on me,” he informs me with a sneer that I really shouldn’t find attractive.

  Heat warms my cheeks at his words, but when he looks me over again, it isn’t disgust I see in his eyes, it’s interest. Warmth pools in my cheeks, but it’s not embarrassment that I’m feeling. No, this is something else entirely. It’s equally unwelcome, but what can I do? I can’t control my reactions.

  I blink at the implication of his words. “Tricks?”

  “Mmmmm,” he hums, rubbing his thumb over his bottom lip. “I see the game you’re playing,” he announces, gesturing to me. “The whole save me routine is intriguing, I won’t deny it, but you’ll have to work harder than that if you want to hook me.”

  I stare at him, incredulity raking through me as I war with the overwhelming desire to punch him in his gorgeous but entirely too smug face.

  I shake my head at the nerve of him. “Maybe the unadulterated conceit you’re drowning in has clouded your good sense, or maybe you’re just an idiot, but what on earth, or Hell, or wherever we are right now, would make you think that this is just some game?” I demand, striding forward and closing the distance between us.

  I stop right in front of him. Unlike the other dream people, Ire is as real as me, solid and cognizant. “The caliber of lady that you’re used to must not be very high if you honestly think this is some ruse for attention. Either that or you’re the most arrogant idiot I’ve ever come across—and that’s saying a lot, because I’ve met plenty of diagnosed narcissists.”

  I look up into Ire’s face, and even though the arrogant smirk never leaves his lips, I see a spark of doubt in his gaze.

  “I sure as shit wouldn’t have gotten myself kidnapped and tortured by Morax and all his crazy just to hook your ass,” I snap at him. “Whatever you think is going on here,” I say, gesturing between us, “isn’t at all what you think.”

  He stiffens. “What did you say?” Ire abruptly demands, grabbing my arm out of nowhere and jerking me closer.

  Huh. Guess we can touch each other in this darkness.

  The cocky smirk is gone from his face now as he looks at me with new anger. He straightens up, his countenance and tone immediately taking on a no-nonsense quality.

  “Which part? The you’re an arrogant prick part, or—”

  He presses against me, interrupting me as foreboding suddenly drips off his large frame. I try to pull my arm from his grip, but his hold is too strong.

  “Who did you say kidnapped you?” he asks, bearing down with those eyes that I can’t look away from.

  Even though he grips my arm firmly, I can feel the restraint, like he wants to shake the answer out of me, but he holds himself back.

  My gray eyes flit back and forth between the serious look in his eyes, and I can’t help the defeat that sneaks into my gaze despite my best efforts not to allow it. “Morax took me,” I repeat, and I hate how small I sound as the confession falls to the ground between us.

  Surprise moves through me when Ire’s other hand moves up to cup my cheek. His bright blue eyes jump up from mine to take in my hair and then behind me to the deep purple wings, and then I watch as blood drains from his face and his eyes widen.

  “Oh, fuck,” he whispers, looking at me like he’s seeing me in a new light. “I know who you are,” he states, his voice hoarser than it was before. “You’re one of the missing sisters.”

  My head rears back in surprise. How the heck does he know that? I nod slowly at his questioning glance. “Sable,” I provide, and his blue eyes are tinged with horror as he connects the dots.

  “We’ve been looking for you,” he tells me, looking down and taking in my state with new knowledge.

  His eyes harden with each smudge of dirt he sees. I can practically feel him counting my ribs before he traces up the strap of my bra, and fury rips through him.

  “What did he do to you? Where are you? Is your other sister with you? I’m going to rip his head off and spit down his throat,” Ire snarls and then lobs more questions at me.

  “I don’t know!” I answer, the blanket statement pretty much covering everything he’s demanding I tell him. “Medley is captured with me. There’s another man—demon—here, Toreon, and his protector who’s pretending to be a guard, but other than that, I don’t know. We’re in Hell, probably Ūnus, but we don’t know where,” I tell him frantically, his crackling fury freaking me out. I have no idea why he’s so mad or how he knows about me, but it’s making my anxiety spike. Who is this guy?

  Ire seems to absorb all of what I said, and then he suddenly starts pulling me in the direction of...well, nothing, because this is my darkness and there’s nowhere to go.

  “What are you doing?” I demand, stumbling alongside him as he stomps off with me in tow.

  “I need to take you to my Matron. She’ll call your Sire, and we’ll make sure that snake-eyed fucker never touches you again,” he growls. “Fuck!” he screams out in frustration as he spins around, like he’s looking for a way out of here. As if he can just yank me right out of the cell and pull me to wherever he is. “I’m such an idiot,” he mutters to himself. “I was so pissed at being beaconed that I didn’t even realize what the hell was going on!”

  “Ire—” My voice gets cut off when a tingling starts in my limbs, and out of nowhere, his grip on my arm disappears. I stumble back and look down as he tries to take a hold of me again, but his hand passes right through my arm.

  Whoa, that’s freaky.

  “What’s happening?” Ire calls out, worry bleeding out of his voice.

  “I think I’m waking up,” I tell him with strange trepidation.

  I want to stay here. Such a weird thought, considering the rude interloper standing in front of me. It must be the comfort of my palpable darkness that I want to cling to.

  I watch as my body starts to disappear, and Ire rushes forward, attempting to grab hold of me again, but it doesn’t work, and I just fade more and more. “No!” he shouts out, but no matter how hard he tries, he can’t get his hands or arms to grab onto me. “Tell me where you are!” he demands again, terror etched in his features, but my answer hasn’t changed.

  “I don’t know.”

  I’m pulled away from my darkness and shoved back into consciousness, an echo of I’ll find you, Sable. I swear, I’ll fucking find you echoing in my mind.

  12

  Awareness snaps at me like a rubber band around my wrist. The remnants of Ire’s voice shouting in my mind slowly fade away, until his presence is gone completely, and my heart beats wildly in my chest.

  That was one of the strangest experiences in my life. Not a dream, not quite reality, but one hundred percent real. I now have a face to put with the voice that keeps shoving its way into my head. I don’t know how it’s happening, or if I’m calling to him like he said I am, but I’m left reeling, my arm tingling from where he touched me.

  I breathe through my nose, trying to calm my thoughts while my eyes are still closed and tiredness slowly laps away. My ears wake up faster than the rest of me, but the weight of the experience still delays me for several moments as I sort through my thoughts until I finally realize I can hear whispering. I stay perfectly still as I wake up all the way, automatically latching on to the quiet voices.

  My eyes adjust immediately, fully accustomed to the dimness of the dungeon with only the low burning fire to light things up. I flick my gaze over to Toreon’s cell, and I see him sitting at the entrance, far away from his usual shadowed corner. My heart hammers in my chest for a moment when I see that he’s not alone.

  For a second, I think it’s Morax sitting beside him on the other side of the bars. But that irrational thought is gone almost as soon as it appears, because that huge winged mass could only be one demon.

  Vudu.

  Instead of galloping, my heart stops racing, and it
flips at the sight of the two of them together, side by side as they sit in the dark. I don’t really know what it means that Vudu is Toreon’s sworn protector, but just by seeing them right now, I’d say that it looks a lot more like friendship.

  I don’t want to interrupt, and I really shouldn’t eavesdrop, but I can’t help it. They’re too fascinating not to hang on their every word. I wonder if this is normal—if Vudu often sneaks in here while we’re sleeping so he can talk to Toreon in private.

  From where I’m lying, I have a good view of both of them. I take advantage of the edge of my wing blocking me and very carefully peek behind me. But Medley is fast asleep, huddled up with her wings splayed out beneath her.

  Settling back to face forward again, I’m relieved to find that the guys didn’t notice my clandestine movement at all. I’m careful to stay still so that the two of them don’t see that I’m creeping on them and ruin their visit. Or my intel gathering session.

  “I’ll try to bring you more food,” Vudu murmurs.

  I see Toreon shake his head. “I’m fine.”

  Even with the fire burning behind him, I can see Vudu frown. “You’re not fucking fine,” he grumbles. “None of this is fine, Toreon. Each day that I can’t get you out of here…”

  Toreon looks over at him with a wry smile. “Are you pouting because you can’t be my hero, V?” he jokes.

  His attempt at humor doesn’t hit its mark with Vudu. That probably shouldn’t be surprising, since the guy has armored plating for skin. He probably has it on his sense of duty too.

  Toreon sighs, his amusement fading away. “I’m trying, V. The last thing I want is to die and take you out with me.”

  Red eyes flash. “If you die, I don’t deserve to live.”

  The vehemence of Vudu’s loyalty both shocks me and makes my chest tighten.

  Vudu’s bat-like wings twitch behind him, and he runs a frustrated palm down his face. His hand is big, just like the rest of him. He could probably grip my waist with both hands, and his fingers would touch. As soon as that thought pops in my head, I see his rough gray flesh over my soft pale skin in sensual contrast, but that picture quickly snowballs into him lifting me up and down over him in a very non-innocent kind of way, and I find myself swallowing hard.

  Whoa, where did that come from?

  I lift my gaze back to his face, noting the worry creasing either side of his red eyes, and the frown marring his strong, masculine features. I bounce from him to Toreon, secretly reveling in the fact that I can lie here on my feathers, watching them without having to hold back. Sure, it’s a little stalkerish, but I don’t get a lot of opportunities to openly look at Toreon, since he’s always tucking into the shadowed corner of his cage, and I only had that one chance to see Vudu.

  I’m so curious about them. About their lives, about what makes them tick. Maybe it’s weird, but I feel a strange bond with Toreon. We’re both stuck down here, have both endured and survived Morax. It creates an unusual connection.

  My empty stomach gurgles unhappily, but I have no choice but to ignore it. I steer my thoughts to more mundane things that don’t center around being hungry, or cold, or stuck in a dungeon. Instead, I trace the lines of muscles that are lean but still present all over Toreon’s body. His long hair has a slight wave to the ends, and I bet when it’s clean, it’s pretty. The kind of hair that makes girls jealous and that a guy never really appreciates having.

  Vudu has shorter spiky hair, and my thoughts stray to things like demon hair products and other ridiculous unimportant crap as I study the two whispering friends. They’re not unattractive, not at all—which is maybe an unusual thought. But it’s not the first time I’ve thought it.

  Not all the monsters I’ve encountered were the thing of nightmares. Some were the thing of wet dreams. I felt conflicted about that before. I judged myself, wondering what was wrong with me that I could find something with horns, or a tail, or whatever it was at the time, enticing. But finding out I’m part demon puts things in perspective. My occasional attraction isn’t concerning so much as it’s probably natural. Normal. I nearly snort at the thought. Normal was something I never thought I’d be.

  My stomach flips as I study them, and I let my mind wander to some scandalous places, and that realization makes me pause as I face what it means…

  I’m attracted to demons.

  Not all of them, of course, but these two are very intriguing to me. And Ire…, my inner voice whispers to me, even though I don’t know what to do with this realization.

  As I look at Toreon, I realize that my attraction isn’t just based on muscle tone and the interesting colors, or the golden eyes that seem to suck you in so hard that you can’t walk away the same person. It’s resilience. Yeah, Toreon may say he’s given up, but he’s still here. He’s never taken the weapon that Vudu gave him and tried to end his suffering, and I’m sure Morax has given him plenty of reason to do just that. For all of Toreon’s talk of we’re never getting out of here, his actions show he hasn’t lost all spark of hope.

  I’ve had less time to observe Vudu, but I can imagine the road to getting here so that he could save his friend wasn’t easy. That kind of love and the dedication it required is a thing of beauty. He’s clearly a being that values honor and sacrifice, and it’s hard not to cling to the tiniest of good things down here and feel like they’re everything. Every small act of kindness or compassion becomes a spotlight amidst all the black cruelty that permeates this place because of Morax and what he does to us.

  So even though it’s my knee jerk reaction to feel ashamed for admitting that I’m attracted to these demons, and guilt for doing it while I’m in a damn dungeon, I bat that negativity away. Why should I deny the spark of something, imagined or otherwise, that I feel? I’m done with thinking there’s something wrong with me. I’m done with questioning my instincts. Which means I need to learn to follow my gut and trust myself. I have a feeling that’s going to be a hard change, but it’s time I started.

  Besides, if I’m going to have my first demon crush, why not go big and crush on three at once?

  Dr. Gupta would be so disappointed in me.

  I have to bite my lip to stop myself from laughing as that thought strikes my funny bone, leaving me all tingly with awareness. Only the sound of their quiet voices picking back up stops me from releasing a chuckle.

  “I still can’t get any messages out,” Vudu says, his voice cutting through the silence. “I’m watched too closely. So the idea of contacting Medley’s mates won’t work.”

  “I figured,” Toreon says.

  “But I’m getting closer. Just another week, maybe two, and I’ll have everything lined up to get you out of here,” Vudu assures him in that low, rumbling voice of his.

  But Toreon doesn’t look convinced, and he stays quiet and thoughtful for a minute. “You know, I never believed any of that destiny bullshit. Even when my Sire tried to beat it into my head,” he says quietly. “I definitely didn’t believe it when the Ophidian caught me. But…” He hesitates, plucking at the thick iron chain draped down the center of his green chest. “But now I’m not so sure.”

  Vudu shoots him a look through the bars. “What do you mean?”

  “I think maybe I’m meant to be here. I was meant to be caught.”

  Anger surges in Vudu’s face. “Fuck that. You are not meant to be here, and I swear on my life I will get you out.”

  Vudu’s unending loyalty breaks my heart a little. But Toreon just shakes his head and then slips his hand into his pocket. By the soft firelight coming from the torches above, I can see the glint of the obsidian tool that I gave him back earlier. When Toreon starts to hand it to Vudu, the giant demon immediately starts shaking his head and gets ready to shove the tool back through the bars. Hell, I want to shove it right along with him, because if he doesn’t want it, I do.

  But Toreon shakes his head. “Relax, V. I’m not giving it back. Just look.”

  Vudu pauses, and his red eyes g
lance down. His thick brows pull together as Toreon holds it up for him. “Is that...blood?” When Toreon nods, I think the big guy might have a conniption fit as assumptions are made, but once again, Toreon cuts him off. “It’s not mine.”

  “Whose is it?”

  Crap. I clamp my eyes closed, just as Toreon answers, “It’s hers. Sable’s.”

  I can feel a pair of gazes land on me, and I hold perfectly still, forcing my breath to go in and out evenly, doing my best to feign sleep.

  “So?” Vudu asks, clearly not understanding what he’s getting at.

  “So...when her blood touched me, I soaked it up.”

  Shock makes my eyes fly open, but luckily, Toreon and Vudu are looking at each other again instead of me. Based on the way Vudu’s mouth has dropped open, I’d say he might be just as surprised as I am.

  Medley’s blood soaked into me earlier, but I thought that was a sister thing, or maybe an Annulus thing? So why…?

  “It made me stronger, V. Just a tiny bit of blood, but it was a hell of a surge.”

  Toreon’s words make Vudu hiss in a breath through his teeth, while my eyes bounce back and forth between them, trying to keep up.

  “You’re sure?” he asks, his voice pitching even lower than before.

  Toreon gives a nod. “I’m sure.”

  “So that means…” Vudu’s gravelly voice trails off.

  “She’d be my perfect mate.”

  “Wait what?” The exclamation falls out of my lips before I can stop it, and I shoot up into a sitting position as though the words made me pop up like a jack-in-the-box.

  Vudu and Toreon freeze, their eyes wide as their heads snap over to me, my own just as wide as I look back at them. “Did you just say I’m your perfect mate?”