by Rachel Jonas
Time passed quickly. Or, at least it seemed to. There honestly was no way to be sure, but I felt extremely disoriented when my eyes popped open again. Partly because I hadn’t awakened on my own. The feel of a hand shaking my shoulder had done it, violently jolting me out of a dream and back into this nightmare.
Confusion filled me completely, and my brow tensed as my vision cleared. For a moment, I considered that I might still be dreaming. Mostly because I was staring into a set of very familiar eyes, glowing with a reflection of the hellscape surrounding us.
“…Ori?”
My bewilderment was met by a smile that was equal parts warmth and concern. A smile I hadn’t seen in weeks and missed more than I could ever put to words. The last time Ori and I came face-to-face, only his frustration and disappointment in me had been apparent.
His broad hand extended toward me and I pressed my palm to it without hesitation, letting him help me to my feet.
“How did … how did you find me? How did you know where I was?” I stammered.
“We’ll talk about that later,” he asserted. “Right now, I just want to get you someplace safe.”
I followed as he led the way, noting how he kept a watchful eye on our surroundings. We were both on edge, but for the first time since wandering into this place, I wasn’t scared out of my mind. Because, above all else, I trusted my guys.
“I’m sorry I did this,” I explained. “There was just no time to waste once I heard about Malu and Sydney. My first instinct—my only instinct—was to save them.”
He didn’t answer, instead focusing on our path. Both shoulders were rigid and poised for a fight, possibly anticipating that we would need to defend ourselves.
“Do you know where they might be? I walked until I couldn’t anymore, but there weren’t signs of anyone else being here,” I explained, expecting a swift response.
However, there was a long stretch of silence that shifted my attention from the contrasting blackness and the orange embers exploding around me. Instead, I stared at the back of Ori’s head.
“They could be anywhere,” he finally answered.
I didn’t quite understand his tone. It was surprisingly cold, unfeeling. I’d gotten to know Malu and Sydney through him and the other Omegas. Yet, it almost sounded like he wasn’t exactly concerned.
But that couldn’t have been it, which meant the source of the distance I sensed in his voice was because of me.
I should’ve guessed. We weren’t in a good place, and now I wondered if he’d only come for me out of obligation.
“There has to be someplace we can look,” I chimed in again. “You know this portion of the island, don’t you? From before it was taken by the Darkness?”
More silence, and his steps moved us along at a much quicker pace now.
A heavy sigh puffed from my lips as I wiped moisture from my brow with the back of my free hand.
“I don’t have my magic,” I warned him when I got winded again—an annoying reminder of my predicament. Still, he needed to know. Just in case he might expect me to fight with him if we were attacked.
When my statement failed to yield a response, I asked a question. “What about you? Still able to shift and access your powers?”
A distracted nod was Ori’s only reaction.
Ok, so he had his powers. Which begged the question: why weren’t we flying? We would have covered much more ground, and an aerial view was kind of priceless in a situation like this one. From the air, it was possible we could spot Malu and Sydney, or at least some sign of them.
More silence from my alpha as we trudged forward full-steam ahead, barely speaking. Well, he was barely speaking. Circumstances were tense; I got that. Still, I knew my suggestions made perfect sense, and Ori was one of the most sensible people I’d ever met.
My heart sank to my stomach when a sudden, inexplicable feeling passed through me. I’d gone from being oddly comforted by his presence, to wondering why he seemed so different.
So … off.
“… Where are you taking me?” I asked the question so quietly I wasn’t sure he heard me over the loud, constant crackle of the smoldering fire.
“I told you,” he grumbled. “Someplace safe. We’re almost there.”
My brow tensed. There was no way—after all the hours I walked—that he meant we were nearly at the border to cross back over. Which meant he intended to take me somewhere on this side.
I shook a thought from my head and blinked toward him.
“We need to find the kids.” My voice was shrill, but I hadn’t yelled by any means. However, when Ori’s steps halted and he cast a dark stare at me from over his shoulder, you would’ve thought I had.
Frightened, I counted every breath that left my parted lips.
“I’ve got everything under control,” he answered flatly. “Just trust me.”
A smile followed, but it was so different from when he first found me. This one sent a chill racing up my spine.
We were on the move again, headed Lord-knows-where. Mostly, I stared at the back of Ori’s head while we trekked along, instead of focusing on landmarks. Not that there were many. In fact, it seemed like he was leading me further and further out. We hadn’t been on an actual road in quite a while, and without warning we were making our way up a steep incline.
I started to ask what this place was, but had a feeling he wouldn’t answer. So, instead I tried guessing on my own.
An odd, wooden structure wasn’t hard to make out against the amber glow of distant flames. When we made it a bit closer, I also noted that the structure was adorned in tribal carvings, and strange arrangements of bone, stones and feathers hung about. The latter of which burned but were not consumed. This world—the Darkness’ dwelling—operated by a whole different set of rules.
Finally, we stopped, and I took a closer look around, wishing again that my wolf would make herself known. My gaze drifted lower, to the ground where smaller wooden markers had been placed all over. Not in any particular order. More of the tribal ornaments were draped over each one. It was when I leaned in for a closer look that I finally put all the pieces together.
There were names, and dates. Some of which were so old I could hardly fathom.
Birthdates and … death dates.
“It’s a burial ground,” I said just above a whisper.
My eyes flitted to Ori and my lungs deflated completely, making me feel lightheaded as I questioned him with my stare.
Without thinking much about why, I pulled my hand from his, taking a step back. When he didn’t turn to face me, didn’t ask why I’d let go, I knew.
Something was wrong.
Everything was wrong.
“You’re not him, are you?” My voice shook with every syllable.
Another step back put more distance between me and … whoever this was, but I was still too close. Broad shoulders shifted and I held my breath, anticipating his next action.
Fearing his next action.
A blank gaze locked on me, and if I hadn’t already been certain the man before me was not my alpha, I was now. What should have been a hazel stare was completely black. Startled, I gasped and began stumbling backward, clumsily stepping over graves, tripping over the sacred headstones.
The sole of my shoe caught a rock and I went down, staring up at the one I had been stupidly convinced was Ori. As a wickedly inhuman smile curved his lips, I fully believed my heart would pound out of my chest. Terror ripped its way up my throat, but I couldn’t scream. The only thing I could force my body to do was scramble away from him.
I scooted across the scorched soil, feeling debris pass between my fingers and wedge beneath my nails. He followed me, each of his steps consuming the distance I managed to create, bringing him dangerously close once again.
Until … he stopped.
Dead in his tracks.
I did the same, staring as his gaze lifted, locking on some target behind me. My chest ached with how wildly my heart beat.
While I knew his reaction to whatever he spotted behind me should have had my head whipping in that direction, fear was paralyzing.
That wicked smile returned, and I finally snapped out of it, tipping my head back until my eyes landed on … it.
The scream I hadn’t been able to find before found me. The sound of it rang in my ears, bouncing off nearby trees and right back to my body. I’d never seen anything like it outside a movie—a giant of a man, nearly completely decayed.
Dead, but … not.
A firm, petrified hand encircled my throat, cutting off the sound that bellowed from my mouth, cutting off my breath as I was lifted into the air. My fingernails tore at its boney, mummified hand, taking bits of ancient flesh with it, but my effort meant nothing as I sputtered.
In my peripheral, I was all too aware of the Ori-imposter’s satisfied stare. Just like I was aware of the moment he slowly evaporated into a plume of inky-black smoke and the wind carried his form away.
Leaving me alone with this … thing.
As I stared the monster down, I was convinced this was the end. Without any help, without my powers, I didn’t stand a chance.
Chapter Seventeen
Noelle
It held me at eye-level to its staggering height of what I guessed to be at least seven-feet tall. The sight of it was what nightmares are made of—nearly half its face missing, and what remained was covered in gray, crumbling flesh. On its head, a tribal headdress to accompany the dingy sarong encircling his waist. Marking that gray flesh were several tattoos, similar to those I’d seen on the Omegas.
A strange sound rumbled from its chest, something akin to the warning growl of a large animal. My feet thrashed about as I struggled to get free, but it was no use. The only thing I could do was keep moving until I couldn’t anymore, so that’s what I did. My legs knocked into the surprisingly solid body of my attacker, and then I used my arm, bringing my fist down on its forearm as hard as I could.
And it worked.
Apparently, being dead so many decades made the body brittle, despite its strength. I was suddenly dropped to the ground, but was keenly aware of the hand still locked around my throat. Disgusted when I realized it’d broken off and fallen with me, I screeched and tossed the limb aside. Without hesitation, I got to my feet, but tumbled to the ground again when a hand jutted out from the earth and took hold of my ankle.
A sharp pain that started at my temple felt like someone had shoved a hot poker through my skull. The fall had brought my head right down on one of the grave markers, and I caught the corner of it at the perfectly wrong angle.
The agony was so intense I couldn’t even open my eyes as I held the gash that would have brought me to tears if it hadn’t nearly knocked me unconscious. Not even as the sound of another body breaking free from the ground was heard off to my right. Not even as one crept slowly up my legs.
Get up. You can’t die like this. You have to save them.
It was the sound of my own voice inside my head that pushed me to keep fighting. Forcing my eyes open, I finally laid eyes on what I could only describe as a ghoul, crawling up my body—flesh sloughing off its sunken face, tattered clothes hanging off its frail shoulders as it moaned loudly into the darkness.
I managed to drag myself back a few inches and my fingers wandered over the rough surface of a stone. Without the thing noticing, I dug the rock free from where it had been partially buried in the soil, before palming it with what little strength I had.
Cocking back, I struck at full force, sending the ghoul’s head flying. It rolled right into the feet of another who’d arisen.
“You have got to be kidding me,” I grumbled to myself, seeing half red as blood poured from the wound, down into my right eye.
The stone was still in hand and it would have to do for now. One by one, I aimed for the heads of the creatures. So many had burrowed their way up through the ground while I was down, I couldn’t even count.
I could only fight.
My knuckles throbbed from occasionally getting smashed between the stone and surprisingly solid skulls, but I couldn’t stop. Decayed bodies in tattered clothing lie strewn about, the only semblance of victory I’d had since crossing over into this place. Winded and wishing I could have used a spell for defense, I took down the last few who charged toward me.
The stone fell from my bruised fingers, and I braced both palms on my knees, trying to catch my breath in the heat. If it hadn’t been for the rush of adrenaline, I would have passed out from fatigue. That wasn’t even an option, though. This place was alive with negative energy, evil like nothing I’d ever felt in my life.
The panting had just begun to slow when movement straight ahead caught my attention. A large figure was making its way toward me and my heart sank with the realization that I wasn’t done here.
Scrambling, I lunged for the stone I’d just put down, but not quickly enough. A severed arm whipped through the air as the big one who’d started all this knocked me back a few feet. With the limb I’d taken off it, no less.
Oh, the irony.
I was slow getting up, which only made it easier for the thing to come in for a second hit. This time, my head whipped violently, and the distinct taste of blood coated my tongue before I’d even hit the ground.
Recovering at this point seemed like an impossibility, so I only crawled away out of habit. Not because I believed I had any real chance. Eventually, I couldn’t move another inch. Instead, I collapsed on my stomach, and then rolled onto my back, staring at the one I was pretty sure would end my life.
Whoever he had once been before the Darkness tainted this sacred place.
The arm it used as a weapon rose into the air again, and it was obvious how he reared back that he intended to strike me much harder this time. There was nothing I could do to stop him either. Between losing blood from the head wound, and having already taken such a beating, it wouldn’t take much more than a well-placed hit to do the trick.
A loud grunt rang out into the air when it swung, but I think we were both surprised when the blow came down on an invisible barrier instead. Confused, the large ghoul glanced around with it’s one remaining eye, and then cast a glare on me. It wasn’t until I looked around that I started to understand. The posts that surrounded this place, marking its boundaries were inscribed with words and symbols I didn’t understand the meaning of, but I believed I understood how it worked.
They weren’t to keep people out, they were to keep those buried here locked in. Somehow, with those few feet I managed to crawl, I made it across the barrier.
One-hundred-percent dumb luck.
“Oh, thank God,” I panted, placing both hands over my face as I breathed marginally easier now. King of the ghouls—as I began referring to him in my head—was visibly angry, taking his frustration out on the unseen barricade between us, wanting to finish what he’d started.
My body and mind were both spent. I was at the intersection of nowhere and hell and had no idea where to go next. My heart was in the right place—which was usually the case—but things weren’t panning out.
Which was also the usual case.
A deep breath puffed from my lips and I did my best to drown out the constant, unearthly roar of King Ghoul, focusing instead on quieting my mind. I needed a plan, but above all else, I needed help.
I was alone here—a fact I couldn’t seem to forget—but I couldn’t say that was completely true.
My eyes popped open and focused on the starless sky, remembering the peace I felt when Kai took me into Spirit’s realm. I was left with the feeling that Spirit didn’t have the same limits we did, or even the ones that seemed to govern the Darkness. So, maybe …
“If you can hear me, I need your help,” I said with a sigh. “I know I’ve messed up a lot, and I know coming here will probably be the death of me, but … please don’t let it be the death of them.” The request was for Malu and Sydney—the two innocents in this scenario.
“I have to
find them, but don’t know where to go. I’m not asking you to do it all, but at least show me where to start.”
A single tear slipped down my cheek. They were so young, had so much life ahead of them. It shouldn’t have surprised me that Chief would willingly send children of his tribe into this hellish wilderness, but it did. The depth of his coldness became undeniably apparent.
Feeling sorry for myself and the kids wasn’t going to help me find them, so I rolled over onto my stomach, facing down the steep hill as I braced both palms into the heated soil.
And that’s when I spotted it—a structure with harsh, square edges, appearing to stretch at least five stories into the air. I couldn’t make out much more from there, but I couldn’t take my eyes off it.
“Is that where you want me to go?” I asked Spirit aloud. “Is that where they are?”
It would have been nice to hear an actual voice telling me to go forth, but instead I got a strange, cool breeze that came out of nowhere.
Good enough.
The glimmer of hope that filled me brought my second wind. I was on my feet, hearing King Ghoul’s growl grow quieter as I made my way down the opposite side of the hill. A high wall surrounded the building. One that was crumbled low enough in spots for someone to easily step over it. Loosely-strung barbed wire was now ineffective with huge sections missing and embedded in the dirt.
It was a prison.
The prison Tristan had told me about. The one Chief had been content to leave countless inmates inside to rot.
Or … worse.
A terrifying thought popped into my head. What if this place was full of even more of those monsters I’d just fought off? There were likely hundreds, or even thousands, just beyond this dilapidated wall.
I paused to breathe, taking in the full scope of the facility. In its day, it was likely a formidable building, designed to hold our realm’s most dangerous supernaturals. A long-abandoned guard tower situated near the far side of the wall cast an ominous silhouette against the backdrop. I didn’t want to go inside, would have chosen any other thing in the world over this, but if the kids were in there …
