by Reese Monroe
“And what? I’m supposed to just go quietly and sit at your house for God knows how long it takes for Theo to get himself out of whatever mess he’s in down there?”
“Um…yeah?” Justin sheathed his dagger and glanced around.
Sadie dipped her chin and worked to give her best “so not gonna happen” look.
“He would kill me if I let you go in and get him.” Justin shook his head. “I might as well slit my own throat right now if I let you go down there.”
“Let?” Oh, this guy was really digging the hole.
He stepped closer to her. “Sadie. You realize—if you choose to go get him, you’re making a choice for more than just getting him.”
“Meaning?”
“Free will, Sadie. The Great One gives us all free will. Sure, you’ve got a fated Mate, can’t change that, but how you choose to respond affects your bond. Accepting things, in your heart, accessing your bond to find him…”
“Acceptance is the first step to change.” She’d heard that before. “So my going in and getting Theo is like me stepping into a rabbit hole. I get it.”
“Do you? You were in Hades already. Look how hard that was. Even after, you refuted what you’d seen, what you’d felt.” He guided her by the shoulder toward his car. “This’ll be different.”
She let out a long breath and faced the blue sky. Damn. Her life had changed in a matter of days, and so not in the way she’d expected. But Theo was hurting, somehow she knew it. How sick she was back in that classroom, and the pain in her body…she couldn’t ignore that. Even now, a dull pain, like a toothache, pulsed in her stomach, her neck, her cheek, and she had a mild headache right behind the eyes, too.
She stopped at the passenger side of Justin’s car.
He looked at her over the top. “Nearest gate is ten miles.”
“You can go through any gate?”
“He told me which one he was headed to. He’s gone through it, so I can, too.”
“And me?”
“You’re his Mate. You touched the Mavet already, so you should be fine.”
Yeah, that’s reassuring.
Justin opened his door. “We can either go in and find him or go to the house and wait things out.”
“Wait? As in sit around while he gets shredded?”
Justin stopped. “Shredded? What do you mean?”
“Not exactly sure on that one other than it feels like I’m getting stabbed. Cut. Tortured.” She swallowed down the bile. “I think that’s what’s happening to him.”
“The gate it is.” He hopped into the car. “Let’s go.”
Justin jammed the key into the ignition and shifted to drive. Squealing tires followed promptly by the stench of burning rubber assailed Sadie’s senses.
“So, gates? Splices?”
“There’s a main gate in this town. Formed several years ago. Theo guards it.”
“Formed?”
“Once evil gets strong enough, it can open a gate. One the demons—those strong enough—can go in and out of freely. There are quite a few open around the United States at any given time, and Theo is charged with guarding them.”
“And splices?” Sadie fastened her seat belt and turned.
“Smaller doors. Some of the stronger demons can open them elsewhere. Takes a lot out of them. It’s not easy and it usually has to be close to a gate because those things are wicked powerful.”
“And Theo can sense those, too? Along with demons coming to the gates?”
He nodded. “Part of his job. Keeping that smut down there. And those that get out, he throws them back in, permanently.”
“And now he’s down there with them? Getting tortured? I thought he couldn’t die.”
“He can’t.” Justin coughed into his hand. “But they sure can cut the hell out of him. Make him wish he could die.”
“Or cut him enough so his Mate will come get him.”
Justin nodded. “They obviously want you dead.”
“Lovely. This demon crap is effing messed up. I don’t even know what the hell is happening to me. How I got this strong. How I’m even involved in this.” She slammed her elbow into the door.
“Don’t take your frustration out on my baby.” He smacked her shoulder. “Come on. I need you focused.”
She shook her head. So much for her planned-out life. Undergrad done at eighteen. Six-figure job. Showing the world she was worth something despite being an orphan.
It was all slipping away. All for a total stranger and his stupid brother. She clenched her fist and reached for the glove compartment to snoop for more weapons.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m sure you have weapons, right?” She leaned over and looked into the backseat. Totally clean. Great. She had to hook up with a total OCD neat freak when she bloody needed weapons. No way was she going into Hades with only one little blade. It wasn’t even the power-packed one she’d used before.
One poke with that blade, and they were toast. With this one, she had to chop off heads. Gross.
“Relax. I have some more in the trunk.” He smiled.
She sagged against the leather seat. Her tummy rumbled, but it felt more like hunger, and she hadn’t been hungry in days.
“There’s food in the cooler back there, you see it?”
“You carry food?”
“I’ve been following you around, and I need snacks to keep this body going.” He shrugged. “Well, not really, but it helps to stay fueled. We’re at our strongest when fueled.”
“And why don’t you get a fun Mavet dagger like Theo?”
“Can’t touch that thing. Burns anyone but the Gatekeeper.”
She reached back and grabbed a small red-and-white cooler. “Obviously, that’s not true. I used it—and kicked ass with it, I might add.”
“That you did. Hit me with one of those sandwiches.”
She dug out two sandwiches and Cokes. After a few minutes of silent eating, she asked, “So, you’re his brother but can’t touch his weapon?”
“Only Mates can.”
“There’s that word again.” She shook her head. Despite the action, she felt the truth of the word deep down. No way would she admit it, but she couldn’t deny it. Why else would she be ready to face Hades to get Theo out?
Her life just morphed into a sick rendition of The Twilight Zone.
“The funny thing is, you haven’t mated yet. You shouldn’t be able to touch that weapon, either. But your being his Mate will help us find him once we get down there.”
She swallowed her last bite of sandwich, and it nearly got lodged. A quick swig of the sugary soda, and she was ready to go. “Just tell me what I have to do.”
Chapter Nineteen
“Look how fast that grows back.” A raspy voice on the left side of Theo sounded like a megaphone in his ears.
He’d lost track of how long he’d been secured to this slab of steaming-hot granite. His flesh couldn’t heal, at least the parts touching it. If he arched his back enough some would heal. But fatigue wore him down.
Sadie. Dear Great One, please let her be safe.
Another slice.
Theo burrowed deep into himself. He turned out the lights of consciousness and meditated on two things. The Great One and Sadie. Those were all that could comfort him now. It blocked out the tugging, pain, and burning those minions inflicted.
He’d gotten to hold his Mate. To witness a tender moment while he watched her sleep. She’d dreamed of their almost-kiss on the bike, but in her dream, they’d kissed.
If only he could have felt her warm lips and firm body against him. He knew he’d eventually get out of this. He hadn’t seen his opportunity yet, but it would come. And knowing Justin had his Mate tucked safe and sound at the compound calmed him.
His mind wandered through options of how to free himself from this granite prison.
Aggie had outdone himself with the restraints. Not much could keep Theo down, but cursed chains evidently coul
d.
Cursed with the blood of angels of darkness. Theo knew he’d sensed the evil of those who once served The Great One but turned their backs. And when the minions cutting on him confirmed it, he knew he’d have trouble getting out of this. His Mavets would break through, but they were in the corner. Set there by the demons as if to taunt him.
The sounds of shuffling sifted through the darkness. A strong scent of vanilla filtered into his nostrils.
Then he heard a grunt.
A female grunt.
With a roar, he opened his eyes and sat up as far as the restraints allowed, which wasn’t much.
One eye was swollen shut, still mending from the last eye-plucking, but he swore he saw—no, he felt—Sadie.
Mine.
Another grunt, but this time, he felt it in his side, and there was no one puncturing him at the moment. Wait, where was everyone?
He scanned the area as best he could. Granite walls stretched to the orange sky behind him and on each side.
That left only one entrance and one exit. Four demons stood, back to Theo, with their legs bent and weight shifting from one massive leg to the other.
Something was coming.
No. Someone. And that person had the demons worried. They’d had too much pleasure torturing him, so there had to be a reason for them to stop.
Shit—Aggie’s torture had done its job. It had lured Sadie here.
A roar echoed through the room, and the demons ducked but quickly stood their ground. Clashing metal rang out. Theo’s stomach muscles twitched from fatigue, and he had to lie back. For some reason, he knew he must gather strength.
Surely Justin wouldn’t bring Sadie down here. Not after Theo’s explicit orders as to how to handle his capture should it happen.
But Theo had smelled her. Felt her. Wait, felt her pain. She was injured.
Up he went again, tugging at the restraints. Chains clanked, sending sparks flying because he wrenched them so hard. The cuffs bit into his skin, ripping, cutting. If he had to sever his hands to get free, he would.
Sadie screamed, and it tore through his abdomen much like the daggers he’d been poked with. He trained his eyes on the entryway. The center demon fell back, dagger wiggling from its forehead. With the grace of a ninja, Sadie swung black nunchakus so fast they were nothing but a blur until they found their targets. Right behind her, Justin took advantage of the disoriented demons and sliced their necks.
Within seconds, the four demons that had been guarding him were vapor. But they would reappear quickly down here in Hades. They were like cockroaches.
The heavy footfalls of more enemies echoed through the entryway.
“Sadie,” Theo said, though he wasn’t sure she understood since his tongue hadn’t grown back yet.
“Holy shit,” she gasped, dropping her weapon.
Justin stormed by her and pointed. “Pick that up, now. Stay focused.”
Theo growled at the abusive tone his brother took with Sadie.
“Stuff it, Theo. Or do you like being plucked and cut?” Justin swung his dagger at the chains, and the clash ignited a flash brighter than a bolt of lightning.
Another swing yielded the same results.
Sadie stood only feet from Theo, mouth open and eyes wide.
Mavet daggers. On the floor in the corner. See them?
She jerked and looked around.
Sadie. Hear me. Theo called out to her with what was left of his waning energy. So many wounds. He needed time to regenerate.
She stopped and stared. “Is that you?”
“Listen to him if he’s speaking to you.” Justin tried again at the chains.
The Mavet daggers can break through the chains.
Roars penetrated the pungent air, and Sadie jumped.
The corner, love.
She sprinted the five steps separating her from the weapons. She shoved her nunchakus into her back pocket and grabbed the daggers. “Justin, try these.” She held them up.
“Um, that’d be a no. You try them.”
“Oh.” She shook her head. “Forgot.” She hurried to Theo’s side. The slab of granite was so high she couldn’t get a good angle. She took one step back and jumped. Like a cat, she perched beside Theo and swung.
The chain snapped. She hopped over his body and swung again. Finally free, he reached for her. She shifted out of reach with a grimace. He went to move, but his ankles met resistance.
Oh, yes, more restraints. She went to work on them and within seconds, he was free.
But at that same moment, four demons stormed the room.
Chapter Twenty
The lightweight Mavet daggers worked more efficiently than her nunchakus. Sadie poked freely, and anything she stabbed froze. She’d thought this was a final death weapon.
Speak the words.
Theo’s soft voice whispered to her soul, and what followed next surprised her into a state of shock.
“Reverto ut Abyssus,” she said as she stabbed a demon. He vaporized, but not like before. There was a loud crack as the black soot plumed. Like thunder sounded.
Even more confusing, she didn’t know Latin. Well, she knew a few words, but nothing like this.
A blade sliced her down the arm, and a fire erupted beneath her flesh. Tendrils of pain spread and closed around her chest.
“No!” Theo yelled.
The stab she’d taken instantly numbed her fingers, and she dropped the dagger.
With her free hand, she swiped as she ducked. Her knees met the unforgiving granite floor, but she said the words again as she cut the demon, and it vanished with a loud pop.
Justin grunted. “Come on, Theo. Move.” He’d hoisted Theo up, dragging him to Sadie. “Sadie. Behind you.”
She rolled and hopped to her feet. Two six-foot demons charged, fire in their eyes, fangs dropped, and weapons drawn.
She tossed the one Mavet she still had at the demon on the left, then dived for the dagger she’d dropped. Grabbing it, she struck out and buried it to the hilt in the other demon’s side. She said the words, and they both vaporized.
“Holy shit! How is she doing that?” Justin asked.
Theo mumbled, but it wasn’t understandable.
“Hold that thought, brother.” He nodded toward Sadie. “Ready to leave?”
Was she ever. She grabbed the weapons and led the way, keeping Justin and Theo in her sights as much as she could.
The black walls flanking them stretched on forever. They were sitting ducks here in this tunnel. Why weren’t the creatures attacking? Justin, Sadie, and Theo were easy prey right now.
“Move. Hurry,” Justin said.
Sadie glanced around. “Where are they?”
“Regrouping. No doubt they’re aware of you and your…power.” He grunted. “Hang with me, brother. Focus. Heal.”
Lines of fire etched up Sadie’s skin from her forearm. Tight as a noose, the tendrils squeezed. She coughed through it and used the wall to steady herself.
“Hold on, Sadie.”
“I’m fine.” She would fight this crap raging through her until Theo was well enough to heal her. She was strong. Had to be. For him and for her.
A horn sounded in the distance and she stopped. “And what the hell was that?”
“Battle horn. Hurry. Left at the next turn,” Justin said.
“I got it.” She hurried on. Each step felt as if she were walking deeper and deeper into quicksand. Fatigue sapped her energy. Come on, Sadie. Push it. Push it. She’d fought in tournaments even more tired than this and still won.
Finally, the turn came, but it led to darkness, and she stopped. “I can’t see.”
“Trust me. Keep moving. I can see,” Justin said as he adjusted his grip on Theo. “It’s the venom in your veins messing with your vision.”
Theo mumbled something, and his hand landed heavy on her shoulder. Through the shock of his cold fingers, her eyesight sharpened. Now you see.
“Keep going,” Justin said.
It was as if Theo’s touch clicked on a light in the tunnel. Granite walls flanked them, but the floor was clear from debris, and there was a faint light up ahead.
“Running would be good,” Justin said. “Theophilus, find your strength. We must get your Mate to safety.”
Another roar sounded, but this time it was Theo’s. He grabbed her arm, and a jolt of energy ripped through her shoulder. Instantly, her legs felt refreshed, and her breathing regulated.
The end of the tunnel approached. “Which way?”
“To the right, car’s there.”
She still couldn’t believe he drove the Camaro through the gate. Though she shouldn’t be surprised by anything anymore.
The tunnel ended, and she tore around the corner. Sure enough, there was the car, scratched and dented from the landing, but still idling, ready for takeoff.
“Open the door,” Justin yelled.
She did, then turned to see Theo falling toward her, eyes closed.
“Get him in.” Justin bolted around the back end of the car.
The weight of the giant Shomrei landed on her. Thankfully, her muscles were rejuvenated. Wait, he’d healed her on that last touch. No pain in her shoulder. No searing heat.
No wonder he was unconscious. She hefted him into the backseat and crawled over him to finish dragging his massive body in far enough to get the door shut. “Go. Go.”
The engine revved, and the car bolted forward. “Hold on.”
Justin gunned it, and Sadie fell back. Theo’s limp body shifted, and his face landed on her chest. She held him steady as the car swerved, but she couldn’t take her eyes off him.
Cuts riddled his skin. A swollen eye, split lip, missing ear, and a blood-soaked shirt. Burning tears singed her eyes. A bubble ignited in her stomach that forced her to open her mouth.
And from it, the loudest roar streamed, burning her throat on its way up.
“Hold on, Theo,” Sadie whispered as she brushed the damp strands of hair clinging to his feverish forehead. “I gotcha.”
The car lurched forward and landed with a skid. Sadie clutched Theo to her and looked around.
“Fifty minutes and we’re home,” Justin said.
