Forged by Fate (Entangled Embrace)

by Reese Monroe

“Unless he keeps me here and keeps using you,” Sadie said, hoping to fuel that scorned-woman thing. “Seems he’s got a little crush on me.”

  That elicited a growl. “Will the vanquish kill Agares?”

  Sadie couldn’t care less, actually, but if she could get Yvonne to help… “It’ll just sentence him to eternal life down here with you. Unable to leave you.” She coughed, hoping her hunch about Yvonne was right. “You’d have him to yourself. Forever.”

  “I know of something that might help.” Yvonne glanced to the ceiling as if filing through her memory archives or something. “A scroll in the library.”

  “You have a library in Hades?”

  “You’re so ignorant it’s almost funny,” Yvonne said. “Too bad you’re so damned powerful. I’d like to kill you now just to get back at Agares.”

  Sadie tensed for battle in case she struck. “But you like the idea of having him stuck here with you more, right?”

  She grinned. “Exactly.”

  Sadie pointed to the wall. “Please tell me you have a key to this invisible door.”

  “No. But when he returns, the splice stays open for a few seconds. You can get out that way.”

  Should she believe this demon? Trust the information she’d shared? She didn’t have much of a choice. Either stay stuck here or take a chance that even one little part of Yvonne’s information was right: the splice would stay open long enough for Sadie to get out of here.

  She dropped the letter opener. “Okay, Yvonne. Tell me everything you know about this scroll and how to get it.”

  Chapter Fifty-eight

  Hold on, Theo. I’m coming. Sadie repeated that phrase as she pressed her back flat against the wall beside the non-door and gripped her one and only weapon: a wooden leg from the desk she’d shattered.

  As part of the plan for when Aggie arrived, Yvonne lay on the floor at the foot of the bed ready to feign unconsciousness. But for now, the demon watched Sadie with curious eyes.

  This had better work. Sadie couldn’t truly kill the demons without the Mavet dagger, and being trapped in this room with one creature, soon to be two when Aggie arrived, would prove fatal, so she couldn’t miss this chance.

  First left, down the hallway, sixth door on the right. She stared at Yvonne, and the demon flinched.

  Yes. For the hundredth time. Now get out of my head.

  Sadie laughed. Feisty. Too bad Yvonne was a demon; Sadie might have actually liked her had they met on earth under way different circumstances. Aggie had obviously used her, and from the sounds of what Yvonne told Sadie, it hadn’t been the first time, either. Yet she stayed with Aggie. Sadie couldn’t help but feel bad for the girl.

  For a minute, anyway.

  Sadie drew in a deep breath and held it, working to calm her nerves. Thinking of Theo did that. Though it ignited a level of worry, too, it mostly calmed her. Especially thinking about their first time making love.

  She’d find him. They’d be together again. Forever.

  Electricity crackled, signaling Aggie’s impending arrival.

  Yvonne nodded, then feigned unconsciousness, her back to Sadie exactly as planned.

  Sadie tightened her hold on her wooden weapon. Hopefully Aggie would be distracted by Yvonne long enough for Sadie to get into the splice. Maybe getting out of this protected room would allow her thoughts of Theo to reach him. Then he and Justin would barge down here like they had before.

  If Theo was still alive. Or strong enough to get to her. Yes. He had to be. At this point, she couldn’t—no, wouldn’t—entertain otherwise.

  A sliver of blackness opened, and a cool breeze streamed out. She flattened her back to the wall and inched toward it.

  According to Yvonne, it took a few minutes to gather strength to create another splice after one closed. Sadie would only have three or four minutes to find the room with the scrolls. She still couldn’t believe Hades had a library. Or “Room of History,” as Yvonne called it. But it evidently held many documents of ancient importance.

  Dear Great One, please let the scroll be easily found.

  The splice widened. Yvonne tensed.

  Sadie bent her knees and held her weapon at the ready.

  “Yvonne, get me—”

  Crack. Sadie hammered the wood against the back of Aggie’s skull and kicked him into the room. One lunge, and she dove into the splice.

  Frigid air sliced at her bare arms. It froze her lungs, and the pressure around her squeezed out what was left of the air. Just like when Aggie had taken her.

  Please let me end up where I’m supposed to.

  After what felt like hours, she landed on her side, pain shredding its way up her shoulder. She rolled and hopped to her feet. Two tall walls of granite flanked her. That she recognized. She looked back just in time to see the splice seal up.

  Less than five minutes, unless she hit Aggie hard enough to knock him out. She sprinted left, then down the hallway. Six doors later she burst through the door and slammed it shut.

  Candles lit the room, keeping it dim. Utter silence. Not even a breeze. Not even a hint of scent hung in the air other than the wax of the candles.

  To the left were shelves of books, to the right, three desks with computers propped atop. High tech down in Hades. She never would have guessed.

  Sadie fingered the aisles as she went. “Spells and chants. Weapons and disease. So much for alphabetizing.” She kept onward. “Trends and vanquishes.” She paused on that one. No. She needed…Prophecies. It was the last row, just as Yvonne had told her.

  Hold on, Theo. Please hear me. Justin. Halena. Please come.

  Sadie turned down the aisle and was met with a row of leather scrolls. There had to be at least fifty. “Shit. Which one?”

  Each scroll had its own shelf with a label. She moved on, fingering each label, not really sure what she was looking for, until halfway through. “Amiti Mavet.”

  Yvonne had mentioned those words. Sadie’d only recognized the second word because that was what Theo’s daggers were called. Grabbing that one, she pulled it open and caught words such as “final” and “Hades” and “death.” She rolled it back up and kept moving. Her heart hammered. Her blood pulsed. She only had a few more minutes. And if Aggie could read Yvonne’s mind, he’d know right where Sadie was.

  “Come on. Come on.” She moved down the aisle to the last one. Batya.

  “That’s it.” She grabbed it and ran to the end of the row. She heaved a deep breath and listened. No alarms. No shuffling. Nothing.

  But was it a trick?

  She padded to the door and listened for three long seconds.

  Only silence.

  She glanced around the room. Nothing for a weapon presented itself; even a peek down the weapon aisle came up empty.

  Theo. Theo.

  She cracked open the door. Only darkness and quiet. What the hell was going on? A cold sense of unease wrapped around her stomach, but she pushed through it. She couldn’t hide here forever. She needed to get to Theo. To a Mavet dagger so she could end Aggie.

  In the hallway, she hugged the smooth granite walls, gripping the scrolls in one hand and touching the wall with the other. It was warm, smooth, shiny. The walls reached up into darkness, never ending.

  Now where? She glanced up and down the hallway, focusing on what Yvonne had said. To get to a splice, go right once out of the library. Pass at least fifteen doors and caves and coves. The hallway should end in a circular cove. It’ll look like a dead end. It’s not. Go left, then first right. That’s the real dead end. Just say the word “Kadur” and a splice will open.

  Sadie glanced up and down the hallway again as she moved toward the end.

  She swallowed through the dryness taking over her throat and mouth. Her muscles pulsed with energy. Hope. She was close. So close.

  Finally, she approached the real dead end. She slowed to a stop and peeked around the corner. The ground was dirt, with rocks burning red-hot off to the right, and some barren trees with
dead limbs spiking upward surrounded the small space.

  “Kadur,” she whispered.

  Beside that decrepit tree a splice shimmered. Black with little sparks of electricity. Unguarded? Not likely. She checked behind her, then scanned the open area again.

  The splice flickered. A growl erupted beside the vacillating slice of black void. The ground shook beneath her, and she gripped the wall to steady herself. A dark shadow covered the area. The rock beside the tree moved, taking shape as if someone was emerging from the very rock.

  She ran as fast as she could toward the doorway to earth.

  Something hard rammed into her stomach, stealing the breath she’d just taken in. She flew through the air and slammed into the granite wall. Her lungs seized as she slid to the ground.

  A creature at least twelve feet tall loomed over her. Granite eyes stared down and gravel slid off its head, dusting her with debris. A rocky hand reached for her. She kicked the creature in the groin, hoping it’d have an effect, even though he appeared to be made of stone.

  The hand whooshed over her head, catching a few strands of her hair. The sting to her scalp snapped her into focus. She tightened her grip on the scrolls.

  “Little Batya. Trapped in my realm.” The rock spoke in a gravelly voice, forming words laced with tightness. Disdain.

  “Not for long, Rocky.” She rolled to the side and hopped to her feet.

  The rock-man lunged, shaking the ground with each step, but she leaped onto the rock, the soles of her boots melting on contact, and pushed off.

  She planted both feet against the chest of the rock monster, and he teetered. She rode him like a surfboard on his way down, stepped on his face, then dove.

  Right for the splice.

  Once again, the cold ripped through her, but she welcomed the reprieve from the heat of that rock-monster’s lair. She tucked the scrolls to her and curled into a ball as best she could, bracing for a hard fall.

  And that it was.

  Pain screamed up her shoulder. Her head whipped to the side, sending a twinge of agony down her neck. She rolled to her back and took in her surroundings.

  Three demons looked down at her, fangs dropped and taloned hands reaching.

  Yvonne had set her up.

  Chapter Fifty-nine

  A fist to the face sent Sadie whirling. A tree trunk stopped her spinning, and she ducked. Another fist smashed against the bark, sending splinters into the air.

  She glanced around. Pink clouds littered a clear sky. Warm breeze laced with pine and wood. But it felt like earth. Halena. Justin. Theo. She ducked beneath two arms reaching for her, rolled, and hopped to her feet. She ran.

  One leap got her onto a rock, and she yelled, “Claudo.” Out shot her wings. “Fly. Fly. Fly.” She’d never tried before, but she hoped instinct would take over. It had when Dasha was in danger.

  Please, Great One.

  The wings flapped, her body dropped, then lifted. Her stomach clenched as the new appendages went to work. She was gaining altitude.

  Above the treetops she soared, clutching the two scrolls to her chest, gulping air to fuel her lungs. Each pull of the wings stretched the limits of her stomach muscles.

  Good thing she healed fast.

  Take me home. Please. To Theo. Could she rely on her wings? Instinct?

  The warm wind streamed through her hair. She scanned the area. Northern Arizona, by the looks of all the pine trees. No huge mountains like she’d seen in Colorado.

  Theo. Hear me. Hold on.

  If she’d oriented herself correctly, she veered south and spotted a winding road. Two lanes each way. Yes. She’d follow that. It’d lead her down this foothill. It had to.

  She ordered her wings to flap, and while her stomach groaned in objection, they obeyed. Fluid, natural strokes. Such freedom up here.

  All she wanted was Theo, though.

  She dove down, thinking it might not be safe if she flew too high. After ten minutes her stomach roared with hunger. She had no clue when was the last time she’d eaten, but by the sound of the noise coming from her it’d been ages.

  Halena. Theo. Justin. Why wasn’t anyone answering? Too far away. Maybe she wasn’t in Arizona after all.

  She dipped farther, her energy waning quickly. “Just keep going. Come on,” she ordered her wings. “Go.”

  They didn’t listen. They slowed their cadence, and she began descending, but not before she caught sight of a roof. A few of them came into view up ahead. It might be a town, and if her wings were pooping out on her, she needed a phone to reach Theo.

  Too bad she didn’t know how to land.

  She sucked in a breath and focused on everything she’d read over the years about birds. It couldn’t be much different, right?

  She neared the ground and bent her knees ready to land. She flapped hard two times, then dropped.

  Too much momentum. She ran forward and ordered her wings to straighten to catch wind. They flapped a few times, slowing her, and she skidded to a stop on the gravel shoulder.

  Not exactly graceful, but not bad for her first time.

  A flash of light burst from behind her, and she hustled into the brush. “Abeo.”

  The wings vanished, and she stumbled at the lack of weight. She took inventory of her surroundings. Pine trees behind her, a two-lane road ahead of her, and a car zooming down the road.

  She took off running, hugging the shadows of the trees. Soon, a break in the foliage revealed buildings.

  “Yes.” It had been a small town she’d seen. She shoved the scrolls down the back of her jeans and pulled her shirt over it. A gust of wind filtered through a gap in the fabric where her wings had shot out. She’d need to work on some wardrobe alterations.

  But first a phone.

  A revving engine demanded her attention. A red sports car swerved into the parking lot ahead. She skidded to a stop, hackles raised, fangs ready to drop. She dove to the side of a building and pressed her back against it.

  “Sadie!” someone yelled. “Damn it. I saw her land here.”

  Two car doors slammed. “Batya.”

  Wait. That was Justin and Halena’s voices. Besides demons—and she couldn’t sense any nearby at the moment—only they’d know that word.

  “I know I saw her,” Justin said.

  Sadie peeked around the corner. Sure as shit, there stood Halena and Justin.

  Were her eyes betraying her? She glanced around and got no sense of ill will, so she stepped out. “Justin.”

  He stopped, then turned around. His eyes widened, and in a blur he was before her. “Sadie.” He grabbed her and held so tight she couldn’t breathe, but she didn’t care. It was Justin. Halena.

  But no Theo. A sob choked her. “Where’s Theo?”

  “Shhh,” he said. “Come on.”

  “How are you here?” Halena said, sidling up to her. “We just annihilated a slew of demons atop this hill. Then thought we saw you flying away.”

  She nodded. “Theo?” she asked again, her heart aching for him.

  “He’s okay.” Justin coughed deep and hard as he led her toward the car. “Hurry. We need to get you to him.”

  “Dasha?”

  “She’s fine, too,” Halena said. “Back on campus. She calls daily asking about any change.”

  Dasha. Tears pricked at Sadie’s eyes. Her best friend was safe, but she didn’t like that unsettled feeling deep in her stomach when she thought of Theo.

  “Is Theo really okay?” Her voice cracked. “It’s been so long.”

  “Shhh. You’re here now. Come on.” Halena stepped in for Justin and guided her by the elbow to the car. “It’s going to be fine. He’ll be fine.”

  The tightness in Halena’s voice did little to reassure Sadie of Theo’s well-being. They settled her into the car and Justin peeled out of the lot.

  “Where are we?”

  “Highland Mountain. Only forty minutes from home.” Justin swerved around the bend much too fast. He gripped the wheel u
ntil his knuckles blanched.

  Halena grabbed his shoulder. “Hang on, Justin.”

  A nod followed by another lung-rattling cough triggered a blast of worry through Sadie. “What’s—”

  “Where have you been?” Halena turned and looked at her over the front seat.

  Sadie shared a shortened version of the story.

  “Three months with no food? How are you even upright?” Halena asked.

  “Not sure.” Actually, she’d woken up feeling even stronger.

  “Maybe your angel half doesn’t need food at all to keep up strength.”

  “I don’t know.”

  “How’d you know how to fly?” Halena asked.

  “I just jumped and hoped.” She tapped Justin’s shoulder. “Go faster.” Dread closed in around her stomach when her thoughts lingered on Theo. She barely felt him despite calling out to him several times.

  “So, these scrolls.” Halena held them up. “A demon told you they held the answer?”

  She nodded, looking out the window. “It’s a long story. Just start going through them. The words are in there. I know it.”

  “Since when did we start trusting demons?” Halena faced forward.

  Three months hadn’t changed her. She was still a bitch. Halena and Justin talked, but Sadie pushed out their voices and focused on Theo. His smile. His laugh. His skin. She looked at her ring and slid her finger over the precious metal.

  “So. You know Hebrew?” Halena’s voice pierced Sadie’s thoughts.

  “What?”

  “These scrolls are written in Hebrew.”

  “No, they’re not. I looked at them. It’s English.” Sadie reached for one. “See.” She rolled it down and started reading. “At the dawn of time, evil worked to spread darkness…”

  “That’s not English. I can’t read that.” Halena shook her head. “But maybe it’s because your eyes are glowing that you can.”

  Justin glanced in the rearview mirror. “Yep. Red. Theo mentioned something about that.”

  Sadie glanced down. Her vision was tinted red now that she thought about it. Thoughts streamed into her mind. She’s broken. Fragile. Theo needs her. What if it’s too late? What do the red eyes mean?