by M A Roth
I swallowed, and he pulled back, his face shutting down. “It would be nice if my heart was frozen. I wouldn’t have to feel so much then.”
“Are you trying to get me to kiss you?” Nicolas said, full of amusement.
I laughed. “Hardly. The place where we were caged; what was it?” I asked.
“it’s known as the pits. Some of the most notorious killers go there. It’s an existence of torture. No one comes out sane.”
I nodded. “You knew the guy with the whip. How?” I asked.
Nicolas shifted on the log, leaning on his ax. “It’s my business to know all the main players in Hades. The only part of being in the pits that confused me was how closing our eyes hadn’t worked down there.” Nicolas looked at me as if I knew.
“Don’t look at me for answers. I mean, it seems bizarre to me that closing your eyes would make you invisible. Why not do it all the time?”
“It only works in the pits, as your soul is the only true picture of the person you are. They can see it like a film of your life. It’s just odd it didn’t work it normally does.” Nicolas flexed his hand, the one that had no glove on it. It must have felt good to not have to hide them.
“Do you wish you could give it back?” I asked.
“All the time.” He didn’t even ask me what I meant; he just knew. “But when my father died, it passed onto me, and if I have a son, it will pass on to him.”
I could feel myself blush before I even asked the question. “But how can you...you know. You would kill her.”
Nicolas smiled briefly at my embarrassment. “Believe it or not, I have a soulmate, and when I find her, my touch won’t hurt her.”
“So you haven’t found her, yet I assume,” I said.
“No.” Nicolas put back on his glove.
“How will you know?” I asked curiously.
He stood, taking the ax with him, and I got up too. “She won’t die when I kiss her.”
His face was serious, but I burst out laughing. When he didn’t join me, I stopped. “You’re like serious.”
“Yes.” He turned then, making his way back to the castle.
That was a cruel fate. I wondered how many fair maidens had already died at his hands. That was a question I most certainly would never ask.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
The next day, we didn’t waste a moment as Nicolas and I threw ourselves into training. We didn’t speak a word after we’d shared so much yesterday. Both of us were lost in our own thoughts. Mine were still focused on finding my mother.
The door to the training room opened, and Elena burst in, stopping both of us in our tracks. Her face beamed, but she was out of breath from running here. “They found one,” she said. Nicolas smiled back, but when his eyes landed on me, they filled with guilt.
“Found what?” I asked, looking at both of them with suspicion.
“Another person like you,” Elena answered in a matter-of-fact way.
I just nodded my head, not sure what to make of this.
“We leave in twenty minutes. Get changed.” I stood frozen when Nicolas directed this towards me.
“I’m going?” I questioned, a little awestruck. I could run away or escape. I schooled my hopeful features into a ‘whatever’ look.
“You’re the only one who can identify them.” He gave me a look to ask, ‘how the hell do you not know that?’ When I continued to stand there, he went into a quick explanation. “The hairs rise on the back of your neck. That’s how you can identify one another”
“Oh my god, Blake and Jason,” I whispered, thinking of the feeling I got when they were around, or that feeling like I knew them.
“Now you have fifteen minutes,” Nicolas said before marching out the door, Elena practically skipping beside him, unable to hold in her excitement.
I stood there, watching them leave, and then raced after them. My excitement to escape was bubbling up inside me. We met outside. I dressed in black pants, a V-neck jumper, and my knee-high brown boots. I pulled my hair into a bun to keep it out of my eyes. I was shuffling with anticipation.
Nicolas arrived, dressed in all black as well, making his dark eyes look black. He looked like a killer.
I swallowed. How easy would it be to get away from him? His eyes assessed me, and when he reached me, he handed me a dagger. “Put it in your boot, just in case,” he said.
The dagger sat in a leather pouch that protected me from the sharp blade. I did as he instructed. “Where are we going that I need a dagger?” I asked as he started to walk off. I caught up and fell into step beside him.
“Into the main City of Hades. Remember, don’t fall. If you hear any loud noise, run for cover; don’t enter any buildings, and stay behind me at all times.” He stopped, and I nearly smacked into him. “And don’t try and run.” He returned to walking and I followed.
“What kind of loud noise?” I asked, feeling nervous now.
“Any kind.”
We had stopped at the base of the hill that rose up high and led us into the forest. This was the way I had arrived. Nicolas’s gloved hands reached out to me, but I stood there, unsure what to do.
A smirk of amusement grew on his face. “I won’t bite, Abigail, just take my hands.”
I didn’t ask why, but I wanted to wipe the smirk off his face, so I took his hands roughly. His clamped down on mine like a vise-grip. “It’s easier if you close your eyes,” he said, but I didn’t.
The world swirled around us until I thought I would throw up. I snapped my eyes shut, trying to get rid of the feeling of falling. Soon, noise of people milling around and the smell of something rotten made my eyes snap open.
Nicolas’s face came into view, but it wasn’t steady. He still held my arms, allowing me a moment to get my bearings. “What just happened?” I asked, having an idea that he had just teleported us to here.
“I just thought of here, and here we are,” he said, letting my arms go slowly. “Are you steadier now?”
“Yeah.” I wasn’t completely, but I was starting to feel grounded. We stood at the edge of a building, concealed from the madness on the street. It looked like a street party that should have ended hours ago, but nobody wanted to go home. People swayed to blaring music, but their movements were sluggish and slow. Others fought through the crowds, looking around terrified, as if something followed them. When I looked, nothing was there.
One man shoved others who stood staring at the sky in a daze. In his haste to get away from whatever was following him, he knocked them to the ground. None of them tried to get back up. Music blared, getting the whole street moving and jerking. It was bizarre. “Care to explain?” I whispered to Nicolas.
“Later, but now we need to find your Sibling.”
I bristled at the word Sibling, but understood what he meant. I searched the crowd, not seeing anyone, but the hairs rose on the back of my neck. “He’s here.”
“Of course he is here. But where?” Nicolas sounded irritated.
“I don’t know. I can feel him, but can’t see him.” I turned back around, my eyes roaming over the crowd, then stopped. A boy was looking panicked as he pushed people out of his way. I couldn’t get a proper look until he came close.
Blake’s terrified eyes stared up at me. “Blake,” I called gently, not wanting to alert anyone else. Blake turned and continued his panicked search. Nicolas' hand gripped my wrist.
I looked up at him. “How come he can’t see me?” Before Nicolas answered, he pulled me further behind the building. Once we stopped, he moved in close to keep his voice at a whisper. My stomach fluttered at his closeness, and I wanted so badly to move away. “The party is like a welcome one. Blake can’t get out of it until the party stops.”
“So when will it stop?” I asked, looking from Nicolas’s black eyes and back out onto the street.
“I don’t know.” He moved away, letting out a deep breath. “We have no choice but to wait until it ends, and then we grab him.” Nicolas looked back at me.
“In the meantime, we need to keep you out of sight.”
I nodded. This was my chance at finding my mother. Without warning, Nicolas grabbed my wrist. Something steel snapped shut. I pulled away from him, but couldn’t go far. The rattle of the small chain had me pulling harder.
“You cuffed us together. Really?” I yanked again, and Nicolas pulled back. I smacked into his chest.
“I don’t want you wandering off, now do I?”
I took a step away from him, as far as the chain would allow. “And where would I go?” I asked. Damn him.
He paused for a moment. He was about to say something, but I don’t know what stopped him. Instead, he said “I don’t know.”
I knew he was lying. “I wasn’t going to run.” I said the lie, and could see on his face that he knew I wasn’t been truthful.
“Then you won’t mind the cuffs. Now keep an eye on Blake. I don’t want to lose him in the crowd. We need to be the first to get him.” Nicolas leaned against the wall, pulling me with him; each tug was a reminder of my lost freedom.
Blake’s confused face consumed my thoughts as he filled my vision. I waved, but he really couldn’t see me. “What will happen to all the people?” I ask.
“It depends on why they are here. What they did to get a one-way ticket to Hell.”
A horn sounded, piercing my ears, and the music stopped. It was as if everyone woke up. At first, they looked around, confused. Then panic seemed to set in. The screams and dashing of people rocked the crowd.
“What’s happening?” I spoke without taking my eyes off Blake, who now skittered around the outskirts of the crowd.
“The Mammon has arrived. We need to get Blake, and now.” Nicolas had pushed off the wall and was making a steady march towards Blake, dragging me along with him.
“What is a Mammon?” Did I really want to know? The screams had hit a level of hysteria. I watched a young man run straight into a wall in his panic to get away. From what, I still couldn’t see.
“Soul Eaters,” Nicolas said. He clamped his hand down on Blake’s arm, causing Blake to scream. Nicolas had me dragged up beside him so Blake could see me.
“Abigail!” God, he looked terrified. I wondered if I looked that way too.
“It’s okay,” I said, not sounding one bit convincing.
Blake was shaking his head. “They are eating people!” he was still shaking his head as he spoke.
“You need to calm down.” Nicolas’s words did the opposite. It was like it was his first time seeing Nicolas, who still had his hand on Blake’s arm. He pushed Nicolas away and backed into the crowd.
“Blake, don’t...” I said too late. He took off into the crowd. Nicolas cursed before dragging me into the chaos. The screams were making me panic. I wanted them to stop, and when we broke through the far side of the crowd, I was just glad I didn’t see the Soul Eaters.
What I did see was Blake running into a building. Nicolas didn’t shout at him, but nearly ripped my arm off, chasing after him while cursing. “Could you take it easy?” I asked him, but he didn’t slow.
“We don’t have much time. The window to get to him only stays open about thirty seconds.” Nicolas broke the door in, and we stood in a long, dark corridor.
I could see Blake racing up ahead. “Blake, wait!” I shouted, but he didn’t stop.
Nicolas took off, and I was sure I felt something tear in my arm. “Blake, stop!”
Nicolas’s roar spurred him to go even faster. “Congrats, you’re terrifying him!” I shouted.
“We need to stop him. His fear is manifesting.”
That made me think of the zombies that I had created. “Blake, stop, please!” I shouted, my own fear rising.
Blake burst through a door at the end of the hall. Light poured in. We were nearly there. He paused for a second, looking back at us before slamming the door and plunging us into darkness. It didn’t stop Nicolas from slowing down; he barrelled through the door.
I tripped, knowing that this was my third time to fall, the one that would change everything. Before I hit the ground, I was yanked back quickly. I heard something snap before the pain ignited in my arm. Something was definitely broken.
Nicolas didn’t slow as I tried to hold my arm still. “My arm is broken,” I told his back.
“We can’t stop.”
And we didn’t. Blake had slowed down; he was looking over his shoulder at us. I could see it coming a mile away. He stumbled into the wall and hit the ground hard, where he now lay. We reached him just as a screech filled the air. The one I had heard before. Nicolas cursed again.
“Grab his arm!” I looked at our cuffed hands; like that was possible. Nicolas clenched his fist. I could feel the cold around my wrist. Then Nicolas gave one pull, and the cuffs shattered like glass. But my arm was still broken. I went around the other side of Blake and helped Nicolas lift him.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
It always looks so easy in the movies, but in real life, he was a one-ton weight. On my side, he was dragging. We moved back to the door we had come out of as another ear-piercing screech filled the air. The alley darkened.
“Don’t look up, Abigail, just keep going.” For the first time, I could hear the urgency and a slight bit of fear in Nicolas’s voice.
So I looked up to see the underbelly of what looked like a black dragon. I stumbled, nearly pulling us all down.
Nicolas was quick to act. But my arm took another tug, and I screamed in pain. The screech of the dragon spurred us on. Nicolas pulled the door open, taking Blake with him. I followed, closing the door, but froze.
The dragon had turned, and now he looked at me with red fire eyes. He was the width of the building; his black scales coated his body and head. But his eyes were intelligent.
“Close the door!” Nicolas roared. Another screech erupted from the dragon just before he opened his mouth and unleashed a fireball heading directly for me. My mind screamed for me to close the door, but I was frozen.
The wall of ice materialized before me for a second before it shattered into a million pieces. Nicolas was there, slamming the door shut. “Are you trying to get yourself killed?!” His words didn’t affect me straight away. “Abigail?” He wasn’t shouting now, and that seemed to pull me out of my statue stance.
“I just froze.” I looked at Blake, who lay on the ground. He looked like he was asleep. The quite inside the building was eerie after the roars of the dragon. I cradled my arm to my chest, the pain throbbing away.
“Let me see” Nicolas stood beside me, his un-gloved hand outstretched.
I moved away. “I saw what you did to the cuffs. I like my hand the way it is, thank you very much.”
I swear I saw him smile ever so slightly. “I’ll heal it; you won’t lose your arm. Or I can just leave you with a broken arm.”
I gave him my arm reluctantly and looked away. I didn’t want to witness it falling off. The pain ceased almost immediately. When he let my arm go, I tried it experimentally, waving it up and down. “It worked,” I said in awe and relief.
Nicolas put his glove back on. The building shook violently, and I stumbled into the wall. I didn’t get to ask what the hell was happening. The screech of the dragon tore through the house. I was moving, grabbing Blake in sync with Nicolas as we raced down the hall.
“What’s happening?” Blake’s words were a relief. Hopefully, with him awake, we could move faster. The building shook again, and I clung onto Blake, preventing him from falling again. He had a wild look in his eyes, like an animal cornered. Whatever happened when he fell had shaken him to the core.
“Blake, you need to keep it together,” I told him, grabbing his face.
His eyes landed on my face and he nodded. The sound that erupted was like a can being crushed, only it was the house. Cracks grew fast and wide down the walls. Dust and debris filled the air.
“We need to get out of here now!” I couldn’t see Nicolas through the dust, but his hand latched onto my arm. I grabbed
Blake’s, and he didn’t protest as Nicolas led us out of the crumbling house.
Through the back door and into the alleyway, the heat was nearly unbearable the moment that Nicolas opened the door. The whole place was on fire. Nicolas let go of my arm, removing his gloves quickly. “Stay beside me; just don’t touch me.”
I moved as close as I dared while pulling Blake with me. Nicolas built a wall of streaming water around us as we moved through the flames, none of them touching us. It was amazing, but we didn’t have time for sightseeing.
The dragon roared again from the sky. The flames disappeared, and Nicolas dropped our shield. We ran towards more derelict buildings. I still held Blake’s hand. I looked up to see the dragon moving in circles.
Nicolas entered the building, me and Blake on his heels. When the door closed, we were plunged into darkness.
“What’s happening, Abigail? What is this place?” Hysteria was building in Blake’s voice.
I didn’t blame him. I squeezed his hand. “It’s okay, you’re safe.” I told the lie easily.
“My sister...”
I didn’t let him continue. “Blake, what you saw happen to your sister wasn’t real.”
Nicolas was moving around, maybe looking for a light, but I didn’t dare leave Blake.
“Am I dreaming?”
I was tempted to say yes. “Not quite.” I didn’t want to lie.
The light illuminated the room that we stood in. It was a room covered in doors, and every available wall space had a door on it. I didn’t question the weirdness of that. “The dragon?” I asked Nicolas.
“I don’t know,” he rushed as he took in all the doors.
“Dragon?” I could hear the panic in Blake’s voice. Blake’s panic had him opening doors, only to slam them. Behind each door was a brick wall, and the more walls he faced, the more frantic he became.
The next door he opened lead outside, and onto sand. He was out the door before I could stop him, and Nicolas and I followed. We stood in a circular dome filled with sand, which Blake kicked up into a dust cloud. “What is this?”
