I focused hard as Kaine’s angry voice traveled down the hall, growing increasingly clearer. I coughed up the lava-like material onto his bindings and watched as they melted away. The sizzle of his flesh made me cringe, but I saw no other way. Brute strength alone would not break them, or they could never have contained Oz in the first place.
“Only one more,” I said softly, looking over my shoulder at the entrance. As the metal dissolved, freeing Oz, Kaine stepped into the room, his army filing past him to fill the cavern. Oz dropped to his knees, weak and broken, before attempting to stand. Though I wanted to reach for him—to aid him—I knew he needed to do it alone. As a show of strength. As a show of invincibility.
“There is no way out,” Kaine warned, anger thick in his tone.
I smiled at Kaine as Oz would have. “There is if you step aside…”
“Which will never happen.”
I shrugged. “Move. Do not move. Either way, we will be leaving here.” I let my eyes fall to the pile of charred Dark Ones’ remains at the entrance. “They would not yield,” I said calmly. “I fear that did not end well for them.”
Kaine’s scowl deepened. “Oz will be dead before you leave this room if you try.”
“You will never get close enough,” I said before throwing my arms toward them. Zeus’ lightning shot forth, blasting the army of Dark Ones into the wall—even Kaine. The crackle of electricity continued, a net of lightning holding them against the stone. With no time to waste, I threw Oz’s arm over my shoulder and dragged him alongside me as we escaped. “I do not know how long that will last,” I said as we hobbled down the hall. I cursed its narrowness with every step I took.
“That wasn’t all of them,” he grunted out.
“Then I shall either melt or electrocute whoever endeavors to thwart our escape. Will that suffice?” I asked, my tone as sarcastic as it could be as I hauled his massive body down the hall. It finally opened wide enough for my wings to spread. I wrapped my arms around Oz’s waist and lifted him as we took to the air.
“I can fly, you know,” he said, but his voice was thin and weak—and all bravado. I knew he could not have flown more than ten feet without crashing.
“Perhaps you could just navigate out of here instead,” I countered. “I do not know the way.”
“Then how did you get here in the—”
“You do not wish to know the answer to that particular question.”
Telling him that Deimos had brought me would surely do little to help our situation.
Once again, I heard the angry shouts of Kaine and his men chasing me through the mountain. With Oz’s weight slowing me down, I wondered if we would make it out or have to stop to face them. But the hazy sunlight in the distance gave me hope that we would make it—that we would soon be free.
“Cut through the valley,” Oz said. His voice was stronger that time, though tight with pain. I did what I could to lighten my grip, but it was impossible to secure him without squeezing his wounds. They covered too much of his body to avoid.
We broke through the grey glow, and I followed Oz’s directive, cutting around the mountain toward the dusty valley. There were no Dark Ones in our way, so I flew as fast and sure as I could, headed into the grey of the in-between.
“Do you see that?” Oz asked, his bloodied arm raising to point at something in the distance.
“Do I see what?”
“The broken tree.”
It was the only tree in the valley. “Of course I see it—”
“Fly into it.”
“You want me to fly directly into the tree?”
“It’s an exit,” he said. Somehow, he managed to sound frustrated through his pain.
“Is this one of those moments when I must trust you?” I asked, a hint of mocking in my tone.
“I’m trusting you. I figured you could do the same.” His hands gripped my forearms as we neared the portal. “Aim for the knot in the wood. It’ll make the exit smoother.” I did as he asked and altered our trajectory. Only feet away from our target, his grip tightened. “And don’t let me go,” he growled.
Then we crashed through the tree into the skies of Earth.
“Which way is the Underworld?” I asked.
He quickly pointed in that direction, then looked back at me, his bloody features tight. “Bad idea, new girl.”
“We are not going to the Underworld,” I replied, “but we are going somewhere not far from there. Somewhere no one will find us.”
“Then you’d better get us there fast, because Kaine is going to be on your tail in a second.”
I let a little laugh escape, and Oz tensed as it coursed through me to him.
“Perhaps.”
“What did you do?”
“I sent a little farewell present at him as we exited the portal. I wonder if the lightning web will seal it for long?”
He shook his head, though I had little doubt it pained him to do so.
“Never a dull moment…”
“Be quiet. You need to preserve your energy.”
For once, he did not argue—did not fire back an inflammatory response.
“So, where are you taking me?” he asked, releasing my arms. The cold wind felt so bitter without his skin against mine.
“The cabin I lived in when above,” I said. “The one I moved to when I was old enough to leave Demeter’s home. The one where I spent months at a time in solitude.”
A faint growl echoed through his body to mine. “And if the gods know of it?”
“Then I will deal with them, though I highly doubt Demeter would think I would ever go there of my own volition. She knows how I hated it, though it was better than remaining with her. She will assume I am hiding out with my father where Deimos’ brother cannot go.”
“I can’t wait to run into fake Mommy one of these days,” he said, his voice low and menacing. “I should have killed her when you went to see her.”
“If anyone is going to kill Demeter, it will be me.”
His laugh caressed me in a way I would not have thought possible. “We can flip for it.”
3
We arrived in the dense woods not far from the cabin. It was thickly camouflaged by trees and magic, which forced me to land about a mile away and walk the rest of the distance. In the muted light of the forest, I could see that Oz’s wounds were healing. The depth and breadth of them had improved, and his bruises had faded. The swelling in his face was almost gone. It made me wonder just how continually they had beaten him to keep him in the state I had found him in. Then I wanted to go back and burn the in-between down.
“Why are you making that face?” he asked, assessing the forest around us.
“I am angry. This is my angry face.”
He gave a quick nod. “It’s not bad. You should use it more.”
“We should take cover,” I said, heading toward the cabin. Oz kept pace beside me in silence. Minutes later, we arrived at the timber-frame building that only I could see. The magic prevented foreigners—those that had not set foot inside it before—from happening upon it. It was the safest place for us to be.
I moved to open the door, but Oz caught my arm.
“What are you doing?”
“Opening the door,” I said matter of factly.
He looked to where the building stood, and his brow furrowed. “You lost me on that one, new girl.”
I grabbed the handle and pushed the door open. Oz’s eyes went wide when what I could only assume appeared to be woods before him turned into the interior of the tiny home.
“Holy shit—”
“You can express your awe once we are hidden inside,” I said, pushing him through the door. “We still have enemies hunting us. I would prefer not to wait out here for them to arrive.”
“You’re sure this is a good idea?” he asked.
“There is much you do not know, Oz. For now, I think this is our safest option.”
He stared at me for a moment, then released m
e before stepping into the small space. “Well, isn’t this just cozy as fuck…”
I stepped into the single-room home after him. The bed at the far end remained as I had left it. The tiny dining table, only large enough for two, sat untouched. Everything was in its place, and the dust on the floor held no footprints other than those Oz had just made.
Demeter and the gods had not been there.
“It will suffice for now—until we come up with a plan.”
I walked over to smooth the quilt on the bed before sitting. Oz leaned against the kitchen sink and stared.
And so it began.
“I’m not really sure where I should even begin my interrogation,” Oz said, his gaze unwavering, “so why don’t we start with you telling me why the fuck you’re not at the Hallowed Gates with your mother—where I told you to go.”
“You could start by thanking me instead,” I replied, folding my arms across my chest as he did.
“For what? Endangering yourself?”
“For rescuing you from endless torture and dragging your massive frame out of that mountain,” I said, uncurling my body to stand.
“You mean for going to the last place I’d ever want you to go to do something I would never have wanted you to do?”
I stared at him blankly. “Yes. That.”
“Tell me why you left the Hallowed Gates and I’ll consider it.”
“I left the Hallowed Gates,” I said, taking a step toward him, “because the one whose name we do not speak attacked it in search of me. Is that not reason enough?”
His casual lean turned into a defensive stance in the blink of an eye. “Explain.”
So I did. I relayed the story to him as I had my brothers, including the strange circumstances surrounding my mother’s disappearance.
“Jesus—”
“I do not wish for a lecture from you on the matter,” I said, interrupting what I could only assume would have been a scathing analysis of what I had done. “I fled because I felt it was what you would have told me to do in that situation.” His brow furrowed deeper. “I did not wish to leave without securing her first, but I am not convinced she was there to secure in the first place. And by the time I escaped my warded room, using the Dragon’s fire to melt the glass, it was impossible to see much beyond my face.” Shadows danced in his expression. “What are you thinking?” I asked.
“I’m thinking that I don’t like anything about what you just said. I’m thinking that Deimos’ piece of shit brother should never have been able to reach you there. And I’m thinking that something bad has happened to your mother.”
“Do you think that I abandoned her there, or do you think that perhaps her business was outside the Hallowed Gates and some other fate has befallen her?”
Silence.
“I think we need to find out.”
I let his words sink in, heavy though they were.
“It is my turn to ask questions now,” I said, closing the distance between us. I looked at his bare chest, the wounds healing but some still raw and open. My fingers drifted up to lightly trace the edge of one marring his throat. “Are you all right?” My voice was soft and low and empty as I contemplated what might have happened to him had I never left the Hallowed Gates. He would have either died there or been tortured for an eternity—both options unacceptable.
His hand encircled mine and pulled it away. “I’ll be fine. I just need time to rest.”
I looked up at his face and the small cut splitting his bottom lip. My thumb brushed it gently, willing it away.
“I do not like seeing you this way…”
“Now you know how it feels,” was his reply. My arm fell limp at my side. “Once I’m better, we need to go to your brothers and figure this shit out.”
“We cannot go to the Underworld,” I said, my spine straightening. “Kaine can go there—”
“I’m not talking about the Underworld.”
“But that is where my brothers are.”
Confusion settled into Oz’s expression. “Why are they in the Underworld?”
“They went there to find Casey and figure out a way to go after you.”
A wry smile tugged at his lips. “Awww, that’s sweet. They do love me. I guess we’ll have to let them know you succeeded so we can reconvene in Detroit, provided Pierson can get the wards under control.”
“We cannot go to Detroit, either,” I said. “At least not the Victorian.”
He settled back against the sink, arms once again folded against his healing chest. “Why not?”
I took a breath in preparation for the other story I had to tell. “Because it is no longer.”
“What does that mean, new girl?” His agitation was growing by the minute, an excellent sign that he was indeed healing, even if I did not enjoy the way he stared at me.
“I went there after I left the Hallowed Gates. There was nothing to greet me but charred timber and ash and skeletons buried in the remains of the house with Azriel’s stony corpse adorning the front lawn.” He was silent for a moment, absorbing all I had said. “I thought my brothers had been slain—that it was their bodies I found in the wreckage,” I said, my voice cracking.
“So you rushed to the Underworld to see if they were dead.” His words were not a question.
I nodded anyway. “They are alive and well, which begs the question: who burned in the fire that consumed the house? Because I dug through the devastation myself until I found what I had hoped not to. Saw the bones with my own eyes…”
I turned away from him, not wanting him to see the pain their assumed deaths had caused me. I knew I could not keep it from my face. Even though I now knew the truth, the memory still pained me.
“It could be anyone,” he replied. “The better question is, who did it?”
“The Dark Ones, or the gods, or he whose name we dare not speak, or any number of unknown enemies I have yet to face,” I said, my tone sharp to cover my residual sorrow. “It could have been anyone, Oz. Throwing out speculations does nothing to change our circumstances.” His arm fell to his side as he slowly pushed away from the counter. “We cannot do anything about this until you are well enough to fight, so I am going to leave you here to heal while I get word to my brothers in the Underworld—”
“The fuck you are,” he said, his voice little more than a growl.
“We do not have time to argue—”
“All we have is time until I’m healed, new girl, and I’ll be damned if I’m going to spend it lying in that bed while you run off into God knows what without me.”
For some inexplicable reason, his anger made me smile. “Scared to be alone, Dark One?”
He stared at me as though he wished he could set me ablaze—but that was not a trick he possessed. “I’m not letting you out of my sight again. Bad things happen.”
“Like being captured and tortured by Kaine and the others?” I asked. “Tell me, how did you come to be their prisoner?”
“I tried to buy you time,” he said, staring at me with a ferocity I did not understand. “It didn’t go quite as planned.”
“My brothers said the Dark Ones came to the Underworld—”
“Oh, they did. The battle would have been epic, but Kaine seemed to realize quickly that you weren’t there. He turned and ran, like he could feel you escaping. He looked too confident in what he was doing for my liking, so I distracted him—”
“You mean you sacrificed yourself?”
He shrugged in the most infuriating way. “If he’d caught your trail, he could have intercepted you on your way to the Hallowed Gates.”
“And I would have ended him—”
“Maybe,” Oz replied, “but I wasn’t certain that Celia would have let that happen.”
My brow furrowed. “And why would she not?”
“Because she loved him once. It was that love that broke her—that Ares capitalized on.”
“My mother loved Kaine?”
“Yes. And he loved her, too—o
nce upon a time.”
“Then what does he want with me?” I asked.
“I think he wants to use you to leverage Celia back to him—or maybe something much worse.”
“Always a pawn…” The bitterness in my tone drew Oz nearer.
“Not always, new girl.”
I dismissed him with a wave of my hand. “I did not mean you—though I still do not understand what you are to me, or what I am to you.”
“I am the one who is always at your side,” he said, tone low and full of violence.
“Until you send me away to the Hallowed Gates or are shackled to the underside of a mountain.”
“Like I said, I distracted Kaine. It worked for you. Less so for me.”
I swallowed back my guilt. Oz had fallen on his sword for me, and instead of resenting me for it, he looked pleased with himself—proud, even. Whether that was for thwarting Kaine’s plan or for saving me, I could not be certain.
“But you are…you,” I said, eloquence escaping me in that moment. “You never fail.”
“I knew the consequences of my actions before I went after Kaine and the others. It was a calculated risk, but a risk nonetheless.”
I stared at him in disbelief, his fading bruises and wounds a reminder of all he had endured to secure my safety. There was no mistaking his intentions anymore. That sacrificial act said more about the Dark One than a lifetime of dissecting his words ever could. He cared for me, even if he would never admit that aloud. His interest was not entirely selfish. He wanted me to live for me, not for himself.
He had put my life above his own.
“Kaine will pay for what he has done,” I said, anger coursing through me once again.
“I’m pretty sure he’s giving his boys the same pep talk right about now—before they storm the Underworld looking for you.”
“But my brothers are there—”
“Then we’d better go get them.”
“You need to rest and heal,” I said, pointing to the bed. “You stay here. I will go get them now.”
His hand clamped down on my wrist. “Like I said a minute ago, you’re not going anywhere without me.”
“And you are not going anywhere in this shape. You will only get yourself killed. I, however, will not.”
Unmade (Unborn Book 4) Page 3