Princes of the Underworld

by Olivia Ash

  Sadie and the princes tore the place apart, looking inside cabinets and drawers, checking the floor and the walls for any loose boards, holes, or hidden latches.

  She was looking for said holes in the wall beside the back window when she looked out and saw a concrete slab in the grass outside. She remembered how Blair liked secrets, contingency plans, insurance, and extra precautions. On a whim, she stopped her search and just stared at it, scrutinizing the edges. In her gut, she felt that there was more to it. There was something off about it. More than just a slab of concrete.

  Beside her, Steele had just toppled a rickety shelf and was perusing each book. “Steele, come here.”

  “What’s up?” he asked, standing up and approaching her.

  Sadie pointed to the slab. “Help me break it, will you? It’s just a feeling.”

  They went out through the back window and stood beside the concrete slab. Damien noticed and followed. “What did you find?”

  “Not sure yet,” she said.

  Steele raised his axe and slammed it on the concrete slab. It broke after one blow. Sadie had expected it to crack, not to wither and crumble down a hole in the ground. Steele kicked on the fragments that remained, widening the hole.

  Sadie opened her palm to cast a small flame. It glowed, brightening the darkness inside the hole. She peeked and saw a small hollow, a room, all its walls covered in shelves containing all sorts of trinkets. It reminded her of a treasure trove.

  Steele jumped in first. She followed. Steele held his hand up to help her, but she just rolled her eyes and waved it away. Damien called Mordecai and Kaiser before jumping into the hollow himself.

  When Kaiser and Mordecai jumped inside, the four of them had to minimize their movements because of the narrow space. Sadie began to look around when Damien held his hands up.

  “We have company,” he said.

  Just as they were about to leave the confined space to be safe from an attack, if there was one, a small, metallic object dropped down from the small entrance they had created and clanked on the floor.

  A grenade.

  Kaiser quickly grabbed the object and threw it into the air. It reached such an extraordinary height that when it exploded, it looked like a lone firework bursting in the night sky. Sadie knew fireworks were illegal in Seattle, and she wondered if anyone would be reporting the sound or if authorities would even bother to reprimand people in a place such as this. She didn’t think so, and she let the thought go.

  She was about to tell the guys to get out of the small room when Kaiser wrapped his arms around her and jumped out of the hole. The two of them landed on the grass a few meters away from the broken, concrete slab. The other princes followed soon after. They immediately shifted back into their demon forms.

  Sadie looked around her. The abandoned house stood behind her and the princes and surrounding them was a group of men and women clad in dark clothes, armed to the teeth with knives and pistols. They formed an arc around them and reminded her of the man she had fought in this place not long ago. They were demon hunters, and there were at least thirty of them.

  Sadie wondered how they knew she would be here, and tonight of all nights. Maybe a scout was always stationed near this place, lying in wait so that if someone appeared, the scout would raise the alarm. Either way, Sadie didn’t know for sure. All she knew was that this was going to be a big fight.

  A man, middle aged and wearing an eyepatch, stood in the center of the line of demon hunters. He seemed to be their leader. He approached but kept his distance from Sadie and her princes.

  “Thanks,” he said. “We have been looking for Blair’s stash for a while now. She stole a lot of shit from the wrong people, you know.”

  If Sadie should think of one good thing that had happened today, it was the confirmation that they had finally found Blair’s stash. This man didn’t seem friendly at all, though, and he didn’t seem like the type of guy to let her group take a look at Blair’s hideaway, even if they only took what they needed…never mind the grenade, hello.

  “Who are you working for?” Damien asked. “I have friends in high places that would be pissed if their servants dared to attack me.”

  The man only shrugged. “No worries. You’re fair game.” He looked at Sadie, smirking. “You all are, especially Sadie.”

  The way he said her name and stared at her made her skin crawl. She was about to snap back, but the man pulled a gun from his back and fired at her. She held out her arm in a reflexive move. She almost laughed at her reaction, thinking her arm could block a bullet. Thankfully, with his inhuman speed, Kaiser sprinted in front of her and parried the bullet with the blade of his dagger.

  The man snarled and fired the remaining bullets of his pistol at her. Kaiser became a blur, parrying all the bullets with his blade. Most fell to the ground, but some of them hit a few men in the arms, shoulders, and legs. One bullet that ricocheted from Kaiser’s blade hit a man in the forehead. He dropped down dead, his mouth hung open in a silent scream.

  The man’s gun clicked empty. Kaiser paused in front of Sadie, holding up his dagger that was now crooked and dinted. He let it drop to the ground. The man threw aside his gun and pulled out two knives from his boots. He charged at Kaiser who now held his fists in front of him. The rest of the demon hunters followed their leader and charged.

  Sadie unsheathed her black sword as the leader sidestepped Kaiser’s blow and made his way toward her. She slashed her sword at him and jabbed at his chest, but he blocked it with a swing. She turned to reduce the impact that resonated through her arm. The man threw one of his daggers at her. She sidestepped, narrowly missing the knife as it whizzed past her shoulder.

  She ducked and crouched, and she shot a ball of fire at the demon hunter. It hit him in the abdomen. His shirt caught fire, which distracted him. Sadie stood with a hand held out in front of her and concentrated on the man’s flaming clothes. She willed the fire to spread from his abdomen to his chest and to his sleeves.

  A shadow loomed over her, forcing her to halt her casting so she could face her new attacker. At the very last second, a blade descended on her. She raised her sword and blocked the blow only to kick the attacker’s kneecap and swing the sword at his wrist. He screamed as his hand fell to the ground.

  The woman nearest her saw what had happened. Shrieking, she ran toward Sadie and swung her sword. Her movements were furious, but that made her weaker in strategy. Perhaps she was a lover to the man she had injured, based on the way she behaved. Sadie blocked each one of her blows. The woman pulled her gun from its holster. Sadie expertly kicked the gun out of the woman’s hand, forcing it to land in the grass a good five to ten feet off.

  Guns. Why didn’t we bring guns?

  She groaned. She was too caught up in the moment of finally finding a weapon that could take care of Mara to think about grabbing a gun. She almost laughed. But she had to compose herself and collected all her deranged thoughts, subduing them until a more appropriate moment to let them out. She could cast fire and smoke. Who needed guns when there was that?

  The woman scrambled for her dagger, but in her panic, she couldn’t seem to find it. Sadie jabbed her sword under the woman’s sternum and felt the tip of her blade pierce the woman’s heart. She kicked the woman’s body away from her weapon as her blade slid off the body with a sickening sound.

  The one-handed man, who Sadie supposed was the woman’s lover, attacked. His face twisted in a mixture of grief, fear, and anger. In a normal day, Sadie would have been sorry. But right now, she just didn’t have the time when all these people were trying to kill her.

  She leapt in the direction of the woman’s gun. She picked it up, crouched, and shot the man straight in the throat. He collapsed with a gurgling sound as she climbed back to her feet. Her heart raced as two more demon hunters sprinted toward her, weapons at the ready. She held her sword at her side. The blade dripped red on the grass.

  Just as she stepped forward and prepared for anot
her fight, a piercing sensation struck her shoulder. Someone had stabbed her from behind. She lost hold of her sword, and it fell on the grass. She yelped as a blow hit the back of her knees and caused her to collapse to the ground. She raised her arms up to soften the fall, but that had only sent searing pain through her shoulder. She rolled on her back, clenching her teeth, and she tried to reach for her weapon on the grass beside her. But a half-naked figure kneeled over her.

  The eye-patch guy, the leader of the group that had attacked her. His entire torso was now covered in blisters and burns.

  The man leered at her. “Bitch. Look at what you’ve done.”

  His visible eye blazed. Spittle flew from his mouth as he spat his words.

  The man pressed on her wounded shoulder. Sadie gritted her teeth. He thrust his blade in her other shoulder, and Sadie groaned. Her body begged for the pain to stop. Her breathing grew shallower. And she got pissed.

  She refused to die. Not at the hands of a random demon hunter.

  She screamed, gathering all her magic. She had once turned a man to ash and she couldn’t even control her fire abilities then. Now that she could, it should be easy. She reached for the energy brimming in the amulet in her chest. She tapped into its magic and let it consume her. The power sizzled and flowed from her chest to her hands. She held her palms up and, with all her strength, she let everything out.

  Bright light enveloped her, but the flash ended soon after it started.

  The outburst left her drained. The weight above her thankfully disappeared, but both her shoulders stung from the wounds. Ash rained down on her. She coughed and spat, tasting the vile remains in her mouth. Groaning, she rolled to her knees and stood and walked away from the remnants of that man.

  Chapter Forty

  Sadie

  Her shoulders hurt, but she raised an arm to shoot bolts of fire at her enemies. She struggled to maintain focus as she worked through the pain, suffering more throbbing sensations each time she lifted an arm. Burning sensations erupted from her chest and she felt her wounds slowly start to heal.

  “Sadie,” Steele said. “Are you all right?”

  She nodded, but it didn’t feel convincing. Kaiser stood beside him within seconds. Mordecai appeared from mist beside her. Damien flew toward them and landed beside Steele.

  I’m fine, she wanted to say, but she staggered. Steele caught her before she fell.

  “Don’t even speak,” he said.

  Sadie gathered her focus, and speaking slowly, said, “I can still fight.”

  Steele kissed the top of her head. “I know you can. But we fight together, all right?”

  She felt him caress her mental barrier and she let him in without a second thought. It was Steele, after all. A blissful warmth built on the back of her head, and the pain in both her shoulders disappeared. She looked at him and opened her mouth to speak but didn’t know what she would say.

  He kissed her cheek. “Can you cast?”

  “Yes,” she said, sounding stronger.

  Mordecai, Kaiser, and Damien surrounded them, backs facing each other. The dozen or so demon hunters that were left surrounded them. She scanned each of the princes’ bodies, checking for any wounds. She noticed Kaiser shifted his weight on his right leg, and Damien had a shallow gash on his thigh, but aside from that, they didn’t seem hurt too much. She didn’t care how hurt she was. She was just relieved that none of them had been lethally injured.

  The rest of the demon hunters charged at once. Kaiser blocked the bullets that sailed toward them. Some would have hit Mordecai or Damien, or even her and Steele, but Kaiser blocked them all. The three of them fought a duel of their own but at the same time protected each other whenever a demon hunter got too close. Now that she was observing them fight together, she understood why they fought so efficiently and how they avoided injuries like what had befallen her. Unlike her, who had fought pretty much alone and just looked out for her own hide, they fought as a team.

  Now as she fought with them, she was a part of that team, and she felt stronger with their aid.

  Steele, aside from using his mind to ease her pain, also mentally attacked some of their assailants. A few of the demon hunters doubled over in pain and collapsed to the ground, holding their heads. Some screamed for no apparent reason, swinging their weapons at non-existent attackers.

  Sadie recalled her own little torment from Steele’s demonstrations and forced back a shudder. She didn’t envy the hunters one little bit. In fact, she was glad she wasn’t experiencing the images they were succumbing to.

  Sadie shook herself from her reverie. She should be fighting with them.

  Raising a palm, she shot bolts of fire at some of the demon hunters that got to close to her and her men. She hit one on the chest and let the flames grow, consuming the woman’s entire body. Now, she had the princes surrounding her back, so her concentration didn’t falter. The risk of being hurt from behind was removed. Steele easing the pain in her shoulders had also helped a lot.

  She hit another one in the forearm. Her shot got extinguished immediately, so she tried again and shot the him in his head. His hair combusted. Still, she let the flames grow until it covered his entire body. The man screamed, flailing his arms and running away from her until he fell, writhing on the grass before eventually lying still. The smell of charred remains didn’t affect Sadie in the least. If anything, it encouraged her.

  Fighting was definitely easier with the princes. She marveled at their efficiency while working together. Even after so many years estranged from each other, they still had that undying, brotherly bond. She had noticed that very bond growing stronger, uniting them again, since coming to her fortress. They all made an incredible team, and she was grateful for it.

  When only three of the demon hunters were left, they had their weapons drawn but looked around at their fallen comrades. The three of them looked to each other, hesitating on making the next move.

  Damien stepped forward. The hunters seemed to have nearly shat themselves, dropped their weapons, and ran away.

  Mordecai shifted to shadow and rushed toward them. Their running figures stopped and tumbled to the ground.

  Sadie guessed he had to kill them before they could bring more reinforcements. She wasn’t sure if it was completely necessary, but being new to her position of demon queen, the move was probably for the best.

  Mordecai reappeared in front of them, his fists bloody. He wiped them against his pants and approached Sadie, looking her up and down.

  “I’m fine,” she said.

  She seemed to always say “I’m fine” every time she was with these guys. She had to think hard as to why they cared, but she didn’t want to stray on the thought. She didn’t want to assume anything. And she certainly didn’t want to get carried away with the idea they truly cared for her in case it would make her decision harder.

  “Let’s check the place and get out of here,” she said.

  “Wait,” Steele said. He still held her arms and he kept her in place. “Let’s tend to your wounds first. I can alleviate the pain, but we also need to stop the bleeding.”

  Fair point.

  “Right,” Sadie said, forgetting her injuries because Steele had removed the pain. “But you can leave my mind alone now. I can take it.” She smiled, hoping to convince him. She didn’t want his attention lingering on her. Although she felt he could be trusted, she didn’t want him to see how she felt any more than he already had.

  Toward them, toward her sister, toward her whole situation.

  He seemed to understand as he nodded and backed off in her mind.

  “Thank you,” she said.

  Damien ripped a piece of his shirt and parted it into two. He wrapped one of her shoulders with the fabric and Kaiser wrapped the other shoulder with the second half.

  Steele let go of her and said, “You’ll feel the sting again. Are you sure?”

  She nodded, and he counted to three, and the pain returned at once. She clenched
her jaw. She almost wanted to ask him to go back in there again, but she restrained herself. She didn’t want the princes distracted in case of another attack. She would bite against the pain until they were back at the fortress. Then she would do something about it.

  They walked back to the small concrete room buried underground and jumped inside. Kaiser helped her get down and she didn’t object because she needed it this time. Kaiser summoned a small sphere of light to illuminate the room.

  She walked to the nearest shelf and began to slowly scan the trinkets and random items. Daggers were strewn all over the place, but she doubted they were mageblades. Still, she took and examined each one, wincing every time she moved her arms too much. She felt so exhausted. Fatigue crept up her body, and all she wanted to do was sleep.

  Aside from weapons and trinkets, numerous boxes lined the walls. The five of them assigned corners and areas for themselves and looked around the items and boxes, hoping to find the artifacts.

  Sadie had just opened the fifth box and saw only grenades. She felt like giving up. The last four boxes only contained scraps of metal and plastic. But when Sadie had removed enough grenades to see the hilts of two daggers peeking through the explosives, her breath caught in her throat.

  Encouraged, she removed the rest of the grenades. The hilts already looked iridescent from the scant light that entered the room. She took out the daggers. The same ouroboros that was carved into the one her sister had given her was carved on the base of each blade.

  They were the exact same blade.

  “Guys,” she said, her voice quiet. They looked at her and approached her from their respective areas. “I found them.”

  She handed the weapons to Damien. He looked at the weapons with clear fascination. “I never thought I’d ever see one of these.”

  Sadie returned to the box and reached in. A single journal was at the bottom. She opened it and scanned through the entries, already knowing full well it was Blair’s.