by G. K. DeRosa
A dark curtain closed over my irises, and a haze of crimson eclipsed my vision. My eyes locked on the warlord’s and power surged from my core.
“Azara, no!” He tried to look down, to avert his gaze, but I had him and I wasn’t letting go.
I crept closer, my eyes locked on their target. The profound black became hazy, a cloud of smoke creeping across dark pupils the nearer I got. Standing over him, I lifted his head and a smile tugged up the corners of my lips.
I dug my fingers into his wild hair and drew in a breath. Yum. He tasted like flourishing power and unbridled strength. “Just a taste…”
“No,” he muttered incoherently. His fingers reached for the sword at his waist, but it was a weak attempt. I kicked the weapon out from under his grasp.
“Now you’re mine, Drayax. You see, you kind of did get what you wanted.” I sucked in a breath and wisps of crimson vapor slipped through his pressed lips. My eyes rolled back as the intense power rolled through me. I inhaled again, and his divine essence tore free from its earthly confines.
I breathed him in, reveling in the surge of power that filled my dark insides. A tiny part of my humanity flickered, reminding me I had bigger plans for today, but my she-demon was in control now.
A sharp chuckle escaped my lips as Drayax’s head lolled back, vacant eyes staring up at the soaring rafters. “Oopsies.” I released my hold, and his massive body slumped to the floor.
The hunger only intensified as I stalked the vast chamber. I wanted more. More life, more power, more everything. The inner stirrings reminded me of something important. I needed to get out from under Thax’s thumb. If my mating with Drayax was so essential to my cousin’s success, he must have been losing hold on his subjects.
Perhaps I’d assume his throne.
Come on, Azara, wake up. We have to get out of here. Pesky humanity. Moving toward the fireplace, I stared at the flickering flames. Their dance was hypnotic, calming. As the high began to dissipate, my lids became heavy and began to droop.
My humanity fought its way out, stifling the hunger pangs and my she-demon receded. I shook my head out as the scene unfurled before me. The glowing flames and the dead dark lord splayed across the floor.
Shish kebob. Thax was going to kill me. But he had to find me first.
Chapter Six
I darted down the stairs, taking the steps two at a time. I had three hours, and I needed every second to get a head start before my cousin noticed I was missing—along with one of his prisoners.
“Sark! It’s time,” I bellowed down the passageway.
When I reached the dungeon, my heart thundered against my ribs, my breath hissing out in ragged spurts.
“Ready when you are, my lady.” The little demon flashed me a crooked smile. Half a dozen demons that Thax’s guards had captured huddled behind him.
“We can’t take them all,” I shouted.
“We’re only asking for a chance.” The tall, lanky one, B—something, pressed his face between the bars. “Just let us out of the cells, and we’ll take care of the rest.”
It’s not a bad idea, Azara. My demon’s voice whispered. They could provide a distraction as well as an explanation for your disappearance.
I chewed on the inside of my cheek as I considered. Thax deserved it. I was certain he was lying to me, and now I had the chance to prove it. I scanned the haggard faces of the demon prisoners. “How can I trust you won’t attack me once I free you?”
“That would be a stupid move on our part, my lady,” said the tall one. “Why bite the hand that feeds you?”
I nodded, my decision made, and grabbed the cell keys from the hook. “I’ll open your doors, but just to be sure, I need a head start. Wait five minutes, then you can leave. Take the stairwell at the end of the hall up to the third level. That’s the main entrance. More than that, I cannot help you.” I began opening the doors, starting with Sark’s.
As soon as the dwarf demon was out, I grabbed his hand and tugged him down the dark hallway. There was one small portion of this plan that I hadn’t quite figured out, but I didn’t want Sark to know until the last minute.
Besides the warlock Jasper’s portal in and out, I still hadn’t found another exit to ground level. I figured I’d make it to the underground tunnels and wing it. Crossing my fingers, I prayed to all the gods it would work.
When we reached the front door of the fortress, Sark buckled over, clutching his knees. In his last week of captivity, his already small form had shriveled to skeletal. He glanced up after catching his breath. “Now what, my lady?”
I swung the front door open and peered into pitch black. Even with my enhanced demon sight, I couldn’t make out a thing beyond the dark earth.
“So we follow the tunnels to the surface?” he asked.
Sure, let’s try that. “Yup.” I ran back to the sitting room where Drayax’s body adorned the cold floor. I grabbed a log from beside the hearth and dipped it into the flames.
We took off at a sprint, the brilliant orange torch lighting our way. The small demon beside me matched my pace, despite my longer legs, but after a few minutes it was clear he was faltering. I doubted my cousin had been feeding the prisoners on a regular basis.
My stomach growled at my inner musings. Dammit. I should’ve grabbed some food from the banquet table.
“How much further?” Sark panted.
Good question. “Not much,” I muttered.
He slowed his pace, squinting his eyes into the darkness. “Shouldn’t we be going uphill?”
I’d been thinking the same thing myself. In fact, I had a bad feeling we were circling. The slight throbbing at my temples confirmed the thought. Crap on a stick. I forgot the healer’s pain brew. Even if I made it out of here, I’d die from this incessant headache.
“You all right?” A pair of wide eyes glanced up at me.
My fingers were pressed to my temples, and my face must have blanched from the pain. “Yeah, just get these bad headaches sometimes.”
“I’m sorry, but now’s not the time, my lady.”
“I know!” I squeezed my lids shut and those silver irises materialized in my mind’s eye. Molten steel with the intensity of a thousand storms. Who are you? I’d never find out if we couldn’t get out of here.
A swirl of energy prickled my arm. From the corner of my eye, the purple glow from my demon’s mark lit up the passageway.
“Nice tattoo.” The demon eyed my luminescent arm. “I’ve never seen one of those light up like that.”
I threw him a tight smile. If only I knew how to work this thing. Maybe I could magic us out of here like Remy did with his mystical smoke. “Darkblood Prison is in the peaks of Draeko, right?”
The little man nodded. “Getting there is no easy feat. I’ll do my best to get you there, but even I have my limitations.”
His words melted away into the background as soaring crags blotted out my vision. Endless white and limitless sky blue. I could almost feel the crisp air on my skin. Had I visited Draeko before? Had I been to the prison? Again, flickers of memories streaked across my mind, but they were so fleeting I couldn’t quite hold onto them.
Home. The word echoed through my thoughts in a deep male timbre. Yes, the dragon shifter, he’d spoken those words that night in the human world. There was more… My heart constricted as whispers sailed through the wind. What else had he said that night? A cloud of darkness draped over my memories and as hard as I tried, I couldn’t shove the impenetrable curtain back. “Blast it!” I screeched and threw my hands in the air.
A burst of brilliant blue light ignited in the darkness. My eyes snapped shut at the intensity and remained closed until a rush of wind whipped hair across my face. I snuck a peek through slitted lids, and my jaw dropped.
A freakin’ portal churned in the middle of the tunnel.
“It’s about time you found the portal, my lady.” A toothy smile stretched Sark’s thin lips.
I stared at my fingertips as if they belonged to a st
ranger. Did I do that? Or had I just stumbled upon Jasper’s hidden vortex?
“I was beginning to think we’d be stuck down here forever.” The glow of the whirling winds reflected across his egg-sized orbs.
I chuckled nervously. What if this was a trap? There was no way I opened a portal. I was a demon, and though I’d been practicing magic, only warlocks could open the mystical doorways. This made no sense.
I glanced a peek at the symbol on my arm, warm lavender light still spilling from the outline. “Did you do this?” I whispered.
Great, now I was talking to my tattoo.
“Well, what are you waiting for, my lady?”
I drew in a breath and stilled my nerves. This would work—it had to. Draeko, Draeko, please, drop us off in Draeko. I held out my hand to Sark and wrapped my fingers around his small palm. “Next stop, Draeko.”
An icy breeze lashed dark hair across my eyes as my boots sunk into the soft snow. My head tilted back, unbidden, and I took in the soaring peaks of Draeko. Oh my gods, I did it! The temporary delight was squashed as a bitter gust frosted my flesh. I wrapped my arms around my middle, cursing myself for not thinking to bring a coat. This frilly dress did nothing against the biting winds. Despite the continual gloom that bathed the Nether Lands, it was pretty warm most of the year. Another one of those things I just knew but wasn’t quite sure how.
I turned to my fellow escapee who looked even smaller against the sprawling backdrop of snowcapped mountains. “Now what?”
His thin lips twisted into a scowl. “Now we hike.” He pointed to the west, through the mountain range. The tunnel begins over there, weaving beneath the Marski range. It’ll be much quicker than going over.
I gulped. Even without scaling the mountain, it was far as hell especially in my inappropriate attire. Maybe I could magic myself something to wear? I hadn’t mastered any conjuring spells, but I also sure as hell had never attempted a portal. And voila.
I watched my travel companion from the corner of my eye as he bent to tie his shoes and shook the idea off. If I did have magical powers, the fewer people who knew the better. Gritting my teeth, I hugged my arms tighter around myself. “Let’s get this show on the road.”
Sark straightened, pulled his collar up to his ears and we began the trudge west.
Chapter Seven
Frostbite bit at every inch of my skin as we traversed the dark tunnels. After our four-hour hike through the Marski range, I was certain I never wanted to see snow or a mountain again. My teeth chattered as I ran my frosty fingers over my frozen arms, trying to create some heat.
Sark walked a few feet in front of me, holding a torch we’d found near the tunnel entrance. Compared to the frigid air outside, the tunnel’s warmth was a godsend. “How much further?” I stammered.
“Not long now,” he called out over his shoulder.
“So how exactly does this work? We’re just going to walk right into the prison?” Now that my blood had begun to thaw, my brain started working again. I hadn’t bothered to ask my escort about the logistics of our break in. I couldn’t imagine the prison had many problems with people trying to sneak into the penitentiary.
He slowed his pace and waited for me to catch up. “No, of course not. There’s a meet-up point. It’s how Delacroix gets things in and out.”
Delacroix. There it was again. The name that set off alarm bells in my brain. “Is it true that this demon wants my cousin’s throne?”
Sark’s gaze dipped to the dirt floor. “I don’t know anything about that, my lady. Delacroix Balthier is a humble servant of Lord Thax, like all of us.” The hint of a smirk played on his lips.
My inner demon chuckled. That throne is ours. I shoved her power-hungry thoughts down and refocused on the winding tunnels. Just ahead, a small alcove caught my eye. A whisper of a memory swirled around my mind, and my feet took off toward it.
“Azara! Where are you going?”
I reached the dark recess and waved at the little demon. “Be right back.” My shoe brushed a mound of overturned earth, calling my attention to the ground. I squatted down and dug out a few handfuls of moist dirt before my fingers brushed something more substantial. I tugged on the canvas and pulled out a duffel bag. Weird.
I unzipped it, and hot tears pricked my eyes as they settled on a warm, leather coat. I yanked it out and draped it over my frozen body. A familiar, musky scent wrapped me in its warm embrace. I buried my nose in the material, reveling in the wintry perfume. Again, a flash of silver streaked across my vision, the smoldering steel inciting a pang in my chest.
“Azara! We have to go, now.” Sark appeared at the entrance of the alcove and pulled me to my feet.
I nestled in the jacket as I followed behind him. How did I know this scent? I recognized it as if I’d smelled it all my life. Wrapping the worn leather closer to my body, an image flew across my mind. That dragon shifter—he wore this at the house in the Upper West Side. It was his, I was suddenly sure of it.
A sharp pain thundered across my temples, and a scream tore from my lips before I could slap my hand over my mouth. I buckled over from the intensity, clenching my jaw to keep from crying out again.
“You okay, lady?” Sark whirled around as I hit the floor.
Damn headaches! I pressed my fingers to my forehead as the mind-numbing pain streaked through my skull. “Yeah, I’ll be okay,” I mumbled. Pushing myself of the cold ground, I forced my knees to straighten.
“It’s just around the bend.” He pointed a few yards down the tunnel where the earth curved to the left.
I squeezed my eyes shut, and the intensity simmered a notch. I was so close, I couldn’t stop now. That dragon shifter was the key to unlocking my lost memories. “Let’s go,” I rasped out.
We turned the corner, and a thick metal door blocked our path.
“Dead end?” I shrieked.
“Just the beginning,” he said with a grin. He ticked his head at a hidden keypad built into the wall, and his stubby fingers flew over the numbers. A click sounded, and a concealed compartment within the door swung open. Sark pulled a sleek tablet out and typed in another password. The screen flashed on, and a dark figure appeared.
“It’s me, boss.” Sark’s face lit up.
“How did you get out?” a deep voice boomed. “It was my understanding you were in my enemy’s clutches.”
“I was, but you know good ol’ Sark, you can’t keep me locked up for long.”
“Funny,” he growled. “You came with news then?”
He shook his head. “Not exactly. I’m repaying a debt for my freedom.” He ticked his head at me and pivoted the screen in my direction.
A hellus demon stared back at me, two pointy horns jutting out of his hairy forehead. He squinted as if trying to get a better look, but between the dark tunnels and the oversized jacket draped over me, I doubted he could make much out.
“Can you get the girl in?” Sark asked. “She’s here to see one of the prisoners.”
“Who is she?” Again, he peered in my direction.
I shook my head at Sark, my eyes pleading. If this was the infamous Delacroix, there was no way he’d let me in if he knew I was the cousin of his so-called enemy.
“She was another captive at the castle, boss. She freed not only me, but all of the guys. We can trust her.”
He grunted. “I’ll be the one to make that decision, Sark. Wait there. I’ll be down in a few minutes to retrieve her.”
The screen blinked off, and my shoulders sagged in relief. Even the pounding in my head had lessened. “Thanks for not ratting me out,” I mumbled. “Was that Delacroix?”
The little demon nodded. “The one and only. I promised to get you this far, but if the boss doesn’t like the smell of you, he won’t stick his neck out to get you in. We’re even now.”
“Okay, that’s fair.” We’ll just eat him if he gets in our way. My she-demon let out a wicked giggle. I tamped down on her urges and paced a tight circle in front of the doo
r. She was right though, I hadn’t come this far to be turned away now.
Hellus demons were strong, and if he really was gunning for my cousin’s throne, he must’ve been pretty powerful. So what was he still doing within the stone walls of this prison?
Waiting, maybe. Biding his time for…something.
“What do you want with Talon anyway?” Sark’s voice yanked me from my musings.
“Huh?”
“The dragon, Talon, why do you need to see him?”
Talon. My heart staggered on a beat, then picked up its tempo until it reached an erratic staccato. It took me a second to catch my breath so I could answer. “He has information I need.” Perfectly nice and vague. I didn’t need the whole Underworld knowing about my lost memories.
“Be careful around that guy, he and his brothers are notorious around the prison. Even Delacroix gives them a wide berth. And word is, Talon has connections with the warden and beyond.”
“Thanks for the warning.”
The thud of approaching footfalls put an end to our conversation. I called to my demon, and her powers rushed to the surface. If things went bad, I’d need her to get in. The door whooshed open, and pitch eyes fixed on mine. They widened to the size of infinite pools of tar. “Azara?”
My jaw dropped, the look of surprise on my face surely mirroring Delacroix’s. A clawed hand jutted out and wrapped around my neck before my demon could surface. “Come to finish me off, have you?” His hot breath drifted over my face as he flashed his fangs inches from my throat. With his other hand, he slapped a metal bracelet over my wrist.
“What are you talking about?” I choked out.
He dragged me inside as I kicked and squirmed, trying to free myself from his iron grip. He kept his eyes down, never meeting my own. Just look at me, you hairy bastard.
Sark’s quick footfalls echoed behind us as the demon hauled me inside the bowels of the prison. “You know her, boss?”
“Of course, I do, you fool. This is Thax’s cousin, Azara. She’s been in hiding with the dark lord for the past three months. You almost led her right to me.”