by Amy Sumida
“It's okay.” I took a deep, calming breath. “I planned for this, remember?”
Cerberus nodded but all that was coming out of his mouth were dangerous growls.
“This isn't where your friend was killed,” I said to Fred; a statement, not a question.
“No,” he confirmed. “This is where we found his body. I don't know where Terrance was murdered but there wasn't nearly enough blood here for this to be the site. We searched the mountain for two miles in every direction and never found it. And I know Terrance wouldn't have wandered further than that. He has”—Fred stopped and swallowed back a sob—“he had a family; a wife and two boys. He wouldn't have strayed far from them. And then Felicia was found twenty yards from here. She—”
“Two miles?” I cut him off. “Is that your safe zone?” I couldn't get into the personal lives of the murdered sasq'ets. I wouldn't be able to focus past my rage.
“No one goes beyond that.” Fred nodded.
“Okay; I think I can handle that radius,” I murmured.
That will be fours miles across, Kyanite warned me.
I know, I replied in my mind. I'm just putting out a line; like a tripwire. When someone crosses it, I'll know.
You'd best add a dome; from what Cerberus said and what you just felt, I think it's safe to assume they flew in.
You're right. I think I can manage a dome.
I'll help you. And the song will work. I believe.
He believes. Great.
I told Fred and Cer what I planned to do as the intro for Matthew Mayfield's “The Wolf in Your Darkest Room” started to play. This song wasn't as grating as the last. In fact, it was soft at first; just a few drawn out notes. I started singing into it with a growling rumble; low and dangerous. A warning; that's what it was. The patter of drums were the devious footsteps of a hunter; a soft, marching tempo that seemed to emphasize the threat in my words.
Then a strange electronic grinding pulled me upward; my magic flying out of my body in glorious, sonic waves. I directed it with lyrics and will; sending it out to circle the Sasq'et village in a border of shivering energy that then coasted up and over it in a dome. I encased the whole of the village and then tethered that energy to me like an umbilical cord. I even called after that flying, chilly, white trail; daring it to return and cross my magic—cross me. Because this time, they wouldn't be able to run or hide from their betters.
This time, they'd be the ones losing their lives.
The song softened itself into silence as my trap was set, and I opened my eyes to catch the barest shimmer of my spell in the air before me. I breathed deeply in relief. It had worked; I could feel the power surging around us. Anyone who crossed my border would send a zinging warning straight to me.
“It's set,” I declared. “Now, all we have to do is wait.”
Chapter Five
I contacted Darc and my other lovers to tell them what was happening with the Sasq'et. I was with Cerberus, so most of them were reassured by that. It was only Darcraxis who was worried. He wanted me to come home, but I pointed out that I wouldn't be able to act instantly on the invasion if I was in another realm. Nor was I certain I'd even be able to keep contact with my magical tripwire over such an extreme distance. He grudgingly gave in.
Cerberus and I were given guest rooms in Fred's house, but several other sasq'ets stopped by to meet me; most of them with trays of food in their hands. Within fifteen minutes, there was a feast spread out on Fred's dining table and a gathering of Sasq'ets large enough to push the party outside. I had been instantly accepted into the tribe, and it made me feel ten times more protective than I already did. There was no way I was letting another sasq'et get hurt.
The night ended with more warm mugs of cider around the fire; these spiked with rum. They sang for me—something that rarely happened—and I sat with Cer's arm around my shoulders; both of us listening with soft smiles on our faces. The songs were strong and sweet, just like the people themselves. The lyrics made me think of blue skies and lazy clouds; of the scent of crushed grass and lavender. It was enough to send me drifting off to sleep.
I woke up hours later; the sun just starting to streak in through the bedroom window. I didn't remember going to bed, and I was still in my clothes.
“Cerberus,” I grumbled, “you couldn't even pull off my jeans?”
It's not as if he'd never seen me in my underwear. But sometimes the big guy got embarrassed about stuff like that. Usually when no one was watching. In front of an audience, he would have toughed it out. Alone, he got squidgy.
Then I realized what had woken me.
“Cerberus!” I shouted as I slipped my feet into my boots.
I ran toward the front door, and he was beside me in seconds. My grim look was all he needed. We grabbed our coats on the way out. Fred hurried after us, but I shouted for him to stay in the village and guard the others. I didn't look back to see if he listened; I just ran. There was no way I was going to let this murdering bastard get any closer than he already was.
I stumbled in an awkward run down the mountain; my boots slipping in the wet forest debris. My breath misted around me and my cloak flapped backward. I'd forgotten my gloves and my hands were already going numb. But it all faded when I saw her.
I nearly tripped. A little Sasq'et girl sat on a pale pink blanket. She'd made a crown of tiny purple flowers and was fastening it to her head; sticking it down into her amber fur. Adorable. Fear tore through me. Dawn's light spotted her through the canopy of leaves; turning her into a calico. She looked up in surprise when we came crashing down to her; her blue eyes going wide.
“What are you doing out here?” I screeched at her.
Those beautiful eyes filled with tears. “I just wanted to get them before the snow came.” She held up a few more blossoms. “It would have killed them.”
I didn't have the heart to point out that she had killed them faster than the snow.
“Get her somewhere safe, Cer!” I put myself in front of the girl; my arms out and my eyes searching the forest.
But then I remembered the sensation of flight. I set my stare on the sky instead; going over possible songs to use as I did. Cerberus already had the girl over his shoulder and was sprinting back toward the village; his heavy footsteps vibrating the earth. I stood my ground. I knew that my boundary had been crossed just fifty feet in front of me.
Of course, if they were flying...
The girl's scream sliced the breath in my throat. I jerked my gaze away from the sky and searched for Cerberus. He was gone. I gaped at the empty mountainside. No; it wasn't possible. He had just been there; all two-hundred-eighty pounds of him. There was no way someone had carted Cerberus off that fast, even if they could restrain him, to begin with. He wasn't in the village either; the ward had stayed down for us, and I had a clear view of the gate. There were Sasq'ets standing in the open arch; shouting and pointing up. Some of them started to run down the mountain.
“Cerberus!” I shouted as I followed their hands upward.
The sky through the canopy was an icy blue. Completely empty of clouds and hellhounds.
“Cer! Where are you?”
A sting in my arm distracted me. Like a bee. I started to brush at my shoulder, but my arm barely made it up an inch before my vision swam and darkness took me.
Chapter Six
“Up, up, up!” Someone shouted.
The clang of metal jolted me awake.
I bolted up; my arms shooting out defensively.
“Excellent! Keep up those reflexes!” A man's voice came at me through a barred window.
I frowned as I took a quick glance around. I was in a stone cell, on a steel bunk with a mattress that was little more than a piece of crumbling memory foam. A toilet and a sink were in the corner. A threadbare blanket folded at the foot of the bed. My cloak was gone but the rest of my clothes were still on me. I jumped off the bed and went to the window.
“Buddy, you have five seconds to let me o
ut of here,” I growled.
The man broke into a delighted grin. “Oh, you're fucking perfect.”
“I'll show you how perfect I am,” I snapped.
Kyanite?
I frowned. My stare wavered.
Kyanite?!
He was gone. I reached for my magic; just a little touch before we began blasting this asshole to bits. It wasn't there either. I went deeper. Deeper still. There was nothing but an aching emptiness inside me.
“What the fuck?” I whispered.
“See that new piece of jewelry you got there?” The man pointed at my neck.
I narrowed my eyes at him. He wasn't bad looking; strong jaw, gray eyes, clear skin, blond hair. Attractive enough. But his cockiness was grating on my nerves.
“Check out the collar,” the man insisted. “Although you're kind of turning me on with your death glare, I have to admit.”
I could already feel the cool metal around my throat. I didn't have to look at it. Not that I could have anyway; as I mentioned, it was on my throat. I don't know why this idiot was telling me to check it out. There was one of those polished, steel mirrors over the sink, but I wasn't about to run over there and gawk at myself like a princess who'd been given a present. What was far more important than my new necklace was the one that wasn't there; the one that held my contact charm and my traveling stone. Fuck. No magic and no way out.
“What about the collar?” I asked with deadly calm.
“Cutting technology that,” he said. “Beneather technology; you catch? It absorbs your magic, and if you try to fuck with it—if you try to pry it off or break it—it will send a jolt of electricity through you that will knock you on your ass. What are you anyway? You must be something special if you think you can walk right out of a cell.”
I ignored him and reached for my magic again. When that didn't work, I tried to throw my voice. My spellsinging didn't need to use my vocal cords anymore. But nothing came. I lifted my furious stare to the man outside my window and launched myself at him.
He jerked back with a laugh as I pounded the metal with my fists. “The boss is going to love you. Stay vicious, little girl. Stay vicious. It just may keep you breathing.”
He walked away and continued his ruthless banging on other cell doors. I angled my head to watch him stride down a long passage lined with them. What the fuck?
“El!” Cerberus shouted.
He was directly across from me; his handsome mug glaring at me through a barred window that was just like mine.
“Are you all right?” Cer asked me.
“Yeah; where the fuck are we?”
“Shit if I know,” he growled. “I just woke up.”
“They knocked you out too?” I was shocked. “What kind of tranquilizers do they have?”
“Some as strong as these fucking collars,” he snapped.
“Where's the girl?”
Cerberus just shook his head.
“They got her too?”
He grimaced.
“Fuck!” I slammed my fist into the bars again.
“We have a volunteer!” The man was back. “All right, honey, if you insist, you can go first.”
The blond came to my cell and unlocked my door. I started to smile.
“Oh, look at you.” His smile was much sweeter than mine. “You're adorable. You think you're going to take me on with nothing but your hands. That's so cute.”
He opened the door, and I was on him. I punched that lovely jaw, and his head snapped back. I followed with two in the gut, but when I went to knee him in the groin, his hand—as massive as Cer's—caught my knee and pushed it down.
“Enough of that,” he said sternly; no hint of pain or exertion. “Don't make me zap you.”
He held up a metal rod and a bright spark of electricity crackled over the end of it.
“You hurt her and you die, fuckhead,” Cerberus said softly.
Shit was bad when the Hound of Hades spoke softly.
The guy in front of me laughed again. I admit; he was solid. Built like a Mack Truck. He looked as if he could take on Cer... in human form. Once Cerberus shifted into a giant, three-headed hellhound, this guy would be kibble. Except Cer had one of those magic-draining collars on too. Shit.
“Don't worry; you'll get your magic back when you need it,” the guy promised me. “All you have to do is direct that rage against your opponent. Win the fight, and your living conditions improve. Lose, and you won't need to worry about living at all.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” I asked him.
“No way,” Cerberus whispered.
I looked over at my bestie for an answer.
“You're a stoner, aren't you?” Cerberus accused the man.
In the Beneath, a stoner is not a drug user. It's slang for someone who can manipulate stone. The most common stoners were gargoyles.
The man smiled—revealing thick canines—and my jaw dropped. My mind raced over the events of the past day; what Cerberus had told me about the bodies. How they were skinned. How the Sasq'ets had been unable to find the murder scene. And how Cerberus, the girl, and I had been snatched up in three seconds flat. I remembered the white energy soaring into the sky and Cerberus' theory that the murderers had flown.
“We were abducted by fucking Gargoyles?!” I shouted. “Are you kidding me?”
The man grinned and gave me a head bow.
“That means...” I didn't want to say it.
“We're in a goddamn, motherfucking zone arena,” Cerberus finished. “Asshole, do you know who I am?”
“Cerberus Skylos,” the man said over his shoulder. “Hound of Hades.”
“Ex-hound, but yeah,” Cerberus said in surprise. “All right then.”
“All right then?” I gaped at Cer.
“What do you want me to say, El? If he knows who I am, then he's prepared to deal with me. Ergo, they have some serious shit in place to keep me in place. I'm not an idiot.”
“Debatable,” I muttered. “Although, your use of the word 'ergo' was a nice touch.”
The man—excuse me, the gargoyle—chuckled. “You two are funny. Best friends, right? Not lovers?”
Cerberus and I both made grossed-out noises at the same time, and the gargoyle nearly burst a seam laughing so hard. His T-shirt was already straining under the pressure of his muscles; I was surprised it held.
The seriousness of our position suddenly hit me. We were in a Beneather Zone; an underground city run by Gargoyles. Every zone had a different zone lord and laws unique to its lord, but all of the zones were run and enforced brutally. You didn't go into a zone and make trouble; not if you wanted to live. That being said; zones were considered to be the safest places for Beneathers to go and let it all hang out. They could be themselves and even socialize with the most dangerous of our kind without fear. That is unless you somehow wound up in an arena.
Zone arenas were the supernatural equivalent of the Roman Colosseum. Most of the competitors signed up for the fights willingly; some to show off and some for the spoils. The winner of every match got a percentage of the bets placed on them, and they also got to loot the body of the loser. Some arenas employed agents (mercenaries) to enlist fighters; not always willingly. I was betting that this was where the sasq'ets had died.
I stared at Cerberus, and he stared back grimly. He'd already reached that conclusion.
“Come on, honey,” the gargoyle waved me on with his electric wand. “It's time for you to see the arena.”
“No mercy, El,” Cerberus said fiercely. “This isn't the place for it; no matter who they put you against. These fights are to the death. You take them out like a pro. Just another job. You fucking understand me?”
I clenched my jaw. Fuck my life. I'd just recovered from being a brutal bitch. I really didn't want to revert back into one. I couldn't, right? Faenestra was gone; locked away in an orb of darkness. But severing a soul wasn't an exact science. I'd proven that when I'd left Darc with some of his water mag
ic. What if there was enough of Faenestra left inside me to turn me evil again?
I shivered.
The gargoyle led me through the hall of cells and all sorts of beneathers stared back at me through the windows. I stopped abruptly when I saw the sasq'et girl. She was just tall enough to see out the window and her eyes were full of tears.