by EJ Everette
“Let us test my theory out then, shall we? Feel free to scream all you want. The louder the better. Your mate could use the distraction I am sure, especially now that the bonds are broken. Let’s give him a good show so he knows you’re still alive, shall we?”
My mate? Does he mean Chance? Chance did follow me! But I can’t sense him. I can’t sense any of the guys. Is that what he means by broken bonds? Fuck I knew that food was laced with something. Memories scratch at my mind. Just after the fire, when I was first separated from the guys in the ambulance, I felt that pain in my chest. And a few times when one of them isn’t close enough, it was there. It was never that intense, but now that I think about it, the feeling was the same. Almost as if pieces of my heart were being pulled from me like strings. Does that mean the guys, my guardians, won’t be able to find me now? And what are they doing to Chance?
Too many distracting thoughts prevent me from seeing the asshole’s movements until it is too late. Strapped down to the bed, I am bound and unable to escape the sudden cut of the blade to my upper thigh. I hiss as the sharp metal slices into me, deep, before my torturer removes it in a quick motion. I feel the blood spilling over out of the wound, and running down my leg. Some of the warm blood gathers beneath me, pooling against my shorts. My vision blacks with the pain. Fuck that hurts. I try so desperately to keep quiet, rebelling against what he said about screaming for Chance, but the unexpected cut in the same spot on my uninjured thigh pulls a blood curdling shriek from my throat. He pushes deep, just like with the other wound, before yanking the blade out in an excruciating swipe.
Tears push to the surface beneath my eyelids but I hold them back. I have endured pain before. I have been cut and bruised. I will not let them see me cry. I will not.
Sickening laughter fills the space around me mixing with the hard pounding in my chest. My vision is spotty at best, but I notice his gesture towards his sentry guard. Seconds go by and then the brute stands over me as well. Unable to move any part of my body, I brace the best I can when I see the massive creature raise its arm, a blunt object in its hand. With a sickening crunch, the brute brings the sledge down with unprecedented force onto my left foot.
Fuuuuuuuuck! Another scream is ripped from me, this one so loud I feel blood begin to seep from my own ear drums. My body shakes with internal sobs, the remaining parts of me that are able begin to pull and jerk beneath my bindings to no avail. Every bone in my foot is crushed, I guarantee it. Even thinking about trying to move my toes shoots electrical jolts of agony up my leg, joining with the sharp pain from the wound in my thigh.
The brute lifts the sledge again, this time I can’t look away as it brings the offending weapon down on my right ankle in the same manner. I hear screaming around me but I can’t pinpoint where it comes from. Nothing sounds close by anymore and my body is giving in to the pain. Black spots take up more and more of my vision, restricting me from seeing anything except the all-too-close face of the abomination finding joy in my body’s demise.
As everything in me shuts down, the sickening smell of his breath pushes through my pain. My eyes close, the torturous spasms from the damage done to my legs have me twitching on the bed, writhing in pain. The bastard leans in really close, so close I feel the words he speaks as they leave his mouth.
“Scream all you want, princess. No one is coming for you just like no one came for your mother. You will be mine. Rest up. We will see each other again soon.”
With that, the blackness takes me, and I succumb to it gladly in exchange for the temporary relief.
21
Dean
“Dean! Dean! Damnit, where are you? I know you haven’t been sleeping but I need you, brother. Answer me!”
What the hell? Chance? Chance!
“I am here! Where are you? Are you with Gray? We can not feel her, Chance. None of us can fucking feel her any more.”
My friend, and brother, appears before me, my ability to dream walk allowing me to see him as he is. Thank fuck I was actually able to fall asleep finally, though I doubt I will be able to remain this way long.
Chance’s large frame is hunched down, arms in chains and legs bound to shackles that hold him tightly against a stone wall of sorts. The room he is in is too dark to identify much, but I can see blood on his face, slashes across his ribs, and pain reflecting in his eyes.
“Dean. Thank the gods. I have been trying to reach you for hours.” He looks relieved, but there is chaos brewing inside of him evident in his tight expression. His long blonde hair is matted to his face coated in blood and dirt.
“Where are you? Rip had a vision of you and Gray but he has no idea how far into the future it was. We cannot seem to find either of you. We lost the ability to feel Gray at all just hours ago, and our hold on you seems to be muted, preventing us from pinpointing your location. Who took you?”
“The demon king. We are in the Realm of Gash.”
His chest heaves in anger, the words forced from his mouth coated in hatred I have never seen from him. Shit. We figured it was bad but if the Gash demons have them, we may not be able to find them. They could be anywhere within their vast realm.
“We must be in the underlyings of Gash itself. Their walls hold enough power to keep our connections from being at full strength. It’s why I have been trying to get to you through my dreams, though neither of us seem to fucking sleep at all. I lost my hold on my bond with Gray when they… earlier…”
His voice trails off, sobs catching in his throat, immediately causing me to spin in circles in hopes I will see Gray near him somewhere. I know Rip said they were being kept separately but I dared to hope my angel would be near. The need to see her, know she is alive, is so intense I drop to my knees on the stone floor before my brother.
“Chance, where is Gray?”
He looks at me, his eyes telling me even the worst possible pieces of my imagination cannot touch the truth.
“They have her… and they are hurting her, Dean. I have tried but there isn’t even a door to this hellhole they have me in. Only these bars exist, but my legs are bound and I cannot move. All of my strength is useless. I am useless. I cannot save her.”
Warring with my own suffering both for my brother’s pain and the confirmation of the horrific things my angel must be enduring, I can see his light fading. Chance always internalizes everything, blaming himself for everyone else’s pain as if he could prevent it all but continues to fail. He needs me to be strong so that we can get to our girl.
“Enough!” My voice is strong though inside I have curled into a ball of despair, weeping for my mate. There is nothing I can do for her right now, but I can help my brother. His head drops infront of me, exhaustion evident in the fall of his shoulders, the heaviness of his breath.
“You can not quit. You are the only hope we all have right now, Chance. You are there, with our girl. We will do everything we can on this side to find you both, but you must not give up. Pull yourself together and fight! Fight until we can get to you. Fight for the girl who has stolen all of our hearts. The girl who holds our future. Fight because the tomorrow I want can only exist if you both are in it and I am not willing to lose the dream of what is to come. Are you?”
I stay kneeling on the ground, the effort to stand too much with all of the emotions circling through me, waiting…
Finally, he lifts his head to meet my gaze. His shoulders straighten, strength once again flowing through him. The warrior I have known nearly all of my life pushes through, his eyes darkening with a promise of retribution. A promise of war.
“I will fight for her. I will fight for us all. I will stand until I cannot hold them back any longer. I was made to protect her and, though I have failed, I will not allow her to leave us. Come for us, brother. Come swiftly and rescue the beautiful soul that has given me life once again. I will be ready when you arrive.”
Determination pulses through him once again, thank the gods. I pull myself up to standing, taking another glance ar
ound the room before I feel myself start to wake. With a final look in Chance’s direction, I nod my acknowledgement and fade out of his dreams and back into my reality.
I awake with a jolt, the heaviness of the moment I had with Chance nearly suffocating. Pushing off the couch where I managed to crash for what seems to be only an hour or so, I go in search of the rest of my brothers. Finding them in the war room is no surprise. Mitch stands in a corner, his phone to his ear as he talks to someone in harsh tones. Rip and Reid both hover over the pool table that has been converted to our map of the realms and planning space. Each of us have taken on different roles, strategizing and preparing for what comes next. As seasoned warriors, the process is all too familiar. This time, however, the stakes are greater than they have ever been as the key to our future and the fated mate we all love is at risk alongside one of our family. In a way, I pity whoever has them. The men in this room are viciously protective, myself included.
I make my way into the space as Mitch hangs up the phone. The look on his face says whatever he just found out was bad news.
“What did they say?” Reid asks without looking up from the map he hovers over with his twin. His face reflects his lack of sleep, as do all of ours, his hair left in a mess and falling in his eyes. My own hair, long and unstyled, is proving to be such a nuisance I am tempted to buzz it off.
“They have nothing. We are forbidden from entering any of the realms without expressed permission from the head of their house and none of the council feel their people would have taken her. Shit, no one even knows who the hell she is except for us and the council.” Mitch’s voice is deeper, exhaustion bleeding through, as he answers Reid’s question. He runs his hands through his dark black hair repeatedly, pulling at the strands in frustration.
“What do they expect us to do? Sit around and wait? Ignore that one of our own is missing as well as the girl we were selected by the council to protect?” Rip’s anger causes him to growl the last part out. Rarely have I seen him look so disheveled. His usual button-up collared shirt is discarded, a loose, wrinkled tee in its place. Even his jeans are creased from being worn days in a row.
“We do not need their support. We have done this before, brothers. We will plan. We will find our family and bring them the fuck home.” Reid has always been the goofball of our group, but is fierce in battle, a quality we need from him more than anything right now. Seeing all of my brothers so overwhelmed, their anger permeating the air, I step forward to share my dream walk with them.
“I spoke with Chance.” Every eye turns to me, something that looks vaguely like hope flickering behind each of them. Once I have their attention, I lay out how the conversation went. I tell them what I observed of Chance’s cell, Rip confirming key details along the way from his vision. I tell them about his guilt, and each of them seem enraged for a moment before I explain the rest of the conversation, stressing our brother’s commitment to help however he can from his cell.
“He has not seen her, but…” I remember the way his face paled as he told me of hearing her screams of agony. Rip had said as much as well, but repeating it does something strange to my chest, throbbing pain radiating across my body. I breathe in deeply in an attempt to still the anguish. “He knows she is alive.”
My brothers instantly know what I am implying. With the bonds severed between us and Gray, the only way Chance could know she is alive is by seeing, or hearing her. Since he confirmed he had yet to lay eyes on her since they have been taken…
“We have to get to her!” Reid slams his fist onto the table so hard the wood splinters beneath his hand, breaking down the side. Rip moves to his brother’s side though he doesn’t touch him. We all know Reid’s temper. Shit it is almost as volatile as mine once he is set off. Still, he needs to know we are in this together.
“Gray does not have time for that shit, Reid!” Mitch pushes away from the corner to come alongside him. “Get your shit under control. We all want to fall apart right now but guess what? That will not save her. That cannot save our brother. So pull your damned head out of your ass, calm your shit down, and focus on what we are going to do to those fuckers who took them once we find them.”
We all stand in silence, each of us taking what Mitch said to heart. Our pain may be great, but we are all needed, level heads on our shoulders, to find and rescue our missing companions. My heart still beats a fury beneath my chest, but my mind focuses on Gray for a moment. The first time I saw her in the hall, Reid acting like the complete ass he is and kneeling before her. Her face turned the prettiest shade of pink in her embarrassment. I knew right then that I had found her. I remember standing in front of the mirror in my room for hours after she left that first day. I had removed my shirt, my eyes focusing on every little detail in the tattoo across my ribs and chest. She matched perfectly. My angel. My time with her only reinforced my feelings for this magnificent creature. Her strength poured out of her, leaving me in awe of how incredible she is. Her face at the beach when she sassed me before we headed into the surf was the brightest thing I have ever seen. When I am around her, I forget about the loss that has haunted me for all of my life. I forget about the guilt within me. There is only her. There will only ever be her.
Finally calm, I open my eyes to see each of my brothers in a similar state. Mitch must be pushing some serious emotional shit onto all of us to get us to focus, and to be honest I appreciate it more than I can express. I needed that.
Rip clears his throat, his cheeks tinged pink, most likely from his own memories with our girl. He shakes his head, returning to the map on the now broken table.
“We have eliminated some of the more obvious locations based on everyone’s tracking results.” Reid immediately sent us all on various trails when Mitch came home almost 48 hours before with news that Chance and Gray were missing. We had all followed our assignments and reported back little to no trace of the essence the demons leave behind in this realm. “There are a few places we could portal in from some of the outer realms we still plan to investigate, but based on my prediction and coupled with Dean’s meeting with Chance, I feel we are most likely going to end up in the depths of the dungeons of Gash, regardless.”
We all nod our heads in agreement. This was our original assumption, but we are incredibly thorough and needed to rule out all other possibilities first. Travelling to Gash will be hard enough. Travelling there undetected, finding our bonded, and getting out alive from their most secure area… nearly impossible.
“So what is the plan then? I can take Dean and run down those last few locations when we finish here. Since we are all fairly certain they will be equally as disappointing, we need to prepare for what comes next.” Mitch looks to Reid for his next move. None of us are really in charge in our group. Rip is generally the most logical, Chance and Mitch the most experienced in direct battle, Reid the strategist, and I keep us all on track and use my familial connections to procure the resources we need for our missions. We are a unit, no one more or less vital than the other.
“Leave the next part to me. Follow these and report back. Rip and I have prepared our gear already. I have a feeling we need to act soon, so be efficient but swift. When you return we will leave for the realm of Gash. Is everyone on board? This mission may be one of the most difficult we have ever faced. I cannot guarantee success with so many unknown variables, but I cannot sit here and wait while the love of my damn life is being tortured by those fuckers. I will not leave her or Chance behind. Any objections?”
The room is quiet, each of us mentally preparing for the battle ahead.
One thing is for sure. The Gash demons picked the wrong guardians to piss off, and we are coming for our girl, whatever it takes.
22
Gray
Waking up should not be this difficult, yet here I am again fighting to open my eyes. My mind tells me I should just stay asleep, blissfully lost in the dark, but my body rebels. Pulled from a dreamless state of unconsciousness, screams rip through
me before my eyes are even fully open. Everything hurts so goddamn bad. Flashes of the torture from before assault me, reminding me just how destroyed my body is at the moment. I am still strapped to the bed, the lower half of my body covered in blood from my wounds. The screams echo back at me until my throat is too raw to produce them. Tears beg to fall from my eyes but I hold them back, the one thing I seem to be able to control for the time being. I can’t remember this degree of agony before. I am going to die here, I know it.
“What a glorious sound to brighten my morning. Lovely that you are awake, princess.” The bastard is back in the cell with me. My screaming must have been loud enough to block out the sound of the heavy door shifting open because I don’t recall hearing him enter. He stands over me now, anger replacing his happy mood.
“What is this? Why are you still bleeding? Why are your injuries not healed?” His rough clawed hands push into my thighs as if he needs to touch them to believe they still exist in their current state. The action drags a round of deep coughs from my body as it convulses from the contact. The demon asshole yells something I can’t make out before another disgusting pugger creature appears next to him. He growls at the being causing it to cower below him.
“Why has she not healed? You claimed she had ignited and yet here she lies near death. This cannot be! You have deceived me and I will have your tongue ripped from your mouth for this betrayal!” The tall evil one smacks the smaller creature with a great force, throwing it across the room and onto the rocky floor. It lays still for a moment before shuffling to its feet, torn rags covering the bulbous puss-filled inches of its skin.
“No, Master! I would never lie to you. She is the one we have been waiting for. I do not know why she has not healed, Master. But I assure you, she is the ignited girl.” It bows repeatedly as it speaks of me like I am not even there. The ignited girl, huh? I guess I’ve been called worse. My lips raise the slightest bit to one side in an almost smile. I must be past the point of sanity from all of this pain since I am smiling while strapped in my own personal torture chamber. Yep, straight up mental now.