“Liora? Are you here? Where are you?” the familiar voice repeats in a hushed shout.
My hopes soar, although I’m still not convinced it isn’t just all in my head. Because there is no way Vincent is out there saying my name right now. It’s impossible.
“Liora… Liora!” his voice calls again, echoed by Demetri’s.
“Corrine? Liora? Are you guys out here?”
Corrine rolls over and moans. “Can you be quiet?” she murmurs, still half asleep. A second later she opens her eyes and rubs them. Then she suddenly jolts wide awake. “Oh my God, someone was just calling us! Oh, wait— am I just imagining things?”
“You heard it too?”
She nods. “Vincent and Demetri.” We both look around but still can’t see them.
“We’re over here!” I whisper loudly, terrified that somehow Otto will hear me.
The crunching is faster now, and a moment later I see their faces. Corrine gives a hopeful whimper and clutches my hand. I have to fight the urge to immediately run into Vincent’s arms.
“Liora… Corrine… are you okay?” Vincent asks.
“Yes, yes, but we can’t leave or we’ll be disintegrated!”
He and Demetri stop short and survey our green prison, obviously concerned. They turn and mumble to each other.
“Oh my God, you gotta get us out of here!” I plead frantically. “We were taken by a Sovereign, and he might be back any minute!”
Vincent turns back to me and shakes his head, clearly frustrated. “We can’t pull you out of there, and if we go in we’ll be trapped too.”
“What? Can’t you just reach in and touch me and teleport us away?”
Vincent studies the green shield again, and regretfully shakes his head. “No. You’d be killed the moment you attempted to leave the plane.”
“What the hell! You gotta get us out of here!” By now I’m almost hysterical. This can’t be happening.
“It’s impossible to escape,” Demetri says.
“Neither one of us has the power to disarm it,” Vincent adds. “That is some powerful magic there. Top level stuff. I’d need a demon sorcerer, and the only one I know is in Thiberoux.”
“Well get him!” I nearly yell. “Teleport there, grab him, and get back here! Quick, before Otto returns!”
Vincent clenches his jaw and shakes his head. “Can’t. I barely found you this time. Your signal has been masked and was bouncing all over the place. I’ve been porting nonstop since about thirty seconds after you two disappeared—”
“But that was hours and hours and hours ago.”
He nods. “Exactly. I can’t risk leaving here to get reinforcements and then not be able to find you again. I’m not leaving here without you. Without both of you.”
“But what are we supposed to do, dig our way out?” Corrine asks.
I know she’s being sarcastic, but I look at them hopefully.
Demetri shakes his head. “Not unless you can dig through solid ice with your bare hands. But I wouldn’t risk it. That shield is usually created as an all-encompassing sphere. Even if you can’t see it beneath you, it’s probably there.”
I slump down, crushed. “So we’re just trapped here, and there’s nothing we can do?” This can’t be right. It isn’t fair that Vincent and Demetri should show up out of nowhere to save us, and then say, ‘oops, sorry… can’t’. That’s not how this is supposed to go!
“How did this happen?” Demetri asks, walking the perimeter of our prison.
“I screwed up,” I mumble under my breath.
“Why did you leave the protected area?” I can hear the disappointment in Vincent’s voice, and I sink even further.
“Because I’m not magical and all-knowing and powerful like you guys are. I’m just a seventeen- year- old girl. Sometimes I screw up. Don’t worry; I hate myself plenty for it right now.”
“Please,” Corrine whimpers, and I feel my heart break even more. “Please, you’ve got to do something. Anything.”
Demetri comes and sits down across from her on the other side of the shield.
“It’ll be okay,” he says softly. “I promise you, no harm will come to you. If the Sovereign wants to get to you, he’ll have to go through us first.”
Corrine sniffs, but doesn’t say anything. She just nods and continues to stare at Demetri, and he gives her a reassuring smile.
“Actually, that might not be a bad idea,” Vincent begins, scratching his chin.
“What?” I ask.
“Having the Sovereign go through us… as in, when he returns, we let him come get you.”
Corrine and I turn and screech in unison, “What?!”
“Hear me out,” Vincent says raising his hand. “The Sovereign will return at some point, and he’ll need to take you out of here to move you to another location, correct? I say we wait here, invisible of course,” he nods to Demetri, “and wait for him to return and take down the shield. The second he does, I grab the girls and we all teleport back home.”
We consider this for a moment. It sounds so simple. So easy.
“But what if he doesn’t come back alone?” I ask. “What if he comes with whoever is going to claim me as their prize?”
Demetri shakes his head. “I think it’s extremely unlikely that he’ll let anyone in on his secret spot here. He has this whole place so carefully guarded, it’s a wonder we even found you. Besides, he thinks you’re just a couple of helpless girls. He won’t think for a second that he’d need reinforcements.”
“How did you find us?” I ask.
Vincent just gives me an intense gaze and turns to Demetri. “What do you think… ready to become ghosts?”
Corrine and I exchange nervous glances.
“So now what, we’re supposed to just sit here and wait like bait?” I ask.
Vincent looks at me again. “Yes. And so will we. We’ll be right here by your side for as long as it takes.”
He puts his hand on Demetri’s shoulder, and instantly they both disappear. Of course I know they’re still right there, but I feel very uncomfortable. And nervous. I like Vincent where I can see him.
“Vincent…”
“Liora, you shouldn’t be talking to me,” he whispers. “You don’t know when or how the Sovereign will arrive. If he hears us, this whole thing will be blown.”
“I know, I know. I just really have to ask. How were you able to find us? Otto said he didn’t leave a trail. How did you do it?”
“Shhh,” Corrine hisses, elbowing me in the ribs. “I think I heard something.”
We huddle together, and I hold my breath. Then I hear it too. The unmistakable pounding of heavy footsteps on ice. My God, Otto’s here already?
My heart is racing so hard it almost hurts. I grab Corrine’s hand, and we both squeeze tightly.
The footsteps grow closer and louder, and the ground beneath us trembles. Soon, a large figure emerges from the grey mist.
Then I gasp, and behind me Corrine whimpers softly.
Oh no, oh no, oh no….
Demetri was wrong. Otto didn’t come back alone.
Behind him are a half-dozen demons with murderous looks in their wicked eyes.
And they are all staring at me.
Chapter 24. Liora
I force myself to remain calm, steady. It’s okay… it doesn’t matter. All that has to happen is for Otto to release the shield and then Vincent will teleport us out of here.
“Oh God, help us,” Corrine begs softly. I can feel her trembling against my back.
A large demon with black hair and yellow eyes standing next to Otto gives a cackling laugh. “Your God can’t help you now!” His voice is the sound of pure evil, and it turns my stomach inside out.
“There she is, just as promised,” Otto says, motioning to me. “The other is a bonus. The demion has an emotional attachment to her companion so she’ll be good for leverage if you need it.”
The yellow-eyed demon looks at me with disdain, then at
Corrine. “The only plans for the demion are torture, followed by death. The human girl is of no use to us. Discard her, or keep her for yourself.”
Otto just shrugs, as Corrine digs her nails into my skin. “Well, I ain’t got no use for a human girl, neither. Especially not one as ugly as that.”
“What you do with her is up to you. I only came for the demion child, and I’m not paying a cent more for a worthless human.”
“Suit yourself,” Otto says. “Might as well just kill her here then.”
Corrine squeezes my arm even tighter, and I hope she remembers that Vincent and Demetri are just a mere few feet away waiting to whisk us to safety the moment Otto releases the shield.
“The demion is harmless now,” Otto continues. “She’s in her human state.”
“I’m not one to take chances,” Yellow Eyes says. “She’s a freak. An unknown. If I wasn’t under strict orders to bring her back alive, I’d kill her now myself. Okay, ready for the transfer. Guards…”
Immediately the other five demons move around us, encircling the shield. One even stands right where Vincent and Demetri were crouched not a few moments before.
Oh crap!
I close my eyes and pray they’re still in a good position to grab us the first chance they get.
“Hey, what’s that?” One of the demon guards points to the ground, and the unmistakable track of footprints depressing the snow behind him.
“What the—is there someone here?” Otto roars. He jerks his hand like he did on Anastasia’s beach, and a second later Demetri and Vincent are visible and flying backward through the air.
“No!” Corrine screams. I watch in horror as they sail out of sight.
Otto turns back to us, his eyes ablaze with fury. “Any other surprises, little girl?”
Corrine and I shake our heads, tears streaming down our faces.
“Just for that—” He lifts his hands, and immediately a black stream of electricity shoots out of his fingers, straight at Corrine. She jerks backward, and her body convulses violently as she flops on her back like a fish gasping for air.
Now it’s me screaming. “No!” Without even thinking, I throw myself on top of her to block the current. I don’t care if it kills me.
I brace myself, but nothing happens. Corrine has stopped shaking, and I turn my head to see Otto glaring at me, his hands lowered.
“Get them out of here!” he shouts. “I’m sick of their ugly faces!” He pulls the stick thing from his pocket and taps the air again. The green mist wavers and fades away.
I look around, desperately hoping for any sight of Vincent or Demetri anywhere. Corrine remains motionless on the ground, her eyes closed. I can’t tell if she’s breathing or not. Suddenly, a pair of rough hands pull me back.
“No, let me go!” I twist and squirm, but to no avail. Whoever is holding me has me locked in tight. My legs flail harmlessly as I’m lifted up by my shoulders several feet into the air.
“Take the other one, too,” Yellow Eyes orders. A guard reaches over and picks up Corrine’s limp body and throws her over his shoulder like a rag doll.
“Vincent! Demetri!” I scream as loud as I can. Suddenly my head flies back so hard and fast I’m surprised it doesn’t come completely off. I taste blood.
“Shut your damn mouth,” a guard snaps. The whole right side of my face feels broken, and I can’t move my jaw. Tears of fear and pain blur my eyes as I look around one more time. If they take us from here, we’re dead.
I watch in horror as a swirling cloud of black smoke rises up and surrounds each of the demons in turn, including the ones holding Corrine and me. One by one they shoot up like rockets into the sky.
Suddenly, I’m looking into Vincent’s frantic eyes. His hand reaches out to me just as my feet lift from the ground and everything goes black.
********
It’s dark, and I feel like I’m being sucked through a pipe that’s way too small. I go from feeling very cold to very hot, but the sensation passes in an instant. My body slams down on something hard and wet. The air is thick with moisture and smells like rotten eggs. It’s all I can do not to vomit. For a moment I stay as still as possible, wondering if all my ribs are broken, or just a few. It’s hard to get enough air, and every breath I take feels like tiny knives jabbing into my lungs.
Where am I now?
Slowly I sit up, and finally manage to stand. The light is dull, and I can only barely make out what appears to be a small room with a ceiling so low I can reach my hand up and touch it. It feels like mud or clay. Am I under the earth?
There are no doors, and no windows. Like a large coffin, buried away and forgotten. I close my eyes and try to ignore the pain in my chest. Breathe normally. Now is not the time to get claustrophobic, and if I think too much about where I am, I just might. I don’t know where the creatures are that brought us here. All I know is that I seem to be alone, and every bone in my body feels broken.
Suddenly I spot something sprawled in the corner. Corrine! I rush over to her and grab her arm. She’s not moving and doesn’t seem to be breathing.
“Corrine… Corrine, can you hear me?” I whisper.
I touch her face, and I’m shocked at how cold her skin feels. Her bare arms are like sticks of ice. My hand trembles as I desperately feel her wrist for a pulse.
“No… no!” Tears spill from my eyes. I quickly move my fingers to her neck, searching for any sign of life. I can’t find a heartbeat. I put my cheek to her mouth, but I feel no breath coming from her lips.
“No… no… no!” I cry out in a strangled whisper.
I wrap my arms around her and pull her close, refusing to admit to myself that I can no longer feel her life force. Where there was once a warm, inviting energy, it now feels hollow and cold.
“No… no,” I moan again. I pull her closer, burying my face in her hair as I begin to sob in earnest. Her arms dangle limply at her sides, and I rock her back and forth like a baby.
Corrine… poor, poor Corrine. She doesn’t deserve this. She is innocent. Her only sin in life was being my friend. Another casualty of my wicked curse.
I can barely breathe, and I hold her even tighter. I’m so wracked with sobs it takes a moment to register that it’s more than my grief that is causing my body to tremble and shake so violently. It’s like some external force is vibrating rapidly against my skin.
Then, inexplicably, I start to feel warmer. The warmth spreads from my belly up through my chest, and down my arms and legs, hotter and hotter, until I feel like I’m made of pure fire.
A strange sensation, like electrical energy, now flows through my body. Suddenly I feel a jolt… then another… and another. Corrine flops in my arms.
Panicked, I try to pull my hands away. But despite my efforts, my arms remain wrapped around her. My body seems to have a mind of its own, and I realize with horror that I’m no longer in control. Did the demons who captured us implement some sort of torture device on me?
But oddly, despite the bizarre sensations, I feel good. Very good. As if my tolerance for pain has changed somehow. Because deep inside I know this should be causing me great agony. But instead my entire body feels better. I can breathe without the daggers, and my other aches have vanished.
I feel another strong jolt, and Corrine again flops in my arms. Then again.
“No!”
My arms are frozen to her as the shocks continue to come in rapid succession. I can only watch helplessly as her body jumps in spasms, and try to protect her head so it doesn’t hit the ground.
From somewhere in the deepest crevices of my mind, a buried memory of long ago comes to the surface. A memory of when Lucky and I were one… when we could use our ‘warm hands’ to heal people who’d been injured. We did it on Kayla once when she’d broken her ankle, right before she was killed. And I know Lucky can still do it to this day.
But this… this is so much stronger. A million times stronger.
What the hell is going on?
She wipes her eyes and looks back at me, obviously disoriented. “Wh-what happened?” she whispers in a scratchy voice.
I continue to stare at her.
“That’s a damn good question.”
Chapter 25. Liora
“Okay, so now what?” Corrine asks as she eases herself up against the back wall. “We’re just supposed to sit here and wait for someone to come kill us?”
After I’d told her how she’d been knocked unconscious by Otto, I explained that we’d been relocated to a different holding cell. I didn’t feel the need to mention that she’d died… how one minute I was holding her lifeless body in my arms, and the next minute I was bringing her back to life. That was way too freaky, and I’m not even going to let myself think about it right now. I’m already on freak-show overload. But apparently she hasn’t suffered any weird side-effects, except for the fact that her glasses are broken and she can’t see anything. I assured her she wasn’t missing much.
“I don’t know what’s happening exactly,” I say, as I reposition my legs so I can sit more comfortably. “I haven’t seen anyone since we’ve been here… at least an hour.”
“What about Vincent and Demetri?” Her voice sounds scratchy, but hopeful.
I shake my head, hoping she can’t see my worried expression in the darkened room. “It’s just us.”
“Oh. Maybe they’ll find us again?”
“I hope so.” God, I hope so. The vision of Vincent reaching for me, and the horrified look in his eyes as I shot up in the air is burned into my memory. But I’m glad he wasn’t able to grab me in time. Because that would’ve meant Corrine would be here all alone. And that would mean she’d be dead.
“Do you hear that?” she hisses. “Is someone coming? I can’t see anything.” I move closer and we huddle together, our hearts thumping wildly.
“I can’t see anything either,” I tell her. For some reason I’d felt oddly safe in this place with no windows or doors… like whatever evil was outside couldn’t reach us.
The Complete Demonblood Saga Page 62