Deviant Warrior: (Dark Warrior Alliance Book Three)

by Brenda Trim

  Angus was tackled from behind and taken to the ground. Gerrick stabbed his blade ruthlessly, ashing one after another and fought his way to Angus’ side. The male cried out and threw one off his back. “Fuck, that hurts,” Angus snarled. It dawned on Gerrick that Angus had always been in dragon form when he’d fought with them. Skirm teeth weren’t strong enough to penetrate Angus’ thick dragon hide so this was probably the first time he’d been bitten.

  “Now you understand why we bitch so much when we come home from patrols,” Bhric said blithely. Bhric alternated between freezing an enemy and then ashing it. He wasn’t working as fast as he normally did without his twin, Breslin, by his side. They worked as a team with Bhric freezing an opponent and Breslin coming behind him to use her fire to set them ablaze. It was an impressive sight to see.

  Gerrick’s momentary diversion cost him as a blade met his shoulder wound, opening it up further. He pushed back the pain and cut the skirm open from groin to throat, nicking the heart on his way. He brushed the ash off and ducked a blow then kicked out his foot, taking another to the ground. He was once again surrounded and lost sight of Bhric and Angus.

  Gerrick used his sgian dubh to slash and cut those who attacked him. He heard the parry of blades around him, but remained focused on the two who were near him. He jumped up and kicked one in the face, startling it before he sliced its throat open. Black blood spurted out of the gaping wound as hands clutched its throat and it fell to its knees. He knew it would heal if he didn’t finish it, but he focused on the other enemy while this one was incapacitated. Gerrick leaned back, narrowly avoiding a wicked wound of his own. He twisted around, ending up behind the skirm and plunged his blade home. In rapid succession, he’d done the same to the one he’d left on its knees. Chest heaving from his efforts, he glanced around the small yard and saw that no skirm remained.

  “Did any get away?” he asked.

  “Nay, they’re too stupid to try and save themselves,” Bhric answered, doubled over with his hands braced on his knees. He was out of breath and covered in blood and ash.

  “This was a total fucking waste of time. We couldn’t open the portal and we still know nothing about the missing females,” Gerrick cursed as he wiped his blade off and slid it back into his sheath.

  Angus wiped his other blade clean and handed it back to him. “Aye. Zander isna going to be pleased. I wish I could have helped more.”

  “Here, Gerrick, I made you an ice pack,” Bhric said smiling as he tried to hand Gerrick a frozen chunk of an arm.

  Gerrick knocked it out of his hand and stalked to the car, tossing, “Jackass,” over his shoulder.

  CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

  Groaning, Shae rolled onto her back and stared up at the ceiling of her cell. She ached all over and prayed for the millionth time that the Goddess would release her from this life. She was pissed, tired, and had given up hope of being rescued. Even if she was rescued at this point, she wondered about her sanity. No one could endure what she had and come out of it with their mind intact. She’d never be able to erase the memories from her head of the rape and torture at the hands of these demons. They were relentless in their bid to break her.

  She suffered more than the other females held in the cages around her. Mainly because she taunted the demons, keeping the focus on her. She refused to cower in a corner, knowing it would mean another female would be tortured or raped in her stead.

  She lifted her arm and surveyed the latest bites marring her pale skin. She had fought one of the other females last night and knew these injuries would heal completely. She had no idea why that was because usually skirm venom didn’t heal well and left nasty scars. That thought made her think about her own changes and how her venom would affect others. Would she leave scars on an unvenomated being? She also wondered what the realm scientists would make of them if they ever got a chance to examine them.

  Apparently, there was a lingering shred of hope left, after all. She ran a hand through her matted hair and got caught in the snarls. She would give just about anything for a nice, hot shower and shampoo and conditioner. To feel her silky hair again, rather than a knotted mass of straw, would be divine. She had been that diva who had gotten manicures and pedicures every three weeks, but she would give them up for the rest of her life to have a toilet and mattress again. Talk about never taking the simple things in life for granted. Sobbing caught her attention and she sat up. She looked into the cage on her right and saw that one of the newer females was crying again.

  “What is it, Cami?” Shae whispered, not wanting the demons to hear them. The demon dogs would come in if they heard them talking and the last thing she needed right now was more injuries.

  “Nothing, I’m just scared. I have no idea what these vampires are going to do next.” Shae watched the human female wrap her arms around her knees and rock herself.

  “I’ve told you,” Shae sighed, “they aren’t vampires, they’re skirm. Most vampires would never harm you. Like all beings, vampires have their share of evil, but for the most part, they are good, hard-working individuals. They may need blood to survive, but don’t kill when they feed. And most, like me, never feed from humans. Well, I never did before coming here.”

  “I know, Shae. I didn’t meant to offend you, it’s just that I had no idea humans weren’t alone on the planet. I’ve seen my share of horror movies and never fathomed that it wasn’t all make-believe. I just want to go home.” The frightened human wiped the tears that streamed from her eyes. One of the other females in the cage with her wrapped an arm around her shoulders, offering comfort. Shae watched with detachment wondering if she would have done the same thing had she shared a cage with Cami. Before her kidnapping she would have, but now, she wasn’t so sure.

  She’d shut off most of her emotions, aside from anger and despair. It was a volatile mix that left her empty most nights, but it was what kept her alive in the cage.

  “Do you think that woman will ever come back for us?” Cami whispered.

  Shae glanced around and made sure no one was close enough to hear their conversation. “Honestly, at this point, I don’t think so. It’s been too long since she left us. If you made it out of this place alive, would you ever come back?”

  Cami’s head slumped forward and the way her hope bled away broke Shae’s heart. She wanted to take her harsh words back, but the girl hadn’t been here that long and she needed a good dose of reality. This was a harsh place and Shae couldn’t allow herself to like this girl, even a little. For all she knew, Cami would be her next opponent.

  Shae crawled to the bars at the side of her cage and rested her back against them. The cold metal bit into the bare skin of her back, but it hardly registered. She had become accustomed to the minor physical discomforts, but she had yet to become inured to the constant terror of having her body violated.

  Rape had stripped her of everything. She could not fathom wanting a male and feared finding her Fated Mate. The blessings had returned and there was a possibility he was out there. It wasn’t even about her fear that he may never accept the broken, hate-filled creature she’d become. She didn’t think she could handle the mating compulsion driving her sexual urges.

  The smell of bile reached her nostrils before she heard the retching. She turned her head to the left and saw that the harpy in the cage next to her was vomiting. She’d been isolated the moment she had been brought in earlier. She couldn’t blame the demons. After all, harpies had reputations for being deadly. Like vampires, harpies were nothing like the myths. They weren’t monsters Hades sent to the earth to steal souls. In reality, they were beautiful females who enjoyed life to its fullest. Unless angered, they were generally fun-loving creatures. She had never figured out how their small iridescent wings managed to get them off the ground, much less fly long distances. She knew they were difficult to capture which made her wonder how this one ended up in the dungeons beside her. She hadn’t spoken to anyone in the days she had been there.

  “Y
ou need to try and keep that food in you. You’re going to need the energy in the days to come,” she warned.

  “What?” the female asked with bleary eyes.

  “I said, you need to stop puking. You won’t get any food here except blood and you will need the energy.”

  “That’s just fucking great. How the hell do we get out of here?”

  Shae laughed caustically. “We don’t. Trust me, I’ve tried. We’ve all tried,” she replied, waving to the other females who sat listening intently to their conversation.

  “I’m Crystal, by the way. So, what am I going to need my energy for?”

  “I’m Shae and you can take your pick, anything from facing the demons or their skirm to fighting in the cages. You’re a harpy so you may be able to fight your way free when they come for you, but trust me, if you do, you don’t want them getting ahold of you.”

  “Is that what they did to your neck? Bite it?”

  Shae ran a finger over the thick ridges of scars littering the right side of her neck. Azazel bit her in the same location repeatedly because he enjoyed the pain it caused her when he had to gnaw through the thickened flesh. She tried not to scream because it only fed his pleasure, but failed every time. “Yeah. When they bite you, they change you into something filled with hate and rage. The one good thing is that we don’t become skirm like males do. Much as they hate it, we aren’t totally mindless.”

  “Goddess, help us,” Crystal murmured. “You don’t have any clothes on. Is that for a reason?”

  “For their perverse pleasure,” Shae bit out, not wanting to go into any more detail about her shame. She looked away and saw the same four walls she’d been trapped in. The wood floor beneath her was covered in dirt and rodent droppings. She dropped her head back against the bars and closed her eyes, not wanting to see her dismal surroundings. She’d memorized every broken board, discarded crate, pipe, and waste bucket in the room.

  “I’m sorry,” came the whispered reply.

  “Me, too. Stop being sick or this will be you, too. You’re a harpy and faster than any of us. You stand a chance of escaping. Come back for the rest of them if you do get out. Don’t leave them here to rot.”

  “What about you? Don’t you want to get out of here?”

  “I’m more likely to die in here, Crystal. I doubt I will survive the next time they throw me in the fight cage.”

  “You mentioned the cages before, what are they? Will they put me in there, too?”

  “Oh, they’ll put you in there, all right, but not until they’ve broken you. No matter what happens, never forget who and what you are in your core. You are a harpy and can take out any enemy, even a demon.”

  “You don’t sound broken to me.” Crystal’s comment had Shae sitting upright and her eyes snapping open.

  “No, I guess I’m not.” Shae hadn’t realized how much she had left in her. There were moments when she was precariously close to giving up on everything, yet when she entered that cage, she had always fought her hardest to survive. She’d surpassed the beginning levels and was moving up quickly. She actually came to look forward to the times they wanted her to fight because that meant they left her alone, otherwise.

  A noise from the hall stopped all conversation. They were coming again. Question was…who were they coming for? Kadir entered the room, followed by Azazel and several skirm, and crossed to Crystal’s cage. He stopped outside the door and held up a key.

  “You ready for this, pet?” Kadir asked the harpy. Shae bit back her angry objection and glared at the demon. Power radiated from his red eyes, pinning the harpy in place. Shae wanted to gouge out his eyes.

  “What are you going to do to me?” The panic in the harpy’s voice nearly had Shae calling out, but she knew it would do no good. They had come to envenomate her and there was no stopping it. That was the only reason Kadir visited the new-comers.

  “I’m going to make you better,” he purred as he opened the door and Azazel grabbed hold of the harpy. As she was pulled out into the open, Shae realized why the harpy was sick and hadn’t broken free yet. Her wings were bound with a thin silver chain, slowly poisoning her system.

  Crystal screamed as the demon sank its enormous fangs into her throat. The harpy screamed so long and so loud that Shae swore her eardrums burst. When Crystal stopped yelling, the demon wrapped one large grey arm around her waist from behind and tilted her head to the side, making Crystal scream again. He enjoyed the terror Shae smelled coming off the harpy in waves. Shae made sure to keep her face blank as he sank his knife-sized fangs deep into the harpy’s neck. She recalled, all too well, how those felt cutting through her skin and muscle.

  Crystal’s struggle intensified as the demon fed from her. His enormous body shuddered behind Crystal and Shae knew that the devil experienced sexual pleasure from the feeding. Shae wanted to close her eyes against the sight, but she couldn’t because she would be next if she did. Kadir’s bright red hair fell onto Crystal’s shoulder like a lover’s would, but there was nothing loving about him. Shae wanted to grab the sharp black horns on his head, bashing his skull into the floor until it cracked. Shae vowed that these vile creatures would pay as she watched the tears streaming down Crystal’s face.

  Kadir shoved a hysterical Crystal to his minions and turned his head to Shae. “Now, my blood-thirsty vixen, it’s time for you to earn your keep.” What keep? Shae thought bitterly. This was worse than any prison. They took homeless humans from the streets above to feed from and gave them a bucket for a toilet. They rarely emptied it and never gave them water to clean themselves.

  Shae stood to her feet, refusing to meet the demon while sitting on her ass. He opened her cage and grabbed her in his arms. She knew better than to struggle and refused to give him any more pleasure than he’d already had. He grabbed her breast as he struck quickly, biting her scarred neck. She remained quiet and still until Azazel approached her and thrust his hand between her legs. Their violations were guaranteed to piss her off and she began fighting and kicking and screaming.

  Before she realized what they’d done, they were dragging her out of the room. She looked down at the grey arm holding her and saw that Kadir was carrying her. He turned down the hall leading to the fight cages. She heard yelling behind her and wondered who would be joining her. She craned her neck and tried to see who else they were bringing, but she wasn’t able to see around the bare grey chest at her back.

  She passed the familiar stained glass window that pictured various demons and then the living room, of sorts, that was filled with electronics and couches. The smell of stale air and mold permeated her nostrils, only to be replaced by the stench of demons. The smell of brimstone was unmistakable, but there was something new this time that she couldn’t identify.

  She entered the large storefront that, according to the large glass window, used to be an apothecary. Several walls had been knocked out to open up the room, and inside, the space was nearly empty. A large silver cage stood in its center with its gate open. The circular structure was unlike where they kept her. It was made of silver chain–link fencing that had been stained by the blood of too many fights. Countless lesser demons and skirm stood around the structure.

  Kadir realized she’d calmed down and squeezed her breast to incite her rage. He dug his black claws into the side of her flesh and she wondered if he was going to take it as a souvenir. Without thought, she kicked and tried to claw his eyes. She bucked wildly, hoping to hit his groin. He merely laughed and tossed her through the door, causing her to stumble across the floor. Her hands flew up and landed against the chain-link fencing. She turned around and kept her back to the fence, ignoring the way the demons poked her through the metal. None of them drew blood, preferring to leave that for the fight. When no other female followed her, she looked around, wary about what they meant to do this time.

  She saw the black hellhounds as they snarled, baring their fangs. And then there were the fury demons with their mottled, smoke-colored skin. They
had four red horns on their head, black fangs and claws with glowing yellow eyes. Both creatures smelled like dead fish.

  Tonight, they were joined by pus demons. They were average-sized, greenish in color and seemed to be covered in open sores. Pus left a residue of slime everywhere they touched. It smelled vile mixing with the other odors already in the room. She gagged, swallowing back bile.

  Her stomach dropped to her feet as one of the pus demons calmly strolled into the cage with her. The clang of the door closing incited the audience further and had them yelling and growling loudly. She glared at the demon she faced, assessing it. She’d learned to end these fights as quickly as possible so she needed to determine if it had any weaknesses.

  Her opponent appeared soft and mushy, despite the four arms hanging from its long torso. It had small legs so she hoped that meant it was slow. Pus dripped from its body to puddle on the floor around it. She needed to watch where she stepped or she’d slip in that shit. Giving up her attempt to find something she could exploit, she charged the creature.

  Running full out toward it, she kept her hands at her sides until she reached it. She feinted left and struck the right side of its body. It was as soft as she expected and her entire arm pushed into a smelly, pus-filled stomach. She snatched it back, shaking the slime off her hand. The demon laughed and it was the sound of a squeegee scraping a wet window.

  “Nice try, bitch. Now you’re mine.” Surprisingly, the thing spoke. She shrugged. Nothing to do but fight it since she refused to give up now.

  Two green fists flew toward her head and she ducked only to de decked from the other side by two more fists. Apparently, he’d anticipated that move. She was knocked on her ass and blood began pouring from a cut on her face. Refusing to think about the pus seeping into her blood stream, she went for its face.