Aries

by Kim Faulks

  I fed my hand through the bars and touched her arm. “Look at me, slow your breathing. In…and out. In…and out.”

  The flicker of life returned. “That’s it. Nice and slow, okay. Just take a second.”

  “No time,” she whispered. “Gotta get you out of here.”

  I watched her, checking her breathing, scanning her body, and then nodded. I jabbed my finger to a key amongst the others. “That one. Try that one.”

  She fumbled, spearing the lock and turned. Nothing happened. Her forehead creased as she shoved in another and turned. Nothing. Key after key she worked her way to the end. Her hand shook harder, carving the key across the metal lock. Tears spilled from the corner of her eye as she gripped the key with both hands.

  “Joslyn…”

  She shook her head, wet drops splattered her cheek as she tried the last key.

  I grabbed her hand. Jesus she was cold. So fucking cold. “Joslyn…”

  “Gotta get you out of here,” she whimpered.

  I curled my fingers through hers. “It’s okay, honey. It’s okay.”

  “No it’s not!” Her scream pierced me. She shook her head, voice trembled, hands shook. “I’m not leaving without you. I’m not going out there.”

  The bullet wasn’t out of my chest—it couldn’t be. The ache…dear Goddess the ache. My voice was strange, husky as I brushed my fingers across the back of her hand. “So we try the keys again. This time take it slow and remember to breathe. In…and out. In…and out.”

  She nodded and shoved the first key into the lock once more. Her lips flattened. Her gaze riveted on the lock in front of her. I stole glances at the other end of the cavern.

  “They’ll come soon,” growled the wolf. “There’s nowhere you can run. Nowhere you can hide. You’ll be tortured for this…” He jerked his gaze to Joslyn. “She will be tortured for this.”

  Ice ran down my spine as the dull click of the lock sounded. Joslyn yanked the door, metal squealed like a cry for help. There was no going back. No way I could cover this up.

  “We have to go, Zadoc,” she murmured and held out her hand.

  Her fingers curled, waiting…this time for me. She was so warm, so small. If they hurt her…I closed my eyes. That wasn’t going to happen. I wouldn’t let that happen.

  I pulled her against me and buried my face in her hair. The scent of straw and dirt clung to the strands, but underneath that…was the faint trace of fruit. Colored bottles filled my head.

  This was worth it.

  This was worth every beating…every gunshot…every second I was away from my kin. This was worth it and more.

  “We have to go,” I repeated into the top of her head, but my arms wouldn’t move. She had to be the one to break the hold. She had to be the one to step away.

  She turned her head toward the wolf. “Is there a way out of this place?”

  His smile was filled with knowing. “There is…but you’ll never find it—not in time.”

  She stepped away, breaking the connection. “The girls…where are they?”

  The wolf flinched, pale skin turned ashen. “You think you know it all. Why don’t you find them for yourself?”

  “We will,” she answered and slammed a fist against the bars. “We goddamn will.”

  I glanced at the torch. We’d be lost out there in the dark. But drawing attention to ourselves would be suicidal. I reached for her hand and left the open cell door behind, dragging Joslyn with me.

  “Wait,” I growled and lunged for the end of the cell, where the damn remnants of my shirt was left behind.

  I snagged the material and unfurled the edges, and headed for my uneaten meal. I had no idea how long we’d be out there—so I’d take every bit of what we had. I piled the meat and rice into the center and glanced over at her uneaten meal.

  “Fine, see how long you’ll survive,” spat the wolf and strode toward the plate. He drove the plate toward me. The meat wavered on top and fell to the ground as it hit the cell bars.

  I scooped her meal onto mine and wrapped the ends of the cloth over the mound of food. It’d last maybe two, three days at the most, after that I’d need to go hunting.

  “The girls, Zadoc,” she pleaded as I stood and walked from my prison. “Whatever we do, we have to save the girls.”

  The empty cells silently cheered us on as we left the cavern behind and stumbled out into the dark. There were no torches to light our way, no sense of the familiar that those steel bars and stony ground floor had become. I lifted my head and searched the night sky. There were no stars to light my way, no beacon of direction.

  All we had was hope, and desperation. I took a step, and hoped to God I could get us out of here. We walked for what felt like miles, my eyes adjusted to the gloom, the longer I was out here, the more I could see. I stole glances over my shoulder as we left the dull glow of the cavern behind, waiting for the wolves to come.

  “It’s so dark,” Joslyn whispered.

  I clenched her hand, taking comfort in her warmth I wondered why the hell there were no houses, no cobblestone streets. There was—nothing?

  It’s a trick, it has to be. They have done something to me…to us. My pulse boomed inside my head. I couldn’t shake the feeling I was missing something.

  They say demons live on terror. They say their world is nothing but night. Did you know that?

  Those words came back to me. They bounced around in my skull and for a second I was transported back to my mountain—back to where I watched Joslyn from the cover of a bush, waiting for the second I could save her.

  Save her…and yet that was the complete opposite of what I’d done.

  Fear crowded my mind, if what the wolf said was true then I was feeding the darkness, not battling its hold.

  Hate was akin to fear. Both danced so intricately it was hard to tell one hand, one caress from another. I focused on the raw open wounds I kept inside. My bones had been scorched from fires, broken by betrayals, stained with blood— and still I’d keep on fighting.

  Rage danced in my belly, twisting it into knots, and as those feelings swallowed me, the darkness pulled away. A hard thump stilled my steps. The sound carried, followed by another. I tried to track the sound. “Did you hear that?”

  “No…”

  Thump…thump…

  “Wait here.”

  I opened my palm. Her fingers clenched. “Don’t…”

  She was a faint blur beside me. I reached for her head, holding her close and leaned in. “I think I see something. Count to five…I’ll be back before you finish.”

  Strength wasn’t dependent on the size of your build, or the many bodies you had buried. It was here in the quiet, in the darkness…this was what steeled your soul.

  Her fingers released, and my hand slipped from her hold.

  Thump.

  That sound dragged me forward, step by agonizing step. The menacing night slipped behind moving bodies. I blinked and tried to focus. Two…no, three moved with precision. One stood behind the others. I inhaled the fetid stench of rotting meat. The white doctor’s coat glowed like a neon sign. Two walked back to a pile, grasped either end of…

  I flinched.

  I knew what they were doing—the same thing I’d done many times before. They swung the body through the air. Arms and legs flailed for a second before it hit the growing pile.

  They were disposing of their kills. The rancid stench of old blood wafted on the air. I swallowed my gorge and focused on the men. These were not wolves…or demons. Memories surfaced, bloodless skin, long fangs so eager to tear and shred.

  Vampires.

  But what were they doing here in the demon world?

  I followed the white coat as the vampires returned to the stack of bodies. A voice carried, male…human, barking orders I couldn’t hear. I clenched my fists and turned to the undead. I’d killed their kind before…I could do so now.

  Follow them, my Dragon urged. Kill them…they mean her harm.

 
No. This wasn’t the time, nor the place.

  I smothered that voice and backed away. I needed answers more than I needed revenge…and right now, neither would keep Joslyn safe.

  I retraced my steps to the slip of a woman I’d left behind. She jumped as I touched her arm.

  A tiny squeal cut through the night until she stifled the sound with her palm. “What was it?” Her voice muffled through her fingers.

  “Nothing…couldn’t see.”

  It was so easy to lie to her in the dark, so easy to pretend that we had a fucking chance. But the darkness had found a crack in my armor, and the cold, gnawing feeling of helplessness seeped in.

  My fingers skimmed her thin coat. Underneath she was trembling. I cursed myself for the loss of her jacket. We needed to find the children, and we needed shelter—fast. I ran my fingers down her arm. “Let’s get out of here.”

  The real demon world revealed itself as I took a wide berth from the vampires. Rows of houses reared like silent sentinels.

  I stole glances behind us, waiting for the wolves to come, and guided Joslyn along the cobblestone street.

  “Zadoc.” Terror leaked into her voice.

  I moved close, whispering against her ear. “This place feeds on fear. Focus on something else.”

  She moved in the twilight, turning her head to search the world around her, until she stiffened and whispered, “Holy fucking shit.”

  I stifled a smirk and dropped her hold. She hissed and mumbled as I climbed the landing. This house looked like all the others, but there was a nagging feeling in the pit of my gut that this was the one I saw when they brought me here.

  This was where I needed to be.

  I stopped at the window and reached for the pane. A crunch sounded as I trailed my fingers down the glass. The same crack in the pane. The same house. I held out a hand for Joslyn. The uneasiness bordered on panic.

  The blonde bitch wanted me to see. So now, I would.

  Joslyn slipped her warm hand against mine. Her fingers instantly entwined. The floorboards creaked as I made for the door, drawing me away from the comfort of her touch.

  I gripped the dented metal knob and twisted. The lock was a dull thud. Doors. Locks. Why would they need them in Hell…this place was filled with monsters, inside, and out.

  “I don’t like this place,” Joslyn whispered and followed as I pushed the door open and stepped inside. “I don’t like it at all.”

  The biting scent of terror lingered in the corners, mingling with the arid trace of piss and blood. Those screams haunted me, they burned into my bones and set my teeth on edge—they called to me, crying out like a child in the midst of a nightmare…yet this cruel dream was real and it held me in its claws, just as it had held whoever had been here.

  I closed my eyes and let the emotions consume me. Fire, pain, agony…down…down…until tiny souls shattered like glass.

  “They broke them…shattered their minds.”

  The desolation of this place answered. Yes…

  “Why, Zadoc…why all of this?”

  I turned to the dark silhouette of her face. How I wanted to touch her. How I wanted to feel the beat of her heart, just to remind me…we were still alive.

  There was nothing here. Nothing that could help me understand, still I moved deeper into the room. The scent of ash drew me closer. How long had it been? Long enough for the fire to burn out.

  Those words resurrected my family, Marcus roared like a bull…filling me with vengeance. You’ll have to find somewhere else to hide the bodies.

  How many had I killed. Tens…hundreds…thousands?

  Was this retribution, or was this fate? The thought took hold.

  “Zadoc, let’s go. There’s nothing left for us here.”

  I let her lead me out of the house and into the darkness. I let her wind her arms around my waist and press me against her body. I let her do whatever she wanted—inside I was hollow and empty.

  “We’re here because of me.”

  “No, we aren’t. Don’t talk like that.”

  I dropped my gaze, to midnight eyes. Joslyn shook her head. “We’re here because they gave us no choice. Remember that.”

  The next house was the same, cold, empty, but the remnant of fear and horror seeped into the walls and stained the air. House after house, room after room. Darkened windows held no hope of light or life, and soon the search for captives turned into a search for survival.

  Joslyn shuddered and shook as we moved from street to street until I couldn’t remember where we started. I found matches in one house, a blanket in another. We took what we could. Wood, and clothing too small to fit Joslyn, but it would soften the hard floor when we finally found some place to sleep. I climbed the stairs and dropped my shoulder to force open one more door when a choked moan filled the air behind me.

  “Stop, Zadoc…just stop.”

  I spun at the desperation in her voice. Her sharp, labored breaths pulled me close. She dropped her head and clutched her side.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing,” she spat through gritted teeth. “Just give me a damn moment.”

  Her harsh breaths and low moan triggered something dark and primal inside me. I closed the distance in one frantic heartbeat and reached for her. “What is it?”

  “Just a stitch, it’s nothing.”

  I didn’t believe her, didn’t believe her when she finally lifted her head and forced a smile.

  Goddamn selfish sonofabitch. “How long?”

  Strands of her dark hair floated as she shook her head.

  I cupped her face, and lifted, trying to dull the edge in my voice. “How…long?”

  “A while,” she whispered and closed her eyes. “I tried to keep up.”

  The darkness spun, houses crowded in. Her words a slap to my face. She tried to keep up…this human woman tried to keep up with me…an immortal twice her damn size without so much as a whimper—without so much as word. I should’ve known…should’ve put her first…always first.

  A low moan slipped from her lips, soft panting followed. A stitch…a stitch?

  Her hands went to her side. But they were low enough for…my breath left me. No, not that…I wouldn’t allow it. The ground was a blur. I bent, captured her in one quick stride and drew her against me. The salty scent of tears drifted. Still she made no sound.

  Goddamn stubborn, snarly woman. But this was all my fault—the blame rested solely with me. I scanned the houses. There was nothing familiar, and yet they were all familiar. The same horror, the same goading emptiness over and over again. We were rats in a fucking maze.

  I stopped on a house across the road. The front smashed in like a punch to the face. But the rear of the building looked intact. They wouldn’t expect us to hole up there, and by the time they came for us, we’d be ready to fight.

  You mean you’ll be ready to fight. Look at her you selfish sonofabitch.

  I crossed the street and headed for the derelict house. I could fix this…I could.

  “I can walk you know.”

  A growl slipped free. There was strength in that fragile voice, a quiet determination.

  “I don’t need…”

  My growl deepened, ending her sentence. She’d damn well better get used to a male treating her with respect and kindness. She damn well better…be okay.

  Those words choked me. Broken beams slanted across the front of the building, leaving gaping holes barely big enough for Joslyn to crawl through, let alone me.

  I stared at the thing. My plan wouldn’t work…but another took its place.

  “Take the food and pass me one of those dresses, if they think we've holed up in here, they’ll make a racket long enough for us to slip away.”

  She took the wrapped parcel of food from the cells and scanned the dark. “So where will we be?”

  I nodded to the house through the gaps. “Over there.”

  She dropped the cloth. I could still smell the musky scent of blood on the fab
ric, and if I could, then the wolves could too.

  I turned, tucked in my ass and slipped between the damaged building and the next. Joslyn watched me between slits of her closing eyes, silently picking me apart. But right now the woman was compliant—and I’d take the scrutiny for her to remain in my arms.

  The need to protect burned inside me. She’d used herself as bait, and then damn well pushed herself to exhaustion. Both were enough to bring me close to the killing edge. But it was a carnal hunger that trapped me—the need to have what wasn’t mine drove every dangerous thought.

  I yanked my gaze to hers and strode across the street. “If you've got something to say, then say it.”

  “You’ve got really pretty eyes.”

  I flinched, my top lip curled on its own. Pretty eyes? Just what I damn well needed…was a make-up tutorial next?

  My long stride swallowed the stairs. I slowed at the landing and shifted her in my arms, leaving me to cup the curve of her ass.

  I gripped the handle and twisted. The metal knob refused to budge, holding fast no matter how hard I twisted.

  “Hold on,” I growled.

  I lingered long enough for her arms to tighten, dropped my shoulder and then charged. The lock broke under the force. A boom rocked the night as the door slammed against the wall and bounced.

  I strode through the doorway, grabbed the handle and eased the damn thing shut. She straightened her legs, slipping from my hold. Her hands left my neck and skimmed my chest as her feet touched down.

  “I’ll bar the door and find us somewhere to rest.”

  I didn’t wait for her response. I knelt and searched the rooms finding an old cupboard in the back of the house. The damn thing weighed a ton. I wrestled with it, heaving the cupboard through the doorways, and dragged it into place.

  The barricade wouldn’t hold forever—but it’d give me precious seconds.

  And I’d take all I could to keep her safe.

  The dark room gave me little to go on. My fingers skimmed stone and ran along the edges of what felt like a hearth. I went wall to wall, finding nothing more than a crumpled pile of dusty blankets and a pile of wood.

  There’d been no sign of the young girls—the small scraps of food we’d found had been days, or weeks old, the vampires filled my mind—and the bodies they disposed of. I couldn’t tell Joslyn…not yet.