by Ciara Graves
Heart Cross Hospital was shut down a decade ago after an attack by human protestors killed twenty patients and almost started a damned war in the city. Before that, a plague ripped through the hospital. And before that, there’d been a fire that destroyed two of the older wings. The place had been deemed cursed and was shut down. Completely blocked off. Every year we waited for the city to destroy it, but yet, it remained.
Now I knew why.
Liam and whoever else he worked for kept it standing so they could use it, bring their donors here, without being disturbed.
More blood drops led me deeper into the maze of halls and rooms. That wasn’t all that led me. It was also the strong scent of apples which competed with the stink of mold and rot in these walls.
“Mercy,” I whispered, knowing I couldn’t just yell for her.
The volume blood lessened, then stopped altogether at the intersection of what seemed to be the heart of the hospital.
To my right was a sign showing the ER was in that direction. To my left, another sign pointed to the ICU. Directly in front of me was the cafeteria.
I remained perfectly still, holding my breath.
Then I heard a voice. It was quiet at first, but then a deep, booming laugh erupted, and magic rolled out the doors.
Liam. He was inside.
The doors were partially off their hinges. I moved closer, squinting to look through the crack between the doors.
Liam was in the center of the open space, on his phone, texting.
Behind him on the floor, hands bound in front, a gag in her mouth, was Mercy. Her eyes were narrowed with that death glare she was so great at.
From the way she moved, waving her arms around, she was attempting to yell at Liam, despite the gag cutting off and muffling her words. The charm hiding her identity was gone, making me wonder who removed it, and if Liam hadn’t realized, we were onto him this whole time.
He seemed content to ignore her, until something she said set him off, and he grabbed the chain holding her wrists together, hauled her up off the floor, and backhanded her twice.
Her head flew to the side as he gave her a shake then tossed her down like she was nothing.
Another alarmed yelp drew my gaze to a third figure I hadn’t noticed before.
Terry, the missing girl, was here. She was alive after all. She shifted closer to Mercy, but Liam shouted at her to back off.
“You have some use left to you, still.” Liam grabbed Terry by the throat, hoisting her off her feet as she cried out. “I’d hate to waste it.” He tossed her away with a hungry look in his eyes that made me sick.
Terry glowered at him.
Mercy managed to push herself back up, then tore the gag from her mouth. “Why don’t you piss off, bastard?”
Liam hissed as he grabbed her by her hair.
My rage nearly exploded, ready to charge in there and stop him.
But Mercy kept on yelling and screaming, making a bunch of noise.
It was time for me to take my chance. Carefully, I slipped through the doors and crept along the far wall.
Liam had his hand wrapped around her throat, but Mercy grinned like she’d lost her mind.
For all I knew she had—
Then her gaze darted to mine for a heartbeat, and she lashed out, kicking at Liam until he dropped her to the floor again. She spat blood at his feet.
He hauled off and kicked her in the ribs. “You are trying my patience,” Liam warned, kicking her again.
“Oh, poor mage, getting all riled up by a little girl,” Mercy mocked. “Guess I should behave myself. Or not.”
“I will kill you.”
“Yeah. I think if you were going to kill me you would’ve done it already. Nope. Pretty sure you need me alive.”
He stood over her but didn’t touch her this time. “Be lucky I do not turn you over to her. She wanted you back then. And she would be thrilled to know you survived after all.”
She?
Mercy looked as confused as I felt at his words. This other person had to be who Liam worked for. Why would she want Mercy?
Liam crouched before her and grabbed her face in his hand, running his fingers over her scar.
“If you behave, I’ll help you remove this. Isn’t that what you want? The curse lifted?”
“You know what I really want?”
I stepped out from the shadows, keeping my steps quiet, and pointed my pistol at Liam’s head.
. “I want you to burn in hell,” she said, then her gaze drifted to me
“Liam Manchester, you are under arrest. Stand up slowly, keep your hands up, and your mouth shut.” I waited for him to comply.
He shoved Mercy away from him roughly.
“Do it, or I’ll shoot.”
He turned his head, a sneer on his face. “You think you scare me?”
“Hands up and stand,” I repeated with a growl. “It’s over, Manchester. Do as I say, and this might not get ugly.”
He turned to face me fully as I raised my pistol to his face. His hands remained at his sides, and that sneer on his face pissed me off the longer I looked at it.
“Of course it’s you,” he said quietly. “I should’ve recognized the stench coming off you. A demon touched by dark magic. A demon who is nothing more than failure.”
I gripped my pistol harder and snarled. “Be quiet.”
“I know exactly where you came from,” he went on. “It’s always surprising to see one of your kind rise so high, isn’t it? After all the violence, the suffering you had to endure.” He took a half-step toward me.
I moved back on instinct, keeping space between us.
“You know you could be so much more than what you are right now. So much more.”
“Is that so?”
What was he playing at?
“It is. If you put down that gun and come with me, I can show you what real strength and power looks like. You can’t tell me there’s no one you want to avenge. No one you want to kill for past wrongs? There is so much more going on in our world that you’ve been blind to. I can show you the truth of it all.”
A subtle noise behind me had me catching my breath, waiting to hear it again.
Liam was trying to distract me and buy time for someone to sneak up behind me.
Fine. If that’s what he wanted to think he was doing, then that’s what I’d let him do.
I took another step backward, and Liam followed, putting distance between him and the women.
Mercy shifted so she could reach Terry’s chains and was fumbling to get her free somehow.
“How do I know you’re even telling the truth?”
He shrugged, eyes darkening with magic. “You’ll just have to go on a little faith—”
“Behind you!” Terry screamed.
Mercy cursed.
I whirled around and fired off a shot, taking down the goblin who had thrown himself through the air, prepared to land on my back. He hit the floor, dead. But damn. He wasn’t the only one.
Yellow eyes glared back at me from the shadows, more eyes than I could count in the few seconds I had.
“You truly believed I would be here alone?” Liam barked an evil laugh. “Not very bright are you.”
Keeping my pistol raised, I reached into my pocket with my free hand and grabbed hold of Mercy’s sword.
The goblins hadn’t attacked yet, and I assumed they waited for word from Liam.
One broke away, and when his face came into the light, I rumbled even louder.
Rot.
There was no way we were getting out of this without a fight.
Lowering my gun, I faced Liam, Mercy, and Terry again. All three stared at me, confused.
But there was only one person I cared about at that moment. Cared about her seeing my face and realizing my plan.
Mercy’s eyes narrowed slightly, but there was no more time to waste.
In the one motion, I drew her sword from my pocket, and at the same moment, fired at Liam.
He dove to the side, screaming for the goblins to attack.
I tossed the sword Mercy. There was no chance for me to see if she caught it or not.
I spun back around and fired off two more shots. One goblin hit the ground, then I was surrounded.
A gob latched onto my back as another charged me.
I was nearly twice their size, and as my demon rage broke free, I kicked and punched, lashing out at any who came close. This was almost worse than the rooftop. Not because there were more goblins, but because the tang of magic permeated the air so strongly I gagged on it.
A burst of lightning lashed through the goblins and struck my shoulder. I snarled at the pain, but the source of it, Liam, was too far away to reach.
“Run! Take cover!” Mercy yelled.
I whipped around, toward the sound of her voice, and saw her, sword in hand, shoving Terry ahead of her and fighting off goblins.
More moved in, blocking my view of her.
Liam shot more lightning at me.
I ducked under a bolt. A goblin shrieked as it was struck instead.
I barreled my way through bodies, focused only on the mage.
Using his own goblins against him for cover, I hunched down as I ran, getting closer and closer while Liam fired wild shots of magic, illuminating what had turned into a grisly fight scene.
Mercy yelled, her sword flashing as it swished and chopped through the air.
Terry screamed in fear.
If I could just get to Liam, I could end this all.
And there he was, right before me.
I launched myself at him, fangs bared, as I tackled him down.
We rolled and rolled, but he was stronger than I anticipated and kicked me off easily, then flipped to his feet.
I had no chance to get back up as more goblins landed on me, pinning me down.
Liam approached, kicking me in the face and ribs.
Lightning lit up his hands as he prepared to attack me again.
Mercy’s shout cut through the goblins growling. Her sword slashed across Liam’s face.
Blood pooled between the fingers of the hand he slapped to his cheek as he staggered away.
Her sword cut and sliced, clearing me of goblins. Then her hand was there, yanking me to my feet.
“You good?” We stood back to back, facing down the mass of goblins.
“Terry? Where is she?” I looked around, but there was no sign of the mortal.
“Right here,” a squeaking voice replied.
I glanced over my shoulder to find her clinging to Mercy’s shoulder and ducking low.
“Where’s your backup?” Mercy swung her sword, ready for the next assault.
“They were cut off in the tunnel. Goblins.”
“Damn it—Rafael!”
Invisible chains wrapped around my middle and then I was airborne, my arms pinned to my sides.
The goblins moved in around Terry and Mercy.
Mercy fought her way through them, keeping herself between Terry and certain death, taking blow after blow as Liam slammed me into the floor repeatedly.
I dug my talons into the floor, causing rivets, but then I was in the air again, this time bashed into a wall.
He finally released me, and I crashed down on all fours, every bone in my body aching and blood coursing down my face.
“You will never win.” Liam stood a yard away, sneering at me as lightning crackled at his hands. “Never. You are weak. You will always be weak.”
Saying nothing, I threw myself at him, headbutting him in the chest.
He gasped for air as I pummeled him, not giving him a chance to use his magic.
I was going to end this tonight.
As I brought my fist up to hit him again, Rot latched his teeth onto my shoulder, and I was dragged away by him and other goblins.
I lost sight of the mage in seconds and was tugged deeper into the mass of nails and teeth. All of them ready to tear me apart.
There were too many goblins to fight off.
Liam was going to get away.
I kicked another gob off me and rolled to my feet, snarling as I searched for a way to get to him.
More and more goblins rushed into the cafeteria.
Terry cowered against the far wall, Mercy doing everything she could to keep her alive.
Black blood dripped from the sword, and she hunched over, exhausted, her hands shaking.
I waited for her to collapse, unable to keep going, but when she lifted her head, her entire body tensed, and fire burned in her eyes.
The sword fell from her hand.
As another line of goblins charged, she swiped her arm across her front.
A flame slashed them in half.
She took a step forward, fire flowing up her arms to her shoulders.
“Mercy!”
If she heard me, she gave no indication.
The fire grew stronger, and she lashed out again and again.
I sprinted through the goblins who were focusing all their attention on Mercy and grabbed hold of Terry, shoving her behind me.
Liam screamed for them to get Mercy, and just like on the rooftop, the mob of attacking monsters moved in on her like a living swarm. They blocked out the light from her flames, and then she disappeared beneath them.
“Where is she?” Terry grabbed my arm in a death grip. “Where is she!”
“I can’t see her.” My heart was in my throat as I scoured for any sign that she was alive. “Mercy!”
Liam cackled from across the cafeteria.
Rot and three other goblins were at his sides, guarding him.
“Not so powerful after all…” Liam’s brow furrowed as the temperature shot up in the cafeteria.
The floor shook violently, and a bright ball of white fire skyrocketed through the center of the goblins, scattering burning bodies as they screamed, running for cover.
The fire pulsed like it had a life of its own.
The goblins retreated, desperate to get away, ignoring Liam’s orders to get back there and finish her.
I shielded my eyes against the light’s brightness, squinting into the column of light.
Mercy was on her knees, arms limp at her side, head hanging back.
As suddenly as the fire exploded, it vanished, with a pop. Mercy was left with smoke trailing off her, shaking.
Terry and I rushed to her side, and she fell into my chest, eyes closed, lips moving. Whatever she said was too quiet for me to hear.
“Such power.” Liam’s face lit up with awe, moving closer, Rot and the other goblins in tow. “I must have her.”
I curled around Mercy protectively. “You will not touch her. Not again.”
Terry cowered at my back.
I realized we had no way out.
Whatever Mercy had just done, I doubted she’d be able to do it again.
Liam was only a yard away, grinning like a devil. Lightning crackled at his fingertips and up his arms, ready for whatever he was about to unleash on us when Rot’s hand closed around his arm.
“What are you doing?” Liam tugged on his arm, but Rot’s grip only tightened more. “Release me at once.”
Rot clicked his tongue as a wicked smile spread across his face. “Oh, Liam,” he purred in a voice that was nothing like I’d heard from him before. “Did you truly believe you could keep this from me?” He clicked his sharp teeth together as he shoved Liam to his knees, bearing down on him.
The lightning sputtered then disappeared. Spit dripped from Rot’s mouth onto Liam’s face as he cowered, no longer appearing the unbeatable mage he’d been only moments ago.
“No. You don’t understand,” he whispered. “Please. I’ll stop. I swear it.”
“I thought I could trust you,” Rot went on. “Guess I was wrong.”
Liam chanted, but he wasn’t fast enough.
Rot clamped down on his throat.
The mage’s scream of pain reverberated off the walls. But the scene only got wor
se from there.
The goblins surrounded Liam.
I yelled for Terry to look away as they tore Liam apart while he screamed, begging for his life.
The goblins were deaf to his cries for mercy.
I curled myself further around Mercy, not letting her see the gruesome sight.
She shoved at me weakly.
I stopped.
Her eyes were glued to Liam’s face, which was barely visible through the goblins and drenched in blood.
But it wasn’t her Liam locked eyes with as his power flared in his eyes then faded as his life drained away. It was me.
“You have no idea who you’re dealing with,” he rasped, spitting up blood.
Then he disappeared altogether.
Behind me, Terry gagged.
Just as quickly as the goblins turned on Liam, they moved away. It was like they were in a daze. Then they collapsed to the floor.
What was left of Liam was barely recognizable as human.
Terry vomited.
“You need to get out of here,” I told Terry. “Hurry. Get yourself to a transport and get home. And do not come back to our sectors. Understand me?”
She nodded, then hugged me and squeezed Mercy’s hand. “Thank you,” she whispered and took off for the closest exit.
Mercy shook in my arms.
I growled, holding her closer, but she pushed against my chest.
“You’re too weak,” I argued, but she used my shoulder and got to her feet, unsteady, and pale. “You need to rest.”
I threw a glance back, toward the doors, knowing in truth she needed to get out of here, too.
She staggered forward, holding her right arm and wincing, but her eyes were focused on what remained of Liam.
The seconds ticked by.
Her face darkened instead of getting lighter.
Liam was dead.
A weight should’ve been lifted from her shoulders, but when I reached her side, the look on her face was one of utter disappointment and fear.
“He’s dead,” I assured her. “He won’t hurt you again.”
She nodded, not seeming to really hear me or see me. “The goblins. Rot. Something wasn’t right about that.”
“Nothing we can do about it now. I’ll take him and the others in, but you should leave.”