by Kim Faulks
The stench of my own was suffocating.
Hands reached for me, clawing, gouging.
Agony radiated, splitting my mind, and for a second I was stolen from this Hell, taken back to that messy office…to the rush of her breath against my ear…to the taste of her sex in my mouth—and the thunder of her blood in my veins.
My knees trembled. I clung to that office, spearing claws in the memory as I fell.
And somewhere above the blood-sickened beasts a warrior’s cry cut through the air.
The crowd parted in a thunder of screams.
Claws were torn from my body as the song of a sword whipped through the air.
“Bastian!”
I gripped a Vampire and stilled, listening.
“Dammit…Guardian!”
My heart thundered, fighting with one last desperate surge. I knew that voice…knew that cry. My legs trembled as I shoved against the ground.
“Bastian!”
I turned my head, catching the flare of perfect blonde hair as the warrior swung.
Limbs fell, and newborn Vampires howled.
The Lowest Kynd could scream all they wanted.
Wrath had come for them…and his name was Gabriel.
20
Amaris
Oryn!
My boots kicked jutted stones. Skin scraped, stinging as I threw myself along the thin shaft toward the city. The rocks grew warmer, stealing the cold from my veins as I shoved.
“Amaris…wait!” Parry’s faint voice echoed.
But I couldn’t slow, not for him—not for anyone.
That’s because you’re running away.
The words filled my head as I charged into the darkness. I wasn’t running away…I was running toward them.
Tears blurred the empty shaft. My legs trembled, weak and slow. Too slow. She could be hurting…she could be dead.
I tried not to think about that, tried not to think about the change inside me—the darkness that had once welled in that pit inside—but now spilled through these veins.
A darkness that wanted more than retribution. A darkness that wanted blood flowing through these streets, hot and fresh—just like lava.
“Amaris!”
I shoved against the wall as the mine veered left and the stones grew warmer. Out of the dark came a faint scream, long and savage filled with panic. But then it was gone. I stilled and tried to listen.
The darkness seemed to breathe, walls clenched, and released…mirroring the pulse of my heart. And out of the gloom, that sound came again, punishing and wretched.
I lunged, and scurried, forcing my feet to move faster as I climbed. Faint red bled into the black. We were close here…bending alongside the lava vein before we veered back out.
I shoved toward that sound, and as the thin shaft widened the familiar returned. I knew this shaft, knew it from my childhood. Mom brought us here. This was our place…our special place…there was only ever the three of us, Mom and…and Parry.
I tried to swallow the memories. Tried to push them down. Now was not the time. But the fragments knitted together, until the blanket of lies was all I could see.
Parry was always with us, standing alongside Mom. I’d always thought it was because he was her second in command, her protector…her friend.
But it was more than that, wasn’t it? It was because he was her lover, her confidant. The one man she truly loved. I could see that now, looking at the past. She truly loved him. Is that why Mom died? Because Heron somehow found out about their affair?
A scream shattered the thought, bouncing off the walls to carve through the darkness like a blade. I was close, so damn close. Jagged breaths clenched, drawing the burn deeper.
I shoved harder, forcing my feet to move faster. Rocks clattered, falling to a drop. I grasped the wall, inhaled hard, and stared as the faint red illuminated the two-foot drop. Numb feet refused to move as I squatted and then lunged—landing hard—and then pushed forward.
Rocks piled in mounds along the side of the tunnel. The grip on my boots was useless as I tried to scurry across. I reached for the wall to balance and felt nothing. Through the crimson hue I found a gaping wound. I took a glance at the tunnel and turned to the ruined rock.
Shrieks of terror punctured the air, and underneath the unmerciful sound came a sickening hiss like a nest of snakes.
My sister. My people.
I gripped the rocks and stepped through. Their pain was a leash pulling me closer—wrenching me harder. Faint light spilled through a crack in the wall. I stumbled for the crevice and angled my body through.
Blood smeared the wall. I stared at the mess and then shoved through the opening. No blade, no blood…no sigil. The tunnel’s power rippled, moving in to lick my energy before coiling away.
“It’s me,” I growled.
The lash of agony came fast, like a whip to draw blood, power rippled as it tasted and tested. “Don’t you recognize me?”
Darkness swelling inside me, calling to the power of this place. Sweat stung my eyes. I blinked into the blur and drove my boots into the dirt working my way to the main tunnel.
I scanned empty doorways and pushed deeper. A woman lunged into view…one of my women. Her shirt was torn, exposing her breasts from collarbone to navel. Bite marks ravaged her flesh. She was covered in them over her breasts and her stomach.
The wildness of her hair was no match for her eyes. Wide and glazed, her pupils were blown, swallowing the brown. Terror-sickened…that was what she was.
“Hey.” I lunged forward, gripping her thrashing arms. “Hey, it’s okay. It’s me, Amaris.”
She jerked her head at the sound. Blow spilled from a cut in the corner of her mouth. “Amaris.”
“How many are there?”
She whimpered and cowered. Fingers sank into the flesh of her arms as I dragged her close. “I said, how many?”
“The walls…the dark…the walls…the dark…”
I eased away, stared at the indents of my fingers in her flesh before I let her go. She couldn’t help me. “You need to hide.”
The east tunnels were nothing more than rooms used to store food. There were no weapons, no escape. I glanced over my shoulder to the open doorway. “In there, find somewhere to hide and stay there.”
I gave her a push; momentum took her the rest of the way as she stumbled through the doorway and slipped from view. I clenched my fist and left her behind. Screams rebounded against the walls. Screams on screams…on screams. The deafening sound made my stomach clench and my knees tremble.
“Amaris!” Parry roared behind me.
The others would be close—close enough to follow me into battle.
Power hummed through my fingers, but this was no mirror of my sigil, this was no hum of life. This was something dangerous…something cold and frightening.
Something untested.
Can’t think about that. I lengthened my stride, leaving the east tunnel behind, and headed for the main pit. Oryn was first. Everything else would come after…as long as she was safe, that was all that mattered.
I slipped from the entrance of the east tunnel and pressed my spine against the wall. Panic had turned into blood-sickened chaos. Screams of terror crammed every breath in this place.
My people were pushed and shoved, scrambling over one another as they headed toward the south end of the pit. I turned my head, catching infernal eyes filled with hunger and hate.
And in the flickering orange light I saw them.
There were hundreds…hundreds of these creatures. Some stood upright, most scurried on hands and knees, still wearing the same clothes from the day they were taken…but they weren’t human—no, not anymore.
They were mindless, rage-filled beasts.
Just like the garage.
A savage snarl came from my right. I glanced past the overturned tables and the makeshift ovens to a hulking beast of man. Fine patches of black hair covered his arms. Fingers were poised with claws. He moved li
ke a Hound…but he wasn’t a Hound.
There was no fire in his eyes, not even a flicker of faintest flame.
Thin lips curled, revealing needle-point fangs…he hissed, like the rest of the foul creatures behind him. Dark eyes focused on me as he stalked closer. I glanced to my right, searching the overturned saucepans and pots, and bodies…
God…so many bodies. Vacant eyes stared back at me. Shirts were torn open. Chests were savaged, arms and legs were raw and bloody. My people, eaten like prey, and left like garbage.
And from the pile of bodies, a chest rose with a sudden breath. Long gray hair brushed across an outstretched hand of a severed limb. All I could see was the back of her head. I glanced at the beast and took a step, drawn by something far bigger than survival—the need to protect.
The old woman turned her head, storm blue eyes fixed on me. I knew those blue eyes, and knew the words that went with them. Be careful of the cold. Be careful of the cold. They see you…they see everyone, watching you in the dark. Hungry…hungry…hungry.
“Goddamn you…” I lifted my gaze to the beast as he neared. “Goddamn you sonofabitch.”
A current rippled from the center of my chest, dark and hungry. My hound snarled, and moved closer. She should sense him, sense the infection of his blood…sense the corruption of his soul. And this time the power of the cavern came to life.
But instead of the light, the walls rippled with something darker, something hungry. A lash of energy sliced the air. It whipped around the beast’s neck, slicing deep before it was gone.
“Mother of Mercy.”
I wrenched my head toward the sound as the young renegade stepped into view. “Renold.”
But there was no flinch this time, and no stink of fresh urine in the air. His gaze drifted over the massacre and then settled on the beast. “Go Amaris. Find Oryn. I’ve got your back.”
He took one step, lifted his gun, and took aim. And as the energy of the tunnel whipped out one more time his shot rang out. “Go! Go save her!”
I left him there, lunged over the dead, and scurried for the weapons room. It was the only place barricaded, the only place strong enough to withstand an attack from the inside.
“Please…help me.” Someone grasped my ankle as I raced past.
I couldn’t stop, couldn’t look. These were my people…my responsibility. But Oryn…Oryn was my blood. “I’ll come back. I promise I’ll come back.”
I left the main tunnel and the chaos behind. The heavy thud of footsteps haunted me. I could hear them—hear Parry screaming orders at the men. I could hear the gunshots ring out. But I didn’t stop. I didn’t look back, not until I hit the weapons room.
The thick steel door was closed. The locks hung open. I grasped the handle and shoved. “Oryn!”
The room was empty. Guns lay on the racks, boxes of cartridges spilled across the bench. I stumbled inside. “Oryn! It’s me…”
“Is she here?” Parry shoved through the doorway, his weapon raised as he scanned the corners. “Amaris, is she here?”
I spun toward the roar. Parry was scratched and bloodied. His hand trembled but the muzzle was steady. “Where is she?”
Fear threatened to bring tears to my eyes as I whispered. “She’s gone.”
“No, she’s not. You’d know it if she was. I’ll take the north wing, you take the south. Protect yourself, Amaris. You hear me?”
I nodded, and then he was gone, stumbling through the open door toward terror.
Don’t leave me… I wanted to cry out, to be weak for once. I wanted the father I never had…I wanted my family—together.
The south wing was a mess. I lunged over smashed shelving and torn sheeting. A man and woman clutched each other as they waited for the end. “Oryn. Have you seen Oryn?”
The woman shook her head, but the male lifted his hand. “They took her…with the Cursed to her room.”
I glanced at the spot on the wall where he pointed and then found his gaze. “How many?”
“Five…six, maybe. There was a woman…” He stilled at the word. “A woman, although she…she…”
Time stood still. I didn’t need to hear his words, didn’t need to see the fear in his eyes. Somehow, deep down I could feel her. Her taint…her rot. It moved against the walls of this place, seeped into the ground. It was the foul taste in the back of my throat, an ache in my black fucking heart. “Stay here,” I murmured and took a step. “And survive.”
If the bitch wanted to kill my sister then why take her away from the others? Why not just kill her in front of everyone?
Questions welled in the pit of my stomach as I lunged. Find her…find her…
It was all I could hear…all I could feel.
I lost one sister. I wouldn’t lose another.
21
Bastian
“Gabriel?” He spun at the call of his name.
Blood slipped in my eye as he raised his sword high and brought it down across his body, cutting a newborn Vampire cleanly in two.
A woman’s rage-filled cry followed, and out of the darkness she came like a pale-haired killing machine, leaving nothing but limbs and screams in her wake. “Annabelle?”
She turned her head, setting those murderous blue eyes on me. I glanced from her to Gabriel. “How?”
“Let’s just say”—the male warrior smiled and took a step—“that when Marcus finally got the truth from the Commander he was well and truly pissed.”
“My family?”
Gabriel lunged, grasped a newborn by his throat, and drove his sword clean through before he answered. “They’re coming. But that’s not all.”
Unspoken words glistened in his eyes.
I shoved the creature free and stumbled forward. “Tell me.”
He glanced across the crowded room. “Let’s just say the strange one had a vision—this room, and another…a room filled with death. A Hellhound Princess will fall, is what she said, Guardian. And when she does Hell will be unleashed.”
Amaris…
Her name was a fist around my heart. Fear tasted like acid and blood as I reached under the mass of cold arms and legs and searched for warmth.
Stone was unrecognizable. Gone was the perfect hair and devilish smile. Gone were the cocky remarks. He blinked, and tried to find me through the thick trails of blood that fell into his eyes. His lips were torn and bleeding, fangs had ripped through his cheek, leaving it hanging.
But that was nothing compared to the bites over his neck. Blood gushed from the savage wounds, trailing down to his shredded shirt. I gripped under his arms and lifted.
“No.” He smacked my hand away. “Save yourself.”
My hands shook as I pulled the male from the dead. “We’re getting out of here… They came, Stone. My family, they came.”
“Where?” He tried to search the room. His feet slipped, balancing as best he could and wrapped one arm around my shoulders.
Gabriel was a blur of movement, hacking and cleaving before he turned to me. “If she dies, Bastian…”
I glanced to the shattered window.
“Go,” the Vampire warrior growled. “We’ll hold them off for as long as we can.”
If she dies…if she dies…
It was all I could hear, all I could feel. I stared at the Vampire warriors, and then found Stone.
“Go,” the Cursed snarled as he clutched his side. “Save her.”
Rage rippled out like rings on a midnight lake, and through those murky waters he charged to the surface. Violet scales glinted as he rose through the tidewater of my mind… My skin trembled, bones ached. I stumbled toward that shattered window as behind me screams erupted.
I wanted to turn, to unleash the fire in my soul, but the Catalyst was coming…coming with flesh…coming with hunger…coming with terror.
The skin on my shoulders split. Blood stuck the shirt against my back before the sound of tearing fabric filled the night.
I opened my hands, opened my body, opened my s
oul, as I charged through the broken window.
Fingers clawed the air as my boots left the ground. Agony was a knife along my spine, cutting me open, tearing me free as talons unfurled.
The sting was unmerciful—tearing, shredding—as air found raw skin, and my wings sliced the night. Instinct drove me as my wings bore down, stealing me from the free-fall to the ground.
Bones shattered with a sickening crunch. I jerked, writhing mid-air as my hips widened and my body grew.
Wait…wait…
But there was no waiting for the Catalyst. There was no warning, no reprieve as spikes tore from my face and ran along my neck.
The night was mine…the darkness mine. Flames spilled from my lips, violet and crimson, as below me the city lay bare.
Save her…save…her.
She filled his mind, trembled his body. Fire cut through his chest. The burn clawed and scraped, blending blood with blood and fire with fire. He drove his wings higher, leaving this hollowed out city below.
The ache was unmerciful, breaking down flesh and bone. She changed us and it was more than the fire in our heart or desire in our belly. It was more than the need of her…it was chaos…pure chaos.
But she was worth it, whatever destruction she brought to my table.
She was worth it.
His wings flattened against his body. Wind whipped against his face. I could feel him now…feel him more than I had in a thousand years. His massive chest rose with a breath as we spiraled down toward the empty city streets.
But it was his heartbeat that drew me. The heavy thud rippled, sending a shudder through muscle and bone, and down below another pulse lit up the night sky.
Through the cracks in the asphalt, the red river of lava came to life. The glow brightened, and then ebbed, like a pulse of its own that carved through the city.
It was her life…her world.
Save her…save her. Stone’s voice filled my head as the Catalyst fixed on that fire.
My stomach tightened. I waited for him to lift his head and drive his wings through the air for us to land. But he never veered off course. Stony gaze fixed on the lava as we rushed headfirst to our death.