The Darkest Torment

by Gena Showalter

  “Not you.”

  Good. “You’re not going to hurt me,” she told him.

  “I’m not,” he agreed. “Never.”

  “But the beast might do so unintentionally?” Stroke, stroke, stroke. “Maybe we need to distract him. Or maybe he just needs to get to know me before he fucks me. That way, he’ll only want to hold me afterward.”

  Baden suddenly radiated pure aggression. Liked a girl with a dirty mouth, did he?

  “What do you want to try first?” She placed her mouth at his ear and blew gently. “Distraction? Or getting to know me better?”

  “Let’s just get to the fucking,” he all but yelled—and she was almost certain she heard two distinct voices.

  Her muscles clenched with eagerness. She actually liked his—their?—forcefulness?

  She ran her fingers through the silken strands of his hair before taking his gloved hands and placing them on her breasts. “All right, but only if you name three things you really, really like about me.”

  His pupils flared. “You’re beautiful. I believe I mentioned this.”

  “Yes, but thousands—millions—of others are more so.”

  “No one is more so.” He stared at her beading nipples as he kneaded her. “You have the singular ability to make me laugh.”

  Better. Major points for that one. “What else?”

  Outside, one of the dogs barked, then the other. Angry, someone’s-going-to-get-eaten barks. Katarina stiffened, her hands falling to her sides.

  “I have one other thing to tell you.” Baden grabbed her wrists and threaded her fingers into his hair before cupping her breasts once again.

  I’m not going to get attached to the dogs, remember? I’m going to keep my distance and preserve—

  Another bark.

  “That will have to wait.” She jumped to shaky legs, ending the sensual play. “Something’s wrong with the pups.” She ran to the left—argh! The door led to a pantry closet. She had yet to learn the layout of the house.

  “Katarina—”

  “Pandora is here,” a voice said over the speakers. A voice she recognized. It belonged to the white-haired warrior named Torin.

  Pandora... “Your enemy-friend?” she asked.

  “Mostly enemy now. Stay here.” Baden leaped up and, with his hands on her waist, placed her on the table. Then, he sprinted away.

  Stay here? Please. Katarina followed him, as close as his shadow.

  “Go back,” he spat, racing through hallways.

  “Not a chance. And just so you know, if this dating thing is going to work with us, you must stop ordering me around.”

  He pushed past the outer door. Stubborn to the bone, determined, she remained hot on his heels.

  Sunlight. Summer heat. The chirp of crickets and the buzz of locusts. The scent of pine. Details hit her, painting a scene that should have delighted her. But the kennel loomed ahead and the black-haired bitch from the hotel—Miss Headbutt—held Gravy in her arms. The big pup struggled for freedom while Biscuit, who was still in the kennel, banged at the bars in an effort to reach his brother.

  Pandora smiled as Baden roared her name.

  “Not another step,” she said, placing a blade at the dog’s throat.

  Katarina froze, horror flooding her. I’m helpless. Again. Supposed to sit back and do nothing while an innocent animal is endangered. “No! I won’t let you do this.” She jolted into motion. “Let Gravy go!”

  Baden grabbed her wrist, preventing her from making any progress. Though she fought for release, she remained bound, the warrior far too strong to incapacitate.

  “Give me Aleksander,” Pandora said, “and I’ll give you the dog.”

  “An unacceptable trade. I’d rather you leave with this.” The words were pure evil—and they were spoken while Baden threw a dagger.

  A second later, Pandora reeled back, the dog dropping from her arms, the blade buried hilt-deep in her eye.

  13

  “That’s an excellent point. Now, if I may present my rebuttal. Go fuck yourself.”

  —Reyes, keeper of Pain

  ONE SECOND BADEN had control of his temper, the next Destruction—utterly—ruled him. And yet, somehow, his thoughts remained his own, as if he and the beast were sharing his mind. No longer two separate beings but someone new.

  Someone extremely pissed off.

  His body grew...and grew...his skin stretching tight over enlarged muscles and elongated bones. An animalistic roar split his lips as his vision tunneled, a red haze spotlighting Pandora.

  She’d threatened him. Threatened his woman and his dogs. She would pay in blood. The rules be damned.

  The tips of his fingers burned, his claws sharpening. As he stomped toward her, she yanked out the dagger. A black river poured down her face. She stood to unsteady legs. He’d seen her in worse condition. Now he would see her dead.

  Fangs extended past her bottom lip. She raced toward him, and they met in the middle, a tangle of fury. As they sliced and bit at each other like wild animals, they tumbled into the kennel with so much force the walls rattled and fell.

  With a roar, he grabbed her by the hair and tossed her into a nearby BBQ. She rent the metal grill in two, clouds of charcoal forming around her. She hurled a larger shard at him. He plucked the piece from his chest as she raced over—shoved him into an outer wall of the fortress. Stone cracked, and dust plumed.

  “I’ve got you.” Katarina’s gentle voice cut through his red haze, and though she spoke to the pups, he took comfort in it. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”

  A stray thought: I like her maternal instincts.

  He had to remember to tell her, wanted so badly to pick up where they’d left off.

  Pandora focused on her, the bloody dagger still clutched in her hand. Baden could almost hear the being in her mind: Kill the girl, she’s a threat.

  Panting now, Baden stopped in his tracks. Katarina was crouched in front of the dogs and crab-walking backwards, keeping the pair behind her, her body acting as their shield. A courageous act.

  Foolish girl! She could be hurt.

  He flashed in front of her and swung a meaty fist into Pandora’s jaw.

  Two other warriors arrived on the scene.

  “What do you want us to do?” Maddox called. “Your wish, my command.”

  In unison, Baden and Pandora focused on him.

  Demon. Threat.

  Friend. He’s my friend.

  The worst kind of danger!

  Body moving of its own accord, Baden approached Maddox, Pandora keeping pace at his side.

  The warrior frowned at him. “What are you doing?”

  “Kill,” Pandora said.

  “Good idea. Don’t mind if I do.” Anya, the second intruder, jumped up, kicking Baden with enough force to rattle his brain against his skull.

  Goddess, anarchy, threat. Friend!

  How better to lure us into a trap...

  Next she plowed into Pandora. The two hit the ground, Pandora attempting to stab her as they rolled.

  “Help the others, Baden.” Katarina, still using that gentle tone. “Yes? Don’t hurt them. They need you.”

  His attention switched to her; the dogs stepped to her side and growled at him. To warn him away? No one keeps me away from her! He snapped his teeth at the animals.

  “Maddox, a little help, please.” Anya swung at Pandora, only to be blocked.

  Pandora laughed as she crushed Anya’s knuckles in her grip.

  Maddox launched his body in front of the goddess, taking a punch meant for her. His jaw snapped out of alignment.

  Kill! Destruction focused on Maddox.

  No. Baden dove, managing to twist midair, aiming for Pandora instead. T
hey rolled down a hill. Before they came to a stop, she sank a dagger into his side. Jab, jab. His kidney received the bulk of abuse, and if he’d been human, he would have bled out then and there. Scowling, he wrapped a hand around her neck and the other around her wrist, holding her in place while cutting off her air supply.

  Does she even need to breathe?

  The need had slowly come back to him. Perhaps the same was true of her. He increased the ferocity of his hold.

  She struggled against him, clawing at his arms, shredding his skin.

  Boom!

  The ground vibrated, a blast of heat blustering over him. He would have fallen if he hadn’t already been on his knees.

  “Bomb!” Anya shouted.

  Pandora’s doing?

  Maddox bellowed the names of his family members as he took off in a mad sprint, Anya right on his heels.

  “How many did you set?” Baden demanded of Pandora.

  “Not...me.”

  “Baden!” Katarina cried. “Help me!” He heard pain. Had she been hurt? “Please.”

  He broke Pandora’s neck before leaping to his feet and climbing the hill. She wasn’t dead, wasn’t even forced into unconsciousness. Her narrowed gaze followed him while her body could not. He found Katarina on the ground, a long wooden beam pinning her leg and Biscuit’s hips. She and Gravy worked furiously to lift the beam, but neither was strong enough.

  Boom!

  Another blast of heat threw Baden across the yard. He rose quickly, closing the distance once again, ripping away the beam with a swipe of his arm. “Can you walk?” Blood leaked from a wound hidden underneath her skirt as he helped her stand.

  She should have cried.

  She didn’t cry, and it almost broke him. Nothing should be denied to her, not even tears.

  “I think so,” she said, her voice trembling. Streaks of dirt coated her cheeks. “What’s happening?”

  “Up there!” Pandora shouted.

  If not for the soul-curdling screech that erupted from the sky, Baden would have ignored her. His gaze shot up, quickly finding a hideous winged creature hovering above the fortress, smoke wafting all around him. He had crimson skin, two thick horns protruding from his scalp. Sharp yellow claws extended from his hands and feet, and a smaller horn protruded from each of his heels. He wore a flesh-colored loincloth. Leathered human flesh?

  With an evil grin, the creature held out his hand. A ball of fire grew over his palm, the flames a mix of black and red. He aimed at Baden.

  All Baden could do was grab Katarina and the dogs and flash to the holding cell where Aleksander remained, before the three were hit. The room was untouched by the violence that had taken place aboveground, the bastard still chained to the wall. He would be unable to reach Katarina.

  “As long as you stay on this side of the cell, he can’t hurt you,” Baden told her. Destruction banged against his skull, enraged, ready to return topside and kill. “Patch your thigh and stay here.” Not that she could leave without him. “Do not get near the man.”

  Boom!

  The walls rattled, and dust filled the air.

  “Don’t leave me here, Baden. I—”

  No time to argue. He flashed to the fortress. Or, what remained of it. Amidst the rubble, he caught sight of a fine-boned hand, fingernails painted pink. Ignoring the beast’s desire to hunt the new enemy, he rushed over and dug through stone and debris. Strawberry-blond hair finally came into view and his stomach sank. Gwen—Sabin’s mate. Her eyes were cloudy, her chest motionless. Soot and blood caked her cheeks.

  Baden freed her, wondering if he would find the keeper of Doubt nearby, dead. As he pressed two fingers into Gwen’s neck to check for a pulse—be alive, please be alive—the bands on his arms heated. No. No! Not now. But he was helpless to stop the pull and dematerialized...reappearing in Hades’s throne room, Pandora beside him.

  “Send me back,” he commanded, trying to flash and failing. “Right now.”

  Hades stood at a long rectangular table, the four kings surrounding him in a show of support.

  The Iron Fist was shirtless, revealing tattoos similar to Hades’s. Strange and...alive? Those markings moved, slithering over his skin. He had long, wavy black hair, a thick beard shadowing his jaw.

  The warrior with a slight bluish tint to his skin, eyes surrounded by black paint—surely he hadn’t been born with such coloring—and staple-like piercings that stretched the length of his eyebrows, laughed. “Your puppet thinks he’s in charge. How adorable.” He had a slight accent. What he didn’t have? Hades’s essence.

  Destruction snarled with hatred.

  Baden leaped at him and threw a punch, the strength of an army in his arm; he could feel it, the bands so hot they blistered his skin. The male merely stumbled back a step and worked his jaw.

  “Not bad.”

  “I told you he was strong,” Hades said, sounding like a proud papa.

  “But he’s not overly bright.” The new voice came from behind him, warm breath fanning his neck just before he was lifted over the head of the Iron Fist—must have flashed behind me—and tossed across the room. “Perhaps the blow will knock some sense into him.”

  Bones shattered, pain a burst of sensation, but he didn’t care. He stood and limped over. Threat. Will kill.

  Once again Pandora kept pace beside him. She still had only one good eye and it was locked on the male responsible for Baden’s unplanned flight. “I’m allowed to hurt him.” She wasn’t exactly steady on her feet, either, but at least they had a common enemy in sight. “You’re not.”

  “Enough,” Hades said, looking bored.

  Baden and Pandora froze, their limbs locking in place.

  “Send me back,” Baden repeated, his rancor echoing from the walls.

  “This is the thanks I get? I brought you here to warn you. Lucifer has sent an assassin to destroy you. His name is...something. I forget because I don’t really care. He’ll use—”

  “We know,” Baden and Pandora shouted in unison.

  “He’s at the fortress,” Baden added. “Which might have already fallen.”

  “Well, then.” Hades stood and stepped toward them. “To defeat such a warrior, you’re going to need a boost.” He touched their bands, the heat cranking up a thousand degrees.

  Baden roared as his knees buckled. Destruction roared, as well, but it wasn’t only a new flood of pain he felt. Power exploded inside him. So much power.

  “The one to defeat the assassin,” Hades said with a smile, “will receive five bonus points. Go.”

  Baden wasted no time; he flashed home. Pandora appeared beside him, equally determined to win those points.

  Truce over. “Mine.” He picked her up and launched her across the rubble.

  Drunk on the power, Destruction quickly worked himself into a maddened frenzy. Killkillkill. Never stop. Raze the world!

  Baden’s hands fisted of their own accord. He would hurt anyone foolish enough to get in his way.

  Yes, yes. He focused on the assassin, who had been grounded a few yards away, his wings bent at an odd angle. Smoke thickened the air, the black tendrils beautifully macabre as they curled toward the clouds like ribbons, but Baden had no trouble identifying the warriors currently engaged in battle with his target. Paris, Sabin, Maddox and Torin. They swung swords, fired guns, and threw punches and daggers, inflicting damage but not death.

  KILL!

  Baden could suddenly taste the desire to end life. His blood was hot and only growing hotter, even as the bands cooled.

  “Mine,” he said and took a step, just a step, but the next thing he knew, he was standing in front of his target. Maddox’s punch landed on the back of his head, but he barely felt the blow that would have killed a weaker man.

  The assassin grinned,
revealing his lack of a tongue. Not to mention tusks as yellow as his claws. He slammed a fireball into Baden’s face—and Baden loved it. The flames only empowered him, bonding with whatever juice Hades had given him, his body acting as a conduit. And a syphon.

  The assassin’s grin waned, and he stumbled backward.

  Baden tracked him, punching a fist through his breastbone and ripping out his heart. That. Easily.

  Pandora appeared behind the creature. She swung her sword, hacking off his head. The head flew like a football. The body flopped to the ground like a wet noodle, blood spurting out, quickly creating a pool.

  One down, many more to go. His enemies were weakened from the battle. Strike now!

  Shhh. You don’t need to kill anyone. I’ll keep you safe.

  Katarina’s voice drifted through his head, soothing Destruction, and Baden frowned. She wasn’t here, and she’d never said those words to him. She also wasn’t strong enough to guard him.

  “You okay, man?” Sabin asked, patting his shoulder.

  Calm. Steady. Baden dropped the rotted organ, saying, “How’s Gwen? The others?”

  Agony darkened the warrior’s eyes. “Lucien flashed her to a safe house, and as soon as Cameo woke Keeley, she used the last of her strength to relocate the others. Everyone but Galen is accounted for. If he’s here, he’s buried in the rubble.”

  “He’s not here. He’s been gone for hours.” Torin scrubbed a hand down his face, leaving streaks of crimson behind. “Our piece of shit attacker knew to take Keeley out first so that she would be unable to aid us. He purposely bombed our bedroom before hitting the rest of the fortress.”

  “Everyone is...”

  Sabin gave a stiff nod. “Alive, yes. Stable? No.”

  Baden locked on Pandora, who watched his friends with murder in her eyes. “You,” he spat. “Had you not attacked my dogs, we wouldn’t have been distracted.”

  They were in each other’s faces a moment later.

  “You want a go at me?” she snarled. “Huh?”

  “You mean another go. How’s your vision. Twenty-shitty?”

  She screeched and drew back her fist. Maddox got between them and pushed them apart. “Leave,” he told her. “Now. Or Baden won’t be the only one beating on you.”