The Dark World

by Cara Lynn Shultz

  Pepper’s sobs grew louder, nearly drowning him out.

  “I would calm down if I were you,” he snapped. “Your heart is wrapped nice and snug in wire. Think of your heart like a little baby, wrapped in a soft cuddly blanket. Only if that wire wraps any more tightly around your little heart, it’ll slice it into pieces.”

  Pepper whimpered loudly, and then her cries were quickly muffled, as if she had clasped her hand over her mouth. I desperately tried to burn, searching for my fire demon power and feeling nothing, not even a spark.

  “You screwed up, Pepper. You were supposed to wait until she was completely separated from her little protector, and he’s somewhere in this school,” he growled. “Now where exactly is he?”

  “I did wait!” she cried. “Logan’s always with her. This is the one class he doesn’t have with her, and everywhere else has security cameras! Getting Paige alone in the locker room was the only option, and there’s an emergency exit you can use.”

  “Where is he? How long do I have?”

  “He waits for her outside of her next class. He’ll be here in a few minutes if she doesn’t show up. Logan’s always with her.”

  The mention of Logan’s name made a sudden, but powerful, sense of calm surge through me.

  He’ll find me. He always finds me.

  But that calm quickly turned to terror when Aiden’s blurry face came into view, hovering over mine as my eyes remained fixed on the ceiling above me.

  “Lights out, Paige,” he whispered, placing his hands on my forehead and shutting my parched eyes. Something was placed over my nose, and I heard Pepper scream before everything faded away.

  Chapter 15

  THE FIRST THING I noticed was the smell. It was musty and dank, like an abandoned building that spent more time wet than dry. The distinct scent of garbage hung heavily in the air—that same sharp, sour aroma that all trash had, a rancid heaviness that burned your nostrils and settled on your tongue. There were more smells, too—like the smell of exhaust, thick with acrid chemicals and smoke.

  The sounds hit me next, the rapid grinding of metal on metal and the bleating of a loud horn as what sounded like a train roared by, stirring the air and pelting my cheeks with grit. I flinched and realized I could move again. I flexed my fingers, twisting my hands and feeling that my wrists were painfully bound in my lap.

  I forced my heavy eyelids to open, dusky slits of vision widening as I blinked, trying to focus on the scene before me.

  I was curled up at the base of a tall, graffiti-splashed pillar in an alcove adjacent to what appeared to be a train tunnel. The recessed room was lined with industrial-looking pipes, and dust danced in the slots of light beaming down from an overhead grate.

  “She’s awake!” The peppy cheer—and burst of solo applause that followed—reverberated dully in the cavernous tunnel. I looked up to see Aiden skipping over the tracks to meet me, his shiny boots scattering the rocks that covered the floor of the tunnel.

  “You have given me quite a lot of trouble,” he said, wagging a finger at me. Over his thin black shirt, he wore that shiny armor, which I could now see was comprised of several overlapping circular plates that started at his wrist, covering his arm and shoulder and spreading out like a fan over his right pectoral.

  “Cute accessory,” I grunted, and Aiden’s impish grin faded, his eyes growing dark and menacing.

  “Your little boyfriend did a lot of damage to my shoulder. Do you want to repay the favor?” he growled. He braced his right fist at his side, those fiery sparks shooting out of his knuckles until they solidified into his weapon of choice—that long gold spike. He rushed forward, sliding to his knees and grabbing a fistful of my hair. Yanking my head back, he forced me to look at him, pressing the tip of the spike into my shoulder.

  “Do you want to know what it felt like when his blade sliced through bone and tendon and muscle?” he seethed. Aiden pushed the spike into my shoulder more forcefully, the tip easily penetrating my sweater and shirt—and only after I cried in pain as the tip pierced my skin did he drop his hold, withdrawing his spike with a satisfied smile.

  “That’s what I thought. Keep your smart little comments to yourself, if you have any sense of self-preservation. I need you alive—but they never said you couldn’t be writhing in pain.”

  He pressed his index finger into my forehead. “Just ask your little friend Pepper,” he sneered, pushing hard and making my head jerk back. “She’s a bleeder, that one.”

  Her scream—the last thing I’d heard before waking up here—echoed in my head.

  “Is she dead?”

  “I stabbed her in the stomach, so by now, probably.” Aiden just shrugged, casually and carelessly dismissing another life.

  I bit the inside of my cheek, trying to keep the tears filling my eyes at bay. I didn’t want to give Aiden the satisfaction of seeing me cry. It was the one thing I had left.

  He stood up again, folding his arms as he studied the narrow space between the tunnel wall and the train tracks. He bent down, setting three gold pyramids in the shape of a triangle on the rocky floor. Aiden moved with precision, taking care to adjust each pyramid until the gilded tips all appeared to aim toward the same focal point somewhere above the center of the triangle.

  “This might make you a teensy bit tired.” His voice dripped with false concern as he gave me an exaggerated pout, leaning down to adjust one of the pyramids again. “This is a special kind of portal, you see.”

  He strode over to me, his steps graceful in spite of the uneven, rocky ground. With an evil grin, Aiden squatted in front of me, grabbing my chin tightly with the hand not covered by a lethal spike.

  “Let’s see your little protector try to stop me now.”

  “He’ll stop you—and then he’ll kill you,” I vowed, but Aiden merely laughed as he stood up before me, shaking his head in amusement. Reaching down, he grabbed my wrists where they were bound by a thin gold wire, and I cried out as it sliced into my skin. He yanked me to my feet, and I stumbled forward, falling onto my knees on the rocks, which tore through my tights and cut into my legs.

  Aiden hauled me forward, the tips of my shoes scraping across the jagged rocks as he dragged me in front of the triangle he’d set up before dropping me onto the ground.

  “I don’t know how much you know about crossing over, little girl, but it’s too much energy for one body. Crossing over alone is suicide. It would turn you inside out.” As he spoke, he casually hooked the tip of the spike into the sleeve covering his other arm, pushing the fabric up over his elbow.

  “It’s preferable to travel with more than just one person, spread the energy around, you know,” he added matter-of-factly, as if he were explaining something mundane like fractions and not interdimensional travel. “I’m telling you this now because I don’t want a lot of screaming when we come out on the other side. I’m going to be tired and you’re going to be in a lot of pain. It’s harder for humans than it is for my kind to cross, and I really don’t want to hear your whiny mouth.”

  Aiden gently traced my jaw with his spike. “I don’t even need you to speak for this spell. So keep your mouth shut or I’ll start breaking bones.” I kicked at his legs, and he merely laughed, dodging my feet and stepping around me to grab me around the waist. He pulled me up, holding me in a viselike grip with my back against his chest.

  I struggled against Aiden’s clutches, thrashing in his arms and screaming, my desperate cries dying as echoes in the tunnel. Only hours before, Logan had held me like this in the library. And now his warm arms were replaced with Aiden’s, whose breath hissed sharply in my ear as he began to chant in the demonic language. The pyramids began to glow, bathing the entire tunnel in a honey-colored light.

  Immediately, I felt weak. The brighter the glow, the more faint I felt. My knees began to buckle, but Aiden held
me tightly, clutching me against him as my life began to drain from me. I flailed in his arms, fighting for consciousness, but it was like holding water in my fist—it all dripped away.

  Pictures flitted in front of my mind as I fought to stay awake. My dad teaching me to ride a bike...my first Yankees game with my mom...Logan’s eyes as he told me he loved me. I held on to these images as I forced my eyes to keep open. Was this my life flashing before my eyes?

  A gold mist curled out of the pyramids, meeting in the center of the triangle. The mist dipped and swirled, a serpentine fog that undulated to the tune of Aiden’s chants.

  “Mekus cruor, mekus de cruor!” Aiden wildly repeated the phrase, his voice morphing into a savage, beastly growl.

  Aiden dropped his hold on me, and I collapsed to the ground, pushing myself onto my side to see him stand at the base of the triangle, holding out his arm. He dragged the top of the spike along the inside of his forearm, gritting his teeth as he tore a thin line in the pale skin. His hand dropped, deep purple blood streaming down his arm and pooling in his closed fist.

  He thrust his dripping fist into the mist, which hungrily curled around it, as if it were consuming the blood. Purple veins branched out from his hand into the fog, wrapping around the mist and feeding it. Aiden’s face contorted in agony as he shut his eyes, his mouth open in a quiet wail, as the mist pulsated before bursting open. A blast of wind knocked both of us back, sending rocks scattering as we sprawled on the ground, gaping at the small, ripped-open hole above the triangle.

  It looked like someone had violently torn open a painting, leaving rough, tattered edges hanging around the hole that uncovered another painting underneath it. The edges of the canvas glowed, flashing white before it got bigger—a gaping wound that offered a peek into the world on the other side.

  I rolled over onto my stomach with a grunt, trying to push myself up with my bound hands and falling down. My bones felt like chalk—like they’d snap with the simple act of pushing my body off this bed of rocks. My vision blurred, and I wondered if this was what Travis had endured before Blaise turned him into ash. Logan had saved me that time. But this time...

  Logan...where are you?

  Aiden crouched before me, stroking my cheek with his bloody finger. I summoned the scraps of energy I had left to jerk away as forcefully as I could, stumbling back and falling against the rocks. My wasted eyes saw a shadow flickering behind Aiden, and I flinched as another train roared by, drowning out all sound except Aiden’s voice as he pulled me to my feet, gripping me by the throat and pinning me to the pillar. I gasped for air, his fingers closing tightly around my neck.

  “The first thing I’m doing when we’re on the other side,” he purred into my ear, his breath moist and invasive on my skin, “is arranging the assassination of your protector. You’d be surprised how many in the warlock army would give up their little warrior for the right price.”

  Aiden stepped back, still gripping me around the throat. Dark spots skipped around in my vision, drawing together to form a curtain of blackness that closed over me.

  And then Aiden’s fingers loosened their grip, keeping only a light hold around my throat as I slumped to the ground. I was dimly aware of shrieks echoing around the tunnel. I grabbed his wrist between my bound palms and pulled his arm off me, his fingers easily slipping off my skin with just a feeble tug. The stale air in the tunnel was a welcome, fresh rush of oxygen to my deprived lungs as I crumpled against the rocks, taking huge, gulping breaths.

  Panting, I forced my blurry vision to focus and stared in confusion at Aiden’s arm—his arm, which was no longer connected to his body, but lying about a foot from me, staining the rocks a dark purple where it had been sliced from his body.

  I heard a low whine, and I pushed myself up into a sitting position, looking toward the source of the weak cry. I could see the silhouette of Aiden, cowering on the ground, blood gushing out of the stump that had once been his left arm. He scrambled backward, his heels ineffectively scattering rocks as he kicked wildly, trying to find some purchase to get away from Logan.

  Logan, who stood before Aiden, his chest rising in anger and sword gripped tightly, dripping with blood.

  “I told you not to touch her,” Logan snarled, slicing his sword through the air with an audible whirr. Aiden held up his shielded arm in protection, giving birth to a spray of sparks and light as Logan’s sword clashed with the metal. A malevolent smile tugged at the corner of Logan’s mouth as he studied the demon, writhing in pain and panic at his feet.

  I’d seen Logan bleed an unnatural color, watched him cast spells in an otherworldly language, and hell, I’d even seen and touched his wings. But he’d never looked demonic until this moment.

  Logan held the tip of his sword against Aiden’s throat, a slow grin on his face. The portal expanded again, showering the tunnel in another blast of bright light and spotlighting Aiden’s face, which was twisted in terror.

  “You can’t kill me!” Aiden cried, his eyes appearing a pale violet in the blinding white light from the portal.

  “Oh, but I can,” Logan told Aiden. “I’m just trying to figure out which way will be the most painful.”

  Aiden used his armored hand to swipe at Logan’s sword, sending another spray of sparks scattering around the rocks as Logan let his sword be pushed to the side. Logan looked almost amused as he shadowed Aiden’s movements, following closely as the demon scrambled to his feet, clutching at his bleeding stump.

  Logan sauntered behind Aiden as he stumbled forward a few steps before kicking him in the back of the knee, sending Aiden sprawling down on the rocks. In two steps, Logan had Aiden pinned on the ground, his foot pressed against Aiden’s neck.

  “You can’t—you need me,” Aiden sputtered, his usually artfully messy black hair now stringy and hanging in his face. “You need me to close the portal.”

  “I’m pretty sure killing you will do the job,” Logan said. Aiden’s hand wildly flung in the air, and I saw the gold disk reflect the light from the portal as it flew in the air.

  “Look out!” I tried to scream with the last surge of energy I had left; but the words left my mouth in a weak croak as Aiden’s signature weapon unleashed its deadly whips, which lashed in the air as the disk spun toward me. The spiny whips whirled, and I tried to move, struggling to my feet only for my legs to collapse underneath me, my body drained of all strength as the portal expanded again—devouring my life to sustain its own.

  Logan rushed toward me, his sword drawn—and quickly hacked through the disk midair. It imploded with a flash of gold smoke, an almost musical tinkling sound heralding its destruction before fragments of the feared weapon rained down ineffectively on the rocks.

  Aiden had struggled to his feet, his head whirling from side to side before picking a direction, and he began staggering off balance in search of an exit. Logan raced toward him, launching himself off the rocks and knocking into Aiden, forcing the demon onto the ground with a heavy thud. Aiden yelled in pain as Logan stood up, kicking the demon in the ribs, the force of his kick sending Aiden rolling onto his back. Logan raised his sword, and with one swift move, impaled the demon through his good shoulder, pinning him to the ground.

  A retching, gurgling sound escaped Aiden’s throat, and he clawed ineffectively at the sword with his one hand. Logan gripped the handle, jiggling it slightly to test how firmly it was lodged in the ground—earning another wet-sounding cough from Aiden. Logan grinned, taking obvious delight in Aiden’s agony.

  “That should keep you in place. I’m looking forward to killing you slowly, Aeodhan. Every mark you left on her is another hour you’ll scream in agony.”

  And then Logan turned to me, beginning his slow approach. His head was tilted down, his hair hanging in his face as his dark eyes fell on mine—once-familiar eyes that were now cold and bloodthirsty, bathed in the harsh white glow o
f the portal. And I was afraid.

  Afraid—until Logan fell to his knees in front of me and cupped my face, and the warmth and love I knew was back. I exhaled in relief, my shoulders relaxing at his touch.

  “He’ll never hurt you again,” he murmured, his eyes searching mine as his hands slid down my neck, inspecting the bruises that were likely already forming from Aiden’s constricting grip. Logan gently took my bound wrists in his palm and slid his index finger in between my raw wrists, whispering harsh words from that shared demonic language.

  The wire fell away, disintegrating into mere gold flakes that fluttered to the ground like celebratory confetti. Logan cradled my wrists as the portal flashed again—and I gasped, doubling over in pain as the doorway to the Dark World grew.

  “The portal,” I choked out, my hands wrapping around my stomach. “It hurts worse than last time. Every time it gets bigger, it hurts. It hurts so—”

  My words were cut off as I braced myself against another wave of pain—a searing burn that felt like it started in my bones and radiated outward, settling into my skin and leaving my body desiccated in its wake.

  The savage look returned to Logan’s eyes when he saw how much I was suffering. He stood, taking one long, last look at me before crossing back to where Aiden was pinned to the ground, his bloodied fingers clutching at the sword.

  And Aiden was laughing.

  “You have to let me go! Don’t you want me to close the portal?” he asked, a delirious smile on his face—a smile that morphed into screams when Logan removed his sword.

  Grabbing Aiden’s collar in his fist, Logan lifted the demon up and slammed him against the pillar.

  “You don’t have any special weapons. You don’t even have all your limbs. It’s over, Regent.” Logan slammed Aiden back into the hard concrete for emphasis, but the demon just smiled in reply.

  “But you don’t get to kill me, so it’s worth it,” Aiden sneered.