by G. K. DeRosa
“Is there anything else I can do for now?”
The lavender sigil on my upper arm caught my eye, and I waffled. I trusted Logan, I did, but he was still the warden. And I wasn’t supposed to have magic. Besides, maybe it really had been a freak thing. “Nope, nothing else.”
“Stay safe, Azara.”
I nodded and whirled toward my cranky escort. He opened the door wider, allowing me to pass, but somehow I still managed to brush my arm against his abdomen. Even through the crappy fabric of my jumpsuit, the tiny hairs on my arms stood on end. I jerked my arm back and darted into the hallway.
Why did my traitorous body react to him like that?
He trudged out behind me, and we walked the entire way back to our cell in silence.
Chapter Fifteen
“Wakey, wakey, eggs and bakey!”
I forced my lids open and rolled over to find a much-too-cheery pixie waving on the other side of my glass enclosure.
“Shut it, faery, or I’ll come down there and squeeze the happy out of your throat,” Talon growled, his head buried in his pillow. Hayden didn’t even stir.
“Come on,” Flix whispered and curled his index finger at me.
Pushing the woolen blanket off, I dragged my butt out of bed and shoved my feet into my prison-issued boots. The lights hadn’t even come on yet which meant it was before six in the morning.
Flix slid the cell door open as I approached. “Welcome to training day.”
I searched his empty hands and scowled. “I was rudely awoken with a rhyme about eggs and bacon, and I’m not seeing either of those things, Flix.”
He shrugged. “Sorry sweetheart, but the mess hall isn’t even open yet.”
“Liar,” I hissed.
My new trainer draped his arm around my shoulders and pivoted me toward the hallway, but we didn’t get far. An iron clamp fastened around my bicep and spun us both around back to my cell.
“Where the hell are you going?” Talon glared down at me, his dark hair sticking up in all directions and greatly diminishing his scariness factor.
I squirmed free of his grasp, compelling my eyes off his bare torso to meet his blazing eyes, and leaned into Flix. “Today’s my first day of training as tour guide, remember?”
He shook his head and released a frustrated sigh. “Fine. Give me a minute to get dressed.”
I couldn’t stand the thought of spending an extra hour under Talon’s scathing glares. Especially not in front of my new pixie friend. “I don’t need a bodyguard for this.” At least not one that hates me.
Flix’s eyes widened, his perfectly plucked brows nearly reaching his hot pink hairline.
“Was I the only one listening to the warden last night?” he huffed.
I threw him my best eyeroll, cementing my tough-guy attitude. “I’m sure he didn’t mean you had to be on my butt every second of the day.”
“I think that was exactly what he meant.”
I blew out a frustrated breath. “Listen, you obviously don’t want to trail me around all day any more than I want you as a babysitter. I’ll be perfectly fine with Flix, right?”
The pixie’s head bobbed up and down, and he tightened his hold around my shoulders. “I promise to return her in one piece before lights on.”
“Fine, whatever,” Talon mumbled. “But Flix, you better have her back before Delacroix and his goons are released from their cells. I’m going back to sleep, and I’ll have your head if I get woken up because some overly friendly inmates have had their way with her.”
“Of course, Talon.” Flix’s wings fluttered nervously.
“Drama queen,” I muttered under my breath as he marched back into our cell.
We barely got two steps down the hall when Flix turned to me with a wicked grin. “Did I hear that gorgeous man correctly? Your bodyguard?”
“It’s nothing.” Heat seeped up my neck and blossomed along my cheeks as I scanned the quiet hallway.
“It sure as Hades doesn’t sound like nothing. Was that because of the demon that attacked you?”
“Maybe…”
He arched a skeptical brow. “Just how close are you and this warden? First, he gifts you this amazing job with me, then he assigns Talon, easily the most lethal member of the Triad, as your personal bodyguard?”
I shook my head, my lips curling into an eew. “It’s not like that with Logan, Flix. He’s like an old family friend. He and my parents were really close once, and he’s just trying to look out for me.”
“Hmm, interesting.” His lively green eyes twinkled, and I had a feeling this wouldn’t be the last I’d hear on the topic.
“Can we just get started with training already? There was a reason you dragged me out of bed before the butt crack of dawn, right?”
He grinned and flashed me a row of pearly whites. “Of course, there was. Follow me, mentee.”
With the rest of the inmates still sleeping, the ancient fortress was even creepier than normal. Dark shadows spilled across the obsidian walls as we traversed the narrow corridors, and each ominous creak had my heartrate skyrocketing. Flix led me up the stairs and past the second floor which was the highest I’d been on this wing of the fortress. I must not have been playing it as cool as I thought because at some point during our ascent, he nudged me in the ribs and shot me a reassuring smile. “Almost there.”
We climbed one more story and by my calculation, we should’ve been on the fifth floor. Unlike the first and second levels, this one looked completely deserted. Instead of the neon halogen lights our cells were equipped with, medieval torches lined the dark walls and not one was lit. Shimmery cobwebs draped across the ceilings, larger than I’d ever seen in the human world. I so did not want to see what kind of spiders spun those things.
What felt like a hundred hairy insect legs crawled up my spine, and I shuddered. Was I stupid to blindly follow this guy to an abandoned part of the compound? “What exactly are we doing up here?” I gritted out.
He grinned and motioned to a door behind me. “I’m showing you my office.”
“Your office?”
“Office, storage room, whatever.” Moving around me, he unlocked the door and ushered me in.
A wave of musty air swam over me as I crossed the threshold, and my eyes landed on towers of boxes. In the far corner, a small table and lantern sat against the wall. I weaved through the mountains of cardboard, gingerly following behind Flix. Hung above his makeshift desk was a painting of the ocean with a turquoise so vivid, I couldn’t help my fingers reaching out to touch it.
“It’s beautiful,” I muttered as my fingertips brushed the smooth strokes.
“Thanks, I decorated myself.” He pulled out a book of matches and lit the lantern, bathing the room in a soft golden glow.
“I meant the painting.”
“Oh, right. Wish I could take the credit, but I’m not that talented. I found it on top of one of these file boxes a few months ago. Really upped my décor.” He grabbed a folding chair from the corner and set it up beside his.
I lowered myself into it, still admiring the painting. “Does Logan know you come up here?”
“I’m sure he will now.” He waggled his brows. “The old warden did anyway. Egan didn’t care much what I did as long as I made his job easier.”
“So I should be thanking him for letting Delacroix run amuck in here?”
“Yup, pretty much. Before he got here, things weren’t great but they weren’t like this. Trust me when I say you’re not the first to be targeted by one of his demon hoods.” He paused his lips twisting. “But you are the first to survive.”
“Seriously?”
“Without joining him, yes. There have been others who’ve tried to take a stand against the demon, but not many who’ve lived to tell the tale.”
“What about the Triad?”
“Okay, fine, them too, but they don’t count.”
“What does that mean?”
“They have special privileges. Don’t tell me you haven’t
noticed?”
That’s why they could use their powers… “But, why?”
Flix pressed his finger to his lips. “We don’t talk about it, sweetheart. Just thank the gods you’ve been blessed with their presence in your life. Anywho, here’s your homework.” He pulled the desk drawer out, rifled through some loose-leaf and handed me a folder with a stack of papers. “We only have one of these tablets, so for now, you’ll have to acquaint yourself with the property and protocols the old-fashioned way.”
I flipped through the pages and groaned. Somehow it didn’t seem as glamorous as I’d imagined. I’d never been a huge fan of schoolwork either, which was probably why I’d ended up here instead of a prestigious university. Ugh.
“Don’t worry, you’ll pick it up quickly. It’s not rocket science.”
“Thanks.”
“The most important thing to remember is to check in with Actaeon on the mornings when you’re scheduled for a tour.” He lifted his arm and wiggled his cuff. “He’ll zap your bangle which gives you access to the restricted areas for the day.”
“Oh… I was wondering how that worked.” Convenient.
“Then you have to memorize the codes of the super restricted areas and you’ll be good to go.”
“Where are those?”
“The warden’s office for one, but I guess you don’t have a problem with that one.” His lips curled into a grin, and he winked. “Then there’s the Hole.”
“What’s that?”
“Solitary confinement. Literally a hole in the frozen ground outside. You definitely do not want to end up out there.”
An icy chill rushed up my spine as memories of the frigid temps atop the mountain flashed through my mind. No, I definitely did not want to end up out there. I stifled a yawn and stretched my arms up over my head. “I appreciate you giving me all this insider info, but was it really necessary to drag my butt out of bed at this ungodly hour?”
“Yes, for two reasons.”
“What’s that?”
“Number one: only a handful of inmates know about my office so I have to access it when no one else is watching and number two: it’s Sunday.”
“Sunday?” It was so hard to keep track of the days in here. They all melted into a single never-ending one.
“You remember what I warned you about, right? Sunday funday? AKA conjugal visit day at the boneyard.”
Oh, craptabulous. I was supposed to stay locked up in my cell that day.
“Relax.” My eyes must have bugged out because Flix patted my knee with a calming smile. “That’s why I brought us here so early. We’ll be back in your room before lights on and you’ll have some reading material to keep you busy.”
I hugged the file folder to my chest. “Oh good, thanks.”
“If you do decide you’re ever in need of some male company—I mean besides the gorgeous specimens you bunk with, I know of more than a few guys who’d be willing and able.”
I resisted the urge to grimace in disgust. I wasn’t that desperate for male companionship yet. “Thanks, but no thanks.”
“I’m just saying, you’ve been quite the talk around the rec room.”
“Really, why?”
“A new female demon with a rack like yours and a rep like that? What’s not to like?”
I smacked him on the forehead with my folder.
“What? It was a compliment!” With a teasing grin, he glanced up at the one small barred window on the opposite wall. “Time to go, kid. Sun should be coming up soon, and I don’t want Talon to murder me in my sleep.”
“Hmmph,” I grunted. “I’m just a job to him. I don’t think he’d care that much if something really did happen to me.”
“Well, I’d prefer not to find out.” He gathered his belongings and extinguished the lantern on his desk.
I followed him out into the hallway and watched as he locked his office door. “I’ll get you a copy of the key so you can come and go as you please. In case you ever need some alone time. So actually, three reasons.”
“Thank you.” I threw my arms around my new friend. “That was really sweet of you.”
“No prob.” His cheeks rosied and he spun out of my grasp, pirouetting down the corridor. “Let’s go, kid.”
A faint shuffling sound drew my attention to the stairwell, but Flix didn’t move so I assumed I was imagining things. We walked down the dark hall and another rasping sound sent the hair on the back of my neck on end. “Did you hear that?” I whirled at Flix.
His pointy little ears perked up and then he shook his head. “Nope.”
We rounded the corner to the stairwell and the symbol on my arm flickered to life, illuminating the dim passageway.
“Whoa, nice tat.” Flix stopped and turned back to glance at my bicep. “What’s with the purple glow?”
“I’m not sure…” My heartbeats quickened with each slap of my boots on the cement.
When we reached the first floor, a tower of jet-black hair, sinewy muscle and pointed horns blocked our way.
Chapter Sixteen
Son of a biscuit!
Delacroix glared down at me, two endless pools of onyx boring into my very soul. “Just the demon I was looking for.”
Flix staggered back, his wings shaking like leaves on a chilly autumn day. The wake-up bell hadn’t even sounded yet. How was Delacroix out of his cage?
“Where have you been, little girl?” His toothy sneer sent shards of ice through my veins.
Drawing in a breath, I attempted to rein in my erratic heartbeats and composed my nerves. “Mostly in my cell,” I answered, pleased with the steel in my tone. “Except for the oddest thing—this nasty caracara demon attacked me in the shower yesterday.”
His jaw contracted. “That is odd. I’ve heard summoning one of those beasts isn’t easy.”
“Nope, not at all.”
“I’m glad to see you survived.”
“Me too.” I wrapped my arms across my chest, throwing my shoulders back. Don’t ever let them see fear, right?
“I’m still waiting for your response.”
“Oh, were you?” I batted my lashes and shot him my most innocent smile. “I thought since I’d gotten the meeting with the warden on my own, our deal was null and void?”
His wild dark brows smashed together. “Be that as it may, I did provide you with some information. Or did you already forget?”
“Nope.” I popped my P for extra emphasis. “I just thought that since you hadn’t come through on the second part, we could call it even.”
A sharp chuckle burst from his thinned lips. “Not even close, little girl. And I haven’t forgotten that you have yet to declare your loyalty. Time’s a ticking…”
I raised my arm and flicked my wrist, showcasing my cuff. “Too bad my watch is broken.”
Flix whimpered behind me.
Delacroix’s thick, clawed fingers closed around my wrist and I let out a squeal. Bad move. Very bad move, Azara. “You do know what day it is today, don’t you? I’ve been meaning to reward my boys for their good behavior.” He hauled me forward, and I did my best to dig my heels into the ground. To no avail.
“Flix!” I shouted, but the scaredy faery didn’t move. Two dark shadows coalesced over my shoulder, each grabbing an arm. “Let go of me!”
Delacroix flashed me an ominous grin as his thugs dragged me away. “I didn’t want it to come to this, Azara. I had big plans for you. I only hope this will steer you in the right direction.”
His raspy voice fell away the further we moved and the stronger the jackhammering of my heart pounded against my ribcage. I had zero desire to discover what the heck this meant. Memories of the jagga twins’ hot breath against my face sent an icy chill spilling down my spine. Oh, please don’t let it be them.
I glanced out the corner of my eye at thug number one, and his amber eyes gave him away—wolf shifter. On my right, a female. With her short cropped blue hair, I’d missed it at first, but now that I had a moment to stare
I recognized her siren qualities. These two weren’t even demons. Damn, Delacroix really had his fingers everywhere.
“Please, let me go.” I turned to the woman, hoping for some sort of sisterhood solidarity. Her crimson lips curled into a sneer, and she trained her cold gaze forward.
The halls were still empty. How was it possible the morning bell hadn’t rung on the one day I needed it? My desperate gaze landed on a camera in the corner, and a twinge of hope gurgled in my gut. Then I remembered the caracara attack. All the cameras had been conveniently turned off—I doubted this would be any different.
“Help!” I shrieked. “Help!”
A sharp sting exploded across my cheek, and my head whipped back. Effin’ hell! A pungent copper taste filled my mouth, and a trickle of warm blood dribbled down my chin.
“Shut your trap, or I’ll shut it for you,” the guy growled.
My head spun from the hit, and I blinked quickly to chase away the twinkling stars from my vision. A tickle danced over my flesh, like static electricity across my upper arm. Beneath the werewolf’s thick fingers, my demon’s mark pulsated. It was slight at first, then ratcheted up to match the erratic beats of my heart.
The werewolf jerked his hand off me, a sharp hiss cutting through his thinned lips. “What the hell?” he growled. He glared at my purple tattoo as the deep glow intensified.
I lurched forward and wriggled out of the siren’s grasp, taking advantage of thug number one’s distraction. Pumping my arms back and forth, I raced down the hall, my boots smacking the cement floor. Someone had to be awake… “Help!” I shouted as I ran. Too bad I hadn’t had a chance to study the prison floorplan yet. I could’ve been heading in the completely wrong direction for all I knew. I ran and ran, my breaths coming in ragged spurts. Mezlor would be so disappointed in me. I hadn’t been keeping up with my training at all, and it showed.
I sped around a corner and cursed myself for even thinking it, I hit a dead end. The slap of my captors’ feet echoed close behind as I stared at the iron bolt across the thick door. I slammed my palms on the cool metal, and a loud crack reverberated across the narrow space.