by J. N. Baker
“I will get you back!” Cody shouted as Brock dragged him toward the castle, Jade close behind them—she clearly didn’t plan to say goodbye. Shocking.
A hand fell to my shoulder. William crouched beside me, his eyes finding mine. We both knew what was coming, but I don’t think either of us was really prepared for it.
I looked away from him, staring at my hands buried deep in the ice-cold snow. I hardly felt it. “At least I get to save our people,” I said. “That’s something at least.”
William didn’t respond. There was nothing he could say to fix it. He knew the severity of what was about to happen, maybe even more than me.
A strange peace washed over me as I met William’s gaze once more. “Do you remember what you told me about ending up with Baldric?”
“It is what you do when you get there that matters most,” he said, echoing his own wise words.
“I’m going to kill him,” I declared. “That’s what I’m going to do.”
A thousand words passed between us in that one moment. William knew as much as I did what needed to be done. Sacrifice one to save many. He nodded solemnly and helped me to my feet.
“No!” Alec roared, back on his feet with Rhett behind him ready to land another blow. “Don’t do this, Zoe.”
“I won’t let him kill her,” I replied. “No more death.”
“Time is running out, warrior,” Baldric said. “Make your decision. Come with me or watch your friend and the rest of your people die.”
I looked up at the pitch-black sky and took a deep breath. Baldric left me no choice. He’d given me an offer he knew I couldn’t refuse, no matter how much I wanted to.
“I will go with you.”
“Good,” Baldric exclaimed. I wanted to slap that smug grin right off his face.
All I could do now was hope the plane returned, that it was out there somewhere and was coming back with more people to fight for us. If the plane returned, William might be able to orchestrate an attack and Alec and Cody could fulfill their promises to get me back. And if not, if the plane was gone and all hope was dead, at least my people would be safe. I was okay with sacrificing myself if it meant that Alec and Cody and Annie and the rest of my people would live. Their nightmare would finally end.
And mine would begin.
I was going to be Baldric’s. Not Alec’s, not Josh’s. I would spend my life as Baldric’s prisoner.
I straightened, trying to look braver than I felt. “I want to say goodbye,” I said, looking Baldric square in the eye.
“Of course,” he responded, still wearing that stupid grin. He had won and he knew it.
I willed my legs not to fail me as I made my way to Alec. He looked so defeated. All he ever wanted was to protect me. But even he couldn’t stop this from happening, no matter what he said or did.
“You don’t have to do this,” Alec whispered.
“Yes,” I said. “I do.”
“Don’t do this, Zoe,” he pleaded. “Please, don’t do this. There has to be another way. This isn’t how this is supposed to happen.”
“Yes, it is,” I told him, resting my hand on his cheek. “I have to do this. It’s better this way. I’ll go with him and you and the others will be safe. This is how it has to be.”
Tears welled in his eyes but didn’t fall. I pressed my lips gently to his, savoring the touch. It could very well be our last kiss.
“We’ll be together again one day,” I whispered, not sure if I believed it.
I stepped back, giving Rhett a silent nod. Before Alec could reach for me, the shift brought the hilt of his sword back into Alec’s temple, knocking him out again. We couldn’t risk him trying anything.
“Your brother?” I asked, my voice no more than a whisper.
“Still out, thankfully.”
I nodded. “Protect the two of them if he ever finds out.” I didn’t have to explain who he was. Rhett knew. If William ever found out about Annie and James, it was up to Rhett to keep them safe.
“With my life,” he said, extending his hand to me, which I took. “Good luck.”
I nodded to him before making my way to a sobbing Annie, still hanging limply between the two giants. Baldric wasn’t taking any chances. He wouldn’t release her until I was securely in his possession.
“Zoe,” she cried, “I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be,” I told her. “This isn’t your fault. None of this is your fault. It was bound to happen eventually.”
“I don’t want to lose you. You’re like a sister to me.”
I choked back a sob that didn’t quite reach my eyes. “I want to hug her,” I said over my shoulder.
“Lower her,” Baldric commanded and the giants stepped toward one another until Annie’s feet brushed against the snow.
I wrapped my arms around her and squeezed her tightly. “Take care of yourself. Take care of James and Cody. Don’t lose your kindness because of this. Not for anything.” I pulled away slightly, brushing the tears from her freckled cheeks. “And don’t blame yourself. Be happy.”
She sniffled, nodding before pressing her forehead to mine, the only contact she could make on her own.
“That’s enough,” Baldric snapped and the giants moved apart again, hoisting a screaming Annie up between them.
Baldric grabbed me by the wrist and towed me away from her before spinning me around to face him, planting his cold lips on mine. I struggled against him, unable to pull away. I was eternally grateful that Alec was knocked out or he might have done something to get Annie or himself killed.
“You are mine now,” Baldric said as he pulled away from me. “All mine.”
One foot in front of the other, I took the longest walk of my even longer life. Baldric shoved me along, keeping me moving farther away from my people and closer to the gates of Hell. Somewhere in the distance, Annie cried and I wondered how she would do without me, or me without her. I’d helped look after her after the Great Battle, made sure she was properly trained. Her warmth and love had kept me sane during the long months after Josh’s death, or the death I’d thought he’d faced. She understood me better than most.
It hurt knowing I’d probably never see her again. Never hear her bell-like voice. Never feel the warmth of her unending compassion. Never see what came of her and James. And I’d never find out if she managed to keep her humanity. I prayed to God she would. She was too good, too pure, for the hand she was dealt.
“Fight back or try to escape,” Baldric whispered into my ear, “and the deal is off.”
Just my damned luck, Roland took me from Baldric when we reached his people. The one-eyed vampire grabbed me hard by the elbow, much harder than needed, and hurled me into a small metal cage strapped to the top of a horse-drawn carriage. As he slammed the door shut with that wicked grin of his, I wished I’d taken both of his beady eyes when I’d first had the misfortune of meeting him, instead of just the one.
I pressed my face against the bars. “Release her,” I told Baldric. “You have me, now let her go.”
“Very well.” Baldric nodded in the direction of the giants and they dropped their heavy chains, letting Annie fall into the snow. William was already running to her.
“Happy now?” Baldric asked.
“Peachy.”
A whip sounded and the carriage lurched forward. I stared out the narrow bars, watching as my entire life became smaller and smaller until it disappeared entirely from sight. My friends, my people—they all watched me as I was taken away, possibly forever. And there was nothing any of them could do.
The journey was long and the road hard. Bumps and bruises kept appearing and disappearing all over my body from banging against the metal bars of the cage. Each time a bruise healed, a new one surfaced. When I’d hit my head for about the thirteenth time, Josh made sure it was the last.
The carriage rocked hard as it went over a snow-covered pothole but I didn’t budge. My eyes shot to Josh who was staring intently at me. He was contro
lling my body, keeping me from bouncing around the cage. I remembered Ryuu saying it was damn near impossible to control a living creature. I’d only seen Ryuu do it once and it took all but the last bit of his strength. Josh didn’t even look fazed. I attributed it to him being a hybrid.
“Thanks,” I mumbled. I guess I hadn’t lost everybody. I still had Josh. Even if the Josh I once knew and loved was long gone only to be replaced by his horny, evil twin. It was something at least. I was counting my blessings, however few there may have been. And there were definitely few.
“You still don’t remember me, do you?”
Josh shook his head slowly. He looked away from me, keeping his eyes down. I had a feeling no one was supposed to be talking to me.
“You’re all I’ve got now,” I whispered.
Unfortunately, that gave me little comfort.
“We camp here tonight,” Roland announced as we reached what appeared to be the middle of nowhere. Fields of snow stretched out in all directions, cloaked in the ever-present darkness. “Rest up, we continue our journey home in the morning.”
“Morning?” I grumbled. They could tell the difference?
As the carriage rocked to a stop, I crashed into the bottom of my cage, barely catching myself before face planting into the metal floor. I glared at Josh, his lips pulling up at the side. Bastard dropped me.
Roland sauntered over to the back of my prison, flashing me those yellowed teeth. “If we let you out, kitten, are you gonna behave?”
The temptation to grab his face and yank it through the bars just to watch his head explode like a watermelon was great. It would have been a beautiful sight. Instead, I kept my balled fists at my sides, giving him my best resting bitch face.
Apparently, my silence and lack of attack was all the answer he needed. My patchy foe pulled out a key and unlocked the cage door before tossing the key to Josh, which he caught in one hand. “She’s your problem now, pretty boy,” Roland said. “She kills anyone or gets away and the king will have your head.”
I rolled my eyes, hearing the blatant lie in Roland’s words. After centuries of trying, Baldric finally had one of the Chosen under his control. He wasn’t about to kill him. Though, he didn’t have to kill Josh to punish him. And there were far worse things in life than death, as I was once again about to find out.
Josh nodded to Roland before moving to the back of the cage and swinging the door open. He offered me a hand, which I took without a second thought. Again, old habits die hard—enemies or not. Josh pulled me free of my small prison, his eyes never leaving mine. I felt that familiar fire building once more, resisting the urge to squeeze my thighs together.
Roland huffed out a laugh. “She’s a beauty, but don’t you go forgetting who she belongs to. Or what the bitch is capable of,” he added, tapping his tattered eye patch. With that, he blessedly left Josh alone with me to join his comrades around the freshly made campfire.
“I’m going to kill him one day,” I vowed, not realizing I’d said the words aloud—in front of Josh no less. It’d probably be best if he didn’t know any of my plans. I couldn’t let myself forget he was the enemy now. But Josh’s sly smirk told me that perhaps Roland wasn’t his favorite person either. Was he anyone’s?
Josh kept his long fingers wrapped tightly around my wrist to ensure I didn’t escape. It was all for show and we both knew it. While he knew what I was capable of, he also knew I couldn’t escape, not without it falling back on my people. I was well and truly stuck here.
“Bring me my bride,” a deep voice bellowed from within a large red tent that wasn’t there minutes ago.
“Any chance of you not dragging me in there?” I asked, eyes glued to the flickering light emanating from Baldric’s tent as we drew near.
“No.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” I mumbled. “Any advice?”
Josh shifted beside me. “Do as he says and you’ll be fine.”
Awesome, so I was basically doomed.
We paused just outside the tent flap and I shot Josh a questioning look.
“Don’t show him any fear,” he whispered, eyes not meeting mine. “Fear is weakness.”
It wasn’t until that moment that I realized I’d been hyperventilating. I took a few deep breaths and schooled my features, reapplying my bitchiest of bitch faces before strolling into the tent with Josh trailing in after me.
“You rang,” I sneered.
Baldric grinned, drinking me in like a man about to die of thirst. No, not a man. A monster. “You can go,” he told Josh. “I will call for you when you are needed.”
I glanced over my shoulder but Josh was already gone, the tent door flapping in the breeze. Traitorous bastard.
He’d left me alone…with him.
Baldric’s leather boots crunched in the snow as he made his way to me. His skin was pale like Annie’s, a sharp contrast to his long raven hair tied back in a loose ponytail at the base of his skull. Those hollow black eyes—as black as the heart within his chest—locked onto me and, for once, I felt like the prey.
Despite the evil that radiated off him, there was something about Baldric that was, in many ways, attractive—in a dark and soulless sort of way. For starters, he was built like a Greek god. Not the creepy statue kind, but the ones from romance novels that had women licking covers like they were lollipops. He had the same old-world charm about him that William did, the type that made you think about times of dignity and honor, knights and chivalry. It was really too bad he was only a step away from being the Devil himself.
A snarl ripped through me and Baldric laughed.
“Calm yourself,” he said, pouring a glass of red wine before offering it to me. When I refused, he shrugged and took the entire thing in one gulp. He set the empty glass down on a small table and stepped closer to me.
Don’t show him any fear.
I forced myself to hold his gaze. It wasn’t easy. Staring into his eyes was like falling into a pool of nothingness.
“What color were your eyes?” I asked before I realized the words had slipped off my tongue.
Baldric chuckled, turning to pour another glass of wine. Instead of downing it like the first, he reached out and opened my hand, wrapping my fingers around the glass.
“I do not remember,” he said quietly. There was a momentary sadness in his deep voice that flickered up to those lifeless eyes. And, as if it were never there, the emotion was gone. How William of him.
“What did you do to Josh?” I asked.
“I made him what he was destined to be,” he said. “Powerful.”
I bit the inside of my lip until I tasted blood. “He doesn’t remember me.”
“No, he does not.”
“Why?” I bit out. God, it really was like having a conversation with William.
“A sacrifice needed to be made,” Baldric said, all but shrugging. “His old life had to be surrendered in order to fully step into his new one. I thought you would be happy to have a familiar face guarding you. He is naturally very protective of you. It is a pity about his memory, though,” he added. “But I could not allow it to distract him from his purpose.”
My fingers tightened around the wine glass until I thought it would shatter under the pressure. With a flick of my wrist, I threw the contents at Baldric, red wine splattering across his face, looking an awful lot like blood. Fitting.
He growled but didn’t attack me. Part of me hoped he might let his anger take control, that he’d just kill me and get it over with. Hell couldn’t possibly be any worse than being Baldric’s slave for the rest of eternity.
“Resisting is pointless,” he snarled, wiping his face with his one good hand—since Ryuu had successfully removed the other. “You will be mine. There is no escaping that fate now.”
“I’ll die before I’m yours,” I snapped, throwing the wine glass at his feet and taking pleasure in the sound of it shattering against his boots.
He was in my face in a fraction of a secon
d, his breath scalding my cheek as he spoke. “Foolish girl, do you really think I would let anything happen to you? Death will not take you. I will see to that,” he swore to me. I wasn’t sure if it was a threat or a promise. Perhaps both. “And do not even think about taking it upon yourself to end your own life or I will make sure your old friend out there joins you. Him and everyone else in your little kingdom. Do not forget that you exchanged your life for theirs. You die, they die.”
That part was definitely intended as a threat.
Baldric smirked. “Life will be much easier for you, for everyone, if you do not fight me. I am not nearly the monster William has made me out to be. I am sure with time I will be able to prove that to you.”
“Doubtful,” I sneered.
He cocked a brow and took a step back. “Take her away.”
Before I could get another word out, Josh was standing beside me once more. Guard me, my ass. While a part of me, a nostalgic part, was happy to have Josh so close, I knew exactly what Baldric was doing. He was using Josh to taunt me. He knew how much Josh meant to me and he was dangling him in front of my face like a toy I wasn’t allowed to play with. Rubbing it in that my old friend was working against me.
Josh grabbed me by the wrist and dragged me from the tent.
I wanted to beg him to let me go, to let me escape, to end my life. The words were on the tip of my tongue but I swallowed them. Baldric had made the consequences clear. I knew what I was giving up when I agreed to Baldric’s deal. I’d made my bed and now I had to lie in it. Still, that didn’t mean I was in any way ready for the life I was about to face: the life of a prisoner. Baldric’s prisoner.
I could at least take comfort in knowing my people would live. So long as I continued enduring this new hell I was in, everyone else would survive.
And one day, I would kill Baldric and return to them.
As we reached the small cage, Josh spun me around. Something flashed across those icy eyes—something familiar—and I wondered if the real Josh was still in there, locked away somewhere in the dark corners of his own mind. Pain flickered across his face like he was struggling with something. I bit the corner of my lip, praying that he’d remember. Instead, he pushed me gently into the cage.