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Shay
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Endless screams and groans echoed into the halls, but I couldn’t see the agonized sources. I had no idea where I was or how many days I had been chained here. The room was dark, and I could barely see, even with my enhanced vision. I managed a few steps forward but was soon jerked to a stop by the thick shackles wrapped around my wrists and ankles. Reinforced metal, probably dipped in the River Styx. There was no way I would ever escape from here. Not without help.
Help.
They would come for me. Someone would. I was a warrior, and warriors leave no man behind, leave no comrade behind. In this case, it was leave no Nephilim.
A deep voice penetrated the darkness, reverberating against the cold walls. “I see you’re finally awake.”
“Is this the point where you say you’re going to torture me?” I kept my voice low, not wanting my fear to show.
His smug laughter rumbled through the cell. “Your stay here won’t be pleasant, Nephilim. Not at all. Now, sit back and relax, and I’ll let you ponder things for a bit while I go topside and scout things out for myself.”
In the next moment, a figure appeared inside my cell. I couldn’t make out any distinguishable features, except that he was around my height and weight. Before I could say a word, an arm shot out from under his long, black robes, and his fingers curled into a ball. Even though he wasn’t touching them, the chains constricted suddenly, slamming me back against the cold stone wall.
“Rumor is,” hissed the voice, “there’s a pretty young thing out there with green eyes and brown hair. They say she could be the one the Eternals have been looking for. The buzz around town is that she’s been hiding in Minnesota ...”
He found her?
A finger pointed in my direction and twitched. My body slammed face first into the hard cement ground. I gritted my teeth, holding in my pain, but when I clenched my hands, the chains rattled.
“I see that got your attention,” he said, his confident voice slithering over my skin. “I might have to go check this little bombshell out for myself, find out if she’s worth all the hubbub I’m hearing. Maybe I’ll make her an offer she can’t refuse.” He bellowed. “Well, she could try, I suppose, I have ways to make her accept my offer. I have you to barter with. Think she’ll trade?”
Damn it. It is about Zoe.
I shook my head, then coughed when a metal collar suddenly appeared and clamped around my neck. It squeezed until it became a perfect fit, slowly drawing the chain into the wall until it was taut. I had to stand on my tiptoes to take some of the pressure off my neck.
“Still nothing?” He shrugged. “No problem. I don’t actually need you to be alive for this. She might want her soul mate to still be breathing, but that’s not in my plan.”
“Leave Zoe alone!” I screamed, though my voice was muffled by the collar. I tried to move, but the metal barriers kept me in place. Another bracket wrapped snugly around my waist.
“Ah, there it is.” He sounded pleased. “I’ve been wondering how long it would take for you to connect the dots. Yes, I know what’s going on. You, an angel, and a fairy have been protecting a seventeen-year-old girl.”
He turned away from me, and I saw a long sword strapped to his back. The sheath was made of obsidian from the deepest places of Hell, and it carried a reddish hue. With deliberation, he withdrew the hilt and extended the long silver tip until it scratched my throat.
“She’s nothing, you know.”
“She’s not nothing,” I replied thickly, feeling fury beat in my temples. “She will beat you. You will fail at whatever plan you have. We will stop you from unleashing demons onto Earth.”
“Oh, really? How do you expect to do that if you’re here in Hell, and she’s up there without you, unprotected? I’ve sent many minions to capture her, you know. Or kill her. Makes no difference to me.”
The sword’s tip scratched, and I felt a warm trail of blood trickle down my neck. My skin burned from the blade, and I gasped. He had dipped it into Hell’s river. Bastard.
“They’ll come for me,” I managed. I tried to wrench my body away from the blade, but he didn’t move. The searing cut went a bit deeper.
“You sure about that, Shay? Listen, before I leave you, I’ve decided I’ll give you a parting gift. Something to remember me by.” He scorned. “Not that you’d forget about me any time soon. After all, I am memorable.”
He held the sword up at my eye level, bringing it just close enough that I could see waves of heat rising from the edge. Suddenly, he pressed the flat side of the sword against my cheek. I screamed but heard nothing, saw nothing, but red behind my eyelids. The stink of my burning skin filled the air. When the iron finally left my face, I collapsed against the chains, but the stranger wasn’t done with me. He thrust the tip of the sword deep into my shoulder, giving me a souvenir to remember him by. Twisting the blade and easing it in, scorching my insides as it dug through, shredding my muscles. All at once he withdrew it, and I gasped in what breath I could—just before he slashed my chest, slicing through my T-shirt and leaving a giant, burning X on my skin. White stars shot through my vision, and my legs gave out. I slumped forward against the shackles. My sweat and tear-slicked chin dropped to my smoking chest, and my breaths came in jerking, strained gulps.
From behind my closed eyes, I realized the room had lightened, casting a reddish hue over everything. The figure finally emerged from the shadow, and I squinted, needing to determine who stood in front of me. A pair of shiny, black combat boots stepped toward me, and I used every bit of remaining strength to lift my face to see his. I stared in disbelief at the man before me: young and blond ... with eyes just like mine.