Darkest Misery (25 page)

Still, my hand trembled as I reached for the door handle. “This is all the more reason we need a car. We are not walking through the darkness.”

Mitch nodded, and as he did, I saw the same thing he must have. Movement in the shadows of the trees. Then someone, dressed all in black, stepped into the clearing and waved frantically at us.

“You've got to be kidding.” For a moment, I forgot about Mitch and my fantasies of snatching my knife from Raj and jabbing it through his gut. I dashed across the grass and threw myself at Lucen.

Chapter Thirty-One

I might have crushed the life out of him, but that was okay because Lucen did the same to me. The strength of his grip, his cinnamon scent—everything about him felt so good, so comforting, that I was tempted to fall to pieces and let him put me back together. Preferably somewhere far away from here.

But that thought led to a hundred questions, including how he'd found me and how he'd gotten here. Whatever was going on, it wasn't over yet.

To confirm it, someone deeper in the woods hissed our names. Lucen released me and half dragged me under the tree cover. Mitch had raced over too, and I motioned for him to follow.

“What in the world?” Mitch's bewilderment spoke for both of us.

Even with the reddened sky, it was so dark under the tree canopy that I could do no more than make out a few vaguely human shapes. No one spoke. The only sounds were of insects and my feet crushing the needles beneath my sneakers, releasing a potently woodsy scent.

Then something cool was shoved in my hand. “Put this on.”

I recognized Tom's voice and draped the cord around my neck. Instantly, the world brightened. I rubbed my eyes, more from the shock than to adjust to the light, and discovered I stood among a group of at least twenty people. Most appeared to be Gryphons dressed in serious body armor. They were all heavily armed, and they were joined by a sizable number of satyrs, who were also literally dressed to kill. Besides Lucen, Devon was among them, and his expression when I made eye contact with him was as relieved as I felt.

“How did you…? What…?” I didn't know where to start.

Mitch did. “What is this thing? I can see in the dark?”

“It's a charm,” Tom said. “More convenient than night-vision goggles.”

I started to ask why he'd never taught me about this, but I shut my mouth. We had more important issues to deal with, and besides, the number of things Tom could teach me could take years. Saying my training was woefully incomplete was an understatement of epic proportions.

“So they opened the Pit?” Tom's voice was matter-of-fact, but his expression was wary as he glanced skyward.

“Yeah, they opened it.” My hand sought out Lucen's, and he gave it a squeeze that lacked any ability to reassure me.

“How?” Devon asked sharply. “I thought you had one of the Vessels.”

I was about to answer, but one of the unknown satyrs cut me off. “Who is that?” He had a French accent, and he motioned to Mitch. Devon or Lucen must have rounded up a local posse.

I could sense Tom's irritation with the delay, but he also seemed genuinely relieved to find Mitch alive and well. After a brief explanation of who Mitch and I were, he turned back to us. “What happened? Quick version.”

Quick was too optimistic, but I did my best to recount the highlights. I could feel Lucen tense when I described what Raj did to me, and Devon's face was hard. The Gryphons' emotions were all so heightened too that I was getting a secondary hit from their anxiety.

When I finished speaking, a few of them exchanged heavy glances. “We go in,” one said. Like the satyr who'd spoken, she had a French accent.

“We go in,” Tom confirmed.

“What?” Mitch shook his head. “Jess and I were only heading inside because we needed to find car keys so we could leave. They opened the goddamned prison. We need to get out of here before the inmates discover us.”

Tom took a bag from one of the Gryphons and tossed it at me. The shifting heft as I caught it told me what it contained—weapons. “What we need is the Vessels they used to open it. We have no way to close it without them, and we're unlikely to get a better chance to grab three at once.”

“Jess and I might have been able to sneak in and steal keys, but there's no way the furies aren't going to notice a small army trying to run off with their supplies.”

“That is true,” said the French Gryphon. She appraised Mitch with a cool eye. “Which is why you will stay here. We are trained for this. You're not.”

Mitch's mood darkened. He clearly didn't like being told to shove off by a woman barely half his size, but she had a point. Hell, I had no business going with them either. Not that I had the good sense to let it stop me.

I pulled a sword from the bag Tom gave me and smiled grimly as I imagined cornering Raj with it. Just a nick. That was all I needed with this blade. Fuck yeah, I was going with the others for this chance.

“Where are the Vessels?” Lucen asked.

His question jerked me back to reality. Getting revenge on Raj was not my primary focus, no matter how good it would feel. Tom had our priorities straight. We'd grab the Vessels and go.

Mitch and I did our best to sketch out the lay of the place, and I let Mitch do most of the talking. He had a better feel for it than I did, and since he wasn't going in with us, I got the sense he wanted to do as much to help as he could. I understood the sentiment.

I had to finally release Lucen's hand as discussion turned to strategy, and I hung out on the edges, listening. I was definitely coming off the magical high. A dull ache was starting to throb in my head, and my euphoria was waning. Maybe I could run a 5k at this point, but a marathon was out. There was nothing I could do about it either. Nothing but hope my energy held until we got out of here with the Vessels.

“Everyone clear?” Tom asked.

The Gryphons voiced their assent, and Devon spoke for the satyrs. So far, I'd witnessed little outright hostility between the groups. More questions came to mind, and I pushed them aside, assuming sadly that I'd forget them by the time this was over.

Assuming, also, I lived. But I'd go on assuming that. What else could I do?

One of the foreign Gryphons took the lead, and in pairs and threes we darted across the open lawn to the door. Secrecy was out. Assuming none of the original furies were around to join the fun, we were close to evenly matched in numbers—if not magical strength—with the regular furies and any remaining addicts. That left surprise and a massive show of force as our best weapons.

Fortunately, though the Gryphons weren't here with a large army, they'd come well-prepared. I'd been assigned to the rear, and I accepted my position grudgingly. I was the only one tagging along who didn't have plenty of experience in these matters. The Gryphons would be well trained, and presumably so were the handful of satyrs. Lucen could hold his own, and Devon wouldn't have gathered others who couldn't do the same. Of them all, only Devon was as out of place here as I was, but I'd bet he had done his time on the front lines, so to speak. He was plenty old enough to remember an age when fighting for survival was a way of life for preds.

Curse grenades shattered the calm and cleared the way as the Gryphons stormed the building. Taking up the rear, I found little to do. Space was tight. I could hear fighting and shouting ahead, but my sole job was to watch other people's backs.

Slowly, the group lumbered forward, making way to the ritual area. If the Vessels had been moved… The castle was huge. I wouldn't think on it. They'd been in the same room not long ago. I'd have to count on that still being true.

I stepped over an addict, who must have been cursed with some kind of sleeping charm, and kept going. Ahead, Lucen disappeared around a corner, and I wiped sweat from my forehead. Why did he have to be so far in front?

Skittering noises snapped me back to attention, and I spun around, sword ready. But it was only a dragon running across the stones. It disappeared into the next room.

I coughed from the sulfur-stinking curse smoke and waved it away from my nose. Senses on alert, I continued to walk backwards, brushing the wall with my butt for support. We had to be getting close to the area.

I could do no more than think that when it became obvious we'd arrived. I could see nothing around the corner, but I heard the yelling and shocked cursing in both English and French, and the bangs of more curse grenades exploding. Gunshots too. I sucked in a breath, and my grip tightened uselessly around my sword hilt. Fumes from the grenades carried down the drafty corridor.

The Gryphon in front of me sprang as an opening appeared, and I charged after him, no longer looking behind but ahead. Bursting into the ritual space, I found myself in a war zone. Brightly colored smoke clung to the air, obscuring the giant glyph and the farthest Vessel.

“Two more over there!” I pointed in the correct direction for the Gryphon next to me, no idea whether others had already gotten to them.

In case they hadn't, I took off after the Vessels myself. A shudder passed through me as I stepped onto the glowing glyph, and belatedly, I remembered being trapped in part of it. But either the spell was no longer in effect, or it had only worked where Raj had drawn a glyph in my blood. Nothing held me down, so I hurried on.

As I ran, I kept one eye out for Lucen and Devon, and one also for Raj. Two to protect, one to kill. None of whom I could see.

Breathing hard, I paused in what I thought was the right area, and I flung smoke away with my hands. When it cleared in my vicinity, I could make out an empty spot on the floor where the Vessel I'd been aiming for had been. I hoped that meant one of our team had snagged it.

I was about to head for the next one when someone let out a snarling cry behind me. Pure rage flooded my veins.
Fury
, my heart screamed.

I spun around, sword in position, and slashed at the air. The female fury somehow dropped back mid-lunge, her golden eyes glowing.

The red sky flickered above and my blood seemed to flicker with it, but the fury left me little time to recover. Whipping a knife from her belt, she launched a second attack. I wore no armor, but the fury was so tall it hardly mattered. She aimed her attacks for my neck and face. The speed charms the Gryphons had drawn on me tingled with power as I met her blow for blow, dodge for dodge, but I couldn't land a single scratch.

When she backed me against a wall, I raised my blade upward to meet her and used my lack of height to my advantage. Popping out from underneath her raised arm, I turned and kicked her in the back of the knees. She lost her balance and tumbled forward, colliding with the wall.

Before I could raise my blade again, another came down on her neck. Startled—and though I wouldn't admit it, slightly horrified—I spun right and found Devon.

His eyes widened before I could thank him. “Behind you!”

I felt the oncoming attack even as he warned me. It was Raj. The sensation of his magic felt familiar, and it settled within me as though it belonged. The hairs on my neck stood on end. I didn't like that. What kind of creepy connection had he forged between us? How could recognizing his magic be possible?

Alas, this was no time to ask.

My freaked-out thoughts gave me less time to react, and Raj moved fast. Enormous arms yanked me against him, pinning my own arms to my sides. The little magical boost I had left was no match for his strength, and my charms—though they grew warm with power—weren't either. Though I flailed with my blade, I couldn't turn my wrist at the correct angle to use it against him.

Damn it, this was not how I'd envisioned our fight going down.

I kicked and wiggled in his grasp, but the fury was a hulking beast of a man, his grip like iron and no doubt aided by magic of his own. Using me as a shield, he backed away toward an exit.

Devon had raised his blade, but indecision warred on his face. There was no good way to get to Raj without going through me.

I found I didn't much care. Raj's presence heightened my rage. I was sick of being used by him, and fuck it all, I wanted him to pay for everything he'd done. I didn't give a damn if I went out with him so long as he was dead.

“Just kill him,” I screamed at Devon. “Do it!”

Raj chuckled in my ear while Devon didn't move.

I yelled at him again, but rather than come after me, Devon took off in the opposite direction. What the ever-loving hell? I growled my frustration.

Raj slammed me into a doorway, on purpose I was certain of it, so my knuckles collided with the rough stone. The shock forced my hand open, and I dropped my sword. Incoherent in my cursing, I continued to struggle, but Raj's grip never faltered. We left the fighting behind, and soon he had a clear path to the outside.

“Damn it, let me go. You've gotten away.”

Raj threw open the door with his shoulder, carrying me down the path toward the cars. I could
feel
him smiling in my head, and it made my skin crawl. Why wasn't he out of me completely?

“You are so full of bitterness and resentment, soul swapper. You should have been one of us. The anger just sweats off you. I can taste it.” And then he did possibly the most horrible thing to me yet—he leaned forward and licked my cheek.

I cringed, wishing my revulsion would feed my strength, but it only seemed to mess with my head, and that made fighting strategically more difficult. “I'm going to kill you.”

Raj laughed harder. “You keep saying that. You probably once told Lucen you wouldn't sleep with him too, didn't you? You did, I can tell from your emotions. People make promises they can't keep all the time. We count on it. So I don't think you're going to kill me, but your hate is fantastic. We'd welcome that. Think, Jessica. The Pit is open. I'm giving you the chance to be on the winning side.”

“What?” I momentarily stopped struggling in my surprise.

Raj slowed as we reached the makeshift parking lot. “I told you your power was rare and valuable. If you came to us willingly and let us use it as needed, you'd not only survive, we'd take care of you. Reward you for your service.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

“Not at all, but this offer isn't going to last forever.” He released me at last and shoved me face forward against a sleek, silver two-seater. “Keep in mind, I've got you. You can come willingly or not. You know which I'd enjoy more.” He buried his head against mine and inhaled deeply.