“Mmm,” she hummed.
“What?” Dasha asked.
“Smells nice in here.”
“Smells like grease. Like it always does.”
Sadie cleared her throat and shook her head, disconnecting with Hazel Eyes. “Oh, well. I’m hungry.” Really, she wasn’t. She hadn’t eaten since yesterday, and she’d barfed all that up.
Yep. She was dying. Had to be.
“Why are they staring at us?” Dasha slowed as she approached the end of the hallway. “I know I should totally be creeped out by that, but I’m not.”
“Well, I am. Let’s go.” Sadie grabbed her friend’s hand and tugged her back into the hallway.
She ran smack-dab into someone.
“Hello, Sadie.” A grim-looking guy gazed down at her and smiled.
Fangs? Really?
“Holy shit!” Dasha screamed.
The man smashed his open hand against Dasha’s chest, slamming her into the wall, then grabbed Sadie’s arm, drawing her deeper into the tunnel. Where the hell was everyone?
She twisted within his grasp to no avail.
One centering breath later, she stabbed her elbow against the guy’s forearm, then punched his chin. It was enough to break free from his grip. She stumbled to the side and palmed the rough concrete wall to stay upright.
He swiped at her with what looked like a long black talon, slicing her forearm, elbow to wrist.
An all-encapsulating pain engulfed her arm, zipped up her shoulder, and burst into her chest. The wound burned as if her flesh melted from the bone. The agony dropped her to her knees so powerfully, surely her kneecaps had shattered.
A blur slammed into the man who’d assaulted her. Another set of hands grabbed her by the shoulders. She rammed her fist into the man’s gut and rolled, fighting the darkness of unconsciousness tugging at her. She had to get to Dasha.
“Hey. You. Stop.” A campus security guard sprinted in from the student center area.
As she reached for Dasha, a figure appeared beside her, and she chanced a look. It was the guy who’d been with Hazel Eyes last night. Only this guy’s eyes flickered red. Ominous. Dangerous.
“You’re not safe,” he said. “I’ll protect you while my brother takes care of that jerk who attacked you guys.”
The guard approached, hand on his Taser.
“You’ve got some badasses after you for some reason,” the dark-haired man said as he shifted his hair enough to reveal an emblem sewn along the neck seam of his shirt.
The exact mark that appeared on her shoulder four days ago.
Well, shit.
Chapter Seven
Theo slammed his fist into the demon’s face and stabbed the Mavet through his chest, immobilizing him.
Now he would get some answers.
But quickly. He needed to get to Sadie’s side.
Theo stood on the slab of granite surrounded by liquid fire, deep in the bowels of Hades. He hated personally bringing demons here, but he had to get answers.
The black-eyed demon watched him pace a small circle.
“Speak.” Theo’s voice boomed, despite the vast emptiness surrounding them.
The demon rested his head on the granite floor.
“You are in allegiance with Agares.”
The evil being flinched.
Ah, Theo had hit a nerve. He drew out the second Mavet and squatted beside the pile of demon scum. The tip of the weapon pricked the monster’s cheek. A black bead of demon blood formed around the metal, then dribbled down.
“I know the holy blade singes your insides. If you speak, I will make this quick. If not…” He let his voice trail off.
Sure, the vanquishing words he would speak would bring eternal damnation to this creature, but how the thing got there was his choice.
Hopefully, he would talk.
“How did Aggie break the binding and escape from this place?” Another dig with the blade, and the demon grunted. Muscles bunched along his jawline.
“Why did you target the girl?” Theo fully breached the chest cavity with the dagger, piercing the heart. The holy blessings on the blade were like acid to demons. Burning. Tormenting. But mostly making them relive their transgressions fifty-fold.
“You cannot.” He gasped. “Be allowed.” Another sharp inhale. “To join.”
So, it was true. They knew about Sadie, Theo’s fated Ahavah.
He turned the blade, and the demon grunted.
After what felt like hours of unanswered questions and torture, Theo left the mutilated monster with the final words:
Reverto ut Abyssus.
The demon vanished, and Theo slid the back of his hand over his sweating brow. Damn it. If only he’d gotten more insight. Aggie was up to something. Found a way out of Hades despite Theo’s binding. Yet he sent this peon demon after Sadie. Why? What could—
Shit.
This was a distraction.
Chapter Eight
Sadie had never felt such agony. She’d never had children, but she’d heard how horrific the pain was.
This had to be worse.
She fought the urge to scratch at her wound. It was safely hidden by the sweater she’d snagged from her bag, so she didn’t need to let on to anyone how bad the cut really was. Damn thing didn’t bleed, almost as if it’d been instantly cauterized, but it was deep.
“Calm yourself, Sadie. Breathe.” The stranger she now knew as Justin finally stopped pacing and sat beside her.
“What the hell is wrong with me? What was that thing?” She writhed in the security office waiting room seat.
Campus security was taking their sweet time getting Dasha’s statement. They hadn’t taken Sadie’s yet, but she didn’t think she’d make it at the rate this cut was deteriorating. Those claws had to be poisonous.
Claws and fangs.
Sadie knew she hadn’t imagined it, but it wasn’t like she could tell anyone that a
creature
cut her. No, it was smarter to play this injury down until she could get Justin alone and get some answers.
“I’m sorry for how much you’re hurting right now. I don’t have my brother’s healing ability. And I can’t reach him at the moment.”
“Healing, huh? That’d come in handy about now. What is he, a
doctor
or something?”
He grunted at her sarcasm. “You could say that. But he can fix your cut. He’s actually the only one who can.”
His coy smile alluded to a deeper meaning, but she was using every bit of her energy to stave off the scream that was scratching to burst from her throat.
“Where’d your brother go? He was with you, then he was gone when that…um…that thing—”
“Shhh.” Justin glanced around. “Not here. Just breathe, Sadie. Focus. I know you can. You’re strong. The way you kicked Theo’s ass, I know you have it in you.”
“Theo.” The name slid off her tongue as if she’d been saying it for years. Like she’d never not known that name.
Justin closed his eyes and took in a long, deep breath. “I can’t reach him. Man, if he knew how much pain you were in…”
“What?” she asked when his voice faded away.
“Nothing. Now, please, just stick to the story about the…attacker.”
“Like I could tell anyone that he had black claws and fangs, then disappeared when—hey—that blur. That was Theo. That—how?”
“Be calm.” Justin fixed his eyes on hers, and the blue swirled with amber wisps. What looked like smoke, only reddish-orange, ignited within his irises. Sadie’s vision tilted and a cool sensation encompassed her mind.
Then a clap of thunder rattled through her skull, all the way down her spine. She flinched, breaking contact, and brought her hands to her temple. “Oh my gosh. What the hell did you do? God, my brain is going to spill out my ears.”
Justin jumped to his feet, eyes wide and mouth open.
“What. The. Hell?” Tears stung, but she bit the side of her cheek to send them away to their hiding place.
No crying
allowed
. Never let anyone see how much it hurts. She’d learned that early on at the group homes.
“I’m sorry. I—”
“Ms. Nowland. Please come with me.”
Sadie held Justin’s gaze another long breath, then got to her feet. He’d done something to her. Or at least tried to. The flicker of amber she’d seen in his eyes was gone. Her heart hollowed out with fear—no, disbelief.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you. Please. Will you abide by the story?” Justin asked in a hushed tone. “I know you don’t know me or my brother, but you see the mark on my clothing. Trust me. I’m on your side. I vow to protect you with my life.”
With his life? “None of this makes sense.” She stepped away from the pleading stare of the total stranger.
A stranger she, for some reason, trusted.
Yep. She was losing her mind.
“This way, please.” The tall, uniformed wannabe cop waved Sadie toward him.
She swallowed down the pain forging a fiery path up her arm and moved forward, following him around a maze of cubicles. Justin bore the mark that appeared on her shoulder days ago, and the fact that he mentioned it indicated he knew she knew about the mark. Maybe even that it was tattooed on her. But how?
The guy led Sadie to an office with glass walls where Dasha sat in a chair opposite a cherrywood desk.
“Dasha.”
She turned and bolted to her feet. They met at the door.
“Are you okay?” Dasha scanned Sadie.
“I’m fine.” So
not
fine, but she needed to hurry this interview up and get back to Justin. “Are you? You’re the one who got knocked out.”
“I’m good. They checked me out already.” She kneaded her neck. “Just a little sore.”
The guy ushered them into the fishbowl office, and Sadie sat in the first chair in front of the desk. Fatigue demanded it. Weird. She was never tired. Then again, she hadn’t eaten in about twenty-four hours, and she had a slash up her arm that might or might not have been from a claw. Okay, it
was
from a claw. She knew the truth, just couldn’t quite accept it yet.
Sadie squeezed her arm and focused through the throbbing. “So…what happens next?”
The security guy sat behind his big desk. “Ms. Wells told us her story. What’s yours?”
Sadie glanced at Dasha and nodded. Thankfully, she’d been knocked unconscious, so she hadn’t seen much.
“We were heading to the student center to get a snack. I’d just taken a test, and I was hungry.”
Total lie
.
The campus cop toyed with his gray mustache as he nodded for Sadie to continue.
“This guy came up behind us, knocked Dasha out, and tried to grab me. I shook loose, and he ran off.”
Dasha straightened. Sadie cast her a look, hoping she wouldn’t contradict the story.
The cop swung his attention to Dasha, then back to Sadie. “What’d this guy look like?”
She let out a breath. “Tall. Dark eyes. Dark skin. White teeth.” She left out the fact that they were fangs.
“That’s all you got?” The officer sighed and shook his head.
“Sorry, sir. It all happened so fast.”
Another lie
. It had happened in slow motion. She remembered nearly every detail of the man, but she couldn’t share it. Hell, he might not even have been a man.
Definitely couldn’t mention that. She’d be in a snug white coat faster than she could say “monster.”
The officer stood and planted his palms on his desk. “If you remember any more, please, let us know. We’ve had some incidents around campus. I wouldn’t want anything bad to happen to anyone else.”
“Around campus?” Sadie started to stand but stopped when her legs threatened to give out. Black stars crept into the corners of her vision.
“There have been a few attacks.” He drew in a deep breath. Two steps brought him in front of Sadie. “And I’m a little worried about the circumstances.”
“What do you mean?” Dasha asked as she rubbed Sadie’s back.
Sadie should be comforting Dasha—she was the one who’d gotten slammed into the wall.
“I’m afraid they’ve all been girls.” He glanced at Sadie, then at his hands. “Long blond hair, about five feet tall, with blue eyes.”
Sadie gulped.
“You’re saying they all looked like Sadie,” Dasha said.
He dipped his head. “It’s been kept quiet, but it won’t be anymore. We need to involve the authorities and inform the students. Put out an alert.” He knelt before Sadie and sat on his heels.
She was met with the kindest brown eyes she’d ever seen. Caring, like a father would be for a daughter in trouble. Protective.
I bet he’s a great dad…
“I see you’re living on campus still, but graduating in a few days?”
She nodded. The darkness started creeping in until only a tunnel remained with Mr. Officer at the end.
Breathe, girl. Just breathe.
Her tongue morphed into a thick wad of cotton, and her stomach clenched. Little stabs of pain pricked at her arm, and she squeezed her fist.
“Sadie?” Dasha’s voice sliced through the thickness in her mind. “You sure you’re okay?”
Another nod. “Just a little freaked out. I’m fine.” Or not. Her head felt detached from her body, like it floated or she was drunk or something. She pushed up the shirtsleeve on her good arm to fight the heat blooming throughout her body.
“Yeah, let’s get out of here.” Dasha rose from her chair.
The officer held Sadie’s gaze. “Be safe, ladies. Stay together. Don’t hesitate to get in touch with us about anything unusual.”
“Thanks.”
“The county police might try to reach you two as well once we get them involved. Just a heads-up.”
Dasha led her to the door. Sadie held on to her best friend’s hand so tightly she felt the bones shifting beneath her fingers. She wasn’t sure how she’d made it, but soon found herself in the waiting room.
Justin bolted to his feet and reached for her. At the same time, the doors burst open and a massive body nearly filled the entire doorframe.
“Do not touch her.”
It was Hazel Eyes. Justin stepped away, hands up, but Dasha held on tight. “Hey—”
“Be still,” Hazel Eyes commanded Dasha, and she instantly settled.
But Sadie couldn’t comply with his order. As much as she hated how weak it made her feel, she gave in to the pain. Her eyes squeezed shut, her body curved forward, and she knew she’d hit the ground, face-first probably, in a matter of seconds.