Redemption (10 page)

“It’s okay, Mira. I’ve got you. Just relax.” He drew her closer until their breaths mingled. Desire hardened her nipples. His eyes darkened when he cupped her breasts. “You’re beautiful.”

Moments like this unsettled her the most. Kissing swept her into the moment, offered her an escape from the reality exploding around her. When the hazy lust of desire ceded to intimate conversation she turned into an addled idiot who bumbled words.

He licked and suckled from her neck to her collarbone. A soft moan escaped her when his fingers tweaked her nipples. The sensation coursed through her.

She gasped when he pulled away and growled. “This better be good.”

“Probably not as good as what you were doing, but the succuba mage bitch says they’re ready for us,” Ren replied.

Wow. She hadn’t heard anyone around them. How had she lost awareness so easily? And to think she hadn’t thought she was in a hazy lust. The embarrassment engulfing her made her burrow her face in his neck.

“God, did I just get caught making out with you?”

Adrik laughed.

“It’s not funny.”

“Trust me, it is. I didn’t hear him either. He had to announce his presence telepathically.”

She laughed. The strong, powerful Alpha hadn’t heard Ren either. Something about the confession made her desire grow. “I wish you could stay here with me.”

“Me too.” He kissed her lips. “Get some rest. We’re hitting the facility early in the morning.”

Chaos ensued in the narrow corridors between the rows of makeshift cells. Cages. Panicked inhabitants rattled the metal bars as they screamed over growls, shouts and battle. Blood coated the floor and Mira hoped it was from NAH guards and not Adrik’s makeshift team.

Adrik. Where had he gone?

She’d been ordered to remain outside, but this was the moment she’d waited for—the one she’d planned for during hundreds of pain-riddled nights. The promise she’d made could now be fulfilled.

She hurried through the melee, her focus on finding the narrow hidden panel in the corner left wall. An elderly pox-marked man with haunted green eyes regarded her from his cage, a couple of feet from where she’d been told the stairwell was.

“You okay?” she asked.

He sat on his ratted cot, his focus on her now that she’d spoken. A toothless grin spread across his face and he inhaled fully. Bandages encrusted with dirt and dried blood wrapped around both arms and hands. He trembled for a few moments as tears pooled in his gaze.

“I didn’t think I’d leave this place.”

“You will today.” Mira smiled. “Hang tight. They’ll get you out when it’s safe.”

He nodded as she pressed on the panels. A soft click signaled success. Her pulse raced as she pushed until a narrow entryway appeared.

“You’re the one they had down there.” A grim expression loomed on his weary face. “I’ve lived through many things, but hearing your screams and not being able to save you damn near killed me.”

Mira couldn’t respond. A lump formed in her throat and she nodded, pushing through the dark passage before she could second guess the decision. She’d trusted Deimos with her life for nearly two years. If he didn’t want anyone knowing he was here, she’d have to abide by his wish. He had his reasons.

Deimos, we’re here.

Silence clung in the dank air as she wound down the cobwebbed stairs. Weird. He should be able to hear her, even from up here. He’d communicated with her when Hank and the other guards took turns “walking” her outside. She shuddered in revulsion, her gut churned.

Don’t think about the past. Focus on now. Rescue Deimos.

Leave.

The plan was shit, but she’d made do with worse. She could do this. She slapped at her skin, spatting away any invisible crawling freak of nature unfortunate enough to land on her.

Deimos, I’m battling bugs to get to you. You’d better appreciate this.

Nothing.

Dread clawed her insides. Ignoring the pangs shooting up her spine, she scuttled down the creaking steps. How much deeper would she have to go? Her fingers scraped along the walls, feeling for the exit. Not much farther, surely.

A small beam of light beckoned. She shoved against the wall hard, grimacing as pain sprang through her shoulder. Bile rose in her throat when she tumbled onto the level she’d called Hell. Death, feces, blood, filth and something even more vile—hopelessness—pervaded the stagnant air.

“Well, well, well. Lookie who I caught sneaking back in.” Hank squeezed her arm until she cried out and fell to her knees. Her other hand reached for the KBAR she’d tucked into her waistband. “How’d you remember our fun times down here, girlie?”

“Guess you’re just unforgettable.” She thrust the knife forward, aiming for his heart. He moved at the last moment and the blade sank into his shoulder.

“Fucking bitch.” He punched her hard enough to bang her head against the concrete floor. “Think I’ll give ya a real good lesson in manners this time. The doc ain’t here to stop me from knocking those teeth outta your smart ass mouth. After I’m done, you’ll only be good for rutting in Whore’s Alley. Then again, I’m thinking ya ain’t ever leaving again.”

She struggled to right herself as he flung her lone weapon behind him, a menacing sneer on his face. He reached for his belt and terror ratcheted her insides. No. Never again. He kicked her stomach. She grunted and crawled away. Laughter echoed in the small chamber.

Her gaze landed on the doorway she knew led to the cages. She took two pained knee-steps forward and cried out when pain spread along her ribs again.

“Where ya going, meat? Don’t ya know it’s playtime?”

“Mind if I join in?”

The voice halted Mira’s scream. No. She didn’t want anyone else getting hurt by the bastard. What was she doing down here? She turned to stare at Camryn in disbelief as the woman strolled in.

Strolled. A confidence that belied the situation resonated in her stance, her facial expression. The succuba mage chuckled when Hank lunged for her. The fat prick cried out and grabbed his throat, as though an unseen force was wrapped around him. His face reddened as he tumbled to his knees. Gasping, he looked up at Camryn with widened eyes.

“Thinking it’ll be better if I teach you a lesson.” She grabbed his thin hair and tugged hard until their gazes locked.

“D-don’t kill him,” Mira wheezed. “Scanners.”

“Oh, we’ll get through those. No problem.” She pulled out a massive knife and scraped the blade along his throat. “You’re lucky I’m pressed for time, you twisted bastard. Otherwise I’d feed on your dying, fat ass for days, drawing out every morsel of pain I could.”

Blood sprayed the area, spattering droplets of crimson on Mira. Shock kept her silent, watching as Camryn let Hank’s body fall to the floor. She leaned down and sawed an index finger off. Wiping the blade off on Hank, she sheathed the weapon and stood.

“Let’s go.”

“There’s an optical one too.”

“Of course there is. Fucking pricks never make things simple.” Camryn sighed and drew the knife again. She straddled his body and looked at Mira. “If you’re gonna puke, do it now. Once I get this done, we gotta move.”

“I-I’m good.” Mira turned away as the deed was done and was thankful to see both items wrapped in the remnants of his shirt. Resourceful. “How did you know I was down here?”

“I make it my business to know things. The less you know, the better. Let’s just say you and I have the same vested interest right now.”

Deimos.

How did she know?

“I-I can’t let you hurt him.”

Camryn chuckled as she slid the severed digit over the scanner of the door. “Good luck stopping me if that’s my intent, Impure. I’ll hand it to you—you’ve got spunk, but you’re seriously over your head here. Coming down here alone was stupid. You should’ve stayed where Adrik told you to.”

“I promised Deimos no one would know.”

“Yeah well, your Deimos is gonna be a major pain in my ass for the next few hours I’m afraid. I’m thinking he’s put himself into healing mode.”

“Healing mode?” Mira followed behind the succuba mage in a stupor. Aside from the stabbing pain with each breath, she felt nothing. She’d finally lost it—gone bat shit cray cray.

“Shifters can put themselves into a sort of coma, so their bodies can focus on healing. They only do it when seriously injured, and it’s a major pain in the ass if he did.” Mira halted before the final door, glared at the severed finger she still carried. Chucking it to the side, she ran the eyeball over the last scanner. “You’re gonna hear some shit over the next few minutes, probably the next hour or so and your smart brain’s gonna fire off hundreds of questions. Do us both a favor, and stay mute, okay? Lots of things are at play, most of which no one can know about.”

Mira nodded.

“I’ll do what I can to keep him safe. It’s why I’m here, just like you. Okay?”

Mira nodded.

“Let’s go. They’re waiting on us.”

They? She almost parroted Camryn, but remembered the request. No questions. Right. Okay.

For now.

Mira hadn’t ever been the obedient type. It’d been the contention between her and Eron many times before her imprisonment. Thoughts of her brother unsettled her. Now that she’d fulfilled the promise to Deimos she’d have to deal with the other problem—the price on her head in Hell’s Highway.

Where would she go after all this was over?

Not now. Later.

“Fuck. I wish I was human like you. It’s rank down here. At least it doesn’t bother you.”

“It does,” Mira whispered. “But I don’t say anything. It’s not like they’d let us clean up or shower or anything.”

An awkward silence hung between them for a moment before the woman spoke. “Right. Apologies.”

Mira nodded and fell into the dutiful silence she’d promised. Shock made her brain stammer when they stopped in front of the cell she’d never seen or heard anything from, located at the end of the row, across the corridor from hers. Almost a hundred feet away.

He wasn’t alone.

Five kids, maybe teenagers by human standards, stood in front of a man prone on the floor. His lash-tattered clothing resembled what she’d worn. Blood and filth coated his skin to the point Mira couldn’t tell whether he was alive or dead.

Grief overwhelmed her. Trembling, she sank to her knees a moment, but then Camryn was there—dragging her upward in a pissed-off tug that made everything from Mira’s teeth to her toes hurt.

“Get up. None of them need your shit. Suck it up and deal.” Camryn released her and turned to the four kids, whose eyes were wide, their hunger-ravaged bodies tensed. “Move. We don’t have time for a pissing match when your balls haven’t grown big enough to compete yet.”

The rudeness sparked Mira’s anger and she maneuvered between the succuba mage and the kids. “I’m Mira. We came to get you all out.”

“We know.” One of the boys stepped forward, pressing the other three backward. “I’m Caleb, red dragon commander-in-training. The brick house on my right here is Kandon, ancient blood-lined gryphon in training. This is Lorn and Remy, mage in training. And that’s Nessie. Don’t mention her hair though, she hasn’t gotten over us burning it off to hide her being a girl. But he told us we needed to keep it short and keep her hidden.”

The tiniest of the kids peeked from around the four tall boys. Curious black eyes stared as she cocked her head to the left slightly and stared at Camryn. “You are succubae?”

The woman sighed and flexed her fists at her side, as though battling patience. “Yes. And mage. I’m Camryn. This is Mira, the Impure who was down here with y’all. We need to move fast, and I need you to listen carefully and comply without hesitation, as is expected from warriors of your station and extensive training.”

Their chests puffed slightly and they suddenly grew a couple of inches taller. Caleb studied the two of them a moment before responding. “I make no promises to not question, but we’ll listen.”

“Good.” Camryn shoved them aside and knelt before the ravaged man, flipping him over onto his back. She lightly slapped his cheek a couple of times and shook his arm. “How long has he been down?”

“Since she left,” Nessie answered. “I tried to get him to wait another few days, but I’m only a young white dragon and couldn’t help him enough. After Mira left, the guards didn’t have anyone else to…”

“They wouldn’t harm you?”

“Whenever the guards approached, the Commander made us go under if we could, but it didn’t always work. So we’d get taken, but we tried not to scream or react cause it upset him too much.” Lorn tugged on the thick metal band around his throat. “Whatever this is makes our powers very weak. The commander’s barely got any juice left, even though we insisted he feed on us. We tried to keep him safe and awake, we swear.”

“You did good,” Mira said, squeezing the boy’s hand.

Children.

How had she not heard them? Or him?

“Clearly he had enough power to try to protect you when they entered,” Camryn said.

“He wouldn’t let me protect him. It’s my duty to protect the goldens. I failed him,” Kandon whispered.

Remy punched his fist into his side. “We told him not to, we could take whatever sick shit they came up with. They’re only humans. We should’ve taken them out.”

“They have guns and the collar around your throat emits electrical shocks capable of killing you since you’re only fledglings. Knowing your limitations is more important than utilizing your strengths. Mages battle best with their brains and cunning. There was no escape for you all, not alone.”

The boy puffed slightly, a sheepish grin on his face. “That’s what the Commander said.”

Camryn regarded Kandon. “As for you, the only failure I see in your actions are the words you spoke just now. Your ancestors would be shamed by your acceptance of defeat. Your uncle Kadal is one of the most legendary gryphon warriors to ever walk this earth. Your father sacrificed himself protecting the royal family. Don’t taint his sacrifice with cowardice.”

Mira bristled under the harshness, but Kandon blushed and nodded. Camryn needed lessons in diplomacy and tact.

“Okay, here’s what we’re gonna do. First off, everyone in this cell is a team. What happens in a battle within a team stays within the team and is never spoken of to
any
outsiders, no matter who they are. Understand?”