Forged by Fate (11 page)

Holy hell. Beheading? She wasn’t ready for this. How could she— No. She shook the negativity out. She had to. It was either that or die.

Hairs stood to attention at the base of her neck, and she ducked, pivoting and leading with her dagger.

Rancid breath flooded her senses; the weight of the being tumbling into her forced her weapon into his gut as he knocked her to the ground. She tensed, bracing for pain as the demon leaned in to chomp on her neck, but the creature vanished in a
poof
of dust.

Justin looked down at her. “Nice move. Just swipe the neck next time. Daggers to the heart don’t do much but slow them down…a little.”

“Enough for you to behead.” She coughed through the soot and hopped to her feet in time to greet the remaining two attackers.

No hiding the fangs now.

She spun and kicked one demon in the gut in Justin’s direction, then faced the other, legs bent, weapon pointed.

“Toughest Ahavah yet,” the demon said through his fangs.

“You don’t know the half of it, asshole.”

He lunged, just what she’d wanted. Another spin and duck had her behind him. She kicked out the knee to get him down to her level, then cinched her arm around his neck, blade to skin.

In the next breath, Justin stood before her, wiping demon blood off his hand. One scan of the area showed there were no more.

“Where is he?” Justin asked, adding to the metal blades to the demon’s throat.

The monster grunted, offering nothing.

“So, how do I do this vanquishing thing?” Sadie asked, ready to inflict some pain on this asshole. “Just slide this across here, right?” She inched the blade through the skin. Blood spurted. “Oh. That’s not right, is it?”

Justin laughed, playing along like he could read her mind. “A little harder. Try again.”

She sawed a little, and the demon groaned. “Tell me where he is,” she said.

“If you’re really his Mate, you’ll find him.” The demon closed his eyes and sagged against her blade. She finished swiping, and he vaporized.

“Well, shit.”

“He wouldn’t have talked anyway. But I never would have guessed you were so devious.” He held out his fist for a knuckle bump. “Serious badass karate chick.”

She stood, shaking off the fear starting to rattle through her again. No, it wasn’t fear. It was power. Strength.

From Theo.

“Where are we going now?”

Justin grabbed her bag, then motioned to his car. “To the house. That’s what Theo said to do if things went wrong.”

“So you two planned all this out? Decided he would go to Hades to…research things? Decided what to
do
with me? Decided everything…”
Son of a bitch
.

She hated nothing more than not being in control. And it seemed Theo and Justin just took control whenever and however they wanted.

“Uh-oh.” Justin’s hands went up in surrender. “You’re about to blow, aren’t you?”

She glared at him, crossing her arms over her chest. He had no idea.

“Look. Theo—we both—just want you safe, so we made a plan in case you were in danger. And Theo missing, demons coming after you right on campus, yeah, that constitutes danger.”

“And what? I’m supposed to just go quietly and sit at your house for God knows how long it takes for Theo to get himself out of whatever mess he’s in down there?”

“Um…yeah?” Justin sheathed his dagger and glanced around.

Sadie dipped her chin and worked to give her best “so not gonna happen” look.

“He would
kill
me if I let you go in and get him.” Justin shook his head. “I might as well slit my own throat right now if I let you go down there.”

“Let?”
Oh, this guy was really digging the hole
.

He stepped closer to her. “Sadie. You realize—if you
choose
to go get him, you’re making a choice for more than just getting him.”

“Meaning?”

“Free will, Sadie. The Great One gives us all free will. Sure, you’ve got a fated Mate, can’t change that, but how you choose to respond affects your bond. Accepting things, in your heart, accessing your bond to find him…”

“Acceptance is the first step to change.” She’d heard that before. “So my going in and getting Theo is like me stepping into a rabbit hole. I get it.”

“Do you? You were in Hades already. Look how hard that was. Even after, you refuted what you’d seen, what you’d felt.” He guided her by the shoulder toward his car. “This’ll be different.”

She let out a long breath and faced the blue sky.
Damn
. Her life had changed in a matter of days, and so
not
in the way she’d expected. But Theo was hurting, somehow she knew it. How sick she was back in that classroom, and the pain in her body…she couldn’t ignore that. Even now, a dull pain, like a toothache, pulsed in her stomach, her neck, her cheek, and she had a mild headache right behind the eyes, too.

She stopped at the passenger side of Justin’s car.

He looked at her over the top. “Nearest gate is ten miles.”

“You can go through any gate?”

“He told me which one he was headed to. He’s gone through it, so I can, too.”

“And me?”

“You’re his Mate. You touched the Mavet already, so you
should
be fine.”

Yeah, that’s reassuring.

Justin opened his door. “We can either go in and find him or go to the house and wait things out.”

“Wait? As in sit around while he gets shredded?”

Justin stopped. “Shredded? What do you mean?”

“Not exactly sure on that one other than it feels like I’m getting stabbed. Cut. Tortured.” She swallowed down the bile. “I think that’s what’s happening to him.”

“The gate it is.” He hopped into the car. “Let’s go.”

Justin jammed the key into the ignition and shifted to drive. Squealing tires followed promptly by the stench of burning rubber assailed Sadie’s senses.

“So, gates? Splices?”

“There’s a main gate in this town. Formed several years ago. Theo guards it.”

“Formed?”

“Once evil gets strong enough, it can open a gate. One the demons—those strong enough—can go in and out of freely. There are quite a few open around the United States at any given time, and Theo is charged with guarding them.”

“And splices?” Sadie fastened her seat belt and turned.

“Smaller doors. Some of the stronger demons can open them elsewhere. Takes a lot out of them. It’s not easy and it usually has to be close to a gate because those things are wicked powerful.”

“And Theo can sense those, too? Along with demons coming to the gates?”

He nodded. “Part of his job. Keeping that smut down there. And those that get out, he throws them back in, permanently.”

“And now he’s down there with them? Getting tortured? I thought he couldn’t die.”

“He can’t.” Justin coughed into his hand. “But they sure can cut the hell out of him. Make him wish he could die.”

“Or cut him enough so his
Mate
will come get him.”

Justin nodded. “They obviously want you dead.”

“Lovely. This demon crap is effing messed up. I don’t even know what the hell is happening to me. How I got this strong. How I’m even involved in this.” She slammed her elbow into the door.

“Don’t take your frustration out on my baby.” He smacked her shoulder. “Come on. I need you focused.”

She shook her head. So much for her planned-out life. Undergrad done at eighteen. Six-figure job. Showing the world she was worth something despite being an orphan.

It was all slipping away. All for a total stranger and his stupid brother. She clenched her fist and reached for the glove compartment to snoop for more weapons.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m sure you have weapons, right?” She leaned over and looked into the backseat. Totally clean. Great. She had to hook up with a total OCD neat freak when she bloody needed weapons. No way was she going into Hades with only one little blade. It wasn’t even the power-packed one she’d used before.

One poke with
that
blade, and they were toast. With this one, she had to chop off heads.
Gross.

“Relax. I have some more in the trunk.” He smiled.

She sagged against the leather seat. Her tummy rumbled, but it felt more like hunger, and she hadn’t been hungry in days.

“There’s food in the cooler back there, you see it?”

“You carry food?”

“I’ve been following you around, and I need snacks to keep this body going.” He shrugged. “Well, not really, but it helps to stay fueled. We’re at our strongest when fueled.”

“And why don’t you get a fun Mavet dagger like Theo?”

“Can’t touch that thing. Burns anyone but the Gatekeeper.”

She reached back and grabbed a small red-and-white cooler. “Obviously, that’s not true. I used it—and kicked ass with it, I might add.”

“That you did. Hit me with one of those sandwiches.”

She dug out two sandwiches and Cokes. After a few minutes of silent eating, she asked, “So, you’re his brother but can’t touch his weapon?”

“Only Mates can.”

“There’s that word again.” She shook her head. Despite the action, she felt the truth of the word deep down. No way would she admit it, but she couldn’t deny it. Why else would she be ready to face Hades to get Theo out?

Her life just morphed into a sick rendition of
The
Twilight Zone
.

“The funny thing is, you haven’t mated yet. You shouldn’t be able to touch that weapon, either. But your being his Mate
will
help us find him once we get down there.”

She swallowed her last bite of sandwich, and it nearly got lodged. A quick swig of the sugary soda, and she was ready to go. “Just tell me what I have to do.”

Chapter Nineteen

“Look how fast that grows back.” A raspy voice on the left side of Theo sounded like a megaphone in his ears.

He’d lost track of how long he’d been secured to this slab of steaming-hot granite. His flesh couldn’t heal, at least the parts touching it. If he arched his back enough some would heal. But fatigue wore him down.

Sadie.
Dear Great One, please let her be safe.

Another slice.

Theo burrowed deep into himself. He turned out the lights of consciousness and meditated on two things. The Great One and Sadie. Those were all that could comfort him now. It blocked out the tugging, pain, and burning those minions inflicted.

He’d gotten to hold his Mate. To witness a tender moment while he watched her sleep. She’d dreamed of their almost-kiss on the bike, but in her dream, they’d kissed.

If only he could have felt her warm lips and firm body against him. He knew he’d eventually get out of this. He hadn’t seen his opportunity yet, but it would come. And knowing Justin had his Mate tucked safe and sound at the compound calmed him.

His mind wandered through options of how to free himself from this granite prison.

Aggie had outdone himself with the restraints. Not much could keep Theo down, but cursed chains evidently could.

Cursed with the blood of angels of darkness. Theo knew he’d sensed the evil of those who once served The Great One but turned their backs. And when the minions cutting on him confirmed it, he knew he’d have trouble getting out of this. His Mavets would break through, but they were in the corner. Set there by the demons as if to taunt him.

The sounds of shuffling sifted through the darkness. A strong scent of vanilla filtered into his nostrils.

Then he heard a grunt.

A female grunt.

With a roar, he opened his eyes and sat up as far as the restraints allowed, which wasn’t much.

One eye was swollen shut, still mending from the last eye-plucking, but he swore he saw—no, he felt—Sadie.

Mine.

Another grunt, but this time, he felt it in his side, and there was no one puncturing him at the moment. Wait, where was everyone?

He scanned the area as best he could. Granite walls stretched to the orange sky behind him and on each side.

That left only one entrance and one exit. Four demons stood, back to Theo, with their legs bent and weight shifting from one massive leg to the other.

Something was coming.

No. Someone. And that person had the demons worried. They’d had too much pleasure torturing him, so there had to be a reason for them to stop.

Shit
—Aggie’s torture had done its job. It had lured Sadie here.

A roar echoed through the room, and the demons ducked but quickly stood their ground. Clashing metal rang out. Theo’s stomach muscles twitched from fatigue, and he had to lie back. For some reason, he knew he must gather strength.

Surely Justin wouldn’t bring Sadie down here. Not after Theo’s explicit orders as to how to handle his capture should it happen.

But Theo had smelled her. Felt her. Wait, felt her pain. She was injured.

Up he went again, tugging at the restraints. Chains clanked, sending sparks flying because he wrenched them so hard. The cuffs bit into his skin, ripping, cutting. If he had to sever his hands to get free, he would.

Sadie screamed, and it tore through his abdomen much like the daggers he’d been poked with. He trained his eyes on the entryway. The center demon fell back, dagger wiggling from its forehead. With the grace of a ninja, Sadie swung black nunchakus so fast they were nothing but a blur until they found their targets. Right behind her, Justin took advantage of the disoriented demons and sliced their necks.

Within seconds, the four demons that had been guarding him were vapor. But they would reappear quickly down here in Hades. They were like cockroaches.

The heavy footfalls of more enemies echoed through the entryway.

“Sadie,” Theo said, though he wasn’t sure she understood since his tongue hadn’t grown back yet.

“Holy shit,” she gasped, dropping her weapon.

Justin stormed by her and pointed. “Pick that up, now. Stay focused.”

Theo growled at the abusive tone his brother took with Sadie.

“Stuff it, Theo. Or do you like being plucked and cut?” Justin swung his dagger at the chains, and the clash ignited a flash brighter than a bolt of lightning.