Sweat drenched the back of Dex’s jumpsuit as he collapsed next to me.
“You believe me yet?” He asked sounding just as out of breath as I felt.
I looked over at him and saw the evidence of his actions laid out before me. If he really did want me dead before the end of these games, he could have just let me fall.
“Thank you,” I said. “Really.”
We stood carefully and made it the rest of the way across. There were only three more jumps that were far less distance than the first one. By the time we reached the opening of the tunnel we were dripping with sweat and breathing hard, but we’d made it. Barely.
Good job…Kage’s voice chirped in my head.
I glowered at the interruption. It was just a reminder that we weren’t alone. Not truly. And I still had no idea what the god’s intentions were. He said it was to see me win, but what he got out of it, wasn’t clear.
The tunnel sloped down and opened into a wider breadth. Up ahead, I could see where there were several other paths all colliding into this one. Only it wasn’t empty. There, slumped against the wall was Reed.
I stopped in my tracks, trying to discern if he was sleeping, or if he was dead.
From how far away we were, there was no telling for sure.
Dex motioned that we stay quiet, and I nodded my agreement. My steps were deliberately taken, trying to make the least amount of noise as possible.
The closer we got, the more details I was able to take in. The light coming from the crooked sconces full of fire, illuminated just how burned Reed had gotten. It stretched the length of his arm, chest and entire face. And then he took a visible breath.
Dex’s hands balled into two fists as he laid eyes on the person who’d left us for dead.
I shook my head back and forth, but that power inside me roared to life, flooding my system with the need for blood. For vengeance.
I wondered if Dex was feeling it too.
From the murderous tilt to his head and wild gleam in his eyes, I would venture to say he was.
He kicked Reed in the boot, and Reed startled awake.
“Surprised to see us?” Dex asked. Those golden horns on his mask gleamed down at Reed as he scrambled to stand.
“Fuck this,” Reed said, trying to use his power to fly away.
“I don’t fucking think so,” Dex said, extending his hand and exerting his power all the way down to Reed’s bones. It stoppedhim cold. It was like watching someone become paralyzed right before your eyes.
Reed’s eyes looked panicked as he realized his fate had been sealed.
“Put him down,” a voice called from down the tunnel.
Marcela.
She emerged from the shadows and that bloodlust that had been churning inside of my gut, sparked to a tangible, burning rage that demanded to be unleashed.
Marcela had the mask I needed, and I wouldn’t be letting her get away this time.
“There’s nothing you can do with that mask, but heal, Marcela,” I called out.
“See that’s what’s so funny,” she said walking towards me. The last time we had seen her, she’d run from us, too afraid of the deadly confrontation, but something had changed in her. It reminded me of how unhinged The Pyro had seemed right before he died. She had that same menacing smile and unsettling air about her that he did. Her wine-red hair looked to be standing on edge with static electricity as she moved. “I thought this mask could only heal, but it turns out it can do so much more than that.”
Her arm extended and I felt a stabbing, searing pain deep in my gut. I crumpled to my knees in pure agony.
“I said drop him, or I’ll yank her guts out.”
Dex snapped his head in our direction and saw my writhing on the floor. My intestines felt as if they were being twisted and pulled. The pain stole my breath away. “Make it stop!” I cried out. It hurt like nothing I’d ever felt before.
