She blurted at the same time, “I can point you in the direction of Rough’s hideout, but there’s nothing else to show you except for drains and tunnels, and I don’t know where Tolvi has his den.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“What?” She pivoted to him, brow scrunching. “I thought you wanted to find them?”
“I have.”
He did? She searched his handsome but unreadable face. “And?”
“I’m handling it.”
Oh, right. And she didn’t deserve an explanation.
Irritated, she stomped off, frustration back in spades. Every time he opened his mouth, he left her spitting mad.
“We need to talk,” he reiterated, keeping up with her.
“About you leaving? Great. Goodbye—”
He grasped her arm, halting her, his cold, otherworldly eyes pinning hers. A sudden biting chill enclosed her, and she shivered.
“You’re in danger. This place isn’t safe.”
“S-so?” Her teeth clacked as she glared into those flat, pale eyes. Him.Hewas emitting all this coldness, as if the underground wasn’t frigid enough. She pulled free of his hold and rubbed her arms, trying to get some warmth into her. “I’ve been on my own for a long time, and I still breathe. I think I-I did a pretty good enough job—God, you’re like frost man!”
Instantly the biting cold surrounding her dissipated, but a nerve worked that hard, unshaven jaw. “This isn’t the time for idiotic bravery. I’m taking you to a safe place.”
“Idiotic bravery?” she bit out, blood thundering to her head. She fisted her backpack straps so she wouldn’t hit him. With her luck, she’d probably break her wrist on the ice-block, anyway. “I don’t needyourhelp.”
“Right now, I am all you have.” His eyes flashed like lightning in the gloom. Shadow could clearly see the diamond-hued striation breaking up his light green irises, giving them the icy hue. “No matter how well you fight, you won’t survive these gangs.”
“Then tell me what you’ve found out, and I will decide—eeep!” she shrieked as he shoved her behind him. “What the heck, Nik?” A trickle of sulfur burned her nose. Oh, shit. Her heart tripped, her gaze bouncing between the dingy open area where the tunnels split in two directions, searching for the smelly degenerates.
A chittering shattered the eerie silence. But these were no cockroaches. The acrid stench of rotten eggs clogged the dank air. Smoggy shapes quivered up from the ground, and several skeletal demons took on humanoid form, their sunken holes for eyes glinting red in the gloom.
“Go,” Nik barked at her. “Get topside now!”
Shadow snatched her iron dagger from her boot. Yeah, she could fight, but she wasn’t at her strongest due to her broken feeding. Still, she hesitated, torn at leaving him to singlehandedly face the horde.
Darn it. She pivoted and bolted into the fetid tunnel, flung a glance over her shoulder, and stalled. A smoky swirl distorted the dank air, and an ebony sword appeared in Nik’s hand, strange symbols glowing briefly on the dark metal.
Shadow blinked in astonishment. Heck, she shouldn’t be surprised. The guy could kill giant-ass red demons with ice spears he’d summoned out of thin air. Of course, he could summon a kickass weapon too.
The chittering demons rushed him, and the crazy man charged. She wanted to run back and help, but he was immortal. She, not so much. Besides, she’d be a liability right now. Ugh. She spun around and took off, rounding the bend in the tunnel.
As she neared the first maintenance hole leading to the surface, the single light on the tunnel wall flickered and died. She grasped the rusty ladder—
A palm slammed over her mouth from behind, a hint of sulfur clogging her nose.
Her heart in her throat, she lashed out at the demon with her dagger. He twisted her wrist. Her blade fell. Pain morphed into fury, and she elbowed the lowlife hard in the belly then kicked his ankle. He grunted, and his grip tightened brutally on her jaw.
Niiiiiik!she screamed in her mind. A futile gesture. The only ability she possessed since her change five years ago was her improved senses, not telepathy, but terror pressed down on her, and instinct was all she had left.
“Our leader awaits you,” the demon hissed in her ear.
The air around her spun as they flashed then reappeared again, God only knew where. Shadow stumbled, trying to find her footing, but her woozy head didn’t appreciate the sudden re-emergence.
More rugged stone walls surrounded her, along with massive moss-covered pillars. The plinking sounds of water crowded her ears. The granite in the underground bedrock groaned and creaked, and a slab of stone rolled open. The jerkwads shoved her into darkness. The dense, sulfuric stench burned her nose—as if this was a direct hole to Hell.
