Her Warriors' Three Wishes (Dante's Circle) (7 page)

She could endure that.

She was strong.

Jamie said it over and over in her head as a mantra, and Pyro chained her to the table and started cutting. The pain ripped through her with each tiny, precise slice. He cut into her leg, her hip, her side, and her arm. Blood ran in rivulets down her side, warm along her cooling body. She closed her eyes and focused on thoughts of her friends and Ambrose, even as her body shook from shock.

She’d survive. She had to.

When something wet licked at her hip, she opened her eyes and gasped. Pyro licked the blood off her, his eyes in ecstasy as she shuddered in revulsion.

“You taste sweet, like candy,” Pyro said as he licked his lips. “Not human, no, you have something in you.” He furrowed his brows and sucked on his lip. “I can’t tell what it is. Whatever happened to you isn’t finished yet. Something has to trigger it but hasn’t. You’re a mystery, Jamie. And I love mysteries, tearing them open so I can see every little piece of them.”

Fear weighed on her, heavier than the chains that held her to the table.

“Too bad for me that I have to get you to the games now. Fucking plans getting messed up.”

He slapped her hard, her head rolling to the side as she tried to blink to stay awake.

“Like I’d let you stay conscious while I take you to the games,” Pyro said as he backhanded her again. 

This time she saw only darkness.

When she woke next, she found herself lying on the floor, a metal collar around her neck, attached to a chain. Pyro held the other end. Oh, God, it wasn’t over. She looked around, even as her body ached, and didn’t recognize anything. Really, what did she know about hell?

Pyro was talking to another man, but she couldn’t hear what he was saying, not with her ears ringing and her head pounding. She looked around some more and held back a gasp. They were at a coliseum of some sort, like the ones in Rome, but not as rundown.

This must be the place for the games Pyro had been talking about.

The games that he must be selling her to now.

With the collar around her neck, there was no way to escape, not with the demons strolling around her, their horns in various shapes, sizes, and colors. Oh, God, it was just too much. Where were her ruby slippers so she could just go home and wake up from this nightmare?

She wasn’t Dorothy, and she was definitely not in Kansas anymore.

Pyro tugged on her chain, and she reached up to her collar so he wouldn’t choke her any more than he had. 

“I’ll put her in with the animal. He’ll make sure she doesn’t escape,” the other demon said.

Animal? Oh, God, what was he putting her in with? 

“Good, enjoy. She’s feisty,” Pyro said before turning to her. “Jamie dear, this is where we part. Thank you for doing your part.” He bent at the waist and traced a finger along her jaw. 

“Go to hell.”

“Already there, baby. It’s home. Don’t forget, you’re here too.” With that, Pyro handed her off to the other demon and walked away.

The demon didn’t say a word but tugged on her chain. It bit into her neck, and she stood on shaky legs so the thing didn’t decapitate or choke her. He led her through a doorway then through a maze of tunnels that must have been underground. Not that she really knew, but the stench of old water and mold told her it was the likely option. With each step, her bones ached, and the hallways grew colder.

Jamie wrapped her arms around herself, trying to keep any semblance of warmth she could. The demon didn’t talk, just merely grunted as he moved through the hall before he stopped in front of a room that looked like a prison cell, complete with bars. It was almost  complete darkness, save for the light from the hall.

He pulled on her chain, opened the door, and threw her in. She crashed into the floor, agony ricocheting up her arm as she hit hard. The demon unchained her and took off her collar. As soon as he did it, she tried to get up and run, but he was too fast. She let out a scream as he threw her against a wall, her body sliding down like a ragdoll.

“No escaping. You’ll die soon anyway.”

The demon slammed the barred door shut, and Jamie finally let the tears fall.

She was going to die.

There was no question.

She couldn’t fight them all, and Ambrose wasn’t coming.

Something shifted on the other side of the cell, and she pushed herself back against the wall.

“Who’s there?” she said, her voicing cracking, her throat sore from the collar.

“You’re human,” a deep voice rumbled.

“Yes, what are you?” she asked. She’d just remembered they said they’d put her in with something called “the animal.” Maybe she’d die here instead of in the actual games.

She didn’t really want to die. Not now, not anytime soon.

“I’m a wolf shifter,” the voice said as a truly feral-looking man stalked out from beneath the shadows. 

His hair met his shoulders in a slightly wavy brown. She could see the yellow of his eyes in the light. Definitely not human, even a little bit.

He wore only jeans that looked as if they’d seen better days and had the body of a god. A god that, apparently, wanted to kill her. Not that she knew it for sure, but since that seemed to be the normal turn of thought with the last people she’d seen, she could only think that.

“What is your name?” he asked as he knelt in front of her, curiosity in his gaze.

“Jamie,” she whispered as fear coated her tongue.

His nostrils flared, making him look like the wolf he claimed to be. “I’m Hunter.”

Hunter. So, now she knew the name of the man who wanted to kill her.

“Why are you here?” he asked.

“What?”

“Why are you here? What did you try to summon? Only stupid humans would dare do such a thing. No wonder you’re in this mess.”

She shook her head vehemently. “No, I didn’t summon anything. I swear. This demon, Pyro, had his goonies or whatever kidnap me from my home so he could kill my…my true half.” 

Hunter tilted his head again, as if considering what she’d said. “I won’t kill you, Jamie. If this demon really did take you away from your home, I’m sorry.” His eyes took a faraway look. “I was taken from my home as well.”

“I’m sorry,” she said. There really wasn’t anything more to say.

“You should get some rest. The games will start in the morning, or at least what passes for morning in hell. You’ll need all the energy you can get.”

“I’m human. I can’t fight the way they do.”

Hunter shook his head. “If they put us in the same cage, then you’ll fight with me against another. It’s good for their business to have pairs—it provides more gore and terror.” He flexed his fingers, as if looking at something on his hands that wasn’t there. “I’ve never lost a battle, not in all the years I’ve been here.”

Relief spread through her, though she knew it would probably only be short lived.

“Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me yet, Jamie. I don’t know all their plans. I’ll do what I can. Maybe your true half will come to save you.”

What if she didn’t want him to?  Not that she didn’t want to live. No, she totally wanted to. She just couldn’t bear the thought of Ambrose dying because of her.

There really didn’t look like there was much choice for her in any matter. In the morning, she’d wake and she’d fight.

She was strong.

At least, she had to keep telling herself that.

****

Hunter Brooks watched the human curl into a ball and pass out from sheer exhaustion. If she were to fight on her own, she’d die within moments unless the opponent wanted her to suffer. He couldn’t have that, not when she looked so small and helpless.

A curse for him, really.

He’d just have to save her too.

He looked down at his hands and swore he could still see the blood that had stained him for so long. He’d killed countless times to save himself, but he’d kill again to save another.

Was it worth it?

How much of his soul did he have left to lose?

Chapter 6

Balin slid the knife into its sheath at his waist and sighed. His body had weakened to a frighteningly low amount of energy. Not good if he wanted to save this human woman who may or may not have been his true half.

He ran his hand through his hair, his muscles tightening but tired. His true half? Could it really be that simple? Balin snorted. Okay, not simple, but at least there was a possibility, something that he hadn’t thought was possible. He didn’t know if he had the strength to survive what was coming, but he’d fight for her…and for himself nonetheless.

He had nothing to lose.

Not anymore.

Pyro had said he’d have Jamie at his home until he was done with her, then he’d sell her to the games for other demons’ enjoyment. Balin clenched his teeth at the reminder of what Pyro could be doing to Jamie at this moment, though the idea of what would happen once she reached the games sent a dose of ice down his back.

He quickened his steps, grabbed his pack, threw it over his shoulder, and said one last goodbye to the home that had sheltered him for so many years. No matter what happened  tonight, he’d never come back to this place. He’d either be dead or would find a way to get Jamie out of here.

Jamie.

He liked the way her name sounded on his lips, though it had taken placating Pyro to get the name from him in the first place. As Balin made his way to his father’s house through the caverns on the other side of his home, he thought about the woman he was going to save or die trying.

She had lustrous brown hair that he wanted to run his finger through, just to see if it was as soft as it looked. Her blunt bangs framed her face, and he knew they’d make her eyes stand out, whatever color they may be. He’d just have to take a closer look when she was conscious. Hell, it sounded weird when he put it like that. Her skin looked as though it was darker through genetics, not from the sun, much like his own. The caramel color practically begged for his tongue, something he’d enjoy testing out one day.

That was, if he made it through whatever came next.

Balin shook his head, pissed with himself. He had to stop thinking about things like that. 

He’d save her. He had to.

In his long life, he’d always had the notion of finding his true half, but he’d never put any real thought into who she might be, what she would look like, what she loved. He hadn’t wanted to put too much hope in a dream that most likely would never come true. 

He’d never thought about what he would do once he found her. Would he woo her? Would she know him on sight?

He wasn’t too sure in Jamie’s case, as she was human, but he’d always thought that maybe if she were another paranormal being, she’d know him for who he was. 

A demon with a heart.

Balin stopped where he was, ignoring the sharp rocks, the lava pools, and the heat from the fires around him.

A demon with a heart?

Really? 

That’s what he called himself now?

Hades, he sounded like a loon, a freaking weakling who didn’t deserve a true half.

And, really, he wasn’t sure he did. After all, he’d spent most of his life in his father’s dungeons, too drugged and beaten to be of any use. When he hadn’t been there, he’d been fighting against the other factions of demons because that’s how life prevailed in the deepest pits of hell.

He hadn’t had a choice as a younger demon, and much like Fawkes did now, Balin had wanted to prove himself beyond being the son of the infamous Pyro. When Balin had chosen not to take souls, but to live weaker than the rest and depend on the strength of his mind and spirit. Rather than just the strength of his sword-bearing arm, he’d shamed his father to the point he’d almost succumbed to temptation and fed off the lives of the innocent and not-so-innocent.

Balin had lived through it all, weakening but with his morals intact. He’d always known his fate would be death. He’d almost given up and let it take him.

Now he had something to live for.

Jamie.

He had to find her. Had to save her.

Had to sleep with her.

He winced at that last thought.

Though fighting for their lives would take all his energy and just might kill him, the thought of sleeping with his true half scared him more than the former.

He’d had his share of women before, demon and the like, but he’d never slept with his true half. How was he going to explain to a human that he needed her to spread her legs for him to live?

Hades, that sounded like the worst pick-up line in the history of bad pick-up lines.

What about his father’s enemy, Ambrose?

Pyro had thought Ambrose was Jamie’s true half, meaning Balin could be totally wrong in his thinking and going off to fight for a woman who would be his death anyway.

It didn’t matter. He’d find out exactly what she was to him and to Ambrose. He didn’t have a choice, not really. He could either die alone in his home, wishing for a better outcome, or he could fight for the woman who could be his savior.

Though the latter sounded like the hell he lived in, it was worth it.

It had to be.

Balin crept through the jagged rocks, aware he was on his father’s territory where he could be killed on sight since he hadn’t been invited.  He slid a knife into his hand, just in case. The heat from the red sky beat down on him, the heat draining whatever energy he had.

He just needed to make it to the entrance to the underground tunnels, and he’d be fine. Once he was out of the direct heat, he’d be able to recharge as much as he could without souls as he made his way to Pyro’s and eventually to wherever Jamie was being held.

The crunch of rock beneath a leather boot reached Balin’s ears, and he lowered his body behind a boulder, his senses on high alert. 

He gripped his knife, ready to take out whoever was there. He might have been weakening due to lack of souls, but that didn’t make him any less a fierce fighter. 

He swallowed the lie and listened.

An arrow shot past him, missing him by an inch, and he rolled to the side, throwing the knife as he did so. He heard a groan from his assailant, and Balin slid his sword from its scabbard and risked a peek to see who it was and how many there were. He let out a breath at the sight of a lone soldier, squared his shoulders, and ran out from behind the boulder.