“Then you never have to worry about turning into someone like me.”
She chuckled as she finished pinning the last of the bandage. “Ah, you’re not so bad.” She sat back on her haunches and smiled. But he could see the sorrow in her face. She knew as well as he did that his injuries were serious. That no amount of joking was going to make them go away.
He patted her leg, grabbed the pack, and lay down with it under his head. “Get some sleep, kid.
We’ll get an early start.” He closed his eyes. “Kat’s probably wondering where in the hell we are already.”
A few moments later, he felt her move away and heard the rustle of the tent as she slid in.
Opening his eyes, he stared at the night sky. Millions of stars twinkled down at him, and he felt very small and insignificant.
Was Kat waiting for him? He couldn’t be sure. To her, he was dead. She had watched him hang before they had sped out of the village. He wished he could send her a message.
Shutting his eyes again, he willed himself to dream. Maybe he could find her there and let her know he was coming.
Death would not stop him.
K
at jerked awake when the vehicle braked to a dead stop. Or had something else woken her?
Thoughts of Hades, broken and bleeding, were still fresh in her mind. Had she been dreaming of him again?
Blinking, she tried to focus on the night. Her eyes were still sore and achy from the sun glare of the day before. She was surprised she could even see. The flesh on her arms and hands were another story altogether.
She could barely move them without her skin breaking open, blood and puss oozing out grotesquely. Her wrists were open sores. By the time her skin tried to knit back together, a shift in position or the pull on the chain just tore the skin all over again. Due to the pain shooting up her arms, she’d be surprised if she didn’t have an infection.
Finally her eyes adjusted, and she was able to make out a yellow glow coming from the front of the transport. Was it a fire or just the light from the headlamps on the vehicle?
Mustering enough energy to lift her head, Kat peered over the seat to see why they had stopped.
It wasn’t a fire or the headlamps of the transport that caused the illumination. It was something she’d never seen before, not even in the few small towns she’d been to.
Two tall metal posts with lanterns hanging from the tops flanked a high wooden gate. The lights weren’t lit by flame but by electricity. There were four large men with rifles standing guard at the gate, and there was a small sign that hung from the wood. Its letters were crooked, as though a child had written them. The words WELCOME TO INFERNO were painted on the gray metal sign.
Painted blood red.
Inferno City
.
A sense of dread surged up her spine. Or was that the feeling of being so close to Baruch? If she paused for a moment and concentrated, she could feel his presence. She had an impression that he knew she had arrived and was anxiously waiting to see her. That thought made her shiver again.
Sar was out of the vehicle, talking with one of the guards. After a few minutes, they both turned and looked at her. She could just imagine what the little rodent was saying.
“Look, behold, the
great Hell Kat. I caught her.”
Soon she hoped she’d get the chance to squish the life out of the little bastard.
With a curt nod, the guard took a distancing step away and motioned to the other guards on duty to open the gate. Sar slid back into the passenger’s seat and grinned maliciously at her.
“Welcome to your new home, pussycat. Baruch will be delighted to see you.”
Kat slunk down into the transport’s bed as they drove through the gates, too tired to waste her words with a clever retort. She was going to need all her strength, all the energy she could possibly muster, if she was going to survive long enough to have her revenge.
If she was going to die in Inferno, she’d make sure she took some of the assholes down with her.
Sar and Baruch were the highest on her list.
Sar would be easy. He was weak and easily manipulated. She would need all her energy for Baruch.
Already she could feel him digging in her mind, planting erotic images of their union, and brushing his energy against hers. The moment they entered the city, she could feel a slight caressing of her skin, as if fingers trailed up and down her body.
Shuddering, she tried to focus on something else besides the growing sense of lust. While they drove, Kat concentrated on the surroundings. Subconsciously mapping out buildings, places to hide, and escape routes.
Inferno was nothing she had expected. She’d heard about the great vibrant city. A place where the decadence, vigor, and violence of the past still thrived. All she witnessed was the same dirt, decay, and desolation of every other town she’d been to.
People milled about in the dirt streets, faces drawn and marked with filth. Shanties made from old wood and leftover pieces of aluminum metal lined the roads. Homes not fit for animals. But families of four or five lived there. Children with torn clothing, hugging broken toys, stared at her as they passed by.
This could not be Inferno City. What could this place possibly offer Baruch? Besides a source of food, she couldn’t fathom a reason he would’ve set up camp here. Because she knew he was here for a reason. Baruch was an intelligent being and did things to benefit himself. But of what profit could this place be to him?
The vehicle stopped. Sar and the driver jumped out. Seconds later, the tailgate dropped and Sar was pulling on her chains. She didn’t fight him this time.
He looked surprised when she rolled out of the vehicle without a word. But Sar wasn’t entirely stupid. He kept her wrists shackled together and kept hold of the chain so she couldn’t run.
Another guard met them. He was just as large as the other men attending the gate. Kat wondered if that was how they grew them out here. Big and complacent.
He led them to an unremarkable brick building with a slanted roof. Once inside, Kat scanned the surroundings again, looking for doors, windows, places to hide, anything that might help her in the future. What she saw was a gutted old warehouse. Dirt and debris scattered everywhere. They kept walking.
Finally they came to a box-shaped contraption made out of rusty metal pipes with a short metal gate. The guard opened the gate and motioned for them to enter the box. Sar went in, pulling on her to follow. Another two Dwellers followed her in, and then the guard brought up the rear.
He shut the little gate and pulled on a lever. The floor underneath them moved, and they started to descend into the ground.
Another underground city. She should’ve figured that. Being so sensitive to light, Baruch would want a place where he could roam without worrying whether he’d be barbecued or not.
The moment they passed the first level of concrete, Kat understood the rumors she’d heard about Inferno City. She understood why Baruch had come here.
The smells hit her first.
Floating up her nose were a plethora of aromas so delectable she started to salivate. The greasy scent of fried foods, the pungent odor of human sweat, the yeast of fresh-baked bread, and the sweet flavor of cinnamon wafted over her. The remarkable and interesting bouquet caused her to lick her lips and peer around hungrily at the surroundings as they descended.
She’d never seen so many people before. As the crowd was crammed together on four levels of metal overhangs and walkways, crisscrossed over a huge open area, she couldn’t tell if the people were coming or going. Glancing down, she saw the area that they were descending into was a type of marketplace. What looked like hundreds of carts and storefronts stood open and bustling with people of all occupations. The sound was almost deafening as people haggled over wares and talked shop.
Although everything seemed to be hectic and confusing, a baffling ball of chaos, Kat did notice that there were guards stationed on every level. Someone still had control over this place, even if it didn’t look that way. Maybe Hades’ warning about Satarah wasn’t unfounded. Kat guessed she’d soon see as the lift came to a stop at the bottom, and two different guards ushered them out. Again, both were huge and dumb looking. Obviously someone favored muscle-bound males with not too much upstairs, with all their brains in their pants.
Kat smiled wistfully, thinking that she had thought of Hades like that when she first met him. He had proved her wrong rather quickly with his charming wit and strength of character. Her smile faded when she remembered that beautiful muscular frame swinging from a rope.
“Satarah is expecting you,” one of the big guards said as he pointed toward a large metal door with the sign EXIT over it. Another two guards flanked the door.
When they neared the door, one of the guards opened it and stepped to the side. The moment the door opened, Kat forgot about the hustle and bustle of the people behind her and the strangeness of the city and immediately thought of Baruch. She could feel him here. As if he were standing next to her, his dark eyes drinking in his fill of her body. She trembled violently and wanted to squeeze her eyes shut to block out the sight of him naked and smiling, his hand stretched out toward her.
Sar must have noticed her trepidation. “What’s the matter, pussycat? Scared?” He chuckled and pulled her over the threshold.
As they walked down a narrow, drab hallway, Kat ignored Sar’s comments and tried to put one foot in front of the other, when, in reality, she wanted to slide to the ground and curl into a ball.
She knew meeting Baruch again would be difficult. But the contradicting sensations that surged over her were almost too much to bear. Loathing and fury for the Dweller raged over her like wildfire. But, at the same time, raging hot desire boiled inside. She could feel it leak out from between her legs with every step as her thighs quivered in anticipation. She wanted Baruch between them. But in the same thought, she imagined poking her thumbs into his eyes and ripping them out, delicious hot blood gushing over her.
Her stomach roiled. Coming to a halt, Kat bent over and vomited on the ground. Nothing but bile came up, as Sar had conveniently forgotten to feed her anything. Her last meal had been with Hades in his kitchen before Dwellers invaded the small village.
Sar yanked her up. “C’mon, bitch, Baruch won’t wait all night for you.”
Yes, he will
. Kat had a feeling Baruch would wait an eternity for her. He was obsessed. She could feel his obsession digging at her mind like an earthworm in fresh black soil.
At the end of the hallway, they came to another door. The leading guard knocked twice and then opened it, stepping in. Sar went through and pulled her along into a whole other world.
The first thing Kat noticed was the color. Explosions of vibrant color were everywhere. On the walls, on the floor, and on the stunning redheaded woman smiling at them in greeting.
Satarah
.
Kat felt a strange pull at her mind when she glanced up at the woman.
“Welcome to my city.” Her voice was low and husky. A voice for sex. She addressed the lot of them, but her eyes were only for Kat. Kat could feel them trying to penetrate her mind.
Kat shut her eyes, trying to keep the woman out. The rumors Hades had heard had been right.
The woman had some sort of power.
Baruch was here, standing close. She could feel his heat embracing her as if he had already wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug. Licks of pleasure radiated up her legs. She wanted to clamp them together to shut out the roving psychic appendage. But it was too strong. Kat nearly moaned when she felt the probe tickling her at her very center. Instantly her sex started to tick like a clock.
Kat opened her eyes and met his gaze. He didn’t look any different. Long black hair cascaded over broad shoulders. Skin pale and flawless. And eyes that promised so much pain and so much pleasure she licked her lips in anticipation.
She wasn’t strong enough to resist him. She’d been a fool thinking she might have a chance. His power over her had only increased in the past seven months. He’d had time to seethe over her escape, how she’d gotten away from him with his stolen merchandise. She glanced down at his arm and noticed the absence of his left hand. Although Dwellers were remarkable healers, Kat knew he couldn’t grow back his hand. She was certain she’d pay for that as well.
Taking a step toward her, he grinned. “Yes, welcome to Inferno City. I’m so glad you could come, Katarina, my love.”
He held out his hand to her. She felt the pull instantly. Swallowing down the bile that rose in her throat, Kat glided to him as if she were floating on air.
H
ades didn’t want to open his eyes. Without seeing, he knew exactly where he was, once again. He could feel it all around him like a wet, sticky fog. The dream world had become so ingrained in his life he could walk through it blind. And that’s what he wanted to do now.
Because he knew what he was going to witness, and he didn’t think he could keep himself sane if he did.
“Don’t you want to see her, Hades?”
The voice floated to him on a whisper of air and caressed him like a lover. Hades quivered with revulsion. He knew that voice and hated it. However, the words prompted him finally to open his eyes.
Kat was there, just as he knew she would be. And so was Baruch.
She was seated on the edge of a silk-covered bed, dressed in a filmy black gown that revealed more than it covered. Baruch was kneeling on the bed behind her, his hand stroking her head as if he were petting a loyal animal.
“So beautiful, my Katarina,” he purred as he traced his finger over her lips. They parted on a sigh, and her eyes fluttered closed.
“She’s not yours, asshole.” Hades took a step toward the bed, his hands fisted at his sides. He was vibrating with fury.
“Isn’t she?” Baruch smiled, his elongated fangs peeking out from between his full red lips. He moved his hand down, trailing his fingers over her neck and down to her breasts. With one swift pull, the flimsy fabric covering her tore open, revealing her perfect pale flesh.