Mate to the Demon Kings by Lacey Carter Andersen
22
Ryder groanedand pressed his fists against his eyes. A headache that was like a raging bull pounded through his mind. He stiffened when he felt wetness.
Drawing his hand back, he blinked into the small light that hung far above his head. When his gaze focused on his hand, he saw dark blood.
Memories came back to him, sharp and horrible. He sat up in a rush of movement, and his hands shot out, striking the bars of the cage that imprisoned him.
Gritting his teeth, he willed himself to bend the bars, but they didn’t move. Not an inch. His breathing grew faster. He shuffled closer to the bars and pressed his face between them.
They were in a dark building with only a few bulbs dangling overhead. The only thing within the room were row after row of cages. Some of the shapes within the cages looked familiar, but he didn’t spot his brothers among them.
He opened his mouth to shout for them, when he heard a noise. A whispering. Straining his ears, he listened closely.
“Sharen made it through the portal.”
“Good.” The voice that spoke caused every hair on Ryder’s body to stand on end. It held power and darkness. Something that went beyond the deep, raspy quality of it. It was as if Ryder’s very soul recognized something terrible about the man who spoke.
“But there was a problem,” the other person whispered. The woman’s voice was gentle, almost familiar. “Some of the demons survived.”
“Survived?” The man’s voice held nothing. Not surprise. Not anger. Just acceptance. “How is that possible? A group of frightened, weaponless creatures defeated the entirety of the hunter army?”
“I…it appears so.”
The man didn’t speak for a long time. “She used her powers. It’s the only possibility.”
“That was my thought,” the woman rushed out, too quickly.
“And she’s getting stronger.”
Ryder heard footsteps, someone pacing back and forth.
“That cannot be allowed,” the man said. “Something must be done.”
“But, you see, that’s why I imprisoned her people. She’ll have to come here. She’ll want to save them.”
There was another long time when no one spoke, before the man’s frightening voice came again. “I will consult the Fate. If Sharen becomes too powerful, I will be forced to kill her and her demons, regardless of the cost.”
“Yes, my lord,” the woman whispered.
“Either way,” the man continued, “when she gets here, we’ll have a very painful surprise waiting for her.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Ryder heard the sound of a door opening, then closing. He waited for several long minutes, then began to whisper his brothers’ names.
No matter what, they couldn’t allow Sharen to step into a trap.
But even when his whispers turned to shouts, his brothers didn’t answer. Nor did the bars on his cage bend.
To be continued…
Want to read the final part in Sharen’s story? Pick up Dark Powers.
