Page 99

“Hi, Lenny, I’m Sutton.”

“Hi.”She jolted when Kurgan pressed his snout to the bars and scented her with bared teeth.

“I know you’re scared.I am too.But we don’t know how long we’ve got until they come back.If we’re going to get out of here, we need to make a move now.”

“How?I’m in this cage, and you’re chained.And I heard what that demon said, even if we can get out of this cavern, there are more, they’re everywhere, and we don’t know the way out.”

“I’m pretty sure I can get us free, but we’ll need to take the hounds with us.Brick’s family is worried sick, and Kurgan”—I saw Lenny flinch again—“can protect us.”

She shook her head, her eyes wild.“He’ll kill me if he gets the chance.He’ll kill all of us.He’s insane.”

The chains were long enough that I could twist, so I faced the jagged rocks behind me.“I’ve seen inside him, Lenny.He doesn’t want to hurt you, that’s the last thing he wants.He’s in agony over what happened, that he hurt you last time.I think…I know…” I hissed as I scraped my chest against the sharp rocks, tearing at my skin.“If you show him you’re in control, if you command him to stand down, he will.”

She stood.“What are you doing?”

“Poe carved a sigil into my chest.If I can damage it enough, I can break the bind he has on my magic.”Or at least I hoped so.

She watched me wide-eyed, then turned to Kurgan, before her gaze came back to me.“There’s no controlling him.”

“No one knows we’re here, and I don’t know if the other hounds can track us between realms.We either make a break for it while we can, or we stay down here, prisoners for the rest of our lives, and suffer in a whole lot of really awful ways.”I wasn’t trying to freak her out more, but it was the truth.

She bit her lip, trembling again now.“I’m scared.”

“I know, me too.But we have to be brave.”

She nodded, licking her lips.“Okay.I…I can try.”

I whimpered as I scraped my chest against the rocks once more, making another slice in my already damaged skin, and felt the bind finally give way and my magic rush forward.I used the surge of power, sending it into the cuffs around my wrists.I was already bleeding, and the blood strengthened it even more.“Break these binds, set me free, demon iron cannot contain me.”Not the best spell I’d ever come up with, but it was all I could think of right then.

I hissed, straining, forcing more magic into the cuffs, reciting the spell again and, finally, they fell away.Blood rushed back, causing agonizing pins and needles to travel from my hands to my shoulders.I shook them out, needing all my strength.I strode toward Brick.He spun, snarling and snapping at me.

“I know you’re in there, Brick.I need you to fight the hold on you long enough for me to get that cuff off you, okay?”He bared his teeth.I had no idea if he could understand what I was saying, but I hoped he understood at least some of it.

“Be careful,” Lenny said, gripping the bars.Kurgan paced, his low growl so deep I felt it from the soles of my feet to the top of my head.

Searching the ground, I found a sharp rock.I needed to destroy the parent sigil stamped into the collar.I just had to stay alive long enough to break it.

I lifted my hands.“If you bite my head off, you’ll be down here forever,” I said as I closed in.“If you kill me, you’ll be stuck here living with Beelzebub.I know you don’t want that.”

Brick’s head tilted to the side, his lips still peeled back as a growl vibrated from him.He was going to attack, the demon powers in that iron cuff were too strong.Reaching down slowly, I picked up another rock.I had no idea if this would work, but it was all I had in that moment and time was running out.

Without waiting, or allowing myself to overthink it and chicken out, I tossed the rock and it smashed against the wall.Brick spun toward the sound and I ran at him, leaping onto his wide, furry back and hung on.

He instantly spun around, bucking and snarling, while I clung to the metal around his neck, trying to hang on.Gritting my teeth, and with all my strength and a huge push of magic, I slammed the rock down onto the iron.Sparks burst from the impact.Brick bucked harder, jarring me, my teeth snapping together hard from the impact.I was going to fall off any second, and he would tear me to shreds.

Bringing my hand up again, I slammed the rock down on the sigil a second time.Sparks exploded from the steel again as I went flying, hitting the ground hard and knocking the air from my lungs.

Brick spun around, eyes red, foam dripping from his lower jaw.He prowled toward me, and I scrambled back, trying to get out of striking range.He pounced, leaping in the air toward me.His chain caught him short, yanking him back hard, and as it did, the iron cuff around his throat shattered where I had broken the sigil.

A naked Brick landed hard on the stone floor.He jumped to his feet, swaying to the side, but caught himself, then shook his head wildly.

He blinked down at me, then stumbled again.“Sutton?”He looked around the room, then back to me.

I got to my feet and rushed to him, wrapping my arms around his waist, and he squeezed me tight.“Your brothers, your parents have been so worried about you.”I looked up at him and held his strong jaw in my hands.“I’ve been worried about you.”

He tried to give me one of his cocky grins, but it didn’t reach his eyes.“I’m okay.”He rubbed his head.“The fuckers snatched me out of my female’s bed.She asked me over…then…” His brows lowered.“She let them in, she knew them.”He cursed.“She served me up to fucking Beelzebub.”

“I know and I’m sorry.We’ll make sure she pays for what she did, but right now, we need to move while Beelzebub’s gone.I need your help to free Lenny and Kurgan.”