Page 2 of The Gods We Defy (All Gods Must Die #2)
CHAPTER 2
M y body awakens slowly. The only thing pulling me from the depths of slumber and peace is the tempting smell of food hitting my nose.
I crack my eyelids open, hoping my mind isn’t playing a horrible trick on me. My eyes recognize the cell I was in when I first woke up here, but I push that to the back of my mind as my gaze lands on the large plate of food and a jug of what I hope is water two feet away from me.
Scrambling upright, I move toward it and sniff for any poisons. Nothing obvious hits my senses, but that doesn’t mean it’s not dosed. There are many poisons that have no smell at all, but there are other signs. The change of coloring in the food. The texture and overall look of it.
Even though I don’t trust anyone in here, I doubt they would want to kill me off so soon. Not after I gave them what they were looking for. A fight.
I must be in some type of underground fighting complex. There were definitely people watching from above and most likely exchanging coin. I’m merely a form of entertainment to them.
I dig into the bread and meat, forcing myself to go slow as my stomach grumbles in joy. I’ll make myself sick if I eat too quickly. I may also have to hide some for later in case they decide not to be so gracious again.
I don’t know how long I’m going to be here. But what I do know is that my powers are gone. At least for now. Whoever is running this place is strong. Powerful. Powerful enough to block both of my abilities.
I will need to find out as much information as possible if I am to stand a chance to not only survive but also to escape.
Feeling steadier and stronger with a full stomach, I rip off a piece of my top and wrap the rest of the bread in it before hiding it in the corner of the cell.
Slowly drinking half of the jug of water, I take in my surroundings. Nothing has changed since I was last here. The hay is still dirty and smells just as vile. The small flames are still lit outside my cell along the wall. Still as bright as they were before, as if lit by magic and will never go out. Another measure of power this place seems to have in endless supply.
The sounds of movement reach my ears and my eyes dart toward the passageway. I hide the rest of my jug of water with my bread and move closer to the bars of my cell, waiting and watching. But after a few minutes, no one walks in.
I wait another moment, staying as still as possible, when I hear it again. But the sound comes from somewhere on my left, in the cell beside me.
“Hello?” I call out and the movement stops. “Who’s there?” I ask, but no one answers.
Sighing to myself, I try to think of something that will make this other prisoner talk but can think of nothing.
Leora’s face flashes across my mind, reminding me that she’s still missing and might also be forced to fight somewhere in this place.
“Look. I know you’re scared,” I say, speaking toward the left wall in my cell now that I know there is someone there. Someone who is more than likely just as frightened and hopeless as I feel right now. “I was also brought here against my will. But if you can tell me anything that you might know. If you saw who brought me in here or if a woman with brown hair is also here, I’ll try to help you as much as I can. You have my word.”
“Your word means nothing in here,” a deep, raspy voice answers. “I’d advise you not to make promises to others that will most definitely turn around and kill you without a second thought.”
“I—” Movement sounds out from the front of my cell and a man in a long dark cloth comes into view in front of the barred cell.
“You’re not a prisoner,” I point out, feeling foolish for speaking out loud and mentioning Leora. I might have very well put her in danger.
“I’m not a guard either,” he replies and removes his hood to reveal dark eyes and an iron mask. His long white hair sits straight at the sides of his masked face, his pointed ears uncovered.
“Then who are you?” I ask. He might not be one of the ones that put me in here, but in order for him to move freely about means he has some sway in this place. Or at the very least, he knows my captors and helps them do whatever twisted activity they have set up here.
He dips his head in greeting. “Someone you might want you to listen to.” There’s an edge to his tone. A warning.
I clench my hands at my sides as my pulse races in rage. “Is that a threat?”
“No. You will die here. That I can promise you. And I will have no hand in it. They will make you fight every second day. If you win, you will be granted food. If you lose, you will starve. No one will find you down here. We are too far underground. Hidden with a power that has amassed over decades. Whatever injuries you get will never be healed, so you will have to make do. They will force you to fight over and over again, until there is only a shell of you left. And when that shell finally gives up fighting, when they finally break you, you will die,” he says with absolute conviction in his voice.
My stomach drops, twisting into knots that reach up into my chest and tighten, suffocating me. The thought alone of being stuck here, fighting for survival and never seeing my family and friends again sounds like my worst nightmare.
“Why should I trust you?” I swallow hard against the large knot now forming in my throat, making it feel swollen and raw.
“You shouldn’t,” he says with a sigh as a deep exhaustion and sadness fills his voice. “Nor should you trust anyone here. The only reason I’m here is because I saw you fight. You’re different from the others they’ve brought in. You’re calm. Intelligent. You can fight well and have unique skills. And your lineage is something I need.”
“My lineage?”
“You’re a Caligo. But a powerless one now with the magic of this place blocking it.”
My body stiffens at his words. “How did you?—”
He tilts his head towards me, his eyes scanning my face. “Your ears are not pointed. And there is a softness in your eyes, an innocence that tells me you have not lived within the fae lands. Have not seen or felt the harshness and devastation our world holds… because of the gods.”
“What do you want?” I ask, dreading his reply and what I might have to do to get out of here.
He moves closer to the cell, his dark eyes lighting up. “I want to make a deal with you.”
I narrow my eyes on him. “My friend told me never to make a deal with a fae, especially one I don’t trust.” I got lucky with Veles. I could have been bound to someone cruel, who took advantage of the vow between us.
“Your friend is smart. But right now, you have no other choice. I can get you out of here… if you accept my deal,” he promises.
“Or you could get me out of here without asking for something in return. You could do it out of the kindness of your heart.”
“My heart is neither kind nor soft. You will not change my mind with a few heartfelt words and a pretty smile. I came to you for nothing other than making a deal. I will get you out of here. That alone will be hard enough. But if you choose to take this deal, I will need something in return for my help. Something that will be the cost of saving your life and freeing you from this place.”
“And what is it you want me to do in return for your… help? ” Maybe I could get out of here myself. I haven’t been here long. I might be able to figure a way to remove the block like the one in the guard’s maze.
He stays silent, watching me for a moment before speaking. “I can see the defiance in your eyes and the sliver of hope still there. You still think you can escape this place. You have not seen nor felt the true darkness of this place, nor the power it beholds.” He straightens up and moves a step back and my stomach drops, filling with dread as he takes a step away.
“I will be back in two weeks. Two weeks will be more than enough time for you to see how horrible this place truly is. How bleak and hopeless it will make you feel. You will see by then that making a deal with me is your only way out. That is… if you survive long enough.” He turns with an air of confidence and leaves without a backward glance, while everything inside me fills with panic and dread.
Something deep inside tells me these two weeks are going to be hell and that by the time they’re over, I will be begging him to get me out of here.