Authors: Alexandra Ivy
Bound By Darkness (21 page)
Chapter 16
The dreams came again.
But this time Jaelyn wasn’t in the Addonexus training facility.
Not that the dungeons of the slave-auction house on the outskirts of Chicago were any better.
She stood in the middle of a barren cell, the air thick with the stench of trolls and her skin still scorched from the silver manacles that had been removed while she’d been unconscious. But despite her discomfort, she felt a stab of satisfaction as she paced toward the silver bars and glanced down the narrow path that ran past the numerous cells to the thick door at the far end of the cavernous room.
This was her first job as a full-fledged Hunter and she’d been anxious to prove she was worthy of her Ruah’s trust.
Of course she hadn’t expected to be asked to play the role of a vampire whore in the hopes of discovering what idiot possessed the cojones to kidnap vampires in the middle of a crowded brothel. Or for it to take nearly three weeks of prowling the local demon dives before she’d at last hit pay dirt.
She’d been ready to chuck in her dog-collar necklace, her see-through top, and three-inch fuck-me pumps that were an open invitation for any and every demon to put their hands on her ass before she at last had been approached by an imp who had lured her to a seedy backroom and slapped the silver cuffs on her. Then, with equal speed she found herself being shoved into a tiny silver box that had sucked the energy from her at an alarming rate.
Now she could only hope that this slave-auction house would give her the information she needed.
With no option but to remain in her self-imposed role while she waited to see what would happen, Jaelyn turned back to investigate her cramped cell, cautiously reaching for the cheap goblet that had been left on a wooden table in the center of the floor.
“I wouldn’t if I were you,” a soft voice whispered from the adjoining cell.
Jaelyn had already sensed the young nymph, as well as the harpy who was slumbering in the cell farther down the dungeon.
“Wouldn’t what?” she asked, glancing toward the golden-haired female, who had been stripped of her clothes to reveal her lush, perfect curves.
Nymphs were always beautiful; this one was drop-dead gorgeous.
“Drink the blood,” she clarified.
“Why not?”
“It’s laced with a drug that keeps a vampire unconscious. Sometimes for hours.”
Jaelyn set aside the goblet, her gaze never shifting from the female’s wide blue eyes.
She couldn’t detect any deception in the nymph, but that didn’t mean the young demon wasn’t an unwitting dupe to the villains who ran the nasty slave business.
“How long have you been here?”
“I’m not sure.” The female abruptly shuddered. “At least a couple of weeks.”
Jaelyn’s suspicions deepened. “You weren’t brought here for the auction?”
“I was.”
“Then why haven’t you been sold?”
The nymph abruptly wrapped her arms around her waist, as if she were cold.
“The guards prefer to keep me here for their entertainment. I suppose they’ll eventually tire of me and I’ll be taken upstairs.”
Jaelyn grimaced, attacked by an unfamiliar stab of pity. The wretched creature had obviously suffered at the hands of her captors, even if she didn’t have the physical scars to show.
“I’m sorry.”
“Yeah, so am I.” The nymph struggled to hide her misery behind a determined smile. “Oh, I’m Valla, by the way.”
A part of Jaelyn told her to turn away and ignore the chatty demon. She had a very specific agenda that didn’t include becoming BFFs with her fellow inmates. But her training warned that she couldn’t ignore such a potential source of information.
“I’m Jaelyn.”
“That’s pretty.” Valla tilted her head to the side, her glorious mane of hair tumbling over her shoulder. “Did you get to choose your own name?”
“No.” Jaelyn absently rubbed the raw skin of her wrists. She would need to feed before she could fully heal. “It was given to me by my maker.”
The nymph moved closer to the bars. “Are you injured?”
Jaelyn instantly dropped her hands. A Hunter never revealed weakness.
“I’ll recover.”
“If you need a drink I’ll share.” The female held her arm through the bars. “I’m not on drugs or anything.”
Jaelyn frowned, once again searching for some sign of deceit. Why would this female be so kind? For God’s sake, she was offering her vein to a complete stranger.
Surely there had to be an ulterior motive?
But no matter how deep Jaelyn searched she could find nothing but purity in the nymph’s soul.
Oddly disturbed, Jaelyn abruptly paced back toward the door of the cell to peer at the distant door.
“Are they all trolls?”
“Who?”
“The guards.”
“No.” The sharp scent of Valla’s fear filled the air. “There’s at least two imps and a pack of hellhounds who guard the exits. There’s no way out if that’s what you’re thinking. And if you try ... they’ll hurt you.”
“There’s always a way out.”
The nymph was momentarily speechless at Jaelyn’s cold confidence; then she gave a forced laugh.
“Yes well, I suppose a woman like you would think that way.”
Jaelyn turned to meet the faintly envious blue gaze. “A woman like me?”
Valla shrugged. “A warrior.”
“All women are warriors.”
Valla’s lips twisted. “Nice to think so.”
Jaelyn swallowed the urge to point out that the mere fact Valla had managed to survive two weeks in the dungeons of a slaver proved she was as tough as any soldier.
Focus, Jaelyn, focus.
“Who runs the place?”
“There’s a half-breed troll who is in charge of the auctions.”
“And?” Jaelyn prompted.
“There’s something ...” She wrinkled her nose in disgust. “Else.”
Something else?
That covered a lot of territory.
“What?”
Valla lowered her voice until it was barely a whisper. “A monster.”
Jaelyn moved closer to her new friend, sensing that she was coming close to discovering precisely what was making vampires disappear.
“A demon?” she pressed.
“I don’t know exactly what it is, but whenever they bring in a vampire it comes out of the cellars and drags them down there.”
Jaelyn followed the direction of Valla’s pointed finger, noticing the faint outline of a hidden door on the back wall of the cell.
“You don’t know what species it is?”
The nymph shrugged. “It’s something I’ve never seen before... .” Her eyes abruptly widened as the stench of old leather suddenly filled the air. “Oh no. That’s it.”
“Sssh.”
Motioning for the nymph to return to her narrow cot on the far side of her cell, Jaelyn moved to overturn the table, allowing the goblet and its nasty contents to drain into the dirt floor. Then, lowering herself to the floor, she stretched out as if she’d been struck unconscious, careful to make sure she could see the hidden door.
She had barely arranged herself to her satisfaction when the door slowly swung inward and a large form squeezed through the opening to step into the cell.
Peeping beneath her lowered lashes, Jaelyn barely repressed a shudder of disgust.
A vicious cross between a gargoyle and an ogre, the creature had dark, armor-like skin and a ridge of spines that ran from the base of its large, misshapen head down between its leathery wings to the tip of his long tail. Its short arms ended with clawed hands, as did his powerful legs, and when it turned toward Jaelyn she shuddered as she caught sight of its face.
Even by demon standards the thing was butt-ugly.
It had the grotesque features of gargoyles with beady crimson eyes and a snout with flaps over its nostrils. It also had a mouthful of razor-sharp teeth it proudly displayed.
But Jaelyn wasn’t fooled by the loutish cruelty etched into the face. There was an unmistakable intelligence shimmering in his eyes that was more dangerous than all his brute strength.
Remaining motionless, Jaelyn watched as the mongrel sniffed the air before it cautiously began to shuffle in her direction.
She didn’t so much as twitch a muscle as it halted near her feet, reaching out to poke her calf with a claw that was at least three inches long. She would bet good money that the creature was like most ogres, who preferred their meals to be alive and struggling.
The thing no doubt intended to drag her down to its private lair and wait for her to wake before it tried to eat her.
There was another poke; then the mongrel grabbed her around the ankle and began to drag her toward the back of the cell.
Knowing she’d only have one shot at catching the creature off guard, she remained limp until his head turned to glance toward the opening. His brief distraction was all she needed and, jerking her ankle free of his claws, she used the motion to rise to her feet and slammed her hand into his snout as he turned in shock.
She felt bone and cartilage shatter beneath her blow, but while the creature bellowed in pain, he remained upright and seriously pissed off.
Moving with surprising speed considering his heavy bulk, the thing grasped Jaelyn around the neck, ignoring the spikes of her dog collar, which bit into his thick hide, and lifting her to meet his glowing crimson gaze.
“Bitch,” he hissed, the word barely distinguishable between the sharp teeth.
Jaelyn smiled with cold anticipation, already knowing exactly where she would strike the killing blow.
“You’ve been a very naughty boy,” she mocked, hanging loosely in his grasp. “You should have known the vampires would come searching for you. We don’t like being prey.”
The thing wheezed out what she assumed was a laugh. “Tasty leeches. Yum, yum.”
He leaned forward to lick a rough tongue over her cheek.
A revolting mistake that Jaelyn made him pay for ... with interest.
While he was occupied with his pre-dinner snack, Jaelyn was swinging her leg forward, landing a perfect blow to his manly bits, which were swollen with arousal.
As expected, the brute lost his grip on her as he doubled over in pain, but Jaelyn didn’t take time to appreciate her handiwork. Instead she used his contorted position to her advantage as she wrenched off her shoe and with one smooth motion had the three-inch heel stuck in the bastard’s eye.
With another bellow, the creature reeled backward, struggling to remove the shoe as the blood poured down his naked chest. Jaelyn smiled as she deliberately removed her other shoe and stalked forward. The heels were made from a combination of lead and silver since they hadn’t known exactly what sort of creature she’d be facing.
As luck would have it, a perfect blend to destroy the mongrel.
Hurray for her.
Sensing her approach, the demon lifted his head, swinging a clawed hand at her head. Jaelyn easily ducked the clumsy blow, and without the least amount of regret, she lifted the shoe and punched it into his other eye.
Screaming in pain the creature flailed forward, his arms swinging and his wings flapping as the metal in the heels allowed him to swiftly bleed to death.
Jaelyn stepped back and waited for nature to take its course, deeply relieved she didn’t have to actually drain the nasty thing to kill it.
On the downside, it seemed to take forever for the beast to collapse to the floor as the last of his life drained into the dirt.
“Jaelyn, the guards are coming,” the voice of Valla warned.
“Shit.”
Too well trained to leave a mark before she was certain it was dead, Jaelyn bent over the mongrel and allowed her senses to search some sign of his life force. Only when she was convinced that the beast was dead did she tug off the dog collar and remove the key that was enchanted to fit in any lock.
A handy little item.
Careful not to touch the silver bars, Jaelyn swiftly unlocked the cell door and allowed it to swing open. She had just stepped into the pathway when Valla reached out of her cell to brush her fingers over Jaelyn’s shoulder.
“Help me.”
Jaelyn stiffened, desperately refusing to glance at the vulnerable young female.
She was here on a mission. Which meant she didn’t have the luxury of caring what happened to the nymph. After all, if she dared to help Valla escape then the Addonexus would only hunt her down and kill her. Just to teach Jaelyn a lesson.
“I can’t.”
“Please,” the female begged. “Please, don’t leave me.”
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