Forged by Fate (12 page)

Another swing yielded the same results.

Sadie stood only feet from Theo, mouth open and eyes wide.

Mavet daggers. On the floor in the corner. See them?

She jerked and looked around.

Sadie. Hear me.
Theo called out to her with what was left of his waning energy. So many wounds. He needed time to regenerate.

She stopped and stared. “Is that you?”

“Listen to him if he’s speaking to you.” Justin tried again at the chains.

The Mavet daggers can break through the chains.

Roars penetrated the pungent air, and Sadie jumped.

The corner, love.

She sprinted the five steps separating her from the weapons. She shoved her nunchakus into her back pocket and grabbed the daggers. “Justin, try these.” She held them up.

“Um, that’d be a no. You try them.”

“Oh.” She shook her head. “Forgot.” She hurried to Theo’s side. The slab of granite was so high she couldn’t get a good angle. She took one step back and jumped. Like a cat, she perched beside Theo and swung.

The chain snapped. She hopped over his body and swung again. Finally free, he reached for her. She shifted out of reach with a grimace. He went to move, but his ankles met resistance.

Oh, yes, more restraints. She went to work on them and within seconds, he was free.

But at that same moment, four demons stormed the room.

Chapter Twenty

The lightweight Mavet daggers worked more efficiently than her nunchakus. Sadie poked freely, and anything she stabbed froze. She’d thought this was a final death weapon.

Speak the words
.

Theo’s soft voice whispered to her soul, and what followed next surprised her into a state of shock.

“
Reverto ut Abyssus
,” she said as she stabbed a demon. He vaporized, but not like before. There was a loud
crack
as the black soot plumed. Like thunder sounded.

Even more confusing, she didn’t know Latin. Well, she knew a few words, but nothing like this.

A blade sliced her down the arm, and a fire erupted beneath her flesh. Tendrils of pain spread and closed around her chest.

“No!” Theo yelled.

The stab she’d taken instantly numbed her fingers, and she dropped the dagger.

With her free hand, she swiped as she ducked. Her knees met the unforgiving granite floor, but she said the words again as she cut the demon, and it vanished with a loud
pop
.

Justin grunted. “Come on, Theo. Move.” He’d hoisted Theo up, dragging him to Sadie. “Sadie. Behind you.”

She rolled and hopped to her feet. Two six-foot demons charged, fire in their eyes, fangs dropped, and weapons drawn.

She tossed the one Mavet she still had at the demon on the left, then dived for the dagger she’d dropped. Grabbing it, she struck out and buried it to the hilt in the other demon’s side. She said the words, and they both vaporized.

“Holy shit! How is she doing that?” Justin asked.

Theo mumbled, but it wasn’t understandable.

“Hold that thought, brother.” He nodded toward Sadie. “Ready to leave?”

Was she ever. She grabbed the weapons and led the way, keeping Justin and Theo in her sights as much as she could.

The black walls flanking them stretched on forever. They were sitting ducks here in this tunnel. Why weren’t the creatures attacking? Justin, Sadie, and Theo were easy prey right now.

“Move. Hurry,” Justin said.

Sadie glanced around. “Where are they?”

“Regrouping. No doubt they’re aware of you and your…power.” He grunted. “Hang with me, brother. Focus. Heal.”

Lines of fire etched up Sadie’s skin from her forearm. Tight as a noose, the tendrils squeezed. She coughed through it and used the wall to steady herself.

“Hold on, Sadie.”

“I’m fine.” She would fight this crap raging through her until Theo was well enough to heal her. She was strong. Had to be. For him and for her.

A horn sounded in the distance and she stopped. “And what the hell was that?”

“Battle horn. Hurry. Left at the next turn,” Justin said.

“I got it.” She hurried on. Each step felt as if she were walking deeper and deeper into quicksand. Fatigue sapped her energy.
Come on, Sadie. Push it. Push it
. She’d fought in tournaments even more tired than this and still won.

Finally, the turn came, but it led to darkness, and she stopped. “I can’t see.”

“Trust me. Keep moving. I can see,” Justin said as he adjusted his grip on Theo. “It’s the venom in your veins messing with your vision.”

Theo mumbled something, and his hand landed heavy on her shoulder. Through the shock of his cold fingers, her eyesight sharpened.
Now you see.

“Keep going,” Justin said.

It was as if Theo’s touch clicked on a light in the tunnel. Granite walls flanked them, but the floor was clear from debris, and there was a faint light up ahead.

“Running would be good,” Justin said. “Theophilus, find your strength. We must get your Mate to safety.”

Another roar sounded, but this time it was Theo’s. He grabbed her arm, and a jolt of energy ripped through her shoulder. Instantly, her legs felt refreshed, and her breathing regulated.

The end of the tunnel approached. “Which way?”

“To the right, car’s there.”

She still couldn’t believe he drove the Camaro through the gate. Though she shouldn’t be surprised by anything anymore.

The tunnel ended, and she tore around the corner. Sure enough, there was the car, scratched and dented from the landing, but still idling, ready for takeoff.

“Open the door,” Justin yelled.

She did, then turned to see Theo falling toward her, eyes closed.

“Get him in.” Justin bolted around the back end of the car.

The weight of the giant Shomrei landed on her. Thankfully, her muscles were rejuvenated. Wait, he’d healed her on that last touch. No pain in her shoulder. No searing heat.

No wonder he was unconscious. She hefted him into the backseat and crawled over him to finish dragging his massive body in far enough to get the door shut. “Go. Go.”

The engine revved, and the car bolted forward. “Hold on.”

Justin gunned it, and Sadie fell back. Theo’s limp body shifted, and his face landed on her chest. She held him steady as the car swerved, but she couldn’t take her eyes off him.

Cuts riddled his skin. A swollen eye, split lip, missing ear, and a blood-soaked shirt. Burning tears singed her eyes. A bubble ignited in her stomach that forced her to open her mouth.

And from it, the loudest roar streamed, burning her throat on its way up.

“Hold on, Theo,” Sadie whispered as she brushed the damp strands of hair clinging to his feverish forehead. “I gotcha.”

The car lurched forward and landed with a skid. Sadie clutched Theo to her and looked around.

“Fifty minutes and we’re home,” Justin said.

Home. Yeah, right.

“Can you hold on that long?” Justin glanced over his shoulder.

“He healed me,” she whispered as her fingers grazed along the welt in his cheek. “Stubborn fool. You shouldn’t have wasted your energy.”

“Okay, hold on to him. We’ll be home soon.”

“I need to call Dasha. She’s going to freak. Is she safe in the dorms? Maybe we should get her. She knows about this. What if—”

“I’ll drop you at the compound with Theo, then I’ll go get the BFF.” He handed the phone over the back of the seat. “Call her. Don’t tell her any details over the line. Just tell her to pack for at least a week, and I’ll be there in under three hours.”

“She’s going to love that.” Probably would, too, since it was Justin coming to get her. She’d said he was hot about fifty times already.

“Of course she will.” He threw a glance over his shoulder and smirked. “It’s me who’s picking her up.”

“Pig.”

He coughed. “Just call her and settle back for the ride.”

Easy for him to say. His life hadn’t just completely and utterly turned a one-eighty.

Chapter Twenty-one

“What did you do to her?” A screeching voice yanked Theo out of the peaceful darkness he’d fallen into.

He sat up and scanned his surroundings, fangs out, ready to fight.

Another screech pierced his ears.

“Quiet, Dasha.”

Justin stomped through the doorway. Now that Theo’s senses were returning, he realized he was in his master suite at the compound. The familiarity of the calming gray walls, lush decorations, and canopied bed soothed his nerves.

But what calmed him the most was the sight of his Mate on the king-size bed beside him. Though the blood on her clothing ignited a wave a fury.

He leaped off the bed and hammered Justin against the wall. That elicited another yelp from Dasha. He shot her a look. “Be calm.” Her body slouched, and she shuffled to the chair beside the bed.

He returned his full focus to Justin. “How dare you take her there.” He tightened his hold on Justin’s neck. “She was nearly killed.”

His brother gasped. “She needed.”
Gasp
. “To help you.”

Theo loosened his grip and assessed the room again. Dasha combed Sadie’s hair, a fat tear streaking down her cheek. “What’s wrong with her? There’s so much blood.”

“She’s fine.” Theo had made sure of that in Hades. It took his remaining energy, but he healed her hard and fast. He’d smelled the rancid poison flowing through her blood.
Again.
He shoved Justin harder against the wall. “That’s twice she was poisoned while under your care.”

Justin planted his palms on Theo’s chest and pushed him away. “Screw you, Theo. We saved your ass…no,
she
saved your ass. I just kind of helped. That female is like nothing I’ve ever seen. And I’ve seen a lot.”

“Shut up, you jerks. What’s wrong with her? Why isn’t she waking up?”

Theo stepped to the other side of the bed, keeping his brother in his sights. He couldn’t decide if he was angry with him or thankful to see him alive and well. Of course he was thankful. Next to Sadie, Justin was the most important person in his life, and the chaos in Hades had him worried his Mate
and
his brother would perish.

Dasha waved in his face. “Hello?”

“She was injured, and I healed her, but this…event…triggered her metamorphosis.”

Dasha watched him with wide eyes. “Speak English.”

“She is my Ahavah. Supernaturally bound to me by The Great One. She’s been going through changes since her Mark appeared.” He pointed to his neck. “She’s changing into what she’s meant to become. And her coming to Hades seems to have thrown her into it full-on.” He glared at Justin.

“No. She’s not sure yet. She gets to choose.” Dasha shook her head. “She said—”

“She did choose.” Justin knelt beside Dasha. “When she chose to enter Hades to rescue Theo, she called on her Ahavah connection to locate him and tapped into his power to fight.” He looked over the bed to Theo. “And for all that is holy to The Great One, she can fight.”

“She’s a master black belt, what’d you expect?” Dasha turned her attention back to her friend.

“Of course,” Theo whispered.

“What?”

“All her training. How unusually smart she is. Driven. Mentally tough through her competitions and training. Not to mention being raised in group homes.” He scrubbed his chin.

“And you’re one of the oldest Gatekeepers around.”

Theo had stayed pure. Saved himself for his future Mate as it was taught by The Great One. Most had not.

“So she’s superstrong. Excels at whatever she sets her mind to,” Dasha said. “No shocker there. Why’s she sleeping?”

“Her body’s changing.” Justin glanced at Theo. “In preparation for you.”

Theo dipped his head. A wave of heat rushed over him. He could only hope she was ready for him, but the way she shied away when he reached for her in Hades, he felt the disgust. Sure, some commitment was mixed in there, but disgust was prevalent.

She had to have been so scared to even look at him all bloodied and hacked up. Yet she’d chosen to enter Hades to help him, chosen to face death to get to him.

“Well, as her best friend, I can’t in good conscience let her lie there in bloody clothes. Get out so I can clean her up a little.”

“I’ll do that.” Theo stomped toward the bathroom on the other side of the room. She was his to take care of, no one else’s. He clicked on the light and stepped into the forest-green bathroom. He dug out some towels and set them on the counter. Two steps brought him to his walk-in shower, and he flipped on the water.

“I’m thinking no,” Dasha said from the doorway. “You don’t get to see her naked, you pervert.”

He stepped toward the small girl and looked down at her.

“Puff your chest out all you want. She’d be absolutely mortified if I let a guy wash her up while she was unconscious.
Think about it
.”

Had his Sadie never given her body to a male? His heart swelled until he feared it might burst through his ribs. In such an era of free love, she hadn’t participated? He’d always assumed as the years had passed and he saw how the world progressed that he would have to be resigned to the fact that his Mate would have given herself to someone.

“She’s not been with a male?”

Dasha chuckled. “Sometimes you sound so archaic.”

He looked past her to where Sadie lay on the bed and let out a breath. She’d waited for him, and she’d chosen to enter the depths of Hades to get to him. There was still much to learn about the person Sadie was, but he had already learned that The Great One had truly blessed him with an amazing, strong female to share eternity with.

Dasha waved her hand in front of his face. “You can leave now. I’ll get her cleaned up.”

Justin went to the windows and looked out. Theo closed his eyes and opened his senses. All was calm around the fortress. The sun had descended, and his internal clock indicated he’d been regenerating for nearly three hours, so it must be early evening by now.

“Come on, Theo. Let’s have some food. You’ve got to be starving, and I need details on what you found out.”

Theo glanced at Justin, then back to Dasha. “You have thirty minutes. We’ll get some food ready. Are you hungry?”