Chapter 1
Devyn stared at the shadows swirling before her, her fingers slowly turning her staff in her hands. She groaned, angry with herself for hesitating. Taking a step back, she rolled her shoulder, then her head. “And this is why I fucking don’t talk about shit,” she muttered, bouncing on the balls of her feet as she twirled the staff in front of her to work out the nerves.
Those old memories she’d shoved down were now fresh in her mind thanks to Sillis. And they weren’t fuzzy and blurred, they were remembered as though they had happened yesterday. It brought back emotions she’d long buried and new questions. Questions that if she wanted answered, she’d have to free Azmaveth first to get.
“It was needed. Hidden fear worse than known.”
She paused her actions, looking at the staff she held. “Yeah, that whole nothing to fear but fear itself shit is just that, bullshit,” she grumbled at the weapon, turning about at the sound of something moving, sending rocks tumbling and sliding in the distance.
“Still much here to fear. Go to not have this fear become known.”
“If that was you attempting to be funny, it failed,” she muttered, pressing the butt of the staff into the ground as she leaned against it. She wanted to believe the sound was from Sillis or another of the Sceadugenga following her to make sure she got out. But she knew Sillis was letting her figure this out on her own.
“Letting distraction take precedence is not your way. You know how to walk through to destination,” the staff’s whisper echoed through her mind, making her grit her teeth.
“Mmhmm..” she murmured, her tone noncommittal as she stared out at the dark. Her eyes, now the same cobalt blue like Sillis’s since calling forth shadow fire, scanned the area. Her head turned sharply at a noise to her right and her gift fanned out. Feeling nothing, she grew more annoyed because she knew something was there but she couldn’t sense it. “Come on, quit with the games,” she murmured out into the dark.
It didn’t take long for her taunt to draw something in, but not from the direction she’d expected. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up and she barely leapt to the right in time, losing some skin as she rolled over the rough, rocky surface.
Popping up to her feet, she spun about to stare at what was the largest spider she’d ever seen. It easily compared to the barghast in size, with a deep blue, almost black, exoskeleton and eight long legs covered in hairs. The pinchers around its mouth were as long as her arm.
Meeting its gaze, she could see intelligence there, far more than a normal spider. “Fucker had to mention spiders earlier,” she grumbled, her eyes widening as she saw some kind of membrane between its legs that reached down to the first bend in the legs. “What the actual fuck?”
A sharp hiss escaped from the arachnid before it leapt at her and she had to dodge once more and then keep moving when it wheeled around quickly and came after her again. She began to wish she hadn’t stayed and called out this creature. Blood ran down her arm and leg from the sharp rocks she scraped against in her desperate attempts to stay out of reach of the large predator.
A sudden flare had her looking at her staff as flames moved up the length to cover the surface. She had no idea how she’d done that, the flames appearing out of reflex. The distraction cost her more blood as she felt something rough brush over the back of her arm and several sharp stings sent pain down the length of her arm.
She swung the staff as she spun about, drawing out a squeal of pain from the creature when the flames brushed over one of its legs. The foul scent of burnt hairs filled the air and she earned herself a reprieve as it skittered backwards.
She didn’t waste the opportunity. Her focus returned to the shadows and her gift grabbed on to the bond between her and Azmaveth as she pushed her way into the dark mass. She felt resistance at first, before she was yanked forward, tumbling through the void before she dropped onto a cold cement floor with a groan.
The brightness of the area blinded her and she had to rely on her gift as it reached out around her while her eyes squeezed shut. The presence of several others nearby came back to her, all familiar as the light in the room began to dim. She opened her eyes to see shadows spreading out around the room, covering the windows and lights.
Everything still seemed blurry as she pushed herself up to sit and she lifted her hands to rub her eyes, pausing when her left arm didn’t move. Looking down, she could see blood dripping onto the concrete. She reached around with her right hand, biting back a hiss of pain. Her fingers brushed against several large, needle-like structures jabbing into her skin and she wrapped her hand around one.
Her body jerked from the shock of pain as she ripped it out and she bit into her hand to keep from shouting. Her heels dug into the floor while waves of pain rolled through her and tears squeezed out of her eyes to run down her cheeks.
She dropped the hair and reached around to grab the next one. This time, she couldn’t hold back a whimper as she ripped it free, her knuckles white around the sharp barb. A tingling began to run down her left leg and she tried to push past the pain and make her brain function. Her eyes focused on her left foot and she found herself unable to move it easily.
The sound of heavy footsteps made her tense and she tried to push herself up with the help of the staff. Managing to stand, her first step had her tumbling back down when her left leg gave out, the staff rolling away. She caught a flash of cobalt across the room before thick boots filled her field of vision from where she laid. The darkness in the room began to fade as her shadows dissolved away.
“Well, isn’t this nice.” Azazel’s familiar voice filled her ears and made her growl, though it didn’t sound right to her. “You look like hell, kitten. Someone else been playing with our toy?” he asked, crouching down and pushing at her shoulder, watching her roll over.
She reached out, her movements with her right hand now sluggish as she just managed to drag the sharp quill over his skin before he yanked his arm back. She smirked when he grabbed at the injury, seeing blood rising to the surface.
“You think that little scratch will do anything to me? Newsflash, angels don’t get infections,” he stated, grabbing her by the hair and pulling her roughly to her feet as she yelped.
He caught her hand when she tried to attack again, prying the hair from her hand and turning it over. “You been fighting demonic porcupines, hmm?” he asked, spinning it around in his hand before jabbing it into her right leg.
She yelped, reaching to pull it out but unable as her arm is twisted behind her back. A roar from another room had her struggling against the Grigori as he chuckled. “I’m… going to… kill you,” she muttered, her eyes rolling back as whatever was on the spider hairs coursed through her blood. Her body went limp, held up only by Azazel and she caught the sound of footsteps before everything faded away.
***
Ice water had her gasping awake when it was thrown over her. Sputtering and coughing, she struggled against the restraints that held her up in the air, her hands shackled above her head. Water ran down her body, her hair sticking to her face and neck. Another bucket of water was thrown over her, causing her to yelp when the cold hit her skin. “F-fuck y-you!” she shouted between chattering teeth.
“That is the plan at some point, little one,” Penemue said from behind her, walking around to stand in front of her. “Just as soon as you tell us what you did to Azazel. Don’t get me wrong, I am enjoying the quiet, but he seems to be unable to wake.”
“Why are you asking me? At what point could I have managed to do anything to him?” she inquired, internally smirking that the hair had actually worked. Though, why he was unable to be roused had her curious. She looked past Penemue to see Azmaveth hanging in a similar manner to her.
He was glaring at the back of Penemue’s head, and if looks could kill, the fallen angel would be dead. Bruises covered his body, some hidden under the blood that had dried to his skin from various wounds inflicted on him. He looked malnourished, much of his former mass lost from lack of food.
“I know you had something to do with why he’s gone full Rip Van Winkle,” Penemue stated, grabbing her chin to gain her focus. “So, tell me now, or Koka will have to extract it from your mind.”
She growled, before collecting what little phlegm she had and spitting onto his face. “I didn’t do anything. Go fuck yourself,” she hissed out, her eyes flickering purple.
“Keep your hands off her, you feathered prick! I’ll rip off your wings and shove them up your ass if you try anything!” Azmaveth snarled, his body swaying as he struggled in the restraints.
When Penemue turned his head to react, she brought her leg up. The limb felt tingly and still reacted sluggishly, but when he doubled over in reaction, she knew she’d hit where she wanted. “I’ll bet that stings,” she said, giving him a sympathetic expression when he glared up at her.
He stood and swung his hand across. The sharp sting to her cheek was worth what she’d done as her head snapped to the side. She licked her lip when she felt blood trickling down, the coppery taste coating her tongue.
“I’ll bet that stings,” he hissed back, holding himself as he walked away from her. “Fine, you want it rough, we’ll go rough.”
“You should go ice that,” she called after him, before focusing on Azmaveth. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she met his gaze. “You’re a fucking idiot, sir.”
