A Ride of Peril(57)

One of the beasts came back, slithering up the stairs and looking around, as if sensing there was someone there.

"What is it?" another asked from farther down.

"I hit something, but I can't see what I hit," the curious Destroyer replied.

"Why do we all have to stop for you to pretend you're not the clumsy oaf we all know you to be?" a third one said.

"You've got quite the mouth on you, you know that? Maybe you should serve Goren for a while. You seem to be doing too well under Patrik," the Destroyer replied with a snarl.

He came dangerously close, his face barely a few inches from mine. I couldn't move even if I wanted to. My blood froze, and I held my breath, praying to all possible deities, including the Daughters, to not let this beast discover our presence there.

The creature eventually scoffed and followed his mates down the stairs.

"Come on. We need to fetch those two loyalists of Mermid for Azazel," the third one barked. "You know he likes them early in the morning!"

"I'll never understand why he enjoys tormenting the incubi he captures from the other districts. He just starves them in their cages, and when he gets bored, he starts slicing away at them just for kicks," the curious Destroyer grumbled.

"Does he ever get any information out of them?"

"I don't think so," he replied. "I think he does it mostly for the fun."

"You call that fun?"

"I don't! He does!"

"He finds more pleasure in torturing and tormenting the creatures he keeps in his cages than he does in ruling Eritopia with the iron fist he's always boasted about," another Destroyer chimed in.

Their voices dimmed as they reached the bottom level and advanced through the basement.

"All flash, no bang," the curious Destroyer chuckled as they disappeared from my field of vision.

I was able to breathe again. A wave of relief washed over me as I heard Draven scramble to his feet.

"Are you okay, Serena? Hansa?" he whispered.

We both hissed thrice. I used my True Sight to find his shimmering silhouette and took his hand. There was no time for me to digest the horror I'd experienced thinking of all the worst-case scenarios in which the Destroyers discovered our invisible presence there. I was grateful to have Draven in one piece next to me. 





Serena





As soon as we reached the bottom of the stairs we stopped, swallowing back the urge to scream with frustration. There were twelve corridors opening from where we stood, each leading in a different direction, and each riddled with danger and green fires.

Draven pulled me to the side, out of sight and reach of anyone who might pass by, and quickly retrieved the notes from my pack and glanced over them again before he shoved them into his pocket.

"If I'm not mistaken, three of these corridors will lead north, where Sverik is most likely to be held captive, based on what Aida saw during her vision," he whispered.

"Which one do we pick?" Hansa whispered from behind us.

"Might as well try the first one," he replied. "If not, we come back and go through another."

"I'm not sure there's enough time for this. The spell might wear off," I said.

"I made enough to have a second dose just in case." He ended the conversation there, and we followed him through the first corridor.

A few yards into the green-lit tunnel, we stepped into a basement chamber, an enormous hall with wet, black walls and a heavy dampness in the air. Hundreds of iron cages were stacked, two by two, one on top of the other with enough walking space between them to make the entire space look like a massive animal shelter-except everybody was doomed to die in here.

All kinds of creatures lay limp behind bars, most of them shackled, the black metal biting into their wrists and ankles. My stomach churned at the sight of so much misery, blood, and pain. They were literally sitting in there waiting to die.

We went straight ahead, walking slowly between the rows, hoping to recognize Sverik. A few minutes in, I heard Hansa gasp and looked over to my right. My heart leapt at the sight of a succubus lying on her side, badly bruised and severely injured with eyes half-open. I got closer to get a better look. Her leather garments and traces of blue war paint made me think she belonged to a tribe similar to Hansa's.

"Can you hear me?" Hansa whispered to her.

The young succubus was far too weak to even lift her head. She moaned softly and moved her eyes around, unable to see us. My heart broke for her, but deep down I knew we could do nothing for her in that moment. Our mission was clear-retrieve Sverik and run out of here as fast as we could.

"I'll get you out of here, sister. I promise." Hansa's voice trembled.

"I'm sorry, Hansa, but we don't have time for this," Draven hissed. "The spell might wear off, and dawn is near. We need to find Sverik, and this is just one of the many chambers where they might be keeping him."