Broken Compass:Supernatural Prison Story 1(46)

I was on my feet with Jessa, both of us moving toward the stairs. "We need weapons," she said. "Follow me."

I expected her to rush up the stairs, but instead she veered off and led me to a small door on the side of the staircase. At first it seemed like nothing more than a simple wooden door carved into the wall, but when Jessa pulled it open, inside was a damn weapon factory.

We both ducked our heads and squeezed in together. The space was about six feet by six; weapons lined each wall. I'd been doing some training lately with a long blade, and that was what I grabbed. Jessa went for about eight different things, including throwing knives and a crossbow.

"So Kristoff is coming, right?" she asked as we stepped back into the main room.

I nodded. "Yep, definitely his oily stench."

Jessa didn't even flinch. Her face set into hard lines and she was all warrior.

"We can't let him touch us or the demon will have a portal to our soul  –  you'll always have to be careful of one of them trying to take you over. We're mated to Compasses, we should be safe. They're powerful enough to resist the demon  …  but better for us to be safe than sorry."

I nodded, the tightness in my chest increasing. "I just wish our babies weren't so vulnerable right now," I whispered. "Even though they're safely inside, it's easy to hurt them and us because we can't fight properly."

Jessa's eyes crinkled as her face crumpled. "We have to keep them safe, Misch. I can't live in a world without my kids. It's just not an option."

It really wasn't. We had to protect them.

A groan near the living room of the house had us both on high alert. "Why aren't we running?" I whispered as Jessa crouched lower and started creeping from the room.

She glanced back for a beat. "He has the house locked down, energy coating the outside. It's what's blocking our mate bonds. We wouldn't be able to break through it without hurting ourselves considerably."

Of course. I should have expected that. He wanted us trapped like rats in a maze. Jessa was clearly not one to hide and wait for the enemy to find her, and I was down with that. The sorcerer had almost killed my daughter. He was top of my shit list.

Both of us silently stepped forward. My wolf was rising in my body, adding her senses to my own. I could scent the darkness of the devil in our pack house, and I wanted him out before he could taint everything.

Another twinge rocked across my stomach then, and I silently sent a request for her to please wait another few days before coming into the world. Right now I had no time for labor. Jessa and I halted on the edge of the front hallway. Kristoff was just standing in the living room, looking calm and crazy as heck.

"Hello there."

Anger caressed me as I stared him down. There was nothing left in his eyes now, just a reflective darkness which was all demon.

"My name is Davind," the demon wearing Kristoff's skin said, bowing slightly to us. "I'm a king of my kind, and my demon-kin need freedom. Our world is a desolate and dead land. Earth seems to be the perfect plane to exist in."

Right, so Kristoff was no more. Davind had complete control.

Jessa straightened. "What do you want with us then? Shouldn't you be off bringing demons to Earth."

He turned those dead eyes on her and a grin lifted his cheeks. "If only it was as easy as that, but I see luck had doubly rewarded me this day. I was here for the powerful child within this one." He pointed at me. "But now I see that what I really should have been chasing was the two you carry  …  dragon born."

Holy shit. Jessa's wolf burst to life in her eyes, and ferocious growls echoed across the room. "You'll never touch them," she snarled.

He still hadn't moved. His total calm was unnerving. "Unfortunately I need the power in their souls. I can use the two females to open a permanent portal between our worlds, and I think I'll keep the boy. He'll be mine to control. I'll never need fear another demon-kin or supe again."   





 

The two females  …  he was talking about our daughters, about harming their precious, tiny bodies and using their souls to power a portal. Jessa and I reacted in the same instance. She had the crossbow up and firing, while I flung my blade at him. With my wolf's help, it landed right on target.

Except this demon could disappear. In a blink he was in a new spot across the room. Jessa must have anticipated this because she had already started firing again, and two of her arrows hit their target, burying deep in his chest. Of course, that didn't seem to bother the demon.

He muttered something, and an echoing noise rocked through the room, and with a blast of something like a soundwave, Jessa and I were thrown back a few yards. As the energy crashed through us, I shrieked and clutched at my stomach. Next to me Jessa did the same.

"What's happening!" I screamed as sharp pains stabbed into me, tightening everything inside of my entire abdomen and lower back. Jessa started huffing at my side. "I would guess that this is labor."

WHAT. THE. FUCK?

Okay, no one had told me labor was going to feel like someone was peeling my insides out with a blunt knife. It was brutal in a way I had not expected. What had the demon done to us?

I crouched forward, trying to ease the ache. After about eight seconds  –  or eighty, it was hard to tell  –  the pain eased off and we both were able to breathe deeply.

Kristoff-demon still had not moved, except to yank out the arrows. "I've used a spell to induce labor. These children are no use to me while still inside of you. I would suggest you make yourselves comfortable somewhere. They'll be here momentarily."

Why was he still talking? Why wasn't he dead already? I could feel the pain starting to barrel through me again; there was no way to stay upright. I fell to my hands and knees, rocking back and forth to try and ease the agony.

Could this spell hurt our kids? Was this forced and violent labor going to crush them before they even arrived? Surely if he needed them alive for the start of his ritual, he would make sure nothing hurt them until then.

Jessa was at my side and I could see that she was struggling as much as me. I reached across and grasped her hand. We clung together through the next wave of contractions, before our bodies slumped forward. I sensed the oily presence closing in.

A stack of towels was thrown at our feet.

"I despise the disgusting reproductive and birth model of supernaturals. I'm going to prepare the spell, you two will birth the sacrifices. Everyone does their jobs, then you'll die without torture  …  as a thank you."

What a polite little cockswabbler he was.

He strode away then, crossing to the fireplace in the center of the room. He started throwing things at it and muttering words. My focus on him disappeared as another contraction started. They were close together now, like thirty seconds apart, and I could feel my body starting to change, expanding and contracting with a speed that felt far too fast.

Jessa and I both pushed ourselves back to rest against cushions from the couch which were scattered across the floor. She handed me a couple of towels and I used them to pad the space under my butt and legs. We had to make sure our babies were delivered safely, and pray that we could stop the demon from touching them.

"I still can't reach Braxton," Jessa said, her face ashen, sweat beading across her forehead. "But they have to know something is up. They'll be here soon."

I let out a strangled scream as another contraction started, the worst one so far.

There was a strong heaviness down low now, and I fought the urge to push. It wasn't time, she couldn't come into the world yet. This crazy sorcerer would steal her, would hurt her. I could never let that happen.

With our hands locked, my sister and I started to breathe through the pain. I was learning to accept it more, and my body stopped fighting the strange sensations. We were settling into the natural rhythms of childbirth. As I'd told Maximus earlier, this was something women had been doing for thousands of years.

"I love you, Mischa!" Jessa said as her head fell back. "I'm glad you're here with me."

Her voice sounded weak; she looked wrecked already. Her babies weren't as far along as mine, and she had two, which meant this was far worse for her. I'd been close to labor, so the spell didn't have to push much. Jessa had been a long way from it.

"I got you, Jess," I said, gripping her hand tighter. She was half passed out, which I didn't like. Knowing I needed to aid her, I managed to place one of the towels across her lap and helped her wriggle free from her pants and underwear, before placing another clean towel beneath her.   





 

"Okay, I'm totally not a doctor," I said. "But, girl, you most definitely have a baby coming."

I tried to joke to halt my worry. Jessa was bleeding quite heavily and I wasn't sure if that was normal or not.

She at least managed to flip me off before another contraction smashed into her and she let out a yelp. I couldn't do much more to help her because I was currently in the same position. This time I couldn't stop my body from pushing down with the next contraction.

My entire lower half was on fire. It felt as if I was being split in two, my bones moving and shifting to accommodate the child trying to exit my womb. I managed to kick off my pants and lay them across me. There weren't enough towels for my modesty. I needed the one I had beneath me so that my daughter would land somewhere softer than the floor.