Ryder threads his fingers through mine. "I'll hold your hand the entire time."
I glance to my left at Reece holding my hand and then to my left at Ryder doing the same. Safeness blankets over me. But any amount of comfort dissipates as a scream pierces the night.
"Shit." Ryder whips around, looking behind us. "Did that just come from one of the caves above us?"
"I think so, but that would mean ..." Reece's gaze is locked in the same direction as Ryder's.
"That the Forsaken are in the caves. Fucking shit. Why the hell are they hunting right now?" He glimpses up at the sky. "It's a full moon."
"I don't know." Reece draws out his gun. "But I don't want to wait around to find out. Let's go. Now."
"I don't think we're going to be able to outrun them. They sounded close. Maybe we should try holding them off for a while," Ryder suggests, backing toward the ledge. "Although, I doubt we have enough ammunition.
Reece points his gun up toward the caves above. "They always travel in high numbers. We'd run out of bullets within seconds."
My heart thunders in my chest as I look around for the Forsaken, but I can't see anyone anywhere.
Suddenly, Ryder sprints forward, pulling me with him and yanking my attention off the caves. For a heart-stopping moment, I think he's going to jump off the ledge, but then he pauses right as his feet reach the edge.
"Hop onto my back," he says, bending into a crouch. "It'll be quicker if I carry you down."
I don't argue and hop on. He gives me just enough time to hitch my arms and legs around him before he takes off down the steep slope with surprising grace and balance. I'd be in awe over his ability to move so flawlessly if another scream didn't shatter through the air.
"Shit, shit, shit." Ryder's shoes scuff against the rock as he rushes downward, grasping onto my legs. "We're going to get out of this. I'm not going to let this happen."
I don't know if he's talking to me or himself. It doesn't matter, though. I can tell he's worried, and I have a horrible feeling this isn't going to end well.
No, I can't let my thoughts go there. I need to stay positive.
Reece runs just to the side of us, using his hand every now and then to keep from falling. He has a gun out and keeps shooting panicked glances up at the caves.
"If we can just get on the trail," he says. "We might be able to--"
Flames abruptly ignite across the base of the cliff, forming a fiery wall that illuminates the night. Ryder and Reece skid to a stop, flip around, and start climbing back up, but they immediately slam to a halt.
At least fifty people cover the cliff side above us. Some are tall, some are thin, and some are bulky and strong. Young and old. Tough and frail. Some are decked out in leather and have piercings and tattoos, and all of them have guns pointed at us.
A shiver courses through my body. My mind flashes back to what Blaise said about the Forsaken gutting us and leaving our bodies to rot in the sun. Is that what's about to happen?
"I'm going to get you out of this," Ryder whispers to me from over his shoulder. "Just stay calm and don't say a word, even if they ask you a question. And whatever you do, don't let them see your number."
"Okay." I don't dare take my eyes off the Forsaken, even as the heat of the fire burns against my back.
At first, no one makes a move. They just stand there with their guns aimed at us. Then someone lets out a shriek, and the group parts, creating a path down the center.
A woman ambles forward into the glow of the fire. She's a few years older than me and beautiful in a fierce sort of way--tall and lean with blonde hair done up in several braids that connect to a single one that's draped over her shoulder. Rows of glinting metal studs dot the skin above her eyebrows, along her ears, and across her collarbones, and silver cuffs cup her upper arm and connect to chains that link to her fingers. Leather pants and a sleeveless top hug her body, and a holster wraps around each of her legs. Tattoos curve around her neck, and blood is splattered across her shoulders and arms. My thoughts instantly go to Blaise. What if his blood is all over her clothes?
"So, you're the idiots stupid enough to enter the caves and wake the spirits." Her voice is smooth as she eyes over Ryder and Reece. Then her lips curl. "Should've guessed you were from the station. Only someone from there would be stupid enough to come to the caves."
Reece and Ryder don't utter a word, their gazes never wavering from her. Reece has his gun tucked behind his back, his finger hovering over the trigger. What will happen if he shoots? Will they fire, as well? Is this where I'm going to die?
She tilts her head to the side as her gaze zeroes in on me. "And who do we have here? Now she doesn't look like she's from the station."
Ryder shifts one of his arms behind him to hold on to me. It's a protective move, one the woman notices.
She rests the end of her barrel against her lips. "Such possessiveness. Hmmm ... I'm guessing one of you is dating her, but I can't tell which one." She points the gun in mine and Ryder's direction. "He's the one carrying her, but"--she swings the gun at Reece--"this one looks like he's about to come unglued." She pauses as if waiting for an explanation. "Or maybe you're both dating her. That seems a little strange for someone from the station, though. They're so big on monogamy over there." She rolls her eyes. "I don't know how anyone could stand living there with all the rules and restrictions. I'd lose my damn mind." Her eyes glide over the three of us. "None of you have anything to say?" She waits a moment then shrugs. "Okay, if that's how you want to play, then that's the way we'll play."
She turns back to the group behind her and addresses a massively bulky guy dressed head to toe in leather with steel cuffs on his boots and wrists. "Wrath, take their guns, bound them, and then we'll take them back to camp and lock them up with the other one."
The other one? Does she mean Blaise? I want to ask Ryder what he thinks, but I bite the urge back, remembering he warned me not to speak.
"Dude, did she just call him Wrath?" Ryder mutters. "What kind of name is that?"
The woman who seems to be in charge twists around with a malicious grin on her face. "Break the rules, and you'll find out."
Ryder mumbles something about how she can go fuck herself, but she doesn't seem to hear him and starts barking orders to the other people looming on the cliff.
"We can offer you money." Reece dares a step forward. "Let us go, and I'll make it worth your while."
"Money?" She looks at him. "What good would that do us? We don't have any purpose for it." Her gaze lazily drinks Reece in. "You might have something else I'd be interested in."
While I'm not positive what she wants, Reece understands, and disgust creeps into his expression.
He scratches at the side of his neck. "If I did ... do it ... you'd let us go?"
She muses over his question. "No, but I might let you stay in my tent instead of in the hole."
Reece steps back. "I'd rather stay in the hole."
Her eyes blaze as brightly as the flames raging behind us. "Remember that when you're begging for me to kill you."
Reece doesn't respond, which only seems to enrage her more.
"Tie them up now! I want them bound tightly, too!" She glares at Reece. "And put the barbed wire on this one. I want him to bleed the whole way back."
Wrath nods with a sickening grin. "Of course, your highness."
Your highness? Huh? Wait. Is she their queen?
Wrath strolls toward Reece, retrieving a strip of metal wire from the pocket of his dark brown distressed leather jacket. Horror slashes through me when I notice the wire has sharp studs along it. They're going to tie him up with that? It seems so cruel, so tortuous, and makes me fear what else they'll to do to us.
Wrath pats down Reece, takes his gun away, and forces him to put his hands behind his back. Then he winds the wire around Reece's wrists, making sure to pull on the ends with unnecessary force.
"It's going to be okay," Ryder whispers, but the strain in his voice i
sn't very reassuring.
I wish I could tell him the same thing, because I don't want him to be scared, but I know nothing about the Forsaken, and don't know the outcome of this situation.
After Wrath finishes tying up Reece, he eyes over his handiwork. The barbed wire is fastened so tightly blood drips from Reece's wrists.
"Get her off your back," Wrath commands, approaching Ryder and me with ropes in his hand.
Ryder slowly straightens his stance and uses his hand to help guide me down to the ground. Once my feet are firmly planted, he positions himself in front of me, shielding me from Wrath's view.
"Look, can't you just leave her untied?" Ryder offers in a desperate move. "She won't go anywhere. She knows there's not a chance in hell she'd survive."
When Wrath doesn't answer, I dare a glance over Ryder's shoulder.
Wrath's gaze narrows on me, his eyes darkening. "I could leave her untied if she lets me carry her." He inches forward, his lips curling. "How does that sound? You want to be my little toy on the way back to camp?"
My balled fists tremble at my sides. I know he's trying to scare me, but beneath my fear simmers the desire to lunge forward and savagely claw off his face. I want to hurt him like he wants to hurt me. Hurt him like the wardens hurt me. Hurt him for hurting Reece. I want to hurt him so badly I can barely stand it.
Panic briefly flashes in Wrath's eyes when he catches sight of my expression, but the look promptly vanishes.
"I dare you to follow through with that look," he says in a menacing tone.
I want to. God, do I want to, like I tried a handful of times with the wardens. I might have, too, if Ryder didn't enclose his fingers around my wrist.
His touch yanks me out of my trance and forces me to acknowledge the large group of people surrounding us. If I attack Wrath, then they'd attack us, and we'd all probably end up getting killed.
"That's what I thought." Wrath shoots me a toothy smirk. "I'm gonna have a lot of fun with you when we get to camp. Just you wait."
A ripple of anger vibrates through Ryder. "If you so much as put a hand on her, I'll fucking slit your throat."
I grab Ryder's arm as Wrath stalks forward, his eyes narrowing to slits.
"You better be careful who you threaten," he growls. "If it weren't for the sacrifice, I'd end you right now."
Sacrifice? What?
"Yeah, the sacrifice," Wrath says as if answering my thoughts. "It'll offer us protection from the invasion heading everyone's way. It's why we risked hunting during a full moon. We have to complete the sacrifice by tomorrow or else the deal is off. And we need the deal to go through."
A chill prickles across my skin. We're their sacrifices. That's why they haven't killed us yet.
"Beneath the new moon, I'll watch you bleed," Lex whispers. "And your blood will be like spilled ecstasy that I fully plan on drinking up."
I squeeze my eyes shut. God, no. Not now. Go away.
Lex laughs inside my head.
"Sacrifice?" Ryder says in horror, shuffling back like he's going to run.
"Don't even think about running," Wrath warns. "Or I'll make you watch as I gut her and leave her for vultures."
Ryder freezes, his fingers folding inward into fists.
"Good choice," Wrath sneers then grabs Ryder by the throat and forces him to turn around.
Ryder's gaze collides with mine, and the air gets ripped out of my lungs. I may have told myself to stay positive through this, but the hopelessness in Ryder's eyes makes me wonder if we're going to make it out of this alive.
Chapter Seven
Toxic Smoke
After Wrath removes Ryder's guns from his holsters, he bounds his arms behind his back. Then he orders me to turn around.
Panic swells in my chest. He'll be so close to my wrists. What if he sees my number?
"I said turn around." Wrath quickly loses his patience and roughly pushes me forward.
I trip to the ground, landing on my hands and knees.
"Fuck off!" Ryder yells. "Don't you touch her!"
Wrath ignores him and kneels down, positioning a knee on my back. My muscles groan in protest as he bears down while forcing my hands together. His fingernails stab into my flesh as he ties the rough rope around my wrist.
Before Wrath climbs off me, he leans close, breathing hotly against the back of my neck. "We don't get a lot like you," he breathes. "You reek of innocence. By the time I get done with you, you won't."
Memories surface of me being pinned down to the ground by someone else, and adrenaline rushes through my veins, causing my body to quiver.
Wrath lets out a laugh as he presses his chest against my back. I shut my eyes and mentally count to ten, imagining myself someplace else: in a field with flowers and trees where the air is clean and the sky is bright and I'm happy.
"Get off her!" Ryder growls. "Or I swear to God I'll kill you."
I open my mouth to tell Ryder to let it go, that I can deal with Wrath, but before I can get the words out, Wrath pushes off me.
He storms at Ryder with his fists clenched in front of him. "I ought to kick your ass for that." He lowers his fists. "No, you know what? I have a better idea. I think, when we get to camp, all three of us should go to my tent, and you can watch as I slowly peel her innocence from her bit by bit."
Please, Ryder, don't say anything. You'll only make this worse. I don't want you to get hurt.
By some miracle, Ryder keeps his lips sealed, even when Wrath latches onto my arms and yanks me to my feet.
"Such a pretty, little thing." He traps me against his chest. "Maybe a little thinner than I like, but she'll do."
The muscle in Ryder's jaw twitches, and a murderous look scorches in his eyes. If we ever do escape this situation, I'm pretty sure Ryder will try to kill Wrath.
"They're all secured," Wrath calls out to the woman he referred to as "your highness." Stroking his fingers across my head, he shoves me forward.
The woman leaves the group and walks up to us, holding her gun at her side. "Make them walk in the middle of us. And under no circumstances are they to be killed."
"But what if they try to run?" Wrath protests, tucking Reece and Ryder's guns into his holsters. "They're from the station, so you know they probably will. It's part of their protocol."
"If you shoot them, I'll kill you," she threatens. "We need them alive, at least until tomorrow night."
Wrath grumbles something then stalks off and joins rest of the group.
The woman faces us, tucking her gun into her thigh holster. "Just because I told them not to kill you, it doesn't mean I won't break your legs if you try to run." With that, she marches off, walking a line straight in front of the wall of fire.
The rest of the Forsaken swarm around us and begin herding us like cattle around the wall of flames. Ryder and Reece put me in the middle and stay close. Their presence gives me a drop of comfort. I just wish I could offer them the same thing.
Except for the occasional hushed whisper and the thudding footsteps, a distressing quietness chokes the air as we reach the trail. A mile or so down, Ryder inches toward me, keeping his attention focused ahead. Reece mirrors Ryder's movement, moving beside me. I can feel every time he wiggles his arms. I want to ask him if he's okay, but I don't know if I'm allowed to talk.
"How you holdin' up over there, Reece?" Ryder whispers, glancing back and forth between Reece and the people around us.
"I'm fine," Reece mutters, sounding exhausted.
"Are you counting the steps?" Ryder asks under his breath.
"I'm trying," Reece replies quietly. "But I'm getting a little bit lightheaded."
"That's okay," Ryder says. "I've got your back."
I glance back and forth between them. Counting the steps? Is that code for something?
Ryder dips his head, locking eyes with me. "How you holdin' up, sweetheart?"
"I'm fine," I lie. I'm scared out of my mind.
"Don't worry," he whispers. "We're going to
get out of this."
I hope he's right. I just wish I knew what we were walking into and what Ryder and Reece's plan is to get out of this. Then maybe I could help.
"Stop talking to each other!" Wrath yells from behind us. "Or else I'll come and break her legs. Then I'll have to carry her."
I shudder. I didn't know he was back there.
We sink into silence as we hike for what feels like hours, winding up and down the trail, squeezing between narrow cliffs and climbing over large boulders on the path. Miles and miles pass by in a blur. Unused to being on my feet so much, my legs start to ache, and my footsteps grow heavier. But I mentally scream at myself to suck it up.
Do not show them how much you're affected.
By the time we slow down, the sun is rising and red bleeds across the sky like spilled paint in water. I'm just starting to wonder if maybe we're going to stop and rest when the trail opens up to a flat stretch of land hidden between mounds of towering, jagged cliffs. Enclosing the area are metal wires. It takes me a moment to figure out what it is--a fence. And just over the fence are countless large tents. In the center of it all, greyish purple rises upward and billows toward the sky.
"Everyone prepare to enter camp!" Wrath shouts as he thunders by us and up to the woman in charge. The two of them exchange some heated words, and then Wrath stalks off in a hurry toward the front of the group.
"Hey, Reece, remember that time we raided a channel and got swarmed by a bunch of wardens?" Ryder whispers when Wrath disappears out of sight. "Instead of fighting back, we hid in the channels until we could get a clear shot to get out, but the plan totally backfired because the wardens ended up forcing us out with dreamland smoke."
Reece bobs his head up and down. He looks tired, his skin is pale, and dark circles reside under his eyes. "Yeah. What are you getting at, though?"
Ryder gives a stressing look at the camp ahead. "Well, I'm not sure, but I think that smoke looks an awful lot like dreamland smoke."
Reece drags his head up and dazedly blinks at the smoke funneling up the sky. "Shit, I think you're right."
"You wouldn't by chance have any shade on you, would you?" Ryder wriggles his arms around, attempting to get out of the ropes. "Otherwise, we're about to go on a really bad trip in probably one of the worst places."
"I always have one on me for emergencies." Reece blinks a few times. "I can't get to it, though."