Page 44 of The Labyrinth

His eyes flashed to mine, a storm raging inside them. “I will kill every single one of them who touches you, Rissa. I will slice off their fingers one by one and feed them to them while you watch.”

One was dressed nicer than the rest. He laughed at Ten’s words. “Take her away to the holding cells. We’ll deal with him after.”

“No!” Ten leapt to his feet, throwing his elbow back into the man’s face who held him. “You’re not fucking taking her anywhere.”

“Ten!” I screamed. I saw the one barreling from behind ready to take him down, but Ten didn’t see him until it was too late.

On the floor with his hands behind his back, Ten looked up at the man who had spoken, and took a breath. “Mal, listen. Listen. Let’s be sensible about this. Do you really want to take a human girl? Wouldn’t it be better to take the leader of the Labyrinth? That would make for a much better show.”

Mal ran a hand down his jaw, and held a finger up to the man who restrained me. A stray tear dripped down my face as I watched Ten struggle. “I’m listening.”

“I don’t care what you do to me. Chop me up into little pieces and feed me to your dogs. Keep me as your own pet. I. Don’t. Care. Just leave Rissa alone. Let her go. She’s done nothing wrong other than being associated with me.”

The man nodded, then snapped his fingers. “Let’s go. Take her. Griffin, you stay and watch Ten.”

“No!” I screamed, kicking at the man who was coming up to help carry me. “No! Ten!”

“What the fuck?” Ten bellowed. “I thought you were listening?”

“I did listen. And I didn’t agree.”

The men were carrying me out of the room as I twisted and screamed. Behind me I could hear Ten cursing, and the sounds of more fighting. He was pissed.

Down the stairs we went as I kicked and tried to get some purchase with my attackers. But they were twice my size, and there were two of them. It didn’t mean I wasn’t going to try.

“Rissa! Rissa, I swear I’m coming for you. I’m coming for you Rissa, and they’ll all fucking pay.” Ten’s screams followed us out the door, and into the still night air. No one was on the streets, as if this wasn’t happening. None of this was real.

I fought against their grips, whipping wildly from side to side. “Where the fuck are you taking me? What are you doing?”

The big one holding my right arm shook me. “Shut the fuck up. I don’t know how Ten put up with your yapping for so long. Your kind are much more enjoyable when your mouths have something in them.”

The man on my left laughed. “She won’t be talking for long when she gets to the Cage. I give her five minutes, tops.”

“Five minutes? I give her thirty seconds.”

“I’ll take those odds.”

The Cage. They were taking me to the Cage. My heart sank, and I fought even harder. “You can’t take me to the Cage. No! Fuck. No! I won’t go! I won’t.”

“Luckily for us, you don’t have a say.”

“Here, I’ll take care of the talking.” A hand slapped across my face, wrapping a rag filled with a sweet-smelling scent over my nose and mouth. I twisted and turned in their arms, but the edges of my vision grew blurry, and my limbs fell heavy. Somewhere I could hear Ten screaming for me, but I wasn’t sure if that was in this life or somewhere else.

Then there was silence.

* * *

My mouth was dry.I desperately needed a drink. I reached out for the table next to my bed, where I always kept a cup of water, but all I hit was air. Cold air, and then cold stone.

The events came back to me in a rush, and my eyes flew open. The men taking me from Ten’s house. Ten screaming. The rag. TheCage. Fuck. Was I there now? I took in my surroundings, getting to my knees even as my head protested.

I was in what looked to be a cell, but it didn’t look big enough to be the Cage. I was on the floor, and bars covered the one open wall. Something I didn’t want to think too hard about was pooled in the corner, and something else dripped down the walls. No. This wasn’t the Cage. Not yet at least. I looked down at myself, the loose-fitting pants and shirt someone had dressed me in. At least they hadn’t forced me to remain naked. Small miracles, you know, before I died.Fuck. I gasped in a breath, trying to fill my lungs before panic overtook me. I couldn’t panic. Not now.

I closed my eyes, trying to catch my breath.

Think logically, Rissa. Logically. Fear won’t get you anywhere. Logic will keep you alive.

This is what I knew. I was in a cell, and I was waiting for the Cage. I was here because they had found out about my relationship with Ten, but I didn’t know if it was meant to punish me or Ten. Maybe both. In the Cage, I would be required to fight to the death against someone else. And according to the two monsters who transported me, I was likely going to die.Fuck. I slapped my forehead, trying to get those thoughts to leave. I couldn’t die. I couldn’t leave my family, never knowing what had happened to me. I couldn’t leave Ten. His screams in the night before everything went dark still echoed in my brain, the sounds of him landing punches on solid flesh, his face as he tried to get to me. These were moments scarred into my skin. I couldn’t let all that be for nothing. I couldn’t. I needed to try to survive, at the very least. I needed to gather my strength, and everything life had taught me. I wasn’t a pushover. I could put up a fight. I wouldn’t go out peacefully, if that was what it came to. I wouldn’t whisper. I would scream and I would rage until my final breaths, because that was what these monsters deserved. A memory that would linger.

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