Page 129 of A Drop of Anguish
My mouth dries. “Slave?” I whisper.
“It’s temporary, but yes. My power, though great, is limited, and I have to do what Vincent and the others tell me. I can’t hurt him. Which is where Jarron comes in.”
What exactly does she want from us?
“I need Jarron to kill Vincent for me. Why else do you think I brought you all here?”
I hold my breath.
She wants Jarron to kill Mr. Vandozer because she can’t. Okay, that makes sense. We are now on the same side—sort of. At least we have that one big thing in common, but there’s more to this. Liz is beholden to what Mr. Vandozer tells her, and she’s very powerful, which means the moment he finds out what she’s doing, we’re dead. That’s onebigdownside.
Still, it’s better than the jinn being our enemy, so we’ll work with it.
But there’s another piece that’s irking me.
I release my breath slowly.
“It’s temporary,” I repeat. “Temporary how?”
“I will be the jinn only until another is chosen. They will take my place, and I will be free, but I will keep my magic.”
“Chosen.” I’m beginning to feel like a parrot, but I need her to expand. I can’t think straight.
“I’ll only be free once another winner is crowned.”
My eyes flutter closed.
“You need another set of games to take place,” Jarron says, his voice low.
Her smile is sad. “Or I’ll remain a slave forever. And if Vincent finds out I’m not intending to play along with his long-term plans, that’s exactly what will happen.”
53
No Goodbyes
My breaths are shaky, panic pressing down on my vision.
“We want to help you,” Jarron says slowly, “I want to kill him, but there is a lot more stacked against us than just one Orizian betrayer.”
Liz pops a hip again and tsks at him. “I thought you wereso powerful. So young but the most powerful demon prince in generations. I did not anticipate you being afraid of a few interdimensional beings.”
She steps forward, her eyes pinned to Jarron like she’s the predator and he’s the prey. “Don’t you want to impress me? Your mate?”
I wince and then rub my chest, where it feels like a dagger just sliced me open.
Jarron flexes his hands several times, every muscle tight and unmoving. Horns inch up from his hair, as if he’s trying to hold back the transition.
Liz watches with interest as he fights to hold back his demon. “No?” she finally says. “How disappointing. Well, I better get us back to our regularly scheduled broadcasting, then, before I’m found out.”
She grins manically and lifts her hand to snap her fingers, but Jarron leaps before she completes whatever magic she’d been intending. A blinding white light flares just before claws swipe at me, and then darkness takes over my vision.
#
Rough hands grab me. I twist, my hair flying. I can’t tell which way is up until my back slams against cold stone.
A monster’s fangs flash in front of me. I wince but manage to keep still otherwise.
“Shhh,” the monster tells me. He places a gentle clawed finger over my lips.
