Page 124 of Jagged Souls
Their gazes land first on me, standing in front of them, then on the three chimeras strapped to the chairs behind me. Pools of blood and severed bits lie at their feet. Their heads hang down – looking dead to the newcomers rather than just passed out.
Jerking back in horror, the two of them scream.
I squat down in front of them as they try to scramble backwards with their hands tied behind their ass, and their feet kicking across the floor.
“Zohfiik ije,” I say in Drazic.meaning //The rules are simple.
The language is guttural, harsh, and angry, almost like a mix between German and Spanish. It’s a primitive tongue despite being the second oldest language in all of the Seven Planes; the demons are always looking for a reason to fight, so why bother fixing communication? Magic is also wild despite our attempts to tame it, and the chaotic creativity of Drazic allows it to breathe like it needs to.
So all witches share this language.
“Vicara, ke aloze.”//You do what I want, I’ll smuggle you back home.
Their screams stumble into choking whimpers as they stare at each other in horror, no doubt thinking I want them to fight to the death, and only the victor will get to go home. My jaw tics at the complexity of the language, but I can only hope they’ll understand as I keep going. Given neither of them speaks Eknor (which Lou does) or English, this is the only one we have in common.
“Hojez, alovanajez,”I continue.//You don’t, and I will kill you slowly.
As threatening as that was, they perk up a little, hope flaring in their eyes. If they were fighting to the death, then I wouldn’t have to kill them for failing. So now they realize I want them for a job.
“Heevan, alokimal vanajez.” //Enough.
When they do so immediately, I know I got my point across. Enoch and Ezriel dropping the chairs might have been a bit theatrical, but I need them to focus. To skip the whole phase of trying to fight back and escape.
“Si alovicara si?”the man rasps as he looks between me and his sons. //What do you want from us?
I tell them about Eduardo’s network, and I make it clear that if he finds out we’ve hijacked our way into it, then their family will live a very long life in this garage.
I snap my fingers, and my shadow husks walk up the stairs, controlled by the twins’ magic, not mine. They move to stand behind the seven chairs, and my hostages, having finally woken up from Khalid’s spell, all scream and cry behind their gags. The smell of fear permeates the air. A few of the children piss themselves. The teleporters yell at me, and Stormie’s fingers twitch down at her sides as she waits to see if either of them are foolish enough to try to attack.
The odds aren’t in their favor. The risks are too great. We can kill their loved ones far faster than they can speak a spell – if they even know how to do that.
But push a desperate man…
And he will turn into an animal.
Take those I love...
And I will become something far worse.
When neither of them make a move, I nod at Dayne, and he removes the gloves from their hands, then the chains from around their wrists.
The two teleporters rub their hands and flex their fingers, but whereas the woman looks at her children, the man looks at us, clocking where we all are. Biting back a cruel smile, I turn away from him, goading him to take the shot.
There is a reason I asked for two.
