Page 41 of Not Today, Satan
He grabs my shoulders to steady me. “Whoa. You okay there?”
Ferus jogs up to us, shoving Nate out of the way and grabbing my waist. “What did you do to her?”
Nate raises his arms beside his head. “Nothing, I swear.”
“It’s the cuffs.” Although the words come from my mouth, they echo like they’re far away. I wriggle against his grip but can’t break it. “You know they weaken demons.”
“Need me to carry you, Princess?” Ferus presses his body into mine. I attempt to push him off, but my arms won’t follow my directions anymore. “I don’t mind.”
“No thanks,” I mumble through a mouth of cotton. It takes everything in me to point to Lot Eleven. “But it’ll be easier to go through there. I could fall on those stairs, and I think Father would deduct marks for bringing me back broken.”
Ferus eyes the shimmering door with narrowed eyes. “Demons don’t go in there. You know that.”
“Are you scared?” My words slur, like when demons pour alcohol into their bloodwine. “I thought you were some big strong demon, bu’ yourrrre jus’ a cowaaard.”
The souldiers behind Ferus snicker. Ferus’s cheeks grow redder than usual as he puffs them out. He shoots a venomous gaze at the souldiers, and they fall silent.
“I’m not a coward, Princess,” Ferus growls. “Need me to prove it to you? Fine.” He grabs my arm and yanks me toward the bridge.
I wince as pain explodes across my shoulder. My boots imprint the gravel as I struggle against him, but he doesn’t slow.
Nate and the souldiers follow as my legs bounce along the wooden planks of the bridge, my knees bloodied and stinging as splinters are embedded in my flesh. My face burns hot, and I turn away from all of them, refusing to add tears to their view of me as Ferus’s rag doll.
Okay, Dev. You only need to do three things in here. Get away from Ferus, not get lost, and stay far from those mirrors. All while barely being able to stand. Perfect. What could go wrong with this plan?
Once we reach the door, Ferus shoves me into Nate before opening it with a grunt. He sneers at me. “Princesses first.”
Nate wraps his arm around my waist, and I lean into him as we enter the lot. My left shoulder aches, and my knees burn. Blood trickles down my leg and pools around the top of my boot. I swallow the lump in my throat and blink back tears.
We turn into the maze of mirrors, and I gasp at my reflection. My skin is paler than usual, my dress torn and dirtied along the bottom. A rip up the side reveals a gash in my leg, bleeding blue onto the floor. The shadow spreads out behind me, and I tremble.
Nate’s arms tighten and he whispers, “Don’t look, Dev. I’ve got you.” I turn from the mirror and bury my face in his shoulder, letting him guide me through the mirrors.
Something crunches beneath my boot, and I stop. My breath hitches as the light swings over us, and an object glints at my feet.Glass.Piles of it. We left a trail when we escaped last time. The mirrors on the walls may shift, but the broken pieces haven’t moved. If we can lose Ferus and the rest of them, we can follow the pieces out of here.
“What’s wrong, Princess?” Ferus comes up behind me. “Changed your mind? This was your idea after all.”
“I dunno know the way,” I lie, peering up at him from under my eyelashes “It looks differrrrent thisssss time. I’d rather follow you. You’re the group leaderrrrright? Lead.”
“Fine.” Ferus sighs before nodding at Nate. “Make sure she doesn’t slip out of your grasp, Metus.”
“You can count on me, sir.” Nate salutes. When Ferus stares at him in response, he bows.
I mentally face-palm. Ferus shakes his head and mutters something about good work being hard to find before heading deeper into the maze.
We allow the rest of the souldiers to pass us before we trail them, our reflections a blur of black and red. I press my face into Nate’s shoulder again, and he slips his hand around my waist to steady me. After what happened last time, coming in here is my worst nightmare. But this time I’m not alone with the mirrors. And the voices are nowhere to be found.
“Hang in there, Dev,” Nate whispers. I give him a small smile in thanks.
Something crunches under his boot, and Ferus drops to one knee to inspect the ground. “What the—?”
“Now,” I whisper to Nate, my heart pounding in my ears. “Undo the cuffs.”
Nate’s hand drops to his waist, and the handcuffs fall off my wrists and clatter to the floor.
The swirling in my head clears, and I gratefully suck in a lungful of air. My legs wobble, but I’m able to pull Nate between two mirrors as Ferus lets out a bellow.
I grab the edge of one of the mirrors and indicate for Nate to follow suit with the other. “Shove them together,” I whisper.
