Page 95 of Villains and Vengeance
‘You told her we’d make sure the arania didn’t make it if she sold us out?’ Daemon asks, sounding like he begrudgingly approves of Maddox’s tactics.
Maddox nods and I have to look away from him, pushing away the unrecognizable feeling that’s flooding my gut.
‘When the window opens, I’ll walk through first with Axel,’ he says like he didn’t just tell us he made absolutely sure that Jules was going to die a painful death here, ‘while I focus on the estate, so we get to where we need to go.’
Daemon nods. ‘I’ll take Jayce.’
I stand back up and start pacing the room. I can't relax.
‘I'm going to the ring,’ I mutter.
‘Do you think that's wise so close to the deadline?’ Maddox asks, but he doesn’t forbid me.
I know I’m driving him crazy with all my moving around.
‘I don't give a shit if it's wise,’ I say. ‘I can't sit here for the next hour and a half.’
And think about what we’re doing to Jules.
‘Be back in plenty of time,’ Maddox says with a sigh.
‘Don’t get caught, bro,’ Daemon sneers.
I give him the finger and leave, taking the steps and corridors straight down to the common area. The main arena is at the back of the cavern, but there are four or five circles for sparring and settling disputes.
I don’t fuck around. I find one of the biggest supes in the room. His name is Durse and he’s some kind of lower demon. He’s in the fight tomorrow.
I stand in the small crowd around him, deciding if I’m going to start something with him or another of these assholes, when I hear a voice behind me.
‘I’m going to win tomorrow and when I do, I’m going to spend my hour making that human whore scream!’
His proclamation is loud and impossible to miss. He’s as big as Durse, but I don’t know this one’s name. Not that it matters. He’s going to be a smear in the dirt when I’m done with him.
‘I’m going to rut her so good, make that tight little cunt and arse bleed. I’ll make her clean me with her mouth when I’m done,’ he promises to the jeers and laughter of the supes around him. ‘By the time she goes back to her master, she’ll be a fucking shell!’
I’ve heard enough.
I go up behind him and push him hard. He turns around with a snarl, and I demon up faster than he can blink. To his credit, he doesn't back down. I point to one of the rings, and he grins, taking off his jacket and cracking his knuckles. We move into the circle side by side, and as soon as we're both in place, I attack.
I lunge into his middle, taking him down to the ground. He kicks out at me hard, catching me in the jaw, and I spit a couple of teeth out into the dirt. They'll grow back next time I demon up, so I'm not worried about my pretty face. There's a crowd already gathering. A fight is a fight. Entertainment. That's all anybody really wants here.
They're chanting the other supe's name, but I can't hear it clearly over the roaring and the loud wagers being struck.
We roll around on the floor, wrestling, kicking each other, punching each other in the guts until he stands up and gets a lucky kick into my kidney. I laugh as the pain radiates through me, grounding me. I jump to my feet, grabbing him by the shoulders and head-butting him in the nose. He yells, staggering back, his eyes tearing, his nose bleeding freely.
I go in with a left hook, catching him in the cheek, shattering that bone, then an uppercut that breaks his jaw. He flies up into the air from the force of it and lands on his back a few feet away.
The crowd loves it brutal and quick like this, so the sounds are deafening. I’m vaguely aware of supplies being handed over by the losers of the bets to the winners as I stagger out of the ring.
I thought this would make me feel better. A fight always does. But it hasn’t worked. I’m still thinking about Jules and there's nothing I can do. Dante has a hundred men at his back, and even I can't fight all of them.
I make sure no one's following me, and I go back up into the tunnels at the top.
I take my five-hundred Jules-sized steps from Arania Alley and find the spot that opens out into where the portal is. Slipping inside the small shaft, I crawl through it. Maddox and Daemon are pretty much where I left them on one side of the cavern, sitting on a couple of rocks and waiting patiently for opening time.
Axel and Jayce are on the other side where they were stashed a few hours ago. They still can't move properly, but their eyes are now able to slowly track me as I get closer to them.
‘I think we made a mistake,’ I whisper.
