Page 81 of Villains and Vengeance
‘Checkmate, darling.’
* * *
Daemon
I can’t believewe’re getting out of here, I think as I haul Jayce’s limp ass down the passage. I also can’t believe this fucker hit me over the head with a clay pot and I didn’t hear him coming up behind me.
That’s on me for getting sidetracked by What Iron was doing to Jules though, I guess.
A couple of Dante’s guys pass us, but they don’t even look our way thanks to Iron.
‘Thought you hated your fae side,’ I remark as I glance back at him. ‘I know you used it when you needed to, but when the hell did you get so powerful with it?’
Iron shrugs as best he can while carrying Axel. ‘I guess it’s the Mountain. It was an ancient fae stronghold. That usually means old magick.’
We trudge the rest of the way up the stairs and into Arania Alley, finding the tunnel Jules was hiding out in and making sure not to touch the spider silk. The last thing we need is an angry arania on us.
We had to come all the way to this spot because, even though we found the shaft where Jules said it was before. Neither of us can find the exact spot again; everywhere looks sosamey.
‘Start counting,’ Iron huffs, ‘and, remember, small steps. She’s got shorter legs than us.’
I nod. I keep forgetting that. We start shuffling down the tunnel. Thankfully no one’s up here because they’d definitely wonder what we’re doing.
I don’t talk, just count mindlessly while I think. Of course my thoughts move toward Jules even though I don’t want them to. She’s a fighter, I have to admit. I figured she’d be a shaking wreck of a human by the time Iron was finished with her. And there were times during the interrogation that I had to look away, though I’ve never had trouble with that kind of thing before.
I thought she’d whimper and cry, beg for her life. But she didn’t and, even though I don’t want to, I admire her resilience. I’ve always thought of humans as pretty weak and pathetic to be honest, but Jules has proved me wrong at every turn.
250. Half-way there.
I frown to myself when I remember how she reacted after she spat at me. Her face, her posture. I wasn’t going to hit her, but she really thought I was and her reaction got me thinking about who she really is and what she’s afraid of even though I don’t want to do that either. She’s been beaten before and more than once, I guarantee it. I also don’t buy her bullshit story trying to make light of it. I saw how scared she was and, while Iron upset her and degraded her during his questioning, she never lookedafraiduntil I raised my fist.
I didn’t like it, which sounds ridiculous even inside my own mind when I was so up for throttling her. Except, despite what the others thought, I was about to stop. I don’t want Jules dead. I should, but I don’t.
But I guess there’s no point in thinking about that. She’s Dante’s now. We’re leaving here and she’s a dead woman walking. Or at least she’s going to wish she was dead very soon.
My frown deepens as my gut twists. This is the revenge I’ve been waiting for. So why isn’t the prospect of Jules suffering for her crimes so palatable to me now that it’s actually happening?
Iron breaks me out of my thoughts. ‘Here. This looks familiar and we’re almost up to the count.’
‘Familiar?’ I scoff. ‘Of course it does. All these tunnels look the damn same.’
Iron grunts at me and puts Axel down carefully. He feels along the wall for a few feet before he turns back and nods. ‘Found it. I’ll go through backwards first and you pass me Jayce then Axel.’
I wait for him to get inside the narrow shaft and maneuver Jayce in feet-first. Iron drags him the rest of the way and I listen for him to be ready for Axel.
I hear something in the dark down the tunnel I’m still standing in and I freeze, listening.
Someone’s coming.
I grab Axel off the ground and stuff him none too carefully into the small opening, climbing in after him and pushing him further down with my legs so I have enough room to hide.
Sure enough, a lone figure shuffles slowly down the tunnel, peering into the darkness this way and that, face hidden by a deep hood.
He’s looking for us … or for Jules. I know it.
I stare at him, knowing there’s something familiar about him even though he’s cloaked. It’s the walk, I realize and I know immediately who it is.
Silas.
