Page 16 of Outcast

“So, I either risk imprisoning innocents or possibly letting out malicious ones,” I concluded. “Fucking great.” I’d really like to keep any riots at a minimum. We still haven’t closed the portal on Earth, meaning Dark Haven was likely overrun. One problem at a time.

“You need a warden,” Monty said. “Someone who can be here and monitor and can watch over the souls we bring back.”

“How do I appoint someone? I know about five people in Helheim, and one is a wraith at the castle.” This time, I turned to Elkan since he was here during Hel’s reign.

“Zetta?” He had a soft smile on his face.

“She was my sister in a past life. Hel never appreciated her,” he said with a sigh before shaking away whatever memory he was lost in. “Your power comes directly from the realm. You simply pull on it as you would use it, then send it to the person you’re appointing. It’s easier said than done but that will give them access to a small portion of the realm’s power. That’s how your commander here has the gifts that he has,” Elkan explained. “But remember, once it’s given, you cannot take it, only temporarily bind it or lock it away.”

“I guess that explains this place,” I said.

I’d walked forward again despite my stomach turning at every sight. The issue was the two demons behind me were falling behind. Both looked near death.

“Harlow.” My name was a mere whisper, and I wasn’t sure it was said out loud. I felt it in my soul, if I even had one anymore.

“Kol,” I breathed out his name, spinning around and wishing I could see beyond the bars. It felt as if it were coming from all around me. “He’s here. I can’t fucking see.” My last words came out as an angry growl.

“Are you a queen?” Monty mocked. It was halfhearted at best but enough to annoy me into producing fire. My frustration had me setting the entire hallway on fire. Monty and Elkan barely made it to my side as flames engulfed the edges of the floor, flickering up the bars.

“Well, that certainly worked,” Elkan said as he peered into the cells. Most demons were curled in on themselves and impossible to see.

“He’s not here,” I said as I looked in each one.

“Yes he is,” Monty said as he walked through the flame to one of the cells. What I thought was a curled-up demon was a pile of rags covering a slab of stone. Or rather, a chunk of my mate.

The bars melted with no more than a quick thought. It was clear once the rags were pulled away that this wasn’t all of him. Which would explain why he hadn’t regenerated as the others had.

“Find him, there’s more,” I said as I dragged the stone to the hall. It was insanely heavy, like a statue broken to pieces. But I refused to stop until my gargoyle was complete... except for his head.

“Are you sure you even need him?” Monty drawled. I didn’t respond to him as I looked around again.

“The warden’s office?” Elkan proposed. “It’s likely Hel left it there for a prize for her precious warden.”

The bitterness in his voice told me I wasn’t the only one who wanted to eviscerate that demon.

“If it makes anything better, I took the warden out with me when I died,” I told him with a smirk. Elkan let out a low chuckle that morphed into a cough.

“It does,” he said. “The warden’s office is on the top floor.”

“How am I going to get him down here,” I groaned. Despite my new body and abilities, moving those stone slabs was difficult. My body still ached from the effort.

“Bring it down here like you brought yourself to this prison,” Monty suggested.

“Or take this and your commander with you and do it there, you can lock yourselves in while he recovers,” Elkan pointed out.

“What about you?” I asked. If I left him here and something happened, I’d feel awful. Despite Monty reminding me I’m not human, I couldn’t leave my morals behind.

“I’m going to recover and see who is down here,” he promised. Reaching for a lantern on the wall, I lit it and handed it over before going over to Kol’s broken form.

The entire thing took far too many trips, but Elkan was right, we’d already amassed the attention of the guards, and this wasn’t something Kol would want witnessed. My commanders and I needed to be respected, feared in some senses, and that would not start by seeing his broken form.

“Should we go in?” Monty asked. I’d simply gone to the hallway outside of the warden’s office and left Monty there to go back for the rest despite his protests, but his magic wasn’t strong enough to follow and that might have been my main motivation. My commander could use some humbling, we were on equal footing these days.

“Yes,” I said confidently. Yet my entire body was tense as I pushed the door open. So far, this place had been full of nightmare fuel, I didn’t have high hopes for what was beyond this door.

“Even I find this fucked up,” Monty said. The haughtiness in his voice had a startled laugh escaping as I took in the bones that lined this place. Every piece of furniture was carved from the white bones. I wasn’t sure who they belonged to and I didn’t want to know.

“You know it’s not like I expected warm fires and prestigious books,” I said. “But this took me by surprise.”

---