It had been months since he’d heard anything as clear as this. The voice usually overrode everything. But right now, the voice was nothing but a dull buzz somewhere far off in the background.
He stepped away from Maelea, stared down at her in the darkness. He still couldn’t see her, but his other senses—smell, hearing, touch—were alive and vibrating with the need for…more. More of whatever the hell she was doing to him.
He had no fucking idea what was happening, but since returning from the Underworld, the only constant he’d grown to expect was that when weird shit happened in his head, it meant something bad was about to go down. Case in point: what he’d done to Titus and Nick out there in those woods.
Skata…he really was losing his shaky grasp on reality. Before that happened for good, he had to get out of these fucking caves. And he needed her to get him there.
He pulled her out of their hiding place and back into the tunnel, harder than necessary. A yelp slipped from her lips. He turned her around again so her back was once more plastered against his front and whispered, “Okay, nice and slow. Your fate and the fates of those in this tunnel are in your hands now. Understand?”
She nodded again, swallowed beneath his hand, then cautiously stepped forward.
And in the silence, he told himself that if he was too hard on her, if she was afraid, it was a good thing. Because she should be scared shitless. There was no telling what might set him off or what he’d do next.
Gods, please don’t let me kill her. Just let me get away.
“Good girl,” he managed, reassuring both of them at the same time. “This will be over soon, Maelea. Just do as you’re told and in a few minutes, we’ll both be free.”
Chapter Four
He knew her name. That shouldn’t have surprised Maelea, but it did. And it pushed that frustration and fear even closer to the forefront.
Her body trembled as they moved down the pitch-black tunnel. The voices were gone. She couldn’t even hear footsteps anymore. She wanted to scream out for the sentries to come back, to find her, but knew if she did, Gryphon would make good on his promise.
Tears of anger burned the backs of her eyes. Images of what he’d done to Nick, of what Nick had described he’d done to Titus, swam in her mind. She bit her lip beneath his palm, reminded herself that any kind of unexpected reaction from her would only lead to his being trapped…to his doing something drastic, like injuring either her or those sentries. Like killing them all.
There were worse things than being a prisoner, she told herself. He’d said he just needed her to get out of the tunnels. She had to believe he’d hold to that promise. Once he was free, she’d be a burden—something to slow him down. He’d want to get away as fast as possible. There was no other reason for him to keep her.
They turned a corner. Her elbow knocked into rock and she bit down harder on her lip to keep from crying out, tasted blood against her tongue. His hand slid from her hip to her elbow and rubbed until the pain dissipated. And at the soothing and way-too-comforting touch, warning bells went off like giant red flags waving in the wind.
Oh yes, there’s a reason he would keep you around.
Every muscle in her body tightened as his hand moved back to her hip, his fingers digging into the pressure points of her groin to direct her movements. She suddenly became aware of his powerful thighs brushing her hamstrings, of his hips pressing up against her backside. And she remembered all too well how his fingers had grazed the underside of her breasts when he had her pinned in that cramped space only moments ago, how heat had radiated from his body to hers, how he’d hardened—even if only slightly—behind the fly of his jeans.
No. He couldn’t possibly want her for that.
Why not? He’s a monster. Like Hades. You feel the darkness of the Underworld inside him.
Anger and an increased need to escape vibrated within her. Options raced through her mind. Dammit, she’d lost her backpack in the orchard. She had no weapons now. Nothing to use to even attempt to overpower him. How was she going to get away?
She had to get away.
They rounded another corner. A light burned ahead. He jerked her back into the darkness, even tighter against him. Near her ear, he whispered, “Shh…” and his hot breath sent gooseflesh all over the skin of her neck. A sensation that was both terrifying and electric. “Don’t move.”
Voices echoed ahead—several—in the central opening of the cave where the tunnels all joined together. Hope erupted in her chest. He’d never make it past them. There were too many. There was no choice for him but to surrender.
“He’s got to be in here,” a male voice said—Nick’s voice. “I want two in every tunnel and the rest of you here when he shows himself.”
Boots clomped. Metal clanged. The sounds grew closer. Someone was heading their way.
Yes!
“Skata.” Gryphon jerked her back down the tunnel they’d just come through. Maelea’s foot slipped on the rocks and a muffled yelp fell from her lips as she scrambled for her footing, trying to keep up in the blinding darkness. Back toward the direction of the orchard, which they seemed to be backtracking to, another voice rang out.
A growl emanated from Gryphon. He yanked her around, tight to his side, both of their backs pressing against the cold rocks. Water dripped down from somewhere above to send a chill over Maelea’s skin as she worked to catch her breath.
But the anger…it built inside her. Vibrated stronger. Gave her a confidence she didn’t know she had.
“You…you can’t get out,” she rasped, her courage growing. “There are too many. It’s over.”
“I say when it’s over!” His fingers dug into her wrist. He dragged her toward an elbow deeper in the tunnel. Dim voices still echoed from the central space of the cave, but they weren’t following. The footsteps ahead echoed louder. Someone was running toward them. A light barreled closer.
The sentry from before. The one who’d gone back to check the orchard door. It had to be. She needed to do something fast before Gryphon killed him.
“Here!” she screamed. “I’m here!”
Gryphon’s fingers dug into her wrist with a death grip, and he yanked her so close, the air whooshed out of her lungs. The sentry’s boots skidded to a stop.
Whatever fear she’d felt before was replaced with determination. She wasn’t going to go willingly this time. She had let Orpheus drag her to this colony. She’d spent her life hiding. But not anymore. This time, she was in control.
She jerked hard on Gryphon’s arm. “No! I’m not going any farther with you.”
Light from the sentry’s lantern ahead curved around the bend, illuminating the cave and Gryphon’s enraged eyes. Behind her, toward the main chamber of the caves, voices dimmed as if they’d heard her too. An eerie silence settled over the space, followed by the squawk of a radio from the sentry frozen around the corner.
Fear raced down her spine, but she held her ground. And when Gryphon muttered, “Stupid female,” and his grip tightened on her wrist, she didn’t even think, she reacted.
She wrenched her arm from his grip. Electricity raced down her arm. The force of it hit the rocks at her feet, vibrated through the floor of the cave. A great cracking sound echoed.
“Dammit,” Gryphon muttered, glaring into her eyes, taking one menacing step forward.