It seemed the demons had given up angel hunting, because more began to fill the halls of the lair, making it harder for her to find suitable hiding places. She overheard several heated debates over whether to tell their master they’d seen an angel in his territory after he’d given orders not to be disturbed. While she was sure that was something Murmur would want to know, it seemed their fear of being impaled on the turrets was enough to make them second-guess their logic.
Her luck came while she was hidden behind a statue of a dragon chewing on a severed limb.
“You’re late relieving the guards on the prisoner,” one demon shouted at another as he hurried past.
From her hiding place, she could peek over the statue’s wingtip, and she watched a pair of gargoyles rushing down the passage. They’d been stopped by a group going the opposite direction.
“Shut yer face,” was the tardy demon’s response, and that was the entirety of the conversation. But it was more than enough. ‘The prisoner’ could only mean one thing.
She waited until the group passed and then made her move, inching out of the alcove and hurrying after the guards, her hood so low she could barely see. They led her through a maze of passages, and she quickly forgave herself for not finding the way to the dungeons sooner. The castle was a labyrinth.
Once they took a set of twisting stairs below ground, the halls turned into rough-hewn tunnels with jagged low ceilings. After another minute or so, they reached a barred gate across the tunnel, currently resting open.
While Sunshine ducked into a crevice to hide, the gargoyles she’d followed were chastised by those they’d been sent to relieve. Quietly, she unsheathed one of her blades, pressed her back into the stone, and waited for her moment. Two demons she could handle, but four was more of a risk.
But if the dungeon guards were changing, that meant the original two would be coming this way where they would surely spot her. If she faced them, the other two would hear the fight, giving them time to gather defenses and potentially call for help.
Until now, she’d managed to avoid any combative situations. If she had her way, she would never have to draw a weapon at all. But for Raum’s sake, she would not allow herself to be ruled by her fear of the past.
She unsheathed her second blade.
And then she stepped out from around the corner and rushed the bickering guards before she had a chance to stop herself.
She stabbed the first two demons in the sides of their necks simultaneously. Then she jerked her knives free and tossed one blade and then the other into the eyeballs of the other two.
Hands free, she turned to the first stabbed demon, gripped his horned skull, and snapped his neck. She spun back with a high kick to knock back the second when he tried to grab her, and then she caught his head before he fell and snapped his neck too.
The other two were gathering their wits despite the blades protruding from their eye sockets, but they weren’t fast enough. She lunged forward, pulled her knives free with a jerk, and then swept both her arms out, drawing the razor-edged blades across their throats.
They hit the ground at the same time and bled out together.
Lowering her arms, she straightened, heart pumping at double speed. She felt…invigorated. Empowered.
She smiled. And then she stepped over the bodies and hurried down the tunnel to find Raum.
17
Rise and Shine
Asharp pain in his shoulder had Raum dragging his mind out of the soup of oblivion he’d been swimming in. He felt the weight of his arm at his side, and the blood rushing into his hand felt like a hundred needles, which helped wake him up a little.
“Raum?”
There was light pressure against his face, like someone was touching his cheek. It was nice, and he relaxed into it with a sigh. He hadn’t allowed himself to feel anything good in a long time.
He needed to chill out more. He was always stressed out and in a bad mood. When was the last time he’d just enjoyed the moment?
“Raum, wake up—”
The sound of that voice… It was like music. He would commit gratuitous acts of violence just to hear more of it.
He tried to respond, but all that came out was an unintelligible mumble. Even he was aware enough to know it made no sense. Not that he cared. As long as that hand kept touching him, he was good.
“Raum, you need to wake up. We can’t take a hellgate out of here until you’re conscious.”
He tried to blink. He wanted to please the voice.
“Yes! Try again. Let me see your eyes.”
