Page 39 of Dark Captivation

Her blocking grew sloppier and slower as she grew exhausted with deflecting our flurried attacks.

Samantha’s left side is now wide open as she fended off Ferina’s shoulder punch, I took aim at her left hip.

Samantha grunted in pain as my fist connected with her hip bone.

Taking advantage of the fact that she was distracted, Ferina sprang into action. Moving like the wind, Ferina launched a series of quick punches at Samantha’s shoulder sending her spinning like a top.

A spark of vindictive rage burning in her eyes, Liza did a high kick, clocking Samantha in the neck. The large demoness fell to the ground like a felled tree.

My heart thundering in my chest, the thrill of the fight pumped pure adrenaline through my veins.

Samantha was on her back, her panicked eyes bouncing off the four of us.

Ferina, Tabitha, Liza and I swung our legs high, showing Samantha what our heels look like before the final blow.

“Okay. I surrender. You win.” She waved frantically.

Ferina looked to me then to Liza and Tabitha. “We accept your defeat.” Ferina said with the air of a benevolent queen.

Wiping the sweat from my forehead, I offered Samantha a hand and helped her to her feet.

“You’ve got one mean left hook, Sunny. King Malek better not do anything to piss you off.” Samantha rubbed the soreness from her hip, her jaw rotated until it cracked.

“Mally’s been on his best behavior. He’s like a real Casanova every time Sunny’s around. They’re adorable. He’s even taking her to the caves tonight.” Ferina covered her lips with the pads of her fingers. “Oops.”

“Is that the surprise? What’s in the caves?” I asked.

“The caves? I’m so jealous.” Tabitha said with pinkening cheeks.

“Must be nice. Wish someone would take me on a romantic date into the caves.” Liza plastered a smile onto her face, looking disapprovingly up at Samantha.

“Can someone tell me what’s so great about the caves?” I asked and Ferina raised a finger as if to warn off the other girls.

“It’s a surprise that I’ve only half ruined. But we can still conserve as much mystery as possible by not letting anymore slip.” Ferina laid down the law.

So, I was expected to follow a demon I barely even knew into a deep dark cave, in the middle of the night? Were these demonesses right in the head?

Seeming to notice my uneasiness, Tabitha perched a reassuring hand on my shoulder. “Relax, nobody takes someone to the caves unless it’s really serious. It’ll be one of the most memorable nights of your life. That’s all you need to know.”

So many words and they all added up to absolutely nothing. A thought crossed my mind, what if they were willing to answer a different question? Now was the perfect opportunity to get some information about Malek.

“Soooo, you guys lived in Demon City long?” I looked at Samantha, then Tabitha, Liza and Ferina. “Did you leave the underworld at the same time as Malek? And while we’re on the subject, what made Malek decide to move all his demons to Earth?”

They all stared back at me with a deadened look bleaching their skin. They looked like I’d just pressed a semi-automatic rifle to their temples as they exchanged glances.

“Ummmmmm.” Ferina seemed unsure what to say, staring at me like a deer in headlights.

“We don’t talk about the before.” Samantha said in hushed tones, shaking her head.

“It’s forbidden.” A stern warning laced her soft words.

“The before? You mean before the demons came to Earth? Why? Every shifter pack has a history. We teach it to our cubs. Why is it different here?”

“Demons are not like wolves. We are not free to speak about anything we wish. Our king has given us so much and asks for so little. Whatever he asks of us must be respected. And he commands that no demon speak of life before we came to Earth.” Tabitha said, and by the way her voice shook, that was all she would say on the matter.

A nervous smile creeped along Tabitha’s cheek. “Why don’t we get back to training? We should go over the ‘forest field ambush attack formation’ next.”

“All will be revealed to you in time, Sunny. Don’t worry.” Ferina patted me on the back, and I silently nodded.

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