Page 8 of Savage Hunt

Tiny explosions rippled through my body as I struggled into a sitting position, planting my black boots on the ground. My snarled, reddish-pink strands hung in my face. “More torture already?”

His thin lips pulled into a smirk. “You’re on a work assignment today.”

My head jerked back. “What? Why?”

“Don’t know. Don’t care.” He tapped the horizontal opening on the left side. “You’ve got five seconds to get up and put your hands through here, or I’m beating you with this stick.” He tapped the weapon on his hip that probably held a magical charge and would hurt like a motherfucker.

I pushed off the cot and shuffled over, gritting from the soreness in my legs. His nametag read Gershan. As soon as I shoved my hands through the opening, he locked handcuffs around my wrists.

“Back away from the door.” His yellow eyes narrowed. “Try anything, and I have the right to beat you to an inch of your death, understand?”

“I doubt that, but I’ll be good.” Venna would rip this demon to shreds if he accidentally killed me. She’d never find out what Ruin was up to or get the Infernal Sol.

A growl rumbled in him as he opened the door and yanked me out so hard I stumbled into the opposite wall. Pain erupted in my temple where my skull struck, and my vision blurred.

The big guy didn’t like being challenged.

He snapped his fingers as I blinked the stars from my vision. “I don’t have all day. Let’s go.” Like all the guards, he dressed in a black uniform with a silver H emblazoned on the left side of his barrel chest. Weapons were strapped to his sides and dangled from his belt.

As we walked through the prison, screams erupted every few minutes, and my insides grew colder. We passed a few other COs dragging prisoners, some barely conscious and covered in blood, and when we entered a cavernous room, my gag reflexes engaged. Small cells reached all the way to the tall ceiling, and the aroma of excrement and piss choked me.

The guard’s laughter slammed against my skull as did the screams and wails of the prisoners trapped in tiny cages like vermin.

“This is where the disobedient prisoners are sent.” His grin sent shards of ice through my bloodstream. A few faces pressed against the metal bars, pleading for release.

A female dux demon guard rolled a bucket and mop toward us. “The others have already started.” She tossed me a pair of rubber gloves, which I caught with my bound hands. “Get to work on the lower level.”

The big guard who dragged me in here roughly unlocked the cuffs from around my wrists. “Try anything, and you’ll earn a spot in one of these cages, 487331.”

A few officers posted around the edges of the enormous room, including Gershan, watching inmates clean out the cages. What happened to the former occupants?

They were probably dead.

I gagged as I ran the mop through a puddle of urine, wishing I had something to cover my nose. The other shifters on this work assignment looked like they had the same desire. They dressed in orange like me while demons had blue jumpsuits. The two fae wore green like Emerick had. Witches were in purple and vampires in red.

What color did Fane wear?

Someone bumped into me from behind. “When you’re done with this one, you can do mine.” The female panther shifter took a cigarette out of her pocket and lit it with a match.

I scoffed. “No thanks. I’ll stick to mine.”

She blew smoke at me, a reprieve from the shit and piss I’d inhaled for the last hour. “The new girl gets more work. I’ve already paid my dues.”

A male lion shifter approached, his blond locks in wild curls like a mane. “Esme’s right.” He shoved me as he strode to her side. “The new chick gets most of the work. You’ll understand once you’ve been here for a while.”

I had been in Heldrok for a while.

I dropped my mop back into my bucket and folded my arms. “I’m not doing shit else except my assigned share.”

Esme laughed, smoke coiling out of her mouth. “She’ll learn real fast how it works in Heldrok, won’t she, Benny?”

Gold leaked into his irises, smothering the green. “That’s right. This wolf will learn her place—right under my boot.”

Fire bubbled in my blood, and my nostrils flared as I stood my ground against the two shifters. “Try it. I dare you.”

Movement in my peripheral caught my attention, and I ducked just as a fist flew at my face, catching air. I whirled around as a snarling female wolf lunged. I slipped to the right and then jammed my elbow into her side, making her stumble away.

The guards remained in their spots, conversing while absentmindedly watching us. Apparently, fighting among inmates didn’t bother them. Hell, it was probably their entertainment.

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