Page 9 of Releasing Darkness

With the fire burning steadily, I held the meat over the flames as if I were roasting marshmallows. As I slowly turned the meat, trying to cook it as evenly as possible without burning the shit out of it, I watched as my furry friend crept closer to the fire, seemingly entranced by the flames. I tensed, hoping I wouldn’t have to save it from a case of fatal curiosity, but I shouldn’t have worried. Instead, it passed the fire and crawled next to me, turned around in a circle a couple of times before settling against my thigh with a slight huff.

I’d never had a pet before. My job as Varek’s guard and then manager of the bar had consumed so much of my time that I didn’t want to take away from a living creature that depended on me. But I could feel myself already growing attached to my new friend.

“You know,” I spoke into the quiet of the forest, “if you’re going to hang around, I should probably call you something other than ‘it’.” I looked down to see it cleaning its fur before catching a glimpse of the unmistakable genitals. “You’re definitely a boy,” I chuckled. “How about Spike?” He continued to ignore me as he cleaned the blood and scrapes he’d accumulated. “Nah, I’m not a fan either. Fluffy? Shadow? Max?” At Max, he looked up at me and trilled softly, so I took that as consent. “Max it is. Nice to meet you, Max.”

Max chuffed at me, nuzzled into my leg, and seemed to fall right into sleep. I took it as a good sign that he trusted me enough to keep him safe while he slept in the dangerous forest that could murder you in seconds.

I watched as my meal sizzled over the fire and wondered how much further the walk would be. I was tired, but as a demon, I didn’t need sleep as often as humans. I knew I could go for much longer before exhaustion took me. But it was the soul deep weariness that worried me. I hadn’t absorbed enough sexual energy in far too long, relying on what I could gather in the house with the mated brothers. It had been keeping me fed just enough to sate my hunger, but I had been needing last night to take the edge off. Without it, I was feeling the drain and didn’t know how long I’d last before my need for sexual energy turned into a lust that I couldn’t fight.

After what had happened with the vampires a few years ago, I hadn’t allowed myself to fall into that kind of starvation again. I hadn’t even wanted the male; my body tried to force my hand. Had it been anyone other than a happily mated male, I shuddered to think of what could have happened. I kept myself from all sexual situations for many different reasons. Maybe they were unnecessary, and I was only hurting myself, but I just couldn’t bring myself to take that step.

A secret wish of mine had always been to find my fated mate. Someone who I could trust to treat me kindly, who would take care with my heart along with my body. After seeing the way my father had treated my mother I had worried that even a fated mate would be untrustworthy, but witnessing the brothers with their mates, I had come to realize that my father wasn’t normal. He was just born cruel and would die cruel.

As I watched my meal slowly cook over the flames, I allowed myself to wonder again, like I had been for the last couple of years, what my mate was like. I had no idea when I would finallyfind him. My wrist remained completely unmarked by even the hint of a mating brand, telling me that he likely hadn’t been born yet. A small part of me had wondered if he had been in this realm all along, and that was why it had never shown up. But when I’d crossed the portal, and nothing appeared, I’d lost hope that he was here. There was the fear that he had been at one time and had died before I ever returned, but I shut that thought down before I could dwell on it.

My mate was out there. I had to believe that. The alternative was depressing. I had stayed away from men my whole life. To think I would never have that soul consuming love I witnessed in the brothers and their mates was too devastating to consider.

Chapter

Five

SASHA

After eating and sharing my water with Max, we continued our journey until it was well into the next night. We’d only come across a few small creatures along the way, and Max was proving to be the little badass he had shown from the start. I was grateful for his alertness as well. Though I was keeping careful watch, his hearing was much more astute than mine, and he was excellent at letting me know that there was something to be wary of nearby.

It was several hours into the deep purple night when the forest thinned out and I realized I had come to my destination. I stood at the tree line with my heart pounding rapidly as I stared out at the pale outline of the stone dwelling in the distance.

It had been my only home until the day I had decided to take my sister and run. It also held the one being in any realm that scared me down to my very soul. There was a monster in that dwelling who wouldn’t hesitate to take my head or throw me in his dungeon for the rest of my existence. I honestly didn’t know which would be worse. All I could do was try to keep my presence hidden from him while I was in the Underworld.

I scanned the surrounding area, knowing I would need to bypass the dwelling to get to the High Dungeon. It wasn’t a far walk, but there would be guards I would have to avoid. I only hoped that at the late hour, they would be less than vigil, allowing me to sneak past.

“Max,” I said softly, “I need you to stay quiet. You should probably stay here.” I looked down at the creature that was twining his body around my legs giving off low trilling sounds. “Will you stay here so I know you’re safe? I promise to be back as soon as I can.”

He stared up at me with his intelligent eyes and sat down on his haunches, his front paws resting on his knees. I reached into the satchel and grabbed one of the remaining flowers. I would have to gather more soon, and not just because we were almost out. The flowers were dying from being cut. Soon, the petals would wither and crumble, just like they did when they were cut. Once that happened, the water would be wasted.

I crouched down in front of Max and held the dark pink flower out to him. “Stay here for me, okay?” I hesitantly reached out to stroke one of his large ears, having not dared to touch him before this. He was a wild creature, after all. I didn’t forget that for a second. He may be following me like a puppy, an aggressive, deadly puppy, but he was still wild.

He leaned into my touch, his trills sounding happy, and I held back a giggle at how adorable he was. I ran my finger down the curve of his ear and scratched the thick black fur on top of his head, marvelling at how soft it was. “Be safe,” I whispered and stood up, adjusting the satchel across my shoulder.

With a deep breath, I stepped from the protective cover of the forest and quickly headed in the direction of the dungeon, making sure to keep a very wide berth between me and the large stone dwelling. I knew I was light on my feet and wasn’t making a sound as I jogged toward my destination. However, I was stillever vigilant for any signs of guards who might be out keeping watch against intruders.

Once the stone walls of the High Dungeon appeared, I slowed down, taking each step carefully. I couldn’t risk rushing in. It was surprisingly silent, with no guards to be seen patrolling the perimeter. I couldn’t help but wonder if the owner of my secret message had somehow been responsible for the absence.

I made it to the side of the fortress-like structure and eased my way around the corner. It wasn’t until I was nearly to the entrance that I saw the first guard. I froze in place and held my breath, waiting to see if he had somehow heard my approach. He was sitting against a large rock with his back to me. I couldn’t help but cringe at the sight. My father would have punished him severely for his negligence had he caught him slacking in his duties. I wouldn’t have been surprised to hear that he’d been executed as punishment and warning to others.

It wasn’t until I heard the soft snore that I realized he was asleep. I shook my head. There was no way the High General had slacked off on his training and expectations for his men. It had to be someone else's work, someone who knew I would be here and would need some assistance to break in and steal a highly valued prisoner. When I found out who was behind this, I would have to give them a big kiss in gratitude. I could have snuck in or even fought my way in, but having the guards incapacitated for me made my job a fuck of a lot easier.

After peering inside, I slipped through the open doorway to see the entrance to the dungeon empty. I ignored the hallway leading off toward the offices. The main level was not where I needed to go. The true horror of the High Dungeon was far underground.

I relied on my memory of the building to guide me to the stairwell. I had only been downstairs a handful of times, but each time was unforgettable. I had needed to find my father.Searching for him underground in the dank, dark tunnels full of prisoners that moaned, cried, and screamed would haunt me for the rest of my existence.

I crept slowly down the carved stone staircase, grateful for the soft rubber soles of my boots. I wasn’t sure where I would find the missing brother, but I had a good idea that he would be on the bottom level. It was somewhere I had never been but had overheard my father mentioning that was where the most important prisoners were kept. I passed the first level, ignoring the smell of decay as I went, and quickly passed the second level. I couldn’t help but notice the pale light became even dimmer as I descended into the bowles of the High Dungeon, as if the light couldn’t penetrate the deep despair of those who had been relegated to the lower levels. Some may eventually find themselves released after decades or centuries of captivity, but those kept in the lowest levels knew they would never make it out alive.

I counted five levels when I made it to the bottom of the staircase. The room was much smaller than the others and there was no light down the single hallway. I reached for the torch burning low and pulled it free from the sconce. Holding it away from my head, I stepped forward. The past echoes of hopelessness and anguish filled every corner of the space. I felt the hair on my arms rise along with goosebumps as I thought of what the prisoners had experienced in this dungeon.

I moved the torch toward the first cell, hoping to see who I had come for and not someone else who might bring guards running if they began to yell. I was surprised to not only see that it was empty but that it appeared as if no one had been inside for a very, very long time.

Each cell was like the last, and I gritted my teeth, hoping that I hadn’t wasted my time in thinking that the lowest level was where the brother was being held. There was one final cell at theend of the row, though, so I would check it before I backtracked and went for the next level up.

---