I growled and transported to them. I appeared between them and elbowed the soul eater to knock him off balance. He stumbled backward and fell to his knees.
The creature roared angrily as I grabbed Onyx and transported us into the tree line out of its sight.
Are you okay? I signed to Onyx.
His hair was disheveled, and he didn’t look as polished as normal, but I didn’t see any blood. A few bruises already formed, but Onyx said, “Yeah. You showed up before the soul eater coulddo anything.” He grinned and clapped me on the shoulder. “You spoke! I’m so proud of you.”
I rolled my eyes and signed,Do not celebrate yet. We need a plan to kill this soul eater first.
The soul eater climbed to his feet with another roar.
Onyx’s eyes narrowed as he studied the soul eater. “We need to tie him up. Find his weakness then. I’d love to get him on the torture rack.”
I nodded.Have you seen any rope?I signed.
“I haven’t. We may have to improvise.” A wicked grin broke over Onyx’s face. “Let’s get him. Get behind him and wait for my call.”
When I nodded, Onyx and I both transported closer. He appeared in front of the soul eater and I appeared behind.
Onyx swung at the creature with his fists. He connected, but the soul eater roared and swung back at him. Onyx took a punch to the mouth, which only made him mad. He roared back in anger and swung again. He landed a punch to the soul eater’s ear. The creature shook his head and dove for Onyx.
I jumped into action, ready to dive in, but Onyx shook his head no at me.
Onyx caught the creature, and the two fell to the ground, grappling. I saw Onyx’s head snap back as the creature landed a blow to his jaw. The soul eater’s mouth opened, and he tried to suck Onyx’s soul away.
Onyx grinned a bloody smile, and his eyes glowed red. “I don’t have a soul, fucker.” He punched the creature in the mouth.
The soul eater made a high-pitched wail like it was gravely wounded.
Onyx pulled the creature to the ground and wrestled himself on top, pulling the creature’s arms back.
“Osian, your shirt!” he yelled. “Tie him up!”
I whipped my T-shirt over my head and scrambled in beside Onyx, tying my shirt around the creature’s wrists in a makeshift rope.
Onyx spit blood onto the ground and grinned wickedly. His eyes still glowed red. “Let’s get this asshole on the torture rack. Then we’ll come back for his friend.”
Chapter 22
Osian
“We’re going to make you bleed,” Onyx threatened. “Find every weakness you have and exploit it. Then we’re going to kill you.”
We’d hooked the soul eater onto the torture rack. His hands were stretched above his head and shackled, and his feet were chained to the rack. Though the rack stretched his body to the max, he fought angrily against his bonds.
Onyx grinned happily. “I haven’t tortured anyone in weeks. I’m excited about this.”
The soul eater hissed.
“My brother here will get started. I’ll warn our ladies with souls not to come over here. Osian, all the fun tools are on that table.” He nodded toward a metal surgical table in the corner. “I’ll be right back.”
I nodded at Onyx, and he disappeared.
Desperately, the soul eater opened his jaw and tried to consume a soul from me. Not that I had one to take.
I grinned. Maybe I should remove his mouth from the equation. He deserved it; he tried to kill my fated.
The table that Onyx gestured to held a threaded sewing needle. Perfect. Assorted tools also lined the table, including a scalpel and various knives. I wheeled the table closer to the soul eater and picked up the needle.