Page 84 of Live Like Legends

We both were silent, but nodded.

“Perfect.Stay here.”

“Stay here…Elise…” I argued, but she cut me off.

“You show up with me and this whole thing will go to shit. Staythe fuckput.” She nodded towards the door that was just a few feet away from us. “I’ll meet you there and let you in. Anyissues and I’m sure magic man here can figure out something. Or Axel will take care of it.” She pointed towards Garrett and her pet.

“Elise why can’t we just go with you…” Reese insisted.

She had already turned away and was heading towards where I assumed the front of the prison was.

“Unbelievable,” Reese mumbled.

Axel was already pacing near the door, clearly anxious for his owner to come back, or he was just ready to get this entire thing started. I pressed my hand to the exterior and it was like dark radiation emanated from it. My head throbbed with the pulsing of everything I’d tamped down trying to bubble to the surface.

It was minutes before there was shuffling near the door and Axel lifted himself on his hind legs to scratch at the wood. Elise peeked out, motioning for us to come inside. The amount of damp air that flooded out from the open door nearly suffocated me.

Elise hadn’t even closed the door all the way yet, before I noticed the smell of fresh blood and the small groans before silence. I walked further into the hallway we found ourselves in and noticed four or five men and women laying on the ground in a small sized cell. The entire door was solid stone but there was a rectangular opening near the top.

Reese pushed past me to look, then he huffed. “We could have helped you with that.”

Elise waved her hands at us as if to show that she didn’t give a flying fuck about how we felt. She looked at Garrett. “Cover their angelic scents, will you.” It came out like a demand and not a question.

Axel led the way down the empty hallway. It felt lonely here and a lot like death. The smell of brimstone flooded my nostrils and I had to stop myself from having a coughing fit. I didn’t like the idea of anyone being locked up here, let alone Daniand Garrett’s family. Axel stopped at the end, peeking his head around the side.

As we followed him, I walked closely near Elise, whispering, “did they just let you in or something?”

“No idea what you’re talking about.”

“Why didn't you want us with you from the beginning?”

“As much as I love an all out brawl, Nicholas, I would rather the fights be when it counts. Fighting front gate guards is not high up on my list of priorities.”

That still didn’t completely answer my question, but I decided to let it go.

“Did you run into Dimitri?”

We halted, hearing voices, but then they faded. Axel sniffed near a closed door, right as we heard footsteps again. Without another thought, Garrett yanked the door open and we all shuffled inside. None of us moved as the footsteps went past the door, their sounds retreating.

“To answer your question,” Elise pushed away from the wall and followed Axel as he descended the steps that were in front of us, “no, he isn’t here. Apparently, he left a short while ago.”

Axel stopped after two flights of stairs and turned to shadows, disappearing from our sight. We heard him on the other side of the door, pawing at it. Once the hellhound had all of us on the other side, he bounded down the dark hallway that was littered with cobwebs and smelled so much like fire that my lungs were burning. The sound of soft crying filled my ears and Reese turned to look at me, his blonde eyebrows raised.

Garrett made a beeline behind Axel as if that one sound had given him more speed and energy then he knew what to do with. The large Enchanter stopped in front of a door and his face turned into something like relief.

“Leah?”

I sidled up next to him, seeing his wife and two children huddled together near the corner. I saw shadows form near them and Axel appeared, running over to the kids and burying his face in their small bodies. Leah looked up from where she held her children and it looked as if she wanted to burst into tears.

“Daddy!” Jasmine yelled, while Yuri scrambled to get up and ran towards the door.

“Are you alright? Everyone okay?!” Garrett said hurriedly as if he couldn’t get the words out fast enough.

They all quickly nodded and Elise placed her hand on the door, red sparks and black mists flowed from her palm and there was a resounding click. Garrett all but yanked the door open as he barreled into the cell and grabbed his family.

“Alright, we love the reunion but…” Elise started but then a loud, gravelly growl came from outside the cell. I took a few steps out and noticed Axel’s black hair standing on end near his neck. His tail was stiff and his stance was something I could only classify as immovable. The growl wasn’t one of a small animal, no, it was something bigger and much more destructive.

I looked up from the hellhound and noticed three guards coming through the door.

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