Page 19 of Hex
A small gorgon child appears, shaking, with his hands gripping the clothes at his waist, kneading like his anxiety is through the roof. In no world do we want to harm a child, and in unison, we all put our weapons away as the gorgon pulls up his hood to hide his tiny snakes. Nobody needs to turn into stone right now, so we do appreciate his thoughtfulness.
“Child, where are your parents?” It’s Elysia’s turn to speak but her question just accentuates the young gorgon’s tears of despair.
Fuck, this can’t be good.
“Are you lost?” Pierce is next with the question, but he’s more intelligent about it because it’s much easier to answer when you can either shake your head or nod.
One shake of the head tells us no, which means the whereabouts of his parents is no doubt disturbing.
The child’s head turns toward the thickest part of the forest, one hand rising with his index finger pointing west and into the unknown.
“Is that where your parents are?” When I speak, it’s soft, calm, but I’m feeling anything but those two emotions.
The child nods. It’s sharp and short, and as I get nearer to him, I see the tears streaming down his face.
“Fenrir.”
I freeze, my body going taut at the news, and my bond chooses that exact moment to jerk me in the exact direction of the boy’s pointed finger.
Fenrirs aren’t common and they aren’t known for making decisions. Mostly, they’re used as guards, which means someone else is behind whatever the fuck is going on.
Pierce takes the gorgon child in his arms, making sure the snakes stay hidden, then they all follow my lead as I take them—I hope—to my chosen, once and for all.
What we find are two parents and a baby slaughtered.
My bond is aching with the need to pull me deeper into the forest, and although I feel for the kid, I don’t have time to mourn for him so I keep going.
Just as I step on a branch that cracks right under my foot, my entire body freezes when a blood curdling scream shakes the very foundation of the entire forest.
“Motherfucker!”
Chapter Eight
Sage
Bruises litter my skin, some purple, some yellowing across my stomach, over my arms, legs, and I’m sure the open wounds on my back are infected. The attempted escape, two weeks ago now, is the reason Gregor likes to give for the daily beatings. Not once a day, no. Try four times.
I’m awakened—not from sleep, but from being knocked out—in what I’m guessing is the morning, slapped around a little, then given some porridge that I’m pretty sure is dirt. Water for lunch is delivered with several lashings to the backs of my legs. Dinner consists of something that definitely isn’t chicken and a few punches to the ribs while hanging from a hook via the chain on my wrists. Finally, bedtime comes with a liquid masquerading as water and some lashes to my back.
Every day.
For two weeks.
Well, one day short of two weeks. I’ve been counting the porridge. Unless Gregor the gorgon has been fucking with the meals to throw me off, then yeah…it’s Halloween.
“Drink the water, girl.” Gregor seems more frustrated today than usual as he paces in front of my cell, the bedtime whip in his right hand dragging across the rocks underfoot.
“And what if I don’t?” I’m feeling brave today, but it’s waning, along with the hope that Hack will finally find me, take me away from this place and help me forget what pain is.
The power that Hekate unlocked inside me is the only thing keeping me alive at this point and I’m pushing to test my limits. I’m positive I should be dead with the number of injuries I’ve sustained, but my ribs were broken a week ago and now they’re not…
If I can make Gregor angry enough, maybe he’ll lose control completely. I’m never chained before bed, and he doesn’t lock the cell when he’s inside, so maybe tonight’s the night.
Saffron doesn’t seem to be fairing as well as me, she’s barely spoken for days and one of her beautiful, delicate wings has been snapped off. The screams that came from her cell that day will haunt me forever. The dormant magic inside me may be keeping me alive, but it’s doing nothing for my new faerie friend.
“Are you trying to give me more reasons to hurt you?” He narrows his reptilian eyes and tilts his head. The snakes are covered with a silk wrap, and thankfully he has done this since that first day. I’m not sure avoiding eye contact with them for this long would have been possible.
“You’re going to hurt me anyway.” I shrug, trying not to wince at the pain shooting through my arms as I do.
