Page 28 of Hell Raising and Other Pastimes (Grave Concerns 2)

Chapter Seven

My head pounded when I came to, but my eyes wouldn’t open. It was as if my entire body refused to come to get with the program of being conscious.

Eventually, I shifted, rolling to my side, then pushing up to sitting. When my eyes finally opened, I didn’t recognize anything around me. I was inside, but it didn’t seem like a house. Plank walls and adirt floor made me suspect some sort of shed.

On my wrist sat a steel manacle that hooked to alarge metal bolt in the floor.

Which was a really bad sign.

No one woke up cuffed and thought,Yes, this is a positive turn of events.Everything is going according to plan.

I yanked at the chain, grasping it with both hands and planting my feet against the ground for leverage.

It didn’t even budge, though the metal groaned.

As my head cleared, I realized more things, and each one painted a worse picture. None of the men were around—I couldn’t remember anything after that sinking sensation—something sniffed around outside the wooden walls and the ground beneath me had big splotches of red which could only be blood.

Or someone was really aggressive with their finger painting…

Whatever stalked outside was large, and when its shadow played against the wall, it gave me a glimpse of black and red.

Why waseverythingblack and red? It was like hell had no other colors to use.

Then again, maybe obsessing over a small color palate wasn’t the right thing to focus on at the moment, especially when something chuffed right next to the door, as if it knew I was in there.

Which made me realize yet another bad thing. My cloak was gone. I never figured I’d miss that smelly, damp piece of cloth, but I sure did.

I reached for my throat, and at least the string still rested there.

If Grant’s even still alive…

The thought made me swallow hard. The idea that anything could have happened to Grant, to any of them, felt like something entirely impossible. They were bigger than life. Nothing could take them out.

Except…I’d also learned that life wasn’t so easy.

Heavy steps thudded against the packed dirt outside, something a lot larger than the creature who sniffed around the door. When the new figure approached, the creature let out a loud yelp after a thud of flesh on flesh.

Anything that could send that thing running wasn’t something I wanted to see.

Not that I had a say in the matter. The hinges of the door squeaked as it opened, and I got a better look at the same being who had stopped me in the middle of the road.

And he was even worse this time, when I had the chance to study him. His skin was not just burned but melted. Worse, it was shiny, as if it leaked some sort of slime. His fangs made Kase’s look like nothing. They were so long, they passed his chin, like a saber-tooth tiger’s. Huge black horns curled back and over his head. His hair was stringy, thin and didn’t quite cover his entire scalp.

He left the door open, and through it I spotted the rows of ambrosia plants and the flash of a creature running through them.

Which meant what had sniffed around and been kicked by this guy was one of the protectors of the fields.

I couldn’t stand, the chain around my wrist too short. Still, I scooted as far away as I could.

He didn’t look toward me, and somehow, him not even looking my way was worse, like I wasn’t important.

The man dropped a large bag that had been slung over his shoulder. Dust kicked up when it hit the ground, and the clatter of metal made my eyes widen. Never in the history of time was a big, heavy bag full of pieces of metal ever the start of something good.

“So, if you just open the cuff up, I’ll get going.” My voice came out high and panicked even though I tried to act controlled, like I was abducted on the daily and it was no big deal.

He didn’t respond, though he did reach into the bag and pull out something that resembled a machete.

It had a longer handle, but, really, the blade was the important part of a machete, right?

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