Page 66 of Slay Me

Ernesto will never stop hunting me. If he even catches wind that I have remained in No Man’s Land, there will be no building he doesn’t search, no alley he doesn’t scour in his quest to bring me back.

My only chance to survive long term is to try to get to the nearest House boundary. It doesn’t even matter which one at this point. Once I manage to make it across, I will have to prove my worth and beg for a position…something that I will gladly set my pride aside to do. Because once I’m accepted, Ernesto will never be able to touch me again.

My skin is still coated in the powder of my prison cell. Evidence that clings to my sweat-beaded flesh as a reminder of the best-case scenario if they should catch me. My magic is of no use to me now, not that it ever really was. A light breeze isn’t going to suddenly change my life—or let me keep it. Not when the men I’m up against are conditioned killers.

I keep my attention ahead rather than on the men chasing me because they are hardly the worst thing that I could find in No Man’s Land. Here, there are no laws. No governing houses. I’ve no ring to protect me, no leader to come looking and deliver vengeance on my behalf.

I am alone.

And if I cannot keep up this pace, I am going to die.

My foot catches on the uneven asphalt, and I trip, tumbling to the ground. It bites into my knees, elbows, and the side of my face as I come to a skidding stop. Before I can stifle it, a whimper leaves my lips. Every inch of my body might as well be made of lead as I try to push myself up.

I fall back down, my vision blurring as more blood drips into my eyes. “Not here. Please, not here,” I whisper to myself as I try to stand. Once again, it’s no use. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. Maybe if I just take a minute, just one second—my stomach rolls as the overwhelming stench of piss and rotting garbage fills my lungs.

Which only adds insult to injury. Not only will they kill me, but I’m also likely going to be murdered in an alley like the trash they claim I am.

“There you are, pretty thing.” The cool voice sends fire blazing in my heart.

I try to push up—to get to my feet—but I’m not fast enough. A tentacle closes around my ankle and rips me back. Pain explodes in the side of my face as my head cracks against the asphalt. But it’s nothing compared to the scraping of pebbles as they tear at my skin.

The chain around my neck catches on a sharp chunk of asphalt, but it gives within seconds. It’s ripped from my neck, and I reach for it, desperate to hang onto the one good part of my childhood. The one thing I have left of a life I barely remember. But it remains just out of reach.

I try to cling to the ground, to hold onto anything that will buy me more time. But the asphalt tears my fingernails, ripping some of them completely off. I’m brought to a stop and flipped over onto my back where I meet the gaze of my attackers. Every muscle in my body quivers, but they will not break me.

My body. Sure.

My heart. Absolutely.

But my soul? Never.

Three men glare down at me. If they can even be called that. They are monsters in the cruelest sense of the word. Creatures bent on tormenting any species they deem weaker. And as a hybrid with very little power, that is exactly what I am. Weaker.

Ivan, the Octopi shifter whose tentacle is currently wrapped around my ankle, is the first to sneer down at me. “Little bird flew from her cage.”

“Doesn’t seem right, does it?” Bryce—a fae who has taken great pride in tormenting me over the last two years—adds.

The final attacker, a vampire named Shavers, leans down. “I say we play with her before we take her back. Boss won’t notice a few extra bruises, will he?”

“Fuck off.” I spit, the bloody saliva splattering his face.

He grins. “Baby, you know I love the taste of your blood.” He reaches for me, and I scream.

“Go ahead and keep screaming, little bird!” Ivan calls. “No one will hear—” He’s cut off when a shadow drops down into the alley behind us.

Dread unfurls in my belly, a venomous creature prepared to devour me alive. This is it. The man I’d really hoped would never find me again. From here, he is nothing but a shadow, a nightmare haunting my every moment.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Bryce demands as the man moves closer.

It’s not until the stranger steps into the dim light of the moon above that I see it’s not Ernesto at all but rather a complete stranger. A man who is basically a wall of damned muscle compared to the three in front of me. Still, I don’t dare hope for a rescue. There is nothing refined about the stranger, nothing that screams hero; more than likely, he’s going to leave me here to die.

Most men would not get involved in business such as this unless, of course, they wanted what was being fought over. Which, in this case, is me.

His angry glare shifts from me to Ivan. “Weren’t you ever taught not to play with your food?” the stranger questions, tone low and deep. There is no emotion in it. No feelings whatsoever. And I get the sudden impression that this man is far worse than even those who’ve held me captive for the last seven years. And isn’t that my luck?

“This is Ernesto’s turf. So get fucked,” Ivan replies.

The stranger looks past them to me again. A muscle in his sharp jaw tightens as he takes in the sight of my battered body. What clothes I had are nearly completely shredded now, baring a good portion of my bloodied flesh for all to see.

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