Page 58 of Darkest Heart

He moved like a sangaree, but Hamza was disguised as an aniccipere again. It was the perfect disguise, hiding a greater evil behind the skin of a monster. Nothing in this world was more dangerous than Hamza as a demon, except perhaps Salenia herself. But that was a fight, for another day.

Hamza whipped his head around, as if he sensed my presence. I darted behind a tree trunk, curling my hair over one shoulder, ensuring to keep every part of me hidden within the shadows of the woods. A snake slithered over the mossy mattress sprouting deadly, yellow flowers. Beyond them, shards of skull and bone littered the area. I grimaced as a loud caw caught my attention. Bile rose in my throat as I watched two crows play tug of war with a finger bone on an upper branch of a towering tree.

I couldn’t wait to be rid of this place. The south was far worse than anyone had let on. Being mortal here was like being trapped in a nightmare. My heart ached when I thought about them. All the people locked in cages, awaiting an inevitable, painful death. I couldn’t do nothing. They weremypeople, from my home kingdom.

The scent of wet earth mixed with rotting flesh permeated the entire area. Slowly, I peered around the trunk, my eyes focusing on the woods, then the outer areas, before landing on the house. Hamza was gone, along with Algor. Astor sat alone, sobbing into his hands on the doorstep. I searched for the ounce of sympathy that might be there, but I felt nothing.

If they went back to the mountains, they’d find my body gone. Perhaps Hamza would piece together that I was alive. If they went back at all. But for now, they thought I was dead. The security at the mansion was laxer than ever.

I could turn around now, run and find Sebastian, but the fear from the mortals that had hovered over me for months haunted me wherever I went. I wouldn’t even know where to search for Sebastian. Undoubtedly, he was looking for me and could be anywhere. Probably here in the south. The idea of being so close to him tightened my chest.

With Hamza and Algor gone, and only a handful of aniccipere guarding the property, this could be my only chance to free the mortals. If I could save them, then maybe I could make up for what I did…

Not that anything could come close. But this was a start. Because I was a murderer. Without a second thought, I sped toward the place I’d spent weeks imprisoned in.

***

I forced Astor against the wall, feeling stronger than ever. He pulled at my fingers, kicking against me. “You’re dead,” he spluttered.

“No.” I looked into his bloodshot eyes. “But you’re about to be.”

He let out a low exhale. “Put me down. I’m not going to stop you.”

I blinked twice, slowly lowering him. “Why not?”

“I’m not your enemy.”

I could have laughed. “Suddenly?”

“You should get out of here.”

“You now care what happens to me?”

He glanced down. “Yes.”

My eyes flitted around. I couldn’t trust him, but nor could I detect a hint of dishonesty coming from him. “Then help me.”

“I can’t,” he said as I let him go. “I won’t tell them you’re here. Whatever you’re planning on doing, there are five of them in there.” He shrugged, then walked toward the door again.

What the fuck was wrong with him? “Astor.”

“You have about ten minutes before they return.” He threw me a key, sensing my motive. I glanced at the small, silver key. “Try not to get yourself killed.”

The hairs on my arms plucked into goosebumps, urgency stopping any further questions. The mortals needed me, and I had a small window to get them out.

I raced through the house, toward the desperation and despair. The gods really were on my side. I didn’t run into one of the creatures on the way to the mortal rooms. Once I reached them, I opened it and slipped inside, checking for aniccipere.

None.

I jammed the door shut, sliding the deadbolt across. The pungent stink of urine and feces hit the back of my throat as I hurried to the cages, my heart pounding. I didn’t have long until they returned, or the other aniccipere in the house figured someone was here. The only thing we had was the element of surprise. Several mortals scurried to the back of their cages, scraping their feet against the metal bottoms. They must have thought me one of the soul vampires.

The key dug into my palm as I tightened my fist. I had to play this right; these people were depending on me.

If I let them out all at once, they would try to run, and the aniccipere would take them out. Fleeing would only make them easy pickings. If they saw I was letting them out, they’d get loud, begging for me to get them out next. They all needed to band together and I was strong enough to help them. But I couldn’t take on all the creatures alone. I was as dependent on them as they were on me, and the only thing more powerful than fear was hope.

I rushed to the back first, placing my finger over my lips in a gesture to shush them as several people’s eyes locked on me. “Listen to me,” I said, my voice barely a whisper. “If we are loud, they will hear us and they’ll come. You will all die. I have a plan, so if I let you out,” I whispered to the small bunch who could hear me, “you must go to the other cages and warn the others not take make a sound, and not to try to flee. We only have a hope of escaping if we unite together and fight. We can take them on. Can I trust you?”

Each of them nodded, gripping onto the bars, shivering against the cold. “I’m going to let you out one-by-one. Please do not run. You will doom us all.”

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